Payton Jordan Preview: What Should You Be Watching?

As one of my writers so nicely put it, time is a precious commidity, so the staff over here at therealtrain decided to let you know what we think you should be watching for this weekend at Payton Jordan.

Evan Hatton: 
​The Payton Jordan 800 is stacked.  Absolutely stacked.  Edward Kemboi is definitely the favorite, I did a little bit of research and he hasn’t run over 1:50 in a non prelim race since Februrary...of 2013.  He’s coming off of his big win at NCAA Indoors when he ran 1:46.05.  Iowa State is bringing a ton of talent alongside Kemboi, with Patrick Peterson, Jacob Aune and Brandon Barnes who are all very capable of running under 1:50.  Peterson ran 1:49.3 in indoors as well as 4:02 for the mile and is definitely one to watch for a big race.  

​ The fast heat is going to fly.  Look at the names in there, Luke Lefebure, Mark Wieczorek, Boris Berian, Shaquille Walker, Edward Kemboi, Mac Fleet, Brannon Kidder and Andrew Wheating.  As I said before, Kemboi is definitely the favorite but Shaquille Walker is coming off a massive 1:45.7 a few weeks back.  I’d love to see an upset (if you want to call a 1:45 vs 1:45 an upset) and if Walker has a good day I think he knocks Kemboi off the top.  Boris Berian was a name I had never heard before, that could just be me focusing more on the 1500 and up, but he’s got some credentials.  He ran 1:16.5 in the 600 at USATF Indoor Nationals, taking 5th in a group that included Cas Loxsom, Mark Wieczorek, and Eric Sowinski.  He’s due for a big 800 time.

​        I would say the top 5 is definitely going to come out of this heat, but there are some strong runners in the slower heats as well.  Joe Mcasey of Illinois is the first name that I notice in the second heat.  He had a huge 1:47.3 during indoors and opened his outdoor season with a strong win at the Jim Click Invitational running 1:50.09.  

​ I was hoping that the Florida State duo of Otniel Teixeira and Jake Burton would end up in the same heat so they could work together, but they have both run excellent times on their own, 1:48.5 and 1:49.1 respectively.  If their heats decide to go hard, they can both do some serious damage.

​ The weather at Stanford tonight is perfect for running fast times, and I think the race plays out a little something like this:

1. Edward Kemboi 1:46.4

2. Shaquille Walker 1:46.6

3. Mark Wieczorek 1:46.9

4. Joe Mcasey 1:47.3

5. Boris Berian 1:47.5

​I’d love to see Andrew Wheating make a comeback as well, and if he is in position with 200 to go, he could very well steal the show.

Caleb Gatchell:
The 1500 is by far the best race at Payton Jordan this weekend, and here’s why in a nutshell: 22 sub 3:42 guys that I found, and I probably missed some. Think about that. 22 guys running the equivalent to a sub-4 mile, all at the same meet. Remember this winter when something like 36 guys all broke 4 around the whole country, and we all thought that was the craziest thing ever? Well, we could have somewhere around 30 guys run the equivalent of sub-4 all at the same meet. That’s crazy. Oh, and the names are huge. We’ve got everything from high school studs to the current who’s who to guys on the comeback trail. So let’s break this down a little. 

Oliver Aitchinson: This guy is the biggest 1500 name in D2, and could take some big names down this weekend. He won the Stanford Invite out of the slow section a few weeks ago, running 3:40.xx. 
 

Peter Callahan: Callahan’s back for one more outdoor season, and I think he will be ready to roll. He opened in a modest 3:43, but he ran 3:39.9 last year, and I would imagine he is hungry to get back under 3:40. 
 

Robby Creese: Another collegian, I think Creese is one of the more underrated names on the college scene right now. He has run 3:57 for the full mile, and he has great closing speed. Last year Brannon Kidder was the Penn State man with a break out 1500, this year it’s going to be Creese. 
 

German Fernandez: I know, we’ve all heard German’s back way too many times. Thing is, he’s on a roll right now. He has finally been pretty healthy for a decent stretch, and he is coming off a win at Stanford. He is racing well, and now that he is in a fast field, that’s finally going to turn into a good time.
 

Grant Fisher: Is this the weekend Grant Fisher goes off? Is this the race he runs 3:40 and we all realize he’s not just really good, he’s really, really, good? It could be. I watched him run 3:46 last week and he looked pretty good. That being said, I don’t think he’s ready to go off yet. Wait a couple more weeks. However, it’s yet another big name in this race.
 

Blake Haney: Wait, who? Yeah, I know. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from him, but the Oregon miler’s have been on fire this year, and I think Blake is going to run really well in his first big race. We all saw how much talent he has last year. Now he’s going to show us on an even bigger stage
 

Evan Jager: The man with the hair, and a not so modest 3:50 pbin the mile. I really like watching Jager in races like this, because he’s not afraid to mix it up with these guys. He may not have the same raw speed they do, but he’ll make it an honest race, and he’s pretty darn good too.
 

