This week at LetsRun.com we introduce the LetsRun.com Mid-d & Distance Rankings.

This week we're doing the 800 and 1500. Next weekend the steeple, 5k, and 10k.  We're sure we made a few errors as this is our first attempt at this. Email us at letsrun@letsrun.com with any comments you have.We rushed to put this up and didn't include photos. If anyone has some photos they'd like us to use, please email us.

We decided that one of the biggest problems with track and field is that it's very hard for the casual fan to follow it as there are a ton of events and no-one knows who is in form or not. Thus we thought we'd help people keep track of things by ranking the top 10 US runners for each distance event. The ranking are based on current form and are supposed to reflect how we think they'd end up if you lined them up and had them race right  now -  it's not a cumulative yearly ranking.

Now onto the rankings.

Women's 1500
The women's 1,500 is extremely deep in this Olympic year. The entire top 11 in our rankings are all more than capable of hitting the Olympic A standard of 4:07.00. The crazy thing is the 1,500 has a number of studs who seemingly are on the IR (injured reserve) list this year. If they were all healthy, it would be quite a log jam just to make the final at USA. Those on the IR include Tiffany McWilliams, Shayne Culpepper and Nicole Teter. We were wondering if three time reigning US Champ Treniere Clement was injured but she appears to be healthy as she is racing this weekend in New York but she hasn't raced a legitimate 1,500 yet (Teter is running this weekend as well at Reebok in the 800 and rabbited last weekend).

The interesting thing about our rankings is that after Rowbury - nobody is a lock for the Olympic team. Thus it will be very exciting at the trials. It's also worth noting that two of our top 5 won't run this event at the trials. Without further ado, we give you our top 11 (don't ask us why we did 11 and not 10 - we just did), remember this is predicted current form - not what they've done or what they will do at the Trials.

#11 Jenelle Deatherage - DOB: 9/25/1977 PB: 4:07:87 (2004), 2008 Best: 4:08.84 Last Race: 4:08.84 2007 Best: 4:10.57 Looking at the stats, one might think the 30 year old Deatherage has little shot of making the Olympics. After all, she is 30 and hasn't PR'd since 2004. However, in 2004, she hadn't PRd since the previous Olympic year and she had an amazing OlympicTrials as she took her PR from 4:13.49 to 4:07.87. This year, Deatherage had a strong indoor campaign as she was 2nd at USAs. Outdoors, the good running has continued as she was 5th at adidas, one spot behind Gallo in 4:08.84. She certainly has a chance to do some damage at the trials.

#10 Sara Hall - DOB: 4/15/1983 PB: 4:08:99 (2007), 2008 Best: 4:07.93 Last Race: 4:25.26 2007 Best: 4:08.99
Hall is a rarity in the pro ranks - someone who actually has moved down to the mile. The change has been good for her as she was 5th at USAs last year and this year was the Millrose mile champ. In her last race, her inexperience in the mile showed as she went with the suicidal rabbit at the adidas Track Classic (61 first 400) and ended up dead last in 4:25. Prior to that, she finished ahead of Mortimer and behind Gallo at Stanford. She also has set an 800 PR this year.

#9 Treniere Clement - DOB: 10/27/1981 PB: 4:03.32 (2006), 2008 Best: 4:22.61 Last Race: 4:22.61 2007 Best: 4:05.68
How can we rank the reigning 3-time US champ so low? That's what we're asking ourselves. Clement historically doesn't race her first serious 1,500 of the year until this time of year but her early season results haven't done anything to impress us and we're wondering if something is wrong. Last year, she ran an 800 on May 12th in 2:01.50. This year she ran 2:05.25 on May 3rd in a race that was won in 2:02.40. It just seems like something is up and her 4:22.61 1,500 in April (which may have been a workout or something) doesn't ease those fears.

We'll find out soon. Clement may just be trying to be fresher for Beijing. She's running the 800 in New York this weekend. That should tell us a lot. If she looks good in New York, she's moving straight to the top 3.

