Official US 20k Champs Discussion Thread - Olympians Galen Rupp and Leonard Korir are racing

Word is that he is going for the 20K American record

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derper wrote:

Word is that he is going for the 20K American record

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Will Alberto show up to this local road race? He wasn't there for Centro, Farah, Hasan at WC?

As a running newbie, could someone explain the difference between running a 20K and running a half marathon (21.1K)? Besides the obvious "1.1K".

Is there some sort of history or prestige associated with a 20K? Is it just because it's double a 10K and it makes the most sense from a metric perspective since it's an even number?

The first marathon was 40km in 1896. It's BS that we are still dealing with adding to the course to please the Royals.

Therefore a sub 2 marathon in traditional length has already happened.

I still think Tim Ritchie wins.

Is this race going to be televised? Hopefully not just on USATF.tv

I already paid for NBC gold!

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ZidaneValor wrote:

As a running newbie, could someone explain the difference between running a 20K and running a half marathon (21.1K)? Besides the obvious "1.1K".

Is there some sort of history or prestige associated with a 20K? Is it just because it's double a 10K and it makes the most sense from a metric perspective since it's an even number?

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oh please wrote:

The first marathon was 40km in 1896. It's BS that we are still dealing with adding to the course to please the Royals.

Therefore a sub 2 marathon in traditional length has already happened.

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CTruns wrote:I can speak to that. The idea of a NH race was created in the late 70's, when 10k's were the rage. The city got behind it, but only if the streets were not shut down for four hours, so that eliminated a marathon. Half marathons were around, but not the big thing like they are today. I think some earlier post said there are already 11 in CT, and we are the 3rd smallest state. Anyway, the 20k became the distance of choice, according to the 40th anniversary article, out of logistics. the streets allowed for the 20k to be a great loop course without "adding" just to make the 13.1. Plus, this is the longest continuous national championship in the country. There really are no other 20k's to speak of. However, if popular vote gets it's way, and it probably will, the 20k will be pushed aside like a worn out running shoe.
The 20k is unique, but the new generation doesn't care. Years from now, when this race is just another half marathon, maybe they will.

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HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM wrote:

I still think Tim Ritchie wins.

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Half marathon as a big event is a fairly recent development. That distance has really exploded in the past 15-20 years. Basically because hobby joggers like to get the finisher medal/hoopla of a full marathon with only half the effort. And they like the word "marathon" in the race title, even when preceded by "half".

Some of the old half marathon records were pretty weak for a long time just because it wasn't run that often and not by the best runners until more recently.

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HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM wrote:

I still think Tim Ritchie wins.

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Johnny Bushwood wrote:

Half marathon as a big event is a fairly recent development. That distance has really exploded in the past 15-20 years. Basically because hobby joggers like to get the finisher medal/hoopla of a full marathon with only half the effort. And they like the word "marathon" in the race title, even when preceded by "half".

Some of the old half marathon records were pretty weak for a long time just because it wasn't run that often and not by the best runners until more recently.

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CTruns wrote:

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ZidaneValor wrote:

As a running newbie, could someone explain the difference between running a 20K and running a half marathon (21.1K)? Besides the obvious "1.1K".

Is there some sort of history or prestige associated with a 20K? Is it just because it's double a 10K and it makes the most sense from a metric perspective since it's an even number?

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I can speak to that. The idea of a NH race was created in the late 70's, when 10k's were the rage. The city got behind it, but only if the streets were not shut down for four hours, so that eliminated a marathon. Half marathons were around, but not the big thing like they are today. I think some earlier post said there are already 11 in CT, and we are the 3rd smallest state. Anyway, the 20k became the distance of choice, according to the 40th anniversary article, out of logistics. the streets allowed for the 20k to be a great loop course without "adding" just to make the 13.1. Plus, this is the longest continuous national championship in the country. There really are no other 20k's to speak of. However, if popular vote gets it's way, and it probably will, the 20k will be pushed aside like a worn out running shoe.
The 20k is unique, but the new generation doesn't care. Years from now, when this race is just another half marathon, maybe they will.

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Get crushed doper...

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derper wrote:

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derper wrote:

Word is that he is going for the 20K American record

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Sorry, forgot to add:

The only reason they are targeting this record is because it currently belongs to Ritz and both Al Sal & Rupp are pissed at him for talking about them to USADA.

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Forgive me - Ritz set the record in Birmingham in 2009 ... not 2011

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He'll need some help then wrote:

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derper wrote:

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derper wrote:

Word is that he is going for the 20K American record

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Sorry, forgot to add:

The only reason they are targeting this record is because it currently belongs to Ritz and both Al Sal & Rupp are pissed at him for talking about them to USADA.

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I would be very surprised to see Rupp set the AR on Monday. First, the weather is an issue. Starting temp will be 65 degrees with 70% humidity. Likely finishing close to 70 degrees. These are not ideal conditions to run fast.

Second will be the historical times in this race and lack of any pacers. The US Record is 56:48 which is a 4:34 pace set by Ritz in Birmingham in 2011.

The US Championships record is 58:30, set by Teg in 2015 at New Haven - per https://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USA20km/men.asp

New Haven Course Record is 58:29 by Gilbert Rutto (1995). Based on the race website, which posts results to 1999, a 58 minute winning time has been achieved on only 4 occasions. You'll be asking Galen to run just under 2 minutes faster than has ever been run on this course.

For Galen to have a prayer, he is going to need some serious pacing help. New Haven does not deploy pacers. Perhaps Nike brings them in just for Galen, but I feel like you'd have heard about this already - because there aren't a ton of guys who can go out and drop a perfectly paced 28:25 10K on the roads.

The next best runner in the listed field, based on time/placement/recent results/etc... is Leonard Korir who ran the Peachtree 10K at a 4:33.5 pace. Last year he ran New Haven in 59:15. He just ran Falmouth in 32:14 in difficult conditions (4:36 pace) and he is coming off the world championships (27:20 10,000m, 4:24.5 pace). Korir is likely the only one who could pace Rupp toward a record, but in doing so, he'd likely be sacrificing his own race.

Other notables - Sam Chelenga who ran the Bix 7 miler in 4:41 pace, Abdi who just ran Falmouth in 4:43 pace. Ritchie and Landry are great runners, but I doubt they're looking to take this race out sub 4:40. Certainly not to benefit another footwear sponsor.

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I forgive you...

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He'll need some help then wrote:

Forgive me - Ritz set the record in Birmingham in 2009 ... not 2011

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