Records are meant to be dismantled ⏱

Lap 50: Sponsored by Diadora

After competing collegiately at Texas A&M - Kingsville, Robert Downs moved back home to Philadelphia to train. He holds an 800m personal best of 1:46.46 and is Diadora’s only sponsored track and field athlete in the United States.

How has your relationship with the sport changed from competing at the DII level to becoming a professional and what would you tell your younger self about it?

It changed from an activity I loved to a career I love. As a professional it takes more sacrifice to be at this level compared to college. If you try to take shortcuts then you will be exposed quickly. I appreciate this sport more than when I was in DII simply because I am putting all of my effort into it now. I would tell my younger self to stay the path, don’t get discouraged and most importantly be consistent on those days when you don’t want to be. 

What has been your experience training in Philadelphia with Derek Thompson's group?

It was a bit of a culture shock when I joined. That’s mainly due to the increased workload. I remember every time we went to the track for a workout I would say, ‘this was my hardest workout of my life.’ It made me realize what it’d take to be elite as a professional. I feel like I have adapted well and it has increased my appreciation for the sport. 

How has your relationship with Diadora been since first signing?

Our relationship has been amazing. In addition to wanting to see me succeed in this sport they see me as more than an athlete. Our partnership extends to marketing and developing business skills off the track, which I appreciate. As a guy who appreciates fashion, I love the style so I’m telling you the truth when I say Diadora’s footwear and gear have been my favorite I have ever worn. And of course it’s comfortable.

Boston University Speedway ⚡️

In order to fully capture what happened this weekend in Boston, it’s helpful to start with the fact that when Woody Kincaid won the “slow” section of the Men’s 5000m in 13:05.56, he’d just run the second fastest time ever by an American indoors, behind only Galen Rupp’s 13:01.26 from 2014, on the very same track.

The second thing to note is that it ceased to be the case just a few minutes after Grant Fisher & co. stepped to the line shortly after.

To run fast it’s good to have some help in the beginning, then an actual foot race at the end. Fisher followed that recipe to a T, initially sitting behind a handful of bodies in front of him, and with a mile to go, taking over and making the race his own. When the final time averages out to 4:08 pace, it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise to hear that Fisher’s solo last mile was 3:58. But any sub-four split in a race longer than…well, a mile tends to elicit additional awe. It feels like Grant’s 5th place finish in the Olympic 10000m (and 9th in the 5000m) was just a precursor of his Golden Age ahead— buckle up Phish Heads!

Also dipping under the former American Record was Emmanuel Bor, whose 13:00.48 secured him 4th place. Breaking up Team America was the Commonwealth Duo of Mohammed Ahmed (12:56.87 for a Canadian indoor record) and Marc Scott (12:57.08 for a European and = British record). The Bowerman Track Club had an eight man average of 13:03 — parity be damned!

And if you think that level of consolidated performance is wild, then what if I told you that on the all-time indoor men’s 5000m list, 26 of the top 50 times were run on the Boston University indoor track?

Coaches and athletes alike are rightfully obsessed with focusing seasons around that specific oval — and can you blame them for pursuing a li’l Beantown magic? If you get paid for running fast then it makes sense to go race where there’s a vortex that seemingly helps make that happen. (Quick aside: some contracts are actually starting to creatively include a ‘BU doesn’t count’ clause!)

My gripe isn’t over the tendency for pros to hunt down fast tracks, it’s over the fact that the sport hasn't adapted in any way around that desire.

Why are we still squeezing the best athletes in the world into the schedule of college meets? Why can’t we get a professional meet going at Boston University? It’s a waste of these record-shattering performances to not have them showcased and better broadcast to the masses.

Combine the fast times (and good, competitive races!) with an intimately packed stadium and that’s good television. Every weekend is booked? I’m pretty sure the NBA plays on Thursdays, and they’re doing ok. These are professional athletes we’re talking about here, too — days of the week don’t matter to them!

There are plenty of good opportunities out there for athletes right now and independently I love them all, however, the next step is communication. The Lap Count’s Hot Take of the Week is that too much opportunity is bad if it oversaturates the market.

Think of this from Nike sports marketing’s perspective. Rather than having a single cohesive 90-minutes of must-watch track for fans to tune into, viewing all of these extremely captivating races required an expansive knowledge of where, when and how to watch:

• Bowerman broke 5000m records in Boston.

• Union broke the distance medley world record best in Spokane.

• The Thomas Boys chased the American mile record in Chicago.

Please, somebody put them all in the same building next time and watch it burn down.

