Bury the leader ⏱

Sep 01, 2021

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He keeps Kung Fu flying🥋

These stats aren’t actually up to date — after his 2nd place finish in Paris on Saturday, Kenny Bednarek has now run under 20 seconds in the 200m ten times this season in wind-legal conditions. For a 22-year-old silver medalist, it doesn’t seem like we are collectively appreciating the historic season that he has posted. I think a lot of that has to do with his relatively quiet ascension. He “burst onto the scene” after he qualified for the 2019 World Championships despite finishing 8th at the USATF Champs. (Noah Lyles received an automatic bid for being the Diamond League champion and no other athletes in front of Bednarek had the standard.) The former JUCO standout is a prime example of how being in the shadows of other great athlete can steal the spotlight. But with the high-level consistency he’s demonstrating, it’s going to become impossible for the world to ignore Kenny Bednarek much longer, both for his present abilities and for his seemingly untapped potential. For now his Kung Fu nickname stems from the signature bandana, but soon it’ll be for kicking everyone’s ass.

And I would run for 192 miles…

The only other man who could cover this much ground in 24 hours is Kiefer Sutherland. Aleksandr Sorokin of Lithuania broke the 24-hour world record by covering a miraculous 309.4 kilometers. Now before you assume he was slogging along, taking luxurious walk breaks, and sitting down for three-course meals in that time frame, I’m going to stop you: he averaged 7:29 mile pace for an entire day. With an engine like that, you’d assume if he had even a single strand of fast twitch fiber in his whole body that he’d be racing Kipchoge to the line at the Olympics. (Perhaps this matchup only I’m asking for will play out on Sorokin’s terrain, rather than Kipchoge’s — the GOAT indicated this past week that he may join the ranks of ultra marathoners soon.) Running for an entire day is not how I would want to spend my weekend — you finish your “afternoon” jog and only have 24 hours left before work on Monday! — but having shuffled through many runs much slower than this, it’s hard not to appreciate the feat despite it being one of the least spectator-friendly offshoots our sport has to offer. I have a stress fracture just thinking about it.

Yakima Mile 🏔

It’s road mile season! When the legs are starting to feel a bit heavy late in the year, it’s nice to hop on the road, make it about competing, and forget what the clock says. Okay, maybe it’s still worth looking at the clock when it says “4:21” as you cross the finish. That’s now the fastest time in Washington history, it’s what Nikki Hiltz ran this past weekend in Yakima, and it was good for a $10,000 payday. Close behind them was Eleanor Fulton, who readers of The Victory Lap got to know well last week.

The men’s race was won by Sam Prakel in 3:54 — he’ll be back in action in two weeks at the 5th Avenue Mile. As many athletes start to announce the end of their season, this is prime time for those who didn’t hit their contract bonuses by qualifying for the Olympics to race their way to financial solvency. There’s still plenty of money up for grabs if you’re feeling fresh enough to take it — and as some of the top dogs peter out after a long, long season, you might be able to collect some big name scalps too, if you’re into playing The Most Dangerous Game.

Jenny is movin’ up! 🌸

The Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run wouldn’t normally be competing for athletes with the 5th Avenue Mile, but this year D.C. stole the 8x champion away from the Big Apple. This will be the first time since 2012 that an athlete not named Jenny Simpson will win the event and give the victory speech at the athlete afterparty — what a golden opportunity for all you elite milers out there who have been attending virtual Toastmasters classes!

After missing out on her first outdoor international team since 2006 — an absolutely mind blowing stat — Simpson had the opportunity to try something new with training this summer. This could be a preview of what’s to come as she has shown a propensity to run well in the longer distances with multiple sub-15 5000m performances to her name to match up with a pair of runner-up NCAA XC finishes. And if the legends of Jenny dropping the boys on long runs are true, then it won’t be surprising if we have another Rod Dixon on our hands — who went from Olympic bronze in the 1500m to a 2:08 at the New York City marathon.

