Coach Owl Birdo wrote:
Top 5 is very do-able, but only off a slow pace.
Rupp will not allow a slow pace this time.
Rupp 5th. Levins 10th.
Tenth would be a monumental achievement for a runner of Levins' ability, and I don't want to deride him, but it's absurd to say that top 5 is "very do-able".
Going back to the last decade worth of championship 10ks, here are the fifth-place finishers:
2011 - Martin Mathathi
2009 - Bernard Kipyego
2008 - Zersenay Tadese
2007 - Josephat Ndambiri
2005 - Martin Mathathi
2004 - Haile Gebrselassie
2003 - John Korir
These athletes are no slouches. The 10,000 is a very competitive race at the championship level when you consider the six Kenyans and Ethiopians, as well as the Ugandans, Eritreans, Qataris and Bahrainians. Even for an athlete with a PB thirty seconds faster than Levins, a top 5 finish is not a lock.