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Is Canadian 800m Olympic silver medallist Marco Arop making a bold move up in race distance? On Sunday, the 26-year-old surprised fans by winning the Rocket City Back Half Marathon in Huntsville, Ala., with a time of 1:11:15. With 110m of elevation gain, the course was hillier than the typical half-marathon race, making Arop’s performance even more impressive.
Transitioning from the explosive 800m to the strategic 21.1 km is no small feat. Arop, a professional athlete for Adidas, executed a textbook half-marathon negative split–picking up his pace in the second half to clinch the victory. Negative splits, while ideal in longer races, are less favourable in 800m event, where going all out from the start is essential for clocking fast times.
Interestingly, of all 800m runners, Arop might be the most experienced in tactical negative splits–often forced to hang back early in 800m races due to his tall stature and long stride to avoid tripping. In the 800m Olympic final, his splits of 51.1 and 50.1 seconds earned him the silver medal in 1:41.20–making him Canada’s first 800m Olympic medallist since 1964.
The Edmonton native’s willingness to up his distance is surprising; it’s not common to see 800m and 1,000m specialists racing 21 times their furthest event. The achievement confirms Arop’s range as a runner–he’s already demonstrated his world-class ability over the two middle-distance events, and holds the North American record in both.
Arop told Canadian Running that his training group in Starkville, Miss., usually does 10-12 mile long runs on Sundays this time of year. “My coach gave me the green light to add an extra mile and run a little bit faster,” Arop said on the decision to race the half. “I didn’t expect too much with the time; I figured anything under 1:15 would be nice.”
In October, Arop became the first Canadian athlete to sign with Grand Slam Track. Arop will race in the men’s short distance (800m/1,500m) division, against 1,500m Olympic medallists Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse.
According to his world athletics profile, Arop’s longest official race before Sunday was a mile. On the way to his half-marathon win, his Strava profile reveals personal bests at 15K, 10 mile, and 20K. While his weekly mileage sits at about 47 km per week, many runs are likely unlogged–unsurprising for a world champion guarding his training secrets.
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