Aeron Arlin Genet creeping up on 1500 American record as 50-year-old

Guys young enough to be her son fight to hold off Aeron Arlin Genet at a mid-April meeGuys young enough to be her son fight to hold off Aeron Arlin Genet at a mid-April meet. Photo by Bobbie Bratz

Aeron Arlin Gent was a happy photo subject for Bobbie Bratz in April

Aeron Arlin Gent was a happy photo subject for Bobbie Bratz in April.

In Section 4 of the women’s 1500 at Saturday’s Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles, Aeron Arlin Genet of California’s Central Coast ran 4:54.74. Not that impressive until you know she turned 50 last June. That puts her 3 seconds behind the listed American age-group record of 4:51.86 by Marisa Sutera Strange in 2015. With the season still young, Aeron could snag the AR yet. (The W50 WR is a stretch, though — 4:36.79 by Britain’s Clare Elms in 2014.) According to mastersrankings.com, the best 50-plus woman in the world this year is Sally Gibbs of New Zealand, who clocked 4:48.49 down under. So Aeron is No. 2 worldwide. She was entered at the Mt. SAC Relays 800 a couple weeks ago but didn’t show. Not sure why. But at least she’s fit for a mile. Hope to see her dominate the middle distances the way she did a decade ago, when first she crossed my radar. (The W50 mile American record, BTW, is Kathy Martin’s 5:15.55 in 2002.)

Here’s how she fared against the kiddies:

Event 5 Women 1500 Meter Run

Section 4
1 Gillispie, Hailey SR Rogers State 4:43.82
2 Davis, Amanda FR Northwestern 4:45.51
3 Jensen, Casey FR Westmont 4:46.33
4 Melendez, Jennifer SO Unattached 4:47.93
5 Jensen, Janna SR Westmont 4:48.55
6 McCullough, Bevin JR Santa Clara 4:49.91
7 Ereso, Rachel SO Cal Lutheran 4:49.92
8 Genet, Aeron Arlin Hoka Aggie R 4:54.74
9 Hopkins, Hannah SO Concordia (Cal.) 4:57.03
10 Wayne, Gabi FR Occidental 5:02.74
11 Espindola, Karla SO Unattached 5:03.17

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About the Author

Ken Stone
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and webmaster since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials. He worked for 10 newspapers and now reports for Times of San Diego. Write him at TrackCEO@aol.com or kens@timesofandiego.com. Story tips always welcome!

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