2016 Music City Distance Carnival

Top 4 Events to Watch at Music City Distance Carnival

Top 4 Events to Watch at Music City Distance Carnival

The Music City Distance Carnival will bring big names and bragging rights to the Nashville area this Saturday evening. Middle Tennessee State will host Olym

Jun 3, 2016 by Meg Bellino
Top 4 Events to Watch at Music City Distance Carnival
The Music City Distance Carnival will bring big names and bragging rights to the Nashville area this Saturday evening. Middle Tennessee State will host Olympians, members of Team USA and other elite runners hoping to punch their tickets to the upcoming Olympic Trials.

You can watch LIVE on FloTrack beginning at 5:00PM ET on Saturday, June 4.

With the NCAA season coming to a close, you can catch those who just missed out on spots in Eugene, as well as a ton of pros going for Olympic standards in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Here are the top events and athletes to watch:

Women’s 800m

Who: Marilyn Okoro, Ersula Farrow, Agnes Abu
When: 7:12PM ET
Why: European and World medalist Okoro will try to improve her 2:05 season-best from May 5. Okoro, 31, trains in Florida and last represented Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Her performance on Saturday evening could be very telling of her fitness and chances of competing in Rio. She’ll need to fight off NCAA talents Farrow (Clemson) and Abu (Middle Tennessee State). Farrow, a true freshman this season, finished 15th at the NCAA East Prelims to just miss her spot in Eugene. With a 2:04.13 PB from her third-place ACC Championship run, the future looks bright for this Michigan native.

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Who: Tabor Stevens, Anthony Famiglietti, Matt Cleaver, Austin Bussing, JT Sullivan
When: 8:00PM ET
Why: Stevens opened his season in steeplechase at the Payton Jordan Invite with a 8:39.58—nearly 13 seconds slower than his brilliant 8:26.81 mark from last year's Payton Jordan. But, in his first year as a pro, his timeline and priorities have obviously changed. Even so, Stevens will likely try to throw down a mark under 8:30 to bring his name back into the U.S. Olympic team conversation. Two-time Olympian Famiglietti is also lacing up the spikes at age 37, so you don’t want to miss this.

Watch Tabor Stevens run his steeplechase PB - 8:26!


Men’s 600m 

Who: Charles Jock, Eliud Rutto, Harun Abda, Cas Loxsom
When: 8:45PM ET
Why: Duane Solomon dropped out of this field, but that won't stop some of the fastest 800m runners in the U.S. from testing their speed in one of the most exciting races of the evening. Jock has run 1:14.33 outdoors; Abda, 1:15.07; Loxsom, 1:14.84 (and the American indoor record, 1:15.33!); and Rutto was the NCAA indoor runner-up in the 800m this past year. Will Johnny Gray’s 1:12 world record go down? Not likely. But this will be the showdown of the evening.



Women’s 1500m

Who: Cory McGee, Sarah Vaughn, Christy Cazzola
When: 8:55PM ET
Why: New Balance Boston member McGee will chase the Olympic standard in Murfreesboro. No stranger to the standard-chasing game, McGee finished third in the 1500m at the U.S. Championships in 2013. She took a crack at it twice, running a huge PB of 4:06.67 on her second go to secure her spot in Moscow. She enters with a season-best 4:09 from Payton Jordan, and ran a big 800m time of 2:02 earlier this year. Best season ever? Vaughn (4:13 SB) and Cazzola (4:19/2:05 SB) will be in the mix, as well.

Watch Cory McGee run a HUGE personal best and IAAF standard back in 2013 as a Florida Gator!

All races will be live-streamed and archived on FloTrack on Saturday, June 4.