We changed the title to make it more descriptive. Initially it was titled, "Parker Wolfe is pathetic". There is no reason to a) not be informative and b) be mean.
Literally zero reason to go out in 4:44 as a 13:20 guy indoors with no concern about wind. They could have run 4:30 without breaking a sweat and gotten under the 13:50 pretty easily with a halfway decent close.
Literally zero reason to go out in 4:44 as a 13:20 guy indoors with no concern about wind. They could have run 4:30 without breaking a sweat and gotten under the 13:50 pretty easily with a halfway decent close.
There’s a difference between not wanting to lead, and being a 13:20 5k guy who comes through 800 at 15:00 pace. Wolfe is fit enough that he’d get 3rd, without a doubt, pretty easily, by pushing it. 1st wouldn’t be out of the question
There’s a difference between not wanting to lead, and being a 13:20 5k guy who comes through 800 at 15:00 pace. Wolfe is fit enough that he’d get 3rd, without a doubt, pretty easily, by pushing it. 1st wouldn’t be out of the question
Literally zero reason to go out in 4:44 as a 13:20 guy indoors with no concern about wind. They could have run 4:30 without breaking a sweat and gotten under the 13:50 pretty easily with a halfway decent close.
noone wanted to lead
Just because noone wanted to lead doesn't mean they had to let him lead.
Perhaps the "fast" (slow) heat should get together for a Ginger Ale party with a bunch of daytime C-list fat strippers. As a coach I'd never want to get mad at my top guy but they should be held accountable for a potential lack of intelligence and effort. That was embarrassing. Everybody makes mistakes though. Learn and don't repeat the bad ones aagain. These guys are great runners. Time to act like it.
This post was edited 52 seconds after it was posted.
Because that's the pathetic U.S. style of "racing."
Agreed! As much fun as it can be to see 50+ guys run sub-4 at BU, in my mind there is a significant difference between those "races" and "racing."
As much as I love T&F, I can't help but feel that the head-to-head component erodes more each year in the US. I think the racing component is the only path to grow the sport via TV audiences. Try (as I have) to explain pacing lights/pacers, slow heats, banked track conversions, etc. to your spouse when it's on TV. I enjoy that stuff, but I don't think it lands with the fringe viewer.
Anyways, have at me LetsRun. Also, big props to the Syracuse guy, but no more slow heats in Championship meets.
Reminds me of the Indoor Ivy League conference with the men's 3k in 2014. The winner (and I think top 3 finishers?) came out of the first/slow heat, while the second heat was loaded with sub-4 milers (Thomas Awad won the heat, but had to be told by his coach afterwards that he didn't win the event... flotrack got it on video but the video is behind a paywall now)
This may be the greatest story of 2023. So many thoughts.
1) Congrats to the race winner. Paul O'donnell of Syracuse. Can you imagine running 13:54 in December right after NCAA xcs and that doesn't een get you into the fast heat at conference? Rather than wallow in misery. As a senior, he goes out and runs a facility record of 13:50 and wins it.
2) Since he ran 13:50, the guys in the first heat couldn't screw around too long. They hit 1600 in 4:44. By 2k (5:56), it was all but over as they'd have to run 7:53 at that point.
3) Why the focus on Wolfe? He didn't even win the slow heat. He was beaten by 2+ seconds by 13:26 5k guy Carter Solomon.
It’s actually not that rare something like this happens at ACCs. In 2014 the second heat of the 3K won because the fast heat went out too slow. The winner of the 5K second heat was less than a second away from winning in 2013 too.
This year, the top five runners in the ACC 5k were from the slow heat because no one was ballsy enough to crank up the pace. One of those is UNC Star Parker Wolfe. Imagine your 5k PR is a 13:19, and you lose an ACC title because you weren’t gutsy enough to take the lead to run faster than a 13:50. Really disappointing
That pretty much sums up American distance running attitude for mostly the last 40 years. Can't run an honest pace by themselves...even when titles are at stake.