Lawi Lalang: One of only two people to beat Cheserek head to head in an honest race where Cheserek was trying, I think we’ll see a pretty good time from him as well. He has a 3:33 pb, so I would expect him to be mixing it up at the front. 
 

Cristian Soratos: Soratos is back and running well outdoors. I think this could be the equivalent of his race at UW indoors when he ran 3:55. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him up front, and maybe dropping something crazy like 3:36-37. 
 

Nick Symmonds: Just when you thought this race had it all. Nick has the potential to become a really good 1500 meter runner, and I think this weekend will be a sign of that. He has run 3:34.55, which is solid, but not crazy for a runner of his caliber. I still think that he is the class of the field, and if I had to pick, I think he will take the win.
 

I’ve barely scratched the surface though. There are still guys like Craig Miller, Ahmed Bile, Jake Hurysz, Justyn Knight, and more in this race. It’s going to be crazy fast, and you won’t want to miss it. If you have the chance to watch just one race this weekend, this should be the one.

Jarrett Felix: The advantage of having a meet under the lights is for the distance events. A nice cool night with little wind is the cliche setting for a 5000m race where a bunch of dudes set massive PRs and make assaults on all time lists. Payton Jordan has featured the first sub 27 10k by an American, the infamous Lopez Lomong miscounting of laps 5k, the American Junior record for 5k (briefly) and last year's 13:02 dog fight with True and Mead. My memories of this event are all about the long stuff and I have little doubt that when we look back this year's contest there will be another storyline to add to the equation. 

The 10k will probably be a lot of fun as True and Mead in a rematch sounds like a beautiful gift from the track gods, but in terms of top to bottom intrigue, I can't help but be drawn to the 5000 as the potential race of the night. 

Let's start with the college kids. You have Jake Leingang, a super talent from Oregon overshadowed by the distance dominance in Eugene, looking to make a name for himself. Against him will be one of his biggest rivals, racing on his home track in Sean McGorty. McGorty may have had his best race of the season at this meet last year in this event and he is clearly a step above where he was in the past this year. 

Outside of these two, the field is peppered with big names or up and coming college studs that include guys like Moskowitz, Hursyz, McElroy, and Pierce Murphy. Kevin Batt and his Adam State comrades will be looking to prove D2 belongs after we missed them in the Penn Relays 4xMile and Batt has beaten the D1 boys before on the big stage. Kemoy Campbell, a complete stud at 5000, likely is the favorite of the loaded field coming after a strong indoor showing in the event. Throw in the wild cards from Syracuse Hehir and Knight (both of whom started their outdoors impressively, but may end up in other events this weekend) and Futsum Z (consistently a top tier XC man looking to get the track PR to back it up) and you have a college line up loaded with stars and stories. Sign me up!

But wait, there's more. Recent grads like Trevor Dunbar, Joe Stillin, Maverick Darling, Matt Hillenbrand, Paul Chelimo, Tom Farrell and Riley Masters among others have clearly targeted this meet as a chance to test their fitness and prove themselves among top tier professionals. Maybe one of these runners is the next big breakout star to come from the Palo Alto Classic. Many would argue this crew is the "B" class of the event, which speaks to the quality of the 5000. If that's the JV squad who is the A team?

How about Ryan Hill, perhaps the best up and coming 5k talent in the nation (although some would argue for Jenkins based on recent events)? Hill qualified for the WC team at 5k in 2013 and made the world finals, holding his own in the elite field. Or what about Will Leer? The now infamous hair style (on top of his head and on his face) has also been producing results in the past two years with a Millrose win, a 1500m PR and a low 13:20s mark as well. As the 15 continues to be a tricky event for Leer to navigate through to worlds, the 5k presents an interesting second option. What about Sam Chelenga, the collegiate record holder at 10k and the man who pushed Rupp to his limits during his AR run last indoors? Diego Estrada, who is having a beast of a long distance stretch on the roads? Garrett Heath and David Torrence two guys who can do it all that need to take one more step to be competing for a spot on the 2015 world champs team?

And since I'm not an ignorant American, Don't forget about a slew of top tier foreign boys like Juan Louis Barrios (Olympic finalist and great 10k runner from Mexico), Henrik Ingebrigstein (no chance at spelling his name, but he's one of the best tactically sound 1500m runners in the world, kinda like Norwegian Centro) and Matt Hughes (one of the top non African steelers in the world and the Canadian national record holder in the event). 

