Sunday, October 28, 2018

WR (& XC Charges Forward)

A World Record in the Men's Half-Marathon was run in the Valencia race.
But let's begin with a Track 10000 recently run in Japan!
There, Richard Yator's winning 27:14.70 became the World leading mark of 2018!

In the Valencia race, Abraham Kiptum came through 10K in 28:02, after hitting the first 5K in 13:56.
Not WR material, and slower than the 27:50 pace he'd wanted!

But then he took charge, and blasted his next 5000 in 13:38!!
Another 13:38 (!!!) brought him to 20K in 55:18!
His SECOND 10000 had been run in---27:16!!
(Now you know why I mentioned Yator's World-Leading Track 10000 first!!)

From there, his next seven-tenths of a mile was run in 3:00, or sub-4:20 mile pace!!

His new WR of 58:18 is also the National Record of Kenya, and the Age 29 Record!!

Jamal Yimor's 58:33 becomes the best 2nd Place mark!
It also gives him the Age 22 Record, and Ethiopia's National Record!!
He moves from 22nd A-T World to 3rd, tied with 1 other!!

Abadi Hadis's 58:44 gives him the best 3rd Place mark!!
He's 9th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
The next 4 runners ended between 59:21 and 59:27.
Then came Suman Cheprot's 59:28, which tied him with 1 other for the best 8th Place mark!!
Abel Kipchumba got the best 9th Place mark with his 59:29!
And Josphat Boit's 59:42 gives him the best 10th Place mark!!

The Women's race went to the veteran Gelete Burka, time of 66:11.
She beat Alia Saeed's 66:13, which is the new National Record of the United Arab Emirates, or UAE!
Edith Chelimo's 66:18 took the Bronze!!

More Road running later, but the Collegiate Conferences gave up some results that might point toward a clearer picture of who the top finishers might be in Madison on November 17th!

Weini Kelati, the tiny Eritrean, beat Ednah Kurgat---again!!
And her MARGIN of victory grew---to a whopping 18 seconds.
Now, either Kurgat is holding her cards close to her chest, or Kelati has now become New Mexico's---and the NCAA's!---clear favorite!
Her 19:49 beat Kurgat's 20:11.
In 3rd and 4th came Charlotte Prouse (20:14), and Allie Ostrander (20:14)!!

Paul Roberts's 24:34 nrst Eric Hamer's 24:37 and Carson Hume's 24:39 in the Men's race!1


Another 2018 shocker might be Wisconsin's Alicia Monson, who has now established herself among the true elites with a dominant win in the Big 10 race!
Her 19:49 beat Aubrey Roberts's 19:58..
Bethany Hasz's 20:14 was back in 5th!

The Men had a fast race, with Morgan McDona;d's 23:26 beating Oliver Hoare's 23:29!

But Grant Fisher's remains---barely---in front on the Leaderboard of NCAA faves!
His 23:10 in the PAC-12 race was virtually tied by the next 3 placers!
Talia Hull matched Fisher's time, while Alex Ostberg and Alek Parsons both hit home in 23:11.
Joe Klecker was 5th in 23:12, while Cooper Teare was given basically the same time.
DJ Principe ended back in 24th, time of 23:40.

The Women's race had a LOT of top names up front!!
Dani Jones might give Ms's Kelati & Monson & maybe Kurgat some trouble, as she toyed with the field before pushing ahead to win in 19:24!!
She ended just one second in front of Jessica Hull!
Elise Cranny ran 19:29, beating Weronika Pyzik's 19:35 for 3rd!
Fiona O'Keefe was 5th in 19:43.
Katie Rainsberger was out of it back in 11th, time of 20:04.

Times at the SEC were either BOLTian, or utterly ridiculous, due to a mismeasurement of the course!!
No way a pretty much unknown woman runs 6K in 18:55---even if the course was downhill and on a perfect golf course surface with perfect weather!!
Ditto the Men's leader NOT running 22:20---at least not for a course supposed to be 8K!!
However, as I've often noted, it's the MARGIN of victory that counts much more than the time!!

Gilbert  Boit ran that 22:20, beating Albert Chelanga's "22:27".
Jessica Pascoe was the recipient of that 18:55, which beat Katrina Robionson's "19:01".
Lauren Gregory ran "19:08" in 3rd!!
SEC, shame on you!!

