May 2011 Archives

On May 12, Paul Merca, one of our sports most prominent bloggers, and meet announcers took over a daunting task: he had to cover for the late Scott Davis, the dean of American meet announcers.

Paul sent this to me a few weeks ago, and I was clearing off emails last night, after my return from Hengelo and Rome, and thought this would be the way to start the last day of May. Scott Davis was a real friend of the sport, a man with a keen memory, wonderful voice and an sense of humor that, at times, had no socially redeeming value, as the Supreme Court once described pornography. It was at those times, when Scott would begin laughing, his face turning beet red, and his laugh beginning before the punchline, that I found myself closest to him.

We miss you Scott. And hope that, as you watch track this season, with a nice Pinot Noir, sitting next to St. Peter, that you please, please tell him a really dirty joke!

It is early on Monday morning, 30 May 2011. I am just about packed up and am finishing some notes on the 2011 FBK Hengelo Games. The meet ended a few hours ago. I spent most of the evening watching a replay on Dutch television of the meet.

The meet, in its 31rst incarnation in Hengelo, was, by all accounts a strong success. World leading marks in the men's shot put, women's 1,500 meters, equal world leader in the men's 110m hurdles.

That is where the statistics stop. For me, a track & field meet is all about the competition. In the sport of track & field, one is only as good as their last performance, and this meet proved that. Maryam Jamal is on a streak in the women's 1,500 meters, and her move from third to take the win on the final stretch was exciting. The men's 1,500 meters was even more agonizing, as the first four runners ran within .4 of a second of each other, fighting to the finishing tape.

The men's shot put had World Champions from 2005, 2007 and 2009 battling with the 2008 Olympic champion, as well as the World Indoor champ from 2008. European medalists and Commonwealth games medalist abound, and, for all of the competitors, it was about the competition, as afterwards, they spent hours challenging each other to games of air hockey, golf and telling bad jokes.

The two 5,000 meter races were fascinating. In the womens' race,  Meseret Defar's leg speed is there and she is rounding into shape very well. But, so are the young runners behind her, and Defar will have to realize that any of those four women could be challenging Defar in Daegu in two months. And many more, but Meseret Defar seems to thrive on the challenge, like many in this sport. 

The men's 5,000 meters had five men together with one lap to go. Yenew Alimarew, the Doha 3,000 meter winner, threw in surges here at 2,600 meters, 3,400 meters and just past 4,000 meters. When it came time to sprint, Alimarew was spent. This was Edwin Soi's race, and his last lap of 59 seconds showed who was king today. Still spent, Alimarew still ran 13:02 and missed the win by less than three seconds! Yenew Alimarew will be dangerous wherever he runs. 

And then, there were the surprises. Danielle Carruthers is one of America's top 100 meter hurdlers. Tonight, she showed it. Hurdling exquisitely, and leaning at the finish, Carruthers needed all of her experience to take this race from Kellie Wells and Dawn Harper, the 2008 Olympic champion, with LoLo Jones, the 2008 and 2010 World Indoor Champion, in fourth.
Besides the men's shotput, the toughtest event to make the World Champs team on will be the 100 meter hurdles.

" I got me a fearless heart..."

Two events, however, made me smile. First, it was the men's pole vault, where some of the best athletes in the sport play chess with their attempts at clearing the bar. Tonight, Tim Lobinger of Germany, and Derek Miles of the US, both, 39 years old, went 1-2 because they a) actually cleared heights, b) assessed the challenges, and picked which heights to gamble on and which heights to hold off.


Then, it was the final race of the meeting, the men's 100 meter finals. Last Thursday night, Kim Collins, the 2003 World Champion, was all but ignored in his 10.12 in taking fourth. The truth was, with the worst start in the race, Collins had moved up to fourth, in a race where Usain Bolt had to put in a real effort to catch Asafa Powell. His performance might have suggested good things to come.

On this cool, sunny Sunday evening, Kim Collins, a sprinter in his early to mid thirties, had a splendid start and capitalized on that early effort, to win the 100 meters from athletes much younger, in a good 10.05.


After the event, I saw Tim Lobinger, tying his poles on his car, and preparing to drive 600 kilometers to his next competition. He was smiling as I told him that every guy over 30, over 40, hell over 50, was cheering him on, after his victory. Lobinger smiled and laughed.

