Lagat Wins; Wheating does not run

2007 double world champion Bernard Lagat picked up the win in today's Meeting International Tangier 1500 in Morocco. His winning time was 3:36.89, well off his personal best of 3:26. Lagat's prime years as a miler may be in the past, but he clearly still has the speed to defeat a world-class field. It's nice to see such a good guy get a win after struggling in some of his earlier 1500's this season. Andrew Wheating, who has been hot as of late, chose not to run. He had briefly mentioned that the burden of traveling from Paris to this meet and back to Monaco next Thursday would be worrisome in this Flotrack interview. However, Wheating's college teammate A.J. Acosta continued his strong season with a 5th place finish and a lifetime best of 3:38.35. Acosta has been viewed as a dissapointment much of his college career with the Ducks, after being one of the most hotly recruited high school runners in 2006. However, this past season, he has taken on a heavy load of races for the Ducks, sacrificing himself for the betterment of the team, and in the process, has set lifetimes bests at 1500 meters, 5000 meters (13:46.87) and in the 3000m steeplechase (8:52.68). Today's 3:38 is another sign that he is beginning to fulfill his potential, and this season has been a lesson that you often run your fastest when it is for a greater purpose, such as for your team or a place, rather than focusing on "time trialing."

The 1500 runners weren't the only athletes to compete well on the American side. In the men's shot put, the U.S. picked up a sweep, with Christian Cantwell, Reese Hoffa, and Dan Taylor. Cantwell won the competition in a meet record 21.73m. In the half-mile, Leo Manzano was just .25 seconds from an upset win over Beijing bronze medalist and 2010 World indoor silver medalist Boza Lalang from Kenya, running a personal best 1:45.17. In the same race, American Tyler Mulder of Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene, also ran a personal best 1:46.32 in sixth place. Manzano's 1:45.17 bodes well for his success at 1500m. His new PR at the shorter distance is comparable to many of the best 1500m runners in the world, and puts him as the third fastest American over 800m this year.

Now...back to a boring Sunday afternoon mowing the lawn. Oh..and icing my sore achilles that has sidelined me for over four weeks now.