Runnerville

Say what you want about the tradition of America’s best runners not making World Championships a priority (excepting Outdoors, of course).  This time around, a healthy number of the top US athletes are turning out for Valencia and plan on heading to Edinburgh.  For once, this March might not be a month of split-squad games with overpriced tickets to see a line-up of a few stars and a bunch of kids headed back to Durham within a few weeks.  And  the traffic — oh, the traffic! — as you sit behind a train of maroon-haired ladies in wrap-around sunglasses driving to their Wednesday bingo.  You can play Mah-Jong from the comfort of your own home, granny!  Try it sometime!  Like today!

But I digress:  for us fans of running, this month is less Hot Stove and more just Stove.  March marks a season of opportunity - to turn heads and make some noise with an eye toward the Olympics…

USATF Press Release on Team going to Valencia (scroll down for entrants)

Granted, many top resumés skipped Indoor Nationals altogether, but apart from Tegenkamp in the 3k, most of the folks who qualified in Boston are headed to España. (For instance, I would have loved to see what a clearly fit Shalane Flanagan could do in the 3k, but it’s an Olympic year, and these are their decisions to make.)

With Indoor Worlds starting tomorrow, the “Track & Field Superfan” offers some interesting previews of certain events over on his blog, using personal scoring tables that balance consistency against season-best marks.  Plenty of Americans figure to make serious noise — particularly in the field events — and Solinsky’s 3k PB ranks him 7th in that field making him a fringe medal contender in a race that one would expect to be at least somewhat tactical.  Like Solinsky, I think our 800 tandem make for a couple of solid dark horses, albeit in a very deep field.  And in the 8, obviously, just making it through the rounds is often enough of a significant challenge.

Nevertheless, after treating us to some great races at Nationals (at least on paper — I’m still waiting to see that 3k on TV), the athletes in those two events will create intrigue for fans of American running.   Throw into the mix the fact that Ritz has referenced his intention to race in Edinburgh later this month, and the US has the chance to really get some nice buzz going as we head into the warmer months and the earnest Beijing build-up.

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