One of the consequences of excellence is that the bar is set very high in terms of personal improvement.

Last year at the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic, David Rudisha ran his first 800m of what turned out to be an outstanding year, with hopes for a similar start to 2011 at the same meet this Thursday, March 3.

Clocking 1:43.15, Rudisha's run was not only the fastest ever run in Australia but the prelude for a season which saw him win the African championship and the Continental Cup and twice break the world record. The year ended with the 21-year-old acclaimed IAAF Male Athlete of the Year.

Rudisha hopes this year ends with acclaim of a slightly different sort - that which goes with winning a major title at the IAAF world championships in Daegu (KOR) this August.

"Having the world record and not a major title, it doesn't sound good," Rudisha stated at last Friday's John Landy Lunch.

Opposing Rudisha will be two sub 1:44 men in American Nick Symmonds (1:43.76) and Abraham Chepkirwok (1:43.72) of Uganda. Symmonds was sixth at the Berlin world championships in 2009, Chepkirwok fourth at the 2007 world championships and a semi-finalist at the Beijing Olympics.

Hoping to gatecrash this sort of company will be Lachlan Renshaw. The national champion, Renshaw will be looking to start 2011 strongly after being forced to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games final as a result of a hamstring injury.

Headed by the 2007 world champion, American Bernard Lagat, and a world championships medallist, Craig Mottram who won bronze in 2005, the 5000m contains a further three sub-13 minute men in Isaac Songok, Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky, as well as our own national champion in Ben St Lawrence, second-fastest ever in Collis Birmingham and Commonwealth Games representative David McNeill.

After two years battling with achilles tendon problems, Mottram on the track will be enough for most of Melbourne's passionate distance fans. If he is in there at the finish, the back-straight stand may well erupt.

Rounding out the excellent middle distance line up at this year's IAAF Melbourne Track Classic, an IAAF World Challenge Meet, is the men's 1500 metres, with the start list losing little to the 800m or 5000m in star quality.

Led by the Olympic gold and silver medallists Asbel Kiprop and Nick Willis, the field also contains last year's winner Jeff Riseley and American mile record holder Alan Webb. Kiprop will be eager to atone for last year's race when he tripped and fell after only 100 metres and, although quickly regaining his feet, could do no better than fourth place.

At the same time in the field, three world champions will take to the throwers circle.

Flame Dani Samuels in the discus, is one, while in the women's shot put Valerie Adams is Olympic champion to boot. Adams is in grand form, having thrown a New Zealand all-comers record 20.33m on the weekend in Auckland.

There is also one lurking in the men's shot put - if, at 133kg, Reese Hoffa could ever be described as lurking. The 2007 Osaka world champion is up against Dale Stevenson, who cracked the 20-metre mark in Hobart and is confident of achieving the 20.50m world championships qualifying standard.

Having headlined the first two meetings on the Australian Athletics Tour, Sally Pearson will no doubt be happy to have 'star' company in Melbourne, but she will also be just as determined to produce star performances in the women's 100m and 200m. The presence of American sprinter Mikele 'Miki' Barber, a member of the 2007 world championships gold medal 4x100m relay, could be the stimulus Pearson needs to push below 23 seconds in the 200m and closer to Melinda Gainsford-Taylor's national record of 11.12 in the 100m.

Mitchell Watt carries the rare distinction of bringing home a medal from every major competition he has entered, bronze at both the 2009 world championships and 2010 world indoor championships, but injury kept him out of the Commonwealth Games. He returned to the long jump with 8.13m in Brisbane last week and, given good conditions, could be up for something even better Thursday night.

Tamsyn Lewis may only be doing a two-lap event, but her endurance is not to be questioned. The 2008 world indoor champion at 800m is fronting up for her 14th consecutive IAAF Melbourne Track Classic. She will come up against Jamaican Kenia Sinclair, fifth in the Beijing Olympic final and second in last year's Continental Cup.

With Kelly Hetherington, who pushed Lewis in Hobart in Round 2 of the Australian Athletics Tour, national champion Katherine Katsanevakis and Erica Fountain also in the mix, something close to two minutes could be needed to win.

