#@#$@#! - ROWBURY 4:01!!!!

she's definitely in shape http://trackandfieldphoto.com/DisplayJpg.php?080518_2016_5743_RLM&next=1 with that new coach of hers

velcro wrote:

ah way too early to be running this fast. maybe if this was trials, but it is mid may only - stupid ncaa collegiate system influences north american training

Yeah. Never mind the fact that Rowbury needed an Olympic A qualifier; she should waited for the Trials to go for it, where he final is likely to see the leaders at about 3:06, maybe 3:08 with a lap to go. Nothing like livin' on the edge!

stupid u.s. school system influences american forethought & posting habits

Frankly, she looked not at all taxed to run 4:01. I wouldn't worry about her.

Actually, Webb did race a few times this year and unfortunately he didn't perform to his (or everyone else's) expectations.

Rowbury needed the Olympic A Qualifier and raced until she got it. In her interview after the Stanford meet she said that her plans were to try to get the standard there and then just train for the trials. Unfortunately, she came up .59 seconds short so she had to race again at Adidas.

She ran WELL within her means at Adidas to a 4:01 win. I suspect she will hibernate until the trials now that she has her standard.

Expect to see her at Pre. She's a Nike athlete which means that there is a 100% chance that she has in her contract that she must run Pre if they tell her to. Given her newfound status, I would assume Nike would choose to exercise this option.

notachance wrote:

You telling me that she drops from 412 to 407 to 401... in three races... legitimately....

NO way... does this actually happen??

You do remember that she won the Nationals Indoors (8:55 3000i), right, which is probably worth a 8:45-48 or better outdoors in a non-tactical race. That translates to an 4:06 using the IAAF tables.

She also won NCAAs, and then missed a racing year because of injury but her training/body maturity continued and she no longer has quite the work load imposed by a school like Duke. She also had an indoor mile of 4:34, which is 4:12 before translating to an outdoor track, which is faster. Take the indoor mile of two years ago and improve at a reasonable rate and you are down into the 4:20s outdoors.

Did you see what she looked like winning the 3000 indoors? Go watch that race and tell me that she did not look pretty good for someone that was doing an over-distance race. I think that she also just turned in a 2:02, so she has good speed. Combine this with a 8;55 3000i in a championship race run when she is NOT peaking and you get that she is ready to run pretty good marks at her primary distance right in between. Still, I though she would be 4:03, not 4:01.61.

I’m Andy Chan and I was Shannon’s high school coach at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (SHCP) in San Francisco. It is with great excitement that I follow her professional running career. It’s terrific, not only that she is running so well, but that there is such passionate interest in her and the sport of track & field. For anyone who is interested in more on Shannon’s background there is a story about Shannon’s high school days on the SHCP website at:

http://www.shcp.edu/s/148/sacredheart.aspx?sid=148&gid=1&pgid=292&cid=5318&ecid=5318&crid=0&calpgid=408&calcid=5224

Andy Chan

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory

Head Coach - Cross Country and Track & Field

Great job with Shannon. USA USA USA USA USA USA !

http://trackandfieldphoto.com/DisplayJpg.php?080518_2016_5743_RLM&next=1

Chan, who just finished his 10th season as the head track & field and cross country coach at SHCP, still maintains a close friendship with Rowbury. “Fate brought us to SHCP at the same time, so we started our journey together in 1998,” says Rowbury, “I was new to running and he was new to being a head coach.” Looking back, Rowbury says, "I was very fortunate with my high school experience. Andy, recognized that I might have a future in running, and he made sure to think of my development in the long term. He was conservative in my training, taught me the value of recovery, and above all made sure running was fun. While I may not have as many records as a result, I feel I owe a lot to Andy for creating in me a healthy and positive outlook towards running.”

Wow, what a guy. The quotes above from Shannon herself says it all. Every high school coach should be inspired by this great story. Hopefully each can learn something from it. The more selfless high school coaches we have nurturing our athletes - the more elite, olympic hopefuls we'll see ready and willing to represent our country in the future! Good luck at trials Shannon!

We need more coaches like Chan who develop kids and not run them into the mud.