What Was the Race of the Year in 2009

From a German point of view, Jennifer Oeser's performance in that same race was more impressive. She was tripped by her teammate with one lap to go (at 0:59 in the video). But she came back - running on pure hate - to secure the silver medal.

One more vote for Kwambai and Kibet at Rotterdam.

That was a dive!

Must admit I've never seen someone get up so well in an 800m, she really chewed the track

For shock value- Ritz

For overall awe - Bolt 100

For sheer competitive surprise - Goethals over Sveinsson - did anyone really think she'd be caught with .1 to go?

Personal favorite - Wanjiru in Chicago (because he surged and broke the field at 21 miles when I was screaming "Batsu, Sammy, Batsu" - but that's why it's a personal favorite)

mackwamba

For sheer competitive surprise - Goethals over Sveinsson - did anyone really think she'd be caught with .1 to go?

How about the WC 10k? Tadese laying down the hammer with 4000 to go and only Bekele could hang. Everyone knew that Bekele would win but Tadese made him hurt. We also cant overlook Ritz and Rupp having solid performances in that race.

Another great performance at the WCs was Ali Abdosh in the 5k heats. He lost his shoe in a collision and subsequently 200 metres on the leading group. Tried everything to catch up, the crowd cheering for him madly. Although he didn't qualify formally, the race jury let him start in the final. Ended up 6th there, I think.

Jordan Hasay at Pre-Nats

But seriously, womens 10k was awesome.

American wise I would go with Meb's win in NYC.

Though, for me, watching the Men's 5k final in Berlin was exciting. After that 10k I can't believe KB still pulled it off. Plus Ritz ran pretty ballsy for 6th.

What don't I understand about the subject of this thread that Ritz's half marathon isn't dominating??? Standing in front of my computer at 5:28 am pumping my fist in the air, muffling my own screams so I don't wake my girls

I don't get real excited about the sprints, but setting aside my biases in favor of the long-distance events, I'd probably just have to pick the best race by Bolt and call it a year.

But the first race that came to my mind was the men's WC 5k. Having seen Bekele get outkicked a fair number of times at 3k to 5k since 2003, I always thought that he had more confidence in his kick than was warranted by the results in that range of distances, particularly off of a relatively slow pace, and this year's WC 5k looked like a repeat of the 2004 Olympic 5k. Although the Lagat of 2009 isn't the El G of 2004 (or the Lagat of 2004), Bekele's kick in this year's race removed my doubts about his ability to outkick anyone. I don't how anyone currently on the scene is going to beat the guy.

puddinhead wrote:

What don't I understand about the subject of this thread that Ritz's half marathon isn't dominating???

I usually think of a dominating performance as one that involves crossing the finish line first.

But watching Ritz gut out the half-marathon was exciting, although I'd have to say that watching him close the gap on Bekele toward the end of a fast 5k was the real shocker for me. I was wondering if the cameras were creating some sort of optical illusion.

The world stopped when Ritz ran his race. Even though he did not win or even come close to winning or that it was a watered down field full of tired stars simply running for appearance money. And when Ritz did his famous lightning bolt he became a worldwide sensation. I'm gonna go as far as to say Ritz saved track and field. Good job America.

I thght u Letsrun pple put up Maggie Vessay's Prefontaine 800m win video as the race of 2009 some weeks ago?

First race that came to mind when I saw the thread title was Bekele vs Lagat in the WC5k.

However, the Rotterdam suggestion is a really strong one as well.

1. By far, German Fernandez breaking a 35 year old mile record running SOLO at a championship race. No rabbits, no waiting, just guts and attitude.

2. Meb's NYC win: To win a major marathon these days is beyond difficult today. To win one after surgery and 5 years after getting an olympic medal is even more impressive.

3. Jenny Barringer: Two words immediately comes to mind when I think of her: domination and humility. Without a doubt the greatest collegiate female distance runner of all time!

4. Galen Rupp's Indoor Championship Race(s): Ridiculous!

5. Sammy Chelanga's NCAA XC championship race was beautiful. I don't think most folks will ever appreciate what this kid did on this day. He annihilated the nation's best on a national stage, making it look easy and very manageable. There is no doubt he could have (and would have) run faster if he had to.

Distance: Rotterdam.

Overall: 9.58 & 19.19

I nominate the Women's 800 as the EVENT OF THE YEAR. Bizarreness ruled the day as Vessey came out of thin air several times, only to falter on other occasions; we had a high-school-age boy cruise-controlling the final 100 to avoid the WR and to kill the field at WC's; but it was Anna Willard, of all people, rolling the Euros over and over that truly shocked me (undefeated!!!). I think the first time was in Paris, the announcer didn't even know her name, and the crowd went silent when she kicked down the French girl. Also,a personal memory was Brenda Martinez running tactically stupid at a Belgian meet, letting a wall develop in front of her the final 100, only to run around it and still winning in 2:00.

(I'll also include the WC Heptathlon 800.

Women + 800m = Drama)

Please post videos yall!

Thank you very much.

Have a great holiday season.

Jason