zxcvzxcv wrote:
Laban Kipkemboi ran only 4:03 two weeks earlier and now he runs 3:56, a seven second drop (both at Arkansas), giving Musau some competition. Musau might well have run faster with a 58/58 start but he wasn't ready to go low 3:50s. I was wrong. Later in the season, who knows? This is a guy who came into OK State with a 3:50 1500m pr and has now run two 1500s back to back at a faster pace (7:38 3k) and a 3:55.52 mile. And while I am not a fan of how Dave Smith built his XC NCAA championship team, there has never been a doubt in my mind about his coaching ability. Kipkemboi, like Musau, dropped enormous amounts of time after just a few months being coached by Dave Smith.
Dave Smith definitely doing a good job with him to get him to a great XC result (8th) and 7:38/3:55(with pacing issues), but the improvement isn't as extreme as 3:50/13:52(at altitude guy). He's more of a blue-chipper than thought.
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