In other Conferences---
Callie Logue ran a nifty 19:54 to beat Sabrina Johnson's 19:59 in the Big 12 race.
The Men's division went to Edwin Kurgat's 23:21.
Isai Rodriguez was 2nd in 23:26.
The ACC Men's race was close, with Peter Saufer and Zach Facioni timed in 23:31.
Dorcas Wasike took the Women's race in 20:07, beating Elly Henes's 20:16, and Anna Rohrer's 20:19.
The Big East Women's race went to Caroline Alcorta's 20:12.
Rachel McArthur took 2nd in 20:16, with Paige Hofstad further back in 3rd, time of 20:34.
Casey Comber's 23:59 took the Men's race over the 24:09 of Nick Wareham!
In the West Coast Men's race, Rory Linkletter ended just 4th, time of 23:32.
Nick Hauger took the W in 23:20 over Connor McMillan's 23:23.
Erica Birk won the Women's race in 19:46, beating Lauren LaRocco's 19:52!
And in the Big Sky Men's race, a couple of VERY key players went into battle!
Matthew Baxter beat Tyler Day, 22:46 to 22:50.
While those times also might look like outliers, the NAMES of they who ran them gives weight to the validity of the results!!
Angie Nickerson took the 5000 Women's race in 16:30.

Keep that 16:30 in mind as I report to you Katelyn Tuohy's latest pair of races!

In a race which she said was run as a workout (!!!), she still beat her own Course Record (by 7 seconds!)
Running just the final 1000 hard, her 16:46 beat the 2nd placer by 90 seconds!!
But then, in a 3 Mile race, her 15:55 did NOT break her own CR!
She missed by a mere three-tenths of a second!!
Have no idea what her race plan was there!!

This is getting long, but I have several other results to report---and some Records!!

Lawrence Cherono wiped out his own Course Record at the Amsterdam Marathon.
His 2:04:06 makes him 13th A-T World!!
Mule Wasihan took 2nd in a quick 2:04:37
Ken Bekele was up with the leaders---even led at one point---but became a VERY late race DNF---walking off the course at around 40K!!
Another Bekele won the Women's race!
Tadelech Bekele won it in 2:23:14.
But there were a couple of significant first-timers who ran some good times in their debuts!
Linet Masai ran 2:23:46, and Meseret Defar ran 2:27:25!!

The Delhi Half found Tirunesh Dibaba wallowing back in 8th at the finish line, time of 68:36!

The National Record of Canada for Men fell at the Toronto Marathon!
Cam Levins ran a sturdy and steady race, his 2:09:25 the new NR!
Benson Kipruto's 2:07:24 was the winner!
Augustino Sulle's 2:07:46 became Tanzania's new National Record!
Mimi Belete won the Women's race in a Course Record 2:22:29!
BTW, Levins's mark broke Jerome Drayton's 2:10:09, which dated from 1975!!

The Frankfurt Marathon was won by Kalhala Gezahegn's 2:06:37.
Mechamu Assefa took the Women's race in 2:20:31!
Lindsay Flanagan ran a good 2:29:35 as the lone American finisher!
Sara Hall was a DNF---reason unknown!!

Mark Kiptoo also ran in Frankfurt---at Age 42!
His 2:07:50 smashed my 40 & Over Record by 48 seconds!

Finally, on the racing front, a short course (9640 meters!!) race was run at the Reebok Women's 10K---formerly the Tufts race!!
Emily Sisson ran 30:39---which if extended that extra 360 meters, might have landed her around 31:45 or so at the end!

I'll close with some "off-track" news!

Valerie Adams is at it again!!
She's pregnant for the 2nd time---due in April!!
Not known if she'll try for the WC--which aren't until October!!

Abbey D'Agostino is now Abbey Cooper!
Not known right now is her new hubby's name!

Shannon Rowbury gave birth last June, but she says her first big race will be the World XC Champs!!
No INdoor??

Casimir Loxsom, one of America's best at 600 and 800, has retired!

See you soon!






Friday, October 19, 2018

NEW!--Record Book lists for--XC!

Yes, yes, I know!
For 40 years of my Record Book---and almost 5 years of this blog--I've said NYET to making lists of XC times!
You know all the reasons--just read some of my recent posts!

But then Katelyn Tuohy began doing more damage to XC Course Records than....fill in the blanks!
So I wondered---where does she stand in comparison to other A-T greats?
And what about other great runners in XC history?

