• Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 3:14PM
      • Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • He's having a nice year so far. A very nice year. I know his name, but honestly, that's about it..I poked around a little, and all I got was bits and pieces. .

        So: What should I know about him? Are they any good interviews/analyses out there that I missed? Any thoughts about his future?

        Give me some of that LRC crowd-source magic.
    • Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 3:38PM - in reply to Craig Lutz fan
      • Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • Craig Lutz fan wrote:
        I'm a huge Ben Blankenship fan. Real blue collar kind of guy
        Blue collar sounds good. Any comparisons come to mind?
    • jjjjj
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 3:47PM - in reply to Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • jjjjj
      • He has a very good chance to make the U.S. team and could even challenge for a medal, based on what I saw today, at World Relay (3:51 1600m anchor), and indoors. But let's face it, these races are a crapshoot for most of the runners, since positioning is so important in a slower race. He showed today that he can be a factor in the 3:35-style championship race that we usually see. However, he was boxed and did not have a chance for the win, even if he had the speed to do it.
    • google magic
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 4:46PM - in reply to Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • google magic
      • 2007 HS Grad. One year at Mississippi State before transferring to Minnesota.
        2008: Nothing good
        2009: 3:42.47 at NCAAs but didn't make the final
        2010: Indoors - 3:57.87, ran leadoff on 3rd place DMR; Outdoors ran 3:39.77 at NCAA prelims but didn't make the final
        2011: Indoors: 7:52.52, 2nd in NCAA 3000. Didn't run for Minnesota outdoors but ran 3:54.1 at Pre and 3:37.23 in Europe. Knocked out first round at USAs.
        2012: No marks on USATF's lists as a first-year pro.
        2013: 3:37.03/3:56.66/7:47.07 in Europe. 10th at USAs.
        2014: Indoors: 7:46.55 and distant 5th at USATFs behind the big guns Lagat, Rupp, Hill, and Lomong. Outdoors: 3:39 early and injured I assume later.

        Always been an indoor the radar type. Had a pretty good senior year with a runner-up indoors and fast times outdoors. 2013 and early 2014 showed promise. The step he took this year is in line with the promise he showed coming out of college. Minnesota is an under-rated program producing both Blankenship and Mead.
    • SECCCC
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 4:51PM - in reply to Help out a bro' here, plz!
      • SECCCC
      • I believe he was a high school standout - 4:07 or so for 1600, went to Mississippi State and struggled, then transferred to Minnesota and busted a indoor-leading 3:57 mile at the time, then got second in the 3000 at nationals. He kinda fell off the radar for a while after college (injuries, thought about giving up the sport, etc), but has come back with a vengeance the last couple years. That's about all I know, but I'm a big fan.

        I also beat him once in college when he was running for MSU. Not to toot my own horn, but uh - toot toot.
    • jhkhkhkjh
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 4:54PM - in reply to google magic
      • jhkhkhkjh
      • You can see some of his results here http://raceberryjam.com/indexod.html
        2006-7 Track, 2005-6 cross.

        He won state in the 1600 twice I believe, defeating some real studs, maybe the height of MN boys distance running.
        (Hassan Mead, Elliot Heath, Rob Finnerty (who broke 4:00 for 1600 in HS) TC Lumbar who ran 24:15ish for 8k in HS)
    • DaCloner
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 5:19PM - in reply to jhkhkhkjh
      • DaCloner
      • Didn't he have a hip surgery a few years back which is why he was absent from results for a while?
    • mwhsxcc
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 6:10PM - in reply to SECCCC
      • mwhsxcc
      • SECCCC wrote:
        I believe he was a high school standout - 4:07 or so for 1600, went to Mississippi State and struggled, then transferred to Minnesota and busted a indoor-leading 3:57 mile at the time, then got second in the 3000 at nationals. He kinda fell off the radar for a while after college (injuries, thought about giving up the sport, etc), but has come back with a vengeance the last couple years. That's about all I know, but I'm a big fan.

        I also beat him once in college when he was running for MSU. Not to toot my own horn, but uh - toot toot.
        He also missed a large chunk of time after college because he had surgery for a labral tear + FAI. Having had that procedure myself, I know the rehab from it can be quite lengthy. They say you aren't 100% back to normal, mechanics-wise, until about a year after surgery, which was correct for me.

        Ben is a great guy and it is fantastic to see him having good results now. He was talented in high school, to be sure, but what was more impressive was how often he was able to beat other super-talented guys. He won the Minnesota state 1600m title two years in a row, beating out guys like Elliott Heath, Rob Finnerty, and Hassan Mead!
    • Neil
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 7:41PM - in reply to google magic
      • Neil
      • google magic wrote:
        2007 HS Grad. One year at Mississippi State before transferring to Minnesota.
        2008: Nothing good
        2009: 3:42.47 at NCAAs but didn't make the final
        2010: Indoors - 3:57.87, ran leadoff on 3rd place DMR; Outdoors ran 3:39.77 at NCAA prelims but didn't make the final
        2011: Indoors: 7:52.52, 2nd in NCAA 3000. Didn't run for Minnesota outdoors but ran 3:54.1 at Pre and 3:37.23 in Europe. Knocked out first round at USAs.
        2012: No marks on USATF's lists as a first-year pro.
        2013: 3:37.03/3:56.66/7:47.07 in Europe. 10th at USAs.
        2014: Indoors: 7:46.55 and distant 5th at USATFs behind the big guns Lagat, Rupp, Hill, and Lomong. Outdoors: 3:39 early and injured I assume later.

        Always been an indoor the radar type. Had a pretty good senior year with a runner-up indoors and fast times outdoors. 2013 and early 2014 showed promise. The step he took this year is in line with the promise he showed coming out of college. Minnesota is an under-rated program producing both Blankenship and Mead.
        ....'indoor the radar'....?
    • Poniez
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 8:13PM - in reply to jhkhkhkjh
      • Poniez
      • Ben is a graduate of Stillwater high school, which has had four alumni (including Ben) to go on to break 4 minutes--the most of any high school in the country.
    • Don't ask. Don't tell.
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 8:24PM - in reply to Neil
      • Don't ask. Don't tell.
      • Neil wrote:
        ....'indoor the radar'....?
        It's a Nike thing: NOP has the fancy saunas; OTC has the radar. The INDOOR radar.
    • Scott Ram
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 8:34PM - in reply to Poniez
      • Scott Ram
      • Stillwater MN that is. I had the privilege of getting smoked by Ben at our annual 4th of July 4 mile race. Scott Christianson would drag the High School team to that race every year. Watched Jake Watson win it too.
    • KipWhatever
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 9:04PM - in reply to Scott Ram
      • KipWhatever
      • Yeah, his high school has a good reputation. As aforementioned, it has produced four sub-4 runners, as well as it is consistently seen at NXN. They also had a guy, Eli Krahn recently, that broke Austin Tamagno's Freshman high school 1600 record... a week after Tamagno set his with a 4:09:38. Since then he's seemed to fall off the map.

        Anyways, I like Blankenship a lot, I like what he stands for and am glad that he is doing as well as he is.
    • meh
      • RE: Ben Blankenship: What's his story 5/17/2015 9:51PM - in reply to fbvebvfe
      • meh
      • Says he wants to move up to 5k eventually. With 3:35 / 8:16 2 mile he could be a force.