Monday, May 8, 2017

Doha 3K's lead Crazy Marathon Weekend

Eliud Kipchoge failed to break two hours over 26.2 Miles on an Italian race course!
Yet we can't ignore his accomplishment of running the distance in 2:00:25, just 2:32 faster than Dennis Kimetto's WR!!
I thought of doing a separate post about it.
But decided not to because of the fake nature of its methods.
Here are the facts, and what I think!

Kipchoge's time is an average of approximately 4:35.8 per Mile!
That's thirteen Two Milers of 9:11.6 each, run without stopping!
Maybe 14:18 per 5000, with 8 in a row!

Here's some actual stats!
His 5K's (with accumulative times!)--
14:14 (same)
14:07 (28:21 for 10000)
14:13 (42:34 for 15K)
14:15 (56:49 for 20K, with each 10K in 28:21 & 28:28)
59:57 at the Half!!
14:14 (1:11:03 at 25K)
14:17 (1:25:20 at 30000, with the 3rd 10K in 28:31!!)
14:17 (1:39:37 at 35K!!)
14:27 (1:54:04 at 40K, with the 4th 10 in 28:44!!)
He ran the final 2195 meters in 6:21!!
The two Halves were split 59:57 & 60:28!!

Zerzenay Tadese finished in 2:06:41, with Lelisa Desisa 3rd in 2:14:08.
Now here's why this was nothing more than a circus act, a Shakespearean-style Dramedy, a scientifically-based Lab experiment!

He ran in Nike's "special" shoes, which have come under the microscope as to their legality!
He got drinks whenever he wanted from people on bicycles riding alongside!!
He had a series of pacers--with them entering the "race" DURING the event, NOT running from the gun!!!
There was a huge clock installed on the lead truck which helped shield the leader from the wind!
Also, it was run on a mostly-flat race track on a loop of 1.49 miles each lap, with gentle curves!
There were NO cheering crowds--in fact, NO ONE was there to watch except Nike's people!!
(Although it WAS livestreamed, so you might say MILLIONS "watched"!!)

In the T&FN eTN from Sunday, it was headlined "Marathon Experiment"!
And that is EXACTLY what it was!!
What problems---other than the ILLEGAL obvious!!--do I see??

Let's say Kipchoge runs Berlin in 2:01:44.
That SMASHES Kimetto's WR by 1:13!!
But it's also 1:19 SLOWER than Kipchoge's "WR"!!
So how does the Fourth Estate handle it?
Do they focus on the "NON-WR", or the REAL WR??
Do they then recognize (in print or on TV) how much of a FARCE Nike's idea was?
Is the future of Marathon reportage set back a few years---or decades??
Stay tuned!

The Men's 3000 in Doha saw former teen wunderkind Ronald Kwemoi win in 7:28.73!!
This takes care of the Age 21 record!
And makes him 22nd A-T World!
Having run the 1500 in 3:28.81 as an 18 year old, this time makes his 1500-3000 Combined Events time 10:57.54, which rates him 6th A-T!!
US Army's Paul Chelimo was 2nd in 7:31.57.
He moves from 14th A-T US to 4th!
Yomif Kejelcha's 7:32.27 was 3rd, with Caleb Ndiku 4th in 7:33.36.
Ben True was 10th, while Consesius Kipruto finished 12th!

The 3K which includes 28 hurdles & 7 water jumps was a speedy one for the Women!
Hyvin Kiyang just missed going under 9 minutes, but her 9:00.12 was enough to beat Beatrice Chepkoech's 9:01.57, and WR holder Ruth Jebet's 9:01.99!
Kiyang gets the Age 25 record, even though it's not her PR!
Chepkoech moves from 14th to  4th on the A-T World list!
Jebet takes home the best-ever 3rd Place mark!!

