Allie O in Pre Steeple

new PR, climbing that list wrote:

9:31.44

beating Lawrence and Krause, very solid run, new PR

I think could have threatened 9:30 with some more even pacing, each of the first 4 laps was ~2 seconds slower than the previous, but

1:13

1:15

1:17

1:19

1:17

1:18

1:13

#5 on all time NCAA performer list? (#4 Quigly 9:29)

After the NCAA meet, so does not count for the college list.

Steeple much? Yes those are important but height is the most important. Think if a woman has all of those and she is 5'10". Now imagine another woman who has all of those but she is 4'6". Allie will never touch Emma in the steeple because she must exert more energy over every barrier.

Steeple pro wrote:

Steeple much? Yes those are important but height is the most important. Think if a woman has all of those and she is 5'10". Now imagine another woman who has all of those but she is 4'6". Allie will never touch Emma in the steeple because she must exert more energy over every barrier.

yep, pro, i have run the steeple quite a bit ... fairly well too. So I know a thing or two. Height is hardly the most important element.

Couple comments for you... How do you know Allie is exerting more energy? How exactly do you measure that? Finally, 'never' is a long time.

Runnerchx44 wrote:

4 the magic number wrote:

It is not the toughest year.

We get 4 entries due to Emma’s title.

Top 3 are set.

Can she beat Mel Lawrence is the drama? Mel has run 8 seconds faster that Allie in a super feat race. Allie is a much better flat runner. Going to be exciting!

Has anyone heard if Allie has gone pro or not yet?

Last I read she is attending Boise State for grad school in the fall and will use her last year of eligibility.

she's going pro, per her instagram.

Height is the most important factor. Do you think a 5'2" guy will ever be the best in the world? No. But a 6'4" guy will. Allie will never run 9 flat. Never isn't a long time; it is forever. Emma is 5'8" while Allie is 5'. So of course it takes more energy to get over a barrier.

Runnerchx44 wrote:

Do Stephanie Garcia and Leah Oconnor still steeple? If so, they could be threats, too. But I like Allie’s chances. I say sub 9:30 for sure.

Question: can she get the NCAA steeple record in a non-collegiate meet? If she were to break Frerichs NCAA record time at Pre, does it count?

It's simple, she has to get world class coaching to get her to that next level, she has the ability both mentally and physically.

Leaving the college scene she loves will help get her there.

Last race a BSU Bronco per instagram does not necessarily mean going pro - likely route for sure. But could be doing last year as a grad transfer (some candidates in alphabetical order CU, NAU, Oregon, Stanford, Washington).

I think AllieO will top out at 9:20+/- in the steeple. But also has sub 15, sub 31 potential in the 5K and 10K. And those can carry onto some very fast road times, and will probably make some World XC teams along the way.

Ooo sounds like an announcement will be coming from her. Excited to see what it is! Im guessing going pro instead of transferring.

So who is she likely to sign with?

Steeple master wrote:

Height is the most important factor. Do you think a 5'2" guy will ever be the best in the world? No. But a 6'4" guy will. Allie will never run 9 flat. Never isn't a long time; it is forever. Emma is 5'8" while Allie is 5'. So of course it takes more energy to get over a barrier.

You are far, far away from being a "steeplemaster". The best steeplechasers in the world are tiny little men. Period.

Emma Coburn doesn't not have an advantage over barriers, in fact she is very awkward over the barriers. She stiff-legs the hurdles. The only thing that saves her is that womens barriers are ridiculously low.

Shorter runners weigh less, meaning that there's less energy expended going over the barriers. Also, they have a more forgiving take-off zone compared to a taller runner, since they can take-off closer to the barriers than the taller runners, allowing their path of trajectory to be consistently smoother. All runners clear the barrier with the bottom of the buttocks, about 6-10" over, no steeplechaser has ever cleared a barrier with the top of the head.

From a little research I did 12 years ago, the average height of the top ten in the world for various distances.

