Nick Willis runs 3:57.99 in 1st race at Michigan's new indoor track which is part of $168 million complex (video)

Venue was amazing. Great place for meets to take place but also a great place to train. They change between a banked and flat track twice during the meet. Huge video board that showed the results of each heat as well as the current attempts of every field event.

Craig Engels Van wrote:

been around ya' know wrote:

He was off the back end early and it appeared that he dropped out about halfway in. He was out of camera range when he did so I couldn't see if there was any sign of injury. He was never really in the race though.

Damn. Hopefully he's okay. I'd love to see another great season out of him

I was at the meet and didn’t see anything particular happen that led to him dropping out. He was at the tail end of the field from the get go and dropped out when he was pretty far off the rest of the field. Didn’t look like he suddenly got injured or anything, though he could have been dealing with something before the race.

Leer ran all his pr's in 2013/14.

He ran 7:39/13:21 in 2013 and 3:34/3:51 in 2014.

You may need to check that record.

I saw Kevin Sullivan run a 3:55 on the track with Paul McMullen on the Plymouth/Canton track in 1999(?).

It was an Olympic Development meet. I believe Ritz ran a 14:12 5k at the same meet.

The 3:57.89 record is the indoor best in Michigan. 3:53.50 (Willis) is the outdoor best.

yeah, so wrote:

The 3:57.89 record is the indoor best in Michigan. 3:53.50 (Willis) is the outdoor best.

When was that race? I thought Sullivan still had it as of around 2013-2014 and didn’t think that Willis raced outdoors much in Michigan since then.

Hmmm? wrote:

Jah boi wrote:

Yo can Will Leer just hang them up?

Should have hung it up years ago - when was the last time the guy posted a result of any worth? And what is Brooks thinking when they signed him? No wonder that company is in trouble when they sign dead wood like that

He’s just wearing the brooks gear to be anti-Nike. They’re not paying him

They should have built a 300 meter flat track, this is the furture.

Can Still Run Fast wrote:

They should have built a 300 meter flat track, this is the furture.

There's a 300m flat track around the outside of the banked track.

ThatAverageRunner wrote:

Can Still Run Fast wrote:

They should have built a 300 meter flat track, this is the furture.

There's a 300m flat track around the outside of the banked track.

Yes there is but it's a 3 lane training track, not for competition. I believe the idea was to host nationals for NCAA and USATF both of which need to be 200m banked as of now.

2014-August 10. Michigan Track Classic, Saline

1. Nick Willis (New Zealand) 3:53.50

2. Garret Heath (Brooks) 3:53.61

3. Kyle Merber (Hoka One) 3:55.08

4. Mac Fleet (Oregon) 3:56.77

5. Jack Bolas (Furman Elite) 3:57.39

6. Dorian Ulrey (Nike) 3:57.52

7. Craig Huffer (Australia) 3:58.07

Shmmm? wrote:

Hmmm? wrote:

Should have hung it up years ago - when was the last time the guy posted a result of any worth? And what is Brooks thinking when they signed him? No wonder that company is in trouble when they sign dead wood like that

He’s just wearing the brooks gear to be anti-Nike. They’re not paying him

Well if I were Brooks I would ask him to stop wearing our stuff because you make us look bad

Thing about Leer is if he changes his mind about the beard he can have it back by the weekend.

Let it Rupp wrote:

Why? That was a pretty good race by Will Leer standards, finishing close behind Willis. Although I would have preferred he kept the beard, he looks like a washed up hair metal singer.

Great run for Bellemore., the beer miler.

Damn. How does Willis make it look SO EASY?!?!

Also, props to Carson (or whoever) for dipping at the line, dude looked like he really went for it. Love to see the effort.

Willis is great for this sport. Returns to Michigan to run a solid record for the track when it opens. His old man strength is legendary.

That track is beautiful! Huge improvement on the old facility from what I can see from the video

Michiganrunner50 wrote:

That track is beautiful! Huge improvement on the old facility from what I can see from the video

Oh yeah for sure. Old track was garbage.

I talked to Ferlic at the meet and it sounds like he and the rest of the Warhurst group are returning this saturday at the Harvey Simmons invitational or whatever it is for another elite mile. He said this race was just a rustbuster for them (and that he hopes he can finally go sub-4 for the first time!!)

Bellemore? Or whoever that was that got outkicked for 3rd?

Man that guy's lower back looked like a literal question mark in the last lap. Did he poop his pants or is he really just that weak?

/armchairing over