Fast Times are the Name of the Game in Palo Alto

By Scott Bush

Stanford Invitational Event Page | April 1-2 - Palo Alto, California

German Fernandez (10000m)

It's been a rough few years for Fernandez, dealing with injuries both during his time at Oklahoma State and as a professional runner as part of the Bowerman Track Club, but if there's one thing Fernandez has shown, it's a willingness to press on despite substantial setbacks. He makes his debut over the 10000m distance this weekend, and while there is plenty of uncertainty as to how well he'll perform, there's been buzz in Portland that Fernandez is in terrific shape, having strong workouts and most of all staying injury free.

Laura Thweatt (10000m)

Thweatt, for the past 2-3 years, has been a consistent contender in nearly every race she's run and has shown time and again that she has the talent and grit to earn her spot on the Olympic team. However, injuries sidelined her last year and while many thought she'd have a shot to make the Olympic team in the marathon, she looked past the Trials in Los Angeles in February and focused in on doing great things on the track in 2016. Fans get their first look at how good of shape Thweatt is in and can start to see how well she'll match up against the likes of Molly Huddle, Emily Infeld and the rest this summer.

Paul Chelimo (5000m)

Few came up bigger during the indoor season than Chelimo. Not only did the former UNC-Greensboro All-American finish second behind Ryan Hill at the USATF Indoor Championships, earning a Team USA spot for World Indoors, he followed that up by making the final and finishing seventh overall. Clearly Chelimo has the talent to earn a roster spot for the Rio Olympics, but he'll face some strong competition from a variety of top talent. He's racing again two weeks after World Indoors, so how fast he runs is anyones guess.

Shadrack Kipchirchir (10000m)

Kipchirchir earned a spot on Team USA last year after placing fourth at the USATF Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m (Ben True didn't compete in the event at Worlds). He's clearly one of the best 10k runners in the country and after having some strong success in 2015, it's going to be interesting to see if he can take another step forward this year and continue to challenge for Team USA spots. His race at Stanford is the first step in the long season ahead.

Kim Smith (5000m)

Kara Goucher, Deena Kastor, Paula Radcliffe, Alysia Montano, Kellyn Taylor...these women have all showed you can have a baby and work your way back into becoming a tremendous runner. They've also shown that how quickly you can regain "star" status is different based on the individual. 

What's going to be fun to watch in 2016 is how Kim Smith runs, having had a baby and taking much of the 2015 season off. Smith has been a global contender in races for years and it's inspiring to have yet another top-level runner managing the motherhood/professional runner balance.