The USATF Distance Classic, formerly known as the Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic, formerly known as the Oxy High Performance Meet, will take place on Thursday May 18th, 2017 in Los Angeles, Calif.

The format of the meet is a distance runner’s dream, just four events: the 800m, 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, and the 5000m. If all goes to plan, this meet will be over in a little less than 2.5 hours, and you can get home and put yourself to bed before 9pm PDT; and nothing says “distance runners rejoice” like an early bedtime.

Despite there only being four events, and held in a city known for particulate dense air, this meet is chock full of talent. And since this is 2017, and most of us no longer have the attention span for some long, drawn out preview, I’m just going to look through the heat sheets and tell you who I think is going to win and why.

MEN 800m

Section 1
1 Cohen, Mason	Australia
2 Low, Christopher	Brooks
3 Giesting, Chris	Hoka/NJNYTC
4 Yorks, Izaic	Brooks Beast
5 Barber, Lachlan	Melbourne TC
6 Martinez, Bryan	MX International
7 Gilreath, James	Team Green
8 Kitur, Felix	Santa Monica TC
Section 2 Timed Finals
1 Rimmer, Michael	Puma
2 Kidder, Brannon	Brooks
3 Mathews, Luke	Melbourne TC
4 Brazier, Donavan	Nike
5 Jock, Charles	Nike
6 Abda, Harun	Nike
7 Torrence, David	Hoka One One
8 Osagie, Andrew	Nike Oregon
9 Langford, Kyle	Nike

CITIUS SAYS: Barring some sort of California disaster like an earthquake or a tremendous traffic jam, this one is going to be won out of the second heat by Donavan Brazier. He’s already ran 1:44.63 this season, and his PR is a full second clear of the next fastest person in the field.

The pacer is set to take the boys through 400m at 50.25, so let’s hope someone goes with him.

Women’s 800m

Section 1 Timed Finals
1 Landen, Shanie	SLO Middle D
2 Malasarte, Megan	Atlanta TC
3 Leinert, Shannon	Brooks ID
4 Whelan, Elizabeth
5 Wiebe, Devan	Brooks
6 Billings, Sarah	Sydney Running
7 Hermansson, Hanna	CalCoast Track
8 Brown, Alisha	Oiselle
Section 2 Timed Finals
1 Crofts, Helen	Unattached
2 Iyevbele, Kenyetta	Hoka One One
3 Kajan, Selma	Melbourne TC
4 Jackson, Dominique	Oiselle
5 Smith, Jessica	NIKE
6 Murphy, Samantha	Unattached
7 Saunders, Claudia	Brooks
8 Westaway, Jenna	Brooks Canada
9 Annear, Grace	Vic City Elite
Section 3 Timed Finals
1 Mires, Baylee	Brooks
2 Brown, Ce’Aira	Hoka Njnytc
3 Storey, Lora	Sydney Running
4 Fields, Hannah	Brooks
5 Griffith, Georgia	Sydney Running
6 Butterworth, Lindsey	Coastal Track
7 Silvander, Anna	New Balance
8 Rubie, Anneliese	Puma
Section 4 Timed Finals
1 Price, Chanelle	NIKE
2 Simpson, Jennifer	New Balance
3 Martinez, Brenda	New Balance
4 Chambers, Kendra	Texas Elite
5 Petty, Angela	New Zealand
6 Sharp, Lynsey	Great Britain
7 Tracey, Adelle	NIKE
8 Barowski, Cecilia	Hoka njnytc

Citius Says: Just a week ago on this very track, Brenda Martinez ran her first 800m of the season. She ran 1:59.21, which is a phenomenal opener and faster than she ran in all of 2016. Oh, and the 2nd place finisher in that race ran 2:04. A 1:59 opener, basically solo is a pretty neat way to open the season.

Now, I know what you’re saying, “but what about Jenny Simpson?” To that I say this is only her second track race of the season, and I expect her to finish a disappointing 4th place.

