I think under 16 is possible even at a local turkey trot.

22:04, his kids are my kids age: 7 and 10. I hope he ran with his kids!

Using the McMillan calculator, the 1:13:01 gives an estimated 5k of 15:46. Off course, the HM was after running and biking (and I'm not sure how accurate the course is given that Ironman is notorious about having short courses). It's a little harder to hit the shorter times as you get older, but I'd bet he could've gone sub-16 today if he wanted to

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Matt

Should be able to go sub 16

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

He would be close to 15 flat in his prime. Certainly under 15:30

He ran track at Michigan as well if I'm not mistaken and used to run in the 30's for 10k when he raced ITU so I think at one point he could have gone under 15 for the 5k

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Team Every Man Jack

Probably between 15:00 and 15:20

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Whelp, I’d say he took it easy today.

Thomas, what would you do for 5k?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

It's so weird to see pros I could never touch in tri with very human running times.

Perhaps not too relevant to the question of what he could have run over the weekend, but I do recall the first time I ever raced Potts happened to be a memorable 5k. Carlsbad 5000, 2003 I was 22... I had done Oceanside 70.3 the week before and the short-course National Team had an ITU camp in Chula Vista, so those guys came up and ran. I was staying with my brother as he was playing college soccer in SoCal, so I drove down to to Carlsbad from LA that morning deciding to give it a go. We were in the U-29 division with about 3000 or so people, this race separates into grouped running "waves" all day. I have no running background but was into soccer/basketball/tennis growing up, so always had some speed. I went out way too fast as always, but it was sea level & this is the course to set your PR on I'd heard! Through mile one I was leading our wave in 4:28, through mile 2 I was in 3rd in 9:15, and in the last mile I fell to pieces and finished I believe 7th in 15:12. Potts came by me in the finishing straight absolutely flying in full Michigan cross-country gear, he had long hair in a ponytail and looked like a bad dude, like the lead actor in that old TV show The Highlander. I remember Bob Babbit was on the mike and was super-excited about the Michigan swimmer-turned-triathlete finishing up 3rd. I will say his kick was impressive, but I was just trying to get to the line having blown to pieces at that point! It was cool and gives you an idea of what our US Team ITU guys could do at the time in a 5k in that era, I doubt they were tapered, or put a lot into this event, I didn't either. I stumbled home in the last 800 being passed by Potts, Fretta, and Fleischman in sight of the finish, Potts went 14:51 that day.

Here's the results link, there are some weird times in there (Nobody ran 11 minutes) but you may recognize some names and get the idea.

http://results.active.com/...me&direction=asc

To be honest, I never do running races to capacity since high school when I did one season of CC. I picked up running my senior year in August and by October I was running low 18. That track season, even though I played tennis, I was coaxed into doing track before season and my coach put me into a pre-season invite with all the best runners in the state - basically the state meet at the end of the season. It was the 2-mile, and the first time I ran indoors. Out of the gun I opened up half lap lead and thought I was going to win the race and thought it was easy. I went thru the mile faster than our miler did (about 4:45) and finished 2nd to dead last blowing up in spectacular fashion. My throat was bleeding and my lungs were burning, no doubt the cold winter air played a toll but I paced it all wrong in my first track meet against the State's best runners.

Anyway since then I am really big into 95% intervals. They are so much easier to do and recover from and I often treat 5k, 10k, 13.1 as training days. Here is a great example running the PF Changs were I descended the entire half marathon with comparison to a few other pro athletes, linsey Corbin included who was ahead of me until like mile 1. I think my first mile was like 16:20 then quickly ramped up from there. I asked everyone at mile 8 if they were having any fun, I was just chilling at that point, I didn't hear a peep.

To answer your question I don't know. A few years back I was getting into a routine of hard bikes and then running to a track, doing 5k at 95% and then jogging home. I was getting down to 16:20 like it was no big deal. I suspect had I done an outright rest and tapered I could have gone below 16 but nothing much below that but I will never know. I am not a big proponent of going to the well ever - I believe it greatly affects longevity.

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Thats a cool story Lewis, and the triathlete 5k history goes back to the beginning of that race. I wonder if any of todays tri guys and gals are still doing it? There were so many pros in San Diego in the old days from all around the world, it was a right of passage to do that race. I remember Spencer Smith running just about like you did, going out in under 4;30 and ending up around 15 flat or so. Jurgen Zack was a much better pacer and also did low 15 flat. There would always be top pros leading in the amateur race, and I remember John Gailson winning the 50+(duathlete) about a dozen years ago.

We even had a couple guys and gals run in the pro races there and since it was the world 5k champs it was no small feat just to get into that heat. I remember seeing Mark Allen going out in 4;28 and right in the middle of the lead group with a Kenyan off the front. He paid the price but still managed a low 14;30. Kenny Souza was in that race and right at the start tripped over someone and hit the deck completely. He lost about 10 meters and stayed that exact distance behind Mark the entire race, it was pretty cool to watch, think he was high 14;30's.

Steve Scott used to be my neighbor there in Leucadia and he was one of the principals of that race, think he even won it once or twice. And a lot of world records would go down there as it was really the only championship type race that attracted so many great runners in all AG's and pros. Fun times, think my best there was 16;0 something, did a bit better at other races later on.

Monty, I know Lukas did that while trying to come back from the injury. Did a 15:21 and lost GI control about 3k in. 2 miles in 9:36.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team