5k/10k ace Kennedy Kithuka returns to NCAA action with 800 - guess his time

that's terrible

I saw the race.

he looked very smooth.

Utsa Guy wrote:

I saw the race.

he looked very smooth.

The better descriptor would be relaxed.

why didn't he run indoors?

but did he look relaxed?

What was his leg speed velocity?

not a horrible time, but not a great one either. although he's a longer distance guy he is definitely capable of better if not sub 1:50. I'm guessing he ran it as an under-distance tuneup rather than a balls out planned effort, it will be interesting to see how he does outdoors given the new addition of Cheserek to the NCAA elite.

My guess was 1:53. Guy ain't quick.

1:54 is good. It is well outside his range. I don't know why people assume distance runners should be able to run good times so far below their range. Guys like Meb, Abdi, and Ritz probably never would have gone quicker than this, Rupp probably wouldn't have until at least his senior year either.

somebody help me here, but i swear i read an article describing that the sole reason KK redshirted outdoor track in 2013 was to work on & improve his raw speed as TTs coach thought that it was a severely limiting factor & would ultimately prevent him from reaching his potential in the 10K and beyond.

funny thing is i think the article mentioned he ended up pulling a hammy or something and missing a month or two of training!

can anybody back me up on this? i think it was a short running times or runners world piece, but a quick google search doesn't bring it up immediately.

given the progression listed above, it seems it may have helped! 154 is pretty good compared to the previous performances.

No, this is not good, maybe for TT races, but no championship races; how can he win a NCAA Championship, let alone top 3, and close in a 1:54-1:57 in a tactical 5k, 10k if he can't barely run a 1:54... Just saying...

solinsky ran the last 800 of his 26'59 in 1'54

rocky mountain high wrote:

solinsky ran the last 800 of his 26'59 in 1'54

No he didn't. 1:57, maybe 1:56 high. Look at the videos and the finish line clock.

This though wrote:

No, this is not good, maybe for TT races, but no championship races; how can he win a NCAA Championship, let alone top 3, and close in a 1:54-1:57 in a tactical 5k, 10k if he can't barely run a 1:54... Just saying...

He's already won an NCAA title without needing to be able to run 1:54... just saying...

TAA wrote:

What was his leg speed velocity?

This is a job for Captian Leg Speed Velocity!

I am always thrilled to get such questions from our young audience. There is no question that the ultimate determinant to running performance is leg speed velocity. And yet it is so little understood by today's generation.

Henry Rono used to talk at great length about the leg speed velocity of his youth and how he longed for those days when his own could be best measured by a leg speed velociraptor. There are many, many excellent examples of the importance of this metric. Perhaps none so well put as the words of the great Seb Coe in talking about how absolutely critical leg speed velocity is to one's success at the shorter distances.

Next question?

Years ago, when Galen was still at Oregon, AlSal had him start racing the 800 indoors to open the season, and he ran 1:53/4. What was his last 800 in London 2012? Couldn't have been far off that.

This though wrote:

No, this is not good, maybe for TT races, but no championship races; how can he win a NCAA Championship, let alone top 3, and close in a 1:54-1:57 in a tactical 5k, 10k if he can't barely run a 1:54... Just saying...

Why do people think that sitting and kicking is the only tactic available in championship races? Kithuka is allowed to push the pace from the start.

bollard wrote:

Years ago, when Galen was still at Oregon, AlSal had him start racing the 800 indoors to open the season, and he ran 1:53/4. What was his last 800 in London 2012? Couldn't have been far off that.

Perhaps early in his Oregon career.

But, while still at Oregon, Rupp ran 1:49 indoor. That was 2009, three years before London.

Coach Canova, would you be willing to give us your opinion on the training of Mo Farah, Galen Rupp, and the rest of the Nike Oregon Project?