NSW 800m Champs preview

posted by rtross on March 24, 2010, 6:57pm

By Justin Rinaldi

Looks like it’s going to be a ripper of a race on the weekend, so I’ve whipped together a quick preview. Sorry if any of the listed times are off or if I have overlooked someone, but I don’t really have the time to check them all in my lunch break. I’m sure, as always, I’m pretty close. Good luck to all those racing. Vic Champs doesn’t look to be that strong on the Men’s side, but I might do a preview tomorrow for that nonetheless.

Listed in order of personal best times for 800m

Lachlan Renshaw 23 sb 1:47.26 pb 1:45.73 (09)

Paid a heavy price for trying to bridge the gap between the Aussies and Rudisha (pushing a little too hard between 300 and 500m) at the Melb GP this year and had to watch 3 guys sail past him in the last 60m to record fast pb’s in the process. Ran a recent AR over 600m 1:15.14 and has recorded 5 800m times quicker than next fastest on the list. Has increases his mileage this year and his 1500m times have dropped accordingly, but still needs to ensure he doesn’t lose any of his speed (45.7R). Recent eye infection forced him to miss the big race in NZ, so needs some solid hit outs this weekend to round in to top shape in time for Nationals. A second quicker than anyone in the field and has been the best 800m runner in the country for the last 3 years, deserves to be the heavy favourite

Tristan Garrett 22 sb 1:46.66 pb 1:46.66 (10)
Just a 1:49.13 man in 09, Garrett has made a rapid transition from 400 to 800 over the last 12-15months. Paid his dues in Europe last winter and has come out all the better for it this season. Former 400m guy with a 47.00pb and has run 47.61 this year. Was 2nd over 600 to Renshaw’s AR in 1:15.86, before he smashed his pb in Melb (2 sec improvement). Needs to prove that wasn’t just a one off before he can be considered the real deal, but I feel that there is more to come from the little guy. If it’s windy, I’d suggest finding someone else to sit behind!

James Gurr 26 sb 1:46.77 pb 1:46.77 (10)
Like Garret, Gurr has made a good transition from 400 (46.53pn from 06) to 800m over the last few years. Stepped up while attending university at Seton Hall in the US for 3 years. Ironically, Seton Hall recently dropped track and field from it’s program and has a long tradition of producing great 800m guys (Tracey Baskin, Al Royster, Ned Brooks to name a few…all ended up running for SMTC) over the last 20-25 years under Coach Moon. Gurr was also pulled to a quick time in Melb and will also need to prove this was not a one off (next quickest time is 1:48.51 ). Also ran a fast 1:16.59 for 600m recently.

Nick Bromley 27 sb 1:47.60 pb 1:47.05 (08)
4 time National Champ and probably the best Australian in 1:47 paced races ever. Hard pressed to ever count him out as he somehow finds a way to win races when you do. Has been a little inconsistent this year, but always manages to turn things around just in time for the champs. Has a 3:39.12 1500 pb to his name, so will handle the rounds well. Trying to double this weekend might prove too much in this classy field. Happy birthday Bromdog.

Werner Botha 25 sb 1:48.22 pb 1:47.54 (06)
God given talent, but has been somewhat inconsistent over the last few years. Returned home to Qld after spending a few years living/training in NSW and has shown glimpses of his old form, but again only ran a slow 1:53 in the fast Melb race. Surprised all by picking up a medal at Nationals last year and could very well do the same this weekend, but will need to be at his very best to do so.

James Kaan 20 sb 1:50.27 pb 1:47.62 (08)
Former junior star that ran 1:47.62 when just 17 years of age (I hope that is not an omen for Rowe). Missed most of last season thru injury, but bounced back with a solid cross country season over the winter and built a good base. Has been more focused on the 1500 this year and ran a pb of 3:43.04 last week when chasing Gregson home off a slow pace in NZ. His 800’s just haven’t seemed to click this year, but should be able to run back in the 1:48’s this week end.

Mark Abercromby 32 sb 1:49.96 pb 1:48.40 (06)
The oldest man in the in the preview at 32, who traditionally dons the famed all white bodysuit of Syd Uni. Missed a few years with injury, but now looks like he is hitting his straps after winning the ACT champs in sub 1:50 last week end (also the venue of his pb run). Always in the tick of things and can never be over looked. Might lack the basic speed to challenge the top end of the field, but should give his pb a tickle.

