February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Cragg had gone into the race with confidence despite his long absence due to a stress fracture of the lower back, but he was a full minute behind the winner, Barnabas Kosgei of Kenya.
“It got embarrassing to be out there,” Cragg explained, “I needed a much stronger run than that. My legs were dead, I had a hard time breathing. Once they got a little gap on me my head just went. I thought I was in very good shape, but I’m doubting that now. I’m a little shell-shocked actually.”
There was some speculation that the 25-year-old might run in Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend, however, he traveled immediately back to his base in Arkansas and is now targeting an indoor 3,000 meters race in Boston at the end of the month.
“I haven’t raced since last March and there’s a 100 things I could say that affected me, but the bottom line is that I’m sick and tired of days like this,” he said. “I need to go out there now and do something to get my confidence back.”
While Cragg’s racing program between now and the summer has yet to be determined, his main aim this year is the European Championships 5,000 meters title in Gothenburg, Sweden.