The Week That Was In Running - February 21-27, 2011
To read last week's LRC Week That Was, click Here.
To read any 2010 LRC Week That Was, click Here.
By LetsRun.com
March 1, 2011
Let's Start Things Off With A Haile G Joke
A lot to talk about from last week, but we'll start with a joke to lighten the mood. The joke comes at Haile Gebrselassie's expense, but even he loved the joke. And, honestly, the fact that he loves the joke shows us why he is beloved throughout the world. Not too many men or women can laugh at their own expense.
Now we know some of you refuse to watch videos as you don't have time, so we'll give you a text version of the joke (which we've edited slightly so it sounds better in English), which was told to Haile by an Ethiopian journalist and appears on Ethiotube.net.
Haile G Laughs At His Own Expense
A robber enters Haile's (Gebrselassie's) house ... and Haile wakes up from sleeping. Since Haile has a military background (he was a member of the Police Sports Club) and since Haile received an honorary military rank of Major, Haile goes outside to try to defend his property.
The robber flees and Haile runs after him, but can't catch him ...
Haile stops running and shouts, "I know who you are. Kenenisa, come back."
*****
2011 USA Indoors - Jenny Barringer (Simpson) Is Back? ... Where Did She Go?
"Take that everyone who thought I wasn't going to be back. ... Whenever you have any bump in the road, whether it's two weeks or two
years, there are so many naysayers. Let it fuel you. Don't take it
personally. Go out and prove them wrong."
- Jennifer Simpsontalking to theColorado Springs Gazette after completing the mile/3,000 double at 2011 USA indoor meet. As fans, LetsRun.com is certainly excited to see Simpson, who is one of just five American women to ever have broken 4:00 for 1,500, to be back racing at a high level. However, doubling up on a watered-down field at USAs doesn't prove to us that
she's back in a big in a world-class way.
The real news at USAs would have been if Simpson hadn't completed the double. The fact of the matter is in the 3,000, not a single woman had a PR within 10 seconds of Simpson, and in the mile, only two women in the final at USAs had a PR within 10 seconds of Simpson's, with the closest being 8.65 seconds slower.
3,000 PRs Of 3k Finalists At USAs
(Runners listed in order of finish at USAs)
1. Jenny Simpson New Balance 8:42.03
2. Sara Hall Asics 8:52.35
3. Allie Kieffer Sun Elite 9:08.13
4. Mindy Sullivan unattached 9:25.73
5. Stephanie Pezzullo unattached 9:19.00
6. Erin Dromgoole New Balance Boston 9:18.71
1,500 PRs Of Mile Finalists At USAs
(Runners listed in order of finish at USAs)
1. Jenny Simpson, New Balance, 3:59.90
2. Heidi Dahl, New Balance, 4:09.75
3. Gabriele Anderson, TmUSA
Mn/Brooks, 4:12.06
4. Sara Hall, Asics, 4:08.55
5. Lauren Bonds, adidas Raleigh Track Club, 4:14.29
6, Karly Hamric, RIADHA, 4:13.54
7.
Frances Koons, New Balance, 4:12.6h
8. Annick Lamar, NYAC, 4:21.38
Imagine if we'd started this section by telling you that a 4:17/9:22 high school boy was racing a 4:25/9:30 high school boy in a 3,000, you'd certainly expect the 4:17/9:22 boy to win nearly every single time, as he's got a better 3,200 time and is way faster at the mile as well. Well, that's exactly what the matchup between Simpson and Sara Hall was like in the 3,000. If that same runner came back the next day and won the 1,600 against a field that included no one with a PR
faster than 4:25, you wouldn't be amazed.
Our point? It's great to see Simpson back in good form and it's even better that she didn't just blow off USAs like so many top pros, but her double doesn't yet prove she's truly back at world-class level.
The other big story coming out of USA indoors was the fact that reigning world indoor champ Bernard Lagat easily dispatched Galen Rupp in the men's 3,000. Lagat seems basically unbeatable indoors at 3k. Last year, when Lagat won World Indoors, we said he was "utterly brilliant."
This one was "utterly smooth." In case you were busy following the NCAA action last weekend, we present to you the
mid-d and distance final results in the table below.
