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DyeStat 2001 Indoor
March 2, 2001 at Reggie Lewis Center, Boston MA
New England Championships
by John Dye
'This is very special to me,' said Said Ahmed after his record 1000 meter run that was a shared experience with a packed crowd at Reggie Lewis Center.
The loudest cheers of the night started the instant the lean Boston English senior stepped on the track before the race. Many had obviously come just to see Ahmed run, and it didn't matter that the actual event was more a time trial than a race. Ahmed was on top on the first turn and the lead grew through five tours of the oval. Ahmed crossed the finish line 7 seconds ahead in 2:25.14, a New England Championship record by more than 2 seconds and a New England all time best. It improved on the time that earlier this year made him the 6th fastest US prep in history at 1000 meters - just 0.59 behind sub-4 Virginian Alan Webb.
8 First turn, first lap -- this was as close at it got
9 Steps from the finish
10 Accepting cheers of the crowd
11 fans applauding
12 same
Ahmed is truly No. 1 this night.
26 Ahmed and coach DeRocha
After the finish, Ahmed went straight to the rail on the turn and mixed with the crowd. The officials deferred their impatience to get the runners off the track out of respect for the warmth of the relationship between Ahmed and his fans.
"This is my HOME," Ahmed said quietly but fervently. He lives 200 meters -- just a finishing kick away -- from Reggie Lewis Center. He starting running there, and his career blossomed there. His high school running goals took seed when he saw hometowner Abdirizak Mohamud win the 800 meters in the National Scholastic Indoor championship at Reggie Lewis in 1998.
That race made the 800 Ahmed's favorite event, although coach Tony DeRocha thinks Ahmed is best at the mile. Ahmed has already beaten Mohamud's championship time in the 800 (1:54.09), and he expects to go sub-1:50, starting next week at the Nike Indoor Classic in Maryland. He also wants to go sub-4:05 in the mile this year, and he wishes there were an indoor 1000 with competition available this year. "I think I can go 2-3 seconds faster in the 1000," he said. That would move him up to No. 1 on the all-time US high school list.
DeRocha clocked Ahmed's splits tonight at 29, 57, 1:26, and 1:55.
The next phase is college. Ahmed is still undecided about that, but Georgetown and Arkansas are high on his list.
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