It sounds like she is running conferences and nationals. My guess 3k / 5k.
But the Gators also have the BU Valentine meet scheduled. So if that track truly is special, maybe that’s an opportunity to try and hit the 14:52 standard.
I haven't really seen many here bag on Valby for a lack of athleticism. She has a lot of it, imho. Distance running, in and of itself, does not require a great degree of athleticism but some runners are very athletic. I don't know what Valby's athletic endeavors outside of running are/were but she doesn't strike me as someone that is not athletic.
I believe that she could do really well in the steeple. I look at steeplers like Courtney Wayment, Krissy Gear, and Ceili McCabe and believe that Valby could compete with them. McCabe, of course, is Canadian but being at WVU, she could face Valby at some point in time in NCAA meets.
I would give Valby a more than favorable chance to compete for a spot on the US Women's team and I hope she does well. My only concern would be about an injury or the aggravation of a previous injury due to the nature of steepling
Given her injury record, I think it is very likely that she gets injured if she does the steeple, although maybe she feels that she has gotten injured every year not doing the steeple so why not try it.
Given her injury record, I think it is very likely that she gets injured if she does the steeple, although maybe she feels that she has gotten injured every year not doing the steeple so why not try it.
You nailed it. She has talent and athleticism for steeple (always a question of how she deals with pain cave) and it's always a smidgen easier to make a us steeple team than a standard event. The challenge of course is that every water jump landing is an injury waiting to happen for someone with a history of foot ankle and shin injuries.
Good Luck. I'm looking forward to her track season in any events.
You nailed it. She has talent and athleticism for steeple (always a question of how she deals with pain cave) and it's always a smidgen easier to make a us steeple team than a standard event. The challenge of course is that every water jump landing is an injury waiting to happen for someone with a history of foot ankle and shin injuries.
Good Luck. I'm looking forward to her track season in any events.
There's a scenario where the W5,000 and/or W10,000 gets really wide open. You can pencil in Monson for a spot in all likelihood. Cranny could decide she wants to go all-in on the 1,500, or at the very least it feels likely she ditches the 10,000. I'm not sure the latest on Natosha Rogers and the Marathon Trials, but she probably would run just the 10,000 this year. From there, it's certainly no guarantee that Schweizer will be healthy. I think Valby is firmly in the mix with the likes of Andrews, Henes, Morgan, Kelati and Tuohy. That being said, the Steeple isn't that daunting as Gear appears to be droppable, Frerichs/Coburn are coming off tough seasons, and Wayment took a step back as well. Markezich and Valby would certainly have a great shot you'd think.
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I also don't really buy it when she said BU is not a record attempt and is just for qualifying, when it is being exactly paced for the record. I do think she will get Sisson's record and get a new PR.
I was able to watch the interview (helpful for clarity) and she, understandably, appears very tired. I think she not only went all-in on cross-country—not looking beyond Natty’s and not holding anything back—but it was probably a bit of activity afterward, with a lot of extra attention from fans at the meet, etc.
Unfortunately, she also appears to maybe have a bit of a chest-cold in the interview, so possibly expectations for BU are being dialed back.
"It's not like I'm jogging on those days [that I’m running] or that I'm cross-training easily. I think people underestimate what I'm doing. When I cross-trai...
I hope she’s lightly dabbled in the steeple in practice already, or it seems like a strange decision to shift focus to a new and more technical event in such an important year. On the other hand, Jager and Beamish both found success in their first years trying the event. Anyway, if she can run close to 8:40 (flat 3k), and I believe that she can, she’s got a chance to make the U.S. team. Coburn and Frerichs are in the twilight of their careers and I think Valby’s more talented than Gear, Constien, et al.
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I hope she’s lightly dabbled in the steeple in practice already, or it seems like a strange decision to shift focus to a new and more technical event in such an important year. On the other hand, Jager and Beamish both found success in their first years trying the event. Anyway, if she can run close to 8:40 (flat 3k), and I believe that she can, she’s got a chance to make the U.S. team. Coburn and Frerichs are in the twilight of their careers and I think Valby’s more talented than Gear, Constien, et al.
