Cheseret wins 13:49, rtiz second

Ritz is still a kid. Cheseret is an old fart, racing a bunch of kids.

it unfolded just as described above. incredible race for cheseret. i guess i think it a bit weak when someone like cheseret never shares the frontrunning duties- i.e. sat on cragg for the whole 10, ritz for the whole 5. of course, if someone else will set you up like that, you might as well take advantage of it.

Eldoret, I agree, one should not make excuses. It was humid for everyone.

Will Cheseret run US Olympic Trials? Or is he a Kenyan.

chuck d wrote:

plus, that wasn't really a "race" was it (in that place wasn't important)? more of a time trial. don't really need or want a kick in a time trial.

You wouldn't want a kick?

Also, when you think of it, the OG and WC races are basically time trials over a certain last part of the race (often the last 1500m-2000m of the 5k, last 3k-5k of the 10k). To beat the best you need to be able to kick off of really fast paces. I hope he really looks into the marathon shortly after collge is done.

Eldoret wrote:

I looked at the results and saw Ritz was second.

Then I looked at this thread and realised

a)Lost at 5000m, so don't count

b)It was only because it was hot, so does not count

c)He didn't even put a 100% in, if he did he would have won

d)He had trained through it, what do you expect

I am pretty relieved to see Ritz is still unbeatable, was worried when I saw the result.

Nobody said that Ritz's "loss" (or 2nd place) didn't "count." Throughout this thread, some people slammed Ritz and some people defended him. Ritz took 2nd place. Cheseret won. Everyone else was way back. Obviously he is "beatable." He didn't win his best race of the year (27:38) and he didn't win at Indoor Nationals either. What frustrates me is the amount of bitterness displayed on threads like these. He ran hard as he runs hard in every race that matters. He came up short. Cheseret won. Cheseret was better last night, and may be better in the future. We'll have to wait and see.

BDG

My point was he was so hyped up going into the race some people seemed to not back down and seemed to be making excuses when he came second, very good result it's self. He is a class athlete, 27.38 second year in college, 3rd in the junior world cross. He wins some, he loses some but he can't walk on water, yet.

Given countless reports about the high heat and humidity expected during the Olympics, it appears that many seem to have failed Climatology. In Athens, in August in particular, the relative humidity is comparatively low, averaging about 40%. It is fairly hot at that time, however, temps in the low 90s, and the pollution is a problem.

I am bipartisan in this whole discussion as I favor neither runner. Running is a sport like any other, and somedays you win and somedays you lose, and every now again even the "underdog" can stomp on the "better" competitor. Still I wanted to comment on at least few things I saw, one regarding Cheseret as an old fart (racing a bunch of kids) and another asking if Cheseret would compete at U.S. Oly trials.

First, I know the aging modalities and concepts in some countries is always questionable, notorioulsy the african countries since their sense of calendar can well may be different, but at least on paper Cheseret is actually nearly a year younger than Ritz; Ritz D.O.B. 12/30/82 and Cheseret D.O.B. recorded as 10/8/83. Regardless, they are the same year eligibility wise (sophomore) and so this should prove to be the next good rivalry in NCAA cross country and track and I look forward to the results.

Second, someone else commented on the how Cheseret just "drafted" on Cragg and then on Ritz in the 10K and 5K, respectively. Given the apparent conditions, wouldn't this seem the best race strategy if you are trying to win? Most runners were just trying to survive, not set records. I think it shows a good bit of wisdom on Cheseret's part because even though he lost to Cragg, his overall chances of winning were probably a bit better as sit and kick than expending the extra energy to trade off or lead. As far as the 5K goes, give the man a break. He fell about 800m into the race, and had to expend hella energy to play catch up on what were still pretty taxed legs from the 10K. Again, he ran smart given the race and given the conditions.

Lastly, I would not forsee Cheseret in a Team USA uniform or platform anytime soon given that he was born in Kaptel, Kenya. Granted, he shouldn't have too much troulb obtaining U.S. citizenship, Dual citizenship, etc., if he hasn't alredy done so, but that doesn't seem to be the staple practice for his prior countryman. Despite benefiting form the higher level U.S. School systems, there are few foreign born that "defect" from their countries to compete for the good ole' USA. Most would probably be forever culturally ostracized from their countries or be blasphemed as traitors. His older brother, Bernard Lagat would be a good example for the route he may follow as far as country loyalties go.

http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4066&SPID=265&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=33419&Q_SEASON=2003

http://arizonaathletics.collegesports.com/sports/m-track/mtt/cheseret_robert00.html

One should not make excuses for Ritz, why try to defend what you may not know anything about? But neither should one make too much out of one race. A month ago he ran a 10K with his 2 5K splits faster than his one 5K this past weekend. I don't think anyone is claiming that he's slowing down.

Cragg ran that great 5K last month, but then ran a kinda slow 10K last week.

I will be willing to wait for the Olympic Trials and Olympic games... THEN see who runs fast, and make comparisons and judgements then.

Cheseret obviously had a lot more in him than Ritz on Saturday.

If the problem is that Ritz can't kick then he should be going out in 64-65 sec laps, his fastest lap was 64 (last lap)He has no clue on the track except to run hard, Track is a thinking mans sport and Ritz will have to start thinking if he wants to win races. That's why Cragg wins races - he out smarts his rivals.

In an interview with Wetmore after Ritzenhen committed to Colorado, but still before his freshman season, Wetmore stated that he wanted to bring Ritz along slowly, looking out more for his long-term future. He said he saw a lot of potential in Ritz.

I wonder if they're still on schedule with that. Or, is there nothing unusual in that... e.g. everybody else is also looking out for their long-term future.

CO-Runner wrote:

Say, chuck d ... please tell me how running a 5K slower than your 10K pace, then getting outkicked does you any good?

f*** if i know. maybe it's a good lesson in race tactics. i'd imagine that no matter how fast or how slow the pace was, cheseret was going to outkick him. cheseret has been in peak form the last few weeks. the only reason the guy lost the 10K was that he ran into cragg, probably the only collegtiate who could beat him right now.

and comparing race pace from his 10K pr to the ncaa champs in austin is idiotic. he was leading in austin, following in palo alto and weather conditions were far different. just to name two.