Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

[gh]

Here's some of the finishing splits (if you are smart enough to be getting eTN, you already have these, plus all of Broe's laps):

1. Tim Broe (adi) 13:35.23
(29.1, 57.5, 1:59.6, 3:03.3, 4:08.3)
2. Adam Goucher (Nik) 13:35.67
(29.5, 57.8, 1:59.7, 3:03.3, 4:08.6)
3. Jorge Torres (Reeb) 13:36.42
(29.2, 58.4, 2:00.4, 3:34.3, 4:09.6)
4. Jonathon Riley (Nik) 13:37.08
(29.3, 58.7, 2:01.0, 3:04.7, 4:09.7)
5. Louis Luchini (Stan) 13:38.77
(31.1, 60.8, 2:03.4, 3:06.5, 4:12.0)
6. Bob Kennedy (Nik) 13:43.15
(34.5, 64.9, 2:07.3, 3:11.3, 4:16.6)
7. Abdi Abdirahman (Nik) 13:43.81
(30.8, 63.9, 2:07.4, 3:11.6, 4:17.2)

In mid-race, from trackside it was fascinating to see Kennedy throwing in little surges, but I soon got the feeling that he was trying to win by guile rather than through any physical advantage. But nobody was letting go.

Interesting to note from the splits that there's virtually no change in ultimate position after the bell, but my recollection is of challenges galore in that front 5. Anybody high up in the stands have a better view of it all?

[Guest]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

I guess I'm just too numbers oriented. I just can't get excited about a 13:30s race (expecially on a cool night when they should have been honking, right?) in this day and age. As somebody noted in their list of qualifiers here yesterday, the first and second finishers don't even have the friggin B standard, so only Torres is currently slotted to go to Paris. How sucky is that?

[197hjsteve]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

Hey everybody, we can't have it both ways.

Many of us complain about fast races in Europe, helped along to great times through the completely legal use of rabbits.

The we turn around and simultaneously complain about great competitive races that are not necessarily real fast.

13:35 ain't too shaggy. That's not a bunch of guys trotting like most of the 1500. It's just a good, solid, exciting RACE.

[Guest]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

From the splits it looks like Kennedy ran himself out prior to the bell. Trained with him in the mid-90's and was always impressed with his quiet confidence and toughness. I hope he continues his comeback. Our younger distance runners would benefit from his presense over the next year.

GH - based on what you observed, do Goucher and Broe appear to have the fitness/health to get the A standard? Read where Broe had a bad back??

[gh]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

13:21.50? In a heartbeat in the right race. Problem is, as the rest of the world moves inexorably away (breaking 13:00 if you're to be competitive in a GP race), the chances of an American getting invited into the "right race" gets slimmer and slimmer. And these guys know this ahead of time.

If --for whatever reason--they weren't able to advantage themselves of one of hte few U.S. settings (like a Stanford invitaitonal, or Mt. SUC) that would have given them the Q, then they should know that they need to do it at Nationals. That has to become the "right race." The only good news this year is that with such a late Worlds, the 5K (and 1500) guys can bust their balls trying to get a Q for a month and then still have time to recuperate and be in some kind of un-burnt-out shape when Paris rolls around.

[Guest]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

Maine. July 5. The right race.

[Guest]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

I wasn't very offended when Lassiter rabbited his bud at the World Cup. I certainly don't think he should be suspended or anything like that. But perhaps an appropriate punishment would be to force him to rabbit some races here to help our 15 or 5 guys get qualifiers.

[Guest]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

>
>

GH - based on what you observed, do Goucher
>and Broe appear to have the fitness/health to get
>the A standard? Read where Broe had a bad
>back??

Broe is apparently done for the season. Goucher should get the Q.

[gh]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

>I wasn't very offended when Lassiter rabbited his
>bud at the World Cup. I certainly don't think he
>should be suspended or anything like that. But
>perhaps an appropriate punishment would be to
>force him to rabbit some races here to help our
>15 or 5 guys get qualifiers.>>

Much as I hate-hate-hate rabbits, I have suggested in the past that USATF ought to provide for one in Trials meets. As a matter of "national security" we want to have the best team possible at the WC/OG and awarding the 1500 spot to the guy who can kick best in a 3:40 race ain't the right way to do it. (I hasten to say that in the case of htis year, Lunn clearly looks like our best guy, so he would win at any speed, but in the past we've had some winners who frankly shouldn't have been.)

If the guys are going to have to be running 3:38ish in the first round in the big dance, then it needs to be ensured that they can do it.

The key, of course, is finding somebody who is willing to take on the rabbit job who at least has an outside chance of winning, otherwise, the rest of the field can/will just ignore him completley and play their silly i-can-kick-better-than-you games.

[tandfman]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

>I wasn't very offended when Lassiter rabbited his
bud at the World Cup.<

You may not have been but the rest of the team, and all of its fans were very offended. This was a TEAM competition, for God's sake, and he threw away points that could have been very important for the USA. If he had been running for Arkansas, and he did this for his bud from Wazoo, and it had been the the NCAA championships, do you think that would have been considered acceptable to the Ark coaches, athletic department, or fans? What he did was outrageous. You can debate what the punishment should have been, but you can't legitimately say that his conduct was not offensive.

[Guest]

Re: Talking Track: USATF Men's 5K

It is good to see Goucher getting back, though he is obviously far from where he needs to be or even where he was a couple years ago. Finishing splits were relatively slow for a slowish race. It's supprising they didn't have better than 59 left in the tank.

Any word on how Goucher is training? How much did he point towards last week? Based on his current training cycle, does he see much improvement possibilities between now and the WCs? He is a guy that I think has world class potential if he can put it together and stay healthy.