Worst 1500 final ever

too bad Tom Hammond can't park his yap long enough for us to hear some spontaneous celebrations from Lamong...

And we all wonder why there is so little interest in our sport. Could it be because there is so little courage?

How about Jim Ryun 3.51+ solo leading dirt track? How about freshman German start to finish 2009 NCAA championship?

The worst one I saw was in Eugene, where Doug Padilla barely broke 14K to win the national title (or was it the Pre Meet, so long ago, I can't remember)... not one guy in the race tried to challenge him, and every guy running 30 seconds over his PR. It's like they were there for show. The weather was fine, the wind was slow, they set it up for Padilla to win. Why even run the race?

good lord wrote:

How many times has a mid level guy (Torrence for example) won on a kick against Olympians? Just as rare. As I said, why not just walk 1100 meters? Would that be ok for you guys? "Oh, it's tactical" Again, I have nothing against tactical races when they are done at an appropriate level. Going through 800 in 2:01-2:02 is still tactical, 2:15 is pathetic.

I know this is nitpicking one person, but Torrence did outkick Leo at Penn this year. Maybe he thought he could do something similar. Seemed like he was waiting to go for a while in the race today.

I've always though it would be interesting to turn the distance races into time trials. You run alone, fastest time wins. What could be more honest and require more guts?

good lord wrote:

understands wrote:

Another moron (actually you are probably the same one from the 5,000 and 10,000 threads) who knows NOTHING about top level racing.

Why not go out in 2:30 then? Why not just f***ing walk 1100 meters? Races like this are f***iing boring and honestly only benefit maybe 2-3 people in the field. The rest of the guys are the ones who know nothing about top level racing.

Then do yourself a favor... stop following the sport... move on to something you don't find boring. It will be better for you.

USA nationals winner would've finished 7th in this year's Division II national meet, would've been fifth in the NAIA meet ... still gotta check D3 to see if they could've handled that competition.

There are plenty of races that aren't borning most years at USA championships, most of these this year sucked. I love this sport just hate races like this. Sorry.

Even in Barcelona the field went through at 2:06

keepin em honest wrote:

The sad fact is that taking it out remains the classic tactical error

Please take up tiddly winks.

Wait, that was a 1500??? When I saw the times listed in the results, I thought they must have changed the distance to a mile. =)

Great Race.

Wondering in the West wrote:

USA nationals winner would've finished 7th in this year's Division II national meet

Really? Were there six guys in the Division II meet who could close in 51 off of that pace?

Not sure, but six guys ran faster than the winner, shouldn't happen. The D2 basketball player is not better than Kobe Bryant.

Shouldn't we expect the time to be faster than the D2 and NAIA races? If not, why time them, why not just run for fun?

keepin em honest wrote:

How often does the runner that keeps it honest actually win the race? What are some examples of someone winning a major championship that way?

ALso it doesnt count win the example features a runner who is far and away the strongest runner, i.e. Hicham El Guerrouj

This:

Wondering in the West wrote:

Shouldn't we expect the time to be faster than the D2 and NAIA races? If not, why time them, why not just run for fun?

Most of us enjoy the race more when we can get splits and finishing times for the runners, but I suppose it's not necessary. I think that cross country is a great sport to watch and participate in, even though the times are often almost meaningless and the course measurements are often highly questionable.

Of course, if times are so important to you, I suppose you could just declare the fastest time-trialist or treadmill runner to be the national champion, and dispense with the hassle and expense of holding an actual meet with actual races.

massively dissapointing race. i'm curious how anyone looking to take down manzano and lomong could have let it go that late. give centro an excuse cause he's young and the sit and kick worked for him at ncaa's to a degree. but pifer, teg, torrence? really, they thought they would place better in a 400 meter dash than in a 1000 meter dash? absolutely incredible.

i don't mean to sound like a hater. i love cheering for these guys and there's some incredible talent in that field. the race just wasn't fun to watch, and i'm shocked that so many people

taking it from far out may be disasterous in a 5k, in a 3k even. but a 1500 is hardly an endurance race. it's a sprint. sprint to your PR or at least to what the best shape you are in. honestly i think the benefit of 'sit and kick' is massively overplayed in pro miling. the guys who would've placed top 2 regardless of the race still placed top 2. it wasn't because they sat.

OK, if times aren't that important, props to the top 2 guys, but if you're a 3:30-something guy, heck a 3:40 something guy and this thing is plodding along, why not just take it out? What the heck, they're not picking teams for anything this year, might as well take it out and see what happens. If you die like a rock, so be it, at least you tried, by next week few except geeks like me will remember.

Coe-Ovett in Oly 1,500 final in 1980, I believe they went through 800 in 2:00, said holy sh-t and closed in 1:48. At some point when you see the slow 800 time and you're not favored to win, why not just take it out? No WC team to make (or miss), no Oly team either.

These are some of the most ignorant comments ever. How do you compare the div 2 and naia times? If any of these guys were in that race they would have killed those jokers. Time as not relevent in a championship race. If you dont like championships and you are so ignorant of the sport you claim as your own then dont watch. Try watching the positioning. Try watching all of the little things that happen. If you can't see it then blame your own ignorant ass and get clue. This is NOT why our sport is not watched. Ignorance and presentation may be though.