Might as well have hurdles 🥂

Over 90% of The Lap Count followers on Instagram incorrectly predicted that Karsten Warholm would break 44 seconds in the flat 400m at the Lausanne Diamond League. What a brilliant bunch! This was a fair prediction, given his World Record run over 10 hurdles was completed in 45.91. But what would your next few weeks look like after having run one of the greatest races in Olympic history? Probably not the most conducive for racing!

Although his time of 45.51 is certainly short of his capabilities, it should be noted that part of the reason why the best hurdlers are so good at the hurdles is because the hurdles don’t slow them down THAT much. Well unless you’re Rai Bejamin, who split 43.40 on the 4x400 at the Olympics.

Given Warholm’s subpar performance, it’s fair to say that all the discussion surrounding a Norwegian team going after the DMR World Record should be suspended immediately. They have no shot and shouldn’t waste their time. That record is untouchable, and frankly, we should just stop contesting the event entirely.

Interested in supporting athletes? Subscribe to our premium newsletter, The Victory Lap to help financially support elite athletes by reading exclusive interviews with them! This initiative has now raised $10,800 that we are fully passing onto the athletes.

On Friday morning we will be publishing a conversation with Biya Simbassa, who finished 7th place at the US Olympic Trials 10,000m and has PBs of 13:19/27:45 about how his life as an Ethiopian refugee was transformed by coming to the United States and discovering running.

Tossing another medal into the family 🇳🇿

Valarie Adams is no longer the only gold medalist in the family! The 2x Olympic Champion just coached her sister, Lisa Adams, to the T37 shot put title at the Tokyo Paralympics. And to raise the stakes of the sibling rivalry even more, Lisa will look to earn her second gold this weekend in the T37 discus. Not bad for someone who had to be convinced to compete in the throws at all! Lisa caught the eye of Paralympics New Zealand while competing with Waikite’s able-bodied women’s rugby squad. From there she was recruited to New Zealand’s national para rugby team, on which she was the only woman.

Hoops fans might remember that Valerie and Lisa’s younger brother is Memphis Grizzlies center, Steven Adams. Much is made about the Ingebrigtsen family. And sure – churning out fast-miling brothers with trendy haircuts is cool. But if I ever find myself in a street fight (or moving houses), it’s the Adams family I’m hoping comes to my rescue.

World Record Half 🇪🇹

Yalemzerf Yehualaw smashed the women’s half marathon WR this weekend in Antrim, Northern Ireland, posting an incredible 63:43 to take off an additional 19 seconds off the previous record.

It’s difficult to put into context just how fast this is without pointing out that Yehualaw ran 4:51 pace for 13.1 miles — a pace so quick that it’s actually a hair faster than her 10,000m personal best, 30:22, run in June at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials where she finished fourth, and was left off the team for Tokyo. How in the matter of two months do you manage to more than double your race distance, while lowering your pace, on a less favorable surface? I have no idea. But a sub-64-minute half marathon is faster than quite a few professional men who are likely getting paid more to do it. Who’s gapping who here?

Trials of Miles - Project 13.1

Later this month our friends at Trials of Miles are putting on one of the most competitive half marathons of the fall at Rockland Lake State Park (located about 40 minutes north of NYC). It's a great opportunity for anyone looking to chase a PR on a super fast course or test out their fitness ahead of the NYC, Philly, or CIM marathons. There's also prize money for the top five finishers including $2,000 for the winner. Check out their website for more information HERE.

(This is an ad paid for by Trials of Miles.)

A personal note 💁‍♂️

It’s been a year since I stepped off the track. Warming up that day in the Boston suburbs, I knew that I wasn’t going to finish the race — and in that moment it became clear I wasn’t going to race again as a professional middle-distance runner. When you know, you know. It was not a sudden realization, but a slow drip of recognition after countless internal debates and compromises with myself before I finally had the courage to say aloud what I had been feeling inside for a long time — I was ready to retire. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect since then and I thought the six month anniversary of The Lap Count would be an appropriate time to share those sentiments with the same readers who indulge me every Wednesday.

It’s always the same question, ‘how is retirement treating you?’ The truth is that it’s wonderful.

