Fast Track and a Goodbye

David Yon, August 22, 2010

I spent less than two hours with him, but I fell pretty hard for him. So when the unexpected news headline came through on my computer screen that Jack had died, it was like a left hook out of nowhere crushing my chin. When I had last seen Jack at the 5K fund raiser for the Cauzican Animal Rescue, the tiny puppy was the star attraction having overcome the early cruelty in his life to show himself so full of life and spirit he infected everyone else there with a smile and good warm feelings. Life's hard knocks were mere obstacles to overcome on the way to good times. But sadly, there was more damage hiding in the tiny body than we knew and despite the best efforts of his vet and others, Jack's liver shut down. Thanks for the example of how to live, little guy.

Unlike many sports, running is much more of a participatory sport than a spectator sport. We "do it" much more than we watch or read about it. The average distance runner knows far less about the top runners in his or her sport than the average soccer, baseball or football fan knows about the top athletes in their sport. But it is an exciting time right now for distance running in the U.S. at the elite level. The return to training groups based in places like Eugene, Portland, Mammoth Lakes, and other places has created more depth and quality performances than at any time since the 1970-1980 period. The women's middle distance events (the 800 and the 1500/mile) are loaded with stars like Shannon Rowbury (4:00.33 - 1500), Anna Pearce (3:59.38/1:58.80; 1500/800), Alysia Johnson (1:57.34 - 800), Maggie Vessey (1:57.84 - 800), and Morgan Uceny (1:59.29 - 800) who have made breaking the 2:00 and 4:00 barriers in those events almost common place and are not afraid to tangle with the world's best. Shalane Flanagan is preparing for the marathon now, but has made the sub 15:00 5000 meter race her domain with an American record time of 14:44.80. (And that list doesn't include probably the best known distance runner for women, Kara Goucher, who is taking time off for the birth of a child.)

On the men's side Andrew Wheating (3:51.74 – mile; 3:30.90 - 1500), Leo Manzano (3:50.64 - mile), Nick Symmonds (1:44.06 - 800), Bernard Lagat (12:54.12 – 5000), Dathan Ritzenhein (12:56.27 - 5000), Matt Tegenkamp (12:58.56 – 5000) and Galen Rupp (13:07.35 – 5000; 27:10.74 – 10,000) have provided great performances and while not yet finding the winners' stand on the world elite level they have been very competitive. The star of the group however may well be Chris Solinsky who continues to have a terrific 2010 season. Prior to 2009 only two U.S. runners had ever broken 13 minutes in the 5K and none had broken 27 minutes in the 10K. In 1996 Bob Kennedy set the standard with a time of 12:58.21 and Bernard Lagat ran 12:59.22 in 2006. This year, Chris Solinsky has broken the 13 minute barrier three times (with a best of 12:55.53) and become the first U.S. runner ever to dip under 27 minutes in the 10,000 when he ran 26:59.60. The 13:00 minute dam broke in 2009 when Ritzenhein and Tegenkamp broke the mark. Bernard Lagat broke the 5K U.S. record when he ran 12:54.12 early this year. That makes a total of five U.S. runners who have now broken the mark and one more, Rupp, is just around the corner. It is enough to get you fired up to go run in the heat.