LOREN NELSON COMMENTARY: Carlsbad 5000 finish line still waiting for Webb

By LOREN NELSON - Sports Editor | Monday, April 7, 2008 4:02 AM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Here he came, finally. The Next Great American Distance Runner, Alan Webb, was nearing the finish line.

Smooth-talking Carlsbad 5000 announcer Tracy Sundlun implored the crowd to express some love for the weary but gritty competitor.

"Although this wasn't his day," Sundlun boomed, "give him a big hand anyway. ..."

At this point, there was an embarrassing pause as spectators with raised eyebrows exchanged confused looks. Something clearly was amiss.

"... When he comes," Sundlun finished.

The mid-sentence U-turn was required because Alan Webb, upon closer inspection, turned out to be last-place finisher Nick Bromely of Australia.

As all that was happening, the real Alan Webb was jogging through Carlsbad's side streets and alleys, working his way toward the elite runners' private reception area.

Thus ended one of the most anticipated road races in San Diego County history.

"Once I broke away from the pack, I was done, man," said Webb, the American record holder in the mile. "I couldn't go another step."

In distance running terminology, Webb bonked. With about a half-mile left in Sunday's race, he dropped out of the lead pack of eight runners. From there, he jogged a little, then pulled off the side of the course. A Ferrari with blown tires and smoke pouring out of the engine.

"Dead legs" is another runners' term. This, apparently, was Webb's affliction.

"You get the race day, and your legs feel heavy," said Steve Scott, who designed the Carlsbad 5000 course 23 years ago and won the first three races held on it. "You can fake heavy legs in a mile; you can't in a 5K. You're done."

Scott, the track and cross country coach at Cal State San Marcos, held the American record in the mile for 25 years before Webb broke Scott's mark of 3:47.69 with a 3:46.91 clocking in July at a meet in Europe.

It wasn't the first time Webb rocked the U.S. distance running scene. In 2001, he posted the fastest mile by a U.S. high school runner. Webb's time of 3:53.43 beat the mark set 36 years earlier by Jim Ryun by nearly two seconds.

A huge crowd, estimated at well over 10,000, lined Carlsbad's streets hoping to see Webb work more of his magic. They came to see the kid prodigy, 25 years old now and hardened by a crush of expectations, become the first U.S. runner since Doug Padilla in 1990 to win the Carlsbad 5000.

Webb and Steve Slattery were the only Americans entered in the race. Slattery finished 11th in the 12-man field. An Ethiopian, Terefe Maregu Zewdie, won the event.

Webb's magic, meanwhile, was limited to the finish-line disappearing act.

"I'm a fan; I wanted to see him win," Scott said. "From a fan's point of view, it's disappointing, but I understand it."

With this summer's Olympics in Beijing looming, Webb appears to be stumbling toward the U.S. track and field trials in June. Neither he nor his coach, Scott Raczko, could offer an explanation for what went wrong, although both hinted that an intense workout regimen could have been the cause.

"For the most part, I felt pretty good for this race," Webb said. "I'm doing a little more (training) than I can handle right now, I guess."

I guess. But if I were Webb, I'd want some answers. This was the second road race in three weeks in which he was a spectacular flameout.

Webb complained of food poisoning (bad salmon and cheese) after he nearly dropped out of an 8-kilometer race in New York's Central Park. Webb who led much of the race, sagged to an 16th-place finish.

"He, like everybody else, is going to have setbacks from time to time," Raczko said. "When you're trying to train at such a high level, sometimes you bonk a little bit, I guess."

I guess. But if I were Raczko, I'd be worried. Something clearly isn't right with Webb. After the race, he sat alone on the ground with his back to a wall and head down for several minutes before getting up to confer with Raczko.

Then came a 10-minute session with the media, in which Webb did his best to explain what happened, even if it was clear he had no idea why.

"I don't know what changes we'll make," he said, "but we'll make some changes either in training or racing."

I guess.

Contact sports editor Loren Nelson at (760) 740-3551 or lnelson@nctimes.com. Comment at sports.nctimes.com.