As for Rupp, we commend him for trying to take down the indoor king. We also feel a bit sorry for him. After all, last week he was planning on taking a crack at the American 10,000-meter record in New Zealand before that meet was cancelled due to the earthquake. What a bummer.
Rupp could have called it a season; instead he flew 8,000 miles back to the US to take on Bernard Lagat. On the homepage of LetsRun.com, upon hearing Rupp was racing Lagat, we quickly published "We know how this one ends 10 times out of 10." After reading that headline, one of the co-founders of LRC became enraged and yelled at his computer. Phone calls were placed and the headline was changed to "Galen is going to have a real tough time matching Lagat over the last 200m."
After watching the race, perhaps we should have kept the original headline. Bernard Lagat is absolutely stunning at the end of his races, especially the 3,000m, and he made it look super-easy (to watch the last lap, click here, hit play, and go to the 7:30 mark of the video).
A more interesting question is why didn't Rupp stay in Australia for the 5,000m this Thursday with Lagat, Solinsky and Tegenkamp? It's impossible to argue with Rupp's success the last three years. However, his approach is far from traditional. He raced in Germany three weeks ago for 5,000m, three weeks ago in the UK for 5,000m and was supposed to race this last weekend in New Zealand for 10,000m. He was already in Australia when the 10,000m was cancelled.
When Rupp decided to fly back to the US mid-week and race Lagat at 3,000m, we assumed he was doing so just because he wanted to get one more race in to take advantage of his fitness before taking a long break to gear up for the outdoor season. However, now apparently Rupp will announce on Wednesday he is racing the NYC half marathon next month. If his winter season is being extended, staying in Australia to race 5,000m would seem to be the more logical decision. If you've got any theories on this, either email
us or post them in this thread.
MEN
800m:
Final (27):
1. Duane Solomon, Saucony 1:48.03
2. Tetlo Emmen, unattached 1:48.35
3. Mark Wieczorek, unattached 1:48.38
4. James O'Brien, Indiana Invaders 1:49.09
5. Mark Husted, unattached 1:50.42
DQ Jacob Hernandez, Nike
Mile (27):
1. Jeff See, Saucony 4:04.63
2. Aaron Braun, McMillan Elite 4:04.83
3. Garrett Heath, Saucony 4:04.91
4. Rob Myers, Saucony 4:07.18
5. Kyle Miller, Nike 4:09.34
6. Tommy Schmitz, Wisconsin RRT 4:14.29
7. Joshua McAdams, New Balance 4:23.32
3,000m (27):
1. Bernard Lagat, Nike 7:57.17
2. Galen Rupp, Nike/Oregon TC Elite 7:59.91
3. Aaron Braun, McMillan Elite 8:02.59
4. Brent Vaughn, Nike 8:09.45
5. Scott Smith, McMillan Elite 8:18.45
6. Jeremy Johnson, Brooks 8:21.52
7. Jeff See, Saucony 8:23.29
8. Derek Scott, Puma 8:25.22
9. Trevor Dunbar, Portland 8:29.85
DNF - Kyle Alcorn, Nike
DNS - Chris Barnicle, New Balance
Most of the people who visit LetsRun.com are runners or ex-runners. And the vast majority of runners like to dream - and most dreams are very similar.
Runners dream that one day they'll have an amazing breakthrough. Runners also dream that in the future they will not give in to doubt and push harder - push their bodies to the absolute maximum.
Well, let us introduce you to the ultimate embodiment of that dream - Japan's Yuki Kawauchi.
Josephat Menjo was a letsrun.com cult hero in 2010, but in 2011Kawauchi is our new hero. And the 23-year-old may keep that status for eternity.
Kawauchi is a guy who couldn't keep up with the very best in workouts in high school so he dropped out of the Japanese system. He went to an academically-oriented school and trained on his own. After college, he got a full-time job which he still has and which only allows him to train once a day.
In 2009, the 13:59/29:02 guy ran 2:17:33 in the marathon. The next year, he chopped almost four minutes off as he ran 2:12:36 last year in Tokyo. Last week, amazingly he chopped almost another three minutes off to run 2:08:37, passing out just after he crossed the finish line.
