Bowerman TC Trio, Energized By Lively Crowd, Sticks To Fast Pace In Portland 5000 On Nike Campus

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

BEAVERTON, Ore. – Perfect conditions, an electric atmosphere, and three fit and determined athletes created a magical moment for more than 1,000 fans who lined the Michael Johnson Track on the campus of Nike on Tuesday night. 

.@BowermanTC's @KincaidWoody 12:58.10 has us speechless.@portlandtrack #Portland5000 pic.twitter.com/DLdglQ625q

— RunnerSpace.com (@RunnerSpace_com) September 11, 2019

Woody Kincaid, Lopez Lomong and Matthew Centrowitz all crashed the U.S. all-time Top 10 list by running well under the stated goal of 13:13.5, which is the 2020 Olympic Games standard. 

RACE REPLAY | PHOTOS | INTERVIEWS

Kincaid, a 2016 University of Portland graduate who was running in front of his mother and dozens of Pilot well-wishers, sped to the lead on the final lap and clocked 12:58.10. Only four U.S. men – Bernard Lagat, Chris Solinsky, Dathan Ritzenhein and Paul Chelimo – have run faster. 

"I didn't feel good before this race and didn't know where I stood, so I surprised myself today to be honest," Kincaid said. 

Kincaid finished third in the men's 5,000 meters at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines in late July but did not go into the meet with World Championships standard, missed it by a few seconds in the final, and was not allowed to chase it afterward. 

Tuesday's event, two hours after a rainstorm on a still, damp, 61-degree night, ensured that Kincaid will not have to worry about the standard in 2020. 

For that matter, neither will Lomong or Centrowitz.

Lomong ran 13:00.13 for No. 9 on the all-time U.S. list for a new lifetime best as he prepares to run the 10,000 meters at the World Championships in Doha. And Centrowitz, who said his goal is to defend his Olympic 1,500-meter title, moved to No. 10 all-time with a 20-second PR (13:00.39). 

"It was a very organic, beautiful thing that happened on a great night," said Bowerman Track Club coach Jerry Schumacher. "The whole 13-flat barrier was beyond my expectation."

Truth be told, Schumacher spent much of Tuesday updating his weather app every 15 minutes in order to see if the race would happen at all. Summer ended abruptly in Oregon four days ago as cool, wet weather pushed in. 

If the race was going to happen at all, it need to happen Tuesday. Schumacher's runners flew into Portland from altitude training in Park City, Utah on Sunday. All three of them had flights out to Europe on Wednesday. 

"We were pretty determined to get it in tonight," Schumacher said. "We knew we'd have a big crowd and the guys were ready."

Fortunately, the rainy weather had already pushed through the area and by 9 p.m. conditions were ideal. 

Nike's track, which has a forest in the infield (modeled after the 1968 Olympic Trials track at Echo Summit, Nev.), was flooded with light, surrounded by track fans, and rocking with music. 

"The crowd was unbelievable," Centrowitz said. "They were engaged and I felt like every lap they got more and more into it."

Amos Bartlesmeyer took up pacing duties for the first five laps and Mohammed Ahmed mashed the accelerator for the next six laps. Lomong, Kincaid and Centrowitz followed suit and clung together like cars on an express train. 

The pacing needed to average 63.5 seconds per lap in order to get the 13:13.5 standard. 

But Ahmed kept turning 62s and his three Bowerman Track Club teammates stayed with him. 

"We were blessed that the rain held up, the moon came out, and the people of Oregon came out to watch," Lomong said. "It was about tiime that we came here to do an amazing race right here at home on this track."

As the race progressed, and all three were well under 13:10 pace, they fed off the collective energy of the enrvironment. For half of every lap they ran past the imploring crowd; for the other half (behind the trees) there was quiet.

"We decided why not just let the race go and let the crowd enjoy the moment," Lomong said.  

Schumacher, after an early 62-second lap, spoke up to his pace-setter and said, "We need to have some 63s."

But after one 63.4-second split, Ahmed drove it back to 62. And Schumacher decided to "keep my mouth shut and let this play out," he said.

"After about 3K, it was starting to snowball a little bit," the coach said. "They were believing in the effort and the race, and they started feeding off of everything."

Kincaid, in particular, was lifted. He closed in 57.48 seconds. 

After a couple of near-misses, Kincaid's prospects for the Tokyo Games are suddenly very bright. 

"Not having the ability to chase the standard, that was the rules of the game this year, and due to various reasons we couldn't get it (earlier)," Schumacher said of Kincaid. "I wish we could have chased the standard. I want to give the guys every chance to get there. 

"We want to make sure that we got it covered for next year."

Tuesday's race emphatically checked that box.