Second win for a Stafford 🇨🇦

Lucia Stafford ran a huge personal best and the second fastest indoor mile ever by a Canadian with her 4:24.42 victory at the Valentine Invitational. The only Canadian to ever run it faster? Her older sister, Gabriela Debues-Stafford. During the off season the Staffords reunited as training partners and it seems to be working out well for both of them— a good sibling rivalry can be a hell of a motivator.

But there’s also a ton of inspiration to be tapped into when records come within reach, and right now the record books are something that Gabriela is quickly rewriting.

On Friday she set her sights on the twenty-five lap tango, where she battled it out against American teammate Elise Cranny for the title of “undisputed North American 5000m record holder.” Despite Cranny opening a several-second gap on Debues-Stafford late in the race, she was unable to distance herself quite enough to put the race away.

Debues-Stafford unleashed a massive — and lengthy — kick to reel Cranny back in, and ultimately put over a second between them in the final lap. Debues-Stafford’s final 1600m clocked in at 4:27, but even more impressive was that her final 3000m was 8:30 — faster than the 8:33 Canadian record she ran a week earlier at the NBIGP.

For many, the gut reaction upon hearing how quickly someone closed a 5000m (or any race) is generally, ‘wow they could have run so much faster had they just gone out quicker.’ But the truth is, the optimal way to run a distance race is generally with a big negative split. Take it from me, a guy who tried multiple times to go out hard and hold on — it just doesn’t work!

Elise Cranny’s time of 14:33.17 set a new American Record, taking down Shalane Flanagan’s 14:47.62 from 2009. If it feels like there’s been an inequitable amount of attention given to Fisher’s run in comparison to Cranny’s, a charitable interpretation is that Shelby Houlihan and Karissa Schweizer ran faster more recently The duo went 14:23.92 and 14:26.34, respectively, in 2020, albeit outdoors. Working in Fisher’s favor is that it’s been 11 years since an American man has run 12:53 outdoors and Fisher was only .13 seconds shy of breaking the outright record of 12:53.60.

Also, Debues-Stafford won.

As times have become faster it seems impossible for fans to stay on top of all the latest results and it’s even more difficult for athletes to break away from the pack in terms of recognition. Of course, if the goal is to only run for personal satisfaction and the never-ending challenge of seeing how far one can push their body’s limits, then I guess attention doesn’t matter! But for most professional athletes, gaining a little notoriety for all the hard work is probably part of the goal too, especially when it impacts their annual salary.

So how do you possibly stand out from the crowd, when even running an American Record isn’t enough to satiate the 24 hour running news cycle?!

Here are not one, not two, not even three, but five modest proposals for doing just that:

1. Win. Posting a beautiful finish line Instagram of yourself breaking the tape is a fantastic way to remind fans, ‘hey, I am better than other people!’

2. Run races people are already watching. Create a low barrier to entry for fans to realize that you exist. Like, if you had to pick a race to win, consider the Boston Marathon since everyone is going to be tuned in already. Only diehard fans watch heat 2 of a college meet that’s behind a paywall on a Saturday night.

3. Go fast when no one else is. December and early January are great times to peak and hit the track before anyone else does. The early bird gets the worm and newsletter writers are starved for content that time of year.

4. Make it personal. Tell us why you care about running fast to try and convince us why we should. If someone said, ‘I need to win this race so I can pay for my dog’s upcoming heart surgery,’ do you have any idea how invested everyone would be in the outcome?

5. Do something crazy. Go out insanely hard, throw in an impossible-to-maintain mid-race surge, kick like a madman, celebrate to the point of disqualification, punch someone in the face, punch yourself in the face! Pretend that the entire world is only willing to watch 30 seconds of your race. Think less about running fast and more about running viral.

The Luck of Nuguse ☘️

Of course Yared Nuguse broke the NCAA record in the 3000m. Are you surprised? Dude is the ultimate wildcard, but when he’s on he’s on! He just goes out and runs 7:38.13 — eclipsing Alistair Cragg’s 7:38.59 from 2004 — and does it all by himself. Imagine going through life and just not caring about what anyone else does or thinks? That’s just the Nuguse lifestyle, baby.

Cragg is a legend and given his seven NCAA titles at the University of Arkansas, generations of Razorbacks have spoken of the things he did in workouts in Fayetteville the way you or I might talk about Paul Bunyan. To take out one of his records is to leapfrog over what amounts to a still-regionally worshiped deity.

