BAA 5k: Who Can Hang With Huddle, Lalang?

Apr 17, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack

FloTrack's preview of the 2015 BAA Invitational Mile/5k:

For those of you that can’t wait until Monday to get your fix of Boston road-racing, the BAA mile/5k combo can fill that void. While the marathon deservedly garners all the attention each year, the two shorter races held on the Saturday before Patriots Day are quietly and consistently among the most competitive races of their kind during the season.

To use a Boston-themed analogy, the marathon is much like David Ortiz, gigantic and incredibly popular, while the mile/5k more closely resembles Dustin Pedroia, much smaller, but no less entertaining or talented. Did that analogy come out of left field? You bet. Was that pun intended? I’ll let you decide.

Let’s start with the lesser of two evils, the BAA Invitational Mile.

MEN’S MILE

The class of this race is undoubtably Chris O’Hare, the former NCAA champion at Tulsa hailing from Scotland. The 24-year-old Scot is the top returner from last year, having placed 4th in the very competitive race featuring Nick Willis and Leo Manzano. This year, however, O’Hare appears to be the top dog as his 3:52.98 PB is more than three seconds clear of the field. It should also be noted that he has earned the bronze medal in consecutive 1500m races at the European Championships- outdoor 2014 and indoor 2015.

Chris O'Hare before the 2015 BAA Mile:

UPDATE: Olympic silver medalist Dejen Gebremeskel is a late entry into the mile field. Gebremeskel has run 12:46 over 5,000m, and certainly presents a challenge for O'Hare on Saturday.

WOMEN’S MILE

The top three finishers from last year’s thrilling sprint finish all return in 2015, that being Morgan Uceny, Heather Kampf, and Brie Felnagle, but this group will be hard-pressed to fend off the mounting charge that is Gabe Grunewald. Grunewald ran an impressive 15:19 5k two weeks ago at Stanford, showing off her strength and closing speed while knocking 14 seconds off her PB:

Her 4:27.94 PB is the best in this field, however Ethiopian Dawit Seayum has a listed 1500m best of 3:59.53. We’re not sold on Seayum based on that, however, as the 18-year-old has no other past results to speak of. Is she legit? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Alright, let’s take a step up the distance ladder. Ladies and gentlemen, the BAA 5k:

MEN’S 5K

The two-man wrecking crew of Lawi Lalang and Stephen Sambu appear to be the future of Kenyan road-racing dominance, whether it be in shorter distances or ultimately the marathon. Sambu has been on a tear on the roads domestically, winning 8 different races ranging from 5k to half marathon since the beginning of 2014. Lalang is doing his part as well, having won the highly competitive Carlsbad 5k last month in 13:32, beating training partner and mentor Bernard Lagat in the process.

These two will be tough to crack on Saturday, although Sambu will be turning around quickly after winning the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile this past Sunday. Lalang would appear to have the upper hand, this being his preferred distance, and Sambu coming off a hard effort. But it would be foolish to dismiss the rest of this star-studded line-up.

Ben True finished second in this race a year ago, and will enter as the top returner. True left many scratching their heads after his 11th place finish in February’s US XC Championships that left him off the team to Worlds, but any questions about his fitness were answered after his win at the US 15k Championships last month in Jacksonville. Although it was shocking to see True miss out on World XC, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as he can sharpen up for the track season much sooner than anticipated. Lalang and Sambu present an excellent early season test.

Ben True discusses his difficulty adjusting to altitude training before the BAA 5k:

Kenyan Philip Langat is the other name to watch on Saturday. Langat was only seventh at Cherry Blossom last weekend, behind Americans Jacob Riley and Girma Mecheso, however he may still be recovering from his 12th place at World XC just three weeks ago. The 24-year-old has a half marathon PB of 61:05.

WOMEN’S 5K

Molly Huddle is just so freakin’ good. Seriously, America, take a moment to realize how difficult it is succeed across multiple distances like Huddle does, switching back and forth from the roads to the track so frequently. In 2014 alone, the 30-year-old won national titles in the 10,000m, 5k, 12k, 20k, and 7-mile distances, while also breaking the American record in the 5,000m (14:42). No American comes close to her range. Oh, and she just became the first American to win the NYC Half, running a PB of 68:31.

Molly Huddle talks about her unbelievable 2014 season before the 2015 BAA 5k:

Huddle returns to Boston as the defending 5k champ after beating a strong group of East African women in 2014. She’ll face a similarly strong field this Saturday.

Last year’s runner-up Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia returns after finishing two seconds behind Huddle in 2014, and showed excellent form by placing eighth at World XC last month. This distance is a big step down the ladder for the 31-year-old, however, as her strength lies more in the half marathon distance. Daska ran 66:27 over 13.1 miles in February.

29-year-old Sentayehu Ejigu completes the trio of top finishers returning from the 2014 race. The Ethiopian has race sparingly in 2015, highlighted by her second place finish in the New Balance Indoor two-mile in 9:27.05, the same race that Jenny Simpson set the American record of 9:18.35. Ejigu was well behind Simpson there, but she is a much stronger road-racer, and should find herself in contention on Saturday.

Molly Huddle isn’t in the habit of losing, though, and she won’t start on Saturday.

The BAA 5k starts Saturday at 8am ET, followed by the BAA Invitational Mile at 10:30 am ET.