You absolutely must read Japan Running News accounts of Kawauchi's exploits:
Also please enjoy the last 6.5 km of Kawauchi's inspiring run. The best part is between minutes 6 and 9 minutes, when his shocking pass of two more accomplished runners draws a gasp from the announcers and slow-motion replays. Well, that and the last minute when he loses consciousness at the finish line.
If you don't read or watch the stuff above, at least take home some words of wisdom below from Kawauchi - who is now being called the "Rocky" of the marathoning world.
Kawauchi On Not Being Able To Keep Up In High School "Even in high school," he says, "I couldn't keep up with the workouts, so I dropped out of the Japanese system. I want to do things the way I like, and it works for me. I showed them that even as an amateur you can
still get it done."
Kawauchi On Not Being Afraid To Run Himself To Death
"This was my sixth marathon, and the fifth time I've ended up in the
medical area," he smiles. "Every time I run it's with the mindset that
if I die at this race it's OK."
As good as Yuki Kawauchi's performance was in Japan, it was nowhere near the biggest marathon PR of the week. The biggest PR of the week belongs to former Chilean miner Edison Pena, who ran 32-minute best by running 5:08:19 in Tokyo, smashing his previous best of 5:40:51 from New York.
As good of a story Pena's marathoning naturally makes, one thing that makes it even better is the fact that Pena - unlike so many charity runners in the US - is actually concerned with trying to cross the finish line as fast as possible and run the whole marathon.
Gallowalkers take a look at this quote that Pena gave the AP:
"It was not like the New York Marathon. I didn't walk; I ran the entire time."
*****
Alan Webb's Struggles Continue/Quote Of The Week #1 (That Wasn't Quote Of The Day)
"I
have told Alan, 'You're no different than any of my other runners.' We
dont worry about losing some races. The goal is to compete well and win
the big races.
But
that also means were not scared to run some races where we might be at
a disadvantage because we're training through it, or we're not quite
ready to run against guys who are more ready. It's better than a
workout, but it still is a workout type of situation."
- Alberto Salazar, talking in a Track and Field news piece that came out last Monday (2/21/11) about his plans for Alan Webb. In our minds, the advice is right on the money. The advice came in handy, as Webb later in the week went on to run only 1:52 for 800 in New Zealand. Yes, we'll admit it may be hard intellectually to understand how a 1:43 800 runner can only be running
1:52 (one thing to realize is it was apparently very windy in New Zealand),
but Webb fans need to realize that in the end, it doesn't really matter what Webb runs in February. Webb needs to be great in August, not February. Remember last summer? Webb began his post-injury comeback with a 1:52 800 on August 15th and just
over two weeks later, he ran 1:48 for 800 and just a week after that, he ran 3:36.21 and just a couple of weeks later, he ran 3:53 for the mile.
In that same meet that Webb ran 1:52 in New Zealand, Nick Willis won the mile in 3:58.4 after he received his Olympic silver medal. Even better than Willis' win was how all of the milers who pitched in last week and worked together to help raise money for the Earthquake victims in New Zealand. The competitors on the track got together off of it to make a nice earthquake relief video. Also in the race, some
of the guys helped
break the wind for Willis. Well done to Nick, all the athletes involved, and the organizers of the Earthquake relief meet! If you'd like to donate to the cause, you still can here.
Quote Of The Week #2 (That Wasn't Quote Of The Day)
"A drama queen? Bryan English, the British team doctor back then, told me (Paula Radcliffe) could have died that day if she had carried on."
- Ian Chadband writing a column in The Telegraph where he talks about his desire to see Paula Radcliffe win Olympic gold in 2012. Radcliffe is actually seen by some in Britain to be a drama queen, as her DNF in Athens is viewed by them as being overly melodramatic. Those that doubt and/or criticize Radcliffe don't
know her as - trust us - we've spent some significant time around her and there is no one tougher, as shown by the doctor's comments above.
*****
Labor Crisis Hits The NFL World Of Track & Field
We're not sure where we stand on the NFL labor dispute but we know where we stand in the dispute in Kenya, where Athletics Kenya (AK) is clashing with many of its top runners. We stand firmly behind the runners.