So as is the case with almost every speedy performance these days, Yared’s Cragg-dethroning performance is muddled by the controversy surrounding spikes. Just in case you aren’t already sick of hearing about the topic, I’d like to do the newsletter writer equivalent of screaming from the rooftops The Lap Count’s official stance on the topic: I LOVE THEM.

As someone whose entire career took place just before the “super spikes” era, I think there’d be justifiable reason to take issue with it. Or at least for me to be very, very, very bitter. Am I going to show my kids the spikes I ran my personal bests in and tell them I would have run significantly faster with the advantages of today (and tomorrow)? Of course. But as someone who now works in the “media” side of things, the nearly certain fact that I would have run 3:26 in a pair of super spikes means less to me than the more indisputable, ironclad truth: fast times are good for business. After a weekend like this, the increased engagement from fans is noticeably through the roof.

This isn’t like the MLB in the 90s — we all know what’s happening. And if the growth of the sport comes at the expense of a few old timers being offended that their times have been knocked further down the all-time list, then that’s collateral damage I’m willing to accept.

A NEW WORLD RECORD BEST

The Union Athletics Club extended an open invitation to every professional running club in the country to come race, and when no one showed, the show went on anyway. The previous indoor world record for the distance medley relay was 10:40.31, set in 2017 from an all-star New Balance squad of Emma Coburn, Sydney McLaughlin, Brenda Martinez and Jenny Simpson.

World Athletics doesn’t recognize the DMR as an official event indoors, so the most pedantic of stat heads — that’s right, I know you’re reading this — will be quick to remind you that this is technically a world’s best. But World Athletics also doesn’t recognize Zachary Miller’s 5:48 mile while wearing swim fins, so who made that organization the official gatekeepers? WR? WB? A distinction without a difference, I say!

Splits for the record breaking (or is it best bettering?) splits went: Ella Donaghu (3:16.02), Raevyn Rogers (52.69), Sinclaire Johnson (2:02.88), and Shannon Osika (4:28.32).

No individual leg stood out as “the one.” Instead, it was the steady, cumulative effort that made for an exciting race, which validated the inaugural professional meet at the site of this year’s USATF Indoor Championships. The response to the performance was electric, as evinced by this video from the stands of the final lap.

For years it has been difficult to convince new cities to bid to host USA Indoors. That’s how we wound up with eight of the past eleven years being run in Albuquerque, NM, at 5,300 feet. To reiterate an earlier point, when the season only lasts a few weeks, the athletes want to use every opportunity to run fast. And we know how controversial altitude conversions are!

The other major highlight from this event was that Donavan Brazier ran 1:13.97 for 600m, which would be getting much more love if he hadn’t previously run a hair faster. Also, Josh Kerr held off Craig Engels in their 800 duel, 1:46.64 to 1:47.77. After the race Kerr took off his new Brooks spikes to show them to the camera and in the process almost broke the cardinal rule of feet pics — never give them out for free. Thankfully, fans paid $8 to watch the meet on PPV.

Do you have an interest in supporting elite athletes? Then subscribe to our Friday morning premium newsletter where this week we’ll be speaking with an unsponsored, Sarah Lancaster. After a varsity basketball and tennis career at the University of Texas, Lancaster picked up running after starting her career as an attorney — now she has PBs of 4:05/15:13! Sign up to receive an interview in your inbox every week to support this initiative, which has now raised over $17,600 with all proceeds going towards those whose stories we share.

Ducks fly .28 seconds short

Not even factoring in several guests at the dinner I was at gathering around my iPhone, there were over 5,200 fans tuned into the @OregonTF Instagram live on Friday night. That’s basically every fan of the sport watching Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker make an attempt at Bernard Lagat’s American Record for the indoor mile of 3:49.89! There was no official stream and it was at an obscure college meet. The whole experience felt like the early 2000s all over again. Maybe it was a well-orchestrated public relations move by RunnerSpace and Flotrack to remind everyone to appreciate them more.

I’m already doing a lot of reiterating in this newsletter, so here’s another repeat: closing hard is traditionally the best way to run quick. Although an opening 800 of 1:57.4 for Hocker is on the slower slide, at the halfway point the record was still attainable. Teare closed his final 200m in 26.6, but the pace didn’t ramp up early enough, and the hole was too deep.

It’s hard to imagine the record doesn’t go down with Ollie Hoare or Josh Kerr in there to exert their foreign influence over the middle laps — something we Americans are fairly ambivalent about doing. That said, despite being American, Morgan Beadlescomb did his best to keep things interesting.