Men’s 1500m

Section 1 Timed Finals
1 Ramsden, Matthew	Melbourne TC
2 Hunter, Charles	Melbourne TC
3 Robinson, Paul	Melbourne TC
4 Snow, Scott	Forest Fire
5 Shaw, Reilly	Deakin AC
6 Godwin, Adam	Team Green
7 Estrada, Daniel	MX International
8 Verdugo, Alexis	MX International
9 Phillips, Andy	Roots Running
10 Martinez, Jose	MX International
11 Abdi Sr., Bashir	Mudane Group
Section 2 Timed Finals
1 Masters, Riley	Nike
2 Manzano, Leonel	Hoka One ONe
3 Lancashire, Tom	New Balance
4 Soratos, Cristian	Adidas
5 Jenkins, Eric	Nike Oregon
6 Denault, Robert	Newmarket
7 Casey, Patrick	Nike
8 Fleet, Mac	NIKE
9 Hunter, Drew	Adidas
10 Herrera, Daniel	High Performance
11 Vining, Edward	Sydney Running
12 Plummer, Adrian	Sydney Running
Section 3 Timed Finals
1 Burkstrand, Travis	Brooks ID
2 Crocker, Will	District Track
3 O’Hare, Christopher	Boston Athletics
4 Mead, Hassan	Nike
5 Centrowitz, Matthew	Nike
6 Winn, Daniel	Boston Athletics
7 Wheating, Andrew	NIKE
8 Penzenstadler, Sam	District Track
9 Castle, Daniel	Unattached
10 Farah, Mo	Nike
11 Everard, Eoin	Ireland
12 Noelle, Chad	Asics Furman

Citius Says: Matthew Centrowitz. Easy. The reigning Olympic Gold Medalist shut down his indoor season early in the name of self-preservation and a good time. Sure, we have some guys in there that’ll likely rub elbows with him for a minute (and a hilarious off-distance attempt by Hassan Mead) but no bones about it folks, Centro will win the fast heat.

I could actually see this one being slow and methodical, despite the rabbits being tasked at 57.0 through 400m. We’ll be looking at the 2nd heat to be far more interesting than the “fast” heat.

Women’s 1500m

Section 1 Timed Finals
1 Findley, Kristen	Big Bear TC
2 Cote, Laurence
3 Granados, Ayla	Strava TC
4 van der Wyk, Tracee	Unattached
5 Pomfret, Kendra	Vancouver
6 Takahashi, Hina	Nike Tokyo
7 Stafford, Lucia
8 Tsolis, Tori	Strava TC
Section 2 Timed Finals
1 Kelly, Mariah	New Balance
2 Farber, Lianne	New Balance
3 Fulton, Eleanor	Skechers
4 Roesler, Laura	Nike/Texas
5 Lipari, Emily	BAA
6 Stafford, Gabriela	Brooks
7 Yee, Regan Langley
8 Grunewald, Gabriele	Brooks
9 Macpherson, Sarah	Vic CIty Elite
10 Piliusina, Natalja	Brooks Beast
11 Vaughn, Sara	Brooks Beast
Section 3 Timed Finals
1 Lagat, Violah	Adidas
2 Conley, Kim	New Balance
3 Gollish, Sasha	Oiselle
4 McGee, Cory	New Balance
5 Mecke, Dana	Brooks/Texas Elite
6 Reid, Sheila	Oregon
7 Rowbury, Shannon	Nike Oregon
8 Schappert, Stephanie	Hoka Njnytc
9 Efraimson, Alexa	NIKE
10 Schneider, Rachel	Under Armoud
11 Sutherland, Sara	Saucony
12 Pen Freitas, Marta	Portugal
13 Seccafien, Andrea

Citius Says: It’s hard not to pick Shannon Rowbury here, right? She’ll have plenty of company the whole way through, but the seasoned vet should shine in her season opener.

Men’s 3000m Steeple

Section 1 Timed Finals
1 Lagat, Haron	US Army
2 Goodman, David	Unattached
3 Hardy, Mike	Unattached
4 Thibeault, Antoine	Math Sport
5 Cotter, Tomas	Asics Furman
6 Nelson, Aaron	Zap Fitness
7 Miller, Bryce	Unattached
8 Hesselbjerg, Ole	Sparta
9 Updike, Isaac	Team Run Eugene
10 Mullett, Rob	Atlanta TC
11 Edwards, Jacob	Columbus RUn
12 Van Halen, Aric	Unattached
13 Bor, Hillary	Unattached
14 Gay, John	British Columbia
15 Mahoney, Travis	Hoka One One
16 Mann, Jordan	Providence
17 Shrader, Brian	Saucony
18 Blomberg, Emil	Hasselby

Citius Says: He’s an Olympian. He ran 8:13 last year. He’s going to be your winner at the USATF Distance Classic. What’s his name? Hillary Bor. Nice try everyone.

