kenyan 5/10000 trials will be held at the preclassic on june 2nd

Shoebacca wrote:

If I'm AK, I would not do it that way. I can understand wanting to get the race done away from altitude and do it in a place where it might get some more media attention around the world. I can even understand wanting all the world's talent involved. But I don't think it's wise for the country. Just imagine if somebody like Rupp, a non-Kenyan, trips and takes down a favored Kenyan athlete with him. What a controversy that would start.

I'd rather the Kenyans ran their trials at Pre, but in a race with just Kenyans. I'm a fan of putting the best competition in the same races, but for a country's trials that already has high competitive quality I'm not sure it's wise.

What a dumb assed comment. In a track race with humans, anyone can fall any time.

Part of the risks of the sport.

Stoopid assed negative future scripting.

Just lame.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Might this meet be better than the Olympics, then, with more of the actual best runners represented?

The first Kenyan was 5th in the WC last year, so probably not.

true, but these are slow races

the talent is there :

a nobody kid runs 26'43 to push kennster to his then limit lat year & he's a long way in pecking order behing wilson kiprop, lenny komon, mutai...

What about pace makers?, surely there couldnt be any. And then what if a non-Kenyan athlete goes out and runs 27:00 pace, do the Kenyans sit back and run a tactical race?

Still have not found an outside source confirming this. I know the OP has a bunch of legit posts on these board, but this could be an epic troll attempt.

JH359 wrote:What about pace makers?, surely there couldnt be any. And then what if a non-Kenyan athlete goes out and runs 27:00 pace, do the Kenyans sit back and run a tactical race?

i presume this is a trials-within-circuit-race

thus, they shoud have pacers in there, regardless of what kenyans may want

i don't think kenyans will be too upset - they know that london will be temperate & they need to run the legs off the field to even get a bronze

they shoud aim for 13'10 & then see what happens

personally, i think at least 1 kenyan will keep this pace going to about 7k, when it'll become tactical, slow to a crawl & end up as a last lap sprint in ~ 26'50

you'll see a 26'20 race with 3 or 4 guys capable, degenerate to a tedious sprint, where the 4th kenyan will be kicking himself he didn't keep pace going from 7 -> 10k...

26mi235 wrote:

Are you sure wrote:

Does not make sense ? They have never done this before outside of the marathon. Nike may be flying a bunch a Kenyans over to compete and a corrupt official is saying this is trial ?

Please give us the background on this , thank you.

I think that they have used the 10,000 (Belgium) in the past to help pick the 10,000 team but I am vague on the memory. I seem to recall that it was the women's team.

The Ethiopian men sorta did this in 2008 at Hengelo. Geb ran like 26:50-something, and earned his spot in the Olympics from that race.

I find this whole situation pretty odd. How are they going to determine the qualification standards for who gets in the race? Or will Nike determine which runners they want to see and pay for them to show up? How many days apart are the races gonna be if anybody wants to double? Or are they gonna keep the races close together to discourage guys from doubling?

I can see the advantages of having the trials closer to sea level to get the athletes that perform best at sea level, and I understand how Nike and AK benefit from this arrangement. But is this situation to the benefit of the athletes? Couldn't they have thrown something together a little closer to home, like at a solid facility in Europe? Or Doha? I know this situation benefits the American fan, Nike, and AK, but is it really in the best interest of the athletes? I find this whole thing a little odd.

It also has to do with the terror threats from al shabab, the somolian wing of al qaeda made as retailiation for occupying southern somolia

What did they do ? wrote:

What a dumb assed comment. In a track race with humans, anyone can fall any time.

Part of the risks of the sport.

Stoopid assed negative future scripting.

Just lame.

Are you physically incapable of processing information or are you just trying to act like a piece of shit?

For an American Runner to fall and take down a Kenyan in the middle of their Olympic Trials Race is WORLDS apart from that same Kenyan falling

For a Kenyan to fall in an all-Kenyan Race or be taken down by another Kenyan is legitimate. The first could simply be the result of misfortune, and the second can be legitimized on the basis that the first Kenyan who fell will already have received just punishment for his clumsiness in losing his own chance to qualify.

For a Kenyan to be brought down by a Non-Kenyan in a race determining his olympic team status will elicit nothing less than a tidal wave of protests, because external interference (especially interference from other countries) should have no place in that race

How about Lagat runs the mile at Pre and they set up a record attempt for him. Alan Webb isn't worthy of that record.

So no one can try to double. Although it would be interesting to pick the first three guys through the 5000 and then if you don't make that team keep it going for the 10. If they're coming to America, how about the 5000 in New York (NYRR are you listening?) and the 10000 in Eugene.

i hope this isn't a shot across the bow from AK. what happens if, on their own turf, a rupp/sol finishes 5,6,7th behind 2-4 non-olympic kenyans... shawowski!

trance dance turn in shawowski wrote:

i hope this isn't a shot across the bow from AK. what happens if, on their own turf, a rupp/sol finishes 5,6,7th behind 2-4 non-olympic kenyans... shawowski!

it could also go the other way, what if rupp, lagat, solinsky, ritz, jager, farah whoever beat all the kenyans in their own trials?

trance dance turn in shawowski wrote:

i hope this isn't a shot across the bow from AK. what happens if, on their own turf, a rupp/sol finishes 5,6,7th behind 2-4 non-olympic kenyans... shawowski!

what happens? Nothing happens. It AK truly takes the results as their team, guys who finish after the top 3 aren't in the Olympics. Rupp and Solinsky's results at Pre won't impact their selection to the USA team, whether they win or come in dead last, with the possible exception of an A standard performance for Solinsky (he doesn't have the A standard in either event).

i'm not concerned about selection process for US; mentally, i hope the US top competitors are ready to defend their turf. i don't like to think about is but if they run into trouble on home soil what can be expected??

burke - good point. that would be sick.

This is an interesting idea.

Obvious benefits:

Selection derived from a race including top Kenyans and others among the world's best.

Obvious drawbacks:

Many, many Kenyans with a legitimate claim to being in the trials race will simply be unable to attend.

Announcing the trials race only three months beforehand?? Only in Kenya.

Thing nobody is getting:

Athletics Kenya is a notoriously fickle, unpredictable, borderline corrupt agency. (I'm being kind by adding "borderline.") It's not as if this "trials race" is going to be "first three across the line are in."

It's going to be "first two across the line might be in, unless they dared to run in a US road race for $50,000 (instead of the AAA Battery Kenyan XC Series for $100), and third place might be in, but probably some old favourite from 2004 who AK owes a favour will take the spot."

Try explaining THAT to a live audience.

im totally against this kind of move.first of all this is a national trials for kenya olympic team and kenyan fans should get an opportunity just as how it has been to watch their brothers and sisters in kenya soil. this is an important event that should be held in kenya.i dont know where this corrupt AK officials came up with this SHIT.if they are going to pay for all the fans from kenya and thousands of athletes that wants to participate in the trials .shame on AK

Fred Savage wrote:

Still have not found an outside source confirming this. I know the OP has a bunch of legit posts on these board, but this could be an epic troll attempt.

Seriously, why is everyone (including whoever did the frontpage today) so sure this is true.

Douglas Burke sounds like a genuinely nice guy and he seems to have a lot of insight, but he does get things terribly wrong at times.