Tom Richardson 27 sb 1:51.25 pb 1:48.65 (05)
T-Bone also has missed a few years with injury after a motorbike crash…lucky to be walking let alone sprinting 800m. Ran a SB last weekend, but will need to lift a little if he wants to make the final.
jeremy roff sydney track classic

Jeremy Roff 27 sb 1:49.45 pb 1:48.79 (09)
Low on the list of pb’s, but not low on the list of talent with a 3:34.39 1500m pb next to his name. Unlike public opinion, Roff does have a kick that can’t be underestimated. Recently finished 4th in the big 800m in NZ and will be looking to drop at least a second from his 800m pb run in the Vic champs last year. Will be using this weeend to sharpen up for the 1500m come Nationals.

JR’s Top 3

1st Renshaw 1:47.17
2nd Bromely 1:47.50 (if he doesn’t double)
3rd Gurr 1:47.51
**Garrett to miss out on a medal after doing most of the early work (unless he reads this preview first).

Tags: Jeremy Roff, Lachlan Renshaw, Nick Bromley, Werner Botha, Tom Richardson
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 24, 2010, 8:14pm

The Major Players of Australian Men's 800m Running

posted by rtsam on March 2, 2010, 3:23pm

by Cindy King

Ok, let’s get the issue over with at the beginning. Whenever someone talks about men’s 800m racing in Australia, it is often pointed out that the Australian record is now 41 years old. Good on Ralph Doubell for running 1:44.40 in 1968, but let’s focus on the present runners and what their goals and ambitions are.

I had the pleasure of catching up with the top-ranked 800m runners for 2009 on their plans for 2010. Perhaps the biggest surprise I found out is that one of our top competitors, Jeff Riseley, has no plans to contest the 800m in the Commonwealth Games, and US-based standout Ryan Foster is only a ‘maybe’ on whether or not he will contest the trial.

The runners vary in their approaches to training. For example, 2008 800m Olympian Lachlan Renshaw did no cross country or road races in 2009, whereas Tasmanian standout (and Australian indoor 800m record holder) Ryan Foster considers cross country racing one of the ‘most important’ aspects of his race preparation. Both Renshaw and Nick Bromley have increased their mileage, but for Renshaw this means upping the mileage to 80 km/week, whereas Bromely is peaking out at 120-130 km/week.

Here is what Nick Bromley, Ryan Foster, Jeff Riseley, Lachan Renshaw and Ryan Gregson are thinking about the upcoming season.

Lachlan Renshaw

Lachlan Renshaw represented Australia in the 800m at the 2008 Olympics and was the top-ranked Aussie for 800m in 2009. On February 20^th, he ran 1:15.14 for 600m,which is believed to be the fastest ever Australian time over the rarely-raced distance.

RT: Lachlan, for the current season, what are your goals for the 800m?

LR: I already have a Commonwealth Games “A” qualifier, so this has taken the pressure off me for this domestic season. I can relax, train hard, and do my own thing. I am excited that Kenyan David Rudisha will be racing in the Melbourne Grand Prix, so we have stepped up the training to try to knock him off. I would like to run a few more “A” qualifiers, and win the Nationals so that I can be automatically selected for the Commonwealth Games.

RT: How is training going? Have you made any changes to your training?

LR: When I got back from Europe we sat down and identified that I needed to increase my mileage, and I needed to do that gradually. I have had a stint down in Falls Creek and I am finding that I am really handling the mileage well. I am up to about 80km/week now.

[Editor’s Note: You can find out even more about Lachlan’s training at his blog]

RT: Did you compete in any cross country or road races last season?

LR: No, I was in Europe during the Australian winter.

RT: What are your tips (first, second, and third) for the Commonwealth Selection Trials for the 800m in Perth in April?

LR: I think I’ll leave that one.

RT: Whom do you consider your main rivals?

LR: I think I’ll leave that as well!

RT: What do you think it takes to be a 1.41 runner? (That is, the world record holder!)

LR: Well, starting off I think that you need a whole lot of natural talent and good genes. If you look at David Rudisha he is 6 foot 2 and he has a great pedigree. He’s the African record holder, having run 1:42.01, or the fourth-fastest all-time. His father was an Olympic medalist as part of the Kenyan 4 x 400m relay team. He is an all-around athlete, but having said that…it takes a lot of hard work. As they say, “hard work beats talent every time.”

RT: We all know that 800m is a painful, both in the training and the racing. What is the hardest ever session you have completed?

LR: I have done a lot of hard sessions, but probably repeat 400s off a short recovery would be the hardest session.

Ryan Gregson

Ryan Gregson was recently profiled by Len Johnson on runnerstribe, and you can learn more about him here

We asked the outstanding junior, who has transitioned extremely well to senior competition, about his thoughts on 800m racing in Australia this year.

RT: Ryan, for the current season, what are your goals for the 800m? Is this the distance that you have been focusing on?

