| Author |
Topic: Roger Craig: Elite Marathoner? Not |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
 posted Oct-01-2005 05:09 PM
   
I was nosing around the registration section of the Chicago Marathon to see if I new anyone who might be running this year. So, I popped in the last name: Craig and a list comes up.One that just happened to stick out was Roger Craig. No, not Roger Craig the Elite Marathoner as it states, but Roger Craig as I know him, the football player. I'm not complaining (well a little), but how is it that he gets special treatment after having run a 3:50 marathon at best and put into the Elite corral? My only answer: Star Power.
LName FName Gender Age City State Start Area
Craig, Roger M 45 Portola Valley CA ELITE
IP: Logged |
geb
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-01-2005 07:03 PM
Dear Craig,
Good luck in Chicago! Give ole Roger a break (smilie), you'll pass him before the 2 mile split.
Take care and hope you PR.
Lisa V.
IP: Logged |
Warrior1971
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-01-2005 09:16 PM
I still remember a couple years ago, reading an interview with him before his first marathon. He was saying how he's been breaking barriers, exceeding expectations, blah, blah, blah, his whole career. So he equated that to the marathon and said something along the lines of, "When I'm feeling exhausted toward the end of the race, I can push through it like I did when I experienced pain playing football." I'm totally off on the exact quote, but his words and tone totally dismissed the physical challenge of running 26.2 miles, and he expected it to be easy compared to playing in the NFL.Anyway, I don't remember what his goal time was, but he did state what he thought he was going to do. Weeks later, I hadn't heard was the result was, so I looked up his name. When I saw that he was nowhere near his goal time, I just had to smile. Sure there's no one trying to tackle you, but inevitably it feels like someone very good at it already has.
IP: Logged |
gcklo
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-02-2005 03:22 AM
Didn't he say he could run 400m in 75 sec in an interview for RW. If that is true, he is one slow runner. He must have lost a lot of shape after retiring. He is definitely not an elite runner, but he was an elite NFL player. quote:
Originally posted by geb:
Dear Craig,
Good luck in Chicago! Give ole Roger a break (smilie), you'll pass him before the 2 mile split.
Take care and hope you PR.
Lisa V.
IP: Logged |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-02-2005 12:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by geb:
Dear Craig,
Good luck in Chicago! Give ole Roger a break (smilie), you'll pass him before the 2 mile split.
Take care and hope you PR.
Lisa V.
Good to hear from you Lisa. Yes, Chicago is 1 week away. Hard to believe it has gone by so fast. One more week of taper. Easy does it. I hope Tampa is getting cooler by now?
Any race plans?
Craig PS: I probably won't even see him when I go by 
IP: Logged |
therealman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-04-2005 05:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by gcklo:
Didn't he say he could run 400m in 75 sec in an interview for RW. If that is true, he is one slow runner. He must have lost a lot of shape after retiring. He is definitely not an elite runner, but he was an elite NFL player.
He's 45 and a former running back not a 400m man.
I do think 75 seconds is pretty good for a 3:50 marathoner, if that is what he is. He was Mr. Versitile with the Niners. As for the early coral I still hate that Oprah (she of the 4:30 marathon time) got in the front coral and had an escort.
IP: Logged |
gcklo
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-04-2005 05:24 PM
I don't agree. Wasn't he a running back or something? He did tons of running during that time and was supposed to run pretty fast. I just went to a very uncompetitive track event 2 months back. Those people were not atheletes. And the 45 year old women (just a housewife with kids) finished better than 75 sec.I am also not a fast runner, and haven't played any sport from 22 to 35. I have never gone past the first round of any sprinting event in my high school and our high school was a very uncompetitive school in a very uncompetitive place. I still could run in the 60+ sec range right now. I think he has lost a lot of speed if he does run 75 sec 400m. Too much beer and too many parties after retirement. quote:
Originally posted by therealman:
He's 45 and a former running back not a 400m man.I do think 75 seconds is pretty good for a 3:50 marathoner, if that is what he is. He was Mr. Versitile with the Niners. As for the early coral I still hate that Oprah (she of the 4:30 marathon time) got in the front coral and had an escort.
IP: Logged |
milkbaby
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-04-2005 07:28 PM
You gotta remember, an american football field is only 100 yards long and about 53 yards wide. Football players rarely run more than 10 to 20 yards at a time.I doubt he is considered one of the elite runners at the race, just an invited athlete.
IP: Logged |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-04-2005 07:37 PM
quote:
Originally posted by milkbaby:
I doubt he is considered one of the elite runners at the race, just an invited athlete.
He isn't elite. The real question is does he deserve to be in the "elite" corral just because of who he is? Not. In my opinion, I among others belong there just as much as he does.
IP: Logged |
hopper3011
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 08:31 AM
So start your own marathon and then you can put the people who you think deserve to be there.
Until you do, it's up to Carey Pinkowski to put the people he wants in the elite corral of his race.
IP: Logged |
saunaking
Member |
posted Oct-05-2005 08:41 AM
quote:
I'm totally off on the exact quote, but his words and tone totally dismissed the physical challenge of running 26.2 miles, and he expected it to be easy compared to playing in the NFL.