Finally, the men's 400m sees the return of John Steffensen, going up against Delhi silver medallist Sean Wroe, national champion Ben Offereins and Delhi relay gold medallist Kevin Moore. With all four men on the hunt for the 45.25 world championships qualifying standard this event looks set to be one hot lap.

A five-stop national tour, the 2011 Australian Athletics Tour boasts four divisions (sprints/hurdles, distance, throws, jumps) with male and female athletes in different events pitted against each other in the race for the largest prize purse in Australian athletics history.

The only IAAF World Challenge meet held in Australia, the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic doubles as Round 3 of the Australian Athletics Tour with many events providing an opportunity to score points in the race for their division title.

To view and download current start lists and the meet timetable for the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic, please click here<http://www.athletics.com.au/competition/events/australian_athletics_tour_-_me>

To view and download current leader boards of the Australian Athletics Tour, please click here<http://www.athletics.com.au/competition/events/201011_season_dates/aat_points>

With thanks to Len Johnson

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We're into the second half!  From here on out, you'd better be a heavy favorite to either win some titles, break some records, or both!  Again, athlete's are designated with last year's rank (and PR's in parentheses)

Just 19 years old, Derrick is already running away from the rest of the NCAA.

25.  Chris Derrick, 34 (3000m 7:56.31 - 5000m 13:29.98 - 10000m 29:08.33)

Here's a quick breakdown of Derrick's performances in championship meets since he got to Stanford:

2008 NCAA XC: 7th
2009 USA JR XC: 2nd
2009 World JR XC: 15th
2009 NCAA Indoor 3000m: 5th
2009 NCAA Indoor 5000m: 4th
2009 NCAA Outdoor 5000m: 3rd
2009 NCAA XC: 3rd

He's going to have a tough time winning a title this year with Chelanga and McNeill in the NCAAs, but that's the kind of consistency that makes a great runner.  Add to this that he briefly held the AJR for 5000m and that he's the second coming of Dathan Ritzenhein and he has a huge future ahead of him.

24.  Amy Yoder Begley, 27 (1500m 4:10.04 - 3000m 8:53.27 - 5000m 15:24.88 - 10000m 31:13.78 - Half 70:09)

She's the 4th fastest 10000m runner in US history, but she runs in the same era as Flanagan (#1), Goucher (#3) and now Koll (#6).  Begley's 2009 USA 10000m title and 6th place finish in Berlin were a huge step up and showed that in the short-term, she'll be in the hunt for every US 10000m title for the foreseeable future.  In the long-term, her 70:09 half-marathon debut shows she has some promise when she eventually heads to the roads.

23.  Leonel Manzano, NR (800m 1:46.20 - 1000m 2:19.73 - 1500m 3:33.33 - Mile 3:53.01 - 3000m 8:14.59)
22.  Lopez Lomong, 23 (800m 1:45.58 - 1000m 2:20.98 - 1500m 3:32.94 - Mile 3:53.35 - 3000m 7:49.74)

I left Manzano off this list last year despite the fact I was fairly sure it would bite me in the arse.  Still, he doesn't have the most range and until last year, he hadn't put up the spectacular times he now has.  It was justified, if stupid.  Since that time, however, he's gone on to run big PR's in the 800m, 1500m, and mile, qualify for and advance to the final in Berlin, and win a US Indoor 1500m title.  With Lagat moving up to the 5000m, he could be the next US #1 miler.

That is, if Lopez Lomong doesn't stand in his way.  Lomong hasn't been heard from since 2009, where he also set big PR's at 1500m and the Mile, won the US Indoor 1500m title and finished 8th in Berlin.  But he's got great range, great finishing speed, and historically, he's 5-1 head-to-head with Manzano, which gives him the nod here.

21.  Abdi Abdirahman, 18 (3000m 7:47.63 - 5000m 13:13.32 - 10000m 27:16.99 - Half 60:29 - Marathon 2:08.56)
20.  Meb Keflezighi, 40 (3000m 7:48.81 - 5000m 13:11.77 - 10000m 27:13.98AR - Half 61:00 - Marathon 2:09:15)

On paper, these guys are relative equals.  Meb has shown that on any given day he can compete with the best in the world.  Despite coming back from a terrible injury in 2008, Meb went on to run PR's for the half and full marathons, and win the NYC Marathon.  He's now prepping to run Boston, where a win would not only cement his legacy but bring in tons of money.

