Cristian Soratos: " I don't like how distance running has become a jog and sprint fest..."

No, it was brilliant. It was his best shot at beating Cheserek. If the race goes slow, Sorotos might not even be runner-up.

spade detector wrote:

What was clueless about his indoor run? I thought it was brilliant.

And you are wrong. How was that going to end in success for him? Were there not better strategies to employ than to jog 600m and then blast a 53 400m? How did that give him ANY better chance of beating Ches?[/quote]

think>post wrote:

No, it was brilliant. It was his best shot at beating Cheserek. If the race goes slow, Sorotos might not even be runner-up.

spade detector wrote:

What was clueless about his indoor run? I thought it was brilliant.

And you are wrong. How was that going to end in success for him? Were there not better strategies to employ than to jog 600m and then blast a 53 400m? How did that give him ANY better chance of beating Ches?

When Cheserek has lost, is it because someone let the early pace dawdle and threw down an unsustainable surge in the middle?

Really how was that his best chance of beating Ches? 53 and then a 59ish?

Lots of runners and fans wish championship races would follow an honest pace, but it just won't happen. It hurts your chances too much to be the one pushing the pace. I don't know when he thinks that wasn't the case, but I assume that's how it's always been. I think for championship races everyone should go up one distance from their best event.

Guy O'Leighken wrote:

Lots of runners and fans wish championship races would follow an honest pace, but it just won't happen. It hurts your chances too much to be the one pushing the pace. I don't know when he thinks that wasn't the case, but I assume that's how it's always been. I think for championship races everyone should go up one distance from their best event.

What hurts your chances is going the wrong pace. In Soratos case he went just a little too hard with two laps to go, not a major thing as he still almost won and ran away from everyone else. Much worse is just jogging along for most of the race and not coming close to doing your best.

I don't like all of the comfortable pace then kick races either (I wouldn't call it a jog)

I understand it in championship races, but it has spread to all major circuit races.

Look at the 5000m races last year.

It was a non championship year and every race had the field looking around for 11 laps and then racing from there.

The elites are not doing anything to push their limits.

Rupp actually tried to push it once in Stockholm and paid for it by losing by 11 seconds and helped set the pace for the world leading time.

You have to do that sometimes that learn your capabilities and improve on them.

Great point ^^^^^.

The 5k has become a wildly inconsistent distance as far as performance goes. No one has been world #1 for more than one year at a time since 2009 when Bekele was at the very tail end of his world domination.

What it normally comes down to is the odd East African hammering it home on some strange occasion when the boys actually seem to go for it. There really isn't anyone ready to throw down on any given occasion, which is a shame, because that's what makes superstars in our sport.

That being said, Soratos has the right attitude, and I like what were seeing from Kejelcha...

El Wrong'o wrote:

What hurts your chances is going the wrong pace. In Soratos case he went just a little too hard with two laps to go, not a major thing as he still almost won and ran away from everyone else. Much worse is just jogging along for most of the race and not coming close to doing your best.

Agreed -- by gapping the field, Soratos insured at least a 2nd place. If the field bunched up on a slow pace, he could have ended up getting outkicked by more runners.

More runners have found that leading wire-to-wire in the 800 is beneficial. While it may be mentally hard to lead, it also takes less energy to run along the rail unobstructed than deal with shifting lanes and speeds. Look how German Fernandez made it look so easy to win the final in 2009, leading the whole way.

Soratos' best bet seems to be to use a similar tactic.

Regarding longer races, it gets a bit harder to win by leading as wind factor adds up with more laps. It takes supreme confidence to run away with it in 5-10k, which is why you see it so rarely.

Go Soratos! Representin' Salinas and the Hartnell Panthers!

in soratos defense, no one could have expected cheserek to be able to run a 2:19 last 1000m in that indoor mile race. that's essentially the ncaa record for the 1000m if you check your stats (*2:19.53 i believe)soratos couldn't have won that race based on that from ches, in my opinion. and i don't like cheserek and never root for himmaybe if soratos pushed the pace early and was capable of a 3:52-3, but he would have been a perfect pacer for the guy from oregon behind him, ches the fez, who would have scalped him in the last 150m

spade detector wrote:

think>post wrote:

No, it was brilliant. It was his best shot at beating Cheserek. If the race goes slow, Sorotos might not even be runner-up.

