by Larry EderThe adidas Boost Boston was this wonderful combination of old school and new school. Somerville, the Friday night at the races, was the old school. And it was fun! Here’s my five lessons from Somerville. (And at $10, the Somerville meet is the best sports deal in Boston!).
1. The adidas Dream Mile for Girls introduced the country to Lexy Halladay. The Idaho native is only a freshman, but her 4:41.80 victory in Somerville, and the way she did it, with the final lunge at the finish, caught the eye of fans everywhere. Lexy told us, “My coach told me to stay out of the lead, to follow for the first three laps.” She was a bit overwhelmed by all of the hubub, but she enjoyed it. Who could not enjoy being interviewed by Dan O’Brien, the 1996 Olympic decathlon champion?
2. The adidas Dream Mile for Boys showed that while 4 minutes is cool, racing and winning is the dream. Five lead changes in the last lap of the boys mile, and Patrick Parker of Utah took the win in 4:03.99. The splits were pretty even, but, it was that third lap, in 58.3, that woke the field up and the last 800 meters was run in about 1:59! Afterwards, Patrick Parker asked us for a few minutes to recover, after he had done the TV interview. Sometimes, stomach distress visits the best of us!
3. Emily Lipari had a fun double, with the 1,500m at Somerville, and an 800m the night before in Concord. Emily has been battling injuries and consistent racing the past couple of years. “I wanted to see how I could run on tired legs,” is what she told us after her 1,500m race. That 800m PB speed helped as she sprinted by Dominique Scott in the final stretch to take the win! We look forward to seeing Emily race later this season.
4. Chris O’Hare is fit, and ready to race. In the men’s 1,500 meters, the pack was tight and fast, and Chris O’Hare, the bronze medalist in both the Indoor (Prague 2015) and Outdoor (Zurich 2014)European Champs, took the lead in the final fifty meters and won decisively. The finish showed that Chris O’Hare should be ready for the summer races.
5. Something about Somerville and the 5000 meters. Last year, Dejan Gebremeskel and Hagos Gebrhewit ran the two fastest 5000 meters times in the world for 2016 (June). In 2017, Muktar Edris and Cyrus Rutto traded 62-63 second laps to run the second and fourth fastest times in the world. Edris is a long time racer on the world 5000 meter stage, but this was early season and it was fast! Let’s see how Muktar does in the upcoming Ethiopian Trials.
