Hay Ho,Silver

One final crack at an individual gold this year at Nationals.
I knew ahead of time Mike Blackmore wasn't going to run but there was still the three pronged threat of Francis Burdett,Pete Magill and Jeff Mann to deal w/,shades of the 5,000m all over again,at least w/ the 1,500m I have more race experience under my belt than the 5,000m.
Much has been made of the heat in Sacramento,the 5,000m went off at 10.45am,the 800m went off at 1.45pm and now the 1,500m was going off at 9.06am,others had it far worse than me that's for sure.

From the gun I think it was Jeff who hit the front,Tom Fitzpatrick tucked in behind him and Francis and Pete shadowed them w/ me in 5th always w/in a stride or two of the leaders.
Much like the 5,000m I was oblivious to the clock or the 400m splits but when the time keeper called out 71 at 400m Francis opted to inject some pace into the race and I moved by Pete to take 4th b4 passing Tom at 700m.
I thought I saw 2.02 at 700m but I could be wrong,ditto for 3.06 at 1,100m in some respects time was immaterial you only get one crack a year at a National title per distance,two if you run indoors and while a fast time moves you up the rankings in fairness a one off race is often the better forum for time at Nationals it's about making it to the podium{what was up w/ the lack of podium in Sacramento? don't get me wrong finishing in the top three and earning your medal is kind of what you work for but there's something special about an award ceremony and taking your place on the podium over just picking up your medal from the awards table}

Down the back straight w/ 250m to go Jeff struck for home,I gave chase in the hope I could catch him but I didn't have that explosive burst of speed that I so often use in my mile and 1,000m repeats.
Carl Lewis once said"I just wanted to know I left it all out there on the track" and for the weekend I know I can say that,I chased Jeff up the home straight oblivious to the fact Pete Magill was closing in on me as Jeff took gold in 4.13.9. I took silver in 4.14.4 and Pete took bronze in 4.15.1.

Am I disappointed I don't have an individual gold to my credit? yes but I can hardly complain about 3 medals in three races in 4 days period to go w/ the 3 medals in 3 races in 3 days from Boston at Indoor Nationals,after my injury last summer I couldn't have dreamt a season like the one I'm having{I'm not done yet,Track Pentathlon,5th Avenue Mile and Masters 5k Road Race still to come}

I also said I'd let my running do the talking after the fall out from Penn Relays and I feel I've done that,I stand by the comments I made in April and rather than take this as an opportunity to answer my critic let's just leave it at actions speaking louder than words.
The final roll call for M45 at Sacramento over 800m,1,500m and 5,000m reads as follows:
Mike Blackmore Gold 5,000m Gold 800m
Jeff Mann Gold 1,500m Bronze 800m
Pete Magill Silver 5,000m Bronze 1,500m
Awesome Possum Silver 800m Silver 1,500m Bronze 5,000m.