Last week, AK dropped Leonard Patrick Komon from the World Cross-Country team because rather than stay and train for World Cross in AK's camp, which is famous for burning people out, he decided he'd rather go to Puerto Rico and chase $30,000 at the World's Best 10k. In the end, Komon ended up 4th in 28:05 and netted $6,000, which is a bit more than he would be likely to take home at the World Cross Championships unless he placed in the top 5 individually (unless the Kenyan
government kicks in some extra cash). At World XC, the winning team of 6 splits $20,000 ($3,333.33 per person) and only the top 6 individuals get individual money (1st gets $30,000, 6th gets $3,000).
Track world champions Linet Masai and Vivian Cheruyiot backed down to AK's demands that they not race in Puerto Rico. We wish stars like Masai and Cheruyiot had raced, as they are so good it would have been interesting to see what AK did then. Are they really going to suspend their two best runners and send a totally sub-par team to Worlds?
We stand behind Komon even though we here at LetsRun.com think that one of the problems with track and field is that it's basically a free agent affair 365 days of the year where no one really has control over the runners except maybe the shoe companies, as no governing body pays the bills (look at all of the star US runners that skipped USA indoor last week). It is LetsRun.com's position that track and field needs more structure, but the idea of governing bodies controlling the runners
while not paying the bills is ridiculous.
Athletics Kenya's notion that people not chase dollars prior to a major championship is a well-intentioned one. However, the runners are likely to know what is in their best interest better than Athletics Kenya. The thing that we really are upset about is the idea that AK wants all Kenyan runners to forsake their individual coaching and training and join their training camp before major championships. That idea is just totally antiquated. A reasonable compromise would be no
races between the Kenyan Trials and the World Champs in exchange for being allowed to train on their own.
And we'll repeat again our foolproof solution to AK's current problems, which we've offered in the past. AK, you can save face by just holding the Kenyan Champs as late as possible - like two weeks before the World Champs (the IAAF may want the names earlier so this late may not be possible) - and get rid of a training camp all together. Add the money spent on the training camp to the prize money at the national champs.
So you just have the trial race and then let the athletes rest up and race again at Worlds. No training camp needed. They'll get themselves in great shape for the Trials and it will carry over to Worlds.
In the near future, we may see who is winning the battle - the runners or AK - as Kenya's national champ Geoffrey Mutai still hasn't showed up for camp, nor has he officially been kicked off the Worlds team.
But the fact that Kenya is a bit screwed up and not operated like your typical Western country isn't all bad for running fans. After all, if it were operated like the US, there is little chance that Sammy Wanjiru's attempted murder charges would be dropped like they were last week in Kenya.
2011 World's Best 10k Results - Men
1. Sammy Kitwara, 24, KEN 27:35 $20,000 + 10,000i
[8:14 / 21:59]
2. Dejen Gebremeskel, 21, ETH 27:45 PB 12,000 + 10,000i
[8:14 / 22:06]
3. Lelisa Desisa, 21, ETH 28:02 PB 8,000
[8:14 / 22:18]
4. Leonard Patrick Komon, 23, KEN 28:05 6,000
5. Joseph Ebuya, 23, KEN 28:07 4,000
6. Moses Masai, 24, KEN 28:28 3,000
7. Wilson Chebet, 25, KEN 28:36 2,500
8. Yakob Yarso, 23, ETH 29:00 2,000
9. Shadrack Kosgei, 26, KEN 29:02 1,500
10. Hicham Bellani, 30, MAR 29:25 1,000
11. Shawn Forrest, 27, AUS 29:51
12. Luis Soto, 32, PUR 31:06
i = Earned time bonus for sub-28:00
2011 World's Best 10k Results - Women
1. Sentayehu Ejigu, 21, ETH 31:50 DB $20,000 +
[9:27 / 25:28]
2. Dire Tune, 25, ETH 31:51 12,000
[9:27 / 25:27]
3. Atsede Habtamu Besuye, 23, ETH 31:54 8,000
[9:27 / 25:27]
4. Grace Momanyi, 29, ETH 32:06 6,000
5. Risper Gesabwa Biyaki, 22, KEN 32:35 4,000
6. Zhor El Kamch, 37, MAR 33:02 3,000
7. Amane Gobena, 24, ETH 33:17 2,500
8. Tigist Tufa, 23, ETH 34:04 2,000
9. Kebebush Haile, 24, ETH 34:20 1,500
10. Beverly Ramos, 23, PUR 34:40 1,000
11. Berhane Adere, 37, ETH 34:56
12. Malika Mejdoub, 28, MAR 35:17
13. Maria Del Pilar Diaz Padro, 29 36:24
Last week, most of the major NCAA power conferences held the conference indoor track and field meets. Some results appear below, more results available here.