At first, I had a HUGE project in mind---create DDD's (Top 24 A-T Performers) for the Men's 10K & Women's 6K for ALL the races ever run at those distances---in the Conferences, Regionals, the Championship race itself!
And do the same for High Schoolers---only over the 5000 distance!!
Don't focus on JUST the NCAA Champs, the NXN and Footlocker races!

BUT---then reality dug in its ugly old claws!!
The corpulent humongousness of the project became a bit overwhelming!!
So I toned it down!
I'd go for JUST the best times run at the NCAA meet, and the pair of HS events.
Since athletes peak for those meets, I figured MOST of the best marks would come from them!!

I'm going to present all the lists I compiled over the past two days below.
Used the T&FN Archives for NCAA results (the 10K distance was set in motion in 1976--the 6K for Women not until this century!!).
Both HS meets have done the 5K from their beginnings!
BTW, the Footlocker race was sponsored by Kinney from 1979 to 1992, and then by Footlocker from 1993 to today!
I'll present guidelines and a bit of commentary for each set of lists!

NCAA--Men and Women
While this meet is ancient, as noted above, the Men ran other distances before 1976!
The Women began with the 5000, and only moved to the 6K in the 21st century!
The very first Men's 10K saw Henry Rono set a Record that's never been broken!!
TWELVE of the 24 marks came from that 1976 race!
I've asked Garry Hill for confirmation that this wasn't another 6 Mile race---but the intro to the Archives SAYS they began running 10000's in 1976!!
What an incredible race!!!
The 2017 race was quite productive for the Women---with 8 of the 24 marks coming from there!!

I'll give last names, their time, and the year.
(Women's names are their married names, NOT their names in College!!)
Men on the left, Women on the right!

1.  H Rono                28:06.60   1976          Kurgat               19:19.5   2017
2. Kimombwa          28:16.78    1976          Neale                 19:27.0   2017
3. Virgin                   28:26.53    1976          Saina                 19:27.9   2012
4.  Lindsay               28:30.69     1976         Kipyego             19:28.1   2008
5.  Kithuka               28:31.3       2012         D'Agostino        19:28.6   2012
6.  Treacy                 28:34.84     1976         Hasay                 19:28.6   2012
7.  Salazar                28:37.4       1979         Seidel                 19:28.6    2015
8.  Sambu                 28:38.6      2012          Taylor                 19:28.6   2017
9.  Waigwa               28:39.0      1976           Flanagan            19:31     2003
10. Chelanga            28:41.3      2009           Ostrander           19:31.3  2017
11.  O'Shaughnessy  28:43.16    1976          Avery                  19:31.6  2014
12.  Lalang                28:44.1     2011           Tuliamuk            19:33.6   2012
13. Motshwaratau     28:45.6     1981           J Nilsson            19:34       2005
14. Cheserek             28:45.8     2015           Pyzik                  19:34.1   2017
15. Martin                 28:46.37   1976           Krumins             19:34.9    2008
16. Cheboiywo         28:47         2001          Sang                    19:35.6   2017
17. Koskei                28:47.3      1979          Kelati                   19:35.8   2017
18. Musyoki             28:48.4      1981          G Murphy            19:36.3   2017
19. Chapa                 28:49.58    1976          Fanning                19:37.1   2008
20. Munyala            28:52.79      1976         Disanza                19:39.9   2014
21. Keflizighi          28:54            1997        Scott-Erfurd         19:40.9    2015
22.  Peterson            28:54.25       1976        R Kimaiyo           19:41      2012
23.  Kimeto             28:55.70       1976         Reid                     19:41.2   2011
24.  Deegan             28:56.9         1977         Schweizer            19:41.7   2016

NXN--Men & Women
This meet just started in 2004!
Lousy weather has spoiled some great races and slowed times, as it's held in Portland in December!!
Also, it's mainly a team event, with individuals getting secondary consideration!
But some great ones have run there!!

