Katelyn Tuohy almost gets beat!?!?!? But rallies to 3-peat in EPIC race.

She supposedly felt bad at 3K, cold and numb and almost dropped out.

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/high-school/xcountry/2019/12/07/cross-country-tuohy-katelyn-third-nike-cross-nationals-title/2617693001/

I don't know man. She hasn't really improved that much. I'm not saying she's burned out as of now, but there is a possibility for that to happen in the future. You never know. She's a great athlete though.

Dr. Beaker wrote:

Whatttttt wrote:

What a finish!!!

she's burning out

i hear that instead of her just becoming a woman and maybe slowing down a step, she was actually shame coached by alberto salazar this season.

Come on guys she just made history with an awesome capping off of an unbelievable cross-country career

She had a really strong season as well

Every Woman goes through a time where they going to slow down as their body changes

But if they stick with it obviously they can get faster again.

By the logic some people are expressing here every woman would be burned out and have to stop running

She's an awesome kid and an awesome Talent... there's a reason no one's ever done it before.

Eventually she'll learn you have to run with the pack and pick your spot to Surge. Trying to dominate every race start to finish is unrealistic as the competition gets better.

But she has all the makings have a great future Runner let's knock off the burnout crap and wish her the best!

reading posts about people saying she has burned out, or she is going downhill is an absolute joke. You have a girl who has destroyed the field for 3 years....every single race. No guy has done this, no girl has done this...you would expect an off-race every so often....but it hadn't happened. When she finally has an off day , and self admittedly let the pressure get to her...against the best field she has faced....she battled back and gutted out a great finish for the win...and people just look for ways to critisize and try to bring her down.

Every other racer in that field has had up and down days....had disappointing finishes....except for Tuohy. Anyone insulting Ewert...nope (and rightfully) so. How about Starliper...nope (and rightfully so). Nico Young ran a great race, everybody praises him (and deservedly so)...did he win NXN in 2018...no - 4th...was he washed up? overtrained? burned out? nope. How about Sprout...anyone saying he must really suck...nope. But hey, Tuohy is done for because she had a bad race but still beat every other best runner in the country.

Katelyne Tuohy is the best female runner I've ever seen. I believe she will have an incredible college career and hopefully more if that's what she wants to accomplish. But like every teenager, you can never tell how their progression will happen ...so why not celebrate what she has done for the sport and the bar she has set for young girls going forward.

Duane wrote:

She supposedly felt bad at 3K, cold and numb and almost dropped out.

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/high-school/xcountry/2019/12/07/cross-country-tuohy-katelyn-third-nike-cross-nationals-title/2617693001/

Upstate New York runners are supposed to be immune from cold conditions..?? Getting a bug?

astro wrote:

You are joking right?

The one thing that bothers me is that in an interview she said she reads social media about herself. That's dangerous. Someone needs to tell her not to do that. Could you imagine a young athlete reading some of the commentary on here?

Why would there be more stress on her than there was on Nico Young? They were both expected to win by about the same amount.

The kid is all heart . Conditions totally sucked and she has been racing on snow covered courses . To have to run on a rain soaked course is completely different . To out sprint them after they caught her 200 yards from the finish shows she is all heart .

SDSU Aztec wrote:

astro wrote:

You are joking right?

The one thing that bothers me is that in an interview she said she reads social media about herself. That's dangerous. Someone needs to tell her not to do that. Could you imagine a young athlete reading some of the commentary on here?

Why would there be more stress on her than there was on Nico Young? They were both expected to win by about the same amount.

The stress of a 6 hour cross country flight that the eastcoasters endure and jet lag/ time zone changes is real.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

astro wrote:

Exactly. The amount ofpressure on her was immense, the conditions were not ideal, and she pulled it off anyway. Hat's off to her. There is a reason no one has ever done it before.

Why is there so much pressure on her compared to other runners? Just about anyone is nervous before a big race. Is she more sensitive?

Always that one guy.

