Negative and Even Splitters in Olympic Trials Marathon Deserve “Runner Know Thyself” Award
Posted April 21st, 2008 at 5:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, SoundOFF, Columns
Of the 124 women who finished the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Women’s Marathon, only 4 had negative splits. The most notable one, of course, was Deena Kastor who ran the second half of her race 2.28% faster than the first half. The other three were Megan Hepp (-0.48%), Casey Smith (-0.24%) and third place finisher Blake Russell (-0.22%). Since two of the three women who made the Olympic team had negative splits, this would seem to be the wisest strategy to have had going into the race. Another twenty women, including the now-famous trail blazer Magdalena Lewy Boulet (+0.70%), ran “even” splits, meaning the 2nd half was no more than 1% slower than the first half. The incomparable Joan Samuelson ran her 2nd half just 0.63% slower than her first half.
Desiree Ficker had the worst race in terms of first-to-second-half split variances. Her second half (1:31:39) was 8.99% slower (or 15 minutes and 7 seconds) than her first half. You have to give her some credit for “going for it,” and you also have to give her credit for gutting it out and finishing the race with what must have been some extreme levels of lactic acid in her body; however, you also have to question her judgment. She ran her first half in 1:16:32, which was on pace for a 2:33:04, a pace that would have been 7 minutes and 24 seconds faster than her PR of 2:40:28. Instead of getting the glory she had hoped to get, she ended up running a time of 2:48:11 and finished in 79th place. Had she run even splits and matched her PR, she would have finished in 23rd place. Hopefully she will take away this lesson from yesterday’s race.
Here is the list of all women who either ran negative splits or whose 2nd half was within 1% of her first half. All of these women deserve the “Runner Know Thyself” Award and should be commended for their smart racing:
1. Kastor, Deena (Mammoth Lakes CA) 1:16:30 | 1:13:05 | 2:29:35 (-2.28%)
2. Hepp, Megan (Charlotte NC) 1:19:07 | 1:18:22 | 2:37:29 (-0.48%)
3. Smith, Casey (Richmond VA) 1:20:38 | 1:20:15 | 2:40:53 (-0.24%)
4. Russell, Blake (Pacific Grove CA) 1:16:30 | 1:16:10 | 2:32:40 (-0.22%)
5. Tormey, Caitlin (Blowing Rock NC) 1:20:11 | 1:20:18 | 2:40:29 (+0.07%)
6. Enman, Kasie (Huntington VT) 1:18:33 | 1:18:41 | 2:37:14 (+0.08%)
7. Moody, Tera (Boulder CO) 1:16:47 | 1:17:07 | 2:33:54 (+0.22%)
8. Friedman, Robyn (Lambs Grove IA) 1:17:20 | 1:17:42 | 2:35:02 (+0.24%)
9. Cretti, Caroline (Blowing Rock NC) 1:19:49 | 1:20:23 | 2:40:12 (+0.35%)
10. Bjune, Caroline (Andover MA) 1:20:42 | 1:21:20 | 2:42:02 (+0.39%)
11. Johnson Lane, Turena (Baton Rouge LA) 1:16:47 | 1:17:30 | 2:34:17 (+0.46%)
12. Piers, Sheri (Falmouth ME) 1:18:59 | 1:19:47 | 2:38:46 (+0.50%)
13. Gomez, Zoila (Alamosa CO) 1:16:32 | 1:17:21 | 2:33:53 (+0.53%)
14. Reddy, Veena (Philadelphia PA) 1:18:35 | 1:19:33 | 2:38:08 (+0.61%)
15. Samuelson, Joan (Freeport ME) 1:24:02 | 1:25:06 | 2:49:08 (+0.63%)
16. Hagobian, Nicole (Hadley MA) 1:21:06 | 1:22:13 | 2:43:19 (+0.68%)
17. Ackerly, Maureen (Richmond VA) 1:22:571:24:07 | 2:47:04 (+0.70%)
18. Lewy Boulet, Magdalena (Oakland CA) 1:14:38 | 1:15:41 | 2:30:19 (+0.70%)
19. Mortensen, Emily (Alamosa CO) 1:20:18 | 1:21:26 | 2:41:44 (+0.70%)
20. Kinsman, Rachel (Archbold OH) 1:19:58 | 1:21:09 | 2:41:07 (+0.73%)
21. Westerling, Heidi (Acworth NH) 1:19:58 | 1:21:11 | 2:41:09 (+0.75%)
22. Loken, Susan (Phoenix AZ) 1:20:47 | 1:22:08 | 2:42:55 (+0.83%)
23. McMahan, Dot (Rochester Hills MI) 1:16:47 | 1:18:15 | 2:35:02 (+0.95%)
24. Ely, Brett (Cambridge MA) 1:20:11 | 1:21:43 | 2:41:54 (+0.95%)
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Tags: 2008 U.S. Olympic women’s marathon trials, 2008 USA Olympic women’s marathon trials, Beijing, blake russell, deena kastor, entry list, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, marathon, marathon strategy, marathonguide.com, negative splits, Olympic Trials, Olympicwomensmarathontrials2008, Olympicwomensmarathontrials2008news, race strategy, running, US Olympic Trials, usa Olympic team trials – women’s marathon
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The Final Sprint