SEC:Results*Florida Men, LSU Women Win SEC Indoor Titles *James Kirani Runs 44.80 World Junior Record At 400m
Big 12: *Results*German Fernandez Is Back Fernandez dominated the men's mile and came back for 2nd in 3,000m. Nebraska women and Texas A&M men won the meet.
Big 10 Results:Men, Women The Ohio State women won their first-ever championship and Minnesota men won their third straight.
Day 1: Andy Bayer won the 3k and got 2nd in the mile. ACC: Results The Virginia Tech men and Clemson women dominated.
Heps:Men, Women The Princeton men crushed it as Cornell was a strong second, but the
rest of the league combined would have lost to Princeton. The Princeton
women edged Columbia.
MPSF (pseudo PAC-10): Results The big news was Oregon's 9:26.78 DMR, the #2 time in NCAA history. Elliott Heath 4:00 mile, Jordan Hasay 4:35.
Stockholm: World Junior Records Galore*Results
Abubaker Kaki (2:17) went out too fast in his world record attempt (25.5) but still won in the 1k (2:17.55) as Meseret Defar (8:36.91) triumphed in the 3,000m, as American Shalane Flanagan 8:39.18 (#3 time for an American) came up short in her AR attempt. In the 1500, Abeba Arigawi
crushed the reigning world indoor champ with a 4:01.47 and moved up to #10 all-time and announce herself as a potential future star as Morgan Uceny ran 4:05.35 (#4 all time US). The junior records belonged Angelica Bengtsson in the pole vault (4.63). *MB Thread
Looking Ahead (Time To Start Getting Excited For ...)
This Weekend: NCAA Last Chance Meets, European Indoors
Next Weekend: NCAA Indoors, National Scholastic Indoors
Two Weeks From Now: World Cross-Country, NYC Half Marathon
-Brett Larner describing the amazing 2:08:37 3rd-place finish by AMATEUR runner Yuki Kawauchi
Sunday at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon. Kawauchi, a 13:59 5k guy and 29:02
10k guy, has a full-time job and has purposely avoided the Japanese
collegiate and corporate Ekiden system. Message
board thread on him here.
-Galen Rupp and Bernard Lagat
talking about their pre-race strategies for the US Indoor Champs 3k,
which Lagat won, putting 2 seconds on Rupp in the last 200m. Rupp
planned to make a move and Lagat's plan was to go with him.
-Haile Gebrselassie's manager Jos Hermens,
who flew to Japan to announce Gebrselassie would not be running this
weekend's Tokyo Marathon because he fell last week in training and
injured his knee.
-Number
of winners of the men's Kenyan Cross-Country Trials over the last five
years that have gone on to finish as the top Kenyan runner at the World
Cross-Country Championships. It's clear to us that the Kenyan training
camps just wear people out, but no one in Kenya seems to listen. Read
this type of analysis in our weekly recap each and every week, only on
LetsRun.com.
-Russell Brown
talking about his mile win against a stud field at the New Balance
Grand Prix earlier this month. His 3:54.81 gave him the world lead, put
him No. 8 on the US all-time indoor list, and gave him the confidence to
continue on with what had previously been a frustrating professional
career.
-Renato Canova, famed coach of many of the top runners in the world, but not the hottest runner in the world, Geoffrey Mutai, who is self coached (we reported erroneously yesterday
that Mutai was coached by Canova). Canova's quote above was recommended
by two different people, including a prominent
American coach, as Quote of the Day, which has never happened before on
LetsRun.com. Canova also had the Quote of the Day yesterday. We don't
think anyone has ever had the Quote of the Day three days in a row.