When I saw Kim Collins later that evening, his smile probably had never left his face since the race ended! Kim Collins recognizes how fortunate he has been as a world class sprinter for over a decade, and now, even in great shape, the wins may not come as often. But tonight, tonight at the 2011 Fannie Blankers-Koen Hengelo Games, Kim Collins, the 2003 World Champion, is on the top of the world. So should Tim Lobinger, and so should Derek Miles. All three have cheated gravity, and defeated athletes a bit younger than them...


Steve Earle, one of the best writers of American country music, once observed, " I got me a fearless heart, strong enough to get you through the scary parts, it's been broken many times before, A fearless heart just comes back for more.."

Track & Field is about highs and lows, times when our words are stuck in our throat, as five runners fight for each inch, trying to get to the finish line first, or, for five straight throws, shot putters just throw the shot out of the ring, farther and farther, until the most emotional thrower of them all, lets go with a scream, begging the sixteen-pound metal ball to defy gravity and go, farther, and farther, until we all become just, well part of the throw, and, as we yell our encouragement when the shot hits with a single Thud, we let out a collective roar, as we have seen an athlete at his or her best, and we have witnessed a hard fought victory.

The pursuit of track & field disciplines makes absolutely no sense in this modern world. And, in that senselessness, comes the importance of running, jumping and throwing. Every time we run, jump, or throw, that little voice of practicality that is everywhere, gets quieter and quieter. The Greek poet Plutarch was right, as he once noted, a few thousand years ago,  " I would rather excel in the knowledge of that is excellent, than in the extent of my power and possessions."

A 10.05 100 meters is excellent, as is a pole vault of 18 plus feet, or a 5,000 meters run under 4 minutes and 20 seconds a mile, or yes, a seventy foot shot put throw.

Most humans will never achieve such performances. However, it is while at a sporting event, that we become something other than ourselves, for those few hours, we find importance in the strangest things-running, jumping and throwing.
  
Kim Collins, Tim Lobinger ( and yes, Derek Miles) all pursued senseless activites, and all have fearless hearts...and we are all better for those facts....

My love of track & field began with watching the 1968 Mexico Olympics on TV with my father, in our kitchen, in St. Louis, Missouri. I recall seeing Bob Beamon setting the world record. I remember, on that black and white TV, the emotion revealed by Beamon when he set the WR: I was transfixed.

My running in high school, college and then coaching, just cemented the love of the sport. In my mind, track & field has everything: drama, competition, great stars, great stories. It is through that love of the sport, that fascination with the small details that I try to reveal in my writing, that I try and communicate the uniqueness of athletics to you, our readers. 

For decades, my friends have told me about the Golden Gala, about Hengelo, about Zurich, Lausanne, London, you name it, the key idea was track meets in Europe.


My first meets, outside of World Championships, in Europe, were seeing the AVIVA meetings, and asking Ian Stewart lots of questions about his meetings. I was fascinated (still am), how his team draws in such strong crowds of sporting fans, and the precision with which the meetings are run.

This is my first time to the Eternal city. I have one day to tour before I head to Amsterdam and view the FBK Hengelo Meeting, so I am going to try and visit some of the main sites. However, i will be back to Rome, many times, I hope.

The 2011 Compeed Golden Gala, Roma, has lived up to all of my expectations, and then some! A tight scheduled meet, with three hours of real competitive sport, which had something for everyone.

Usain Bolt was a huge draw, but it was the whole competition that was tremendous. From the shot put (best field around), to Blanka Vlasic in the high jump and Renaud Lavillenie in the pole vault, to Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross running a gutty 200m/400m double, to the women's 100m hurdles, to Phillips Idowu's WL triple jump, to the crowd-pleasing victory by Andrew Howe, in the 200 meters, the meet was, well, spectacular.


I loved the closeness of the 100 meters, the gritty battle between Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, and the electricity in the crowd when Bolt arrived. I have to admit that Imane Merga and Isaiah Koech battling in the 5,000 meters, and the relentless pace was mesmerizing for me. I also followed the women's long jump and Men's shot, round by round. I was fascinated to see Brittney Reese pull out the 6.94m jump and Funmi Jimoh battle it out.  I love the honesty of the men's shot put: no quarter given, none asked. Armstrong, Majewski, Hoffa, Cantwell, Nelson, all tough competitors, and they, like the women 100m hurdlers, compete against the best nearly event meeting they attend. Bianca Knight showed, once again, that she is quite dangerous over 200 meters, and is becoming a real medal contender.

