Cristian Soratos
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | September 26, 1992 Salinas, California |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track |
| Event(s) | 1500 meters, mile |
| College team | Montana State |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best | 1500 meters: 3:39.33[1] mile: 3:55.27[2] |
| Updated on June 19, 2016. | |
Cristian Soratos (born September 26, 1992) is a Mexican American professional middle-distance runner. Born in Salinas, California, he first took up competitive running at Salinas High School. He then ran at Hartnell College, after which he was recruited to Montana State University. After running several races at high altitude, Soratos ran his first sub-4 minute mile in 2015, and went on to emerge as one of the fastest collegiate runners in the United States. On June 25, 2015, he became a professional runner when he signed a contract to be sponsored by Adidas.[3]
Running career
High school
Soratos attended Salinas High School in Salinas, California. He was known to have been a runner of small stature. As a senior in high school, Soratos recorded a personal best 1600 meter time of 4:23.26.[4] He was not subsequently recruited to a track program, and continued his post-high school running career voluntarily.[5]
Collegiate
"My coach and I joke around when we see the trailers for the movie McFarland, USA and call it ‘Hartnell, USA’ because that’s what the culture was like...There was a heavy Hispanic presence there, and it was comfortable. I wanted to keep running."
Cristian Soratos, March 2015[6]
Soratos first attended Hartnell College, where he began training for cross country and track under coach Chris Zepeda.[6] At Hartnell, Soratos pursued a high-mileage training program which at one point involved running 80 miles per week.[6] In his sophomore year at Hartnell, Soratos recorded 3:47 in the 1500 meters, and subsequently transferred to Montana State University at the insisting of MSU coach Lyle Weese, who was once a standout MSU steeplechaser, professional runner, and Hartnell coach.[7] In one of MSU's home meets, on January 16, 2015, Soratos ran a 4:05 indoor mile, which the NCAA converted to a 3:56 result due to Bozeman's altitude of approximately 4,400 feet above sea level.[8] It was the first race in which Soratos wore his Sonic the Hedgehog long socks, which attracted much attention in the sport.[9]
Commentary from enthusiasts and experts alike were overwhelmingly skeptical of the NCAA-converted result.[8] However, the following month, Soratos garnered national attention when he ran the indoor mile of at the 2015 University of Washington Huskey Classic, whose venue was much closer to sea level, with a time of 3:55.27.[10] The result automatically put Soratos in first place in the collegiate men's national leaderboard for the indoor mile, and also meant qualification for the NCAA DI Indoor Track and Field Championships. At the 2015 NCAA DI Indoor T&F Championships, Soratos placed second in an extraordinary indoor mile finals race behind Edward Cheserek, during which Soratos, after running the first three laps at approximately 64 seconds per 400 meters, exploded into the lead after the third lap with a 53.36 second 400-meter split in the middle of the mile race.[11] Although Soratos finished behind Cheserek, a running website, Letsrun.com, called the race "a mid-race surge for the ages" in reference to Cristian's mid-race burst.[11]
Professional
On the morning of June 25, 2015, Soratos signed with Adidas, and later in the same day ran in the men's 1500 meters of the 2015 USA Outdoor T&F Championships, where he finished 24th overall.[3] On September 9, 2015, Soratos ran Hoka One One's Long Island Mile in New York in a time of 3:58.70, placing fourth overall.[12]
References
- ^ All-Athletics. "Profile of Cristian Soratos".
- ^ "Profile of Christian Soratos".
- ^ a b Gabriel Parker (June 25, 2015). "Soratos signs with adidas, finishes 24th in first pro race". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ [1] Athletic.net - Cristian Soratos
- ^ [2] Narigon, Lizzy. The MSU Exponent: Athlete Profile: Cristian Soratos runs with passion April 2, 2015
- ^ a b c Christopher Chavez (March 12, 2015). "Cristian Soratos finds stride at Montana State".
- ^ Matthew Hoffman (March 5, 2015). "Cristian Soratos, The Unlikely NCAA Mile Leader".
- ^ a b Jeff Welsch (March 12, 2015). "Who's No. 1? At MSU it's Soratos, by a mile".
- ^ Letsrun.com (March 13, 2015). "Is It The Socks? Cristian Soratos Reveals He First Wore Sonic The Hedgehog Socks When He Ran His 3:56.87 Mile Equivalent".
- ^ John Devine (February 22, 2015). "County Clipboard: Salinas High, Hartnell grad Cristian Soratos runs nation-leading time in mile".
- ^ a b Letsrun.com (March 14, 2015). "Cristian Soratos Goes For It But Edward Cheserek Runs 2:19 Last 1k To Win Men's Mile at 2015 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships".
- ^ [3] Runnerspace.com: Hoka One One Long Island Mile Results (September 9, 2015). Retrieved September 13, 2015.