BATC Race Recap: Payton Jordan 2010
The Bay Area Track Club sent six athletes into action at Sunday's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Leading the way for the club was Shannon Rowbury, who used savvy tactics and a devastating kick to win the women's 5000 meters. On the men's side, David Torrence finished 2nd in the 800 meters, narrowly missing the win by a mere .09 of a second.
The news of Rowbury's 5000 meter victory would have been shocking to anyone who saw the first half of the race and decided to head home early. Shalane Flanagan ran to a huge early lead, hot on the heels of a pacesetter and well under American record pace, a record that she set herself in 2009. Quickly a chase pack formed, with Rowbury working alongside Amy Yoder Begley to chip away at Flanagan's advantage. Not until the final 800 meters did it seem like their efforts were producing any results. At that point Flanagan began to tire from the relentless early pace, and Rowbury began to wind up her fabled finishing kick. She really let loose with 400 meters to go and instantly gaped Yoder Begley. On the final turn she passed Flanagan and cruised home to victory in a new personal best time of 15:00.51.
Watch Rowbury's race and check out a post-race interview with her.
Torrence left the meet also possessing a new personal best. His time of 1:46.83 for 800m knocked more than an entire second off his previous record. Showing the strength of a miler, Torrence threaded through the pack on the final lap, swinging wide into lane three on the homestretch to pass all but one of his competitors. Torrence and Rowbury recently returned from a high altitude training camp in Mexico under the guidance of their coach, John Cook.
Watch video of Torrence's race and his post-race interview.
Watch video of Torrence's race and his post-race interview.
Also running well in the men's 800m were Tim Bayley, who ran 1:49.84, and Francis Gadayan, who ran 1:54.17. In the men's 5000 meters, Bolota Asmerom looked poised to run for the win when he ran out of gas on the last lap. He hung on for a solid 13:42.65. In the women's 5000 meters, Clara Horowitz-Peterson ran a strong 16:36.94.
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