I just looked at the results and saw Willis in 7th in 3:51.7?. He almost surely had the fastest last lap of anyone. He was just sitting on the back until Lagat and Wheating died off.. He was still way back with 300 to go from what I could tell. That must have been quite a kick.
Prob 54/5-ish like Kiprop.
He had run a 5k and an 800m and rabbited a couple 1500's before today, but that was a pretty good season opener at his specially (1500m / mile)in 3:51.77.
He ran negative splits by about 1- 1.5 seconds from watching TV. Smart race against a 19 man field to keep out of the mess. He stayed out of traffic until the last lap and moved by guys as they were blowing up. Looked like he was catching guys, just ran out of track.
As soon as I saw him in last place at the start I knew he would be mowing guys down at the end. In some ways it might have been a smart way to stay out of trouble in such a large field. But it also meant he had a lot of work getting around people when he started to move. I'm sure he'll run faster between now and the Games. Like 2008 he won't be a medal favorite but he'll have a chance at it again.
As Cram and Hutchings said, there were at least 4 people too many in the Mile. Also the pacemaking was terrible, 59 and 60 with rabbits?
Pacemakers baffle me. So many do a pathetic job.
hdjejrhe wrote:
Pacemakers baffle me. So many do a pathetic job.
MacNarmara from Oregon was great. Dude the 5k perfectly and the mile last night.
Anyone else a little disappointed that I believe the past 2 years Willis has run at Pre but never put himself in contention with the leaders but sat back and kicked for a mid-pack finisher?