Jim Ryun 1500m 1968 the VIDEO!

It is certainly an exciting race to watch.

I understand the whole Ryun running his race and what not. But running his own race never even gave him a chance at winning. Keino looked dominant the whole race almost as if he was out doing a time trail by himself.

... and the next time they ran against each other ...?

Thank you for bringing this race to this site.

I have been searching for this race on the internet everywhere. I am so glad someone put it up, it is fantastic to finally see this race in its entirety.

I hope the Olympic henchmen don't pull if off youtube.

awesome video thanks for the link - now all we need is to see Bayi v Walker 74 Commonwealth Games 1500.

Went out too slow, had to pass a pack on the turn during the 3rd lap, and then had to battle Tummler. Even knowing the result seeing him get 2nd was a surprise.

I get the feeling that the US runners were encouraged to run from the back. Ryun shouldve moved with Keino up to the front.

Then again, how many 56" 400m reps had Keino run at similar altitude? He was ready.

I don't know if it is the quality of the video or not, but Jim Ryun has the most beautiful stride I have ever seen.

I don't want to be brutal, but anyone who criticizes Ryun for having run a dumb or too-cautious race frankly doesn't have a clue as to what they're talking about. Ryun ran a brilliant and courageous race; the only problem was that Keino ran completely out of his head--by far, the fastest performance of his life at the distance. And at 7300 feet. For an idea of what the experts thought the '68 race would be--or at least, what it would have been at sea level, look on Youtube for the 1967 London race between Ryun and Keino. That race tells quite a bit.

old tymer wrote:I don't want to be brutal, but anyone who criticizes Ryun for having run a dumb or too-cautious race frankly doesn't have a clue as to what they're talking about.

You are completely correct!! It's upsetting to read these totally stupid, ignorant posts that criticize Ryun without knowing one lick of the circumstances.

old tymer wrote:

I don't want to be brutal, but anyone who criticizes Ryun for having run a dumb or too-cautious race frankly doesn't have a clue as to what they're talking about. Ryun ran a brilliant and courageous race;

Dr. Jack Daniels was the first one to congratulate Ryun after the race and told him what a great race he had run. The general thought was that a sub 3:40 was not possible at that altitude. What Kip did was just super human.

The physiologists were wrong. Runners trained at altitude are not necessarily limited at altitude over a race 3.5 minutes duration. Keino had already demonstrated his fitness in Mexico City. If you are Keino, why let the pace stay slow? And if you are Ryun (top form or not), why let Keino run off by 20m+?

Ryun had more likely overtrained attempting to acclimate at Lake Tahoe. Respiratory infections and Mono are common results to those new to training or racing at high elevation, and Ryun was especially vulnerable given his asthma. I know Jordan and Daniels did the best they could do based on the knowledge available at the time.

To say Ryun ran suboptimal race tactics in 1968 is not at all a comment on his abilities. The 3:51 solo on dirt in 1967 was one of the greatest performances of all-time. And his Olympic performances hardly the sum of his career.

yes dsrunner, you are correct.

Almost every runner in the race ran significantly slower than their PR despite a solid pace because they felt like it, not because of the altitude.

Keino wasn't affected as much by the altitude because he was born at altitude and has the whole generations of family members living at altitude thing going for him (=adaptation).

Sea level runners, even trained at altitude, still show a significant drop in performance when competing in a race that lasts 3.5 minutes.

Watching that tape closely, I was amazed that Keino actually opened up nearly 10 additional meters on the hard-kicking Ryun in the last 200m. He was unstoppable that day.

Mountain Mazungo wrote:

Watching that tape closely, I was amazed that Keino actually opened up nearly 10 additional meters on the hard-kicking Ryun in the last 200m. He was unstoppable that day.

We can absolutely agree on that. But it wasn't because he ran "poorly" that Ryun got 2nd.

wish running was like that now

that just made my night. thanks for putting that up! I'm glad I finally got to see it! Great races by both men.

That last kick by Keino was unbelievable. Ryun looked like he was gaining on the back stretch and Keino found another gear.