ETHAN MF STRAND 3:48.32 CR

Yeah impressive, but notice he ran a 27.68 split from 1,000-1,200 to finally shake Sahlman and bridge the gap.

So a 1:23.13 last 600 split to close which is 55.4 pace with some wide running/pace change.

Every time I see a result like this from a young miler, I can't stop thinking about how fun it's going to be watching US championships the next five years. Plus, Birnbaum ran a 3:52 today at age 19. We're in the golden era of US men's mid-distance, and it's probably just going to get better over the next few years. I mean, even making a US final these next few years is going to be brutal.

Splits:

3:48.32
29.46 57.77
28.32 1:26.57
28.81 1:55.83
29.26 2:25.19
29.36 2:52.86
27.68 3:21.23
28.37 3:48.32
27.10

I'm not confident enough to say he could've broken the WR with better pacing/not having to run around people, but there's still a month before NCAAs. If this is his season opener shape, I have no clue what shape he's gonna be in a month from now. Milt said they took it easy after the 7:30, and he was good about peaking at the Trials last year after running well indoors, but this is just an unreal race.

Now he's my favorite runner to follow I'm gonna be rooting for him so hard at NCAAs (and I will be in shambles when somehow a UW athlete wins again)

It wasn’t a maximal race but no we’re talking about a half-second or three-quarters not a full one plus. The first 880 while slowish for a 3:47 at somewhere around 1:55.2 was even and drafted.

Anyone got a link to the race?

Let’s see if the NCAA mile record curse will stay undefeated come championship time…..

bro seriously, our top 3 last year were top 5 in the world, and all like 24 or younger. People talk about the steeple being for people that couldn't cut it in the flat events, but at this rate, the LA 2028 800 and 5k teams are just gonna be made up of people who couldn't cut it in the 1500.

Quickest LRC splash page in history.

I think I put it up like 10 mins after the race was over. My god that was impressive.

2020s are bright for US distance running. My goodness. How spoiled are we??

Let’s not get ridiculous, his final 400m was around 55.5 per the live results. Did you handtime this?

Anyways, indoor tracks have improved immensely and the troll in this thread talking about the cheat BU track is half right. These guys are also in the shape of their lives right now because of the NCAA system. El Guerrouj certainly never peaked for indoors. I’d love to see strand compete in Nanjing for the Indoor WC, but he probably won’t.

I expect no less from a master BU merchant, perform like that elsewhere

Pretty sure BU's track has been basically the same for 20+ years, they just resurface lane 1 every few years. Most other big tracks like Arkansas' are also the same have been around since the 90s. I think the Armory just got an update. Washington's track has also been the same since it was first built.

Not a good time to be a US miler - it is just so freaking strong - I mean a sub 3:30 is going to be needed to make Team USA.

This was only the 2nd race with 3 or more sub-3:50 indoor miles in it (Millrose last year had 4).

Here is the list of the sub-3:50 indoor milers.

1 3:47.01 Yomif Kejelcha ETH 01.08.97 1 Boston 03.03.2019
2 3:47.38 Yared Nuguse USA 01.06.99 1rA New York City 11.02.2023
3 3:48.32 Ethan Strand USA 19.10.02 1 Boston 01.02.2025
4 3:48.45 Hicham El Guerrouj MAR 14.09.74 1 Gent 12.02.1997
5 3:48.66 Hobbs Kessler USA 15.03.03 2 New York City 11.02.2024
6 3:48.87 Josh Kerr GBR 08.10.97 1r1 Boston 27.02.2022
7 3:48.93 George Mills GBR 12.05.99 3 New York City 11.02.2024
8 3:49.44 Edward Cheserek KEN 02.02.94 1 Boston 09.02.2018
9 3:49.45 Robert Farken GER 20.09.97 2 Boston 01.02.2025
10 3:49.46 Neil Gourley GBR 07.02.95 2rA New York City 11.02.2023
11 3:49.62 Adam Fogg GBR 27.01.99 4 New York City 11.02.2024 ran 3:49.85 today
12 3:49.78 Eamonn Coghlan IRL 24.11.52 1 East Rutherford 27.02.1983
13 3:49.89 Bernard Lagat USA 12.12.74 1 Fayetteville 11.02.2005
14 3:49.98 Johnny Gregorek USA 07.12.91 2 Boston 03.03.2019

An UNREAL performance. I never saw this coming. 3:48.32 is flat out flying.

I am a fan of Strand's by never saw him as a miler; more of a 3k type. That still may be where his sweet spot lies, but he is CLEARLY far better suited at the mile than I ever thought.

Going forward, my question would be...does he like his chances against Hocker and Nuguse at 1500m or against Fisher and Teare at 5000m? It's a tough call but he could sit and do no work at the longer distance. Beating the Olympic champ and a 3:43.97 miler seems a daunting task.

UW added rails and resurfaced.