We would like to point out that Brian Shrader seems to be making an earnest attempt at a steepling career. Unless our sources are wrong, this will only be his 3rd steeple of his career which is coincidentally the 3rd steeple of his season. Godspeed, Brian.

Women’s 3000m Steeple

1 Garry, Kira	Unattached
2 Sango, Misaki	Unattached
3 Teschuk, Erin	Asics Furman
4 Rolland, Megan	Oiselle
5 Waite, Lennie	Great Britain
6 Nelson, Alicia	Boulder TC
7 Lawrence, Mel	Oiselle
8 Talbert, Madelin	Team Run Eugene
9 Bernard, Maria	Saucony
10 Landwehr, Katie	Unattached
11 Wilson, Alexina	Oiselle
12 Butterworth, Alycia	Unattached
13 Barr, Erika	SRA Elite
14 Johnson, Rachel	Asics
15 Cheever, Jamie	Unattached
16 Howard, Marisa	Oiselle

Citius Says: There should be a handful of women in the mix here. At a glance I see a bunch of ladies who have ran high 9:40s already this season, an Olympian, some Minnesota natives. A real fun bunch. We’ll give the nod to Mel Lawrence, with a nice final lap, and a finish that hovers around 9:40.

Men’s 5000m

1 Tessema, Josef	American Distance
2 Buchanan, Reid	Mammoth Track Club
3 Legesse, Frezer	Under Armoud
4 Stilin, Joe	Zap Fitness
5 Kipchirchir, Shadrack	US Army
6 Erassa, Kirubel	Atlanta TC
7 Ziensellassie, Futsum	Hoka One One
8 Fernandez, German	NIKE
9 Hehir, Martin	Hoka One One
10 Lutz, Craig	Hoka One One
11 Bruchet, Luc	Asics/Canada
12 Simbassa, Abbabiya	American Distance
13 Asaoka, Mitsunori	Hitachi Tran
14 Muta, Yuki	Hitachi Tran
15 Yanagi, Toshiyuki	Hitachi Tran
16 Trouard, Andrew	The Rebel
17 Ichikawa, Takanori	Hitachi Tran

Citius Says: This is such a difficult task because it requires a bit of critical thinking. Sure, I could just go out and choose the guy with the fastest personal best, but then you’d all think that we were being dense, and providing no substance. And that’s why you came here, right? For substance? Well. Let’s just go with Kirubel Erassa, mostly because he’ll be going head to head against a very fast former teammate, and he’ll be damned before a he let’s a fellow Cowboy alum beat him to the line. How about that for substance?

Women’s 5000m

1 Cridebring, Alycia	Rabbit
2 Eccleston, Amanda	Brooks
3 Macumber, Cally	Hansons-Brooks
4 Weightman, Laura	NIKE UK
5 Spencer, Kate	Sydney Running
6 Pagano, Sarah	BAA
7 Cliff, Rachel	Unattached
8 Flores, Brenda	Corre AC
9 O’Connell, Jessica	Canada
10 Lopez, Sandra	MX International
11 Bates, Emma	BAA
12 Rogers, Natosha	New Balance
13 O’Connor, Leah	Adidas
14 Silva, Samantha	BTC/NIKE
15 Balouris, Elaina	Unattached
16 Digby, Erica Vancouver	Vancouver
17 Paquette, Lauren	Brooks
18 Flanagan, Rosa	New Zealand
19 LaBeaud, Natasha	Skechers
20 Sachtleben, Bethany	Saucony
21 Larsson, Maria	Melbourne TC

Citius Says: Here’s another race that feels like a toss up. The ones with clear winners are much more fun to quip about. Let’s go with Natosha Rogers, mostly because her running career has been very strange since her 2nd place finish at the 2012 trials, and she seems to be getting back on track (great pun!) these past two seasons.