W40 Aeron Arlin-Genet runs and tweets at Stanford Invite

Aeron at Stanford in 2008

A year ago, Aeron Arlin-Genet ran a potential W40 American record for 1500 meters of 4:27.68 at Stanford. I wrote about it here. She later ran a 4:21.6. Now almost 42, Aeron returned to Palo Alto yesterday and ran a tad slower: 4:30.79. But that’s about a 4:50 mile. Only Alisa Harvey can keep that pace in her age group. The listed W40 American record is still 4:32.73 by Joan Nesbit in 2002. The real record? It’s most likely 4:08.69 by Ruth Wysocki back in 1997. Aeron also ran a 2:13 over the weekend, and she’s been microblogging as the Running Diva. She tweeted: “800 strong w/ a 2:13. good place to start – solid double 15 4:30. Definitely the oldest running diva on the track both days! 41 & fly-in.” Aeron apparently began her Twitter blog on Feb. 12. She has the hang of it, all right. She shares her workout highlights, like this entry from mid-March: “3/18 workout: 8 x 500 (73 pace); 4 x 200 (35); 2 x 100 (100). focus on relaxed, strong form. warmer morning, should be real nice out there!”


Here’s how letsrun.com reported Aeron’s 1500: 


Women’s 1,500m – Great Finish As Pixler Gets The Win Over Rhines 
The women’s 1,500 heats were pretty interesting. Tennessee coach J.J. Clark had two of his middle-distance stars, Phoebe Wright and Chanelle Price, step up to the 1,500m, but he wisely kept them in the second heat. Wright and Price, the 1,200m and 800m legs of Tennessee’s world record-setting indoor DMR, were surprisingly overmatched in the competitive second heat. 
Price, a 2:00 800m runner in high school, had an especially tough go of things, as she ran 4:30, or 3 seconds away from the NCAA regional mark.
The fast heat was a thrilling race, both for the times run and the mad dash to the finish. 
Olympian Jen Rhines had the lead but couldn’t hold off Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler. The crowd, on their feet for the final 200m, certainly appreciated what was a deep race that saw 7 runners (6 collegiates) break 4:24, including some big names in Christine Babcock and Kailey Campbell from Washington and Alex Kosinski of Oregon. 
Event 58  Women 1500 Meter Run Section 1
================================================================
      D1 Reg: R 4:27.80                                         
    
Name                    Year School                  Finals 
================================================================
Finals                                                          
  
1 Pixler, Jessica           Jr Seattle Pacific        4:18.64R
  
2 Rhines, Jennifer          NA Adidas                 4:18.96R
  
3 Babcock, Christine        Fr Washington             4:19.13R
  
4 Kosinski, Alex            So Oregon                 4:19.84R
  
5 Campbell, Kailey          Jr Washington             4:22.38R
  
6 Palmer, Katie             So Brigham Young          4:23.21R
  
7 Dahl, Heidi               Sr E Tenn St              4:23.70R
  
8 Callahan, Natalja         Sr Nebraska               4:27.01R
  
9 Arlin Genet, Aeron        NA Running Divas          4:30.79 
 
10 June, Kara                NA Asics Aggies           4:38.34 

Print Friendly

March 30, 2009

3 Responses

  1. peter taylor - March 30, 2009

    My information indicates that two established superstars (Ruth Wysocki and Alisa Harvey) and one emerging superstar (Aeron Arlin Genet) have run under the listed W40 1500 mark at least 10 times (as a group) in real meets. I wonder why the mark is still listed on usatf.org as 4:32.73. Isn’t there something wrong with listing a record that is completely out-of-date?

  2. jim sorensen - March 31, 2009

    Great work Aeron. Congratulations.
    NOTE: Adding to the W40 marks…Regina Jacobs ran 4:06.92, 6th semi-2, World Champs in Paris/St.-Dennis, 8/29/03. Her birthday is 8/28/03. She was 40yrs, 1 day old. This is faster than even Wysockis 4:08.69. This, I believe was one of Jacobs last races. If it were ratified, and it should have been considering it was at the Worlds, I assume it would have been eventually stricken from the books.
    REFERENCE: p261, track newsletter by TFN, Vol 2, No. 33, Sept 3, 2003

  3. scott bickham - March 30, 2011

    Hey Peter, I don’t know if I would call Aeron am “emerging” superstar. She’s been running most of her life and qualified for the olympic trials in the 1500m in 2004. But in any case, she’s darn fast and looks to be in great shape!

Leave a Reply


W40 Aeron Arlin-Genet runs 4:27.68 in Stanford 1500

If she submits the proper paperwork, Aeron Arlin-Genet of San Luis Obispo, California, will lay claim to the “official” W40 American record for the outdoor 1500. At yesterday’s Stanford Invitational, she took sixth in her elite section in 4:27.68. That betters the listed AR of 4:32.73 by Joan Nesbit in 2002. Of course, it falls short of Alisa Harvey’s unrecognized 4:26.49 at the 2006 Penn Relays. But way in the distance (and distant past) is another mark that fell through the cracks: Ruth Wysocki’s incredible W40 efforts more than a decade ago.

Read the rest of this post »

Print Friendly

April 6, 2008

2 Responses

  1. Alan Sigmon - April 6, 2008

    Track Newsletter Vol 43, No. 12, p. 90 lists Wysocki’s 4:08.69 as the winning mark at the “Reebok VO2 Classic” at Los Angeles on May 18, 1997.
    She ran her 2:03.95 to win at the “Steve Scott Invitational” at Long Beach on May 3, 1997 (p. 81 of TFN Vol. 43).

  2. Ruth Wysocki - April 6, 2008

    Thanks for the help. I forgot which meet I ran the 4:08.69 at.

Leave a Reply