RG: My goals are to compete well and to lower my personal bests. I have been focusing on the 800m and 1500m.

RT: How is training going? Have you made any changes to your training?

RG: My training has been going great. I have been training uninjured for over a year now. No, I don’t change my training for this event. My training is all fitness related.

RT: Did you compete in any cross country or road races last season?

RG: Yes, I competed at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan in 2009. I didn’t do any road races last year. ryan gregson

RT: What are your tips (first, second, and third) for the Commonwealth Selection Trials for the 800m in Perth in April?

RG: I may be racing in this race so I have a conflict of interest, but I think that Bromley, Renshaw and Riseley are the ones to look out for.

RT: Whom do you consider your main rivals?

RG: Riseley, Renshaw and Bromley.

RT: What do you think it takes to be a 1.41 runner? (That is, the world record holder!)

RG: It takes a lot of talent and more than a lot of hard work.

RT: We all know that 800m is a painful, both in the training and the racing. What is the hardest ever session you have completed?

RG: Something with a time trial at race pace first, then having to do a large amount of repetitions straight after with minimal rest.

Ryan Foster

Ryan Foster is a Hobart native who is currently in his second year of studies at Penn State in the USA. In early February 2010 he broke the 41-year old Australian indoor 800m record. His time of 1:47.48 was four tenths of a second faster than the previous record set by Olympic gold medalist Ralph Doubell in 1968. Two weeks later he ran 1:47.32, but it is believed that record will not be ratified as the indoor track he was racing on did not meet IAAF standards. I caught up with him from his training base in the USA. ryan foster

RT: Ryan, for the current season, what are your goals for the 800m? Is this the distance that you have been focusing on?

RF: Yes, I focus almost exclusively on the 800m. My goal is to win an NCAA title either indoors or outdoors. Time-wise I would like to run in the 1.45.xx's.

RT: How is training going? Have you made any changes to your training?

RF: Training is going very well. I had H1N1 (swine) flu back in October/November 2009 but that is the only training I have missed since I took time off at the end of last season (June 2009). I haven't made many changes to training. I have only been in this system for 18 months so there are still a few adjustments made here and there, but we follow a reasonably predictable schedule.

RT: Did you compete in any cross country or road races last season?

RF: Yes, I competed in a number of cross country races for my school. I think that cross country is one of the most important aspects of my preparation.

RT: What are your tips (first, second, and third) for the Commonwealth Selection Trials for the 800m in Perth in April?

RF: I'm not fully aware of who is running the trials yet (I'm not even sure if I am). I think though that Lachlan Renshaw is going to be tough to beat, and if Ryan Gregson chooses to run the 800m then he could steal it with his kick at the end.

RT: Whom do you consider your main rivals?

RF: That changes depending on what level I am competing at. When I race within my conference it is Zach Beth from Wisconsin and Adam Hairston from Iowa. At NCAA levels it is the top guys like Andrew Wheating. I did race Sean Tully from Villanova a lot and we were never separated by more than about half a second but he's graduated now.

RT: What do you think it takes to be a 1.41 runner? (That is, the world record holder!)

RF: I think to run that kind of time you have to be exceptionally genetically gifted. Only three runners have ever broken 1.42 and when you consider just how many people have trained for and run this event that is an incredibly small percentage. There are some people that reach a level that is almost superhuman.

RT: We all know that 800m is a painful, both in the training and the racing. What is the hardest ever session you have completed?

RF: That's a hard question to answer as there are all kinds of hard. I used to train for 1500m + distances and I found those workouts a lot harder than 800m workouts. That said, I think one of the hardest 800m specific workout I have done is 9x200 in 27s with 60 seconds recovery and then a 10 minute break followed by an all out 600m.

Nick Bromley

In 2006, Nick Bromley set his personal best time over 800 metres of 1:47.36 during a heat of the Commonwealth Games. He has a stellar record in the National Championships 800m, finishing 3^rd in 2004, 2^nd in 2008, and winning in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. He has recently been spotted being paced by a cyclist whilst running the ‘white fence’ at Sydney’s Centennial Park.

RT: Nick, for the current season, what are your goals for the 800m? Is this the distance that you have been focusing on?

NB: This year I have planned to focus on the 1500ms. Last year was the first year

I changed my training to develop more endurance. I went from 100 km/week to average around 120-130 km/week. The season didn’t plan out the best due to illness (sleeping problems) so I decided to run the 800m at nationals as I knew I could always touch up on speed work in the closing weeks and have a good chance of winning. This year I have my mind and goals set on the 1500m. This will still help my 800m but my plan is to qualify for the 1500m for the Commonwealth Games and get faster/better at the 1500m.

RT: How is training going?

NB: Training has been going well.

