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Masters 3,000: I liked the article about Tony Young (who won the race in 8:47.17) and his son, Mack, who just finished his sophomore year of high school. The gist is that Tony (who ran 4:16 in the mile this year) can still beat his son (who ran 4:19 in the 1,600). If I ever have children, I plan to use them for motivational purposes and never let them beat me, not even in the kiddie races. Just kidding.
I am running-obsessed enough that the first time I heard the song "Hey There, Delilah," I thought of Delilah DiCrescenzo, and then scolded myself for having a one track mind. I felt a little vindication when I learned that she was indeed the subject of the song. (And now I am extremely sick of hearing about it, and hope she accomplishes so many great things in her life that The Song becomes just a side note.) Similarly, I am the kind of person who would see the name "Dan Franek" on the start lists of the masters 3,000 and think of Bridget Franek. So I once again feel vindicated to learn that he is indeed related to the Penn State steeplechaser who competed earlier in the meet. He finished sixth in 9:01.72. Wow, who knew I had so much to say about the masters 3,000. This could be a long entry!
Women's 1,500 prelims: I thought the most interesting story line in the women's 1,500 prelims was the two California high schoolers, Christine Babcock and Jordan Hasay, who were competing. They were in different heats but had similar experiences--both ended up in the lead on the first lap, they ran very similar times (4:18.32 for Babcock, 4:18.39 for Hasay), and both advanced. Hasay won't be running today's semis because she's heading to Poland to compete in the World Junior Championships, but I suppose this was as good a tuneup as any, and a good experience to have under her belt four years from now. (Update: USATF is letting Hasay delay her travel to Poland, so high school running fans will finally get to see the showdown they wanted, because Hasay and Babcock are in the same heat. Hasay outdueled Babcock in a two-mile in April, but Babcock has faster 1,500 and 1,600 times coming in.) The biggest surprise of the first round was that Brie Felnagle did not advance. She dropped back significantly before dropping out of the race. I'm sure there's a story behind her off day, but I haven't heard it yet.
I've heard several people make the observation that there isn't much of a point to allowing 30 runners into the 1,500 and then only eliminating six (and since there was a scratch on the women's side it was really only five) runners in the first round. Why not allow 36 in and have heats of 12 instead of 10? The depth in the women's 1,500 isn't quite as great--there's a 10.67 second difference between the first and 30th qualifier on the men's side, but a 15.41 second difference on the women's side. Nine men missed making it in by less than a second, whereas only three women missed by less than a second. Either way, let more competitors in and a) the first round has more of a purpose, and b) if more people see the point of busting their butt to get to this level, it'll raise the level of competition (which might have the added bonus of helping to improve the depth on the women's side).
It's not exactly insightful to say that the top four runners on the performance list (Shannon Rowbury at 4:01.61, Christin Wurth-Thomas at 4:04.88, Erin Donohue at 4:05.55, and Treniere Clement at 4:05.68) are the four most likely to make the team, especially since they are the only ones with the Olympic "A" standard, but the spots are theirs for the taking. I definitely would not rule out a breakthrough performance by a handful of the women in the field, but those four, especially Rowbury and Clement (who has proven her ability to win races and race well when it counts), are the strong favorites.
Men's 1,500 prelims: Ditto about letting more runners in the field, and isn't there some way for us to sort out who's actually in the race ahead of time? I keep hearing stories about people finding out they are or aren't competing at the 11th hour. But my main observation of the men's 1,500 prelims is that a lot of people are wasting too much energy in the rounds. Sure, some people need to run all out to advance. But last night, I saw too many veterans trying to make statements (to themselves? the crowd? their competitors?) about their fitness, or running with a lack of confidence. And the first round is definitely not the time to raise your hand in victory (as in "I'm number one"). Sure, some of these guys were just having fun out there and trying to get the crowd going, but if you kept an eye on Bernard Lagat, he showed us how it should be done. He certainly has an advantage (being the best runner in the field), and he doesn't need to make a statement to boost his confidence, but he sat back early on, stayed out of trouble, and did what he needed to do on the last lap. I'm not saying everyone in the field could get away with that, but some of the stronger runners in the field could, but didn't. Tonight's semis should be interesting, and I would not be surprised if someone who we consider to be a strong contender was eliminated.
On a side note, it was interesting that Gabe Jennings was willing to do a Q&A session at the Running Film Festival yesterday afternoon, hours before his 1,500 meter prelim. He showed a clip from his film, "The Running Militia" and entertained the crowd afterward. I was impressed with the way he handled himself. Articles about him often focus on the more "out there" side of his personality, but I found him to be intelligent and witty (with a little "out there" mixed in). On a side note, while I am generally not all that interested in what people have to say about Jennings (because it's usually nothing new), I really liked John Brant's article about him in the last issue of Runner's World. I bring all of this up because some people wouldn't even consider doing something like that the day of a big race, but some people seem to like to go about their normal routine, and appreciate the distraction. Of course I think we all know by now that Jennings is pretty different from some of his competitors.
