LAGAT 1:02:33 for 12th at NYC half!!! Ritz 1:01:10 for 3rd.

put it in perspective though. cold day. slow start. it wasn't a fast race. winner finishes last 10k in 28:14 (4:32 pace) and his 4th 5k segment in 14:00 (4:30 pace). not many people can handle that in a 1/2 marathon, let alone Lagat who has never raced over 5k. if lagat ran his 62 and the winner ran 59:15 or something then he should be disappointed, but they all ran 'slow' and were never set up to run under 61 based on the first 10k. check out the splits. kipsang would have had to run the last 10k in 27:12 or something to break the hour barrier. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.you guys are silly

Tlox wrote:

Pretty disappointing debut. The race was set up for him to run really well, slow and tactical through Central Park. When Mo Farah debuted he was around 60-min, I think Geb was under 1hr and remember Geb was the Gold Medalist over 1500m(i) so similar background.

I am sure Lagat is disappointed. Knowing him, he probably thought he could dust everyone. But he was also misled.. him thinking he was fit by dropping a past-his-prime Abdi obviously meant nothing as Abdi ran 63-min.

At least no other race in the US is going to dish out $$ to lure Lagat with a 62-min Half. There are half a dozen other Americans faster and worth the spend. Lagat just didn't capitalize.

Meb's Half marathon debut was a 1:02:22, what's wrong with Lagat's being 1:02:33?

This is a guy who ran the last 800m in a 1500 in 1:46. What makes you think he'd be better than that at 13.1 miles. He doesn't even run 10,000s

WOW. Ever read Daniels' Running Formula? Many of you guys need to read up on the difference in physiology between the 13.1 distance and a 5K. It's all about duration. Lagat has never raced for longer than 13 minute 5Ks until now. For him to go from that all the way up to almost FIVE TIMES as long is VERY DIFFERENT. First, there's this thing called Lactate Threshold-the pace you can maintain all out for 1 hour. For Elite Half Marathoners, the lactate threshold is their 13.1 pace(or very close to it).

VO2MAX is a pace one can hold for about 3000-5000 meters. VO2MAX(Interval) Training is most important at these distances(in contrast to lactate threshold). 1500m racing relies on VO2MAX but also some pure speed/anaerobic power training. Threshold work really doesn't become important in training until you get to the 10K and beyond.

To put things into perspective, Lagat's best races have been 1500m-3000m, relying heavily on VO2Max and pure speed training. Maybe he will do some threshold work, but it wasn't the PRIMARY workout NEEDED to PERFORM as a top 1500m-3k guy. Even as Lagat jumped to the 5K, he was still focusing primarily on VO2MAX(Interval) training.

Again, once the duration gets closer to an hour, lactate threshold training becomes more important. Again, as I said before, Lagat's BEST races have been in the 1500m-5K range. I believe that every athlete has a range of where their best events are. Some are just freaks all around(Gebreselassie for instance still busted out a 3:40something mile). But you could tell that Geb was a dominant runner in the 10K, which I believe was his best event. Yes he ran 2:03:59 or whatever for the marathon, but I believe 26:22 is a stronger performance. This was Geb's prime. So for Lagat, the half marathon probably is getting close to the tail end of his "range." Ryan Hall is another example(but also I think Hall SHOULD work on his speed more) of someone who is a prime marathoner and not really a 5K guy. Compare Hall to Lagat and you will get near opposite runners in the distance running world.

Do I think it's good Lagat is racing 13.1s now that he is a bit older? YES. Do I think he ran very well on Sunday? YES.

1:02:33 is an outstanding performance if you look at how far he had to jump.

splendid. well written.

(though i think threshold workouts are of some importance even for middle distance guys.)

really sucks

What about Ritz? Good , bad, OK? I go with just OK, should not have let the Italian pass him. Salazar can't be happy about that.

ITBS wrote:

Lagat has never raced for longer than 13 minute 5Ks until now. For him to go from that all the way up to almost FIVE TIMES as long is VERY DIFFERENT.

Never? Didn't Lagat run xc when he was in college?

5kays wrote:

put it in perspective though. cold day. slow start. it wasn't a fast race. winner finishes last 10k in 28:14 (4:32 pace) and his 4th 5k segment in 14:00 (4:30 pace). not many people can handle that in a 1/2 marathon, let alone Lagat who has never raced over 5k.

if lagat ran his 62 and the winner ran 59:15 or something then he should be disappointed, but they all ran 'slow' and were never set up to run under 61 based on the first 10k. check out the splits. kipsang would have had to run the last 10k in 27:12 or something to break the hour barrier. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.

you guys are silly

^^this guy is on point.

you guys are clowns.

This race proved Lagat is not a distance runner.

Good observation that no other race will pay big $$ appearance fees for Lagat in the future. It's like coming to see a guy throw 100mph and he tops out at 92mph.

Good, but disappointing.

I don't care that he is 38. He is lining up as an equal, albeit it an equal with a failed drug test in his past.