I need to see her look good sustaining 70-71 s laps vs 72-73 like she has done in 5000. 8:49 is good, but........
Newsflash, she doesn't need to do anything for you, she doesn't run for you neither does Katelyn. You've got a very strange obsession.
I think Valby has proven herself already. 4:36 1600 leg (w/68 opening 400), 8:49, 15:20, 6k xc shows she will be very good just 'as is', and has enough 1000m speed to work on a long close a la Touhy, Monson, Rupp.
If it wasn't for all the craziness going on this season, she would still be a big story. I think she will get to 14:59 5k during outdoor and obviously be on the podium at Natty's.
Newsflash, she doesn't need to do anything for you, she doesn't run for you neither does Katelyn. You've got a very strange obsession.
I think Valby has proven herself already. 4:36 1600 leg (w/68 opening 400), 8:49, 15:20, 6k xc shows she will be very good just 'as is', and has enough 1000m speed to work on a long close a la Touhy, Monson, Rupp.
If it wasn't for all the craziness going on this season, she would still be a big story. I think she will get to 14:59 5k during outdoor and obviously be on the podium at Natty's.
She is running well but closing speed is an issue. btw Tuohy went thru 1600 at 4:34 today
I think Valby has proven herself already. 4:36 1600 leg (w/68 opening 400), 8:49, 15:20, 6k xc shows she will be very good just 'as is', and has enough 1000m speed to work on a long close a la Touhy, Monson, Rupp.
If it wasn't for all the craziness going on this season, she would still be a big story. I think she will get to 14:59 5k during outdoor and obviously be on the podium at Natty's.
She is running well but closing speed is an issue. btw Tuohy went thru 1600 at 4:34 today
She is running well but closing speed is an issue. btw Tuohy went thru 1600 at 4:34 today
And kept going, and going.
I'm not comparing Valby to Touhy but to the field. If Valby can have a 68 (stupid, but...)first 400 in a 4:36 mile, she clearly has enough speed to work on and develop a close.
Obviously, Touhy would right now beat Valby in an 800, but even Touhy would lose in a final 100-200m kick to true speedsters like Morton, Jones, Gear, McCabe etc. That's of course why she's working on the long close.
Today's Touhy race was amazing! When they came thru 2k in 5:41, I thought she was toast. Somehow even off the 5:41, she was able to crank up the long close and follow Morgan thru the field. It got a little wobbly with 600 to go, but she held it together the last 200. I'm sure the roar helped.
So the end result was 2:50/2:51/2:54. 8:35! I'd also say the 4:24/8:35 combo are solid max effort prs now. At this level though a 14:40-50 5k is doable.
8:49 is good no matter how you slice it; however, as others have stated she didn't look good. I rewatched her 2022 NCAA Outdoor 5K race and compared it to this one; she looks like someone racing on tired legs. I have seen that look before; perhaps she is in the middle of a hard training block and didn't tapper. I suspect she is working towards much bigger things.
That tired wobbling stride is exactly what she looked like at XC NCAAs. What is she working towards if that’s what she always looks like
Just having watched the whole race, I was surprise to see how far back she finished. In Tuohy's race it was quite the opposite, she rather worked up and up. Valby should try running some different tactics.
Just having watched the whole race, I was surprise to see how far back she finished. In Tuohy's race it was quite the opposite, she rather worked up and up. Valby should try running some different tactics.
I’m speculating here, but you got to remember, the absolute first objective was NOT to win the race, so race tactics took a back-seat in this one. The primary objective was to secure a qualifying time, thus she was the one that went right behind the pacer, and targeted an 8:50. So mission accomplished.
Is it somewhat interesting that collegiate great Karissa Schweizer’s indoor PB, the season right before she turned 21, was a 9:09? Schweizer did run 8:42 the following year.
Monson same story. 9:14 to 8:45.
Or Whittni Orton Morgan; Valby just ran within 1/10sec of Orton’s collegiate indoor PB (which Orton set at the age of 22.) And yet, one year after turning pro, Orton-Morgan runs 8:30. She has already had the benefit of altitude since her youth, so how does that happen? Pro focus?
Or Whittni Orton Morgan; Valby just ran within 1/10sec of Orton’s collegiate indoor PB (which Orton set at the age of 22.) And yet, one year after turning pro, Orton-Morgan runs 8:30. She has already had the benefit of altitude since her youth, so how does that happen? Pro focus?
Orton-Morgan was always very talented and ran a very fast 5K way back in 2019. But she could not stay consistently healthy so her college results suffered until 2021 when they figured some things out and now everything is clicking.
She avoids the rail. Even in lane one she stays on the outside of the lane. That aside, the difference in degree of difficulty between how Valby ran (like a second pacer) versus how Olemomoi ran (drafting off the lead pack) seemed pretty marked.
I didn’t see her avoiding the rail except when she was right on the pacer’s shoulder, which was just in the beginning. She was passed at the end because she did all the work at the front.
Am I missing something? 4:36 for 1600 is 69s per 400. You’re saying going out in 68 is stupid / it implies greater ability level? I can not fathom how going out one second faster than the pace you end up running is stupid.
Or Whittni Orton Morgan; Valby just ran within 1/10sec of Orton’s collegiate indoor PB (which Orton set at the age of 22.) And yet, one year after turning pro, Orton-Morgan runs 8:30. She has already had the benefit of altitude since her youth, so how does that happen? Pro focus?
Morgan dropped a 15:08 5k in Dec 21 and has been steadily improving this past year. She ran 4:04 last summer. She has always had a kick, I think her college 800m PR is 2:05.
8:30 is a huge improvement nonetheless; She is definitely in sub 15 shape. Heck, Monson won millrose last year in 8:31 and then ran 14:30's? so not sure what Morton can run for 5k now.
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