.@CoryMcGeeRuns says her race plan went out the window with the fast first lap. She had no fear & adjusted accordingly. #TheChase #KBCNacht

— Christopher Chavez (@Chris_J_Chavez) July 13, 2013

McGee passed 1200m in 3:16.53 and the real race against the clock (and the building lactic acid) began. Unlike her previous races at NCAAs and U.S. Nationals, McGee would begin to fade in the final 200m. Since her first 1200m were already so fast, getting passed by the field did not phase her as McGee hung on to run 4:06.67.

The chase was over. She’s going to Moscow.

McGee wasn’t the only one looking to run an IAAF “B” standard in Heusden. In the men’s 5k, Ryan Hill had to run sub-13:20 to join Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp on Team USA.

The race was set up for near perfection. The only problem was Bahraini’s Albert Rop. The former Kenyan (we think?) absolutely dominated with a 12:59.43 win, but his incredible distance between him and the rest of the field could have caused problems. Since he was so far out front, all the rabbits but one concentrated on Rop and not the chase pack.

Haron Lagat was the rabbit with the pack Ryan Hill was in, but there was one other unsung hero in Belgium that deserves a huge shout-out.

Once Haron Lagat dropped out, after a string of 64-second laps keeping the pack on pace, it was up to the competitors to maintain the pace for themselves. Enter, Ben True.

The fourth place finisher in both the 10k and 5k at the U.S. Championships did a large majority of the leading in the later stages of the race. The irony is that if Hill could not meet the standard, then True would go to Moscow. Some debated what they would have done if they were in True’s shoes (slow it down, perhaps?), but True kept the pace honest and helped Hill to an IAAF standard.

Which standard did Hill run? He only needed the “B,” but came away with the “A.”

Here are the splits that Hill needed to run in his last 1000m (on paper) in order to run 13:20:

4000m - 10:40
4400m - 11:44
4800m - 12:48
5000 - 13:20

The fourth fastest collegiate indoor miler showed his incredible closing speed (that also got him third at USAs) and left no doubt of whether he’d be going to Moscow. We had him at 11:45 at 4400m, which meant he picked it up quite a bit over the last two laps.

Hill ended 10th in 13:14.22. We couldn’t see him at the bell (we’ll have the full video later), but we guess that he was around 12:15 at 4600m. He closed his last 800m in 2:00.

It’s nearly a 12-second PR for Hill, but he wasn’t the only American to come away from Heusden smiling. True finished third in 13:11.59 (three second PR) Hassan Mead finished fourth in 13:11.80 (four second PR), and Andrew Bumbalough was fifth in 13:12.01 (four second PR).

If Hill still had eligibility, he’d sit fourth on the all-time collegiate 5k list. Per Track and Field News, Lalang’s time hasn’t been updated yet, but he’d still maintain his number one ranking.

via Track and Field News