Post by dan on Sept 6, 2006 12:13:46 GMT -5
I don't know if everyone follows the news on LetsRun.com, but lately they have been putting up links to the training of Matt Tegenkamp, from a site called kimbia.net. He posts his logs from this summer of racing and we get to find out with he thinks about all the races he has run, etc.
This summer he ran 13:04.90, placing him 4th on the all-time US List at 5k, behind Kennedy's 12:58, Sydney Maree (I think), and Bernard Lagat. He also just recently ran a 7:34 3k, putting him 5th on the all-time US list, and just this past Sunday ran a 3:35.96 1500m, the equivalent of about a 3:52 mile while racing in Berlin.
These times are one of the bright spots in American distance running right now, especially with all the scandals with doping and the confusion in the sprinting end of track and field, and Tegenkamp is helping to become one of the next generation of heroes for kids like us who love running.
He just recently graduated from college at Wisconsin University, and has quite a bright future ahead of him. He is definitely going for broke this summer with the races he is running, and is not afraid to go out and get hammered by the Europeans and Africans. In the process, he has run some great times.
In a recent article, he talked about one of his last races in Rieti, Italy, where he pulled a DNF in the 3k after coming through 2000m in 4:59. He was on American record pace at that point. To give you an idea of 4:59 for 2000m, look at this:
2000m- 4:59
each 1000m in 2:24.5
each 500m in 1:12.25
each 100m in 14.45 seconds
so that means his 1600m pace = 3:51.2
However, he soon thereafter stepped off the track. Originally he said he was just too tired and did not really know what happened. However, his new entry says that he knows exactly what happened. He says that he was taking a serious shot at the American record and then he got too nervous. He wasted a lot of energy early on in the race when the second alley of runners closed into the first trying to get a position and also that he never really felt comfortable.
I admire him for going for the record. It is refreshing to see guys actually go over to Europe and get nailed in order to get better. It has been a long time since someone really realized that the way to get fast like the Africans is not to run the US Outdoor Champs as the marquee meet of the season. To improve, at least in terms of American running, it really is necessary to go to Europe.
I applaud Tegenkamp and look forward to hearing more about his times in the future.
Here is a link to the article where he talks about the Rieti 3k:
www.kimbia.net/newsarticle000118.html
Hope you all enjoyed getting to learn a little about a bright spot in the American distance scene!
DAN
This summer he ran 13:04.90, placing him 4th on the all-time US List at 5k, behind Kennedy's 12:58, Sydney Maree (I think), and Bernard Lagat. He also just recently ran a 7:34 3k, putting him 5th on the all-time US list, and just this past Sunday ran a 3:35.96 1500m, the equivalent of about a 3:52 mile while racing in Berlin.
These times are one of the bright spots in American distance running right now, especially with all the scandals with doping and the confusion in the sprinting end of track and field, and Tegenkamp is helping to become one of the next generation of heroes for kids like us who love running.
He just recently graduated from college at Wisconsin University, and has quite a bright future ahead of him. He is definitely going for broke this summer with the races he is running, and is not afraid to go out and get hammered by the Europeans and Africans. In the process, he has run some great times.
In a recent article, he talked about one of his last races in Rieti, Italy, where he pulled a DNF in the 3k after coming through 2000m in 4:59. He was on American record pace at that point. To give you an idea of 4:59 for 2000m, look at this:
2000m- 4:59
each 1000m in 2:24.5
each 500m in 1:12.25
each 100m in 14.45 seconds
so that means his 1600m pace = 3:51.2
However, he soon thereafter stepped off the track. Originally he said he was just too tired and did not really know what happened. However, his new entry says that he knows exactly what happened. He says that he was taking a serious shot at the American record and then he got too nervous. He wasted a lot of energy early on in the race when the second alley of runners closed into the first trying to get a position and also that he never really felt comfortable.
I admire him for going for the record. It is refreshing to see guys actually go over to Europe and get nailed in order to get better. It has been a long time since someone really realized that the way to get fast like the Africans is not to run the US Outdoor Champs as the marquee meet of the season. To improve, at least in terms of American running, it really is necessary to go to Europe.
I applaud Tegenkamp and look forward to hearing more about his times in the future.
Here is a link to the article where he talks about the Rieti 3k:
www.kimbia.net/newsarticle000118.html
Hope you all enjoyed getting to learn a little about a bright spot in the American distance scene!
DAN