(Every day this week, in leading up to the 2011 Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational this weekend, we will be featuring a record set in a previous Payton Jordan race.)

 

Much like yesterday's Stanford Rewind, the women's Payton Jordan 10k in 2008 featured the much anticipated debut of a storied 5k runner.

 

Shalane Flanagan, up to 2008, had been tearing up the track at various distances. From the 1500 to the 5k, Flanagan had slowly asserted herself as the top name in American distance running. But it was in the Payton Jordan 10k of 2008 that Flanagan asserted herself as a real world-threat.

 

Almost eerily, Flanagan's 10k debut at Stanford that year was so similar to Solinsky's of 2010. Both had never run a 10k, both were predominately 5k specialists, both smashed the existing American Record by almost the same margin. Flanagan bested Deena Kastor's existing record of 30:50 by 16 seconds, running a 30:34.

 

Flanagan went on from that race to win the 10k at the US Olympic trials later that season, and captured a bronze medal at the Olympic 10k later that summer. In doing so, she became only the second woman ever to win an Olympic medal in the 10k.

 

Sound a little like the transformation that Solinsky made after his 10k debut at Stanford? The Payton Jordan meet has not only become a showcase for great distance talent across the country, but now has become a platform for many runners to jump to that next level and compete on the world stage.

 

Of note during this same 2008 10k was Kim Smith of New Zealand setting the NZ national record (and almost beating Flanagan in 30:35), and Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech setting the collegiate record in 31:25. Smith and Flanagan's battle over the final few laps was epic, and a great example of head to head competition being far superior to simply following a rabbit and chasing the clock.

Here is the race ...

And here is Shalane using "sh*t" effectively in her post-race interview ...

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Stanford Rewind record run, and look for Shalane Flanagan this weekend at the Payton Jordan Invite. She will once again be running the 10k Sunday night at Stanford, and we have sources telling us she'll be going out on 15:15 pace (could be another record run!)