Recap of Men's Races at Reebok Boston Games
January 29, 2006
LetsRun.com

*Women's Recaps Here

Once again, the meet had top notch distance fields and was sold-out.  It was one tv one day late on ESPN2. And our coverage is a day late as well. We apologize for the inconvenience. We've got men's distance recaps below. The race recaps appear in the following order - men's 600, men's 1k, men's mile, men's 2 mile and high school boys mile.

Men's 600
An interesting race as the field included world 400 meter silver medallist Brandon Rock, world 400mh gold medallist Bershawn Jackson as well as former 800 meter NCAA champion Jonathon Johnson. What would win 400 speed or 800 endurance?

The race ended up being a two man battle over the final 200 between Johnson and Jackson after 400 was hit in 52.09. Johnson would just out lean the front-running Jackson at the tape in an exciting finish. Jackson literally led 599 meters of the race.

Event 2  Men 600 Meter Run
===============================================================
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Finals                                                         
  1 Jonathon Johnson             USA                    1:18.63
  2 Bershawn Jackson             USA                    1:18.65
  3 Andrew Rock                  USA                    1:19.40
  4 Joey Woody                   USA                    1:19.59
  5 Dirk Homewood                USA                    1:19.89
  6 Alleyne Francique            GRN                    1:19.96

Guys 1k
Former world indoor 800 champion David Krummenacker looked like a world champion in this race as he smoked the field with his kick, taking the lead with 100 to go and blowing everyone away to win convincingly in 2:21.37. Heading into the final lap, the race was tightly bunched as things slowed down after 600 (1:25ish) as the guys in the field seemed to ready themselves for the final lap. At 800 (1:54.50), Ethiopia's Alemu was in front with Krummenacker right with him in 2nd, but it seemed as if almost anyone in the field still had a chance to win (if one conveniently ignores the fact that it's virtually impossible to pass 7 or 8 pros in an indoor race over the final 200).

But what's the saying about creaming rising to the top? That clearly happened in this one. Krummenacker actually passed Alemu on the inside just before the final turn and never looked back. Alemu ended up a clear second in 2:22.00 as Sam Burley used a late kick to get third in 2:22.70 after being next to last with 400 to go.

Krummenacker Post-Race Comments
"I borrowed a page from the great Rich Kenah's book, and made a move on the inside. He was the master of moving up on the side. I try not to that too much but the door was open so I decided to do it.".

We asked a bit about his training and his plans for the year. "It feels real good to star the season with a win. I can't complain. But I'm training through, doing a of of mileage (this year). Anything that happens (indoors) is a bonus. I've had a tendency to do a little too much indoors and I think that it has hurt my outdoors. This is a good indicator that the base is paying off."

We asked Krummenacker how much is "a lot" of mileage and I think he said 70 to 80 (kind of hard to read my own handwriting). He also said that he plans on running some fast 1500s this year and said the emphasis for him will indeed start to swing towards the 1500 and away from the 800

Event 3  Men 1000 Meter Run
===============================================================
 Alley Start, Pos 1-6 on back row, 7-10 on front row           
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Finals                                                         
  1 David Krummenacker           USA                    2:21.37
  2 Berhanu Alemu                ETH                    2:22.00
  3 Sam Burley                   USA                    2:22.70
  4 Justus Koech                 KEN                    2:22.72
  5 Frederick Sharpe             USA                    2:23.64
  6 Elliott Blount               USA                    2:23.71
  7 Derrick Peterson             USA                    2:24.46
  8 Said Ahmed                   USA                    2:24.53
  9 Jebreh Harris                USA                    2:25.11
 10 Kevin Hicks                  USA                    2:25.24

Guys 1 mile
The men's mile field was loaded and the race lived up to its advance billing. The rabbit was ready to get things going as he hit the quarter and half miles in 58.0 and 157.6. The field itself was a bit more tentative but not too much so as they hit the same splits in 59 and 158 high. Kenya's Laban Rotich was the aggressor as he lead the field which was about 10 meters behind the rabbit. American Chris Lukezic, who went pro this summer after a great junior career and a string of great performances the last two years at the USA championships (although it must be pointed out that he never won an NCAA title), also was antsy and aggressive, ready to make his mark as pro.

