(5-4-06) Ryan Lamppa, Running USA wire - T.S. Eliot in his epic poem, The Waste Land, called April "the cruelest month", but for U.S. distance running, April 2006 was the best April on record as American distance runners distinguished themselves in three disciplines: cross country, road and track. Consider the following depth and breadth of achievement from this past month:
APRIL 1
Goucher 6th at World Cross
In the final edition of the World Cross Country 4K Championship, Adam Goucher worked his way thru the stellar short course field to finish 6th in Fukuoka, Japan. His finish was the highest U.S. Senior men's placing since Pat Porter took the same place in the 1986 long course (12K) race.
APRIL 2
Kastor's Four U.S. Records at Berlin
At the Vattenfall Berlin Half-Marathon, Deena Kastor finished second in 1:07:34 to Edith Masai's 1:07:16 and in the process, the Team Running USA athlete broke her U.S. record by 19 seconds. Additionally en route, the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist set three more pending U.S. records: 12K in 38:24, 10 miles in 51:31 and 20K in 64:07.
APRIL 17
U.S. Men 3-4-5 at Boston
Led by 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, U.S. men made a statement at the 110th Boston Marathon. In his Boston debut, Keflezighi, a Team Running USA athlete, went for the win and placed third in 2:09:56, followed by Brian Sell 4th (2:10:55, PR) and Alan Culpepper 5th (2:11:02). In addition, Peter Gilmore (2:12:45, PR) and Clint Verran (2:14:12, PR) also finished in the top 10, 7th and 10th respectively. The U.S. also put 11 men in the top 20 - its best Boston showing in the prize money era (first year 1986) and its best showing overall since 1983.
APRIL 23
Deena Does It! Sub-2:20 Win at London
On April 23, Kastor impressively won the Flora London Marathon in a sterling 2:19:36, which broke her 2003 U.S. record (2:21:16) and made her the 4th fastest woman all-time and the 8th woman to break 2:20 (and first American woman). The Team Running USA athlete maintained a metronomic 5:20 pace throughout and split each half in 1:09:48.
APRIL 30
Webb, Ritzenhein, Famiglietti Sub-27:40 at Stanford
At the Cardinal Invite, Alan Webb and Dathan Ritzenhein, both 23, thrilled the rabid crowd over 25 laps as the miler Webb, in his 10,000 meter debut, sprinted to the narrow win, 27:33.72 to 27:35.65, the 8th and 9th fastest Americans all-time. Webb's time was a U.S. 10,000m debut record. Steeplechaser and fellow 2004 Olympian Anthony Famiglietti, also in his 10,000m debut, closed well to finish third in 27:37.74 (#12 U.S. individual).
The current U.S. distance "resurgence" did not happen and has not happened overnight, but started after the 2000 Olympics as a critical mass of people decided to stop talking about the limited success of U.S. distance running since the mid-80s and decided to do something about it by, in short, creating better training environments. Four years later in Athens, the Olympic Marathon medals won by Keflezighi and Kastor showed the value of group dynamics and training and that American distance runners could return to the highest podium.
The lion's share of the credit for this resurgence goes to the athletes and coaches who have been and are dedicated to improving the fortunes of U.S. distance running. In addition, Running USA, New York Road Runners, Nike, Hansons-Brooks, Atlanta Track Club, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, Twin Cities Marathon, Chevron Houston Marathon and others have stepped up to help develop, support and promote more U.S. athletes. And together, the sport and its athletes are in a better place than 5 years ago.
Along with the veterans such as Keflezighi, Kastor, Goucher, Culpepper, Jen Rhines, Abdi Abdirahman, Carrie Tollefson and Khalid Khannouchi showing the way, there is a solid youth movement (under 25) with Webb, Ritzenhein, Ryan Hall, Ian Dobson, Galen Rupp, Shalane Flanagan, Lauren Fleshman and Sara Hall who collectively will inspire and lead the current generation as well as the next generation: the 54 million U.S. kids 18 and under (Echo Babies, the largest generation since the height of the Baby Boomers) in school today.
Yes, U.S. distance running has made noteworthy and laudable progress since 2000 and the future looks promising, but there is still more work to be done and more resources needed to produce more depth and top world class performances for Beijing 2008 and beyond, and April 2006 could prove to be a watershed moment for U.S. distance running.
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