Abdi has been quiet since he struggled at the US Outdoor 10000m.  When he's fit, he's as good as Rupp or Ritz over that distance, and he's shown he can rip a good marathon, too.  He's never seemed to pop a big race on the world stage, though.  Does he have it in him?

Maggie Vessey's emergence had US fans making the same face.

19.  Maggie Vessey, NR (400m 53.86 - 800m 1:57.84)

The surprise of 2009, Vessey is the highest ranked person to not make the list last year.  But that's what happens when you run the 6th fastest time ever by an American.  I hate the way she races--she relies way too much on her kick, something that's become very popular amongst American half-milers of late--but you can't deny that she's exciting and has a ton of potential.  Her win at Pre might have been the most exciting race of the year.  That said, she's still not the best 800m runner in the country.

18.  Jordan Hasay, 13 (1500m 4:14.50 - Mile 4:35.01 - 3000m 9:12.25)

We learned at the NCAA Indoors that Jordan isn't quite ready to win an NCAA title at the mile distance.  She's very very good for a freshman, but there are a few athletes ahead of her.  She gets this spot because of what she's going to do in the 5000m, though.  I think she's going to run 15:30s at Stanford, and possibly break Molly Huddle's AJR.  By the end of her freshman year, she could be one of the strongest 1500m/5000m runners in the NCAAs.

Major Movers (2009 to 2010)

Who had the biggest ranking leaps and falls from last year to this year? Biggest Falls Laurynne Chetelat -15 (36 to NR) Luke Puskedra -16 (35 to NR) Anthony Famiglietti -16 (14 to 30) Christine Babcock -19 (32 to NR) Khadevis Robinson -19 (26 to 45) Brie Felnagle -26 (25 to NR) Treniere Moser -27 (24 to NR) Jacob Hernandez -29 (22 to NR) Chanelle Price -31 (15 to 46) Sarah Bowman -31 (20 to NR) US middle distance is so deep (especially on the women's side) that the value of being good but not great is not what it used to be. Biggest Leaps Brenda Martinez +16 (NR to 35) Phoebe Wright +18 (NR to 33) Meb Keflezighi +20 (40 to 20) Lukas Verzbicas +21 (48 to 27) Christin Wurth-Thomas +22 (NR to 29) Ashley Sveinsson +25 (NR to 26) Angela Bizzarri +25 (42 to 17) Leonel Manzano +28 (NR to 23) Robby Andrews +31 (46 to 15) Maggie Vessey +32 (NR to 19) Maggie Vessey earns the title for most unexpected performer of 2009!

17.  Angela Bizzarri, 42 (3000m 8:57.40 - 5000m 15:33.02)

Bizzarri is probably my favorite US runner right now.  Somehow or another, she always finds a way to win.  She's the reigning NCAA Outdoor 5000m champ, NCAA Cross Country champ, and now the NCAA Indoor 3000m champ, taking down Lisa Koll (see below) in a thrilling 8:57 personal best.  She'll have her hands full beating Koll over 5000m this year, but I've said that every race for the past year and she continues to win.  I can't wait to see what she does outdoors.

16.  Alan Webb, 9 (800m 1:43.84 - 1500m 330.54 - Mile 3:46.91AR - 3000m 7:39.28 - Two Miles 8:11.48 - 5000m 13:10.86 - 10000m 27:34.72)

Why Webb isn't #1 is a mystery to all US distance running fans.  Despite faltering in the final of the World Champs in 2007, Webb looked poised to dominate US distance running for years to come.  Instead it's been two years since he put up a legitimately exciting time and now he's recovering from Achilles surgery.  Will he ever come back?  At 27 years of age, there's way too much potential to write him off, but with so many great runners in the US right now, this seems like the best place to put him.

