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LOS GATOS, Calif. (03-May) -- Just 18 miles north of this San Jose suburb, one of the most important meets for distance runners held in the United States will take place at Stanford University. Packed with talent, the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational turns the running industry on its head: top stars actually pay entry fees to compete and there are no appearance fees or cash prizes.
So what's the draw? Perfect weather for achieving all-important Olympic Games qualifying times. When the sun sets at this time of year in Palo Alto, the winds calm down and the temperature drops, becoming comfortably cool. There is already very low humidity.
The key races are the top sections of the men's and women's 5000m and 10,000m, led by double world champion Bernard Lagat. Although he won the world titles last summer at both the 1500m and the 5000m, he doesn't have an Olympic Games "A" standard time in the longer distance: 13:21.50. Working with other coaches, managers and the New York Road Runners, the men's 5-K will be set-up by pacemaker Christian Hesch for a 13:10 to 13:20 finish time.
"I'm looking forward to a good race," said Lagat by telephone from his Arizona home yesterday.
Lagat won't be alone behind Hesch who plans to go through 3000m in about eight minutes. Abdi Abdirahman, Simon Bairu, James Carney, Boaz Cheboiywo, Ian Dobson, Ed Moran, Jorge Torres and many others hope to be close behind.
In the men's 25-lap contest, dubbed the Kim McDonald Memorial 10,000m, pacemaker Haron Lagat will lead Mo Farah, Alistair Cragg, Jason Hartmann, Satoshi Irifune, Takayuki Matsumiya and possibly Craig Mottram through 5000m. The pace for this race has yet to be set, but the primary goal is for athletes to achieve the Olympic Games "A" standard of 27:50.00. However, several athletes may want to push below 27:30 and Lagat is ready to handle that pace if needed.
On the women's side of the meet, the Kim McDonald Memorial 10,000m is probably the most anticipated race. Shalane Flanagan has been training to run a fast time, and could take a run at Deena Kastor's American record of 30:50.32 set on the same Stanford track in 2002. She'll have pacemaking help from Rose Kosgei who is prepared to go through 5000m. Also looking for fast times will be Kim Smith and possibly Jen Rhines, while athletes like Sabrina Mockenhaupt, Sally Kipyego, Amy Hastings, Alicia Shay, Sara Slattery, and Molly Huddle want the Olympic Games "A" standard of 31:45.00.
There is also a 5000m for women. Although Carrie Tollefson had to withdraw with illness, her Team USA Minnesota teammate Emily Brown plans to run, along with Georgie Clarke, Cack Ferrell, Arianna Lambie, Julia Lucas, and Katie McGregor amongst others. The Olympic Games "A" standard is 15:09.00.
The meet kicks off at 4:30 p.m., and won't end until past 11:00 p.m. There are also a slate of sprints, middle distance and field events.
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