Yeah, you're biased. This was hyped up to be a Blockbuster and we get someone almost dying, then a field bunching up after a very manageable pace and only like 3 of those runners having respectable kicks off the slow pace with the majority blowing up
I mean, 6 high school kids closed in 58.06 or faster for 4:02.55 or faster. Not sure what you were expecting but I think your expectations are the problem.
3:58 on an insane close for a HS Winner is great if you add zero context to the race. One of those HS kids talked about the possibility of Webb's record going down tonight and then the whole field was too scared to take the lead and go with the pacer. If you're going to mention someone threatening 3:53 you better not be sitting back in the pack letting the pace go through in 2:03.
I was at the race. The restart combined with the poor women’s pro race right before sucked the energy out of the crowd. The crowd was significantly more excited for the high school women’s mile.
It was clear though no one wanted to go for it and push the pace forward. Everyone grouped a decent distance behind the pacer. I don’t know if the restart led to this mental/physical effect but it was disappointing especially laps 2-3.