The KBC Nacht Meeting is an increasingly popular event for the 5k as the weather is typically ideal, the pacing is quick, and everybody is ready to roll. So as one might imagine, I was excited to get into a fast race and ride the train to a PR. There was quite a bit of confusion coming into the meet though as the meet director was rather unresponsive and even though my 5k PR was better than many placed into the B heat of the 5k, I was pushed back into the C heat. My coach Dennis was disappointed, but encouraged me by saying that in years past, the C heat had been won in a faster time than the B heat.
Despite my best efforts to get that changed, I was unhappily stuck in the C heat with a few other key Americans (among them Jon Peterson, Joe Stilin, Joe Bosshard, and Sean Keveren) who were equally discontent. Race temps were unusually warm and humid as race day temps exceeded 90°, which was part of a two day heat wave that swept through the area.
As the main program of the meet ended, with the C through F heats of the 5k placed in the night program, the sun had set, the temperature was dropping, and we even flirted with a few raindrops from the sky. As we checked in, I found the pacer in the call room and he informed me that he was going through 2k at 65 seconds per lap, or 4:20/mile, which is pace for 13:32. I let the other Americans in the call room know that was the plan and we agreed to share the lead after that to push the pace to a fast time. Nobody came here to run a slow tactical race.
As we were let onto the track the B heat was just finishing up and as I cheered on some friends, I saw the winning time was 13:39. Not the sub-13:20 that I had been told was expected from that heat. For a split second, I hesitated and thought that maybe the temperature was getting to people more than aniticpated and that our race would be even slower, but I immediately dismissed the notion and knew that the race was in our control. We could make our own destiny.
A short prayer for strength, get lined up, and off we went. The pacer was one of the better ones I've ever had as we came through the mile in 4:19 and he hit his splits right on. I sat in third position and just tried to zone out, letting my body do the work and reassuring myself to stay relaxed, stay calm. After 5 laps the pacer dropped off, leaving Joe Bosshard in the lead. I let him know that I would take the next lap and we came through still holding pace as I went to the lead. I lasted in the lead for a lap before Jon Peterson moved up on the outside and took the next two laps, which left me back in fourth place.
Coming through the 2 mile in 8:43, we had slowed a touch, but with the lead sharing, anything was still possible. At this point I knew that I just had to have another 4:20 in me and that a PR, despite the conditions, was within reach. Entering the final kilometer, there was definitely a gut check. Do I really want this? Long fall workouts and laying in exhaustion on the track after spring sessions flashed through my mind. I knew I had enough: I wanted it.
I hit the bell lap at 12:37 in the third position and thought to myself that all I needed was a 63 for a PR and a just slightly under to break into the 13:30s. Joe Stilin led, followed by Joe Bosshard and myself. I tried to make a move on the backstretch, which was held off by Bosshard.
200 to go, I can see the clock, I know it's a PR, what else do I have to give?
I moved around Bosshard on the final turn and began to close the gap on Stilin. I asked myself a final time: how much do you want it? My body responded with a final kick to gain the lead and get the win in a new PR of 13:37.71, two seconds faster than the B heat winning time. I was both exhilarated with the win and the new PR--what a way to end my first European track trip!
Yet there still lingered a frustration of missed opportunity. Couldn't the meet have simply made the B heat complete with the fastest seed times? Why did politics, agents, and favors play such great role in a black and white sport? Either one has or has not run a time, jumped a height, or thrown a distance.
The opportunity to win the B heat reach a little further for my career as a distance runner. It holds just that much more weight, giving me an incremental advantage for future races and potential contracts. In a sport with so little money and a those resources being skewed so far to the top two or three in a particular event, every advantage has to be considered.
This being said, I do want to thank my sponsors Team USA Minnesota and Saucony for their support throughout this first year as a professional. A very special thanks also goes out to the Pittsburgh Marathon, as without their generous support, this entire European trip would not have been possible. They chose to invest in me as an emerging elite runner in the US and my gratitude cannot be overstated. If you are looking for a great spring marathon run by a top-notch organization, the Pittsburgh Marathon ought to make your short list of marathons to consider.
1 FINAN ERIC USA 13:37.71
2 STILIN JOE USA 13:38.92
3 BOSSHARD JOE USA 13:39.62
4 SHITARA YUTA JPN 13:44.13
5 LAMA ABABA ETH 13:45.07
6 MOEN SONDRE NORDSTAD NOR 13:46.70
7 KEVEREN SEAN USA 13:49.65
8 ETERSON JONATHAN USA 13:49.98
9 EDVIK MARIUS NOR 13:51.72
10 SHITARA KEITA JPN 14:05.88
11 FLUEGEL JULIAN GER 14:06.66
12 DE VULDER STIJN BEL 14:11.11
13 ROWN MITCHEL AUS 14:12.03
14 MELLINA POL LUX 14:13.66
15 IROSE DAIKI JPN 14:17.91
16 KEMPF ANDREAS SUI 14:19.33
17 VAN ASSCHE LUKAS BEL 14:29.66
18 YUFU IKUTO JPN 14:32.63
19 GILBERTSON JOHN USA 14:53.97
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