The new stadium at Perry Lakes is providing WA distance runners with a fantastic opportunity. The chance to run in the evening not only when it is considerably cooler on the Friday evening but with very little if any headwinds that often hampered distance runners in the old stadium.These conditions , a magnificent track surface along with an atmosphere that had long ago diminished at the old stadium is bringing about some wonderful performances in WA.
Last night was one such example. Mark See, seen here in the left of the photo (18) lined up for a fast time. he was chasing Deeks record of 8.12.2 set back in the 80s over the 3km distance. Ethan Heywood was also chasing a time, the under 20 record, In a large field in near perfect conditions the runners got underway. It was a large field and it was not long before See stamped his dominance on the field and wound up. It was also , a few laps into the race, the same time that See, Heywood and a few others spent the rest of the race passing and running in lane 2. Busi was chasing hard but once the speed was taken up a notch he looked to struggle with the kick down still managing to hold off Heywood though and clock an 8.21.0
Despite the clock being out 6 seconds ( 200m in 23seconds) the boys ran superbly. See looked strong throughout while Heywood looked to be on his limits but running strong. It was fantastic to watch young runners chasing a time rather than each other.
Coming into the bell lap See needed to run under 60seconds to break the 20+ year record . He commenced his trademark drive for the line with 400 to go and just looked smooth. Heywood too was chasing hard with both runners knowing that they were in reach of their goals. For See it was not to be, running an 8.12.6 , the fastest time by a WA runner since 1991 when an 8.12.82 was run at Perry Lakes by the Wombat. For Heywood the grit of a young runner almost paid off with a 8.23.1 narrowly missing ducking under the 8.21. this will give him more confidence for the World Cross Country Championships later this month. I believe that had the race been split into two events both See and Heywood would have been faster . A fact that I think both their coaches would be telling them.
For See the future looks bright with an 8.18 under pressure 2 weeks ago and a solo 8.12.6 this week he is certainly entering an exciting stage of his running career. His 3.48 1500 together with the 3ooom time places him in the mix at a national level. I certainly look forward to seeing Carter , See and even Heywood continuing to chase the times because it is this mind set that may just see WA distance running having a few competitors making the grade in the senior ranks, for Heywood in the near future but for See and Carter maybe sooner.
Another kid to watch is Aaron Patterson who clocked a 14m55s Pb for 5000m back in January and last night was solid with an 8m40.2s. Patterson too may be coming off age but like all the young brigade coming through only time, patience and training will tell.
As an aside and maybe one to watch in the future was De Castro Cruz making a run in the mens 800m. Coming off a 400mH event earlier in the evening he ran a respectable 1m54.89s. Not bad overall considering he has never had to fight for lane position before and appeared to lack any real tactical understanding in terms of the event. This young guy could pose a serious threat to our WA contingent if he gets a clear run and establishes himself early in the pack for the first lap. It was very evident that he had to prop early when the field slowed late in the first lap and DeCruz almost stopped. Anyway someone to watch considering the race was won by James Boden 1m49.36s and Scott Tamblin 1m51.81 both seasoned 800m runners. Boden's time was also the fastest we have seen on the track for a bloody long time.
Congratulations Mark and Ethan, fantastic runs from lane 2.
Barrel on wombats....
No comments:
Post a Comment