15.  Robby Andrews, 46 (800m 1:48.02 - 1000m 2:22.28 - Mile 4:03.49)

To be a great competitor, you have to have a great kick.  There's no running away from people in a championship race.  Either you've got that gear at the end or you don't, and most people don't.  Robby Andrews does.

Is it a world-class kick?  That remains to be seen.  But he's already shown it's good enough to surprise the best 800m runner in the country, Andrew Wheating, and with three more years of eligibility, it's hard to imagine him not winning a couple more NCAA titles.  In the meantime, he'll have to show he can run world-class times before he gets a world-class ranking.

14.  Matt Tegenkamp, 19 (1500m 3:34.25 - Mile 3:56.38 - 3000m 7:34.98 - Two Miles 8:07.07AR - 5000m 12:58.56)

Teg won the 2009 USA Outdoor 5000m, finished 8th in the final in Berlin, and then busted out a 12:58.56 personal best in September.  Unfortunately for him Ritz ran 12:56 the week before (somewhat stealing his thunder) and Bernard Lagat has decided to focus on the 5000m from here on out (somewhat stealing his future thunder).

Personally, I have a few gripes with Teg that make it hard for me to rank him higher than this.  He doesn't race much (only 8 races in 2009, compared to 20 for Lagat).  He refuses to race above 5000m (for no other reason than to torment all of us who are sure he'd be a great 10k runner).  And when he gets into international races, he's passive and deferential to others in the field.  Small gripes, perhaps, but that's the roadmap to increasing his trade value.  If he wants to settle for just being a US champion then so be it.

Symmonds is to running what bumblebees are to flight.

13.  Nick Symmonds, 8 (600m 1:14.47 - 800m 1:43.83 - 1000m 2:17.10 - 1500m 3:40.91 - Mile 3:56.72)

You know how for a long time physicists thought it should be physically impossible for a bumblebee to fly, given its wing to body mass ratio.  I think Symmonds is the bumblebee of US distance running.  We're going to look back and wonder how someone with his form and physique could have run the times he's run.  Can we get some physicists on this already?

Even without knowing how he does it, Nick Symmonds is the clear #1 800m runner in the country right now.  He won the 2008 Olympic Trials, won the 2009 USA Outdoors, finished 6th in Berlin, and recently won the 2010 USA Indoor title.  He also set a new PR of 1:43.83.  All while looking more like a gymnast or wrestler than a distance runner.

I don't see Symmonds going much faster than he's already gone, which is plenty fast to win a major medal already.  The 800m is notoriously random, so anything's possible, but he's got some serious competition in Kaki, Rudisha, Yego, Mulaudzi and Kamel.  On top of that, I truly believe Wheating is just one year away from challenging him for a US title.  This is as high as I can rank him.

12.  Kara Goucher, 4 (1500m 4:05.14 - 3000m 8:34.99 - 5000m 14:55.02 - 10000m 30:55.16 - Half 66:57 - Marathon 2:25:53)

Kara Goucher didn't have a bad year last year.  Despite focusing on the World Championships marathon, she ran PR's at 800m, One Mile, 2000m, and 3000m indoors.  She also won the USA Outdoor 5000m title.  But her marathons weren't what she was hoping for and she's announced that she's going to try and have a baby, which puts her next couple years in limbo.  The even bigger question is whether Flanagan will eclipse her status as "best up-and-coming US marathoner" when she runs her first full marathon sometimes within the next year.

11.  Ryan Hall, 5 (3000m 7:56.74 - 5000m 13:16.03 - 10000m 28:07.93 - Half 59:43AR - Marathon 2:06:17)

Ryan has made a full commitment to the marathon and in the process has really raised the bar for US distance runners on the roads.  Unfortunately, despite running solid times and earning solid places in Boston and NYC, he hasn't had the kind of breakthrough he's been looking for.  And his half marathon times haven't come close to what he did in early 2007.

Ryan will be back in Boston in April, and just as much a threat to win as he was last year when he led early and finished 3rd.  If he does win, this ranking will look like a big mistake.  But as I wrote with Ulrey, he'll be facing a beastly field, and I'm betting the field.

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