Saturday’s race did not appear to be the result of burnout… More like two high school brothers who haven’t had real competition besides each other for a year. Lots of speculation indicate they worked together to break away from Sahlman. But what it really looked like was just an all out effort to break the field and the course record. Going right to the front 500m in was not the smartest tactic considering the competition and weather conditions. If you watch the race video the Youngs run side by side until Lex began to fall off. For that matter, the entire lead pack seemed content to fight the wind individually running 5 guys wide for the first 3k. Their approach looked no different from any other race this season, but fighting the wind individually allowed Sahlman to get within striking distance late in the race. The hill 200m from the finish was the nail in the coffin for Leo, but he still managed to salvage an 11th place finish. On paper it seems underwhelming, but staggering to the finish jello-legged after 4800m of leading the deepest high school national field in tough weather conditions is nothing to be overlooked.
Who knows what the real goal was for the Young brothers? They likely went into the race thinking a bad day still meant 1st and 2nd, just not the record. At the California state meet they were apparently not only out for German Fernandez’s record, but sub-14:20. They came up short, but still made the 1-2 punch look easy. Credit to Sahlman for staying in the fight mid-race and creating the opportunity to reel in whoever might have attacked late in the race. Again, it didn’t seem like Lex and Leo had it out for Aaron, it’s just the way they’ve gotten used to racing without anyone to chase except records.
I don’t believe they’re burned out. I’d guess they’re fired up and will come back on the track with a vengeance.