Ben Saarel will be one of America's best soon

Buckbee wrote:

German Fernandez ran 7:47, 3:55, 13:25 and won Jr cross nationals and the NCAA 1500 as a young freshman. Never say it will be a definite, fernandez's talent was as good or better than saarel.

Glad someone finally chimes in and adds some reality to the conversation. Before anointing him the future of American distance running, how about we let the kid get through his frosh year, learning how to race better competition, learning how to race longer distances, all the while balancing the rigors of college and tougher training. He's only 18 and a lot can go wrong between now and the time he's "supposed" to be reaching international racing status. I wish the kid the best, and will cheer for him always, but lets tame expectations for the moment.

7:57's a fine time for a redshirt frosh. What you have to see is the difference between true and redshirt, the championship potential of a runner who already could close in 54 in a 2M in hs, and that many run close to 8, but very few make that breakthrough to low 7:50s. Ten more seconds over three years and he becomes among the best ever in the ncaa at the distance. Now German was a tremendous prospect (today he has a 3:34 pr from one of his only healthy races in Europe), but just could not stay healthy. Saarel is healthier at this stage and may have the same range but even better speed. But it takes years of health and improvement before he can count on an American stage where there are many guys under 7:40 already this indoor campaign.

He is attending Colorado, there are no rigors.

uphill run wrote:

Before anointing him the future of American distance running, how about we let the kid get through his frosh year, learning how to race better competition, learning how to race longer distances, all the while balancing the rigors of college and tougher training..

Since he apparently plans on majoring in Physics, rigors there will be. But also if you don't think an intelligent young person can seek out and find an excellent education at a place like CU, then I'm afraid you know little about such large state universities.

coach d. wrote:

He is attending Colorado, there are no rigors.

uphill run wrote:

Before anointing him the future of American distance running, how about we let the kid get through his frosh year, learning how to race better competition, learning how to race longer distances, all the while balancing the rigors of college and tougher training..

the anti-rojo wrote:

number ln e wrote:

the mile's not a distance race when you run it in 4 minutes

Yes it is.

The mile is considered middle distance. That puts it in the same category as the 5k, which is obviously a distance event.

This chart is helpful for understanding:

uphill run wrote:

Buckbee wrote:

German Fernandez ran 7:47, 3:55, 13:25 and won Jr cross nationals and the NCAA 1500 as a young freshman. Never say it will be a definite, fernandez's talent was as good or better than saarel.

Glad someone finally chimes in and adds some reality to the conversation. Before anointing him the future of American distance running, how about we let the kid get through his frosh year, learning how to race better competition, learning how to race longer distances, all the while balancing the rigors of college and tougher training. He's only 18 and a lot can go wrong between now and the time he's "supposed" to be reaching international racing status. I wish the kid the best, and will cheer for him always, but lets tame expectations for the moment.

I said if he stays healthy. Please people. read my post before saying I'm jumping to conclusions. I know there are a lot of things that could happen.

I'm extremely impressed with this young man, and the other two CU guys to dip under 8. Looked strong. I hope Sareel stays healthy and continues to improve. He has a long road ahead of him which will take some diligent and serious work if he wants to be where we all want him to be. G'luck fellas, keep at it.

German was almost definitely more talented than Saarel, but Saarel has the better coach. German was probably the most talented guy in US distance running history if he could stay healthy. German had 12:52-ish type talent. I think it's fine to expect big things with Ben Saarel assuming no injuries. If he ends up chronically banged up like Fernandez, obviously it won't go over as well.

Now I am firmly convinced that most of the trolls on Letsrun have never run a race at all. Thank you for that revelation.

the anti-rojo wrote:

[qu

And unless he was front-running, the wind is a non factor.

Actually, Lukas Verzbicas was probably the best high school distance runner. 8:29 two mile, which is still the American record. Sub-4 mile. Two Footlocker National Cross Country Championships where he destroyed the competition and jogged the last several hundred meters to finish in 14:59, as well as his win in the Nike Cross National Invitational. Some people will say, "Oh, but he isn't really an American because he was born in Lithuania." As if Lithuania is known for its distance running. And he came to the U.S. when he was nine years old. I maintain that if he had stuck with running instead of the triathlon (where he has been world class), he had a shot to be America's best ever. Not to mention that none of his accomplishments were done with the same great coach from his high school freshman year to the pros. As for Saarel, he is an awesome talent, and if he stays healthy and doesn't try any of that legal Colorado weed, he'll show everyone just how good he is.