In 4th came Celliphine Chespol's 9:05.70.
She destroyed the Age 18 record by about 15 seconds!!
She's 7th A-T World.
She gets the best 4th Place mark!!
Emma Coburn had her best-ever "rust-buster", but her 9:14.53 got just 5th!
Sofia Asefa's 9:15.66 nipped Gesa Krause's 9:15.70, but it was the latter who broke her own National Record of Germany!!
But she misses the World list by 0.66 seconds!!
Aisha Praught took 8th in 9:19.29, about a 15 second PR, and she got the National Record of Jamaica also!!

But what Doha 2017 will be remembered for will be the HUMONGOUS Javelin Throw by Thomas Rohler!!
When it landed, the measure read 93.90 meters, or 308-1 in feet and inches!!
This is the farthest throw since 1997!!
It's the National Record of Germany, the Age 25 record, the Doha Meet Record, and it moves him from 10th A-T World, tied with 1 other, all the way to 2nd!!

Johannes Vetter got a 5 inch PR with his 294-3, but he remains 16th A-T World!
Johub Vodlejch threw 288-5 for a solid 3rd!

The Men's 1500 was good, as 5 went sub-3:33!
Elijah Manangoi's 3:31.90 led the parade.
Silas Kiplagat was 2nd in 3:32.23, with Bethwell Birgen just 0.04 back, and Vincent Kibet taking 4th in 3:32.66, with 5th going to Tim Cheruiyot in 3:32.87.
Ryan Gregson was 7th in 3:34.56.

The WOMEN'S 800 was won by Eunice Sum in 1:58.76.
The big---no, HUGE!--news was that Genzebe Dibaba ran "only" 1:59.37---and wasn't even the fastest Ethiopian!!!
That honor went to Habitam Alemu, who was 2nd in 1:58.92.
Charlene Lipsey ran 2:00.24 behind Dibaba!

Two people finished faster than Sum, their times being 1:56.61 and 1:57.03.
Names of Semenya & Wambui!
Must have been rabbits or something!!

Gwen Berry broke HER OWN American Record of 250-4 in the Hammer Throw at the Ole Miss meet!!
Her 251-10 moves her from 18th A-T World to 12th!
She remains 1st on the US list!
She also threw 249-6 in a great series!

The normally SUPER-productive Payton Jordan meet wasn't so much this year!!
In fact, I'd say a couple of upset wins were more interesting than most of the times run!!
For example, both Matthew Centrowitz and Ed Cheserek LOST their 5000 sections!!

An Australian named Jack Rayner (Who??) tagged Centro by a second, 13:47.41 to 13:48.42.
Drew Hunter was another 1.14 seconds behind Centro!

The big Flotrack-led hype wasn't IF King Ches would break the Collegiate Record, but by how much!!
HA!
Tell that to Syracuse's (and Canada's) Justyn Knight, whose 13:17.51 took care of Ches's 4th place time of 13:24.72 with alacrity!!
It also makes him 5th A-T Collegiate---and faster than Ches's PR!!

Sifan Hassan produced a 61 second final 400 to win the 5000 in 15:13.22--slow by PJ's high standards!!
Lauren Paquette became the leading American with her 15:20.48 in 2nd!
Eilish McColgan, Kate Van Buskirk, and Jessica O'Connell all ran in the 15:22's.
Dominique Scott got a small PR with her 15:24.60, with Stanford redshirt Vanessa Fraser cutting a chunk off her PR with 15:25.83.
Nicole Tully was well back in 14th, with 15th going to a sick Nicole Sifuentes!
Charlotte Taylor was the fastest Collegiate, her 15:29.07 missing the A-T list by 0.07 seconds!!

The Women's 10000 had some Record Book changes!
Meref Bahta's winning 31:13.06 gave her the National Record of Sweden.
Amy Cragg ran her first track race in awhile, her 31:17.20 non-PR taking 2nd.
Getytom Gebreslase's 31:25.61 was 3rd, with Emily Sisson running 31:32.53 in 4th.
She moves from 23rd A-T US to 17th!!
Making the US list (in 21st) was Kim Conley's PR of 31:35.88 in 6th.
Alice Wright took the Collegiate lead with her 32:29.28 in 16th!!
She's now 23rd A-T Collegiate!
Pat Tiernan took the Men's race in 27:29.81.
Mo Ahmed was 2nd in an even 27:30.
Shadrack Chipchirchir was 3rd in 27:32.18.
He's now 15th A-T US!!
Hassan Mead was 4th in a non-PR time of 27:34.38.

