by Larry Eder
This is the sixth day in week 2 of the 2022 RunBlogRun Summer Cross Country Mileage Training Program. RunBlogRun provides you an eight-week training program to get you into shape for Fall Cross Country!
In July of 2015, I witnessed an almost perfect race. At the Meeting de Paris in the Stade de France, I watched Evan Jager run a near-perfect steeplechase. The steeplechase is a 7 and one-half lap race, on a 400-meter track, with 28 barriers and seven water jumps.
Evan Jager is a fast, lean runner, and he was and is built for the steeplechase. As he cleared the last water jump, Evan had pushed himself to the limit. With one barrier to go, Evan Jager came down to the ground. He clipped the barrier and rolled on the ground for less than a second.
I screamed a four-letter world as the 40,000 fans gasped. The French love the steeplechase, and they had will Evan Jager on for nearly seven and one-half laps. Evan got up and rushed home, losing the race as an incredulous Kenyan competitor went by the fallen American.
Evan Jager hit the line in 8:00.45, a new American record. He would go to take Olympic silver in 2016 and World Champs bronze in 2017. Since then, he battled four years of injuries, but in 2022, he put together a fine year, took second in the US champs, and moved into the final of the World Champs steeplechase. You can watch his final on Monday, July 18, 2022.
Your workout for today is warm-up, 45-minute relaxed run, and cooldown.