Speaking of Beadlescomb, although he was coming off a 7:43 3000m at Millrose, the Michigan State graduate student had a previous mile best of 4:01. And he certainly followed my previously made up rule #4 and did something crazy to grab some attention when he swung wide to make a pass on the former Duck Duo for whom the whole race was set up. Beadlescomb may have been eaten up like stale bread, but he held on well enough to run 3:52.03 — the fastest time in the NCAA this year.

With Teare now boasting a 4-0 lifetime record against Hocker in the 1500/mile, it feels like we’ve got a Moneyball conundrum on our hands about who is better. Hocker has the flashy kick and hits home runs. He gets the veteran scouts excited because he’s a five-tool player. But a young Jonah Hill is in the back office. He’s crunched the numbers. And when snapped at and pointed to by Brad Pitt, he’s ready to meekly say: ‘Teare gets on base.’

Getting to know Shane Streich 🦅

Bryce Hoppel’s 1000m old American Record of 2:16.27 fell in Louisville this weekend at the hands of Shane Streich and his 2:16.16 victory. Initially the race, hosted by the American Track League, was being set up for a different athlete to chase the time, and according to coach Amy Yoder Begley, it was almost scratched from the program entirely. That’s because the world hasn’t yet been introduced to the upcoming star that is Streich. After competing at the University of Minnesota through his undergraduate degree, he then continued his NCAA eligibility at Lipscomb University where he broke out to become an All-American at 800m with an 800m personal best of 1:45.84. Now competing in his rookie season with the Atlanta Track Club, we felt like it was time for fans to get to know the new kid on the block. Our conversation:

For those who may not be familiar with you prior to this weekend, who is Shane Streich? Give me your elevator pitch.

I am a competitor. I like to go out there and compete, whether that’s against other athletes or the clock. I’m willing to take risks and believe deeply in my abilities. I’m not surprised at my success. It’s the result of patience and confidence in those abilities and in my coaches, Amy and Andrew Begley, plus Nick Polk, last year. It's a brutal sport and it can suck dealing with pain in racing, but I enjoy finding what I'm capable of, physically and mentally.

If you were talking to fans who are looking for a new favorite pro runner, why should they root for you?

I am somebody that isn’t a household name and that doesn't bother me. I don't do it for my own personal fame — I pursue the sport with the ups and downs because I have the desire to push myself each and every day. I think that's relatable because people love challenging themselves in all avenues of life and this just so happens to be mine. I am the underdog. After adding a record to my name I may have more of a target on my back now. But someone is going to recognize Bryce Hoppel, Craig Engels or Clayton Murphy way before they do Shane Streich.

Tell me a little bit about your background as an athlete. Are you a track nerd like myself?

I’m not really a track nerd in the sense of knowing all the little details and runners. Both of my parents ran collegiately, my sister ran, and my brother now runs at Lipscomb. I come from a family of runners and have been in the sport for some time, but it's not something I live and breathe and have to watch every single race and know every statistic. Growing up in Minnesota near Drake, that's where the nerdy side came out. I skipped prom my junior year to go watch the Drake Relays and I only went to prom my senior year because I had a girlfriend at the time.

Do you see yourself as more of an 800 or 1500 guy right now? It’s too bad there aren’t more 1000s! How do you approach the 1000 and what has training been like leading into that race?

It’s basically like running an 800 except you miscounted and have an extra lap. At the moment I am more of an 800 guy, but to succeed at a high level in either the 8 or 15 you're going to have to still be strong in the other one. I know I can run a faster mile than I did when I ran 3:57 at Millrose.

I come to the 800 from the strength side but I am not a high mileage guy. I usually hit 60 to 70 miles per week during base, which is my sweet spot. It’s a lot more intensity vs. volume. Easy days are pretty easy. Workouts are intense. There wasn't a specific workout that told me I was ready, but momentum was moving in my direction.

How do you bounce back after a breakthrough race like that? I know in my experience it can be tough to recalibrate your mind with all the excitement.

I try to give myself about a day, especially after a breakthrough, to process and enjoy the moment. I also try to recognize and connect with those who have supported me throughout the journey. Then going back to that structure that was in place prior makes it easier to hone in and set yourself up to take advantage of those opportunities that come next.

Speaking of that, what comes next for you and your teammates? The Lap Count is admittedly big Atlanta Track Club fans. I think you guys have figured the business model out.

I’m entered in the 800 and 1500 at the US Champs with the goal to make my first World team. Then after we are possibly doing a dual in Chicago against The District TC — a straight-up 800 with a pacer, set up for fast times to see what we can put down.