Lots more to report---and this has already become a long one---so I'll retreat to my now-normal "by-event-group" listing of the remaining marks I have!!

Sprints
Doha's Men's 400 saw Steven Gardiner's 44.60 take down LaShawn Merritt's 44.78!
Tony McQuay was 3rd in 44.92.
Elaine Thompson fought Dafne Schippers--AND a wind of -2.3!!--to run 22.19 over half a lap!
Schippers was well back in 22.45, with VCB in 5th, time of 23.09!
Kendra Harrison ALSO had a -2.3 wind to battle against, but still got a solid 12.56 winner in the Doha 100H!
Cindy Roleder and Sharika Nelvis were well back in 12.90 and 12.91, respectively!
South Africa's Akani Simbine is proving himself on the World stage, as he took the Doha 100 in 9.99, despite a negative wind of 1.2.
Asefa Powell was 2nd in 10.08, with Justin Gatlin and Andre De Grasse back in 4th & 5th, Gatlin's being his worst placing in years!!
Ageless Kim Collins was 8th in 10.43!
Abdi Samba defeated Kerron Clement in Doha's 400H, 48.44 to 49.40!!

Candace Hill doubled at a meet in Georgia, times of 11.24 (2.0) and 22.89 (0.4).
Ty Cooper ran his usual 3 races (Finals!!  He ran heats also!!), but no PR's.
His best time was his 400 of 45.51.
Katia Seymour ran her 200 heat in 22.89.
This makes her 12th A-T HS!!
A true icon was kicked OFF the HS list!
Sanya Richards (Ross) had run 23.01 in 2002!!

Denterius Locke had a good double in the Seminole Twilight, times of 10.21 (0.4) and 20.48 (1.2).
The "next Sydney McLaughlin" MAY have emerged in the name of Florida HS Frosh Markala Hart!!
She took a whopping 0.53 seconds off Ebony Collins's Frosh Class record of 40.81 over the 300H with her spectacular 40.28!!
I've seen her age listed as 14, which reportedly is the Age 14 record!!!
Alabama ran the 4X400 Relay in a good 3:03.52.
Finally (in the Sprints!), Tawanna Meadows sprinted the 100 in 10.72!!
Yes, I said 10.72!!
BUT---she had a WIND of 4.5 at her back--and it was at altitude!
"Experts" say it's probably worth a 10.95---which of course would still be SMOKING!!
Candyce McGrone was 2nd in 10.83!

Distances
Canada's Sheila Reid took the Oregon Twilight 1500 in 4:10.40.
Amy Eloise-Neale was 2nd in 4:11.02, while Katie Rainsberger's 4:11.53 broke her own Frosh Class record!!
Another quick 1500 was at PJ, with Karoline Grovdal winning in 4:10.74 over Karisa Nelson's 4:10.91.
Samford's Nelson misses my Collegiate DDD by 0.36 seconds!
Cancer-stricken Gabe Grunewald bravely ran 4:20.27 in 8th, saying afterward she's been battling emotional and physical upheavals all year, and that her next race will be determined by her treatment schedule, but that she WILL be racing 2 or 3 more times this season!!
She's one of the GREATEST PERSON's I've ever known or heard of!!
I wish her a FULL recovery, and many more years of fast races!!