Men's steeplechase prelims: It's a blow to the strength of our Olympic team that Daniel Lincoln is out for the season, but this should make for an exciting final, with a lot of people in contention for the three spots on the team. A handful of people looked good and ran well last night. I've been surprised by Billy Nelson this season--and he's particularly impressive for someone who is not all that tall. Anthony Famiglietti should be one of the favorites to make the team, and I'd say the same for Steve Slattery, except he did not look good last night. He advanced on time, but I would have expected to see him up there among the top four in his heat. Every time someone has had a sub-par preliminary race at this meet thus far, I've thought, "Well maybe they were really just taking it easy." But so far, it's proved to be a sign of things to come. Hopefully Slattery can be the one to reverse this trend (if someone in tonight's women's 5,000 final doesn't do it first).
Women's steeplechase final: Big moment for the sport, blah, blah, blah, girl (woman?) power. (That was my requisite mention of how this was the first time women will be running the steeplechase at the Olympic Games. It's great, of course, but it should have happened a long time ago.) Timing is a big part of making an Olympic team. Nicole Teter's timing has been great. Elizabeth Jackson's, Briana Shook's (as well as Lisa Galaviz and Ann Gaffigan, even though they did compete in this race) was not. It's great that Anna Willard, Lindsey Anderson, and Jenny Barringer will have the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the steeplechase at the Olympic Games, and it's too bad more women haven't had that opportunity before them.
I am not at all surprised by who made the team in this event, and I probably would have correctly predicted the order of the top five finishers, aside from the fact that I would have moved Jenny Barringer up on the list. Anna Willard ran a great race, and I think she could have gone faster had she made a move sooner. Though she set an American record, this meet is not about records, it's about making Olympic teams. Mission accomplished. I love Willard's story of how she came up through the ranks, and I hope a lot of young women are inspired by it. I think the American record is still pretty weak, given the talent the U.S. has in this event. I would not be at all surprised to see it drop down closer to 9:20 in the near future. It's pretty amazing how quickly the "face" of women's steeplechasing in the U.S. changes. Two years ago, we probably never would have predicted that Willard and Lindsey Anderson would be Olympians in 2008. (Jenny Barringer was an NCAA champion at the time, so it was a little easier to see that coming.) I think we're sending a great group of women to Beijing, and they were very cute as they celebrated on their victory lap and on the podium.
Though they did not make the team, I have been particularly impressed by the year that Nicole Bush has had, as well as Carrie Strickland's breakthrough. Bush redshirted the season to get ready for the Trials, and it paid off as she finished fourth in a big PR of 9:40.27. I was impressed by how Strickland ran in the prelims, so I spent a moment googling her after the race, and found this to be a useful article. She backed that up with a solid performance in the final as well, running 9:53.67 for ninth.
Long Jump, Triple Jump, and USATF Coaching Education: No, I didn't actually get a chance to watch the women's long jump final last night, though I would have liked to. However, I wanted to praise USATF for their initiatives as far as educating coaches. On the first off day of the Trials, they held a "Super Clinic" at South Eugene High School. There was an endurance portion, but in an effort to become a more well-rounded coach, I attended all of the horizontal jumps sessions. I got to hear Joe Walker (who coaches Brittany Reese, winner of last night's long jump), Randy Huntington (who coached world record setters Mike Powell and Willie Banks), and several others talk about the horizontal jumps. Most of the coaches who I've encountered at events like this one are more than willing to share what they do with their athletes. That's a neat thing about our sport. Thanks to USATF for providing the opportunities.
Tonight's Action: I think the women's 5,000 final is going to be great. We have four really strong contenders—Shalane Flanagan, Jen Rhines, Kara Goucher, and Lauren Fleshman (listed in order of their qualifying times, because I'm not going to attempt to guess what order they will finish in, other than to say that I think Flanagan is a pretty strong favorite). But the things which I think could potentially spoil this race are a) we don't know in advance which placer will get the final spot on the team, and b) if we have to think about who has the Olympic "A" standard and who doesn't. Anyone who runs with the top four is going to have to step it up to get there, and I really hope that one or more of the women in the race does this (aka pulls an Amy Yoder Begley). Flanagan and Goucher have not yet said (as far as I've heard) whether they would double in Beijing or not. It sounded like Flanagan is considering it more than Goucher, but who knows. The 10,000 is first in Beijing, so they'd have nothing to lose. But, as one veteran coach put it, why not focus solely on their stronger race, and then go make some money running elsewhere. Maybe the coaches or agents of the potential contenders know what Flanagan and Goucher's plans are, but it would make it a more exciting race for the rest of us if we knew who will be on the team as soon as the three? four? five? runners cross the finish line. Olympic qualifying aside, I think this has the potential to be the best race we've (or at least I've) ever seem among American 5,000 meter runners. (And notice I didn't qualify that with a "women's.")
As for the men's 10,000, it's a relief that at least a small handful of the competitors have the Olympic "A" standard...hopefully the first three guys across the line will. I'd like to see someone who doesn't step it up, but I think it's safe to say that our main contenders will be the ones who have it. Abdi Abdirahman is a pretty strong favorite, and if anyone ever had a home field advantage in track, Galen Rupp should have it tonight. This will be my last day at the Trials, but what a way to finish it off!
Posted by Alison Wade at 1:47 p.m. | Tags: 2008 Olympic T&F Trials