Slagowski AND tamagno headlining national mile at PRE

Where's Jason Pyrah when ya need him.

More Viewers wrote:

Who do you think draws more viewers: a) a high school kid with a chance (however remote) of breaking Webb's record, or b) another 3:53 pro? What runner would increase the number of viewers if swapped for Hunter?

If they put another pro in instead of Hunter, I don't think anyone would say "hey, I wasn't going to tune into the Bowerman mile, but now that they've added a fourth 3:53 guy, I think I'll go ahead and watch." As it stands, plenty of people are going to tune in to see Hunter run.

You select your field to put on the best show. Usually this means taking the top X entries, but sometimes not. They've decided that Hunter will bring more eyes to the screen than any alternative, and they're probably right.

You describe everything I hate about Prefontaine Classic and Nike. Yes, hyping a prep record attempt draws viewers - casual viewers who don't understand the vast difference between 3:48 and 3:59.

Or 3:48 and 3:53. Lately there are almost no entries with PR's that slow. Just a couple US national elites, and they don't belong either.

So on the one hand, they're trying to appeal to the so-called "knowledgeable fans" who know what it means to put 7 or 8 3:51 milers behind a good rabbit. But then they blow it by throwing in a bunch of slower guys with no chance of going that fast, and sometimes even a prep runner or two. And mark field events in feet and inches. What a joke Nike/Pre is, year after year.

If they want to be relevant, they should drop the miles entirely and start doing 1500 where world elites try a lot harder to go fast. In general they should quit trying to be so retro and accept the metric system.

Metric Miler wrote:

Look at the field, who do you think Drew will beat?

Not everyone runs their fastest race every time.

Look. in the past 10 days

Tons of guys who have run way faster than Hunter or Slagowski have run 3:36 to 3:38 with perfect set ups

Anyone thinking they will run faster without Willis pacing?

Think again.

Hunter may run 3:56-57 mile, that would be 3:39 1500

Look at Oxy and Swarthmore and Windsor?

If Jager and Blankenship go out at sub 3:50 pace and blow up , Drew could pass them on the last lap. That is completely possible and close to how it was in Webb's hs record race. Metric, you need to become a student of the sport.

Cross Country and track wrote:

If Jager and Blankenship go out at sub 3:50 pace and blow up , Drew could pass them on the last lap. That is completely possible and close to how it was in Webb's hs record race. Metric, you need to become a student of the sport.

Jager, who has run a 3:50 mile equivalent? I guess it is possible (probably unlikely) but people are talking here like it is a dead cert Hunter won't come last.

Even Blankenship is more likely to beat Hunter than lose to him.

Jager has not shown anything this year to indicate he is in 3:50 shape. Jager didn't even make the US team in the 3k indoors. He should be our best guy. Blankenship just ran 3:55. So he could beat them if they go out too hard. I would assume that Kiprop will be going for 3:45-6, and maybe some try to go with him and pay for it. It may not be Jager or Blankenship. Someone may though and Drew picks them off at the end.

Unlike Verzbikas' 2-mile record at PRE, I don't see anyone in the field willing to pace Hunter at several seconds off the lead. Clearly he wants to take a shot at 3:53 and that wouldn't be in the cards in the international Mile, but as many have already pointed out blowing up is far more likely in the Bowerman Mile. I applaud him for going for it, but if he is capable of 3:55-3:56 the slower heat is more likely to get that out of him. I think Kiprop might go sub-3:47 if those workouts were real.

I may end up eating my words here but I think there is a chance that neither Hunter, Slagowski or Tamagno break 4.

It doesn't seem like Hunter is in this race to race. He wants to get to 1200 in 2:57 and then kick as hard as he can. He'll probably be behind everyone the first two laps. That is fine. That's exactly what Webb did. Kiprop might run 3:44, but that just means Hunter passes more people.

but... wrote:

It doesn't seem like Hunter is in this race to race. He wants to get to 1200 in 2:57 and then kick as hard as he can. He'll probably be behind everyone the first two laps. That is fine. That's exactly what Webb did. Kiprop might run 3:44, but that just means Hunter passes more people.

What is everyone else's plan then? Run 2:50 then die?

Have you ever watched a race? Willis always goes 2:56-2:57 then runs 3:52-53.

If Hunter is 2:57 at the bell, he will be racing and he will be in contact.

Can Ryun's 3:51.3 American Junior Record in the Mile survive the weekend? his AJR in the Mile he ran 50 years ago (1966) is in major jeopardy this weekend.

but... wrote:

It doesn't seem like Hunter is in this race to race. He wants to get to 1200 in 2:57 and then kick as hard as he can. He'll probably be behind everyone the first two laps. That is fine. That's exactly what Webb did. Kiprop might run 3:44, but that just means Hunter passes more people.

Well my thoughts are there is a chance that like last year it is a tactical race. 1:58 at ~810 for the leader and 3:47+ for the eventual winner.

Kiprop is so difficult to predict. We assume he will run fast because he can, but he just might not.

Cross Country and track wrote:

Jager has not shown anything this year to indicate he is in 3:50 shape. Jager didn't even make the US team in the 3k indoors. He should be our best guy. Blankenship just ran 3:55. So he could beat them if they go out too hard. I would assume that Kiprop will be going for 3:45-6, and maybe some try to go with him and pay for it. It may not be Jager or Blankenship. Someone may though and Drew picks them off at the end.

Maybe he does pick someone off at the end, but this is a stellar field with a lot more experience than Hunter. If anyone goes off too fast and crumbles it is more likely to be the least experienced in the race than one of the pro's.

Drew is great but I don't think this field is getting the respect it deserves from Letsrun. There are a few big guns that will be battling for the win primarily. It may easily be a tactical race and the top 4 could close the last two laps in Drew's 800m PB.

Great stuff.

HitandMiss wrote:

Great stuff.

Oh boy. It sure is.

Now that Matt Centrowitz is not running…Michael "The Big Slagowski" can take his place in the Bowerman mile.

Nobody will even notice the difference.

Both of their first names start with the letter M.

Matt…Michael…who cares?

Put Michael in the race Phil.

Metric Miler wrote:

Cross Country and track wrote:

If Jager and Blankenship go out at sub 3:50 pace and blow up , Drew could pass them on the last lap. That is completely possible and close to how it was in Webb's hs record race. Metric, you need to become a student of the sport.

Jager, who has run a 3:50 mile equivalent? I guess it is possible (probably unlikely) but people are talking here like it is a dead cert Hunter won't come last.

Even Blankenship is more likely to beat Hunter than lose to him.

Student of the sport hey?

I am AMAZED at the amount of hype and respect that these American high schoolers get on this site. They are actually being rated above professional athletes that can do things Hunter and Slagowski can only dream of right now. This was a slow, tactical race and everyone but Holusa ran faster than Hunter's PB.

Hunter will 'pick off a few' in the home straight. What a joke. He has run 3:57 these guys are another class. Holusa actually ran shit (looked terrible the whole race) and still didn't lose to Hunter. Of course elite men with years of endurance and racing under their belts will not blow up worse than an inexperienced 18 year old.

I hope Evan Jager and Ben Blankenship don't read this forum.

World 1500m finallist Grice should have been in the Bowerman mile instead of a high school kid.