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From David Monti
© 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com
They've both been running recently in the thin air of Flagstaff, Ariz., but their paths never crossed. For Craig Mottram and Bernard Lagat, Flagstaff means business.
"I know there's heaps of runners here, but you don't see anybody," Mottram remarked on a conference call with reporters yesterday during which he was joined by Lagat. "It's quiet and peaceful, and you can get the work done," he added.
Mottram, with the exception of a recent trip to New York City for the Healthy Kidney 10-K where he finished second, has been in Flagstaff for the last four weeks building up his endurance base. Lagat, who lives in Tucson but prefers the higher altitude of Flagstaff for his base-building period, has been there for nearly six weeks, training with two-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman who focuses on the 10,000m and the marathon.
While the two are primarily focused on their respective gold medal bids at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka in August where Mottram will run the 5000m and Lagat will compete in the 1500m, they're also preparing to clash for the second time this year at the mile in New York City. Their first meeting was at the 100th Millrose Games where Lagat prevailed in the final 150m to take his fifth victory at the Wanamaker Mile. Their next match-up will be at the Reebok Grand Prix on Saturday, June 2, at Ichan Stadium.
For Lagat it will be his opening effort of the outdoor season. He usually hits the track at either the Mt. SAC Relays in April or the addidas Track Classic in May, but the long track season which goes well into September this year has dictated a much later start. He also wanted to compete again in the Big Apple.
"I wanted to take a long rest while traing hard for the summer," Lagat reasoned. "I haven't run any outdoor meets in New York. New York seemed to be the one that fit with me."
On the tight 145.5m track in Madison Square Garden, Lagat ran 3:54.26 to Mottram's 3:54.81. Neither athlete would say what kind of time they would run at the Reebok meet, but meet director Mark Wetmore said the pacemaker would go 56 seconds for the first lap, and try to bring the leaders through half-way in 1:54. That's fine with both athletes.
"You know, I hope I run like I did in the Prefontaine Classic," said Lagat referring to his 3:51.53 victory at last year's meet in Eugene where he outkicked Alex Kipchirchir and Rachid Ramzi. "My strategy was to just follow the pacemaker and kick really hard the last lap. My race plan is to run hard the last lap. It's no secret."
For Mottram, the mile in New York will pose a special challenge because he hasn't yet done a lot of faster track training. Still, mostly on strength, he thinks he can give Lagat a run for his money.
"I think I can run under 3:54," said Mottram. But then he paused and said, "I've got no idea. Fast enough to be competitive."
The victory at the Reebok Grand Prix may not even come from either of these men, given the strong field Wetmore has assembled. Alan Webb, Christopher Lukezic, Nick Willis, Suleiman Kipses Simotwo, and Kevin Sullivan could also mount the top step of the podium. Simotwo ran 3:31.98 earlier this month in Doha, while Willis dominated the 1500m at the adidas Track Classic last Sunday in 3:35.85. Lagat took notice.
"I watched the race, and honestly he ran a great race," Lagat said of Willis's performance. "He looked really sharp. He seems to be in a good form. He runs with confidence. Looking at that race, I need to work even harder now."
Well, not all the time. While in Flagstaff, Lagat visited the driving range with Abdirahman at least once to hit a few balls and relax, a fact revealed to Mottram by his physiotherapist who was at the driving range at the same time. While Mottram said he liked golf, he had no time to play now, already spending enough time on his feet running. Perhaps later, he offered.
"Maybe we should play around of golf and wager on it," Mottram quipped.
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