[/B]
um, that's because it is easy compared to playing in the NFL There are tens of thousands of people running and finishing marathons in the US. Not too many football players can make it to the NFL, never mind that 11 very large people are trying to kill you every play.
IP: Logged |
Warrior1971
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 09:04 AM
I never mentioned "finishing". I said "running" and the implication was running fast and competitively. He was unable to do it, and that was my point. You're either too dumb to see that, or looking for an argument. Either way, I'm done.
IP: Logged |
Birchwood Ranger
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 11:34 AM
How fast could Carlos Lopes run a marathon or 400 m these days?Craig was a GREAT runner in high school (Davenport Central, IA). He was a state champion in a couple of events. He ran sprints. Sprinting is running. The 10.X or 11.X 100 m runner who runs a 3:30 marathon is a better runner than the 13.X 100 m runner who runs a 2:50.
IP: Logged |
fredurie
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 01:02 PM
M45-49 - 400 METER RUN - 2004 - U.S.
World Record: 50.20 Fred Sowerby (USA) 08/11/94
American Record: 50.20 Fred Sowerby (NV) 08/11/94
All-American Standard: 56.0 51.52 JAMES LOFTON (085)
51.73 JAMES CHINN (405)
52.01 HENRY JAMES (379)
52.54 BEN JAMES (387)
52.90 TYRONE WILLIAMS (405)
53.09 JEFF LINDSAY (405)
53.20 JOSEPH SMITH (074)
53.87 RAY BLACKWELL (365)
54.14 DAVID LUCAS (364)
54.40 EDDIE STONE (193)
54.46 JAMES MORTON (387)
54.54 DRAY HARGROVE (364)
54.68 MIKE ANDREWS (349)
55.42 TONEY MULHOLLAN (387)
IP: Logged |
JoeO
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 03:27 PM
His presence brings some good PR to the marathon. The race officials like that so they give him a prominent spot for all the cameras to see. What is the problem? Everyone knows he's not "elite" in running terms. It's not as if there is a horde of celebrities lining up in the elite corrals at these marathons, blocking all the faster runners.
IP: Logged |
milkbaby
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 04:23 PM
Being able to line up in the elite start is probably just a courtesy perk for the invited guests. I guess they don't want to invite somebody and then throw them in the back of the pack, they want them up front and chilling in the elite tent, relaxing, drinking Courvosier VSOP just prior to the start, etc...
IP: Logged |
ljwoodw
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 04:33 PM
or stick him in the front so that he'll be surrounded by Kenyans who probably don't care about American football and thus won't beg him for autographs and whatnot...man that would be annoying pre-race.------------------
My Profile
IP: Logged |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-05-2005 06:23 PM
quote:
Originally posted by geb:
Dear Craig,
Good luck in Chicago! Give ole Roger a break (smilie), you'll pass him before the 2 mile split.
Take care and hope you PR.
Lisa V.
Lisa hit it right on the head. Us in the competitive or even preferred corral for that matter will pass his before he knows it.
IP: Logged |
ljwoodw
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-09-2005 04:44 PM
Craig, congratulations on your good race. That's a PR if I'm not mistaken, correct? Keep it up!
IP: Logged |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-10-2005 02:43 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ljwoodw:
Craig, congratulations on your good race. That's a PR if I'm not mistaken, correct? Keep it up!
Thank you! A new PR by 2min 27sec In relation to this topic, Roger Craig finished in 3:51 and change.
IP: Logged |
IamTheMickster
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-11-2005 11:43 PM
Ok, so Roger Craig is a so-so marathoner. But let us not get delusional here or even attempt to minimalize the absolute superiority of an NFL athlete to an average marathoner.
An NFL athlete is crazy-elite, and endures an absolute train wreck every week in the football season. Whereas someone who fiddly-farts to a 3 hr marathon kind of sort of without question is a distant sloppy seconds to an NFL athlete.
IP: Logged |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-13-2005 04:36 PM
quote:
Originally posted by IamTheMickster:
Whereas someone who fiddly-farts to a 3 hr marathon kind of sort of without question is a distant sloppy seconds to an NFL athlete.
So, then I ask, "What does it feel like to run a 3hr marathon?".
IP: Logged |
laker
Member |
posted Oct-14-2005 11:33 AM
So Roger Craig was a great football player, this a running forum and the reality is he's not even an average marathoner.Most of us here are serious runners and not prone to hero worship of football players.An elite runner playing in an NFL game would be splattered all over the field, Pretty much the equivalent of what most of us would consider a 3:51 marathon.
IP: Logged |
crunningman
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-14-2005 04:34 PM
quote:
Originally posted by laker:
So Roger Craig was a great football player, this a running forum and the reality is he's not even an average marathoner.Most of us here are serious runners and not prone to hero worship of football players.An elite runner playing in an NFL game would be splattered all over the field, Pretty much the equivalent of what most of us would consider a 3:51 marathon.
I tried putting it into words, but you explained it best.
Yes, most of here are serious runners. I like that.
IP: Logged |
IamTheMickster
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-15-2005 09:40 PM
quote:
Originally posted by crunningman:
So, then I ask, "What does it feel like to run a 3hr marathon?".
Point well taken. I haven't sniffed a 3-hour marathon. So I am pretty much unqualified to speak authoritatively on the comparison.
IP: Logged |
