2013: Best and Worst, Part 2

Here's more random thoughts from 2013.

Ageless Runners
Bernard Lagat and Joan Samuelson.
Lagat set Age 38 records almost every time he ran, indoors and out.
I assume all the relevant Age 39 records will be in jeopardy in 2014!
Joanie, bless her heart, broke the Age 55 record at Boston, running 2:50:37!
That's a time women half her age would kill for!!

Best Competitions
Not necessarily the best marks, or a record, but just great competitions.

Moscow Men's HJ
Four or five of the best in the world, and producing the marks to prove it.
Then, Bondarenko tried for the WR!

Moscow Women's PV
Again, a head to head (to head!) competition between 3 of the 4 members of the 16 foot club!
Only Feofanova was missing!
And what a great battle it was!

USATF Women's 12K
Another shoulder to shoulder battle between the two fastest 5K Americans, with both Molly Huddle and Shalane Flanagan breaking the WR!
They were side by side for the first 6 miles!!
And this wasn't a friendly coffee chat.
This was a WAR....and may only the fastest survive!!

NXN Cross Country for Girls
The Portland course was cold, but fast!  No mud this year!
And no Mary Cain either!
But who needed her?  (Just joking, Mary; you would've been most welcome!)
This was a 3-way between the 3 best HS runners in the country (apart from Cain), Alexa Efraimson, Elise Cranny, and Sarah Baxter.
And what a race!!
Together all the way, the lead changing often, any of the 3 could've won.
And all 3 deserved to!!
In the end, it was Efraimson, with Cranny and Baxter close behind.
A Race for the (teen) Ages!!

The Worst Races
Any race, between 1500 and 10000, that was jogged for the first 80 or 90%, then sprinted.
Come on, guys and gals, if I wanted to see a 400 or a mile race, I'd watch THOSE, not the yawners you all produced!
Anyway, here's a short list of some of the worst.

Men's 5K at USATF
Women's indoor mile at USATF.
Women's outdoor 1500 final at USATF
Mo Farah running 14:10 at Gateshead, with a 50.89 last 400.

And any other distance race that started slower than high school freshman would run!!

Best Elite Athlete's Blog/Twitter

Phoebe Wright, hands down!
She hilarious, insightful, self-effacing, and did I mention hilarious?!

Others are Carrie Tollefson's videos from her "C Tolle Run" site, and Lauren Fleshman's blog.
Another good one is former HSR holder in the 5000, Caitlin Chock, who produces some really great cartoons about running!

A few Good "New" Meets
Oxy High-Performance: It's been going on a few years now (since 2009??), but this year's was the best.
It's where Mary Cain ran her 4:04.62, but also where Molly Huddle ran 15:05, and Jenny Simpson ran 2:00.45.

Re-RUN: They didn't have a curb by the track, so all the times were no good for record or list purposes, but still, Brenda Martinez ran 1:59.59 and Susan Kuijken ran 4:27 for the mile.

Portland Track Festival.
And the Drake Relays.
Drake's been around forever, but "new" in the sense it had "London Rematches", which made this a MAJOR meet this year!

Worst "Meets"
The two 10K's set up specifically to allow Jordan Hasay and Tara Erdmann to get needed Q's for Moscow.
They changed the dates, venues, and had male pacers, in "races" in which the only real competition was the clock!!
Both failed in their quest for A's, but Jordan got a B, so she went to the WC, while Tara stayed home.
Hasay's achievement notwithstanding, these were a farce!!

On December 31, I'll pick my Athletes of the Year.