Sean Wade takes down his fourth masters American record this month

HOUSTON, Texas – With Texas in a deep freeze last week, it was unclear if the River Oaks Park (ROP) 8 km Invitational could go off on schedule. Normal weather returned by Sunday; the Race Organizers went ahead with the USATF-sanctioned event, in part, to lift the spirits of the community. In the first race in the series, the ROP 10 Miler on February 6, Sean Wade had broken the 12 km, 15 km, and 10-Mile American Records* for Men 55-59. Each of those courses, run on a closed 1.537-mile loop, is USATF-certified and pre-verified. The organizers met all local and USATF Covid guidelines.
 
Despite the big chill of the previous week, Wade enjoyed ideal conditions for his record attempt on Sunday — 51 degrees, overcast, dry, with little wind. The other runners in the competition were focused on running their best; Wade, already in the USATF Masters Hall of Fame, made his usual meticulous preparation in order to break an American Record and, if luck was with him, improve on the current World Best. He knew he was fit; he just needed to hit his splits. The 26:19 American Record he aimed at was Nat Larson’s from the Rothman Institute 8K in Philadelphia in November 2017. The world best is 26:11, set by Martin Rees, Wales, in 2008. An 8 km is about 4.97 miles long; Wade knew that if he ran a steady 5:17 per mile pace, he would break Larson’s record by three seconds. He would need at least another second per mile to have the outright fastest time in the world.
 
Wade measured his pace perfectly for the first mile, hitting the split in 5:14, gaining two seconds he might need later. Wade got a little over-exuberant in his second and third miles, hitting them in 5:08 and 5:11. On the other hand, he was 16 seconds ahead of Larson’s pace at this point and 8 seconds ahead of Rees’. Mile four, especially over the second half, was a bit harder as the early pace was starting to take its toll. He hit the 5:17 he needed to stay well ahead of Larson but lost a second to Rees. Now there was just a mile to go, but to a close observer, Wade’s stride was not quite as smooth as earlier. He could feel the seconds slipping away. He focused on staying relaxed so he could maintain the fastest pace possible. Wade lost eight seconds to Larson but that was alright; he had the win and the American record* in 26:11. That was just fast enough for Wade to tie Rees for the world’s best. That is his fourth American Record in February.
 
Wade said, “I want to thank the ROP Race Director, Jay Hendrickson, for this opportunity. I hope that these record-breaking performances can inspire not only the running community of Masters Athletes around the country, but also my neighbors in Houston, who have shown their resilience in struggling with Covid for much of the winter, and getting by without power and water due to the extreme cold last week.”
 
*All records are pending ratification
 
Submitted by
Paul Carlin
USATF Masters LDR/Media Coordinator
Running Professor LLC/runningprof.com