It does seem like a strange decision and I wonder if she is doing it to prepare to go pro and train with Frerichs (if she stays with BTC). Especially if Solinsky helps with BTC or takes over it (or a new pro group) from Jerry.
Perhaps for '24 you are right. Truth is for the whole group of Tuohy, Valby, Wiley and Markezich, they would need the perfect storm of injuries, bad performances and their own best races to make Paris team.
Long term it certainly wouldn't shock me if Tuohy was quite good at 10k, 10 miles, half, even full marathon. She's been a competitive miler, but always gets better as distance goes up.
Steeple is not for the injury prone. There are several Americans who should have been better than Emma C, except she has been extraordinarily durable and they weren't.
If she is running the steeple, it will be interesting to see how Olivia Markezich stacks up against her. Olivia kind of surprised me with 3rd at XC nationals and seems to be in great shape. Plus, she was already 4th at USAs this summer. I wouldn't be too shocked if both were on the Olympic team next year.
I hope she’s lightly dabbled in the steeple in practice already, or it seems like a strange decision to shift focus to a new and more technical event in such an important year. On the other hand, Jager and Beamish both found success in their first years trying the event. Anyway, if she can run close to 8:40 (flat 3k), and I believe that she can, she’s got a chance to make the U.S. team. Coburn and Frerichs are in the twilight of their careers and I think Valby’s more talented than Gear, Constien, et al.
Absolutely correct. That is the proper way to look at it. Coburn and especially Frerichs are eligible to rebound in 2024. There might be only one spot available.
But long term the steeplechase makes by far the most sense for Valby. The fact that a stiff closer not only made the team but won the race last year screams to the weakness of the field and opportunity for a class frontrunner like Valby. Closers like that are instantly nullified and irrelevant if the field is up to par. Valby and especially her coaches would understand that. Hence the attraction to this event.
Olivia Markezich is figuring things out. It wouldn't surprise me if she made the Olympic team. Markezich really benefits from the running style of Greta from Lithuania. It forced her to run closer to the pace. Consequently I wasn't surprised about her cross country result at all. It was merely another application of the same thing, a talented runner who is steadily becoming more comfortable and confident running near the front. We saw Frerichs bloom at London 2017 when she realized she was capable of that.
Based her 5k and cross country results, Valby's best chance to make the U.S. team next summer is in the 5k. I feel she does have a good chance of making the team in the 5k.
Although she hasn't run a competitive 10k, I could see her breaking 31 by next summer, but making the team would be more of an unknown in that case.
The steeple would be a total unknown. With that event's high risk of injury, my feeling is that the 5k is a much better choice. Plus the flat races suit her aggressive style of running quite well, without the constant interruptions of the steeple barriers which would not.
There's a scenario where the W5,000 and/or W10,000 gets really wide open. You can pencil in Monson for a spot in all likelihood. Cranny could decide she wants to go all-in on the 1,500, or at the very least it feels likely she ditches the 10,000. I'm not sure the latest on Natosha Rogers and the Marathon Trials, but she probably would run just the 10,000 this year. From there, it's certainly no guarantee that Schweizer will be healthy. I think Valby is firmly in the mix with the likes of Andrews, Henes, Morgan, Kelati and Tuohy. That being said, the Steeple isn't that daunting as Gear appears to be droppable, Frerichs/Coburn are coming off tough seasons, and Wayment took a step back as well. Markezich and Valby would certainly have a great shot you'd think.
Neither Tuohy nor Andrews are contenders for next year. Not worth mentioning
If she is running the steeple, it will be interesting to see how Olivia Markezich stacks up against her. Olivia kind of surprised me with 3rd at XC nationals and seems to be in great shape. Plus, she was already 4th at USAs this summer. I wouldn't be too shocked if both were on the Olympic team next year.
Lemnegole as well. She is a steepler and paced the Doha diamond league race where Constien got injured. Very curious to see Lemngole run the mile indoors, to see what speed she has.