June 22, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

On the right track

by Keith Peters

The college careers of Ryan Hall and Ian Dobson have been like a 5,000-meter race - starting slow, picking up the pace and finishing fast.

Both spent their early years dabbling in various events and battling injuries. Both managed to win individual races at the Pac-10 Track & Field Championships. Both made their mark at the NCAA meet and in the Stanford record books.

This season, however, has been like the final stages of a race for both. Dobson set a school record in the 10,000 to go along with the steeplechase record he set in 2004. Hall set a school record in the 5,000 while capturing the 2005 NCAA crown in the 5,000. In that race, Hall and Dobson not only finished one-two, but moved among America's elite in the event. Clearly, both are on the right track.

Hall ran 13:22.32 and Dobson 13:22.54 - the two fastest times in Stanford history -- moving from the back of the USA 5,000 pack in 2004 to the lead group in '05. This week, they make that mad dash to the finish line while chasing World Championship berths at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

"I think it's realistic that Ryan and I could make the team," said Dobson. "Certainly, there's a good chance one or two of us will."

Hall, a redshirt senior, ranks No. 4 in the country this season in the 5,000. Dobson, who graduated this month, ranks No. 5. The top three finishers in Friday night's finals-only race will qualify for the USA team that competes in Helsinki, Finland, in August - providing they have run the "A" qualifying standard of 13:21.50.

Four Americans currently have met the World Championship standard - Tim Broe (13:18.61 last year), Jorge Torres (13:20.57 this year), Adam Goucher (13:21.13) and Stanford grad Jonathon Riley (13:21.11 last year).

Hall and Dobson not only need to finish among the top three, but drop their personal bests.

"There's not a big favorite," said Stanford assistant coach Andy Gerard, who coaches Hall and Dobson. "There's no Bob Kennedy running a 12:58 (an American record of 12:58.21 in 1996). There are seven or eight guys right around 13:20. All that should make for a really exciting race."

Hall's life is pretty exciting right now. On June 11, he won his first NCAA individual title with his personal best in the 5,000 at Sacramento State University. Last Friday night, he proposed to longtime sweetheart and Stanford teammate, Sara Bei. This Friday, he has the opportunity to earn a trip to Finland and on Saturday he's planning on being at his brother's wedding.

"This season has been just awesome," Hall said. "Everything has clicked, including the races."

Hall has every reason to be confident heading into the national finals. He has been injury-free this season, is coming off his NCAA triumph is realizing the huge expectations of him as one of America's top middle-distance stars coming out of Big Bear High in Southern California.

He was the California state champ in the 3,200 as a junior, won the 1,600 crown as a senior with a still-standing meet record of 4:02.62, ran the nation's No. 2 time in that race (4:00.52) that season and ran the third-fastest high school time ever in the 1,500 (3:42.70).

Hall ranked only 39th in the nation last season in the 5,000 and ran poorly at the NCAA Indoor Championships - won by Dobson.

"After the NCAA Indoors - I got close to last - I wasn't even dreaming I'd be running this fast. So, this has all kind of taken me by surprise," said Hall, who pointed to his friendship with Dobson as the key to this season's success.

"There's no way I'd be where I'm at this season if Ian and I hadn't been training together a full season," Hall said. "We work together every single day in practice. We've become really good friends. Just having someone with you in the race . . . it's comforting and it gives you a lot of confidence. You feel like you're connected. It's nice to have something where we really feel like we're working together."

That was the case at the NCAA meet where Hall and Dobson planned to take the race out fast and run away from the other contenders. That's exactly what happened, leaving Dobson and Hall alone to race for the finish line.

"When I crossed that line at NCAAs, I wasn't like 'I won this NCAA title,'" Hall said. "It was that Ian and I did this. We did what we planned to do. It's really exciting."

That same plan likely won't work at the national championships, though.

"I don't think it will be the same," Dobson agreed. "If we pull something off, it'll be placing in the top three. We're not going to run away from the field."

Broe is the most experienced and accomplished runner in the field. He won the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 5K and finished 11th in Athens. He also won the 2003 national title when the meet was held at Stanford.

"I'd be surprised if I beat Broe," said Dobson, "but anybody else I think I'm on equal footing with."

With only one race to decide the USA team in the 5K, Dobson sees a fast pace that could work in favor of the Stanford teammates..

"I'm confident because Ryan and I did a lot of the work (at NCAAs) and not in ideal conditions," Dobson said. "To run that kind of time in those (hot) conditions bodes pretty well, if we get in a race where somebody else is doing the work. I feel like if I sit on someone else, I can run five seconds faster . . . I'm very confident we can run under 13:20."

Said Hall: "It's going to be fun. We'll just go run hard and see what happens. I picture us sitting in and covering moves. Not having to dictate the race takes a lot of responsibility off us. It's much easier to run. You're just a machine, as far as what you're doing. You focus on reacting as much as you can. Hopefully, it's going to go fast. For me, I'd love it to be a 13:15 pace."

Hall and Dobson have to run under 13:21.50 and finish among the top three to make the U.S. team. Gerard believes both are in shape to do that.

"If anyone is in vastly superior shape, they haven's shown it yet," he said.

Dobson dropped nearly 18 seconds off his previous best in 2004 while Hall improved by nearly 23, from 13:45 to 13:22. There was no magic formula for that, Dobson said.

"There was no big breakthrough," Dobson explained. "It was steady progress. So much if it is having a solid training partner. We were able to count on each other for all the workouts this season. We hold each other accountable. That's the reason we ran as fast as we did. You get that consistent training in and it makes all the difference."

The difference perhaps, between being run-of-the-mill and running for a berth in the World Championships.

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