Forums >Racing>USA Men's 5000m- Lagat beats Rupp!
Weather conditions were apparently not very favourable to fast times, about 90 degrees and 15mph winds.
Apparently the pace set was very slow, the first 1600m in 5:20 (!) and 8 runners still in a pack with 1500m to go.
Rupp and Ben True had run the 10,000m so could not have been very fresh.
This set up a good situation for Bernard Lagat who out kicked Rupp in the last 100 metres.
So the question is why the 5000/10000 specialists would allow a 38 year old to set up a "sit and kick" race where he could beat so much younger men?
For comparison, the winning time was 14:54, whereas Jenny Barringer Simpson won the women's 5000m in 15:33, in presumably similar weather. Normally one would expect about 2 minutes spread between the men's and women's times for this event.
PBs since age 60: 5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.
10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.
Feeling the growl again
Conditions were terrible, nobody wanted to be the one to do the work out front and push the pace. The favorites trusted that they had the kick to still win in the end. Rupp lost to one of the most experienced, tactically proficient, and speediest 1500m runners that has ever set foot on the track.
And he's still going to Worlds.
On the flip side, Rupp could have pushed the pace early and it is likely that few people would have gone with him. Yet he risked doing all the work only to be out-kicked at the end...and the result potentially could have been worse.
Fans (myself included) typically don't like these slow, tactical races. But under these circumstances it is understandable that nobody wanted to sacrifice themselves by pushing the pace under brutal conditions. When it is 90F, it is a hell of a lot easier to run hard for 1600m and control the result than for 10,000m.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
If I'm Rupp or Lagat I can see that. But everyone else knew that Rupp and Lagat would easily outkick them. So why did *nobody* push the pace? Was there a drafting advantage in the pack?
It is the slow tactical races where the dark horses have a chance to get lucky. if the race goes out fast they are out of contention in the first two miles.
Good Bad & The Monkey
No need to find and watch the race, the title of this thread spoils it.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Why is it sideways?
I think Rupp's record vs. Lagat going into the race was 1-12, so this is not huge news, especially considering that Rupp was doubling back from the 10,000. Lagat is still a stud.
The race was three days ago on NBC.
Heh.
Yes. Everyone of those guys dreams of a race like this. However, I don't believe that they think they're going to get lucky. I think every single one of them believes they can outkick everyone else.
There was a point in my life when I ran. Now, I just run.
We are always running for the thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it
At that level, you are either going to win with a long kick or a short kick. What happens in the race prior to that is fairly irrelevant. Ben True knew he would have to win with a long kick, so he went with ~1500 to go. They covered the last mile in 3:57. Lagat and Rupp were going to make the team regardless of pace and strategy. There actually was a surprise qualifier -- Hill, whose PR is 13:20 beat a bunch of guys who have run under 13:10.
Lagat is a great 1500 and 3000m runner with really good speed. In a slow race its no surprise he wins over Rupp.
Rupp's closing speed is the thing that holds him back against the very best. Farah beats him every time they race essentially because he can run the last lap a second faster than Rupp.
Why did nobody else push the pace? I guess in poor conditions you worry that if you lead you'll use up too much energy and fade. After all there are more than two places available, right? Nobody else really believed they were going to beat Rupp or Lagat whatever happened, so it's essentially about a race amongst the rest.
Options,Account, Forums
Shalane rules.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Are we there, yet?
I was wondering when someone would mention this. It wasn't just a last lap sprint, though I thought one race recap said that Lagat ran his last mile in 3:55. I haven't bothered to look it up, but I wonder how many in the field have run a mile that fast.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
ffs
Runners run
I dont think Hill has run 1320 yet. I guess hes racing to get that before Worlds?
Ben True may have blown it, but was he supposed to lead for the whole race?
Getting beat by a 1500 guy in that race.. not many options for him in that weather.
And we run because we like itThrough the broad bright land
Thanks for the replies, and sorry about the spoiler!
Perhaps it is not a big surprise Lagat had such a strong finish as he is primarily a 1500m specialist and in great form.
I agree that a tactical race was to be expected- but surely this is also true among the women, where Simpson, Huddle and some others are primarily considered 1500m specialists. In fact that is what happened, but the women's race was run in 15:33!
Even in a tactical race I would have expected a much better finishing time than 14:54 for the men: less than 40 seconds
between the men and women seems a very small difference.