Yes, that's right, Cain just cruised to beat Efraimson

Can't say I didn't expect it, Efraimson gave it her all and faded trying

Yeah, she gave it her all, I'll give her that

I didn't know that Efraimson was not on the same level as Efraimson, crazy...but in all seriousness, I feel most of the people who thought Efraimson was ahead of Cain are trolls. Even when Cain was at her worst, she was still a step ahead of Efraimson. Now that Cain is getting into shape, she's muc ahead of Efraimson, not even close.

It was good Efraimson got the exposure but definitely doesn't need to go pro, and needs to stick to the JR's for the next 2 years

Runner1048 wrote:

I didn't know that Efraimson was not on the same level as Efraimson, crazy...but in all seriousness, I feel most of the people who thought Efraimson was ahead of Cain are trolls. Even when Cain was at her worst, she was still a step ahead of Efraimson. Now that Cain is getting into shape, she's muc ahead of Efraimson, not even close.

I def agree w/ you, Cain's 2:02 at PRE was the worst you'll ever even see of her and even that time was a second better than Efraimson's 2:03 and she's in top shape... Cain is basically racing her self into shape right now, and I see she pulled out of DL Paris 1500m, but she has some fast times to come later on in the summer...

yeah i hope people will finally stop trying to say Alexa is better than Cain. It was getting a little ridiculous these past couple weeks.

Efraimson did pretty good today in the 1500 tonight. She gave it her best and still ran a pretty good time. Although I think she could still go pro soon, if she wanted too. She just needs the right coach because Mary Cain had Alberto Salazar as her coach her whole junior year of high school. Maybe if Efraimson also had an elite coach she could possibly produce more elite times as well. Either way I'm just happy we got to see the two compete against one another. Can't wait to see these two duke it out for the next couple years.

The focus on Efraimson's performance today in evaluating Cain's own performance is missing the forest for the trees.

Efraimson ran 4:07 two weeks ago. That would have won tonight's heat. She toasted herself running too many races.

Cain's own fitness is a completely separate issue. There was a close up shot of Cain after the finish where the microphone was picking up some very heavy breathing. And it seemed to be coming from Cain.

Cain fans: worry about your own while wishing the best for both. Good karma.

imalumberjack wrote:

The focus on Efraimson's performance today in evaluating Cain's own performance is missing the forest for the trees.

Efraimson ran 4:07 two weeks ago. That would have won tonight's heat. She toasted herself running too many races.

Cain's own fitness is a completely separate issue. There was a close up shot of Cain after the finish where the microphone was picking up some very heavy breathing. And it seemed to be coming from Cain.

Cain fans: worry about your own while wishing the best for both. Good karma.

I agree with you partly and disagree partly. You're spot-on correct that Efraimson has been racing too much lately.

BUT, your suggestion that her 4:07 could have won tonight's heat misses completely a very important idea about middle distance racing--no two races are the same. You can't simply plug a time in from one race into another race and say, "If ...." And especially not so when the races come from different places and different times with different temperatures, different humidities, and different air pressures. In no form or fashion is it valid to suggest that if Efraimson had saved that effort for tonight she would have won the heat.

Agree about wishing best for both.

imalumberjack wrote:

Efraimson ran 4:07 two weeks ago. That would have won tonight's heat.

Which has nothing at all to do with the race that was just run, in which she ran 4:12, not 4:07.

There was a close up shot of Cain after the finish where the microphone was picking up some very heavy breathing. And it seemed to be coming from Cain.

Oh that Cain! I knew she was no good. breathing hard after a race... she may as well retire now.

Last year (between junior and senior year) Cain ran 3 seconds faster than Alexa ran this year. Alexa's heat time at USATF this year was about 1 second slower than Cain's last year. There is a gap but it's not huge, and their both still maturing as runners. We still do not know how much improvement is available to either of them. The real phenom right now is Dawit Seyaum who's still 17 and has already cracked 4 minutes.

imalumberjack wrote:

Efraimson ran 4:07 two weeks ago. That would have won tonight's heat. She toasted herself running too many races.

Haha that analogy is not even close to accurate

That's like saying, Efraimson's PR is 4:07 so she would've won the heat beating Jenny Simpson, and since Jenny Simpson has ran 3:58, then that means Efraimson can run sub-3:58

alanson wrote:

Last year (between junior and senior year) Cain ran 3 seconds faster than Alexa ran this year. Alexa's heat time at USATF this year was about 1 second slower than Cain's last year. There is a gap but it's not huge, and their both still maturing as runners. We still do not know how much improvement is available to either of them. The real phenom right now is Dawit Seyaum who's still 17 and has already cracked 4 minutes.

yes there is only a 2.xx whatever second difference between their junior year 1500 PRs. But there is a huge difference in what Cain can do in a race compared to what Alexa can. Alexa is obviously the second best HS runner ever. But she can't yet compete against a field of US pro's, which is something Cain was doing the whole year last year in both flat out and tactical races. Cain beats US pro's while Alexa gets pulled along by them. In 1 or 2 years though I bet Alexa will be ready to compete on the national level. Wouldn't be too surprised to see her go pro after high school, although she should time it right and go pro after she proves she can win races against US pro's (whether thats in 1 or 2 or 3 years) because her contract is gonna be based on media hype, which is what Cain had last year from beating pro's.

imalumberjack wrote:

Cain's own fitness is a completely separate issue. There was a close up shot of Cain after the finish where the microphone was picking up some very heavy breathing. And it seemed to be coming from Cain.

Not a Cain fan, but horrible reasoning. So she was breathing hard??? She just ran a 4:09 1500 and she's a girl, give her a break. Heavy breathing means jack.

Duane Soloman easy win for his 800m heat, and now he's breathing hard!!! He's done for sure.

imalumberjack wrote:

There was a close up shot of Cain after the finish where the microphone was picking up some very heavy breathing. And it seemed to be coming from Cain.

Cain confirmed as Darth Vader?

Does the Force count as a PED??

I think this is my main reason for Efraimson not turning pro, even if Cain had ran a 4:07.07 at Oxy last year instead of 4:04, she still would've had the closing speed and smart tactics to beat out some of the US's pro's to make it to the World Champs, and the final there as well... I know Efraimson hasn't had many opportunities to show closing speed, but until she developes that she needs to stay where she's at... We saw Cain's ability to close last years indoor season... Also, if she signs now, I don't think she would get a very good contract, if she develops to 4:04-4:05 and makes top 3 at big races this is going to help her get a better contract, but right now no one is going to give her any top dollars, nearly not as much as Cain's getting paid...

Thisss...iI honestly can't remember the last time Efraimson won a pro race or even came second, all of her times have been because they were in really fast races wher Efraimson is just pulled along in the back of the race. Cain has won an Indoor Mile title and placed 2nd at USAs last uear in the 15. When it comes to competing and having to rely on your turnover, Cain has the upperhand by a longshot this year and also last year.

I wonder what Efraimson could do in some DL races this year?