And of course, the man everyone is likely to be looking for with one lap (and possibly two laps) to go. Lopez Lomong (imagine I just said it like Morgan Freeman does in that MasterCard commercial though). Lomong has been long due for the transition to the 5k, ever since the 2012 Olympics and, when healthy, Lomong has been better than everyone in a US singlet besides Rupp and Lagat. Lagat is on his way out the door (but admittedly taking his sweet time) and Rupp has not quite been the jaw dropping force he was in 2013 and 2014 so far (actually probably a good thing) so Lomong has a chance, even if only for a moment, to become the best US distance runner we have to offer. And how can you not line up to see that?

Alex Fox: Why you should be watching the 10k at Payton Jordan

​As we all recover from the hangover of Penn Relays, another huge meets with stacked races is quickly approaching. All the races 800m-10,000m are going to be absolutely crazy, and it’s hard to pick a single event that will be the best. Despite the quality of runners across the board, I believe the 10k will be the most exciting the race of the weekend. Although it may not have as many names as races like the 5k, there is some serious talent in this race, and will feature a rematch of the most exciting race from the meet last year. You should really be watching every race if possible, but this 10k is something you won’t want to miss.

​Unlike the 5k, the 10k does not have the 25 big time names, but I’m going quality over quantity. In the 10k, we’ve got guys like Mo Ahmed (27:34 at Wisco), Andrew Colley, Shadrack Kipchirchir (27:36 last outdoor season with OKST), my man Maksim Korolev, Sean Quigley (27:50), Ryan Vail, Parker Stinson, Andrew Bumbalough, Bobby Curtis, and BYU standout Jason Witt. So maybe there are a lot of big names in the race, but the two who I’ll have my eyes on are Ben True and Hassan Mead. Last year at Payton Jordan, True outkicked Mead in the 5k, as they ran 13:02.74 and 13:02.80 respectively. These were PRs for both runners, and were two of the fastest 5ks in American history (I want to say 9th and 10th fastest for outdoor 5k, but I’m not positive). Now, the two square off again at PJ. True is coming off an American Record in the Boston Athletic Association 5k, which is encouraging after he failed to make the US XC team for Worlds. Mead’s 13:02 is by far the best race of his life, and I’m sure he will be gunning for True all the way. With these two studs going at it again, there are sure to be some fireworks in the 10k. 

​So, how will this race play out? I do not expect this race to go out too slowly. I expect this because I want to see some fast times, but a guy can have his dreams. In addition to my wishful thinking, Ben True is a runner with an ego, and I’m sure he’ll be looking to run fast. I’m not a huge fan of True, despite his obvious talent and his marriage to Sarah Groff, an Olympian who was born just a half an hour from where I grew up. True is arrogant and somewhat ungrateful. I watched True’s Driven on Flotrack, and among other things, True depicts how he doesn’t need coaching, and almost gave up on running because he was bored with it despite his success. In addition to these somewhat asinine comments, True, when reflecting on PJ, said “he could’ve broken 13 easily.” Easily? Easily?!? Nobody runs sub 13 minutes for a 5k with ease, and the fact that he had the audacity to say such a thing I found somewhat offensive. Despite this hubris, True is a gamer, and I think this arrogance could contribute to a quick pace early on, as True guns for a fast time. If and when the pace gets pushed, don’t expect Mead, or any of the others pros like Curtis, Kipchirchir, Ahmed, or Bumbalough to back off. All of these guys have serious talent, and without a doubt they are all at PJ for a prestigious win. That said, in the end, I think it will come down to Mead and True. It’s too good of a story to pass up. Will True frustrate Mead once again, or will the former Minnesota Golden Gopher take his revenge?

​As much as I’d like to say True isn’t winning, I can’t. He’s just too talented, and his American Record at the BAA 5k shows that he is in fact fit. I don’t think it will be as agonizingly close this year as it was last year, but it will come down to a kick. This is over course dependent on some other guys leading throughout the race. At some point, True will lead and push the pace, because that’s just the guy and runner he is, but you can’t lead an entire 10k. If other guys step up and take the ropes throughout the long race, I think we could see some really fast times. Will True run sub 27 without breaking a sweat as he might claim he could? Nope. If the pace is quick enough in the early stages of the race however, I do think somewhere around 27:20 is in the realm of possibility for True. I expect Mead to finish second a second or two behind True (I really like Mead, he seems like a cool dude, and he was good friends with my pal Steve Finley). Following those two, I expect Curtis and Bumbalough to both have solid races and approach 27:30. I’m not sure of the fitness of Ahmed of Kipchirchir, but if they are in shape, that sort of time isn’t out of the question for them either. 

​Without question, you are sold on the 10k by now. What more could you want? A lot of fast guys, blazing times, and a heated rivalry renewed! It’s a race out of a fairytale, if the sport of running was ever the subject of fairytales (I’m looking at you, Jarrett). I know it’s tempting to get caught up with Edward Kemboi, Mac Fleet, Andrew Wheating, Nick Symmond, Christian Soratos, Kemoy Campell, Diego Estrada, and all the other studs in other races, but take my word, do not miss the 10K. I know I won’t.