Anatomy of a Race

There were dozens of exciting races at the Div I meet on Friday night, and fine performances from many Newton North athletes. Congratulations to Morgan Faer (55H), Tracy Isman (SP), Kat Chiong (600), Seb Putzys (1M) for placing in the top six in their events. North had two individual winners: David Smith won the boys shot put, and Jess Barton won the mile, with Carolyn Ranti taking second. The girls 4x800 (Ranti, Emma Kornetsky, Chiong, and Barton) also won, setting a a meet record. The boys 4x400 finished sixth to make the medal stand.

But of all the races, the girls mile really lingers in the mind. If you were to look only at the final results, you might think that Barton won easily, but it was anything but an easy race. In fact, it was a most unusual race, as we shall see... For those who weren't there -- and even for those who were -- let me put the tape back in the VCR and play it over again...

With over 60 entrants listed for the girls mile, the officials divided the field into four separate heats. It was well past 5:30 when the final heat lined up on the track. With the fastest qualifying time (5:01), Jess Barton lined up on the inside. To her right was Newton South sophomore Bridget Dahlberg, the defending indoor state mile champion, and owner of a 2:56 1000m (at the MSTCA Elite meet) and 11:04 2-mile (running alone in a dual meet). Although she had run "only" 5:08 in the mile this year, Dahlberg's resumé included a 5:01 from last year, and her time in the 1000 showed she was fit enough to do that again. In her short career, Dahlberg has also shown that she has one of the best kicks of any runner in the state. At last year's Elite meet, Barton led the mile for most of the race, and then Dahlberg unleashed a huge kick to win, leading a pack of runners past Jess in the last 200. It seemed obvious that for Jess to win, she would need to find a way to to remove the sting from that kick.

Seeded third was Carolyn Ranti, who ran a big mile PR (5:14) in the Bay State league meet. Seeded fourth was another Newton South runner, Juliet Ryan-Davis. It looked like a dual meet, as the four Newton runners came to the set position.

Barton reacted to the gun and shot into the lead, running the first turn at a near-sprint. As Barton settled into the pace on the backstretch, Dahlberg moved easily up to her shoulder. As the two entered the far turn, they were running shoulder to shoulder -- almost too close. Was Dahlberg going to take the lead? That wouldn't seem to make sense, since she had nothing to lose by simply sitting on the pace and waiting to unleash that kick.

Through the far turn they ran, opening a 5M gap on Ranti in third, still shoulder to shoulder as they came down the homestretch and passed 200m in 34.7, a near-suicidal pace! Now, surely, Dahlberg would settle back into second and wait for the pace to slow, setting up the race to her liking. But no, the second lap passed with absolutely no change of relative positions. Barton continued to run on the inside, still flying; Dahlberg continued to run right on her shoulder, neither pulling ahead nor settling in. It seemed that Dahlberg was too close, and, in fact, Barton would confirm later that Dahlberg kept making contact with her elbows. The pair passed two laps in 70.8 (36.1 for the second 200) -- roughly the same pace as in Dahlberg's 1000m PR -- and faster than Barton had planned, even though she had planned to take it out very fast.

The third lap was identical to the second, the two runners stride-for-stride, Barton on the rail and Dahlberg on the outside. There was no let up in the pace, as the two passed 600m in 1:46.9. They were on pace for a 4:45 mile, and they had opened up a huge gap on the rest of the field. And still there was no let up. What was Dahlberg doing? Instead of conserving energy by running in Barton's slipstream, while forcing her rival to shoulder the psychological burden of leading, Dahlberg seemed to be locked in position on the outside, contributing to a race pattern that could only favor the strength runner over the kicker.

Finally, at 700m, there came a break, as Dahlberg pulled gradually ahead. As they entered the home straight at the end of the fourth lap, Dahlberg took the lead. She passed 800m in 2:24.7, but also started slowing the pace. The early breakneck laps were beginning to take their toll. Barton, who had hoped and trained for a fast early pace, knew that the key to winning was to run the third quarter of the race hard. She knew that Dahlberg needed a respite, an easy lap or two to set up her acceleration at the end. So even though the fatigue was accumulating quickly in her legs and she had just run an 800 split that would have been fast for a 1000, Barton moved up on Dahlberg's shoulder and tried to accelerate again. On the backstretch of the 5th lap, Dahlberg fought off the challenge. She did not want Jess going back in to the lead. Around the far turn, Dahlberg in the lead, Jess denied for the moment. Down the home stretch and the two were still together at 1000m, passed in 3:04.1, which happens to be a 1000m PR for Barton. The fifth 200 was run in 39.4.

On the backstretch of the 6th lap, Barton challenges again. It is critical that she not let the pace drag. This time, Dahlberg does not respond. Suddenly, and for the first time in the race, there is daylight between the two runners. Dahlberg needs a break from the relentless pace. Barton keeps pushing.

And Dahlberg cracks! Now, with every stride Barton is opening up the lead. At 1200m, which Barton passes in 3:43.8, the gap is a full second. At 1300m, the gap is three seconds. As Barton takes the bell, it is six seconds. Barton's penultimate lap is 39.4; Dahlberg's is 44. Amazingly, Barton is accelerating again. She flies down the backstretch and around the final turn, lapping a runner from Lexington. As she enters the final straight, Barton permits herself one look back over her left shoulder, but there's no one giving chase. She crosses the line in 5:01.6.

Meanwhile, Carolyn Ranti who was nearly a full straightaway behind the leaders with three laps to go is in the process of running down Dahlberg. She passes with 40m to go and meets no resistance, finishing in another PR 5:10. Dahlberg holds on to 3rd, as Ryan-Davis finishes a second back in 4th. Newton has swept the top four spots.

And next week, they get to go at it again. In retrospect, Dahlberg made mistakes. She wasted effort running in lane two. She contributed to a pace that favored the strength runner, and hindered her. One has to believe that she won't make those same mistakes again. And then, there will be another runner in the race who can affect the outcome: Bromfield's Emily Jones, who has run a 2:57 1000 and owns the state's best 2M in 10:37.

It will be a different race, and who knows the outcome. But for now, I'll savor this as a great battle between worthy competitors.