When Young is on the cover of SI, gets Gatorade athlete of the year twice, has millions of YT views etc and is going for his third national title, something no one ever accomplished, while everyone is telling him his entire legacy will be defined by that one race, let us know.

This was an amazing race. I was so impressed with Sydney T. and Taylor Ewert. Instead of conceding the race to Tuohy early like nearly every high school runner has in the last three years, Sydney went after her, bringing along Taylor and a couple others. And over that last 600 meters, Sydney and Taylor relentlessly attacked as Katelyn faded.

Katelyn looked absolutely spent when they caught her at the top of the last hill. I thought Sydney and Taylor were going to blow past her and spring a huge upset.

The way Katelyn fought to hold them off over that last 200-300 meters made this the favorite and most impressive race I've seen her run. I've never seen her dig so deep to win.

I saw an interview with Katelyn after the race when she talked about all the pressure she felt leading up to the race and all the doubt she had during the race. At around 3,000 meters she felt so bad she thought she was going to lose. And, in the most telling sign of the pressure she was under to not only win, but to dominant, after the race she told her coach "that was embarrassing."

To overcome all of that pressure, self doubt and the incredible performances by Sydney, Taylor and others is so impressive. It's always interesting to see how a dominant champion will respond when he/she are finally tested and/or are not at their best. It was thrilling to see how Katelyn responded today.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

astro wrote:

You are joking right?

The one thing that bothers me is that in an interview she said she reads social media about herself. That's dangerous. Someone needs to tell her not to do that. Could you imagine a young athlete reading some of the commentary on here?

Why would there be more stress on her than there was on Nico Young? They were both expected to win by about the same amount.

Not according to the Let’s Run preview he wasn’t. And he wasn’t a 2x defending champ. And he has not been hailed as potentially the greatest cross country high school runner in history. And he has not been on the cover of SI.

There is a difference between feeling disappointed with a loss, and feeling like a disappointment with a loss. Only one person faced that pressure today, and it was Tuohy.

Here is one for you from a few years back - skip to about 9 minutes in

https://www.nbnationalsout.com/eprofile.php?event_id=3689&do=videos&video_id=181014

Yeah exactly! She's such an amazing Runner and has had such an awesome season

She basically had the slowest race you can imagine her having and was up against other girls running great races and she still pulled out the win

I think she'll probably pick a school over the winter and end up having a great spring with a lot less pressure

Late to this thread, but I was able to watch the race today, thanks to the free streaming, so thanks to Nike and Runnerspace for that. I was very impressed with Tuohy for her toughness, under terrible conditions and a lot of pressure. I also think she is making a great decision not to turn pro, but rather to at least attend a few years of college. I've always thought that, the value of education aside, the extra several years within a supportive team environment is worth the temporary loss of income--and if, like Sydney Mclaughlin, she wins everything in her first year of college and decides its time, the money will still be there.

I do have one concern, though, and let me say although I'm a huge running fan, I'm a hobby jogger, not a coach or technician, so I could be way off. I don't want to be critical of young Tuohy in any way! But her stride, powerful as it is, reminds me a great deal of that of Sarah Baxter. Tuohy, like Baxter, plants strongly--she's not light on her feet. I watched a lot of Sarah Baxter in person, since my daughter ran in a lot of the same races she did (far behind), and I think Baxter was one of the greatest high school cross country runners I've ever seen. But we know her sad later career, nonexistent because of injury. I sure hope Tuohy can do whatever she can do to avoid the crippling injuries that Baxter experienced. Again, let me say, I'm not an expert in running mechanics, so if anybody wants to set me straight, please do so. In the meantime, congratulations to Tuohy on a legendary high school career!

I agree. The last time pressure really got to her was 2018 Millrose, where she placed 4th in a race she should have won. The pressure really got to her there and look at the results. This time the pressure got to her, but she was able to tough it out. She will be able to come back from this just like last time.

Very well put, my friend. You know someone’s a great runner when the headline is that she almost lost a race.

Well said. It was a very moving way for her to wrap up her stellar high school career.