Chris Solinsky 3:46, German Fernandez DNF in Belgium; Robby Andrews 3:45 in Italy

Callahan has a medical 6th year and is half Belgium thus he is in Europe visiting family

Bump

Anyone[? Inquiring minds want to know...quote]oldold runner wrote:

Does anyone know why German DNF'D?[/quote]

Was was 3:51 man Will Leer?

This is an example of the kind of behavior that makes it so hard to take you guys seriously when you call yourselves journalists.

rojo wrote:

I guess instead of speculating I could just ask Schumacher but speculating is half the fun isn't it?

oldold runner wrote:

Does anyone know why German DNF'D?

I don't know but this got me thinking, are there any elite "pacer" training groups? Like, what if Nike hired a big time coach and pulled out all the stops for a group of talented studs with low 3:30, 13:00 potential, but mostly with the end goal of outstanding pacing performance?

That's 1. part joking,

2. part interested in questions of American pacemakers,

and 3. part surmising that if professionals in the sport were more enterprising, they would do this with the E. African talent pool and supply a more disciplined force (to the venues where the pacemaking has been substandard for whatever reason, in recent times) of pacemakers to major track and road race events, attempts.

In case you're wondering wrote:

This is an example of the kind of behavior that makes it so hard to take you guys seriously when you call yourselves journalists.

rojo wrote:

I guess instead of speculating I could just ask Schumacher but speculating is half the fun isn't it?

A certain degree of speculation is definitely part of a properly done, conscientious job in journalism.

Unless your arrogant false opinion of journalistic professionalism takes after the declining standards of our day, where corporate media conglomerate lackeys and yes men never ask hard questions or do critical thinking? Which makes sense, cause given the odds and given the typical demographic of snobs on this forum, you likely are such a bureaucratic, butt-kissing yes-man, who comes on this forum to vent his anger and psychological rage at having to kiss butt, by having contempt for those who go against wrongful norms.

SlowFatMaster wrote:

Do you have any specific "world class 800m races which go out in 50 point and every body is running the last 100m in 12 seconds" in mind? Even one specific race?

Perhaps not everybody.

trackcoach wrote:

SlowFatMaster wrote:

Do you have any specific "world class 800m races which go out in 50 point and every body is running the last 100m in 12 seconds" in mind? Even one specific race?

Perhaps not everybody.

Indeed. Perhaps not anybody.

Are these times using blocks? I hope to God they aren't hand timed. That would be so annoying.

robby andrews is overweight. pretty simple to see that, but admittedly it's really hard for some to get down to a fighting weight and still be strong. he is probably fighting his genes on that front.

Math Counts wrote:

trackcoach wrote:

Perhaps not everybody.

Indeed. Perhaps not anybody.

Doubt there's any big 800 meter race that was closed in under 12 seconds, let alone one that went out in 50.x. In the 2012 Olympic final I bet no one broke 13 for the final 100.

"The splits triggered amazement: 23.4 secs for the first 200m, 25.88 secs for the second, a critical 25.02 for the third and 26.61 to bring it all home." - Rudisha - 2012 Olympics

The fastest last 100 was likely Symmonds - would be surprised if he ran under 12.5.

If he's confident that he's healthy, some speed to get the legs going makes sense. Maybe not for an early/mid fall marathon, but after so much down time, speedwork can only help, even at the longer distances.

In case you're wondering wrote:

This is an example of the kind of behavior that makes it so hard to take you guys seriously when you call yourselves journalists.

rojo wrote:

I guess instead of speculating I could just ask Schumacher but speculating is half the fun isn't it?

Maybe the entirety of the Letsrun site should make it easier.

Maybe the headline should read " Crushed by the Japanese 1500 team ".

The good part is that Chris is improving and racing. The question becomes can he race himself over the summer back into national class fitness as i think its a bit much to ask for world class at this stage.

rojo wrote:

This would indicate to me that Chicago is not in the cards. Chicago is 13 weeks out. New York is 16 weeks. Has he announced a marathon?

I guess instead of speculating I could just ask Schumacher but speculating is half the fun isn't it?

For guys with a pretty massive base it seems like 16 weeks as a specific marathon buildup is pretty good. That is the kind of time that Kenyans often talk about being in hard marathon training, right?

If you're going to call Schumacher, though, check in about BAIRU!

Kipketer_Pumpkin_Eater wrote:

I don't know but this got me thinking, are there any elite "pacer" training groups? Like, what if Nike hired a big time coach and pulled out all the stops for a group of talented studs with low 3:30, 13:00 potential, but mostly with the end goal of outstanding pacing performance?

That's 1. part joking,

2. part interested in questions of American pacemakers,

and 3. part surmising that if professionals in the sport were more enterprising, they would do this with the E. African talent pool and supply a more disciplined force (to the venues where the pacemaking has been substandard for whatever reason, in recent times) of pacemakers to major track and road race events, attempts.

- Most guys with low 3:30/13:00 potential rightfully believe they have legit shots at US national teams and their own careers as elites. They're not going to train to pace races. (Unless they're Kenyan. Then these times mean less, so pacing becomes a smart financial option. Ask Haron Lagat, one of the best.)

- Pacing 3:2x/12:5x races isn't as straightforward as the Letsrun spectator crew seems to think. Even for a pacer to take the field to 1200/3000 is damn near a race effort for these guys. (If it was easy for them to do three-quarters of the race on pace, they'd be in the race!) So naturally there is going to be some variation.

- The exception to this is 800 pacing, since 400 at 800 opening pace should be very doable for any 800 man. This is where you get the really brilliant and consistent guys like Scherer, Som and Tangui.

- You idea is still interesting. If Nike would put up room, board and a tidy salary for a group of next-tier Kenyan guys to train as a stable of pacers for NOP, there would be plenty of recruits.

Frankly, if all you can do is about a 4:10 mile, how are you going to be world class at the marathon? It is possible but hard. You need to be able to run 4:40s for 26.2 miles. Then 1 hr or under for a 1/2 marathon, which is 4:34. So, your threshold runs (1 hr pace) would be 4:34 or better. 10k pace workouts for Solinsky at its best would be at 4:20 pace. 5k pr pace for him is 4:10/mile. So, obviously, for him to get back to the kind of shape he was in in 2010, it will take him being able to run 1500m a lot faster than that 3:51 he ran. 3:46 is a big step. He'll need to get down into the mid 3:30s to be back all the way. And then he'll be able to run those necessary 10k and threshold pace runs. Good to see him making progress again.

I think Solinsky should stick to track but focus on 10k. It's a tragedy that the first white guy under 27 mins hasn't even qualified for an Olympics.

Yifter ran in the olympics 10k (and won) when he was 36.