Curtis Goes 8:29.83 over 2 Miles at Aviva Birmingham GPComes 5th -- 2 Seconds off Winner Mo Farah

The good news is that Bobby Curtis ran aggressively over the final lap of the 2 mile at today's Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix, getting to the second spot with less than 100 meters to go. The bad news is that Curtis, whose optimal distance is much longer than 2 miles, was unable to hold off late chargers with better finishing speed in a race of that distance. Over all, Curtis did well in this slow-paced affair (the first mile was covered in approximately 4:19-4:20) -- after sticking near the back of the pack Curtis swung wide with perhaps 200 meters to go and bolted to the top of the chase pack. He was unable to hold second, dropping to 5th in a race where the top 7 finishers all crossed within 3 seconds of the winner, Olympic double gold medal winner Mo Farah. Inasmuch as the 2 mile distance is very rarely contested, virtually every one of the competitors set a new PR.


Aviva Birmingham GP -- Men's 2 Mile

1.  FARAH Mo         GBR    8:27.24 
2.  MEUCCI Daniele   ITA    8:28.28 
3.  HEATH Garrett    USA    8:29.43 
4.  MUTAHI Sammy     KEN    8:29.57 
5.  CURTIS Bobby     USA    8:29.83 
6.  KIPTOO Mark      KEN    8:29.96 
7.  THOMPSON Chris   GBR    8:30.19 
8.  TORRENCE David   USA    8:34.27 
9.  MCCORMICK Nick   GBR    8:35.24 
10. TAYLOR Jonathan  GBR    8:51.99 
--  MURRAY Ross      GBR    DNF
 
Intermediate times:
1618m   Thompson, Chris (GBR)  4:21.07
2018m   Thompson, Chris (GBR)  5:24.90
3018m   Farah, Mo       (GBR)  8:00.80