Chris Solinsky's 26:59 turns 10 years old today. Share your memories here.

It was an interesting race with some interesting storylines. I am in Canada so I knew Simon Bairu was going for the Canadian record. I was aware it was a loaded field and Rupp was hyped to be going for the American record. FloTrack was covering it and they did a great job of enthusiastically showcasing the race. It was a big moment for them and perhaps a breakthrough business wise to show a big meet that ended up iconic in a way. 27 low was the target the whole way, so for Solinsky to take the race by surprise in the last 800m then surprise everyone again by breaking 27 was unreal. Other runners came pouring in with Prs, national records.The element of unpredictability and surprise, along with a lot of success stories from that race made everyone share the happiness of it.

And proves bigger framed runners can eat shrimps for lunch.

Given the race started at almost 1 am EST and I was living on the East Coast (and still do), I was asleep. I don't really remember what I dreamt about that night, as it was 10 years ago and most of us don't remember dreams unless they are really vivid.

I woke up Sunday morning, not sure what time, and had breakfast. Or at least I think I did. Again, it was 10 years ago and most of us don't remember what we had for breakfast a week ago.

Peak Flotrack?

chicken butternut wrote:

And proves bigger framed runners can eat shrimps for lunch.

When I think of "The Chris Solinsky race" I think of the 5000 where a 110 pound African pushed him into the bushes.

absolute legend

Also lost in the shuffle is that Solinsky dropped a 12:55, cucking both Ritz and Rupp in the process, still making him the fastest American not named Bernard Lagat.

Great race, great piece of history, but anyone with those times for a single season would be red flagged instantly and condemned.

I guess Rupp has the last laugh, now on his 4th Olympic team and with multiple Olympic medals and 26:48 & 26:44.

Oh Please wrote:

Great race, great piece of history, but anyone with those times for a single season would be red flagged instantly and condemned.

Yep, that’s me, the condemner. Also when he whined in the bushes. The whole edifice is suspect.

Just imagine if man's best friend didn't cause Chris so much pain as he fell down the stairs and ended his running career.

T.M.A.D.D.D.H.A.S.F.N.E.

A.G.I.A.N.

I was in high school at the time and didn't really know much running outside of my state high school competitions. I saw the video a few years later in college. It's interesting how it all played out, two years later Galen Rupp is the Olympic silver medalist and Solinsky's career goes downhill from a weird accident with his dog. Only 25 years old in this race. If he hadn't been injured could he have been a 26:40's guy in 2012 and been in that final group at the olympic 10k final in 2012 chasing medals?

Runners should not wear socks up to their knees. It looks stupid.

Knee socks are for soccer players.

I remember that the previous September, Ritz had broken 13. I had tuned in to the live feed with maybe 2 laps to go and remember that I almost missed it, because even the announcers were caught off guard and not ready for it.

This time it seemed like there was at least an expectation that something special could happen in a race like this, even for an American. Of course, that American was supposed to be Rupp. I remember there was some Salazarian gamesmanship about which meet he would actually run in based on pollen forecasts 48 hours before, which made me even more inclined to root against him.

When Solinsky was still with Rupp at 5k, it occurred to me that an upset might actually be possible, although I was probably going to be disappointed. But he hung in there lap after lap. I wasn't even thinking about the time, or the possibility of an AR, I was really just watching the race.

Say what you will about Flotrack in the intervening time, but they really had their sh*t together back then. The commentary was pretty good, and as Solinsky charged through those last 2 laps (in 2 flat!) they were able to pivot the audience's expectations from just an upset to a historic, barrier breaking record. It was validating to see another tall, big-butted runner excel at longer distances. That summer I would up my mileage from 70mpw to 90mpw... and was already on crutches by pre-nats.

I also remember there was a run on compression socks at the time.

One downside was that it started the trend of crossfitters trying to argue that running was bad for runners. Not even a week later, Flotrack did a shameless pay-to-play interview with the owner of a crossfit gym, who was arguing that, since a 6'2", 170+ lb runner broke 27, it proved that the optimal way for runners to train was to cut their mileage by 90% and do a bunch of kettle bell swings.

In the end though, Solinsky's legacy is kind of like that of Webb's. He produced some amazing times with training that just wasn't sustainable, and left everyone wondering what could have been.

Did you just write "big butted runner" ???

.Trump2020OP-the real one......... wrote:

Just imagine if man's best friend didn't cause Chris so much pain as he fell down the stairs and ended his running career.

T.M.A.D.D.D.H.A.S.F.N.E.

A.G.I.A.N.

Is that where he tore up his hip or hamstring? Too significant of an injury to comeback?

Doggone

In August 2011, Chris Solinsky's running career was derailed by a devastating injury. Tripping over his dog while he was going down stairs, he suffered a hamstring avulsion and needed surgery to reattach two tendons to his pelvis.

https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20840159/chris-solinskys-long-road-back/

T.M.A.D.D.D.h.A.S.F.N.E.

A.G.I.A.N.

I was at this race. Best life sporting moment I have ever witnessed live. Everyone in my section was hugging people at random, including high schoolers and high schoolers' parents.

The buildup that week with Salazar's shenanigans about pollen, giving Rupp his own pacers, and flip-flopping between locations was really bush league. Everyone I was with wanted to see an AR, so on one hand it was exciting that Salazar/Rupp chose Stanford, but on the other hand no one liked them.

As Jon Gault reported in the article, Flotrack really did a good job of capturing the excitement of the moment. No one thought anyone other than Rupp had a shot, so Solinksky's move at 800 was incredibly stunning. Also, all the mental math all race had been around 27:13, so it really wasn't until the last 200 that sub-27 was even considered.

Hayduke wrote:

Did you just write "big butted runner" ???

Yup, and now you did too.

Not like I'm a lardass or anything. I just have been naturally #blessed with gains in my glutes, even when I don't really do much squatting, or lifting in general.

Someone once told me I have "a sprinter's @$$ on a distance runner's body."

How would you describe yourself as a runner, butt-wise?

My strongest memory of the race was thinking you guys were making it up. I checked the date and the rest of the site to see if it was April 1 or some sort of prank.

Great writing by Jonathan Gault, dude is helping to keep me sane these days.