Russell Brown Stuns Star Studded Mile Field, Gebremeskel Edges Farah in Tight 3k at 2011 New Balance Grand Prix
By Chris Lotsbom
February 5, 2011
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
BOSTON (05-Feb) -- In what was possibly the most anticipated race of the
evening here at the New Balance Grand Prix, American Russell Brown
shocked a loaded field in the men's mile by running away in the final
100m to the biggest indoor victory of his career. In a contest
featuring an Olympic silver medallist, an American record holder, and a
prep sensation trying to break the four minute barrier, no one had
thought the event would come down to a pair of former college teammates
surging away to take the top two spots.
As Christian Hesch paced the field of thirteen through an opening
quarter of 58.44 seconds, all of the contestants were together. As soon
as he dropped off, though, things began to shuffle. At 800m, Olympic
silver medallist and defending meet champion Nick Willis took over,
leading the pack through in 1:59.63. As he did, American record holder
Alan Webb and Ethiopian Henok Legesse settled in behind, followed by the
rest of the field, which had strung out into a single file.
Lukas Verzbicas, the two-time Foot Locker Cross Country champion now
University of Oregon-bound was in last, just where he wanted. Despite
being a second behind four-minute pace (2:01.08), he was looking smooth
with his familiar lanky stride. Trying to become the first high
schooler to go under four minutes since Alan Webb in 2001, Verzbicas had
to have been the most watched last place runner in meet history.
While Willis hit three quarters in 2:58.04, things really began to shake
out. Legesse went to second, as Webb dropped all the way back to fifth
place. In between were former Stanford teammates Garrett Heath and
Russell Brown.
Moving up was Verzbicas. With 400m remaining, the Latvian-born 19
year-old first passed Kyle Miller, then Pablo Solares, Colin McCourt and
finally 2008 U.S. Olympian Leo Manzano. With 200m remaining, the only
man between him and Webb, who had presented Verzbicas with his Gatorade
National Cross Country Runner of the Year Award earlier this year, was
Will Leer. Verzbicas ultimately finish eighth in a personal best of
4:03.88.
Back at the front, though, Heath had taken over with Willis and Brown
right beside them. Heath and Brown would battle it out until the final
stretch, where Brown, a native of Hanover, N.H., simply bolted away.
"I saw Garrett going by Willis, and all I could think was to stay on his
shoulder. Then I moved and snuck right past him," said Brown, who
crossed the line in 3:54.81, a person best. Heath followed in 3:55.87,
with Willis third in 3:56.29. Webb was seventh.
"I was ready to do something I haven't done before," said Brown, who had
given himself a five percent chance of victory prior to toeing the
line.
With about twenty family and friends in attendance to support him, Brown
was returning to the same blue, Reggie Lewis Center track in which he
competed in high school. But instead of feeling like he was in a race,
Brown compared the final laps to his days at Stanford, trailing Heath as
if it were a workout.
"The biggest piece of confidence I got was my teammate at Stanford and
long-time training partner, Garrett Heath, who took the lead from
Willis, and I was sort of [then] transported into workouts we've done,"
Brown explained. "It didn't feel like a race anymore, it just felt like
a practice we've been through. I'm really comfortable running on his
shoulder. Following him just felt natural."
In the men's 3000m, a showdown played out between Great Britain's Mo
Farah and Ethiopia's Dejen Gebremeskel. After opening the race with a
61-second first 400m, Gebremeskel suddenly lost his green right adidas
spike. Despite the loss of footwear, Gebremeskel didn't hesitate in the
least, sticking with Farah and Kenya's Nixon Chepseba.
After Chepseba went to the front briefly past 2000m, Farah resumed the
pacing duties. With 400m remaining, Farah inserted a quick surge,
trying to break Gebremeskel. But the Ethiopian would have none of it.
Around the final turn with a homestretch left, the two were shoulder to
shoulder.
"Right then he just came past me with a different gear," said the 27
year-old Farah, the reigning European 5000m and 10,000m champion. "He
was running with one shoe, so fair credit to him."
Gebremeskel kicked home with a 26.33-second final 200m, winning in
7:35.37. Farah was second in 7:35.81, and Chepseba third in 7:37.64.
In the women's 3000m, a somewhat similar race played out, though all
shoes stayed on. As a pack of four --Kenya's Sally Kipyego, America's
Jenny Simpson, Canada's Megan Wright, and Ethiopia's Kalkidan Gezahegn--
passed 2000m, Simpson quickly surged, stringing out the group a bit.
Then Gezahegn, the IAAF World Indoor 1500m champion from a year ago,
made her presence felt by coming up on Simpson.
In the following laps, Kipyego went from fourth to first in a matter of
400m, and would never relinquish her lead despite a last ditch effort by
Simpson, provoking memories of the two's collegiate rivalry when
Kipyego ran for Texas Tech and Simpson for Colorado.
Powering away to win by over a full second, Kipyego finished in 8:49.74
to Simpson's 8:50.78. Wright finished a surprising third in 8:52.01,
barely edging Gezahegn by 4/100ths of a second (8:52.05).
The women's mile saw NCAA Cross Country champion, Sheila Reid of
Villanova, try to pull away from Canadian compatriot and national record
holder Carmen Douma-Hussar. The two would run together through the
final bend, where seemingly out of nowhere came Serbia's Marina Muncan.
The soft spoken Muncan, now training under Frank Gagliano and the New
York/New Jersey Track Club, got the win in 4:34.46. Douma-Hussar
finished in 4:34.46, and Reid in 4:35.30.
The women's 800m was won by Phoebe Wright in 2:01.01. Lindsay
Crevoiserat took the girl's junior mile in 4:52.60, as Miles Schoedler
took the boy's race in 4:16.92.
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