2006

1500 - 164.3 - 5'4.7

steeple - 167.80 - 5'6.1

5000 - 161.80 - 5'3.7

10000 - 163.40 - 5'4.3

2005

1500 - 164.50 - 5'4.8

steeple - 167.00 - 5'5.7

5000 - 162.20 - 5'3.9

10000 - 164.4 - 5'4.7

master,

happy to disagree with you about my point... which wasn't a prediction of how fast Allie can or can't run or if she will ever beat Emma... I'll leave that to those who know what the future will bring.

my point is that the steeple is about leg speed, athleticism, and endurance. it's about efficiency over the barriers. our difference in opinion centers around the fact that you are confusing height with athleticism. they are not the same thing. if someone is 6' 4" and not an athlete being 6'4" helps exactly zero.

it is your opinion that someone uses more energy if they are smaller.... it is my opinion that someone uses more energy if they are less efficient . i'll stand by my statement... steepling is about leg speed, athleticism, and endurance. every single one of those items will trump (no pun intended) height every time.

oh, and best of luck if you are still competing! the steeple is an awesome race when you enjoy it...

new PR, climbing that list wrote:

9:31.44

beating Lawrence and Krause, very solid run, new PR

I think could have threatened 9:30 with some more even pacing, each of the first 4 laps was ~2 seconds slower than the previous, but

1:13

1:15

1:17

1:19

1:17

1:18

1:13

She should try to get into a meet one step below DL with more people running ~9:20-30 and would gain another few seconds at least.

Krause was very disappointing, I expected at least around 9:16 after the solid 9:20 in Oslo.

If AllieO is transferring, where would she go? I'm guessing Colorado. She can help the 'Buffs win a national championship in XC, and train with Emma Coburn. Seems like a good combination.

BTW: her comment is "one last run as a Bronco"

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzXSy65gP4e/

[quote]Roderick Beemer wrote:

Last race a BSU Bronco per instagram does not necessarily mean going pro - likely route for sure. But could be doing last year as a grad transfer (some candidates in alphabetical order CU, NAU, Oregon, Stanford, Washington).

I’m thinking it is going to be Stanford . Second choice is Oregon .

The answer is yes, they are all important. If a tall athlete is slow and clumsy, they will lose to the shorter athlete. But if an athlete is tall and has the other attributes, that is the best combination. Notice the earlier poster listed the heights for various distances and the steeple had the tallest average. It's the same pool of elite distance runners but the tallest of the elutes were the best Steelers. Allie will never get a real pro contract as a steepler. Her best chance is in the marathon and she will quickly realize that.

Steepling faster than you wrote:

The answer is yes, they are all important. If a tall athlete is slow and clumsy, they will lose to the shorter athlete. But if an athlete is tall and has the other attributes, that is the best combination. Notice the earlier poster listed the heights for various distances and the steeple had the tallest average. It's the same pool of elite distance runners but the tallest of the elutes were the best Steelers. Allie will never get a real pro contract as a steepler. Her best chance is in the marathon and she will quickly realize that.

You can continue to believe you are right...no problem on my end. All things being equal, to use a word you seem to like, 'never' happens. All things are never equal. i could list off several characteristics that, if all other things were equal, would be the determining factor .... so using that line of reasoning isn't something i will follow with you.

I'm happy to continue to disagree with you. Height is not the most important factor in how fast someone runs the steeple... which was your point.

As I also mentioned, I am not here to make predictions... no idea if Allie O will get a real (whatever real is) pro contract as a steepler... i have no idea if she will ever beat Emma... and won't tell you she will, for sure, do this or that. There are way too many variables involved in all of it - a point that seems lost on you. But you go ahead and feel free to make predictions on things... no doubt you'll be right about some of them.

steepling faster than you... smh.

If she transfers, where to? wrote:

If AllieO is transferring, where would she go? I'm guessing Colorado. She can help the 'Buffs win a national championship in XC, and train with Emma Coburn. Seems like a good combination.

BTW: her comment is "one last run as a Bronco"

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzXSy65gP4e/

Coburn does not train with CU or Wetmore.

Stanford hasn’t even announced their new coach. Why we should go there?