Two Mile leads Distances--3 weeks complete

A confession.
In my years of running, my favorite event was the Two Mile!
This was in the days of 440 yard tracks, so lap splits were easily done!
But in this era of metric, the English measurements have mostly gone the way of the Edsel or the corner phone booth!
Yet the group "Bring Back the Mile" has made it their life's work to do just that!
The Mile is still run in some major meets around the world, and not just in English-speaking countries!
So my life's work is to "bring back the TWO Mile"!!
There have been occasional races, but they're VERY few and far between.
In fact, before 2018, the last great Deuces were in 2014!
But this year, Drake put on a Women's race, and the Pre meet will hold one for the Men!
(The latter has a FANTASTIC field, and I just hope against hope they all perform 100% to their capabilities!  If they do, my Men's OUTdoor 2 Mile lists will be greatly revised!)
I was hoping the same would be true for the race at Drake!
But alas, after their hyped entries of Jenny Simpson, Brenda Martinez, and Alexa Efraimson, I wasn't expecting much---and sadly, I was right!
Let's examine the results!

There was some difference of opinion prior to the race as to WHICH American Record Jenny would be chasing!
(Both Drake and Jenny said they wanted to get the AR!)
Well, some say Shannon Rowbury's 9:20.25 from 2014 was the AR.
Others--including this blog!--say it is Regina Jacobs's 9:11.97 from 1999.
Jacobs was busted for drugs, but NOT from that race!!

Anyway, long story short, Simpson's 9:16.78 fell between those two marks!
And, in this blog's opinion, her mark makes her SECOND A-T US--and 9th A-T World!
It also gets her the Meet Record and the Age 31 Record!
She also makes my World and US Combined Events lists for the 1 & 2 Mile.
Her times of 4:19.98 and 9:16.78 add to 13:36.76.
This makes her 2nd on my US C-E list, and 3rd on the World C-E list!!
Her 3000 split enroute was 8:43.39!
So it took her 33.39 for the final 218 meters!

Rachel Schneider surprised in 2nd, her 9:31.89 making her 5th A-T US, and 24th A-T World!
Martinez was 3rd in 9:32.82, making her 6th A-T US!
Stephanie Garcia was next in 9:37.86, making her 9th A-T US!

Before I get to the rest of the field, I must report on what a race that must have been for the runner-up spots!
Schneider's 3K split was 8:56.75, the 2nd best split of the race, so she held that position to the line!
But Garcia's 8:57.09 was ahead of Brenda's 8:57.30, so she had the worst final 218 of those 4--40.77!!
Schneider's was 35.14, while Martinez ran 35.52!

Efraimson was 5th--but far behind the front 4!--in 9:51.23.
Yet she still made the US list--in 18th position!
So did Sara Vaughn's 9:55.45--giving her 23rd A-T US!!

Cut OFF the World list was one Paula Radcliffe, whose 9:32.07 dated from 1999.
Cut OFF the US list were several athletes.
But just ONE of them ran their time AFTER leaving High School!
She is Jen Rhines, whose 9:59.07 mark came in 2002.
The HS crew includes---
Anna Rohrer, her 9:59.96 dating from 2015
Destiny Collins, her 10:00.90 also from 2015.
Molly Huddle (!!!) ran 10:01.08 in 2002--GONE!
Megan Goethals ran her 10:01.16 in 2010.
And Claudia Lane--who is STILL in High School!!--ran her 10:01.18 last year!

With all due respect to those great runs in HS, we must remember these HIGH SCHOOL marks were on the UNITED STATES list!
An ALL TIME US list!!
I can understand and LOVE the concept of a brilliant HS phenom making a US list!!
(Think people like Mary Cain, and maybe Katelyn Tuohy eventually!)
But let's be serious, folks!!
If runners like Emily's Sisson & Infeld, Marielle Hall, Shelby Houlihan, Rowbury (who is still with child!!), and a long list of other true elites, had been in that field, we'd have a truly magnificent A-T list---with only someone like Tuohy MAYBE edging onto it--in 23rd or 24th place--with a time far faster than 10 minutes or so!
Well, my "lecture" could go on forever, but we have many other fantastic marks to report from these past 3 weeks, so let's get to it!

