Carlsbad 5000 Not So Fast Anymore?

The Carlsbad 5000 bills itself as the “World Fastest 5K” but San Diego Union-Tribune writer Don Norcross has discovered that on the men’s side at least there hasn’t been a record broken in Carlsbadistan since 2000 when Sammy Kipketer’s ran the race in 13 minutes. Norcross asks the question, “Why the lull?”

“Because the world record was such an incredible performance that it was unfricking real,” said Tracy Sundlun, vice president of the Competitor Group, which owns the race. . . .By comparison, the women have continued taking an eraser to the record book. From 2002 through 2006, women broke the world record four times and tied it once. . . Kipketer’s 2000 mark was stunning, shattering the existing world mark by 12 seconds. Eighteen years old at the time, Kipketer took the first mile out in a shocking 3 minutes, 59 seconds. . . . As Kipketer steadily pulled away from the field, the late Mike Long, who recruited the elite athletes, made a prescient remark aboard the press truck. . . “He’s going too fast,” Long said. “How will we ever break this new record?”

Apparently, getting the fastest runners to race here is just too expensive. What happened to the joy of running?

The race takes place Sunday April 5, 2009 in The Village of Carlsbadistan. And who knows, maybe Maregu Zewdie can pull something out this year.

[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]