Train Talk: The 4xMile

By etrain11

Not sure if this question was addressed to me or Zat on the Discussion Post, but I will weigh in anyway because I thought this race was awesome and would like to talk about ...

First off, you are 100% correct that if Ches runs an honest race there we could have seen the CR. I think Ches only needed the 4:01ish carry that the others had to get to 16:04 and then a bit more crazy of a split in the 3:56ish range to get under 16

It seemed briefly like UofO was going after the record, with Winn making things honest on the opening leg and helping everyone out in the record pursuit. That first leg tends to be where things go up in flames for record attempts, so Winn eliminated that nicely. Then Greogehan made a midrace push on the third leg to take the lead from 800m or so out to keep the pace honest. It all seemed to add up to the fact that Oregon wanted the record.

Meanwhile Nova was content to sit back. It appeared all they cared about was the victory.

When Ches got the baton in front of Williamsyz he was uncomfortable right from the get go. He doesn't like to lead and he probably has had it trained into his mind under the Oregon tutelage by now that the best strategy is to avoid taking the lead until necessary. He does have a fantastic kick and I think it would be silly to think it's not at the top of the list in the NCAA. I am a little surprised, given how the other Ducks raced, that Ches didn't get after it a little bit more. You don't even need to take it through in 57, just take it through in a 61 or something and try and close off the back end.

Ches moved out to lane 2 and Williamsyz just refused to take it from him. McGorty got there and he also refused to take it. No one wanted to lead. I'm not sure how people can throw Ches under the bus for the way he ran when guys like McGorty and even Bile had practically no shot at outkicking Ches or Williamsyz. Why did neither of them go to the front? Why didn't they make things an honest race?Because it's well documented the best way to win these races is to not be in first.

If Cheserek takes this thing from the gun, I'm not sure it ends all that differently. Williamsyz is really good (he ran 3:36ish about 3 years ago and had the fastest split at Nationals and the Penn Relays DMR) and so it's not like Ches could just run him into the ground from out front. Leading for 4 laps and then trying to hold off a final surge from Williamsyz on his home track with all the motivation in the world for a school that puts a ton more value on the Penn Relays than Oregon does? I feel Ches is almost more likely to lose that way. I mean he outkicked Williamsyz the day before, was there much reason to think things would dramatically change the next day?

My final thoughts:
- They completely squandered a record attempt. If somebody gets things out harder, that record is probably taken by whoever wins gold.
- Regardless of strategy, I'm not sure this race ends differently in the 1-2 spots. Yes, I do think Ches probably thought his kick was better than Williamsyz, but I doubt he and Oregon were overconfident. Oregon altered their line up from a glorified "B" squad to a full fledged monster most likely because they were scared of Williamsyz and Nova.
- Penn Relays means more to Nova than it does to Oregon. That win meant more to Williamsyz then it did to Ches. And Williamsyz is good! He's really, really good at running! When you get to a kicker's race it's a glorified coin flip sometimes, but leading from the front and hammering the whole way against similar competition tends to result in a loss for the leader the majority of the time.
- This race was awesome. Easily my favorite of the weekend and the fact that they did get all tactical and Ahmed Bile was going crazy made it that much better. Sometimes it's not about the times, it's about the journey and the story. The fact that we have this controversy makes for a much more exciting Sunday.

Just my thoughts, share your's below!