For example, Karissa Schweizer (Add HER to the above list of US list possibles!) took the Drake 5000 in the Meet Record time of 15:23.21.
This makes her 14th A-T Collegiate!
Knocked FROM that list is the venerable Patti Sue Plumer, whose 15:29.0 dated from 1984!!
(Orwellian, yes??!!  LOL)

Doha had a classy 3000 for the Women!
And Simpson was in that field, along with Helen Obiri!!
But it was Caroline Kipkirui who was dominant, as her 8:29.05 JUST nipped Agnes Tirop's 8:29.09!!
Third went to Master Steepler Hyvin Jepkemoi, her time being 8:30.51.
But that time, added to her 9:00.01 Steeple best, gives her a total time of 17:30.52!
That makes her 2nd A-T on my World Combined Events list for the 3000 and 3000SC!

Simpson COULD (should!!) have broken the American Record by Mary Slaney!!
But apparently the pace wasn't sent to that level!
Too bad!
Anyway, Jenny's 8:30.53--while not a PR--gives her the Age 31 Record!
Letesenbet Gidey's 8:30.96 took 5th!
So what about Ms Obiri?
Well, I don't know why, but she finished just 14th in the slow time of 8:53.65!
Maybe she fell??

In the Doha 1500, someone with the initials CS ran 3:59.92--and everyone said she won!
Except me!!
So the REAL winner was Nelly Jepkosgei with her 4:00.99.
Following were 4 Ethiopians with times in the 4:01.s!!
What a 4X1500 or 4 by Mile Relay team they could make!!
(Add Genzebe Dibaba to that team, and BANG, an easy World Record!!)

As per usual, Payton Jordon's distance fest produced its normal quotient of good marks!
Paul Chelimo was outrun by the teen phenom of the Ingebrigtsen family, Jakob, whose 3:39.06 PR took down Chelimo's 3:40.16!
Back in 6th came Matthew Centrowitz with his 3:40.74!

Henrik Ingebrigtsen took the 5000, but his 13:16.97 winner was matched exactly by 2nd placer Riley Masters!
Justyn Knight was 3rd in a good 13:18.71--not a PR!!
In 6th was Andy Trouard's 13:21.07!
This makes him 16th A-T Collegiate!
The Men's 10K was won by Shadrack Kipchirchir's 27:39.65!
Tyler Day's Collegiate leading time of 28:04.44 filled the 6th place slot!

Sara Vaughn had the fastest Women's 1500--4:11.70.
Marie Bouchard of USF took the 3000SC in 9:41.32.
This makes her 14th A-T Collegiate!
Meraf Bahta's 15:15.33 outran Rachel Schneider's 15:15.88!
Then followed a quality field of Collegiates!
Ednah Kurgat ran 15:20.06 in 7th, making her 13th A-T Collegiate!
Vanessa Fraser of Stanford finished 9th, but her 15:20.10 made her 14th A-T Collegiate!
Weini Kelati's 15:22.71 took 10th!
This made her 15th A-T Collegiate!
It also gave her the Frosh Class Record!!
Amy Eloise-Neale's 15:24.16 in 13th makes her 21st A-T Collegiate!
Another speedo--Allie Ostrander--fell during the race, and could finish only 18th--in 15:45.41.
Oh yes--cut OFF the Collegiate list was one Kara Wheeler--perhaps better known as Kara Goucher!!--with her mark dating from 2000!!

The 10K found Stanford alum Jessica Tonn in front in a big PR time of 31:54.83.
Also PR'ing were Sarah Pagano's 31:56.43 in 2nd, and Chelsea Blaase's 31:57.46 in 4th!