1.  Wilmot               15:00    2013               Tuohy               16:44.7    2017
2.  Zeinasellassie     15:03    2011               Efraimson        16:50.1    2013
3.  Clinger               15:03.2  2015              Cranny             16:53.8    2013
4.  Troutner              15:03.9  2017             Rainsberger      16:56.8    2015
5.  Gedyon               15:04.5   2009            Baxter               16:57.8    2013
6.  Veatch                 15:04.8   2015            Oakley              17:10.1   2016
7.  Parsons               15:05.6   2015            Donaghu           17:10.2   2015
8.  Hasty                  15:05.9   2017           Logue               17:14.2    2015
9.  L Anderson        15:07.6   2017           Chmiel              17:15.4    2015
10. Haney               15:09       2013             B Hasz             17:17.1    2015
11.  T Anderson      15:09      2013              Ostrander           17:19      2014
12.  Lutz                  15:09.2   2009             Endsley             17:19.6   2015
13.  Carpenter          15:09.7   2015           Learheiser         17:20.2   2015
14.  Joe Rosa           15:09.8   2009           Pendergast        17:20.8   2015
15.  De La Rosa     15:10       2013            Devlin               17:22.1   2015
16.  W Beck           15:10      2013             Wheeler            17:23.2    2015
17.  Geberkidane    15:10      2013            Ratliff                17:23.9    2015
18.  Mwaura           15:12.6   2017            Troy                   17:24.2    2015
19.   Hacker            15:13.0   2014            West                  17:25.6    2015
20.   McMillan       15:13.0    2013            G Ping              17:25.7    2015
21.   Herrera           15:13.2    2015            Neal                  17:25.8    2015
22.  Caldwell         15:14        2013            Hofstad            17:26        2014
23.  Yoho               15:14       2013             Sveinsson         17:27       2008
24.   Connor           15:14       2008            (See NOTE below!)

NOTE--As I was typing this list here, I realized I had TWO marks for Kelsey Chmiel!!
As this is a PERFORMERS list, not performances, only one mark per athlete!
Since the next race is just a few weeks away, I'm NOT going to do research to find another mark to fill the 24th spot!
I'm sure the 2018 race will fill the gap!!
Sorry!
SECOND NOTE---Also, when Tuohy broke the Course Record last year, it was said she broke Rainsberger's mark by 11 seconds!  But if you notice, you'll see Efraimson ran 16:50 in 2013 in winning that fabulous race against Cranny & Baxter!  But then Tuohy would have broken EFRAIMSON's mark--and by just 5 seconds, not 11.  So what's the deal?  My guess is that the course changed after the 2013 race, so Rainsberger's mark became the NEW Course's Record!!  And thus the general reference to Touhy breaking THAT CR, not Efraimson's!!  But the distances were the same!!

And now for the---
Footlocker--Men & Women
As noted above, this race started as the Kinney race, then became Footlocker in 1993!
But it's the same event!!
This race has "regional teams", but the clear emphasis is on individuals!!
Also, it seems this decade has not been very good on the Guy's side, as the most recent marks on that list are from 2011.
The Gals aren't much better, as only Lane's mark comes from after 2010!!
Well, this is taking a lot of space---and time--so let's get to it!

1.  Ritzenhein               14:29    1999          Trotter               16:24.07   2001
2.  Reynolds                  14:35.7 1982         Fairchild            16:39.2     1990
3.  R Reina                    14:36.8  1985        Robinson           16:40.4     1981
4.  M Davis                  14:38.1   1986        Stamps               16:41.9     1994
5.  Solinsky                  14:40.5   2002        Brommer           16:43.2     1980
6.  M Mastalir              14:41.3   1985        J Smith               16:43.7    1983
7.  Goucher                  14:41.7   1993        Keough               16:43.8    1985
8.  Connelly                 14:49.5   1982        O'Brien               16:48.1    1984
9.  Williams                 14:49.8   1986        Cuffe                   16:53       2010
10. Dameworth            14:49.9   1989        Hall                     16:55       2000
11.  Fout                      14:50       2007        Siraki                  16:58       2000
12.  Fry                        14:50      1984      Curtin                  16:58.6    1982
13.  Moore                  14:50.41  2001       Strauss                16:59.9    1981
14.  Dani                     14:50.9    1985      L Craven             17:01.0    1981
15.  Hume                   14:51.41  1985      Rowen                17:02.3    1982
16.  Lockhart              14:51.55   2001       Lane                   17:03.4    2017
17.  Alexander            14:51.9    1981       Odlaug               17:04.30  2001
18.  Cheserek              14:52       2011    Schubert             17:04.6    1982
19.  Henes                   14:52.6    1985      Chamberlain      17:04.7    1984
20.  Keflizighi            14:53.0     1993       Hasay                 17:05       2005
21.  Marden                14:53        1980       Roetter               17:05.14  2001
22.  Zeinasellassie      14:53        2011       Volpe                 17:06.2    1982
23.  S Taylor               14:53.6     1982       Goethals            17:06.9    2009
24.  (See NOTE below!)                            Sveinsson          17:07.1    2009

NOTE--As I was finishing typing these lists, I noticed I'd miscounted the number of Men's marks I had.  I was one short!  Again, I'll hope the 2018 race will fill the gap!!