Nice to see Aretha Thurmond throw well and Kara Patterson throw the javelin as well. Like distance runners, US field eventers, need the competitions to get a feel for their competitors. Thurmond and Patterson, Patterson especially, continue to grow as throwers getting more experience with their toughest competitors. For that, they must throw in Europe.

In closing, I wanted to thank the meet management at the Compeed Golden Gala, Roma: Meet Director Anna Ricardi, Elite Coordinator Bettina
Borner and Media Manager Marco Sicari. A masterful meeting, and superb media conditions, probably my best seating ever (50 meters into 100 meters, with good colleagues nearby. A special thanks to Bettina Borner, who has been gently encouraging me to attend for years-you were right, amazing meet.

Fidal and the Italian Olympic committee should be pleased as well, as they explore an Italian bid for a future Olympics, the sporting world can see first hand, that 47,000 plus fans at the 2011 Compeed Golden Gala Roma only portends what the Eternal City can do to host a future Olympics. 

Special thanks to Franco Favo, one of Italy's great runners and an even greater writer, who graciously helped me figure out how to get to the media area, and who knows everyone. Seeing Franco in his own country makes him even more grand a figure.

And with that, I bid you good day, and thanks once again for sharing my travels and viewings of the world's greatest sport! 

Annie Adams is the new Athlete Manager at ASICS America. She has been in the Volleyball promotions position at ASICS recently. Annie steps into the position left open when Ben Cesar, the long time Athlete Manager at ASICS America, left ASICS to join the Nike sports marketing team.

Over his tenure at ASICS America, Ben Cesar developed into one of the most visible athletics promotion managers in our sport. Cesar was able to develop, dollar for dollar, one of the best rosters in the sport, focusing on athletes that could be used by the ASICS brand to promote their brand, their involvement in the sport and who resonated with young sports fans. Among the ASICS athletes were Ryan Hall, Sara Hall, LoLo Jones, Kara Patterson, Greg Nixon, and of course, Deena Kastor. Cesar's comment to RBR was that, as a performance brand, with many places to be, ASICS had to get more out of their budgets than most: ASICS needed athletes who could help the brand grow. 

ASICS also developed some unique programs to reach out to cross country and track athletes, from posters of LoLo Jones & Kara Patterson, to one of the largest poster promotions ever, 800,000 posters of Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall, prior to the 2008 Olympic Games. Their ASICS summer cross country training logs, published over the past seven years, are another very popular program, using ASICS athletes and promoting the ASICS brand. 

RBR welcomes Annie Adams to our sport.  Her experiences in media and other sports will give her some new ideas to approach our sport, which is always welcome and needed. Annie Adams is working for one of the truly iconic brands in our sport and with a great team and some tremendous athletes.

We wish Annie Adams the best of luck. 

This was my first night in Roma, ever, and it lived up to the billing that I had given it all of these years. Fidal (the Italian Federation) and the Italian Olympic Committee, I have been told, really upped the game this year. They were rewarded with one of the best nights of track & field that I can remember in my 35 years of being a track geek.

The setting, was, well, glorious. The Stadio Olympico is imposing and a huge setting for any sporting event. Right next to the Stadio Olympico is the 1960 Olympic track site, which was being used as the training track for Thursday evening's festivities.

The crowd of 47,000 plus was enthusiastic and knowledgable. They were also remarkably young, which gave me much solace. Lots of young track fans!

 

Who were they here to see? Usain Bolt, Andrew Howe received much of the applause. Their local hero, a World Champs medalist, Andrew Howe is finally on the comeback trail.


 The only down time for the crowd, the entire night, was the men's 5,000 meters, as no local runners were in the event.  Not that Imane Merga's WL was not fun to watch for track geeks. The 2011 World Cross Champion and 2010 Samsung leader is exciting to watch. However, how to we satisfy the quest for fast times and the interest for local heroes? The local identity brings in new fans. This is one of our sport's true challenges. And this was a perfect night for fast distance races, as seven men under 13:00.6 for 5,000 meters can attest!


 The biggest surprise of the night may have been  Khadevis Robinson, who won the 800 meters, having built a strong lead off the final stretch. Our lesson of the evening-it is all about the competition, and Robinson's stretch run entertained and challenged many middle distance fans.  

The third stop of the 2011 Samsung Diamond League showed our sport at its best: great competition and new stars draw the fans. The 2011 Compeed Golden Gala, Roma, would have made the late IAAF President, Primo Nebiolo quite proud, I believe.

The current IAAF President, Lamine Diack, was in attendance, and seemed quite pleased with this great night of Athletics in the Eternal city.