The field was still together with a quarter mile to go (2:59.7). Heading into the bell, Lukezic took the lead from Rotich who had led after the rabbit dropped out at 1k.  Lukezic really had no kick in him however and Kenya's Elkanah Angwenyi passed coming off the next to last turn. For a while it looked like Angwenyi may have gone to early as Rotich's was still lurking but in the end he pulled away for a convincing win in 3:55.95. American Jason Lunn moved up late to get second in 3:56.77 over Rotich (3:57.17) who made the cardinal sin of letting up just at the line. All together, 11 guys broke 4:00 minutes which was a new world record for an indoor mile. The most sub 4s previously in an indoor race was eight in Stockholm on Feb. 11, 2001.

Lunn Talks
We caught up with the runner-up Lunn after the race. Lunn, who was painfully close to making the US Olympic team in both 2000 and 2004, started business school at Colorado last school year (2004-05) and many assumed he was on the way out as he had a reduced racing schedule. Lunn said he's not done and the mini-break was what his body desperately needed.

"Last year, I was focused on anything but running. I didn't realize how badly I needed a break. I'd get a week or two into running and would just not be motivated. Now that I'm back, this year, I'm having fun with it all over again," said Lunn who added that he just got back from a two-week stay in Palo Alto where he got some training in with members of the Nike Farm team (he trains by himself for the most part in Colorado).

Lunn, who said he has a very easy and light class schedule this spring as he finishes up his MBA said he'll ponder the future of his running career after this year.  "After this season, I'm going to see if I want to do 4 more years. If I look at it and if think I'm going to make the Olympics, I'll do it. I don't want to be the first guy not to make it. I've already done that twice and it's no fun."

But Lunn doesn't sound too eager to put his Stanford degree to work full time. "All of my friends who have made the switch say the number of miles you run per week becomes the number of hours you work per week. I don't think I'm quire ready for that."

Goucher Speaks
Letsrun.com also caught up with Adam Goucher after the race and asked him about why he was running the mile and what his plans were for this year.
"We're just trying to work on my speed a little - one step at a time. I'm pretty disappointed with my race tonight actually as I'm in good shape.. I gotta get a little more race savvy," said Goucher who said he's focused on running the 4k as US Cross Country nationals in 3 weeks.

When asked about his long-term plans for the year, Goucher seemed very upbeat as one of the most injury prone guys out there is finally seemingly healthy.  "Low 13s in the 5k - maybe go under 13 - that's the goal. I'm back on it finally and I feel good. I ran 13:10 last year on fairly inconsistent training and I know I'm ahead of where I was last year. Now that I'm older, I'm just trying to have some fun. Running the mile is fun and good for me."

We asked him why does he think he's healthy since he moved to Oregon. Was it the resources of Nike and Alberto Salazar or changes in training? What is the key?  "I think the constant attention that I get is the key. Anytime, I feel something is wrong with my body, I can get it looked at that day. Also now that I'm older and I have to train smarter. The last few years I think I was having to pay the price for training just insanely for a few years. I'm smarter now."

Goucher added that he trains alone most of the time save for some easy running with Mike Donnelly who is a good friend of his. Now that Goucher is healthy and excited about running, he's trying to get Donnelly back into it as after last season, Donnelly had basically decided he was done with competing.