And you are wrong. How was that going to end in success for him? Were there not better strategies to employ than to jog 600m and then blast a 53 400m? How did that give him ANY better chance of beating Ches?

When Cheserek has lost, is it because someone let the early pace dawdle and threw down an unsustainable surge in the middle?

Really how was that his best chance of beating Ches? 53 and then a 59ish?[/quote]

spade defector wrote:

in soratos defense, no one could have expected cheserek to be able to run a 2:19 last 1000m in that indoor mile race. that's essentially the ncaa record for the 1000m if you check your stats (*2:19.53 i believe)

soratos couldn't have won that race based on that from ches, in my opinion. and i don't like cheserek and never root for him

maybe if soratos pushed the pace early and was capable of a 3:52-3, but he would have been a perfect pacer for the guy from oregon behind him, ches the fez, who would have scalped him in the last 150m

spade detector wrote:

When Cheserek has lost, is it because someone let the early pace dawdle and threw down an unsustainable surge in the middle?

Really how was that his best chance of beating Ches? 53 and then a 59ish?

I want to be clear that I am a Soratos fan before continuing.

I absolutely would have thought Cheserek could run a 2:19 1000m. 1:38 is pretty much just a running start for him for the last kilo. Regardless, let's say he's not his usual self....do you think Soratos drops him with the 53 and then when he slows to 4 minute mile pace he doesn't get reeled back in? Or do you think Ches goes with him and can't hang with the 28 high last lap? It's just not a winning strategy.

I completely agree with the others who said if he wanted to guarantee 2nd then it was the right move - because he did guarantee 2nd. Exactly 2nd. That's not how people have beaten Ches, though. And not that I thought his chances were great, but the way he ran gave him 0 chance to win.

Oddly enough Soratos hasn't looked as good this outdoor season but with this field who knows what could happen. Would love to see him win but that injury really set him back.

Fearless Leaders wrote:

It is a shame that Salazar turned Hasay from a front runner to a sit and wait runner.

Hopefully, whoever coaches Mike Brannigan let him keep his Pre-style "go-for-it" spirit.

Distance running is much more interesting when someone goes for broke, such as Meb did at a few years ago Boston.

Gonna be hard to push the pace at races when he;s working the night shift at Wendy's in 3 years

If he does not like sit and kick affairs, then he should not run that way. He can run however he wants and claim a moral victory even if he does not win anything. Hope that lets him sleep better at night.

malmo wrote:

What was clueless about his indoor run? I thought it was brilliant.

How was Soratos brilliant? If he has 48.x speed like he says his best strategy would be to sit for 1450 and kick with 150 to go. Ches cannot run a 48 and has way more endurance. Jordy Williamsz outkicked Ches in a slow race and Soratos would have likely done the same. The best way for a miler to beat Ches in a mile is to sit as long as possible because they have more speed and less endurance...

who says ches can't run 48?

where's the proof that soratos can run 48?

reed wrote:

who says ches can't run 48?

where's the proof that soratos can run 48?

Read the first post of the thread. And if Ches could run a 48 he would be the best 5k runner in the world. It is obvious you never ran at a high level if you think 5k guys can run 48 second quarters. Nick Willis claims to have 49.x-50.x 400 speed and he has run 1:45. from here:

Soratos ran 48 flat in a relay.

He said in the interview yesterday that he's in better shape than during indoors.

You really don't think ALL of these guys can't run sub 50 in the relay? I am a high school coach, but I have some pretty normal kids splitting 50-51. Pretty sure every 1500m finalist in the NCAA can run under 50 in a relay.

think>post wrote:

You really don't think ALL of these guys can't run sub 50 in the relay? I am a high school coach, but I have some pretty normal kids splitting 50-51. Pretty sure every 1500m finalist in the NCAA can run under 50 in a relay.

In fairness 48.00 is a pretty big difference from being just under 50

If a runner doesn't like to sit and kick...try to win it wire to wire. If not then don't complain and run as hard as you can.