Jonathon Gill, of ESPN fame, busted out a 16:41 5k on the roads this morning at the Couples Classic in Eugene. He finished third overall (Aaron Davis of Team Eugene won in 14:54) on the flat fast course and appers to be well on his way to an Olympic berth at 1500.
Alan Webb reached at his hotel room Fayetteville declined comment.
Let's hope that you were second overall for your sake.
why would it matter if he's second? Because he likes a little satire to tease the self-promoting ex-con?
Davis was first in 14:54 and Gill was third in 16:41. You do the math.
Some quotes from Dick Brown regarding Gill near the end of this interview with Emily McMahon.
http://www.fast-women.com/athletes/interviews/emilymcmahon.html
Some additional info:
- the coures record is held by Greg Whitley at 14:30 or so and a local elite woman (don't recall which one) has run under 16 minutes there.
- Gill was not among the winners of several Track Town Pizza gift certificates ( given out at the post-race raffle and awards gathering. That makes it twice that he's missed out on free stuff from Track Town...no jail sentence this time though.
oh my God, can you imagine if Gill won the free Pizza...funny stuff.
The course record is not held by Greg Whitely at 14:30. The record is 14:21 or 22 by former South Eugene runner.
Aren't there great milers who just happen to suck at 5K?
16:41 is beyond sucking for someone trying to run sub 4.
16:41 should be a tempo run for someone who is looking at sub-4 mile-type 1500's in 4 months. The guy's story is over unless a miracle occurs.
The mention of Greg Whiteley reminds me of something relevant to the discussion (another Brown alum): I've finished within a few seconds of a fairly talented runner with a sub 1:45 800m to his name over 5K more than once, and my PR is only 16:24. I'm confident that T.G. could run a heckuva lot faster for 5K; however that's not the point. Was this a peak race? Who knows? I don't. Even if it was, there are plenty of ok middle distance runners (ok, they won't be going to the trials either) who aren't that strong over 5K. I've seen 30:00 10K guys give honest efforts in marathons and come out around 2:45. We're all different.
BCT, Jon Gill isn't a 1:45 runner, or even much less than that. He's a convicted con, who is still perpetuating his craft.
Fuck him AND Dick Brown for this charade. It insults our intelligence and demeans the efforts of those of you with the Olympic Dream who somehow managed to go through life without knocking off a couple of pizza joints.
16:41 should be a tempo run for a sub 4:00 1500m runner.
Maybe this was his "trot." Overconfidence can be fatal, but maybe in this case it's what's best for him. Except for the letdown if he doesn't do what he thinks he's capable of.
From the article (page 8):
After his release, Gill will build up his speed in the late summer and maybe trot through a 5K. He'll enter fall cross-country and winter indoor-track events?Brown calls them "experience races"?just to get a feeling for competition. Come 2004, Gill will try to qualify for the Olympic Trials at Stanford's Cardinal Invitational or the Prefontaine Classic. There he'll face some of the nation's best, runners like Alan Webb, although Gill expects Webb to continue to crater in the wake of a brief and disappointing college career.
"I'll go on record as saying that for Alan Webb, his high school years were as good as it's going to get," says Gill.
In the Olympic Trials, Gill predicts that he'll run under 3:35. At the Olympics, he'll boldly move to the front, where he couldn't care less about the clock. "I'm not running for a time in Athens," says Gill. "I'm running to win."
Is there a link for this information? I wouldn't mind some confirmation.
I hope it was a "trot." Otherwise Deena Kastor would lap him easily in the 5000.
this is insanity. I ran that in the 5k when i was 15 years old and Im sure many on this board ran faster at that age. i don't care if it was his 'trot'. for a 4 min miler a 5k trot should be at least 5min pace.
Give this guy a brake. He did his time, for some dump thing he did. He has got tailent, and a coach that has faith in hem. Things don't come along over night you know, it takes some time. My coach worked with a young runner who upon finshing up with HS school. Had only run 2:03, this guy wsa big and bulky, says other coaches sead he would not amount to anything. But my coach had faith in hem, and trained this guy for quite some time. Well that guy ended up being none other then Peter Snell. Let gill go out there and chase that dream. And heck you might end up being wowed.
"He did his time"
YES HE DID. ARE WE TO COMMEND HIM FOR IT.
"He has got tailent(sic)"
NO HE DOESN'T.
"Things don't come along over night you know, it takes some time."
EXACTLY. THINGS DON'T COME ALONG FIFTEEN YEARS TOO LATE EITHER.
"My coach worked with a young runner who upon finshing up with HS school...Well that guy ended up being none other then Peter Snell."
JON GILL IS NO PETER SNELL.