5000 Heats: Alan Webb, Jackie Areson & Brie Felnagle Go Home - Lauren Fleshman Doesn't
By LetsRun.com
June 25, 2012
Before we get to our recaps of the 5000 trials, let us state something that needs to be said. The way that USATF comes up with their field sizes is absolutely idiotic and make zero sense.
They desired field sizes for the 5000s was 24 and yet they let 16 in the 5000 finals.
So USATF thinks it's a good idea have fans watch more than an hours worth of races to eliminate what was intended to be a total of 16 people (it ended up being a bit more as there were 25 entrants in the men's 5000 and 28 in the women's). That's an insult to the fans and a waste of the athletes effort as well.
The final size should be smaller or the first round size should be larger. If you are going to have 24 entrants, then take it down to 12 in the final. If you want 16 in the final, then start with 32 entrants.
Make the trials worth watching by eliminating at least half the people. Of course, today wasn't a total insult to the fans like the 1st round of the 1,500s will be later in the Trials. There the first round takes us from 30 people to 24. In that case, USATF let in at least 36 people to round one, if not 48.
Ok, onto the races.
Editor's Note: Post-race interviews below at the bottom of the men's recap and bottom of the women's recap.
*More Interviews on LRC Trials YouTube Channel
Men's 5000 Prelims: Alan Webb Goes Home
To be truthful, the only big drama at all in these heats was that Alan Webb was sent packing.
HEAT ONE:
This heat saw a pedestrian pace for 4k before the racing really took place over the last 1k/800.
Elliott
Heath took the lead out slowly crossing 400 in 69.3. Lurking in the
back, content to run relaxed, was Galen Rupp. After a second lap 70.3,
Jacob Riley took the lead and the pace picked up a tad as the group went
through 1K in 2:53.76.
Going
into four laps, Mo Trafeh made a strong push and had the lead at 1600
in 4:37.4. Sitting on his shoulders was Robert Cheseret. A 64.9 lap
led by Trafeh opened things up considerably as the leaders went through
2K in 5:42.3.
As
they hit halfway, it was Trafeh, Scotty Bauhs, Riley, Heath, Cheseret,
Andrew Bumbalough and Alam Webb, along with Oregons Trevor Dunbar.
Trafeh hit 3K in 8:25.86.
The
lead didnt change at 3200 but Rupp began to move up the field, moving
on to Webbs shoulder. With less than a mile to go, Bauhs took the lead
(Dunbar on his shoulder), although he looked to be in difficulty.
Even with the lead change, the pace slowed to 70.9. As the pace
continued to stay slow, Rupp emerged into the top three for the first
time. As they hit 1K to go he seemed poised to pounce.
With
two to go, Rupp was on Bauhs shoulder. Further back, Webb was on the
back end of the pack. Webb started
to move up with 700 to go but it was quickly apparent that he didnt
have the engine to go with the field as most everyone else was just starting to crank.
Rupp took the lead with 600 to go as the pace dropped to 61.6. Webb
appeared all-out and tight in the back.
As
Rupp accelerated, Bumbalough went right with him and they seemed to
take the final 200 semi-seriously as they raced each other to the line with a
sub-56 last lap...Bumbalough out-leaning Rupp. Dunbar held on for
third, while Trafeh and Cheseret grabbed the final two auto spots.
Heath hung for a time qualifier.
Webb ended up WAY back as he nothing on the last lap (67ish) and he finished last in 14:01.25.
Quick Take #1: After Webb's debacle, which had us riveted to our seats as whenver that guy races we pay attention, we weren't thinking there was anything worth watching, but the Rupp-Bumbalough sprint at the end at least made this entertaining.
Given the fact that everyone knows the Schumacher and Salazar training groups at Nike aren't exactly the best of buds, this was entertaining to say the least.
More: Bumbalough's lean at the tape *LRC Alan Webb's 2012 Olympic Dream is Over
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Results
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Splits |
HEAT TWO:
9 of the 11 guys who ran this race advanced.
