Ten years ago, American Alan Webb was the world's best miler for a few glorious months.
In 6000+ words, Jonathan Gault gives you an inside look at that magical season that saw Webb lead the world in both the 1500 and mile, where he set the American record.
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/07/summer-webb-inside-look-alan-webbs-magical-2007-season/
Enjoy.
Good read. Alan Webb will always be one of the greats.
This article hit the nail on the head: why is he so popular? Because he is so relatable.
No doubt he was in great shape but was it ever determined that the track in Belgium was short? I remember there were rumors about it being short.
rumors that the track was short...
Absolute blasphemy! You're thinking of Monaco.
Trackshort wrote:
No doubt he was in great shape but was it ever determined that the track in Belgium was short? I remember there were rumors about it being short.
It wasn't short. As an editor, I almost added in a few 1500/mile conversions as I think a lot of people - even big fans - don't realize what top mile times convert to.
Webb's 3:46.91 for a mile converts to 3:30.06 for 1500 using the standard 1.0802 conversion. He'd already run 3:30.54 for 1500 in a legitimate race in Paris so to think he could run half a second faster in a time trial is far from a stretch.
3:46 just seems faster than 3:30 as it's run a lot less.
Great read. Brings back so many great races from him. Definitely captures the attitude that I felt he had. Full throttle and intense - both the reason he was good and the cause of his downfall. Lots of great Webb memories - 2004 nationals, 2005 worlds, AR, his off distance performances.
Thanks for running Alan!
rojo wrote:
Ten years ago, American Alan Webb was the world's best miler for a few glorious months.
In 6000+ words, Jonathan Gault gives you an inside look at that magical season that saw Webb lead the world in both the 1500 and mile, where he set the American record.
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/07/summer-webb-inside-look-alan-webbs-magical-2007-season/Enjoy.
Man, this article gave me chills. I was a bit young for full-on Webb mania back in 2001 or 2007, but this article brought me right there. All I want to do is just pound some 800s or 120s right now. Probably the best article I've ever read on LetsRun (and unlike some readers, I really enjoy the writing here in general).
Fantastic article! That really captures Alan Webb and all the range of performances and emotions you saw from him during his career. He had as big of an impact on distance running as anyone in America has during the last 20 years.
He was such a beast in 2007, I was in Indianapolis and saw that US Champs race in person. He was so fired up to win that race, I never had the sense that intensity you saw from him on the track was anything but 100% genuine.
Great piece; it kept me absorbed the whole way. Congrats to Gault for writing it and LR for assigning it. It captures the drama and the frustration/heartbreak.
The one thing it didn't capture with quite the vividness it might have was the savagery of those repeat attacks on Webb here on the LR forum. It would be fair to say that in the past 10 years, Webb has been THE great LR scapegoat: the one that young and immature boy-runners love to hate, mock, rip, insult. (Rupp was a close #2 for a while.)
So I really appreciate the way in which this article lays out his whole career, assesses his greatest achievements, sees clearly the (relatively early) moment at which he peaked, and manages to honor both the achievements and the struggle. It's fair to Webb. That's a very good thing.
For my money his Freshman XC season at Michigan was a microcosm of his career. The Big Ten XC meet at Illinois was just like the AR in 2007. He stomped a great runner in Teg and really looked unbeatable, but he couldn't carry that through to the NCAA meet just as the peak didn't last til Osaka in 2007.
Ever mercurial, I always believed he was the future of the 5K never more so than after the 27:34. He could probably have destroyed the American Junior 5K record that October day in 2001. But he didn't. Still it was a great career and I well remember jumping out of my chair as he came down the stretch in Eugene knowing the Ryun's legendary record was about to fall. That day was the beginning of the resurgence of distance running in this country.
Does anyone know how many times Webb broke 4 in the mile (and 3:50)? Also, what was the date of his final sub 4?
I don't know the answers, but I think the sub 3:50 answer is twice.
The article implies Webb and Julia hooked up on the first date. Couldn't help thinking... Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
What do you mean he didn't do well at Michigan his freshman year, he won the Big Ten XC championship and was about 11th in NCs.
"It's better to burn out, than fade away!"
Really a very fine article--thank you!
Can anyone share a link to the video of Webb's olympic qualifying heat in 2004 (he did not advance)? I recall he was really fit but ran really wide most of the race and missed qualifying, though his actual 1500m time en route would probably have qualified him.
The 9x800 ..I'm sure didn't start at 2:13 and drop by 2s per rep... How about 2:03
I remember that Summer well. I was training for my senior year of college xc. Two of my prior teammates had been high school teammates with Webb and were close enough to him that word got around my team about the workouts mentioned in the article.
I remember one of them quoting Alan as saying about his fitness, "I can run through a brick wall."
My favorite runner. He was superhuman during those couple months and it's speaks the fragile nature of the pursuit of top performance.
...or dope.
Lenny Leonard wrote:
I remember that Summer well. I was training for my senior year of college xc. Two of my prior teammates had been high school teammates with Webb and were close enough to him that word got around my team about the workouts mentioned in the article.
I remember one of them quoting Alan as saying about his fitness, "I can run through a brick wall."
My favorite runner. He was superhuman during those couple months and it's speaks the fragile nature of the pursuit of top performance.
I was just coming into high school that summer of 2007. Webb was my #1 running inspiration regardless of his championship success. Incredible athlete when he was on.
Great article.
DefLeopardSaidITBEST wrote:
"It's better to burn out, than fade away!"
Maybe you mean Neil Young?