NateDawg39
04-12-2007, 12:29 PM
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- ACU's version of a legendary race horse put on another show late Saturday night at the Stanford Invitational, this time on an international level.
Distance standout Nicodemus Naimadu out-kicked American distance superstar Ryan Hall over the final 100 meters of the 10,000-meter race at Angell Field, posting the best time in the world this year en route to winning the race in a time of 28:06.26.
"I've always said that Nicodemus is a little bit like Seabiscuit," ACU distance coach Derek Hood said. "In the movie they would trot Seabiscuit out and let him get a look at the competition and then go after it. That's a little bit like how Nicodemus was Saturday night. We had kind of targeted a 29-flat for him, but once he got a look at the competition, it was on."
The competition included, Hall, who late last year set the American record in the half-marathon, as well as UTEP standout Stephen Samoei and Jason Hartmann of Nike.
While the rest of the field settled into a slower pace, Naimadu, Hartmann, Samoei and Hall broke away from the field with Naimadu covering the first 5000 meters in a little more than a blistering 14 minutes.
"I was amazed when he came through at 14:04," Hood said. "I was a little bit concerned because his back tightened up on him in the 5000 meters a few weeks at the national indoor meet in Boston. He told me after the race that his back had tighthened up on him after about two miles before it finally loosened up for the rest of the race."
Naimadu took the lead for 3-4 laps at the 7000-meter mark before Hartmann broke away with one mile left in the race. Naimadu, Samoei and Hall went with him, leaving the rest of the field in their wake. With 400 meters (one lap) remaining, it was down to Naimadu, Samoei and Hall, and when Naimadu began his kick with 100 meters left he pulled away from Samoei and Hall to beat each by a little more than one second.
"Nicodemus just took advantage of a great night with perfect weather conditions," Hood said. "The way he ran should tell everyone two things about him. No. 1, he's the most competitive runner I've ever been around. If he weren't, he wouldn't have been a factor in the race. And No. 2, it just shows how blessed with talent he is."
Naimadu -- who will try to win NCAA Division II national titles in the 10,000 meters and 3000 meter steeplechase in May -- broke the previous ACU record of 29:26.25 by Laurant Ngirakamaro by 80 seconds, and topped the previous LSC best-ever by 69 seconds. Hood, though, said the best part of the race came after it was all over.
"We were talking about the race after it was over and Nic said to me, 'Coach, tell me about this Ryan Hall fellow,' " Hood said. "He just never worries about who he's going to be running against or what other guys have done. He just goes out to run his race, and when he does that he's awfully hard to beat."
Distance standout Nicodemus Naimadu out-kicked American distance superstar Ryan Hall over the final 100 meters of the 10,000-meter race at Angell Field, posting the best time in the world this year en route to winning the race in a time of 28:06.26.
"I've always said that Nicodemus is a little bit like Seabiscuit," ACU distance coach Derek Hood said. "In the movie they would trot Seabiscuit out and let him get a look at the competition and then go after it. That's a little bit like how Nicodemus was Saturday night. We had kind of targeted a 29-flat for him, but once he got a look at the competition, it was on."
The competition included, Hall, who late last year set the American record in the half-marathon, as well as UTEP standout Stephen Samoei and Jason Hartmann of Nike.
While the rest of the field settled into a slower pace, Naimadu, Hartmann, Samoei and Hall broke away from the field with Naimadu covering the first 5000 meters in a little more than a blistering 14 minutes.
"I was amazed when he came through at 14:04," Hood said. "I was a little bit concerned because his back tightened up on him in the 5000 meters a few weeks at the national indoor meet in Boston. He told me after the race that his back had tighthened up on him after about two miles before it finally loosened up for the rest of the race."
Naimadu took the lead for 3-4 laps at the 7000-meter mark before Hartmann broke away with one mile left in the race. Naimadu, Samoei and Hall went with him, leaving the rest of the field in their wake. With 400 meters (one lap) remaining, it was down to Naimadu, Samoei and Hall, and when Naimadu began his kick with 100 meters left he pulled away from Samoei and Hall to beat each by a little more than one second.
"Nicodemus just took advantage of a great night with perfect weather conditions," Hood said. "The way he ran should tell everyone two things about him. No. 1, he's the most competitive runner I've ever been around. If he weren't, he wouldn't have been a factor in the race. And No. 2, it just shows how blessed with talent he is."
Naimadu -- who will try to win NCAA Division II national titles in the 10,000 meters and 3000 meter steeplechase in May -- broke the previous ACU record of 29:26.25 by Laurant Ngirakamaro by 80 seconds, and topped the previous LSC best-ever by 69 seconds. Hood, though, said the best part of the race came after it was all over.
"We were talking about the race after it was over and Nic said to me, 'Coach, tell me about this Ryan Hall fellow,' " Hood said. "He just never worries about who he's going to be running against or what other guys have done. He just goes out to run his race, and when he does that he's awfully hard to beat."