Heidi See took a PJ 5K in 15:22.36, a 30 second PR for this Aussie veteran!!
Great Britain's Rosie Clarke also PR'ed, her 9:36.75 taking the 3000SC at PJ over Genevieve LaLonde's 9:36.89.
Nikki Hiltz took a 1500 in 4:12.09.
She's still a student at Arkansas!
Eric Jenkins doubled back from a slowish 800 to win the PJ 1500 in 3:38.30!
Laura Roesler basically soloed (2nd was 8 or 9 seconds back!) the Georgia meet 800 in 2:01.77, with a quick 58+ first lap!
Brenda Martinez also had it easy in the Tom Tellez meet 800, her 1:59.21 a fast winner!
DJ Principe ran 3000 meters in 8:16.60, which I tweeted saying it matched Genzebe Dibaba's INdoor WR time EXACTLY!!
LOL
Finally---in the distances group--we have Canada's Eric Dunfee---their best Walker---who WALKED the Vancouver BC Marathon in 3:10:35!!
He took 133rd overall, and 114th among the Men!!
In an interview, he said he'd expected to do 3:15 to 3:20, but got caught up with a runner's pace and just kept going!
He admitted to jogging some of the downhills, and said he would have gotten red flags, and probably DQ'ed!!!
BUT it's still a VERY good time for a 26.2 Mile Walk!!
Yohan Deniz's Walk WR of 3:32:33 over 50K had him passing the Marathon checkpoint in about 2:58:30, however!!

I'll finish with a few more Field event marks!
Jasmine Moore TJ'ed 42-8.25, making her 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
Knocked OFF my HS list was Carlette Guidry's 42-7.50, dating from 1986!
Guidry was one of the best early TJ'ers, but became better known as a sprinter!!
Michelle Carter took the Doha SP with 63-4.75!
Christian Taylor's 56-7.25 took the Doha TJ!
The Doha Women's PV produced a good battle, but no 16 footers!
Ekaterina Stefanidi's 15-9 prevailed over Sandi Morris's 15-7, and Yarisley Silva's 15-3.
Qatari Hero Mutaz Barshim got over 7-8.75 to win before his home crowd!
Tyrone Smith--becoming known as Sandi Morris's "Bae" on Twitter--took the Tom Tellez LJ in a solid 27-4.50.
This gives him the National Record of Bermuda!!
He had the max wind of 2.0 to assist him!!

The Weeks twins--Lexi & Tori--both reached 14-11 in the Arkansas meet PV, with Lexi winning!
Tori, however, got her OUTdoor PR, which moves her from 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 4 others, to 10th, tied with 1 other!!
She misses the US list by 2 inches!!
Both missed 3 times at 15-1.50!!
Desiree Freier was 3rd in 14-3.25, but missed 3 times at 14-11!!

Kimberly Williams TJ'ed 46-0.75!
But in her first OUTdoor TJ of this season, Keturah Orji "rust-busted" with a great 46-11.50 on her first attempt!!
This gives her the Junior Class record!!
(She owns all 3 of the Class Records she's competed in!!)

Matthew Ludwig matched his PV best with his clearance at 18-8.25!
Anita Wlodarczyk opened her 2017 campaign with a HT of 261-7!
This was in Doha---but NOT in the Diamond League!
This was in a Hammer Throwers meet the next day!!
Turner Washington got yet another DT PR, this time measuring 218-7!
He moves up 1 spot on the A-T HS list, from 7th to 6th!
Mondo Duplantis PV'ed 18-2.50 at his State meet!
Yawn.
Darrell Hill SP'ed 70-3.75.
Jeneva Stevens got a SP mark of 60-6 at the Ole Miss meet!!
And Jenn Suhr got over 15-7.25 in the Tom Tellez PV!!

Speaking of the PV--and earlier of Sandi Morris, the Texas Mile Split people have finally released their book "18 Months Raising the Bar"!!
This covers the time during when Morris and Demi Payne battled back and forth for Collegiate dominance, and even American dominance!!
It went a long way toward making 2015 the "Year of the Vault"!!
I've been promised an autographed copy, but will have to wait until they can get the BUSY Morris to sign some copies!!
I'll be sending my $$$$ to them as soon as they tell me they've secured both autographs!!
Can not wait!!!!!

I'm thinking about an "extra" post sometime this week, focusing on Barriers yet to be broken!
This was of course inspired by that "Experiment" I wrote of earlier!!

See you soon!!






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