Jackson Spencer wants to 8:30 at Arcadia this weekend - Can he do it?

I think Jackson Spencer has earned the right to not be doubted at this point.

Maybe he does it and maybe he doesn’t but he has met every challenge in front of him. Let’s just enjoy watching him take on another, no?

Jackson competes against the best and brings out the best in others. Great competitor.

Evening temps in the low/mid 60s. Rain unlikely. A touch breezy but nothing crazy.

The upside of a giant field is the top guys will go out fast to avoid getting tangled up or running in lane 4 for the first mile.

8:30 is aggressive, but conceivable for a kid with Jackson's talent.

8:30 3200m equals 8:33 2mile.

Seems like a tall order in early April. Late May? Different story.

Jackson is an absolute beast, and while 8:30 is a very tall order, who even knows what he’s capable of at this point?! I’m excited to watch.

Finn Gessner ran 8:47 here in 2017 and he had the leg speed of a snail not to mention a drinking problem. Sub 8:30 is very doable for Spencer.

What is even the point of this post

I have a right to doubt him on the track. He's proven himself in xc, there's nothing I can say. But I think Mantecon is stronger on the track than he is and he has a better chance at running 8:33-35, his closing speed doesn't seem like something Spencer can handle on the track. And the other runners like Nauman who could beat Spencer in the mile don't have the aerobic development that Mantecon has. I think a few runners can beat Spencer in a mile, and I'll be expecting to him skip out on major national mile races like Brooks and Hoka.

Did you miss the post that said Spencer ran a 47 400 and 1:49 800? I would be very surprised if he doesn't have strong closing speed.

Very solid he is proving me wrong with these fast splits. I think Mantecon can match the 800, the Culpepper kid just ran open 800 in 1:50 after running 4:05 the day before. Mantecon closed his 4:00 mile race at Nike Indoor Nationals in a 56.x while looking around. What is Spencer gonna do close it in 55? The Mile is a more random race, once people are this close in ability anybody can win.

Owen Powell ran 1:46 last year and still avoided facing Nauman in the mile at Hoka and Nike Nationals because he knew it was a gamble. He got to preserve his undefeated streak in the mile/2 mile.

Spencer is the favorite at Arcadia but Mantecon is gonna be on his shoulder all the way to the line. He’s going to avoid racing the mile like Simmons did his senior year and focus on breaking 13:40 in a pro race. He’s no threat in the mile to a Winders type who can run 1:46 in the open 800 or a 2025 Nauman I’m sorry. But 2 mile/5k Spencer can be undefeated this season.

I don’t think 2026 Nauman is gonna be able to beat his PR’s from last year, we’ll see though. Just haven’t seen any indicators he’s on that level from last year yet.

Mantecon will crush everyone in the final 800.

16 years old and running 8 min for 3k is crazy fast.

Lets see him do it in a pair of spikes from 2003

If not Jackson someone may go under 8:30. Stacked race and all the Colorado boys came to represent.

Runners targeting specific records really care little about conversions. Just get the mark that counts, let the board on Let's Run talk about other distances.

What they do care about though are en route times that actually count for other records. It's too bad Arcadia isn't simply 2 miles, with en route at 3000 and 3200. This would give the kids who fly out there 3 official times for their pr list.

That's what Jane Hedengren thought last year but the timing company was too incompetent to set up the 3k timer correctly. Doesn't anyone double-check these things?

Actually, an 8:26.01 or faster for 3200 would count as a hs record for 2 miles, as both Jack Shepard's HS Annual & T&FN do convert 3200 times up to 2 miles by adding 3.4 seconds.

curious why 4:01 miler and sophomore NXN qualifier ABDIHATIR NASSAN from SOMALIA is not in this race when his teammate AYUUB HASSAN from the SAME HIGH SCHOOL is in the race

- rich old racer

Actually no, a 3200 time NEVER counts as a 2 mile record, even if the 3200 time converts to a 2 mile time that's faster than the 2 mile record. You can NOT get a 2 mile record unless you actually run 2 miles.