Running in the Rain wrote:
They all must be Kenyan because they don't like to hurt until 1,000 out.
You beat me to it.
Someone else mentioned the men's 5,000m at the 2001 Goodwill Games, where a field of world-class runners (actually, I think that they were all Kenyans and Ethiopians, which I suppose supports Solinsky's goofy statement a bit) jogged at over 5-minute-mile pace before a group finish of about 52 to 53 seconds for the final lap. The spectators generally hated it, but as long as the runners haven't collectively agreed not to knock themselves out, I'd rather see a slow tactical race instead of a rabbitted affair in which one or two noncompetitors lead the pack, checking back every once in a while to make sure that they're not getting too far ahead of the real competitors.
(But still . . . 33:06, was it? Yikes.)