Boston Mile: Russell Brown Wins Easily (3:54), Webb, Verzbicas, Manzano All Above 4:00

Employee #1 just called. Said Russel Brown looked great and won convincingly. The results were pretty shocking to say the least.

Nice runs up front, but then Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano all came up short of 4.

Manzano leaves me wondering what happened?

When was his last race, much less track race? His race leaves me wondering how long has it been?

Wow! Well, that's why they run the race. Thanks for that. Was Hesch rabbitting?

Webb looked like he was hurting. Sara Hall was puking as she was running for a good three laps or so...

Are the Heaths (Elliott and Garrett) the fastest American brothers ever? 3:55f dmr split for Elliott and now 3:55 for Garrett.

sure, the top 2 are surprising...

but is anyone surprised to see Manzano run a stinker for an opener? Nothing new.

And Webb has been clearly not on the top of his training w/ his hammy problem and flu, which set him back, as well documented in a number of sources (including him) this week.

And Verzbicas, he ran about the exact time I expected he would run.

Not THAT surprising.

I'm just surprised Willis didn't win.

wejo wrote:

Employee #1 just called. Said Russel Brown looked great and won convincingly. The results were pretty shocking to say the least.

Nice runs up front, but then Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano all came up short of 4.

Not shocking all, I said a couple of days ago that someone like Brown or Heath would likely win. That race was a weird collection of guys who are all at different places in their preparedness to race. That goes for Lukas as well; there was no way he was going to get on a track for the first time in over half a year and go sub-4. However, anytime you can beat your outdoor PR in your first race of the indoor season is pretty darn good. I bet he could get down to 4:01 in his next couple of races.

I also said the NB mile was probably going to be disappointing for most people.

On the other hand, the men's 3k was such a great race to see live! The guy that won was so in control of himself for most of the race (at least his outward appearance was relaxed). It is too bad that he wasn't in control of both of his shoes. He lost one of them on one of the early laps and still out-kicked Mo Farah. It was truly impressive.

wejo wrote:

Employee #1 just called. Said Russel Brown looked great and won convincingly. The results were pretty shocking to say the least.

Nice runs up front, but then Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano all came up short of 4.

Why do you feel that Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano came up short?

Verzbicas is the #3 HS schooler ever now.

Webb and Manzano's seasons don't start until May/June and will continue through August/September. A little perspective goes a long way.

I find this entire discussion ridiculous. Everyone (letsrun included! "The highlight was Russell Brown's surprising win in the mile over Alan Webb, Leo Manzano and Lukas Verbicas.") needs to realize that NICK WILLIS, OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALLIST, ALSO GOT SMOKED.

malmo wrote:

wejo wrote:

Employee #1 just called. Said Russel Brown looked great and won convincingly. The results were pretty shocking to say the least.

Nice runs up front, but then Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano all came up short of 4.

Why do you feel that Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano came up short?

Verzbicas is the #3 HS schooler ever now.

Webb and Manzano's seasons don't start until May/June and will continue through August/September. A little perspective goes a long way.

Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano all came up short of 4. As in, they did not break four minutes.

malmo wrote:

Why do you feel that Webb, Verzbicas, and Manzano came up short?

He said "short of 4." Which is correct.

Correct: Malmo didn't write that. Accidentally deleted the wrong stuff in the quote.

Little disapointed with Webb's performance, but a great run by Russell Brown. I think Webb is in a weird place in his training right now, but he will be coming into form (3:53-3:55) in May. He said he was coming off the flu, and looked like he was more in 5k shape than the mile based on his upper body strength.

Extremely surprised with Verzbicas' performance. After reading his interview, with him saying his best workout was a 17 mile run at 6:00 minute pace, I thought he would be lucky to break 4:10. He is a true talent, and will break 4:00 in outdoor this year.

Overall, good showing by the US. Can't wait to watch the race online.

As usual, I agree with malmo. Especially in regard to Manzano and Verzbicas.

Of course, this begs the question: If someone like Manzano is so unfit, why is he there? I guess the answer is that these guys race for a living, and some guys like to race themselves into shape. Leo's not race fit right now, obviously; but barring injury, he'll be toward the top when it counts.

Just compared to a couple of years ago, Webb looked really thin. I was shocked to see him. It didn't look like a healthy thin. Not for a miler anyway.

Good race or bad, Russel Brown is the best interview in the sport right now.

webb tantrum ?

yeah alan did look really thin. i don't think he's any thinner than plenty of runners out there, but since he's naturally muscular this is definitely a new look for him. he might even want to put on a couple pounds of muscle now. then again he may be better than ever now that he is thinner.