Hypothetical Races

In the world of elite track and field, you generally have an idea of how athletes will perform. If runner "A" has faster times than runner "B" at distance "X," you expect runner "A" to win. But what if runner "A" ran a completely different event against someone they have never raced against?

Back in the day when I was in high school, at some of the smaller meets (non-district/regionals/state) there would be a "big man relay." Just for fun, the throwers from each school would participate in a 4x100m relay. I'm pretty sure the crowd yelled the loudest during that event because it was entertaining. Track meets can always use a little more entertainment.

With that in mind, there are a few races I think we'd like to see. One recently popular topic on LetsRun is titled "Bolt vs Bekele in a 600m." Usain Bolt is the world record holder in the 100m (9.69) and 200m (19.30). Kenenisa Bekele is the world record holder in the 5000m (12:37.35) and 10,000m (26:17.53). I say Bekele would win it because distance runners can sprint more easily than sprinters can run distance. That's the theory anyway.

Of course there are always some match-ups that should have stayed imaginary:

Spring is in the Air

NCAA Indoor Nationals came and went. Our coverage is here. Oregon and Tennessee won the team titles. I'd say Galen Rupp was the MVP as he won the 5000m, DMR and 3000m easily.

On the women's side, Jenny Barringer ran a 8:42 3000m pretty much by herself. Sarah Bowman beat Sally Kipyego in the mile by less than a second. Kipyego won the 5000m though. It was Sally's last college meet, but I can't wait to see how she does as a pro.

Now that spring is here, we can start thinking about the outdoor season. It's Rupp's last NCAA season and German Fernandez's first. I want to see those two race each other. Fernandez did not run at NCAA's last week because he is going to Amman March 28 for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. 

The Stanford Invitational is also the weekend of March 27-28. It's the first major track meet of the outdoor season. Some of the top high school, college and professional runners will compete. Also coming up are the Texas Relays, April 1-4, at the University of Texas. I plan to be at that meet with PreRaceJitters.com.

Perhaps the biggest week for outdoor track and field (other than national championships) will be April 19-25. Penn Relays, Drake Relays and the Boston Marathon are all that week! 

Technically the Boston Marathon isn't track and field, but it's muy importante. Ryan Hall, Brian Sell and Kara Goucher are running. Could Hall win? He is up against some tough [Kenyan] competition, so things should get interesting.

Speaking of major marathons, don't forget about the most competitive of them all...London. Dathan Ritzenhein (USA) will try that one April 26, but look for someone like Martin Lel (KEN) Sammy Wanjiru (KEN) to win it.

Back to track and field... The outdoor season continues long into the summer. The NCAA National Championship meet will be held at the University of Arkansas, June 10-13. USATF Nationals are in Eugene, June 25-28.  

It's difficult to make individual predictions at this time. Last year was so huge because of the Olympic Trials and Olympics, but now a lot of athletes are refocusing and trying new events. Some have even dropped their old coaches and moved across the country. And don't forget about the inconsistency of Alan Webb. 

Howdy Dammit!

Howdy! That's what you are supposed to say to everyone in Aggieland. Along with their many traditions, Aggies (and Texans in general) are some of the nicest people you will meet.

I'm in College Station, Texas, for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Texas A&M recently built an indoor facility to host this meet. They also hosted the Big 12 Indoor Championships two weeks ago where Colorado's Jenny Barringer and Oklahoma State's German Fernandez broke the collegiate mile indoor records.

Barringer is not running the mile this weekend, however. She will compete in the 3000m. Unfortunately, we won't get to see her go against rival Sally Kipyego. Kipyego is entered in the mile and the 5000m.

Fernandez is not competing at all at this meet. Instead he will run in Amman at the IAAF Cross Country Championships, March 28.

Where does that leave the rest of the competition? The men's 5000m should be good. Oregon's Galen Rupp and Liberty's Sam Chelanga will once again race each other. It's always a close race between those them. At the Tyson Invitational last month, Rupp beat Chelanga by a little over a second.

Kipyego is the favorite in the women's mile, but it's not her best event (in other words, she has actually gotten 2nd place as opposed to winning). Brie Felnagle of North Carolina and Sarah Bowman of Tennessee are in contention as well.

The event many people look forward to is the men's Distance Medley Relay. There are 18 teams entered! Those were all automatic qualifiers. I won't even try to make a prediction for that race (but I'd like to see Texas get it).

Coverage starts Friday at PreRaceJitters.com.

