What Was the Race of the Year in 2009

I make the destinction between best performance and best race.

Best performance goes to Bolt. but his races wearn't really close, he was the favorite and he dominated. The 100 with it being the fastest race ever, and gay breaking the AR I would put in my top 5 or so races of the year.

Ritz 5k is another performance.

But for a race I need head to head down to the wire for the win...no rabbits.

So I would have to got with Lagat v. Bekele or the womens 10k all at the WC

I loved Rotterdam and really loved London. Tadese and others in their first marathon going out with Wanjiru and crew at sub-2 hr pace and then DNFing. Horrible, but great.

My favorite of the year, though, was easily Ryuji Kashiwabara's stage record run on the uphill 5th stage of the Hakone Ekiden, especially because the guy he overtook for the lead, Miwa, came back on the downhill with just over 2 km to go. If you watch enough racing every now and then you see a run that is purely transcendant. I'm probably the only one here who saw this or cares, but I think that makes me the lucky one.

piedmontcat wrote:

1. By far, German Fernandez breaking a 35 year old mile record running SOLO at a championship race. No rabbits, no waiting, just guts and attitude.

2. Meb's NYC win: To win a major marathon these days is beyond difficult today. To win one after surgery and 5 years after getting an olympic medal is even more impressive.

3. Jenny Barringer: Two words immediately comes to mind when I think of her: domination and humility. Without a doubt the greatest collegiate female distance runner of all time!

4. Galen Rupp's Indoor Championship Race(s): Ridiculous!

5. Sammy Chelanga's NCAA XC championship race was beautiful. I don't think most folks will ever appreciate what this kid did on this day. He annihilated the nation's best on a national stage, making it look easy and very manageable. There is no doubt he could have (and would have) run faster if he had to.

Yes...I just replied to myself:) Because Flotrack agreed with me!!

Weldon, I don't think that there was ONE greatest performance of the year but many. Here's my Top 10 List:

(1) Usain Bolt's 100/200 double WR. I don't think that this has been done since Jesse Owens, right?

(2) Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai in 2:04:27 in Rotterdam. If either of them had beaten Geb at Berlin, then I'd give them #1.

(3) Kebede's 2:05:18 at Fukuoka, with the first Japanese man more than 9 minutes behind him. This shows how truly dominant the Ethiopian and Kenyan runners have become in the marathon world.

(4) Wanjiru's 2:05:10 CR at London. The reason I am placing it behind Fukuoka is that Fukuoka is Kebede really had no challengers in the last 10km.

(5) Ritzenheim's 12:56 in the 5km in Zurich.

(6) Meb's unexpected win at NYC. He beat the best field that's ever been assembled at NYC.

(7) Xue Bai's win at the Berlin WC. No one saw that coming.

(7) Tegenkamp's 12:58 at Brussels.

(8) Ritz's Bronze at Birmingham.

(9) Abel Kirui's win at the Berlin Word Championships.

(10) Berlino's great performance at the World Championship. Best mascot since the San Diego Chicken, the Phillie Phanatic or the SF Crazy Crab!

www.666energy.com wrote:

(1) Usain Bolt's 100/200 double WR. I don't think that this has been done since Jesse Owens, right?

Bolt did it last year.

mcgato wrote:

[quote]www.666energy.com wrote:

(1) Usain Bolt's 100/200 double WR. I don't think that this has been done since Jesse Owens, right?

mcgato wrote:

Bolt did it last year.

But running 12:56 has never been done before, right?

Wizard need vids badly. Wizard is dying...

vids

Night Runner wrote:

I'm going to say Galen Rupp's entire 2009 season. It will be awhile before we see a season long performance like that again.

Collegiately, totally agree, really under-appreciated.

Tripled indoors, won all three, doubled outdoors, won both.

And TFN doesn't put him on the cover.

Stupid.

GF's win was nice, but it was not a double.

And for a more exciting NCAA cover? The finish of the men's 800.

GH screwed up that cover choice.

World, race of the year, World Half Marathon Champs. Close, truly exciting.

High School, the skinny chick winning at the wire. Brilliant human drama, she thought she was done then gave it another go and discover she had something she did not think she had. --I think we have all been there in some race in our life. Reminded me of high school, when I first got able to win races...started kicking, and surprised myself by passing everyone and winning.