Well, thanks for staying with me!
This was SUPPOSED to be a "vacation" for this blogger!
Some vacation, eh??!!

Hope you enjoyed this!!
See you soon!

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Cross Heats Up (& what it means)

Long time readers of this blog know I often disparage Cross Country for being a relatively meaningless sector of the greater Track & Field world!
For a few reasons--
Courses are so varied (even over the same distance) that comparing times over the various courses becomes something far more complicated than rocket science!
Weather (Read--BAD weather!!) often affects a meet's results, making predictions far more unpredictable!
There are no lists (Yearly, or All-Time) of times in XC--except maybe those kept by various schools or states--not even by the NCAA, USATF, IAAF, Tilastopaia, or T&FN!!

But CAN one find meaning in all this?
What criteria is useful (Thank you, Tim Hutchings!) in determining the quality of a XC time?
The course's terrain?
The weather?
The number of "name" athletes running?
The margin by which you win--or break records?
Or all of the above?
(Hint--It's the latter!)

Once more, I turn to Katelyn Tuohy for my example.
She's run 3 races this season, and SMASHED 3 Course Records into oblivion!
(If you go back to the NXN race of 2017, she also broke THAT record---held by Katie Rainsberger!--by 11 seconds!)
So--3 races--3 wins--3 CR's--by margins of 90, then 67, and yesterday, by 51 seconds!
And the margin between Tuohy and the 2nd place finisher was even more incredible!!
Let's face it, you just don't find that in World, USATF, or NCAA Cross!!
If a CR is broken, it might be by a mere handful of seconds!
Margin of victory?
Often seeing 2 to 5 athletes finishing within a second or three of each other!

So is the Tuohy story so phenomenal seeming because it's High School?
Sometimes--male or female--you have a stand alone athlete who CRUSHES a field--or a Record!!---but even then, it's by 10 to 20 seconds, NOT 90, 67, and 51!!
Yet even in that NXN race last fall, Tuohy beat Kelsey Chmiel by 41 seconds!!
And as we know, Chmiel had a 9:18 3000 track time to her credit!!
Speaking of Chmiel, that first race of Tuohy's beat the CR held by---Ms Chmiel!
While the second one didn't beat a "name" athlete, yesterday's did!
Ever hear of Aisling Cuffe?
She ran a Two Mile track time of 9:54.22, and in College, ran 5000 in 15:13!!
Yet--even though she was NOT seriously chasing it (as she said would be her plan!), she took care of Ms Cuffe's mark by the aforesaid 51 seconds!!

So if any meaning is to come from XC times, we must look at X athlete's MARGIN of victory--and the MARGIN by which the athlete breaks the Record!!
(And WHO held the old Record!!)

But my problem doesn't really come from comparing XC times run over different courses!
No, it comes from trying to determine what kind of TRACK times can be predicted from those XC times!!
For example, Sarah Baxter holds the Mt SAC 3 Mile CR---16:00!
Back in 2013, she was then considered the greatest Female HS XC runner of A-T---and had been undefeated all 4 years of her HS career!
But her best time at 3200 meters was "just" 10:07.
And she was almost TIED in that race!!
Tuohy ran 16:44 at NXN last year.
Then ran 15:37, 9:05, and 4:33 on IN & OUTdoor tracks!
Now she's run 16:07 (& 16:21 & 16:54).
So does that indicate far faster times during the upcoming track seasons?

Cole Sprout ran 14:33 (See previous post!).
Does that mean he'll run close to 14:00 for a track 5000?
(Note--I say YES!!)
And if that's the case, why should predicted times of 4:25, 9:25, 15:10 & 31:20 (for Tuohy) seem so Looney Tuney??
(Note--To me, they do NOT!!)

So the MEANING of XC times must take MARGINS---of victory, and of the new CR--into account!
It still would negate any value given to those times if compared to Track times!
And weather--and how it affects the course---with mud, puddles, softness or hardness, ruts (which affect how or if an athlete ATTACKS a course!) being a HUGE factor in XC outcomes!
(The team factor isn't so important--especially when it comes to the podium spots for individuals!!)