But It's So Warm Under This Rock

It has been a while since my last post and now the indoor track season is just about over. That was quick. Good thing I just use indoor to prepare for outdoor. Yeah, that's it.  

The USATF Indoor Championship meet was last weekend in Boston, as well as NCAA conference meets.

Not everyone showed up for nationals. By "everyone" I mostly mean Bernard Lagat and Nick Symmonds. At the Tyson Invitational we saw Khadevis Robinson make a comeback since an injury to almost beat Symmonds in the 800m. It would have been fun to see those two race again last weekend. Without Symmonds, KD won in 1:48.61. 

Another popular rivalry is between Lagat and Alan Webb in the 1500m. Of course Webb has not had a good year, but there's always some hope, especially if he is pushed by Lagat. But Lagat was not there. Webb was 2nd (3:45.82) in Boston, behind Rob Myers (3:45.73). It was a close race, but was it an improvement? That's hard to say. Surely Webb will peak this spring/summer. He normally doesn't always run indoor track.

I'm just glad I picked Myers for the win on the LetsRun poll. He had the lowest percentage of votes too. This means I am getting better with my predictions.  

In college running news, the Big 12 meet was rather eventful, which just goes to show that the A&M Track is just as good as the one at Arkansas, if not better. Oklahoma State's German Fernandez ran a 3:55.02 mile, a new college record. The women's collegiate mile record also fell as Colorado's Jenny Barringer ran 4:25.91. She beat Sally Kipyego in that race. 

The NCAA national meet will be held at Texas A&M, March 13-14. I will be there to cover the meet for PreRaceJitters.com. I am currently working on some preview articles. It should be a good meet, but the best part is that it's in Texas! Only a 3 hour drive for me.

Tyson Invitational

The Tyson Invitational was this weekend. This was my first time to come to the University of Arkansas, which is surprising given their history with track and field. I'm caffeinating right now in preparation for the 7 hour drive home.

In case you don't know what happened, the big story was Galen Rupp's American record in the 5000m. He ran 13:18.12. I covered the meet for PreRaceJitters.com and LetsRun.com. Links: http://preracejitters.com/rupp-sets-5k-american-record-at-tyson-invitational/ and http://www.letsrun.com/2009/tyson0213.php

There is also some very good coverage in all the events at TrackShark.com. The TrackShark guys, Tom Borish and Scott Bush, impress me with their work ethic. They have been writing, Twittering, filming, etc. nonstop. They were also nice to let me stay with them after my plans fell through. I was going to rough it and sleep in my car, but it did get awfully cold last night.

My favorite race has always been the men's mile. This was the first time I got to see Nick Willis race in person. I had hoped Alan Webb would have finished better, but he needs to work on his tactics.

Some Texas Tech people are here too. I got to see my old coach and former teammates. Sally Kipyego was 2nd in the mile, but we all know that's not her best event.

Yesterday I ran around town, but it killed my shins since there was mostly concrete hills everywhere. I was told there are trails, but I never found them. I felt better once I ran though. I get antsy if I watch track meets and I can't run.

Shalane Flanagan - Flotrack Video Interview

Flotrack's Mark Floreani interviewed 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan today. Flanagan will compete in the 5000m at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games tomorrow. She hopes to break Marla Runyan's record of 15:07.33.

In this interview, Flanagan discusses what she has been up to since Beijing, as well as why she left her coach, John Cook.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

"Come to Oregon!"

Jordan Hasay decided to go to the University of Oregon and everyone on letsrun has their panties in a bunch. How can you live vicariously through these talented young runners if they just won't listen to you?

Sure, she could have gone to Stanford. She certainly has the grades for it. She could have gone to the University of Washington to join the 2008 NCAA champion cross country team. Not to say Oregon doesn't have a history of achievement. Jordan Hasay is going to be a Duck. Accept it and move on.

Eugene is a great place to train. It's called "Track Town, USA" for a reason. The entire community is supportive of the Ducks. It probably didn't hurt when the crowds shouted "Come to Oregon! Come to Oregon!" to Hasay when she ran her 4:14.50 high school record at Hayward Field during the Olympic Trials.

Hasay stated that she gets along well with the coaches and her future teammates. There is also the Oregon Track Club in Eugene, which she can join when she runs professionally.

More importantly, Hasay considered her future when she made the decision to attend the University of Oregon. She said she plans to study physiology and work in athletic training or physical therapy. Where better than the birthplace of Nike?

What is the problem then?


(Photo by Joe Johnston, SanLuisObispo.com/The Tribune)