I think you could make an argument for Lukas but I wasn't considering him because he's not an American citizen, so he can't even compete for America. Right? So he can't really be America's best ever unless he gets citizenship.

cbenson4 wrote:

Sub-13 5k in the future. No question. 7:52 3k already as a freshman. He has everything needed to be world-class. Awesome endurance, top-notch finishing speed. He will be a contender on the world stage if he continues to stay healthy.

Yeahh, no, German ran 7:47 and look where he is now. Sarrel ran too many miles in high school, upwards of 90.

Samtheman wrote:

cbenson4 wrote:

Sub-13 5k in the future. No question. 7:52 3k already as a freshman. He has everything needed to be world-class. Awesome endurance, top-notch finishing speed. He will be a contender on the world stage if he continues to stay healthy.

Yeahh, no, German ran 7:47 and look where he is now. Sarrel ran too many miles in high school, upwards of 90.

Didn't Rupp run a f-ton of miles in HS too? I think anyone that can run 7:45-7:55 at this age has a phenomenal chance to be world-class if they can remain healthy and train smart. Rupp is the best example of that. Derrick is a good example of it, too. Ryan Hill.

Plenty of dudes with as much or more talent than Rupp and Derrick have fallen off (Fernandez, Solinsky, Withrow, Kiptoo) due to injuries and poor training. Can't understate how big a difference it makes to stay healthy and train well.

Electric Avenue wrote:

Now I am firmly convinced that most of the trolls on Letsrun have never run a race at all. Thank you for that revelation.

the anti-rojo wrote:

[qu

And unless he was front-running, the wind is a non factor.

Please explain how the wind can effect you if you aren't front running but instead are drafting behind someone.

Unlike a sport like cycling, drafting in track only makes so much difference. It does help a ton for sure, but you still get caught with the wind. Just this past weekend I was in a race with 18mph winds and I was drafting, but the wind was still pretty bad and slowed me down for sure. I could feel it.

Also, the runner's height has a lot to do with how much drafting helps. If a 6'2" runner is drafting on a 5'7" front runner, it won't be as much help.

Once again, I'm not saying drafting is useless. It helps a ton, but I wouldn't call the wind a non-factor. Just my opinion.

cbenson4 wrote:

Unlike a sport like cycling, drafting in track only makes so much difference. It does help a ton for sure, but you still get caught with the wind. Just this past weekend I was in a race with 18mph winds and I was drafting, but the wind was still pretty bad and slowed me down for sure. I could feel it.

Also, the runner's height has a lot to do with how much drafting helps. If a 6'2" runner is drafting on a 5'7" front runner, it won't be as much help.

Once again, I'm not saying drafting is useless. It helps a ton, but I wouldn't call the wind a non-factor. Just my opinion.

+1

A strong wind will affect you unless you're Ryan Deak drafting behind Chris Solinsky or something. Even then it'll probably affect you.

#hope #he #stays #dry

Saarel's 7:52.+ may rank 2nd only to Fernandez's 7:47.+ as the fastest indoor 3k ever run by a college freshman. Not sure if the NCAA keeps track of records like this.

By contrast, Chris Derrick ran 7:56.+ at the 2009 NCAA Indoor champs.

Gabe Jennings -- as prodigous a young talent as there ever was -- did a 7:58.40 as a frosh in 1998.

Even a super-talented Brad Hauser -- college's top distance runner at the turn of the century & 2000 Olympian -- had a best of "only" 8:11.+ as a Stanford frosh in 1996.

Fernandez, Saarel, Derrick and Jennings are the only college runners I am aware of who have broken 8 min as true frosh.

Anyone who can confirm other sub-8 frosh indoors, please post. (Expect Cheserek/OR to break 8 if he runs it at MPSF in a couple weeks, but hasn't raced the distance yet.)

All this, while Saarel stated last year that despite all his mile wins and 4:01 mark, he believes he will be a 5k - 10k guy in college and beyond.

Alani

Add Sean McGorty to the list above, ran 7:59.11 a couple weeks back at a UW meet. Redshirting indoors at Stanford.

Alani