Ian
Dobson went to the lead, taking the field through in 67.2. The pace
continued to be faster than heat one as Ben True took the lead at 800
with a 68.2 split. True kept the pace true, hitting 64.2 on the third
lap as the field was strung out single-file. Behind the front-running
True as they hit the mile was Dobson, Brandon Bethke, Bernard Lagat,
Lopez Lomong, Hassan Mead and Ryan Hill.
True
split the 1600 in 4:26.2 with a 66.4 lap and had a very slight two
stride lead. By midway, True started to slow (68.0 and then a 67.7) and
his slight lead had evaporated. He was doing a nice job pacing,
however, and the pack had as yet disgorged no one.
True
brought the group through 3K in 8:22.28, three seconds faster than heat
one. True then hit 3200 in 8:55.1. At 9:29 with 4 laps to go,
everyone seemed pleased with their position and willing to wait for a
big finish.
Closing in on 1K to go, Lagat and Lomon moved up a spot into third and fourth and True hit
4K at 11:07.3.
With
two to go, Lagat took the lead with Lomong on his shoulder and True
responded well, staying in third. Bethke sat in fourth and Mead was
fifth Lagat led a 64.7 to get to 600 to go.
With one to go, more than six still remained. (It appeared
to be a jog for Lagat and Lomong).
With
300 to go, Lomong took the lead, with Lagat effortlessly in tow and the
pair easily separated themselves from the field, giving fans a mini preview of what they can expect in the final, and finished 1-2, closing in an easy looking 62.7 and 27.9.
True, Hill and Mead took the remaining auto spots. George Furst,
Brent Vaughan and Dobson took the remaining time qualifying spots.
Quick Take #1: No one in this heat is touching Lomong or Lagat. No one in heat #1 except maybe Bumbalough can even dream of runing with Rupp.
So those are the 4 people to pay attention to in the final.
QT #2: Chris Derrick didn't start and that wasn't a surpise to us. His plantar fascia problem was clearly pretty serious as he was limping visibly in the press area after the 10,000.
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Results
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Splits |
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Bernard Lagat After 5000m Round 1
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Alan Webb Says His 2012 Olympic Dreams are Over > |
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Andrew Bumbalough After Making 5k Final
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Lopez Lomong After Olympic Trials Round 1 5000m
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Womens 5000: Jackie Areson & Brie Felnagle Go Home - Lauren Fleshman Does Not
In our women's 5,000 preview, we helped you by giving you a list of the 9 people you needed to pay attention to as candidates for top three. Well the women's 5000 heats did result in a couple of significant casualties as shown by the following people in red. Jackie Areson, who came into the 5000 as the US#3 on the year, bombed out as did 15:22.39 former UNC 1,500 runners Brie Felnagle. A couple of the people with scratches thorugh their name did make the final in Lauren Fleshman and Magdalena Lewy Boulet but they won't be factors in the final.
It looks like there are six big-time contenders for the Olympic spots.
The Sub 15:25 Entrants - "A" Standard is 15:20.00
Lauren Fleshman Nike / Oregon TC Elite 15:00.57 She has been hurt.
Julia Lucas Nike / Oregon TC Elite 15:08.52 The US leader for 2011.
Molly Huddle Saucony 15:10.01 The 4th American in Pre 3k (Maloy, Ulh & Felnagle beat her)
Jennifer Rhines adidas 15:10.44 She hasn't been running well. Age seemingly has caught up with Rhines who turns 38 on July 1. She has run pretty awful in nearly ever race this year and is skipping 10,000 for this race.
Julie Culley Asics / New York Athletic Club (NYAC) 15:13.87 She beat Jessica Tebo & Maloy at Payton Jordan, lost to Lucas.
Magdalena Lewy Boulet Saucony 15:14.25 She hasn't race since the trials. We're assuming if she was fit, she'd have done the 5k.