"He's a good friend of mine and I'm trying to get him back out there having fun."
Full Results

Event 4  Men 1 Mile Run
===============================================================
 Alley Start, Pos 1-8 on back row, 9-12 on front row           
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Finals                                                         
  1 Elkanah Angwenyi             KEN                    3:55.95
  2 Jason Lunn                   USA                    3:56.77
  3 Laban Rotich                 KEN                    3:56.83
  4 Nate Brannen                 CAN                    3:57.17
  5 Adam Goucher                 USA                    3:57.60
  6 Mike Woods                   CAN                    3:57.87
  7 Kevin Sullivan               CAN                    3:58.07
  8 Rob Myers                    USA                    3:58.24
  9 Neil Speaight                GBR                    3:58.49
 10 Chris Lukezic                USA                    3:58.53
 11 Ryan Kleimenhagen            USA                    3:59.00
 12 Bernard Kiptum               KEN                    4:02.95
 -- Alexander Skvortsov          RUS                        DNF

Guys 2 mile
People who were at the race may be expecting us to rip into the rabbit for this race. Far from it.

Since the co-founders of this website both rabbitted women to world records, we pay attention to rabbits. We actually don't quite get why so many races are rabbitted and find them to be a bit boring. All you see is a time-trial, not a race. Tonight, thanks to the rabbit going out too fast, we got to see a race.

The race started in two alleys and given that they were running a full 2 miles, those on the inside started way behind the finish line. The rabbit started in the outside alley (nearer the starting line). He was supposed to take it through the mile under 4:05. And that's what he did. Only problem was that he went out in 55 and 1:55. No one went with him. Should we blame the rabbit? No.

We've heard horror stories of rabbits not getting paid and what not. This guy had better be paid or we'll start a fund-raising campaign for him. Clearly he was looking at the clock to judge his pace. The problem was this was a too mile so he started way behind the finish line. Having come to the meet from the Harvard track (which is a yards track), where we saw a slew of guys with no clue as to how fast they were going, let's just state that it's not exactly easy to move your split up or back a few feet each lap on your own. If your coach or agent or someone doesn't really explain it to you, you're bound to be lost.  

So when the rabbit hit 400 meters in 55ish, he actually got to the finish line right around 59 seconds which is exactly what he was looking for. Then he hit 1:55 and say 1:59, still on. At this stage, he was getting tired (as he was at 1:55 in actuality) but he was there to do a job and thus just started running even harder. 4:04 on the button at the mile.

The pack however after a quick start of 58.1 slowed down a ton when the rabbit got too far away as a half mile was reached in 2:06 and the mile 4:18.5. With a half mile left (6:30.4), the pack was tightly bunched and it was obvious we were going to have a great finish.   The pace didn't quicken all that much though as they ran a 31.6.  With 500 to go, former Arkansas great and 2005 European indoor champ Alistair Cragg took the lead and things picked up a bit (29.85). With 200 to go (7:59.9 or so), a slew of guys were still together but it quickly turned into a great two man dual between world 5,000 bronze medallist and 3:48 miler Craig Mottram of Australia and Sileshi Sihine of Ethiopia.  The two ran side by side for virtually the entire last lap with Sihine on the inside and Motrram on the outside before Mottram broke Sihine with less than 50 meters left.

Mottram showed how he was able to get a medal at worlds - with a great kick. Mottram is one of the world's best at 5k and particularly good in championship style races because not only does he have great endurance but he also has international-level 1500 meter speed. The last lap (27.6) wasn't even as fast as we might have expected but it was exciting. Mottram won in 8:26.54, to Sihine's in 8:27.03, while Cragg nabbed third in 8:27.39. Showing how it was a tactical race, the top 8 all finished within 3 seconds of each other and all broke 8:30.

Mottram Speaks
Craig Mottram or "Buster" was all smiles after the race. Buster? you ask. Yes, Buster is Cragg's nickname in Australia and he claims no one goes by a first name or last name so he had that printed on his bib as well. "Buster" is a good interview as he's not just stating politically correct mumbo jumbo like so many Americans.

What do I mean? Well just read his words.

