Alan Webb 800m PR in Heusden-Zolder

Alan Webb runs 1:43:84 to win the 800m at the IAAF meet in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. July 28, 2007

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Alan
• Webb
• 800
• Heusden
• Belgium
• track
• IAAF

[YoungPeachy]

wow nick simmons got 5th?

[sbtbfanatic]

Too bad there isn't a pacemaker in championship races so that Alan Webb could win a medal

[kozmon0t]

@tadaa11 traction is a factor, but for 400m + , form gets more important. Track surface affects form. Some runners do good on space-age tracks, some don't. I always hated them. They feel sticky, like someone unrolled a huge roll of tape into an oval, sticky side up.

[tadaa11]

@kozmon0t Its all about traction. I can't imagine Bolt running 9.58 on a dirt track. In the 5k it probably doesn't matter to much, but as races get shorter and faster, traction becomes more important. Coes record in the 800 is about 18mph. Wood sounds fast, as long as its dry.

[kozmon0t]

@tadaa11 yes, I know, I've run barefoot a year and a half.

Dirt and clay are great surfaces. Eamonn Coughlain was fastest on wood, maybe Coe was adapted to dirt and clay.

[tadaa11]

@kozmon0t Learning to run bare foot is incredibly beneficial. It increases flexibility and strength in the ankles, creating a larger stride angle. I did it for 6 months every time I ran, but now i only do it once a week because of a snowboarding accident. Coe ran his world record on a Dirt/Clay track.

[kozmon0t]

@tadaa11 All running shoes are a cheap substitute for your own feet, that's one reason why the Kenyans are so good, they grow up not using them. But today's spikes aren't any better than 1980's spikes, no matter what Nike says. They might make a difference of 0.01 seconds.

I've run on Hayward Field many times, probably the most expensive track in the US, and it's crap. A high-tech synthetic rubbery surface that's sposed to be faster. It's not. Faster people run there, is all.

[tadaa11]

@kozmon0t I don't know that much about the sport, but to my knowledge only 3-4 guys have run 1:41. Coe's record was, given the conditions, are much better than the time showed. Shoes and tracks have drastically changed since he was running. You cant possible be saying you would rather try and set a PR on Coe's track/ shoes combo vs todays track and spikes? I don't care where they are from, Rudisha/ Coe are genetic freaks.

[kozmon0t]

@tadaa11 Besides Kipketer and Rudisha, there were many as close to Coe as Coe was to Rudisha's record. Gray, Cruz, Borzakovskiy... also Coe only did it once, Kipketer lots of times. Being Kenyan isn't a genetic rarity. Kenyans happen all the time. Shoes have nothing to do with it.

Hicham barely won both his record races. If Ngeny hadn't had to retire he'd own both those records by now. There'll be another Kenyan sooner or later, they want the mile WR real bad. It's the only one they never have.

[thISxTHplacE]

@467076 you're stupid. Back in 2006 he beat Ritzenhein in a 10k. Don't be such an asshole to other people when YOU don't even have your facts straight.