RT: Did you compete in any cross country or road races last season?

NB: No road races last season but I plan to have a big crack at the City to Surf in the next year or two. I ran 44.11 two years ago after not training for 3 weeks, as I was on my break. So I hope in a few years I could possibly go under 43 minutes.

RT: What are your tips (first, second, and third) for the Commonwealth Selection Trials for the 800m in Perth in April?

NB:
First - Bromley

Second - Gregson

Third - Alex Rowe

RT: Whom do you consider your main rivals?

NB: People have asked me many times about this. I believe a rival is someone you can never "read" and someone you never can "relax" around. My main rival would have to be Ryan Gregson as I know he has the same weapon as me but has a fitter engine to go with it! The athlete I feel that always shows he will put something different every time he races is Mark Abercrombie. He might not have the fastest time in a race but he will always put himself in a good spot and he isn’t scared of anyone. He is one of the oldest guys in the 800m's at the moment but continues to perform at an elite level.

The beautiful thing about 800m is that you get athletes moving down from the 1500m and you also get athletes who move up from the 400m. Look at Jeff Riseley. He couldn’t break 23.5 for 200m, yet he can still run 1.45 low. Grant Cremer ran 1.45.21 and he also wasn’t that fast over 200/400m. If you can run 24 seconds for a 200 meters you should be able to run 1.45 if you have the engine. Nic Bideau always says this to his athletes. The 800m is not about how fast your get to the 600m mark - it is about how you finish the last 200m.

RT: We all know that 800m is a painful, both in the training and the racing. What is the hardest ever session you have completed?

NB: I think a really hard session is 6 x 200m's with 90 seconds jog recovery in 25's. Also 4 x 400m's with 8 minutes recovery in 52's. Being able to walk away "un hurt" from these sessions you know if you have recovered well enough - you will be ready to roll.

Jeff Riseley

Jeff Riseley made up for what he described as his “worst nightmare” Olympic debut in 2008 (when he was suffering from the effects of a virus) by running 1:45.48 for 800m (putting him number 7 on the Australian all-time list) and a scintillating 3:32.93 for 1500m in 2009. This 1500m time is the second fastest on the Australian all-time list, behind Simon Doyle’s 3:31.96 1991 national record. He’s not planning to race at the upcoming Sydney Grand Prix, but will instead race at the Melbourne Grand Prix

RT: Jeff, for the current season, what are your goals for the 800m? Is this the distance that you have been focusing on?

JR: I will focus on the 1500m this year – I will hardly run an 800m race until I’m in Europe. I hope to get into a fast 800m race in Europe when I'm a bit sharper and see what I can do. I want Doubell’s record, though.

RT: How is training going? Have you made any changes to your training?

JR: Training has been going well; I had a fair amount of time off with plantar fascia but I am on top of it now. I haven't changed anything in training; I train like a 5-10k runner for most of the year and am just trying to get as fit as possible.

RT: Did you compete in any cross country or road races last season?

JR: No, with the European season the way it is I never get a chance to do in cross country, unfortunately. I do enjoy it a lot, though - getting out there and doing something I'm not very good at.

RT: What are your tips (first, second, and third) for the Commonwealth Selection Trials for the 800m in Perth in April?

JR: No idea, but a hot tip is that I won’t be running.

RT: Whom do you consider your main rivals?

JR: Lachlan Renshaw seems to have a good grip on the 800m at the moment in Australia.

RT: What do you think it takes to be a 1.41 runner? (That is, the world record holder!)

JR: Wilson Kipketer is probably a good man to ask. The 800m is such a tough event because you can come at it from many different angles. There are usually two types of runners -your 400/800m guys and your 800/1500m guys. I am the later and I need to be as fit as I can be while still being able to run the first lap in 50sec and still feel comfortable running that pace.

RT: We all know that 800m is a painful, both in the training and the racing. What is the hardest ever session you have completed?

JR: 6-8 times 1k and 4 times 2k at ‘Polic Paddocks’ up and down the hills off 1minute recovery can be a tough session. I really struggle with quarters at Falls Creek, as I was hurting a lot there the other week. As I say, I train like a 5-10k runner for most of the year. To me fitness is the key and where I find I improve the most because it is something I'm not that good at. I see an improvement over 3k from 8.10-7.50 as more important than going from 47-46 over 400m.

View Runner's Tribe athletes pages for all of these athletes:

Lachlan Renshaw
Ryan Gregson
Nick Bromley
Jeff Riseley
Ryan Foster

Tags: jeff riseley, nick bromley, ryan foster, lachlan renshaw, ryan gregson
Read more | Comments (3) | Updated on March 3, 2010, 2:21am

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