Week 6

Wednesday, October 24

Picking up Speed

American male distance runners are lifted by the successes of one another

In 1989, American 10,000-meter record holder Mark Nenow ran his debut marathon in New York City. He came away in 2:14 and later joked, “I never used to have any respect for a 2:14 marathoner; now I am one.” It was a funny line, but no one thought a man of 27:20, 10,000-meter prowess would have been a mere 2:14 marathoner.

Throughout the 1980s, American running stars Nenow, Ed Eyestone, Todd Williams, and Bruce Bickford, the crème of American 10,000-meter men, tended to wait until late in their careers before moving up to the marathon. Accordingly, their PRs at the marathon never approached their sub-28 minute 10K bests. 

“In those days 27:20, 27:30 still won the major 10,000 meter races,” says Team Running USA coach Terrence Mahon. “That’s right around what those guys were running. Today the world record is 26:17. So even if sub-27:00 is possible [by Americans], if the ultimate goal is an Olympic medal, it won’t come on the track.”

Today’s young Americans seem to understand this speed reality, and have decided to use the speed they do have where it can give them the best advantage for international success.  

The shift began in 2002 when Dan Browne won the Twin Cities Marathon in his debut in 2:11:35. Colorado’s Alan Culpepper followed a month later with an American debut record-tying 2:09:41 in Chicago—equaling Alberto Salazar’s 1980 record from New York City. Another month later in New York City, hopes were high for American 10,000-meter record holder Meb Keflezighi’s debut. Keflezighi dropped to ninth place in 2:12:35, but he had challenged for the win up First Avenue—impetuously perhaps, but with firm intention. Two years later, he delivered an Olympic silver medal performance in Athens that sent a charge of electricity through the American distance running scene. Deena Kastor took home the bronze medal in the marathon in Athens.

“Seeing Deena showed me we are just as good as they are, if not ever better,” says Abdi Abdirahman, a two-time Olympian at 10,000 meters and one of the favorites for the `08 marathon team. “They [Kastor and Keflezighi] started this new distance boom; you gotta give credit to Deena and Meb for the way they raised the level of U.S. distance running. A lot of guys took their game to the next level after that. They believe in themselves now.”

“U.S. running is on the upswing,” agrees Abdi’s coach, Dave Murray. “Just look at Rupp or Ryan or Ritz or Teg [Galen Rupp, Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Matt Tegenkamp]. Wow! Those guys are running well. Meb, Alan, and Abdi, all the old guard, are still there trying to hold off the young bucks. Down the road in two, five, or 10 years Americans will begin winning medals at 5000 and 10,000 meters and the marathon. We saw it with Meb and Deena in Athens `04. It was an outstanding accomplishment. Now it’s the Hansons kids versus the Mammoth kids versus the Madison kids versus the Hudson kids. There is real competition among these different groups.” 

The inter-group competition is reminiscent of the 1970s club battles for national supremacy between the likes of the Boulder Track Club, the Jamul Toads of San Diego, the Atlanta Track Club, and Greater Boston Track Club.

“We had five 2:14 guys or better,” recalls Jamul Toads co-founder Bob Larsen. “And a bunch of 2:15 to 2:20 [runners]. And that was without any specific marathon training. So how hard is to run 2:10 or 2:12?  Kirk Pfeffer ran 2:17:44 as an 18-year-old. That was the world junior record at the time, and Steve Ortiz ran 2:13 as a junior at UCLA. We didn’t think that was a big deal. It’s what we thought we should be running. The attitude was, the guys back east are running well, so why shouldn’t we?”

Another difference today is that the best American athletes are competing in the same events. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, men like Bob Kennedy (5000 meters), Mark Croghan (steeplechase), and Todd Williams (10,000 meters) showed that Americans could compete on the track at the international level. But they plied their trade in separate events. When Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, and Abdi Abdirahman came on the scene, they competed against one another for the same national titles. From that competition emerged Keflezighi’s Olympic silver medal.

“I think there are so many talented athletes now,” says Dathan Ritzenhein’s coach, Brad Hudson. “Look, there are no easy wins anymore. It is very, very difficult to win at nationals. There are more people training harder, more youth training harder, and the knowledge is being shared as to how hard people are training.”

“Our marathon team was fourth in Osaka,” says coach Keith Hanson of Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, referring to the U.S. squad at the 2007 IAAF World Championships. “The Ethiopians were fifth with four 2:08 men. The U.S. is very strong in distance running. No doubt this will be the hardest Olympic Marathon team to make, ever.”

“2008 and 2009 are going to make 2007 seem like nothing,” enthuses Pete Julian of Boulder who, along with Alan Culpepper and Steve Jones created the new Tempo Sports professional running club in Boulder. “We want other teams—Hansons, Team USA California—to send us their guys for three or four weeks, and we’ll take care of them. It’s ridiculous not to work together. There’s a long transition in distance running, and you can’t get to the highest level without support.”

What seems to be different about the current renaissance is the individual focus within the group model, and the ability of different groups to work together. Pete Julian, who directed the 2007 USA Cross Country meet in Boulder, recaps a typical Sunday long run on the dirt roads of Boulder.

“In essence, there were two groups out there on Sunday. One group was the Boulder Distance Project [BDP]. Its primary goal is developmental and it’s open to just about any post-collegiate trying to make the step to national class. The BDP is also a competitive club [they won the Club Marathon Relay in 2006]. The other group is part of the Tempo Sports Club. This is a new, high-level group we’ve formed to help world-class athletes bridge the gap from making USA teams to making the podium at major championships.  The athletes in this group tend to get very individualized training. This is a non-competitive club, as these guys already have major sponsors and teams that they compete for. On occasion there is crossover where everyone trains together. We’ve set these two groups up to try and meet the needs of everyone, and everyone seems really happy.”

It’s been a long time in coming, but critical mass seems to have been achieved.

“Watching the 5000 meters at nationals in Indianapolis, it was amazing to see Bernard Lagat,” says Dathan Ritzenhein. “He is an Olympic silver medalist, and he had his hands full in that race. Then he lost to Alan [Webb] in the 1500. Tegenkamp ran 13:04 last year. Ryan [Hall] ran 2:08 in his first marathon against one of the best fields ever. You can’t argue with the results.

“Our generation, the classes of 2000-2001, have pushed up the competition. Now how many high school kids are under 9:00 (for 3200 meters)? When I first ran under 9:00 as a sophomore there were only one or two other guys in the country who did it. Now there are tons. There’s a synergistic effect to what’s going on.”

Today’s new class now believes it can break through into the winner’s circle at the highest international level. It is a brash belief, but American distance running fans can feel it, as the winds of change continue to blow strong and steady across the land.