Is Alan Webb going to run at all this year?

I agree...

It is not just Lagat.

Again, the odds of a 29 year old winning a 1500m / 5000m Olympic Gold are slim. Lagat and El G are the exceptions. My sample is representative. You on the other hand, present no evidence to the contrary. Put up or shut up.

I mentioned Lagat because he won gold at the Worlds in 2007.

betterbutter wrote:

You're right, Webb is in the same club as Steve Holman and Sydney Maree.

http://villanovarunning.blogspot.com/2009/12/strange-case-of-sydney-maree.html

Well according to your article they are very similiar if you take Crams quote.

Cram replied: "He runs one good race in seven, but he might get lucky." What an unfair legacy for a man who ran 3:29, 3:48, 7:33, and 13:01.

Hmmmm 3:30, 3:46, 7:35(?), and 13:10. Yeah, you're right they are worlds apart.

Now let's llok at Jennings

3:35, 3:54, ?, 13:48

You're right him and Jennings are one in the same.[/quote]

Jennings did well for what he was, Webb/Maree/Holman did not. When it mattered they often couldn't even beat the Jennings/Manzano/Mullins type athletes.

Jennings, Stember, and Lunn were very good runners, but they were not in the same category as today's top American 1500 meter runners. With 3:35+ top-end speed they did what you would expected them to do. In 2000 (get this) Jason Pryah actually made the Olympic finals with only a 3:36 1500 PR.

Before Webb and Lagat started winning respect for US milers, it was David Krummenacker that was essentially carrying US middle distance running on his shoulders. Before Webb, Krummenacker had the fastest 1500 and 800 meter combination speed of any US miler.

Last I heard, Krummenacker was being used as a rabbit, which probably means he still has(had) at least 1:45 800meter speed.

Krummenacker has been quoted as saying he hated running the 1500 despite having a 3:31 pr in that event.

Quote of the day (from the not so distance past).

" A 3:30 guy will beat a 3:35 guy everytime"

- Steve Holman (3:31+, 3:50 mile)

What are they doing now..........

Steve Holman, the top American miler of the 1990s, retired from elite competition after not making the 2000 Olympic team. After not running at all for more than a year, he resumed training mostly to keep from getting fat. From there, he set his sights on breaking 2:30 in the marathon while getting an MBA, and then while working at Vanguard. He's seen here with half a mile to go in the 2004 New York City Marathon. Now 38, he lives in Philadelphia.

DK had just one top quality 1500m time, the 3:31.93, and so quite unfortunate that he didn't try any more of them when he was in that shape. But that was his one great year and he didn't have any other consistent seasons.

why no reportage here to answer the question? is he injured? if he was that close to competing in Europe in May and held off, why would he not compete again? A 3:37 early was not bad at all.

I already answered once, but I will again. He is NOT injured. He is in the process of moving back to Virginia (driving across the country). Will likely take him a while to get settled. That's why he's not racing right now.

nokaman wrote:

Again, the odds of a 29 year old winning a 1500m / 5000m Olympic Gold are slim. Lagat and El G are the exceptions. My sample is representative. You on the other hand, present no evidence to the contrary. Put up or shut up.

Lagat and ElG don't have any special kind of magic talent that lets them stay the same speed at an older age. Plus, as I already mentioned, if you want to compare Webb's age to Kenyan-born runners you have to knock off five years.

If I am not mistaken Krummenacker was indoor world champion at 800meters sometime earlier this century.

I would be happy if Webb just broke 3:50 for the mile several more times. Even the under-rated Jim Spivey broke 3:50 5 times in his career. Scott and Cram bought broke 3:50 8 and 10 times respectively. Like Joe Falcon, maybe Webb only has one sub 3:50 in him.

Let’s face the facts; Webb is finishing out his career as a 3:55 miler.

Maybe Webb could run a 3:49 mile at 30 like Spivey did. However, to be honest Webb has already wasted 2 years and he will be 29 next year.

By not running at this years US championships, Webb is just digging a deeper hole for himself. Taking all this time off from competition does not put him in a good position at the next Olympics trials.

You have to be kidding. He hasn't raced in months and you're telling me it's because he's driving across the country, which takes a week at most.

Kind of have to agree with that last post.

Driving across the country? When did he start this week?

He ran 3:37 in what? March/April, appeared to be well on his way, look how far Willis has come in short time.

Now, not a sighting in months?

Something else is clearly up, you do not miss compteting in a World's year especially when seeking a major sponer one would figure. Especially when watching what other sguys have run and how soft the event was in U.S. this year as it turns out.

Lomong has run nothing impressive, Wheating just got going and even Centro's 3:34.x should have been reachable.

Who said he was driving a car cross country. He could be either jogging or biking. Maybe he is following the Lewis and Clark trail.

Please get the facts straight.

I have to agree, this isn't the whole story. Why would he give up the entire season just to move? What is he waiting for? You can't tell me he's not in shape.

Let's call a spade a spade, Alan Webb is a head case.

If a non-American runner ran 3:30 (while to have potential to run even faster) and had so many issues, we would declare he was a head case without dispute. But because we all are rooting for him so much, we want to believe something else. He's a head case clear and simple.

Why is it that people do nothing but criticize the poor guy? He's AMERICA'S GREATEST RUNNER. Give the poor guy some credit. Come on, he's the fastest high school miler, holds the American record mile time, which will probably never ever be broken again by anybody. He has other great times in different events, including the 5k. The guy is only human. I certainly as hell think that a 3:53, as an eighteen year old and a 3:46, approxomatily 4 seconds away from the official world mile record, is damn well worth a medal. All people do is doubt and bash about the guy. You don't know how hard it is to be under all that pressure, plus marriage and family. Running as fast as he does, even now, is still damn good. He can still run a 4:00 mile. Give the guy a break. He's bounced back before and he will again. Just because he's been injured, doesn't mean its over. All he has to do is change his training and his state of mind, its that simple. He could be running a 3:45 mile by next year, and a sub 3:30 1500m, and a few PRs in the 5k. The guy has more talent then all the runners out there, so get lives.

Is Alan Webb going back to Scott? If he did that's one major step in the right direction. Also, will Alan Webb ever go under 3:55 again for one mile time? I like how you said that all he has to do is switch his training. That's what I do when I'm stuck and my mile times plummet. He needs to find something that works and stick with it. Instead of dreading the run, enjoying the run. Instead of dreading pressure, enjoying and making the best out of it. That's what I do. If Alan does read this, my advise simply is to realize that you have years yet and you could bounce back and be on your toes after a few changes. Good luck Alan!

Maybe Alan Webb simply moved on ):