It was nothing special. Nothing that will make NBC’s highlights. Just a qualifying heat in the men’s 5,000 meter run.

But I happened to be watching, on the big screen here in the press center, and the finish of the event just boggled my mind.

Let’s stipulate it was a slow qualifying race. Bernard Lagat finished first in 13 minutes, 39 seconds, and the world record is 62 seconds faster than that.

But the finish got me.

The pack had done about 4,200 meters — something like 2.5 miles — when a guy from Qatar took off like he was a quartermiler. Except that he had almost two full laps to go.

The guy, James C’Kurui, surged to a 20, 25 meter lead. And he just kept going. Sprinting, really. After 2.5 miles.

First thing that surprised me? The pack didn’t quit. They chased. The whole crew began sprinting. Yes, it had been a tactical race, and we knew there would be a hard run at the end … but for 800 meters?

The last lap was run in 55 seconds.

Think about that.

A 55-second 400 meters makes you an elite high school girls quarter-miler. It might win some boys prep races, too.

Most of us never have and never will run 400 meters in 55 seconds. Go ahead and try it. Give yourself a week, a month to practice. Bet you won’t get under a minute, never mind 55 seconds. And I don’t care if you’re 55, 45 or 25.

But these guys popped a 55-second lap at the end of a 3.1-mile race.

That’s amazing. That’s all I have to say about it. I know a little bit about running, and a 55-second lap gets my attention. Especially when you’ve done nearly three miles before you unreel it. What they do is just so far out there … it’s hard to wrap your mind around it.