Track and Field Blogs - Mark From Flotrack

I will try to do a couple race recaps when I have time. So here is a recap of a couple of the races from this morning.
I just got back to the hotel from the morning section of day 1 and I have already learned so much. This is my first World Championships experience and I have not been to an Olympics yet, so this is the biggest comp I have ever been to. Like I said I have already learned a lot and I think Sully (Kevin Sullivan) sums it up in his interview when he said, "It's a lot more aggressive here then in North America. In North America were nice and civil." Kevin not only had to sprint to the finish to make the semis but during his final kick he had a couple hands grabbing his jersey and clawing at his skin. Kevin is a veteran and he knows how to run these races but it was a different story for a couple Americans. Leo on the other hand never looked to comfortable in his first World Champs, he was running in lane two most of the time and whenever he tried to get position he would be pushed even further out. I have lived and trained with Leo and seen him run since his days at Marble Falls HS and I have seen him race bad but he has always learned from that experience. Leo's freshman year at UT he did not do what he wanted indoor but he learned from that experience and came back to win outdoors, so I know he will be back and make more then a few finals. Alan Webb was chill and got to the front and out of trouble and cruised to make the semis. Webb is very focused and I am excited to see how the 1500 plays out. I did not get to see Lagat's race because I was interviewing Nick Willis, who like Webb got to the front, but he faded a little and made the semis on time. Back to Bernard, he got spiked pretty bad and before he ran off to get it taken care of he talked to Flotrack about the USA jersey and feeling good in the 1500, so check out his short interview.
On to the Steeple ladies. You could tell a difference between our girls, who have all basically run since cross country (all three were racing in college last year) and the rest of the field. The US ladies are just as talented and just as fast as any of those ladies that made the final, but none of the other ladies have had a year like they did. If you look at how Roisin McGettigan (Ro) of Ireland and formerly of Providence, who has comparable times to the Americans ran compared to the Americans you can see what a collegiate season does to your body and mind. Ro, who graduated before this year did not have to run through the NCAA system this year and you could see that in her race. Ro took the lead in her prelim and looked strong and fresh, she made the final pretty easily. You can watch all three US ladies and Ro talk about the final on the Flotrack World Champs Interview page and stay tuned as I try to give you guys more coverage from Osaka.