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Robert Harting, 2012 FBK Hengelo, 
photo by PhotoRun.net

Robert Harting opened his season on Sunday, May 19 in a special meeting for discus in Wiesbaden, Germany. Harting came out with a win, his 34th in a row and a world leading throw in 68.31m. Gu Siyu, the Chinese women discus thrower, threw 67.86m throw-now Sandra Perkovic has someone to battle this year! 

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A Happy Mary Cain, photo by Peter Abraham, 
from 2013 Oxy High Performance Meet

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Kirani James, Shanghai DL, 
photo by PhotoRun.net

The past two weekend showed one of the newest trends in our sport: the youthfulness of some of the sport's rising stars. Hegos Gebrhiwet wins the 3,000 meters in Doha and turns 19 the next day. Kirani James, who won in London at the ripe age of 19, runs 44.02 to lead the world in the 400 meters, and Mary Cain, all of sixteen, runs an AJR to not only get the Moscow A standard but take second in the Oxy High Performance 1,500 meters. 

Again, is the trending youth of our sport good or bad? Exceptional athletes will rise to the top in our sport by pure effort and talent, but, the truth is, athletics, with participation in over 210 plus countries (about 300 countries on our planet at last count), shows that we have a true global sport. The key in near future: how to communicate our sport to eight billion sets of eyeballs? 

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Kirania James, just making sure TFN knows his ranking: Numero Uno, 
photo by PhotoRun.net

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Yelena Isinbayeva, clears 4.70m on her second jump, 
wins Shanghai DL, 
Photo by PhotoRun.net

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Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce runs 10.93 WL,  
photo by PhotoRun.net

The Shanghai DL gave us seven new World Leaders, five Meet Records and some great rivalries. Fraser-Pryce runs 10.93 WL with Jeter taken away on stretcher. Jason Richardson wins hurdles, Aries Merritt stops after third hurdle. Warren Weir wins 200 meters, with Wallace Spearmon's time at 80 seconds? Inquiring minds want to know! 

Well, you will have to wait until I write up the meet, on Sunday! 

adidas Grand Prix NYC, the third stop on the tour, is May 25, and Runblogrun.com will be there! 
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Evan Jager and crew warming up,
May 17, 2013, Oxy Perf Meet,
Photo by Peter Abraham

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Men's Steeplechase, 
May 17, 2013, Oxy Perf Meet, 
Photo by Peter Abraham

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An ebullient Mary Cain, 
post American Junior Record run of 4:04.62
May 17, 2013,
photo by Peter Abraham

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a smiling Alberto Salazar, 
May 17, 2013, 
Oxy Perf Meet, 
photo by Peter Abraham

We thank the RBR readers who followed the FB and tweet interchange
 between Peter Abraham, on field at Occidental College and myself last night. It was a super meet, and there was much to see and observe. I have posted four of the photos Peter Abraham took during the meet last night. If you want to see more, just go to #OxyInvite and you will find our tweet coverage (twitter.com/runblogrun).
Here are the complete results from the 2013 USATF Oxy High Performance meet. Kudos to Rose Monday and Dixon Farmer for making this meet not only so special, and a true gem on the athletic circuit, but also keeping it relaxed and focused on what it is: giving athletes a chance to run real fast.

Highlight of the meet was Mary Cain destroying the American Junior Record of 4:09.10, set by Suzy Favor Hamilton, in 1987, with her second place run of 4:04.62! 

More details to come! 

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Mary Cain, smiling after her AJR, May 17, 2013, 
photo courtesy of Peter Abraham

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Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, how will she do over the 100 meters?
Photo by PhotoRun.net


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Meseret Defar, is she ready to roll? 
photo by PhotoRun.net

With the Shanghai meet tomorrow, these and many other questions will be answered. Just below my bon mot, Alfons Juck makes comments on all events from Shanghai! My pick on time in 110m hurdles for new WL? 13.05! Let's see! 
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Mo Farah, Galen Rupp, changing shoes, April 13, 2013, 
photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images/IAAF

The weekend is awash in track and field. From the Oxy Performance meet this evening and the Atlanta Grand Prix, to the Shanghai DL tomorrow. Here is the last minute updates, our man in the world, Alfons Juck provided. We hope it helps you enjoy the coverage of the major weekend events. Watch for Runblogrun.com on twitter and Facebook, with our global coverage, thanks to key correspondents around the world! 
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"A cloudless night in Palo Alto, Payton Jordan 2011," 
photo by PhotoRun.net

The season gets hotter each week, here is part two of the USA Weekend results, compiled by Carles Baronet, Track in Sun. We are most grateful for his hard work! 

Dave Hunter is one of my stalwarts: I send him to the tough places, and he then, buys me a cold adult beverage on our next meeting. The following story, the first of three parts, is on last weekend's Big Ten Outdoor Championships. 

Dave Hunter is a life long track fan who is now combining his avocation with his vocation. He tells stories well, the most needed quality of any sports journalist. Hunter weaves a knowledge of the events, the importance of competition and a contemporary knowledge of the players and battles that make our sport so exciting. 

I hope you enjoy this piece. It is a few days late due to yours truly coming down with food poisoning, upon my return to the States, but that, dear readers, is another story...

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'Blocks", 
photo from Brooks PR Invite 2011, 
photo courtesy of BrooksRunning

This is the day two of the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships coverage from our columnist Dave Hunter. Dave has taken on the role of the traveling observer, giving RBR readers his view of how the meets play out. Conference meets are like chess games, one must keep track of all the moving parts or face checkmate....

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Drake Stadium, photo courtesy of Drake Relays

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