Jackie Areson Nike 15:14.31 She is undefeated in 5000 this year.
Amy Hastings Brooks 15:14.31 Will she even start this race?
Lisa Uhl Nike / Oregon TC Elite 15:15.22 She made the 10k team and has little motivation to go for it big time here. Has lost to Areson twice this year in 5000/
Elizabeth Maloy New Balance 15:15.34 Who says people don't improve after college? Graduated Georgetown with pbs of 4:16/16:25. Now under the training of Miltenberg, she's an Olympic hopeful. Top American at Pre 3000.
Angela Bizzarri Brooks 15:16.04 15:55 sb, ran 9:14 at Pre (Maloy ran 8:50)/
Brie Felnagle adidas 15:22.39 Former 1,500 runner for UNC.
Abbey D'Agostino Dartmouth 15:23.35 NCAA champ.
Alisha Williams Boulder Running Company/adidas 15:24.82 5th in 10k.
Kim Conley SRA Elite 15:24.89 Surprised she skipped the 10k for this since she'd run 32:00.
HEAT
ONE:
Sauconys
Amanda Dunne brought the field through an extremely pedestrian 40
seconds at 200 and then 81.0 at 400. The pace continued to be extremely
slow as the field went through 800 in 2:45.3. Needless to say,
everyone was still in the mix at 3:28.15 for 1000 meters.
Coming
off of 1100 meters, Renee Metivier Baillie put in a HUGE move, opening
up a 40 meter lead at 1200 going through at 4:06.7. In the space of 200
meters, she put over three seconds on the field with a roughly 75
second lap from 1000 to 1400.
Baillie
hit the 1600 at 5:20.9 with a 74.9 and now had a five second lead. She
hit 2K with a 77.3 lap and Lisa Uhl moved into the lead of the chase
pack which now was only three seconds back and within 200 meters the
pack had swallowed her up. As the pack hit 2400, Uhl surged to the lead
and Julie Culley was right with her. Baillie was in third with 2012
NCAA Champion Abbey DAgostino of Dartmouth lurking in fourth and Cals
Deborah Maier in fifth.
The leaders hit 9:43.24 at 3000, meaning their last 1000 was a respectable 3:05.
As
the pack hit 3200 in 10:19.0, Uhl was metronomical at 72 pace, and was
followed by Culley, DAgostino, Maier, a resurgent Brie Felnagle and
Julia Lucas.
With
three laps to go, the lead pack was eight and also included Kathy
Kroeger of Stanford, Georgetowns Emily Infeld and Providences Emily
Sisson.
By 4K, Lucas had moved into third as the pack hit 12:46.2. The last kilo was down to 3:03.
Lucas moved confidently to the lead with 800 to go, with Culley in second. Sadly for Letsrun fanboys, Felnagle was dropped.
With
a lap to go, Uhl hung on for sixth, 10 meters ahead of Kroeger and
Sisson. The lead pack of Culley, Lucas, DAgostino, Maier and Infeld
were all together as DAgostino finished strongly for the win as the
final 1000 was run in 2:57. A major casualty was Jackie Areson, who
never seemed to be in contention.
Quick Take #1 If you've got some time, we recommend the interview we did with Julia Lucas, see below. But one tidbit of info we didn't know before tonight. Lucas said that she recently took a full week off from running as she was worried about some pain in her foot - that week ended on the day of the Pre-Classic (June 2nd). That to us, was a very wise and mature decision - and a decision we're not sure enough elites would be able to make.
Already the US leader for 5000 this year, Lucas knew she was very fit. And she said she thought to herself that if in three weeks she was healthy at the Trials, she'd make the team and if she was hurt, clearly she wouldn't. So she hopped into the pool for a week and is now feeling great.
As for what type of final she wanted, fast or slow, Lucas said she didn't care. She's the #1 girl in terms of 5000 times this year and also the #1 person in the field in terms of 2012 1,500 times. Either way, she seems like a near lock. Not too bad of a spot for someone who came into the year with a 15:50 pb. What a year it's been.
