Boston Boost Games 2021

[gh]

Alrighty, you win. Only Blake peaked for this meet over the years.

I've never run a straight 200/220, but I have stood at the start of a 220 straight and let me tell you, the finish looked immensely far away. That would suggest to me that most people may well treat it more like they would a 400 and not go full-out from the beginning.

[Powell]

This meet was far better than Gateshead!1

A bunch of people running in straight line will never approach the full T&F experience for me. The only thing that was better about Boston was the weather.

[booond]

I've never run a straight 200/220, but I have stood at the start of a 220 straight and let me tell you, the finish looked immensely far away. That would suggest to me that most people may well treat it more like they would a 400 and not go full-out from the beginning.

It is the longest short race ever.

[BCBaroo]

Every year this meet just makes me...sad. Maybe it’s fun in person, but it just always feels weak. But as mentioned, still better than Gateshead. Wish I had watched the throw meet last night.

[SoCal45]

anyone know how bad WVN's injury is?

[Atticus]

Sure doesn't seem like a 'real' meet to me. An exhibition for the passerby's amusement.
Today's two big meets were far less satisfying than either Throws meet in Tucson.

[Track78]

I couldn't really get into this meet on NBC. Didn't really like front on camera angle, super hard to tell the placings or positioning as the race was going on. I also preferred the more traditional Gateshead, weather notwithstanding.

Hope WVN isn't hurt too bad, it looked like he might okay seeing him post-race.
SMU won so easily, but her last 50m looked really bad (by her standards). Probably did just enough to win.
Schippers looks absolutely cooked; can't see her moving the needle much in Tokyo unless she shows a massive improvement over the next couple of weeks.
Nice to see M-L Ahye and Ahoure out there, but I think their best days are gone by.

[KDFINE]

Its such an unreal surface. I'm wondering if it may just be a waste of time for athletes preparing for the Olympic Trials to even be here.

[lonewolf]

I've never run a straight 200/220, but I have stood at the start of a 220 straight and let me tell you, the finish looked immensely far away. That would suggest to me that most people may well treat it more like they would a 400 and not go full-out from the beginning.

In my day, everybody ran 220 straights, and, yeah, an eighth of a mile is a long way when you see it all at once. And, when you run it, the finish line is like an ever-receding mirage.
220 low hurdles even more so.

[Atticus]

220 low hurdles even more so.

My first track love - the 220H on the straightaway!
Luckily I was born with just the right stride length, so It seemed like an easy race to me. Broke our school record and then they discontinued the event, and the replacement, the 180 Lows, seemed to be over too soon! In college, the 440H were just a tad too long . . .

[lonewolf]

We even used to run a staggered 440 out of the straight. Dunno why, made the finish line on the far side of the track.

[Wiederganger]

Hope WVN isn't hurt too bad, it looked like he might okay seeing him post-race.
SMU won so easily, but her last 50m looked really bad (by her standards). Probably did just enough to win.
Schippers looks absolutely cooked; can't see her moving the needle much in Tokyo unless she shows a massive improvement over the next couple of weeks.
Nice to see M-L Ahye and Ahoure out there, but I think their best days are gone by.

Post race WVN looked ok, and seemed to be saying it was his hip, so it was precautionary and not injury as such. He was certainly vying for the lead before he pulled up, so he is in good form.

SMU's post race interview was interesting in that she mentioned she had been managing a few minor niggles. Now, she will have to be careful here, as minor niggles can easily turn into major niggles, or can impact your ability to train at 100%. In terms of how she looked and how fast she ran, she wasn't as dominant as I thought she might be on recent form. But like everyone else, she has 10 weeks to go so any niggles can still be managed properly.

Schippers bad luck continued after the race - her flight back home has been delayed 24 hours. She did update social media - "bad race" - but that was it.* Disappointing again, but the way I see it is, if she was running 11.04/22.45 in 2019 whilst only able to train at 80%, if she's now over those injuries, she should be able to run faster. So either her coach is lying and she isn't over her injuries; she is racing whilst in heavy training, or she just is way past her best. It could be a bit of all 3. She was contractually obliged to run here, because of her sponsorship deal with Adidas though.

It was Ahoure's opening race...and I'm going to mention the 10 weeks till Tokyo thing again😄. But I forgot she's 34 now, so probably wont be back to 10.8 form.


*edited to add: she's now updated IG with "I hoped for a better kick-off of the season, but let's trust the months of really god training and progress and let's hope things come together soon!"

[Wiederganger]

Does Lyles plan to do the 100/200 at the Trials.....because there is a chance he wont make the 100m team, surely?

[Paced]

Sure doesn't seem like a 'real' meet to me. An exhibition for the passerby's amusement.
Today's two big meets were far less satisfying than either Throws meet in Tucson.

Agreed. I've enjoyed some street races over the years, namely the Manchester Games, but something about these Boston Boost Games just fails to hit the mark with me despite the great fields. It all just felt very meh.

Nice to see WVN back despite the outcome. Hopefully it truly isn't serious. SMU looked less dominant than usual as some have said above, but still a comfortable win. Hobbs has looked like an Olympic 100m finalist for a while now.

[jazzcyclist]

My first track love - the 220H on the straightaway!
Luckily I was born with just the right stride length, so It seemed like an easy race to me. Broke our school record and then they discontinued the event, and the replacement, the 180 Lows, seemed to be over too soon! In college, the 440H were just a tad too long . . .

Dos Santos did 6 steps the whole way, requiring him to alternate at every hurdle. I thought that was impressive considering he never trains for this race. Shamir Little did 8 steps on hurdle 2, 7 steps on hurdles 3, 4 and 5, then 8 steps the rest of the way.