Monday, December 16, 2013

The Indoor 5000--The Records and Such

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Today, I'll be covering the indoor 5000, with enough records to last maybe....12:49.60 to 14: 24.37!
Those two times happen to be the indoor 5K WR's, set, respectively, by Ken Bekele in 2004, and  Meseret Defar in 2009.
The American Records are:
13:07.00         Lopez Lomong        2013
14:47.62         Shalane Flanagan     2009

The HSR's are:

13:57.04         Ed Cheserek           2012
16:18.01         Wesley Frazier        2013
(With Honorable Mention to Erin Finn for her valiant but "losing" effort in that NBN race, pushing through 3000 at 15:55 pace--9:33--, then being passed--by 2 inches, maybe?--by Frazier at the tape, Finn timed in 16:18.02!!)

I saved the Collegiate Records for last, for a reason.
(They are 13:08.28 by Lawi Lalang in 2012, and Kim Smith's 15:14.18 in 2004.  See note at bottom about the women's CR!)
This past weekend, in Boston's Reggie Lewis Center, Abbey D (aka Abbey D'Agostino) ran what I believe is the fastest EVER 5K run in December, her time being 15:40.55.

No, it's not the CR.
Nor even Abbey's fastest, as she ran 15:28.11 this past winter for 4th A-T Collegian and 7th A-T USA!
Just the fastest ever run in December!  In the WORLD.  EVER!!
And best part was, she had no competition, except for lapped runners!!
Second place was 88 seconds behind her!!

I'll make a bold prediction here.
All 4 records (World, American, Collegiate, HS) on the women's side can be broken in 2014.
Of course, it will take someone (or someone's!!) "getting after it", as Carrie Tollefson says at the end of her fabulous videos at @CTolleRun.
The WR will be the toughest.
The women's AR is tough, as it's just 3 seconds slower than the outdoor best of Molly Huddle.
But the CR can go, if  D'Agostino runs the distance for time.
Abbey D is a definite threat to Smith's mark!  She's run 3 seconds faster than that time outdoors.
 The girls HSR is a GONER!!
If ANY of the "Big 3" run at the NBN in 2014, say "Bye Bye" to that 16:18.01.
I'm thinking Efraimson, Cranny, and Baxter (not to mention one Mary Cain!!) would SHATTER that record, with ALL of them--all 4--going under 16:00....maybe well under!

As for the guys, the WR and HSR would be difficult.
But I believe Cheserek, after his fantastic upset of Kennedy Kithuka in the NCAA cross country meet, can take those needed 49 seconds off his best to get the CR.
I know that's a bunch of seconds, but he was Sooooooo impressive in the NCAA's!!
The AR would be the easiest....IF Galen Rupp, Bernard Lagat, and Lomong give it a go!


There are other 5000 records available for breaking....meet, age, class....but I'll cover those another time.
As for that women's CR, Smith's 15:14.18, you might be asking why Jenny (Barringer) Simpson's mark of 15:01.70 from 2009 isn't considered the CR.
Remember my first blog post?
I said that NO marks made on Oversize Tracks (OT) would be considered.
She ran that fantastic time on Seattle's 307 meter oval!!
No record!

See you next time!

Oh heck!
Was going to stop after the above---too much info!--but have decided to at least list all the Class Records, from 9th grade HS to Senior class Collegiate.
Without comment, here they are (men first, then women):

9th       Lukas Verzbicas       14:18.42   2009   Bri Jackucewitz  **    16:43.02   2004
10th     Elijah Armstrong       14:54.27   2013   Wesley Frazier           16:50.55   2011
11th     Ed Cheserek             13:57.04   2012   Erin Finn                    16:19.69   2012
12th     Kirubel Erassa          14:19.83   2010   Wesley Frazier           16:18.01   2013
Fr.       Richard Kiplagat       13:41.89   2003   Alicia Craig                15:43.04   2003
So       Lawi Lalang              13:08.28   2012   Sally Kipyego             15:27.42   2007
Jr        Len Korir                  13:26.01   2011   Abbey D'Agostino      15:28.11   2013
Sr       Stephen Sambu          13:13.74   2012   Kim Smith                  15:14.18   2004

** Jackucewitz was just a 7th grader when she set the Frosh Class record for HS'ers!
The best known "real" 9th grade best is Samantha Nadel's 17:15.38 from 2009!

2 comments:

  1. I enjoy your blog and I'm looking forward to your analysis of the upcoming women's 800m race at Millrose. Though I know you got bashed repeatedly during the last year for your predictions for Mary Cain's performances, you actually turned out to be spot-on in nearly all your predictions, far better than anyone else.

    Though Mary Cain had in 2013 perhaps the best year any high school girl has ever had in track and field, she didn't win a lot of races. This was due, of course, to the fact that she raced some of the world's best elite runners. I don't think any expected a 17-year old to beat Tirunesh Dibaba, Aregawi, or Jenny Simpson. Do you think this will be the year that Mary starts winning races, not just accomplishing incredibly fast losing times? Do you think Mary will win the 800m race at Millrose?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks!!
      As for predictions, I didn't make any in the new blog.
      But here's the key factors for each runner:

      Cain----Has widest range (800-5000) of the 4. Maybe best sustained kick too.
      Wilson---Has fastest 600 (1:27.3), best PR, and same amount of Armory experience as Cain.
      Goule---Has fastest known 400 of the 4 (51.5?), and is Jamaican (!!), which counts for SOMEthing!!
      Hinsrikdottir---The most unknown of the 4! Never broken 2:00, but looked VERY good in videos I've seen. Should be ready to rip one!!

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