#8 Brie Felnagle - DOB: 12/09/1986 PB: 4:08.54, 2008 Best: 4:08.54 Last Race: 4:08.54 2007 Best: 4:09.93
The collegiate leader has really had a strong 2008 campaign to follow up a great sophomore year last year. A 4:20 performer in HS, Felnagle struggled as a freshman as UNC (4:28 sb) but ran 4:09 last year to win NCAAs. She has already pr'd (4:08.54) this year in a race where second place was 4:16. With each passing week, she seems to be proving herself to be the Maria Sharapova of women's running as compared to her Anna Kournikova impersonation freshman year.

#7 Amy Mortimer - DOB: 8/16/1981 PB: 4:06:55 (2006), 2008 Best: 4:07.93 Last Race: 4:07.93 2007 Best: 4:07.23
The former Kansas State star is always a player in the women's 1,500 in the US. This year Mortimer seems to be doing well yet again as she ran a 4:07.93 in mid May in a low-key meet that was part of the Boston High Performance Series - fast enough to make her #3 in the US, but just short of the Olympic A standard.

4 years ago, Mortimer ran a PR of 4:11 to finish 9th in the Trials. If she PRs this year, she might just end up on the Olympic Team. She finished 3rd at the 2005 USA but lacked the A standard.

#6 Lindsey Gallo - DOB: 11/29/1981 PB: 4:05.75 (2005), 2008 Best: 4:08.43 Last Race: 4:08.43 2007 Best: 4:09.60
The former Michigan star ran 4:08.43 at adidas which puts her at #4 on the 2008 US list. She's certainly in the hunt for an Olympic birth. Last year, Gallo was 6th at USAs - just ahead of Mortimer thus it's appropriate that the two are right near each other on our list. We give her the edge over Mortimer even though Mortimer's seasonal best is slightly better simply because Gallo beat her when she got third at Stanford on May 4 in 4:13. From 4:13 to 4:08, her times certainly are coming down. Is she poised to finally break her 4:05.75 pr from 2005?

#5 Lauren Fleshman - DOB: 9/26/1981 PB: 4:05.62 (2007), 2008 Best: 4:09.22 Last Race: 4:11.66 2007 Best: 4:05.62
The Stanford grad is very talented. It's a bit hard to place her on the 1,500 list as she's herself more as a 5k runner (and the 1500, 5k double is impossible at the Trials), but we're trying to rank the US crop right now. All of the 5k training has paid off last year with huge PRs in the 1,500 for Fleshman, proving once again STRENGTH = SPEED. In the 1,500 in 2007, Fleshman ended up #2 on the US list with her PR of 4:05.62. A fantastic year for her at the shorter distance because prior to the year her PR was 4:11.27. Even more impressive, her pr at the end of 2005 was 4:13.63.

Fleshman ran 4:09.22 to win last week and is undefeated in the 1,500 for the year. Indoors, she ran one mile at the Boston Reebok meet and she finished 2nd in 4:33.46 - defeating 5 women who finished in the top 10 of the 1,500 at the 2007 USATF outdoor meet in the process (McWilliams, Hall, Gallo, Mortimer and Shadle).

#4 Erin Donohue - DOB: 5/8/1983 PB: 4:05.55 (2007), 2008 Best: -- Last Race: none (2:02.04) 2007 Best: 405.55
Donohue had a monster year in 2007 when brought her PR down from 4:14.57 to 4:05.55 and finished 3rd a the US champs to earn a spot on the world championship team. She also PRd in the 800 (2:01.12). So far in 2008, Donohue hasn't run the 1,500 yet but she's been running very well as she won the 800 at the adidas meet in LA in 2:02.04. Her two training partners (Flanagan and Rowbury) are basically unbeatable in the US so she's probably got a lot of confidence because of that.

#3 Christin Wurth Thomas - DOB: 7/11/1980 PB: 4:04.94, 2008 Best: 4:04.94 Last Race: 4:04.94 2007 Best: 4:07.86
The runner-up at last year's nationals has been running well in 2008. Indoors, she was the US champ at 1,500 before running an indoor pr of 4:10.56 in the rounds of worlds where she didn't advance. Outdoors, she PR'd at adidas with a 4:04.94. 4:04 is way ahead of what most of her other American rivals have run. So while she is way, way behind Rowbury, she's got to feel good about going to the Olympics.