Galen Rupp is getting much closer to the true elites of the Men's Marathon!
He won the Prague race in 2:06:07, chopping more than 3 minutes from his previous PR!!
And his splits were very even--63:02 & 63:05!
He moves from 10th A-T US to 3rd!
He won by 55 seconds!!
BTW, his cash award was 45000 Euros, which translates to $57000 USD's!!

The World Team Walks races--held in China--saw the Women's 50K World list almost completely revised!!
(I don't have a list for the Walks---yet!!)
Rui Liang's 4:04:36 won the race, and makes her the new World Record holder!!
(The previous WR holder--Ines Henriques--was a DNF!!)
Second went to China's Hang Yin, time of 4:09:09!
Following were Claire Tallent's 4:09:33, Paola Perez's 4:12:56, and Faying Ma's 4:13:28!
But the line of fast marks continued, as places 3rd through 29th set Place Records!!
The Women's 20K saw Maria Michta Coffey's 1:33:40 make her 29th of 79 finishers!

The Collegiate Conferences produced some good marks.
Isaiah Harris took the Big 10 800 in a quick 1:45.31.
The ACC Women's 1500 was won by Rachel Pocratsky in 4:10.03!
It's the Meet Record, and makes her 21st A-T Collegiate!
Dorcas Wasike also got an ACC Meet Record, running the 10000 in 32:46.72.
She's a Frosh!
Erin Finn had some problems!!
She was fine through a first 5000 of 15:52'ish!
But then the heat got to her!
BAD!!
Her last lap--Heck, her final straight--probably took a century!!--but she still managed to wobble and bobble her way to the line--in 32:45.51--her 2nd 5K in 16:59!!
She fell to the track at the line, but is okay now!
She still won the race by 56 seconds!!
Amazing athlete--and person!!
She missed her own Meet Record by just 4 seconds!!

The Mountain West meet found Ednah Kurgat's 32:31.55 defeating Weini Kelati's 32:41.92 in the 10K.
Allie Ostander's 15:44.11 took the 5000.
Vanessa Fraser won the PAC-12 10000 in the Meet Record time of 33:10.84!

Moving back to April 28th, we find Michael Saruni running a Collegiate Record time of 1:43.25 in the 800!!
It's also the Soph Class Record!!
He wasn't on my DDD before, so he jumps all the way to 1st!!
He won by over 3 seconds--although someone rabbited for him through 400!

Emmanuel Korir had a blast winning the Doha 800 in 1:45.21.
Or should I say BLAST--as his last 200 took just 24.97!!
A 5K race in Hiroshima gave Rosemary Wanjiru the World lead!
Her time was 15:08.61.
The Shanghai DL Men's 5000 was close, with Paul Chelimo again being charged with all sorts of complaints about his "bullying" tactics--meaning he BULLS his way through the pack of runners with elbows flying!!
Anyway, his 13:09.66 was just 0.02 behind winner Berhanu Yemetanu's 13:09.64!
Muktar Edris ended just 5th--in 13:10.98!

Timothy Cheruiyot's 3:31.48 took the measure of Samuel Tefera's 3:31.63 in the 1500.
The Women's 3000SC was taken by Beatrice Chepkoech in 9:07.27.
Second went to Norah Tanui's 9:09.30.

Numerous Relays produced some decent marks!
The National Relays meet in Arkansas saw Texas take the DMR in 9:34.70.
In 3rd came Florida's 9:35.90.
This moves them from 23rd A-T School to 21st!
Stanford took the Women's SMR in 3:41.59!
That's 3rd A-T Collegiate!
Olivia Baker anchored in 2:00.90!!
Drake's DMR went to Missouri, time of 11:07.59.
This makes them 23rd A-T School!
Karissa Schweizer was the anchor, but don't have her split!

The Penn meet had several good marks--
Mississippi State's 7:14.31 defeated Indiana's 7:15.24 in the Men's 4X800.
Villanova won the DMR in 9:34.37.
Notre Dame was 2nd in 9:35.18, making them 19th A-T School!
Princeton's 9:35.74 was 3rd, making them 22nd A-T School.
On the Women's side, Villanova took the 4X800 in 8:19.98.
Claire Buttner anchored in 2:02.63!
Buttner also anchored their DMR team, the winning time being 11:01.94.
Her split was 4:36.

