Alan Webb: American Miler and Hopeful for the Olympic Games 2008

At the Reebok Grand Prix, on June 2^nd, Alan Webb defeated a field that was described by many as the most competitive mile field ever on American soil. Alan's time of 3:52.94, though not a PR, was fast enough to hold off Bernard Lagat (Silver Medalist, Athens 1500m), Craig Mottram (3:48.98 mile PR), Nick Willis (3:32 1500m PR), and Kevin Sullivan (3:50.36 mile PR). Webb will run the Bowerman Mile on June 10^th in Oregon. The race will have 9 runners with PR's faster than 4 minutes, establishing a field almost as strong as that of the Reebok meet. Webb will again face off with fellow American Bernard Lagat in Oregon, as the race to break the American mile record continues.

Alan Webb has been heralded as "the future of American distance running" ever since he broke Jim Ryun's 36 year old national high school record for the mile. This was accomplished at the Prefontaine Classic in 2001 by running a 3:53.43. Webb also became the first high school runner to ever break 4 minutes indoors just a few months earlier, when he ran 3:59.86 at the New York Armory track. While his specialty is the mile, he also became the 4^th fastest high-schooler ever in the 800m, when he won the Virginia state meet in 1:47.74. Alan was national-class in cross country as well, as he finished second at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, behind Dathan Ritzenhein and just ahead of Ryan Hall.

Alan went on to the University of Michigan, where he was able to train with middle-distance specialists Nate Brannen and Nick Willis. Alan finished 4^th in the 1500 at the NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships and won the Big 10 Conference 1500m race. However, following his outdoor season, Alan decided that college athletics was not for him, and signed with Nike to run professionally. He would be advised by his high school coach, Scott Raczko. Alan continued to take classes at George Mason University.

The year 2004 had its ups and downs for Alan. His biggest accomplishment was winning the Olympic Trials 1500m (3:36.13) at the age of 21. His Olympic experience was struck short, however, when he failed to advance to the 1500m final in Athens. He did run a few personal records in 2004. His mile PR came at the Nike Prefontaine Classic, where he ran a 3:50.83 to win the race. Alan improved his 800m time in Seville by winning his round in a time of 1:46.53. Lastly, he showed his strength at the Penn Relays by winning the 5000m in 13:46.31.

In 2006 at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational, Alan toed the line with Dathan Ritzenheinin a battle over 10,000m. Dathan was clearly the favorite heading into this year, as he had the superior distance background. Alan surprised everyone when he remained in close contact with Dathan for the entire race, before showcasing his miler speed to outkick Ritz coming off the final curve. His time of 27:34.72 was the fastest ever debut for an American at the distance.

Alan is no doubt one of the favorites to make the U.S. Olympic team for Beijing. The experience he has gained since Athens should aid him in qualifying for the finals this time around.