And speaking of XC times---and margins of victory---the Pre-Nationals races (held on the same courses as the NCAA's will be--in Madison Wisconsin!) shone the spotlight on the first REALLY serious races of the 2018 season!!
Pardon my ignorance, but I just have no idea why the Pre-Nats were split into 4 races--2 for each sex!
Were they seen as "Varsity" and "Junior Varsity"?
Or "B", then "A" races?
Some pretty fair runners ran in those "secondary" races!!

In the Men's (Let's call it their B race!!) B race, Rory Linkletter had some company at the line!
His 23:54 beat Aidan Tooker's 23:55, while Chris Olley also timed 23:55, with Connor Mantz's 23:56 taking 4th!
While Olley is unknown to me, the other three are good runners, not usually found in "B" races!!
(BTW, since times aren't really important in XC, I round those times up or down to the nearest full second.  Thus, a 23:54.5 to 23:54.9 is rounded UP to 23:55, while a 23:54.1 to 23:54.4 is rounded down--to 23:54!)

The Women's B race went to Jessica Hull's 20:03.
She beat Arkansas Frosh--via Australia!!--Katrina Robinson by 6 seconds!
Audrey Roberts ran 20:10, with Erica Birk taking 4th in 20:12.
Bethany Hasz ran 20:18 in 5th!

The "Big Wheels" showed up in the A races!!
Grant Fisher outsprinted a Gang of Three, his 23:48 edging Tyler Day's & Matthew Baxter's same times (See above!)
Aaron Templeton ran 23:51 in 4th, with Joe Klecker's 23:55 taking 5th!
(Linkletter would've taken 5th here!!)

The Women's race saw Weini Kelati upset Ednah Kurgat---by TWELVE seconds!!--19:33 to 19:45!!
Another TEN back came Dorcas Wasike!
Elise Cranny was separated by another TWELVE seconds from Wasike--her time being 20:07.
Fiona O'Keefe (20:09) and Sharon Lokedi (20:12) followed!

Can we now say Kelati will be the NCAA Women's Champion?
If based on her TIME, then the answer is no!
But her MARGIN of victory---12 seconds--is significant.
Does it tell us Kurgat had a "bad" day?
Or that Kelati has become New Mexico's (& the NCAA's!) strongest runner??
Of course, November 17th will give us the answer, but it does offer some insight into the MEANING of XC times!!
(If that's the case with the Women, what does Fisher's razor thin margin tell you about the Men??)

BTW, the HS Women saw another interesting result!
WALKER (& Runner!!) Taylor Ewart crushed the field in an Ohio meet.
Her 16:57 was only the second time the 17 minute barrier was cracked by a Woman!!
(What would Tuohy have run??)

Again, not sure when my next post will be.
There are Conference, State, and Regional races left before the Biggies, and there's the NYC Marathon!!
But this IS my "vacation" time, so don't wake me before eleven!!
LOL

See you---whenever!

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Mo, Brigid & Katelyn Show--Chicago & XC

Impossible to directly compare, but what Katelyn Tuohy did---AGAIN!!--to a Cross Country Course Record, can IMHO be placed in the same general territory as what happened on the streets of Chicago earlier today!!

Let's go to the Windy City!
(Although the wind was mostly absent, the streets were covered with rain that had fallen an hour or so before the race!)

Tough to have to follow what Eliud Kipchoge did in Berlin!
Like coming on stage after the Beatles had played!!
But SIR MoBot comes to win, and neither weather nor challengers will scare him away!
But when a group of 6-10 passed through 5000 in 14:54, you had to think that split would be SLOWER than all of Kipchoge's splits in his 2:01:39 World Record!!

Anyway, when they hit 30:10 at 10K, all bets for a fast time seemed to be off!
Farah had requested the pacers take him through the Half in 62:00!
So when they hit 63:03---with Mo a few seconds back---it became a race, not a Record chase!

The pre-race chatter was all about Mo and Galen Rupp, and who would beat who!
(Not forgetting that they were up against a pair of Kirui's--Geoff and Abel!
And their one-time NOP compadre--Suguru Osako--who wanted the Japan National Record--and the attendant million dollar award attached to an NR!)

At a couple of leaderboard checkpoints, Farah had fallen from the top 10--but most assumed he was just doing his MoBot act--waiting to KILL it over the final 400!
He didn't wait till then!