Ajee Wilson and Charlene Lipsey had a couple of quick races!
At Penn, they ran the Mile, with Lipsey's 4:31.19 defeating Wilson's 4:35.29.
But at a race at Swarthmore, Wilson's 4:05.18 took about a 7 second chunk off her PR in the 1500!!
Lipsey's 4:07.73 also cut a few seconds off her PR!
A Pennsylvania meet (not the Relays meet!) saw Ce'Aira Brown dip under 2 minutes in the 800, her 1:59.70 winning by 4.74 seconds!!
Josh Hoey, a HS'er, ended 6th in the 800, but his time of 1:48.63 was an OUTdoor PR!
It still misses my HS list by 0.15 seconds!

Other good marks--
Adva Cohen ran 9:52.37 in the 3000SC.
A Frosh at Iowa College, this gave her the Junior College Record!!
Allie Bucharski's 15:39.17 took a 5000 race in Virginia.
Devin Dixon ran the 800 in 1:45.62 at the LSU meet.
Sammy Watson took the Women's race there in 2:02.49.
Johnny Gregorek took the Penn Relays Mile in 3:54.94.

A BIG name was REMOVED from my HS DDD list!!
Dalton Hengst's 3:45.59--which made him 24th A-T HS--knocked one Marty Liquori from my list!
Liquori's 3:45.6 dated from 1967--FIFTY ONE YEARS ago!!!
(We need to time 1500's enroute to these fast 21st century HS Miles!!!--See above!)

Dustin Horter's 4:04.82 becomes the HS Leader in that venerable event!
This was in Ohio.
In Minnesota, Emily Covert--a star during XC season--took the 3200 in 10:17.41.
In 2nd came Ms Lauren Ping!!
Her time was 10:25.12.
Let's not forget she's a SEVENTH GRADER!!!
Another good 3200 (UGH!!) saw Olivia Theis win in 10:03.95 over Ericka Vanderlende's 10:05.01--in Michigan!

But set those measly little numbers to the side--I've got some numbers that will make those look like nothing!!
Ms Katelyn Tuohy took to the track at NY's Loucks Games--again in one of those abominable 3200's!!
She hit the halfway point in 4:46!
Four-Forty Six, folks, for her first 1600!!
She faded to 5:01, but her end time of 9:47.88 was one of the best at that alien distance!!
(IMHO!!  LOL)
But she was timed enroute (by hand, it seems!) at 3000 in 9:10.4.
I've counted hand-timed splits before, and I'll do so again here!
It makes her 3rd A-T on that list!
And if the race had been just 18 meters longer.....!!!!!

Hint--The Brooks PR and the NBN meets hold Two Mile races--NOT 3200's!!
Are you listening, Katelyn??

I'll end the results portion with the NYC 10K Road Race!
Rhonex Kipruto--a Kenyan teen--took the Men's race in 27:08!
Second was Mathew Kimeli's 27:19.
The Women's race went to Buze Diriba's 32:04.
Aselefech Mergia's 32:06 took 2nd.
Leading American was Laura Thweatt's 32:22 in 4th!!

Just as in the Sprints post--regarding Tyrese Cooper's arrests--I'm sad to report here that Asbel Kiprop allegedly tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition test!
In a lengthy detailed statement, Kiprop strongly denies any wrongdoing!
It's available through Let's Run, and maybe other sites!
Well worth reading!
The loss of Kiprop--for however long--would be devastating to the sport--and maybe to the integrity and respect of many other top-rated Kenyan runners!!
More details to come?

Well, friends, I thank you so much for reading all 4 of these BELATED reports on the three weeks of action I missed while awaiting my computer's return!!
It's been a BUSY 3 days since I came back online!
But I'll be back in just 3 more days with this weekend's report!!

See you soon!!