Lucas did admit she dreams of doing something specatcular and winning in a pb.
QT #2: We asked NCAA cham Abbey D'Agostino, who doesn't have the 15:20 'A', if she'd try to push the pace in the final. D'Agostino said she wouldn't and she'd just race. We think that's also a wise decision as well because she's never led before. The 20-year old hopefully will have a lot more Olympic Trials in the future.
Alogn these lines, Lucas said she thought the girls without the 'A' wouldn't push the pace in the final, much as was the case in the women's 10,000. That may seem surprising but we agree with her-it's just not in their personality to do so and they are all kind of happy to be even close it.
QT #3: We wish we had got a chance to talk to Areson. What happened to here?
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HEAT
TWO:
Heat
two didnt start out much faster than heat one as Lauren Fleshman, who
has struggled with injuries this year, took the field through 200 in 39
seconds. (Incidentally, this field was short two as three-time Olympian
Jenn Rhines was a late-scratch.) But by 400 the pace was a tad more
honest, as the pack hit the first lap in 78.0. Molly Huddle, Amy
Hastings,Tara Erdmann and Kim Conley were in close pursuit as the second
heat hit 800 10 seconds ahead of the pace set in heat one.
As
they hit 1000 in 3:15.04, Alisha Williams and Hastings took over the
lead. The pace didnt increase enough to shake things up, however, and
all twelve women stayed very much in the hunt as the field hit the 1600
in 5:12.0, with Huddle now sharing the pacing duties with Hastings.
The
pack hit 2K with a slower lap of 79.3 and 6:31.3 for a 3:16 kilo.
Everyone was still in the hunt as the controlled, even tempo had some
runners out into the second lane. 10K Olympian Hastings looked
particularly composed.
Coming
into 2800, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, the 2008 Olympic marathoner, made a play for the lead, which seemed
to force Huddles hand as she then took the lead at 78.1. 3K was split
at 9:46 (3:15 last 1000) and all of a sudden the second heat was slower
than heat one, which had started out so pedestrian.
A
75.3 by Huddle brought the still tightly bunched pack through 3200 in
10:23.5. The pace continued to pick up as Huddle then ran 7.37 with Kim
Conley on her shoulder and Erdman and Liz Maloy in close contact.
The
pack was through 4K in 74.4 and 12:51.6. After a string of 3:15-3:16
first three 1K splits, that was a 3:05 and now things began to open up.
Huddle remained in control with Conley and Maloy looking very strong
right on her heels.
A
72.5 by Huddle further ratcheted up the intensity and a group of three
(Huddle, Maloy, Conley) had a three meter gap on Erdman with a lap to
go. A larger chase pack fought for the final spots. Maloy came on at
the end to take the win in 15:46.00 as an extremely strong-looking
Huddle eased up, finishing only .05 back. Conley hung on for third and
Erdman was a strong fourth while Alisha Willianm was fifth and an
inspired Fleshman, who hasn't been running at all reallly because of injuries, had a great kick to grab the last auto qualifying spot
in sixth. Places 7 and 8 would get in on time.
Quick Take #1: It was good to see people like Fleshman and Lewy Boulet toe the line and advance despite not being close to their best.
QT #2: One person who didn't start was 3-time Olympian Jen Rhines. She's had an amazing career and if this is the end of the line for her, we hope she actually retires instead of just sort of doesnt' race down the line.
QT #3: We're not real sure why Amy Hastings started this race after making the 10,000 team. What did she have to gain?
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Results
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Splits |
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Lisa Uhl After 5000m Round 1
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Lauren Fleshman After Making Final On Very Little Training
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Abbey D'Agostino Says She Won't Chase "A" In The Final
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Deborah Maier Exhausted After 15k Of Racing
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Elizabeth Maloy After Making Olympic Trails 5000m Final
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