106 Degrees: No Problem for Hyams
By Michael Burkholder
6/20/08

As temperatures soared over 100 degrees Friday afternoon during the opening day of the USATF Pacific Association Championships Samuel Hyams (17) seemed unaffected as he blazed into a 1st place finish with a time of 16:24.78 in the Young Men’s 5,000m race.

Hyams completed the 3.1 mile race (12 ½ laps) awaiting a hose spraying water to quickly cool off participants from the heat. In fact, the hose was used throughout the race at an athlete’s discretion to keep them cool as they completed each lap.

“Every time the hose hit me, I felt this new wind inside me and was rejuvenated. My legs felt fine the entire race except the heat was just pounding down on me and caused me to cramp up at the end. It was not easy,” said Hyams.

Brad Morsoli, Granada’s Head Coach, decided to give athletes the option to be hosed down just before the start of the race and would spray athletes if they raised their hands while passing him on the track.

“Coach Brad Morsoli (Granada High School) made a wise choice in hosing down athletes during the race. You don’t see that very often, it was a nice benefit to all the athletes,” said Head Coach Rik Richardson.

Hyams did question why the USATF Pacific Association would still hold the event at 5pm when it was the only running event scheduled for the day.

“I think they should have run it in the morning when it was really cool. If they ran it even at 7 pm, it would still be in the 90’s and not make much of a difference,” explained Hyams.

One athlete even broke out in a bloody nose and managed to finish the race.

“That was pretty impressive. He grabbed some ice and while running and continued to run. That shows dedication. No matter what was going on, he was going to finish it. Because people were afraid of the heat, whoever finished advanced. I give him props for finishing the race,” said Hyams.

With no competition, he used the race as a workout to familiarize himself with running a 5k on a track since he had never done it before. But more importantly, he is transitioning himself from track and focusing on his base training while boosting up his mileage for cross country.

“I am happy with my time when you compare it to where it was last year. I ran this race comfortably and didn’t have anyone pacing me. It was just the heat that was a pain,” said Hyams.

Coach Richardson added, “Under the conditions of 105 degrees, it was spectacular. To run in that heat and to be that relaxed and loose to run it like it was a regular workout was impressive. To come through at 5:05 at the mile mark, 10:33 at the two mile and finish with a 1:47 600-m split, he has gained a lot of race experience.”

The plan for the race was to use it as an experience builder and find a groove because of the heat.

“I told him to go easy. If that’s easy, then I hate to see him go all out under a cooler temperature, said Richardson. “He has a very good clock about knowing where he is at in a race. He’s a late bloomer and hasn’t been injured and I think we have been lucky by his genetic makeup. We haven’t even seen his limit as the best is yet to come.”

Hyams will race again on Sunday in the 1,500m and will race the 5,000m in two weeks at the Region 14 Championships also held at Granada High School.

“I am hoping for some competition because I need someone to hang with for the first two miles then take off. It’s hard to run a consistent pace by myself. If I have someone to run with, I will have a personal best,” said Hyams. “My goal is anything under 16 minutes and I’ll be happy.”

The record for the “Young Men’s division in the 5,000m is 14:43.90 set by Dan Walsh which was set in 1995. Last year’s winner was Bryan Chow who ran a 16:22.82 on the same track.

If Hyams advances past the next round in two weeks, he has an option of participating in the National Junior Olympics held in Omaha, Nebraska in July

Lucky for Hyams and his competitors, the next time he runs the 5,000-m; it will be before 10 am.