Everyone Thought They Could Beat Weini Kelati
What surprised me the most at Foot Locker was the brazen belief held by Maryjeanne Gilbert, Nevada Mareno, Judy Pendergast and Taylor Werner that they could beat Weini Kelati--a belief that, if still unproven, now seems like a not-crazy one. So often in distance running, the best runner is afforded a respect that truncates races down to their last few hundred meters. That was not the case in San Diego in Saturday, as all five women in the front pack ran with panache and in a way that brought to life the idea that could win.
I'm no Prefontaine fetishist; some of my favorite races have covered the first half in slower than tempo pace. But a large group of people spending an entire race actually trying to win it is usually surprising, and always entertaining. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by Saturday's race, but I was definitely entertained by it.
- Dennis