Friends and family were worried about how I would handle the transition because for years they had front row seats to my single minded obsession with the sport. They were justifiably concerned as to how I would take to the other side. When I first began to verbalize my feelings of doubt, they supported me with words of encouragement about how there was more racing left in my legs. But it should never be anyone else’s decision but the athlete’s, and soon they realized it was not just a phase. It’s a difficult situation for many — there are those who feel an obligation to continue towards the fading dream or are nervous about a lack of direction in terms of what exactly comes next. More commonly however, is the forced conclusion due to injury or a lack of funding during a time of increasing responsibility. I was fortunate to go out on my terms, unwavering in my knowledge that my tank was empty

As I type these thoughts, my computer screen is the only light shining on a dark plane. My wife, Patricia, is curled up against the window on a flight ‘home’ to Ireland. It was important to us that her family sees her bump before our newborn joins us in November. It feels good to finally share this news publicly— I’m going to be a dad! The excitement of new beginnings on the horizon has made this transitional phase of life an even more positive one.

Unlike many athletes who fall into the sport through luck or happenstance, I knew I always wanted to run professionally. And with that, at least compared to some of my pro-running peers, I was mentally prepared for the reality that it would one day come to an end. The prospect of getting a regular job and falling into a routine never scared me. Rather than a clock counting up, it ticks down until the day is done and your brain can finally shut off. Unlike in running, work now ends when my laptop closes and there is no longer the burden of always having to be on — with every choice having consequences in performance.

I remember being interviewed before the Sir Walter Miler a few years ago and struggling to come up with fun facts about myself. That innocuous question caused an identity crisis — to have to describe myself beyond my personal bests. But stepping away from competition has given me valuable perspective and now when asked a similar question, I have a fascinating story to share. Running will always be a part of my identity, but that doesn’t mean my results define my value, which admittedly was an issue at times.

And while I didn’t necessarily mind racing, the training was my favorite part of the process. For years, I was the teammate doing loops in the parking lot until the GPS hit ‘10.00’ and my mileage would be exactly the same every week — crazy person things. Now there is a new found freedom in running that allows me to enjoy the act itself without any end goal in mind and every loop is the perfect distance. Mile splits have become meaningless and sometimes I’ll stop just to absorb a pretty view. It was important to me that retiring from competing on the track did not mean I would be done running as those are two different things. I proudly haven’t taken a day off from either running or biking since I hung up the spikes. Because of that I’d like to think that I pretty much look like my old self, but I know that I’d get dusted by Past Kyle.

The decision to move onto a new career was an easy one. The decision over what that new career would be was not. Although being a philosophy major in college is helpful when it comes to researching and writing about track and field, it doesn’t exactly parlay straight into an obvious working role. Initially I was convinced that I’d stay full-time in the sport and intently explored those options. But there were problems, like how little the experience of a professional athlete is understood or appreciated by people working in the space. And even more so was the fact that I needed some separation from it.

After years of having my salary tied to the sport, I realized I wanted to be able to step back to enjoy track and field as a fan. Instead, the opportunity to try a completely different challenge became more enticing. It provides for a healthy work-life balance that allows me to pursue interests outside of the office, while still keeping my finger on the pulse of a sport I will continue to love — hence the newsletter.

Do you know how after setting a personal best, once that fleeting moment of pure bliss disappears, you start replaying the race in your head and all the ways you could have gone even faster? That never ends. And I’m not going to pretend I don’t have regrets. There are times that I should have pushed harder and even more when I should have eased off. There are races I shouldn’t have led and moves I probably should have made.

But most of all, I wish I cared more to care less. It only matters because you decide it does and it’s over before you know it. And when you cross the finish line after the race of your life — the personal best that goes to your grave — no one tells you then that you’ll never get any faster. And once I was content with that fact, I knew it was the right time to step off the track.

Thank you for reading this newsletter every Wednesday morning and for sharing it with other track fans. And a huge appreciation to this week’s sponsor Lever Running for their support in its creation!