It's super cool to be a part of the elite team. It exists within the organization and creates the opportunity to serve the local community with a greater purpose than just being a pro runner. I think that beats only having a pro team — there's more to the sport and life than just running.

Black History Month: Larry Ellis

In 1970, Princeton University hired Larry Ellis, the first Black head coach in the Ivy League, of any sport. The Bronx-raised, former All-American at New York University would go on to lead the Tigers to eight Heptagonal cross country titles and eleven more on the track. In addition to being named as the 1984 head coach of the United States Olympic team, he served as President of USATF between 1992 and 1996.

But for as much as his legacy was built on his many accomplishments as a coach and leader in the sport of track & field, Larry Ellis is remembered just as much for cultivating an inclusive, compassionate, and positive community around the always-expanding cadre of athletes he worked with. And away from the track, Ellis was universally loved for his broader contributions to Princeton, particularly around initiatives for Black student athletes.

For a more in-depth read about his life and career, check out this excellent piece from our friends at LØPE Magazine.

Rapid Fire Highlights 🔥

• Adam Kszczot is calling it a career after six European titles. The Polish 800m specialist (1:43.30) should be celebrated as a fantastic tactician and for his 2018 World Indoor Gold.

• The shared Olympic HJ gold medalist, Gianmarco Tamberi, is heading to the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Why isn’t he in the slam dunk contest?

• Neil Gourley won the 1500m at the Valentine Invitational in 3:35.32 after going out in 1:51. That’s doing things the hard way — love to see it!

• 3:59.96 is now the 75th best time on the NCAA D1 descending order list.

• The inaugural Agnes Tirop Cross Country Classic took place in Eldoret this weekend in memory of the promising young Kenyan star who was murdered by her husband in October. Joyce Chepkemoi and Samuel Chebolei repeated their national title victories, but this time around the mud was even crazier!

• Jess McClain (formerly Tonn) won the Mesa Marathon in her debut at the distance, running 2:33:35. Unfortunately, due to the net downhill on the course she will not qualify for the Olympic Trials with this performance, but she has plenty of time to do it again! Molly Seidel won the half (1:10:06) and Nell Rojas won the 10k (32:20).

• Justin Gatlin retired from the sport on his 40th birthday. In addition to his lifetime best of 9.74, Gatlin holds eight global 100m medals including gold from Athens. He was a polarizing figure in the sport as he twice served suspensions after testing positive for banned substances. Despite these facts, many fans and athletes continued to cheer on Gatlin’s achievements late into his career.

• Kentucky’s Abby Steiner set the NCAA 200m record of 22.37, which ought to pair nicely with her 300m record from earlier in the season.

• At the Japanese Corporate Half Marathon Hiroto Hayashida (60:38) and Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (67:56) won. But maybe depth was the real winner? A total of 143 men dipped below 64 minutes.

• North Carolina A&T’s Randolph Ross ran the fastest 400m time in the world this year (44.83) at Clemson.

• Have you met Moad Zahafi? The Texas Tech graduate student, originally from Morocco, just ran the fastest 800 in the NCAA (1:45.99@) and has a personal best of 1:44.78!

• NAU’s Abdihamad Nur’s stellar indoor season continued as he won the Husky Classic in 7:40.66.

• Florida State’s Adriaan Wildschutt ran the second fastest 5000m time in NCAA history and a South African record of 13:09.30 in Boston. Not far behind was Dylan Jacobson of Notre Dame, whose 13:14.04 now stands as the American Collegiate Record.

• Another Seminole had a big day, as Lauren Ryan ran 8:47.88 for 3000m, good for the fastest collegiate time of the year and qualifying her to represent Australia at Indoor Worlds.

• Binghamton’s Emily Mackay ran an NCAA leading 4:30.94.

• For my money, the best way to appreciate field events is when they can remain the main focus for an audience, even if that means holding them as one-off competitions. This was the case during the pole vault competition in Uppsala, Sweden, which is the home base for Mondo Duplantis. He won the competition, but fell just short of the WR. Watch this video if you have ever doubted the potential of fan engagement off the oval.

SPEAK IT INTO EXISTENCE

Are you watching the Winter Olympics and wondering why Cross Country isn’t there? Get your stylish meet shirt in advance (and support The Lap Count in the process).

Thank you to Diadora for sponsoring this week’s newsletter! As always, if you know someone who may enjoy having a spirited recap of everything that’s happened in the wonderful world of T&F in their inbox each week, please forward them on The Lap Count.