"It was a bit awkward because I don't run indoors much and I really haven't been on a track since the world champs. But to come away with a win and learn some more how to race is good. It wasn't fast but that's racing. It makes it exciting and you could tell the people (the crowd) liked it.

I didn't come 24 hours to not try to win."

Buster then made a startling admission to letsrun.com and the other journalists. In a day and age when so many athletes refuse to tell the truth, Buster came clean.  He was talking about training or something about how having a race is good and he said "I stimulate myself" and then he paused and said "not in the way you all are thinking - everyone does that." So there you have it, an elite level 5k guy admits to stimulating himself. Not sure if he  has heard the rumor about a former Olympic champion who supposedly would stimulate himself in the port-o-let just prior to the start of his races in order to raise his testosterone.

Event 5  Men 2 Mile Run
===============================================================
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Finals                                                         
  1 Craig Mottram                AUS                    8:26.54
  2 Sileshi Sihine               ETH                    8:27.03
  3 Alistair Cragg               IRE                    8:27.39
  4 Tariku Bekele                ETH                    8:27.56
  5 Boaz Cheboiywo               KEN                    8:27.75
  6 Dan Lincoln                  USA                    8:27.85
  7 Abebe Dinkessa               ETH                    8:28.22
  8 Markos Geneti                ETH                    8:29.13
  9 Ian Dobson                   USA                    8:32.77
 10 Gebre Gebremariam            ETH                    8:34.82
 11 Reid Coolsaet                CAN                    8:37.37
 12 Ryan Hall                    USA                    8:37.74
 -- Geoffrey Rono                KEN                        DNF

(HS) Boys 1 Mile -
Having read about "AJ Nation" on the message boards, it was interesting to see 'the nation' in all it's glory in person. Footlocker National champ AJ Acosta had a "Johnny Damon Sucks" T-shirt which he warmed up in and threw to the crowd.  He also had a large cheering contingent. Not sure if they flew in from Cali or what.

Once the actually race got going, it was another California guy, Footlocker runner-up Michael Coe, who put on a real show for the crowd.  New Yorkers Brian Rhodes-Devy and Ben White towed the field through a half-mile in 2:05.9. Coe took the lead 900 in and really never looked back. At three-quarters of a mile, it was a two person race as Coe and Ireland's Ciaran O'Lionaird had 10 meters on the rest of the field. Coe ended up pulling away to win convincingly in 4:07.30 to O'Lionaird's 4:09.41. Acosta ended up winning the battle for 3rd in 4:10.32. Top top 12 in the field all broke the previous meet record of 4:13.61.

Coe 4:07 win wasn't too shabby for a guy running the first indoor race of his life. To be fair, he did run a 4:12 mile last week outdoors.  But it was impressive nonetheless as it was only one second off the fastest high school mile ever run indoors in a strictly high school affair. After the race, Coe was fairly pleased. "For being in the middle of January, it's a good start. A 59 second last lap isn't too bad.  Hopefully by June, I'll have that down to 56 or 57."

Event 7  Boys 1 Mile Run Jr. Invit.
===============================================================
 Alley Start, Pos 1-6 on back row, 7-11 on front row           
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Finals                                                         
  1 Michael Coe                  USA                    4:07.30
  2 Ciaran O’Lionaird            IRL                    4:09.41
  3 AJ Acosta                    USA                    4:10.32
  4 Dan McManamon                USA                    4:10.72
  5 Kris Gauson                  SCO                    4:11.41
  6 Ayalew Taye                  US/ETH                 4:11.44
  7 Justin Harbor                USA                    4:12.68
  8 Sintayehu Taye               US/ETH                 4:12.89
  9 Duncan Phillips              USA                    4:13.19
 10 Mark Mitchell                SCO                    4:13.42
 11 Brian Rhodes-Devey           USA                    4:13.59
 12 Greg Kelsey                  USA                    4:15.35
 13 Ben White                    USA                    4:16.27
 14 Jacob Cosby                  USA                    4:26.44

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