#2 Shalane Flanagan - DOB: 7/8/1981 PB: 4:05.86, 2008 Best: -- Last Race: -- (30:34 10k) 2007 Best: 4:05.86
Remember this isn't a ranking of the top 10 best season's in the 1,500 in the US. This is a ranking of who would beat who if they raced - right now. Don't let the fact that Flanagan smashed the American record in the 10k earlier in the year make you think that she wouldn't run a good 1,500.

She's got good speed. Remember, her indoor 3k American record of 8:33.25 comes out to two 4:16 1,500s back to back. If she can run two Olympic Trials qualifiers back to back, she can certainly run a single fast 1,500 if she needed to.

Last year, she ran 4:05.86 - good for 4th fastest in the USA. But the key thing to remember is that her 4:05.86 came early in the year - at the Prefontaine Classic. In that race, she crushed many of the top 1,500 rivals - defeating the US Champ Clement by almost a full second. Look below to see who she beat below.

Flanagan is world class in the 10k. She's certainly national class in the 1,500. We'll take her talent. We could very easily see someone ranking her #3 but no lower than that.

#1 Shannon Rowbury - DOB: 9/19/1981 PB: 4:01.61 (2008) 2008 Best: 4:01.61 Last Race: 4:01.61 2007 Best: 4:34.94 mile
Coming into the year Rowbury might not have been in anyone's top 10. Now she is everyone's #1. The only way she loses to another American is if she is tripped.  How can we be so confident?  Rowbury ran a 4:01.61 at the adidas Track Classic in LA in May.  Her first time under the Olympic A standard of 4:07.00.  4:01 is REALLY GOOD for an American. To put it in perspective, one needs to realize that only four Americans have ever run faster and two of them are convicted drug cheats(Regina Jacobs and Mary Slaney). The last time that a non-drug cheat ran faster than 4:01.61 was September 8th, 2002 when Suzy Favor Hamilton ran 3:59.43.

Rowbury is certainly on fire in 2008 as her PR has come down almost 11 seconds (her PR coming into the year was 4:12.31 from 2006). She's also come down more than two seconds in the 800 (2:02.76 versus 2:04.96).

Women's 800
The top 3 in the women's 800 (Hazel Clark-Riley, Alysia Johnson and Alice Schmidt) seem to have a gap on their pursuers but there are some interesting subplots that could change things. (Can Nicole Teter resume her comeback? What about Kameisha Bennett-Martin?) This weekend 6 of the top 10 will be squaring off at the Reebok Grand Prix in NY so the rankings no doubt will change after this weekend.

The Olympic qualifying standard is 2:00.00

#10 Kameisha Bennett-Martin - DOB: 1/13/1981 PB: 1:59.99 (2005), 2008 Best: 2:02.94 Last Race: 2:02.94 2007 Best: NA
Benett-Martin joined the sub 2:00 club with a 1:59.99 in 2005 and then disappeared from the scene. No results in 2006 or 2007 (A reader has written to say Kameisha disappeared in 2006 and 2007 to get married and have a baby). Now she's back and trying to make up for lost time. She had a big improvement in her last race to get 3rd at the adidas meet. She's running at the Reebok Games in NYC this weekend versus a ton of the woman ahead of her (Teter, Uceny, Donohue,Clement, and Clark) so things could change this weekend.

#9 Nicole Teter - DOB: 11/8/1973 PB: 1:57.97 (2002), 2008 Best: 2:01.73i Last Race: 2:04.72i 2007 Best: 1:59.91
Teter set the running world on fire in 2002 running a 1:58.71 US record indoors, a 1:57.97 pr outdoors, and winning the Paris Golden League 1500. She broke 2 minutes last year outdoors, ran an impressive 2:01.73 indoors this year, and won the US indoors this year. She hasn't raced outdoors this season (she rabbited a 1500 last weekend in Oregon) but gets a big test this weekend at the Reebok meet.  She ran 2:04.46 last night and we haven't factored that in the rankings but it definitely wouldn't move her up in the rankings.

