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!
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