What was the purpose of Tuohys ncaa racing tactic

You are correct - Valby had a slight negative split, while Tuohy had a ~25 second negative split. (0=> 3K compared to 3K => 6K)

Henes talks a little bit about the strategy here:

Cook admitted that they didnt go with valby simply because katelyn tuohy did not

katelyn's teammates was not the only one trusting katelyn with the pace, everyone trusted katelyn, and she only went off after the 4k mark(after not liking the 12 second gap) which we cant see on that video when she really started to separate from the pack

it was a very hilly course, if katelyn went with valby, it would affect everyone's race and it would be a different outcome, it could blow up her teammate's race who isnt used to the extremely fast opening pace, the nc state women powers the last k, that is how they've been winning races and that is how you run a cross country race, you stick with a pace you;re comfortable with and dont hit a wall in the last mile because thats when the racing starts

If katelyn ran with valby, the entire front pack would have gone too and it would force everyone to run a faster pace, that will make or break them in this course...

katelyn stayed until 4k+ .. truly believe katelyn could not have run this race any better, it was a master class run .. the pros also calls it "masterclass" -- so fun reading pro's burner accounts

Tuohy started picking it up before 4k because she was uncomfortable with the lead, she also interviewed about that. You can see it in the splits and on the unedited version of the race.

I meant to say *uncomfortable with the gap (having grown so big). She started moving in the 3k-4k range.

It happens all the time. Going out too hard and dying isn't some rare tactic.

Valby didn't die though, in this race. She stayed strong through the end. Tuohy's strategy was risky. 12 seconds is a lot. She said she even lost sight of Valby a few times.

From Henes interview and Tuohy's interview it sounds like Tuohy was more comfortable spotting Valby a gap and then working to close it, than taking it out hard. Maybe that is just how she wanted to manage her energy on this course. That's also how she has been practicing all season in the races.

Valby didn't die. She ran fairly even pace and finished 2nd in a very important race. Maybe I should have added that I was looking for cases were someone was caught but still finished top 5 or so.

Despite not going to run this course earlier in the season (where are all those who insisted they should have (and needed to)?) they knew exactly how they wanted to run it, and did that, and got the result they wanted.

Katelyn was not "sure" she was going to win. Priority number one was helping the team win the team championship. She let Valby get out ahead knowing that she might not be able to run her down later. She was fine with that. Her goal was to place as high as possible amongst all of the other runners in the race. Once she got to a point in the race where she felt as though she had guaranteed herself of not having a major problem, she took off from the field. She still did not know she was going to catch Valby at this point. She was just leaving everyone else. She probably realized pretty quickly how much ground she was making up and that probably let her know she had a very good chance to catch Valby. But that was still secondary to the team winning.

Nope. ur wrong, watch katelyn's interview

Everything was planned all along, kt and coach henes talked about the plan.. and where she would passvalby .. watch that last hill again.. you see how she powered through the last hill?? it was an epic sight and her teammate was beside her screaming

No, not the same thing. Valby didnt go out too fast at all. She kept her pace up perfectly according to what I see posted on her splits. Nas ran way to fast and collapsed miles from the finish. Tuohy ran a tactically inferior race (on paper) but was way too good. As far as i know 1500- 5000m running is not most efficient to run dramatically different paces in the middle of the race like Tuohy did. That would be a bad tactic. But again, she was too good to be denied.

BTW show one prediction anywhere in the world that said Tuohy would give Valby a 13 sec headstart only to run her down solo on tired legs despite Valby not slowing down?

Tuohy ran the way she did because Valby has pulled the same tactic every race this season. Granted, so did Tuohy, but Tuohy’s left more to question. How fast could she close if she was challenged? Honestly, that 12 seconds over 1k with Chelengat was the biggest indicator imo.

Valby running all out from the gun, and only beating Chelengat by 8-9 seconds gave Tuohy all the information she needed. Valby kicks in the 2nd or 3rd K and then holds it down.

I guess the only question left for Tuohy was will she come with me when I pass her, but obviously she couldn’t.

All this being said, Valby’s race was amazing. Running all that way on her own. You can see in the citius mag clip of Katelyn finishing it’s windy as hell.

I think Valby just showed all her cards in the Texas and SEC race. I still don’t think tuohy would’ve lost if Valby had held back in those races, but maybe she goes with her at a k.

You also have to think, in high school, Tuohy was Valby. She took off from the gun. She knows the mindset and the gears you are locked into when you try to measure your effort fast, but evenly. The grit we saw from tuohy at 2019 NXN to not get caught is really what valve needs to learn.

I’m pumped for the rest of the matchups this year!

This is the "lost" headline in that race. KT doesnt not adhere to mortal physiology. Valby did not blow up/go out too fast as everyone suggests. The fact that KT ran her down with PV running 3:15s is unbelievable. I would have bet anything Valby was running 3:30+ on that last 1.5 K.

What could Valby have done? Run slower so she has a better kick at the end? That would not have been a plan any of us would have suggested since Tuohy is far stronger (as Valby admitted in interview). I just don't know what she can do. Clearly the hills didnt slow her down. She laid down a blistering pace, got a gap and held on...still lost. Hope they run vs one another more than once next year.

You don’t run “all out” from the gun and have a slight negative split. This narrative is just not true. If the gap was 3-4 seconds larger by running the tangents, Tuohy runs out of real estate. We would have a different national champion and the convention would be similar to why she didn’t catch Roe in the 3000. The comments would be about why Tuohy had such a horrible race strategy.

Ok I’ll change it for you. Valby all out from 1k*. She had a 3-4 second negative split. About 14% of Tuohy’s ~25 seconds. She held back with the pack in the beginning.

also noted, henes claims she as never seen someone who learns as fast as tuohy and applies that knowledge so well. That race when she barely missed Taylor roe in the 3k has got to be engraved in her brain.

She did what her coach told her to do. It worked.

The narrative that she started or at any point was running an unsustainable pace just isn’t true. This wasn’t a Kiptoo, Stinson, or Nascimento run. This was a calculated and controlled slight negative split. Only thing she did wrong was running wide.

Tuohy is 50/50 so far on her race strategy. It is only a “master class” because it happened to workout this time.

I have Valby about 9:40-9:50 and Tuohy about 9:50-9:37.