#8 Treniere Clement - DOB: 10/27/1981 PB: 1:59.15 (2007), 2008 Best: 2:05.35 Last Race: 2:05.35 2007 Best: 1:59.15
As we said in the 1500m preview we'll see if something is wrong with Clement this weekend at the Reebok Games in NYC as she's in the 800. She's only run 2:05 this year. Last year at Reebok she ran her 1:59:15 pr. A 2:01 or 2:02 here would erase all of our fears.

#7 Chanelle Price - DOB: 8/22/1990 PB: 2:02.38 (2007), 2008 Best: 2:02.90 Last Race: 2:02.90 2007 Best: 2:02.38
That date of birth is not a mistake ladies and gentleman. She's a high schooler. Price made the USATF finals last year as a high schooler, led the race for the first 600, and then held on for her 2:02.38 pr. She ran all alone to her 2:02.90 last weekend at the Pennsylvania state meet. She'll race the women at Pre next week and has an outside chance at the Olympics, but has to get down to 2:00:00 first.

#6 Morgan Uceny - DOB: 3/10/1985 PB: 2:01.75 (2007) 2008 Best: 2:02.17 Last Race: 2:02.17 2007 Best: 2:02.17
The Cornell grad prd when it counted last year (2:01.75) to get 4th at USATFs. She ran 2:02.17 a couple of weeks ago which is faster than she was running this time last year. She could jump up a few spots in the rankings as she races Donohue, Teter, Clement, Clark, and Green this weekend.

#5 Shannon Rowbury - DOB: 9/19/1981 PB: 2:02.76(2008) 2008 Best: 2:02.76 Last Race: 2:02.76 2007 Best: NA
Rowbury has been the breakout sensation in the US ranks at 1500 with her 4:01 this year. In her only 800 she ran 2:02.76. She probably could run faster now but it does not seem to be a priority.

#4 Erin Donohue - DOB: 5/8/1983 - PB: 2:01.12(2008) 2008 Best: 2:02.04 Last Race: 2:02.04 2007 Best: 2:01.12
The 1500 is Donohue's top event but she did win the 800 at the adidas meet last weekend in 2:02.04 and run 2:01 last year. There is a gap to the top 3 in the US in the 800, but Donohue finds herself #4 in the 800 and 1500 in the US ranks.

#3 Alice Schmidt - DOB: 10/3/1981 PB: 1:58.75 (2007), 2008 Best: NA 2007 Best: 1:58.75
Schmidt has yet to run the 800 this year but that must be a deliberate attempt to peak later in the year. Last year she ran a 1:58.75 pr at Pre and then only broke 2 minutes twice the rest of the year. Nonetheless, she's one of the big 3 in US 800m running and when she steps on the track at 800 (next week at Pre?) we think she'll be ready.

#2 Alysia Johnson - DOB: 4/26/1986 PB: 1:59.29 USAs (2007), 2008 Best: 2:00:57, Last Race: 2:00:57 2007 Best: 1:59.29
The NCAA and USATF champ last year appeared to not be as sharp in 2008, but maybe she was delaying her peak a little later in the season as now she is rounding into fine form at the right time. She got beat at NCAA indoors, then hadn't broken 2:05 outdoors, until she threw down a 2:00.57 at Pac 10s. The battle at USAs should be close between the top 3, but right now Johnson has the nod over Schmidt because she is race sharper.

#1 Hazel Clark-Riley - DOB: 10/3/1977 PB: 1:57.99 (2005), 2008 Best: 1:59.82 Last Race: 1:59.82 2007 Best: 1:59.07
Her family has dominated the US 800 ranks for quite a while and doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon. Hazel is a 3 time US champ and a 2 time Olympian. Her 1:59.82 win the last time out and undefeated season show she'll be a force at the Trials in a month. Her experience and her US leader put her rightfully atop the US ranks - for now - as Johnson appears to be the future of this event in the US.

We're sure we made a few errors as this is our first attempt at this.  Comments, suggestions? Email us at letsrun@letsrun.com

We rushed to put this up and didn't include photos. If anyone has some photos they'd like us to use, please email us.

Note: Our stats came from a combination of TrackandFieldNews.com US leaders lists, our own adjustments, and incredible individual stats at tilastopaja

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