Went down a rabbit hole on webbs career recently and read about his win at the Great American xc festival that year, his big 10 win , his regional 2nd place to Boaz and his 11th over all place at nationals . But did he run anymore races that year besides those?
Also, ther fall when he also ran the famous Michigan workout that had everyone in awe.
for a true miler, it maybe the greatest xc season ever.
Went down a rabbit hole on webbs career recently and read about his win at the Great American xc festival that year, his big 10 win , his regional 2nd place to Boaz and his 11th over all place at nationals . But did he run anymore races that year besides those?
Also, ther fall when he also ran the famous Michigan workout that had everyone in awe.
for a true miler, it maybe the greatest xc season ever.
Webb was good at XC, he demonstrated that in high school. Even more impressive considering he was more of an 800/1500 runner than 1500/5000.
I was a spectator that year at the Big Ten xc meet at U of Illinois. My recollection is of Webb sitting on the leader and then burying the hapless kid over the last 400m.
Looking up the results now in the link above, I see that it wasn't some rando that he outkicked but Matt Tegenkamp, by 3.3 seconds. Pretty cool.
This post was edited 12 minutes after it was posted.
Webb was good at XC, he demonstrated that in high school. Even more impressive considering he was more of an 800/1500 runner than 1500/5000.
Very few runners have had the range that Webb had. He ran 13:10 and 27:34 (beat Ritz in that one) when those were top American times.
Set the American Record at 2miles also with his 8:11. With today's super shoes he he'd probably have PRs around 3:43, 8:00, and sub 13:00 for sure. He is undoubtedly one of the most talented runners the US has ever had and was thrilling to watch. Never really ran at his potential on the world stage for various reasons, which is unfortunate, but he was absolutely capable of medaling.
Went down a rabbit hole on webbs career recently and read about his win at the Great American xc festival that year, his big 10 win , his regional 2nd place to Boaz and his 11th over all place at nationals . But did he run anymore races that year besides those?
Also, ther fall when he also ran the famous Michigan workout that had everyone in awe.
for a true miler, it maybe the greatest xc season ever.
Was just about to post Falcon who won his race or even Bob Kennedy who ended up as a 5 and 10k runner but who won the NCAA mile championship his freshman year.
for a true miler, it maybe the greatest xc season ever.
It’s not even the best xc season for a Michigan true miler. Kevin Sullivan won the Big 10 four years in a row and finished top ten at NCAAs all four years.
Sullivan had a better career/ longevity and consistency than webb no doubt. But NONE of his cross country seasons is put money on we’re better than webbs 2001.
case in point the fact sully could t even top webbs Michigan after years of attempting and Webb destroyed it in no time. Also, 2001 NCAA is still prob one of the deepest fields ever… Webb got 11th! Sully NEVER ran against the depth that was in that race.
Sullivan had a better career/ longevity and consistency than webb no doubt. But NONE of his cross country seasons is put money on we’re better than webbs 2001.
case in point the fact sully could t even top webbs Michigan after years of attempting and Webb destroyed it in no time. Also, 2001 NCAA is still prob one of the deepest fields ever… Webb got 11th! Sully NEVER ran against the depth that was in that race.
I loved Kevin Sullivan but in no way would I trade his 'career' for Webb's.
Went down a rabbit hole on webbs career recently and read about his win at the Great American xc festival that year, his big 10 win , his regional 2nd place to Boaz and his 11th over all place at nationals . But did he run anymore races that year besides those?
Also, ther fall when he also ran the famous Michigan workout that had everyone in awe.
for a true miler, it maybe the greatest xc season ever.
Webb was good at XC, he demonstrated that in high school. Even more impressive considering he was more of an 800/1500 runner than 1500/5000.
Webb ran 8:45 for 2 miles indoors (#4 in history at the time, still #10 performer today) and then never ran the distance outside his senior year. but he certainly would have run 8:40 or faster, which would have put him solidly in the top-3 all-time had he tried the distance outdoors.
Randomly met him in an airport five years ago. He was at the desk just in front of me and the staffer said, "Mr Webb." Chatted with him for a few minutes. Super nice.
Webb had impressive range over 800 to 10k but the coaching at Michigan was too different from what he was used to. He went back to his hs coach after a year and ran very well. Eventually injuries or loss of coordination did him in. He tried to come back several times, tried to move up in distance, tried the triathlon - but nothing he did could get him back to the level he competed at in his teens and early 20s.
Alan figured it all out in 2007 and then tried to increase more of what he was doing in 2008 and it was the beginning of the end.
he had ZERO business opening 2008, an Olympic year at a road 8k. And he had ballooned up in weight and muscle and got food poison night before and it was just a awful start to what would follow him til his triathlon days.
Webb had impressive range over 800 to 10k but the coaching at Michigan was too different from what he was used to. He went back to his hs coach after a year and ran very well. Eventually injuries or loss of coordination did him in. He tried to come back several times, tried to move up in distance, tried the triathlon - but nothing he did could get him back to the level he competed at in his teens and early 20s.