Back in the front at 35K--with Rupp a couple of seconds off--Mo was hitting the gas pedal!
The Kirui's---who had led most of the way--were now gone, though still running good times!
The Rupp vs Farah Act was back and forth--with each in front of the other throughout the race!

But Farah was doing what made him a SIR--pushing hard for the line!
Rupp was gone, though still running close to his PR!

When Farah ended, his time of 2:05:11 broke his own British National Record!
But he did NOT get the Age 35 Record--which is Geb's 2:03:59!!
He also missed my World list by 38 seconds!

His margin of victory was 13 seconds over Mosinet Geremew!!
Osako got his NR--and the million smackeroos!!

His time was 2:05:50 in 3rd!
Rupp ended 5th in 2:06:21.

The Women's race went off in similar fashion---with a group of 5 or 6 Africans up front--including Brigid Kosgei, Shure Demise, Roza Dereje, and a few others.
But surprisingly, the US group of Laura Thweatt, Sarah Crouch, and Gwen Jorgensen weren't following!
At 10K, they were already two and a half minutes behind the 33:24 of the leaders!!

A pack of 5 were still together at the Half, hit in 1:10:09!
A negative split could bring a sub-2:20 to Chicago!
The US group were now missing Thweatt, a DNF!
Crouch was about 30 seconds ahead of Jorgensen, but was running just 2:33 pace!!

Around 30K, Kosgei started smashing it!!
Her next 10 was in a startling 31:23 (15:36 & 15:47!).
That's about 2:13 pace for the full Marathon!!

And she didn't slow over the final 7195 meters!
Her 2:18:35 makes her 7th A-T World!!
(One second behind what Ruti Aga ran in Berlin!!)

Dereje was 2nd in 2:21:18!
A mea culpa about Dereje!
In researching whether any Age Records were broken (Kosgei missed Aga's Age 24 Record by 1 second!!), I noticed that Dereje had run 2:19:17 in Dubai this year!
But I'd failed to give her the Age 20 Record for that!!
OUCH!
So she got the Age 21 Record with her Chicago time, AND (retrospectively!!) gets the Age 20 Record also!!
(She was born in May of 1997!)

Shure Demise took 3rd in 2:22:15, while Crouch took 6th in 2:32:37.
(Why didn't they try for sub-2:30's, as Jorgensen and Thweatt had said they would??)

The USATF 10 Mile Championship was a good one!
Shadrack Kipchirchir took the Men's race in 46:32, three seconds ahead of Len Korir, with Stan Kebenai finishing in 46:39.

The Women's race saw Molly Huddle take the lead, but closely challenged by Sara Hall and Emma Bates!
It was Hall the winner in 52:47--by ONE SECOND over Huddle, with Bates not far back in 52:51!
Hall and Huddle are in serious Marathon training mode!!

Katelyn Tuohy's star shines the brightest---by far!!---but she's not the only HS talent out on the various XC courses!!

Cole Sprout is proving to be the MAN to beat on the HS level, as his 14:33 is now leading the nation!!
But the Great American XC Festival saw some good results!
Carter Cheeseman beat Camren Fischer, but both were given the same time of 14:50!!

Kelsey Chmiel took the Women's race in 16:43!!
She won by 45 seconds over Carmen Alder!!

And Ms Tuohy?
Oh, she just happened to SHATTER the venerable Holmdel NJ Course Record---run over DECADES by some of the best!!--by one minute and seven seconds!!
The old record was 17:28.
Tuohy ran SOLO to a time of 16:21!!
Only a few MEN ran faster than her--in all the various divisions!!

She hit the first Mile in 5:23.
Slow?
Yes, until you take into account that the first 800 was UPhill!!
Her second mile---over a flatter route--took the same--5:23!
The last 1.1 miles has a downhill finish--gradual, not steep!---which took her 5:35---so a last Mile took about 5:02!!
I saw the last 200 meters--and she looked VERY strong all the way to the line!!

So what to make of this youthful marvel??
And how can she possibly be compared to the Mo's of this world??
Well, SIR Mo stuck to his MoBot ways---and didn't take the lead until 40K!
Tuohy was ALONE from the gun!!
(Second place was MORE than 2 minutes back!!)

I repeat what I said in earlier Tuohy comments--She can right now compete on an equal level with the best the NCAA Collegiate scene has to offer!!

Not much to report on until the NYC Marathon!
But I'm sure I'll find SOMEthing to rant and/or rave about before then!!

See you soon--ish!