Let's make it very clear. Vinn Lananna and his team gave us the 2008 Olympic Trials, one of the best events most track fans will ever remember in their lives. His resurrection of both the Stanford programs, and now the Oregon program, made Lananna a poster-boy for the possible new CEO position for USA Track & Field, in many observers' minds.

Speaking very honestly, in the heralded Oregonlive.com site, Lananna admitted being interviewed for the USATF CEO position, but believing that he was serving his sport best, at this time, championing track & field at the country's most visible track program, he decided that it was best to stay on at Oregon.

My belief is that Vinn can do whatever he sets his mind to. We need good, creative people in the key positions in our sport. Lananna is positioned to support our sport at Oregon and also with the support he receives from that little footwear company based in Beaverton with the swoosh.

For Vinn Lananna, and the sport he loves, he made the right decision. And yes, I am looking forward to see how fast Andrew Wheating runs this season! 

             Usain Bolt, 2011 Rome Compeed Golden Gala press conference, May 24, 2011,

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Okay, our friends at PUMA Running are at it again. Combining professional wrestling, the devil takes the hindmost mile and racing over 5,000 meters, PUMA sent us this video on how to spice up a 5,000m race! The key idea is that goofy things like this, will bring the sport of track & field to potential sports fans. The video is loose, and will get young athletes and athlete wanna be's wanting to check out the Battle Royale! A tip of the hat to PUMA.

The High Performance meeting held at Occidental College on Saturday night, May 21, 2011 has given us some excellent performances to begin drooling about. Katie Follett of Brooks Racing, continues to move up the American middle distance food chain with her second superb performances of the year. After winning the Payton Jordan 1,500 m on May 1, Katie Follett has come back and won her second big 1,500 meters of 2011, with the national leading time and also, her personal best, in 4:07.44. Follett made her big move with 250 meters to go, and took the win over Phoebe Wright. Trenier Moser made a smart move, going by Wright, with Moser in second in 4:08.10 , and Wright in third in 4:08.60. Shannon Rowburt was ninth in 4:11.67!

The men's 800 meters was pretty impressive as well. Cory Primm won a hotly contested 800 meters in 1:44.71, by Cory Primm, who ran the fastest time by a collegian since 1996! Tyler Mulder ran 1:44.83 for second, with David Torrence running 1:45.43 for third and Russell Brown, running a pb of 1:45.83 and Duane Solomon running 1:45.86 for fifth place! 

The final event of the evening was an epic 1,500 meters, where Andrew Wheating ran his personal best in 3:36.46. Kyle Miller ran 3:36.82 for second. Nathan Brannen finished third in 3:36.98, with Lopez Lomong in fourth in 3:37.01 and Will Leer in fifth in 3:37.01 as well! Andrew Bumbalough, who had run a great 5k in March, ran 3:37.15 her, with NIck Symmonds finished in eight in 3:38.10 (personal best). Note Leo Manzano in ninth in 3:38.26. Evan Jager continues to improve, running 3:38.80 and Matt Tegenkamp, fresh off his 27:28 for 10,000m, runs 3:41.72!

To say Dean Karnazes is unique, well, is an understatement. Karnazes recently ran from California to New York City, in 75 days! Over 3,000 miles, running between 40 and 50 miles a day. Karnazes is remarkably old school, but with a better understanding of branding and marketing than many heads of marketing at major global brands.

Time magazine named Dean Karnazes one of 100 most influential people in the world. This is where some people get a bit queasy. The man does not stop moving or talking about moving! Dean is self-promoting, but, he does it in a charming way, and also he has great causes. He has created a brand around himself that is embraced by runners and want to be runners alike. 

RBR spoke to Dean on Friday, May 21, to get an understanding of his love of movement, his role as ambassador of Dick's National Running Month, and his thought on running for young teenagers and adults.  (Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher are the other ambassadors). We also wanted to try and get some understanding of a man who understands personal branding better than anyone but Donald Trump.

Karnazes had been involved in running when he was pretty young. " I had run home from school, back and forth, since Kindegarten." noted Dean. " I ran as a young high schooler, but then did not run for fifteen years."

And this is where the story gets riveting, so hold on...." I was at my 30th birthday party, at a bar..." noted Dean. " I told my friends how I missed running. They told me that I was drunk." related Dean, as he laughed. " I went out and started running, and did not stop until I had completed thirty miles...I stumbled the first fifteen miles, then, I cursed the next fifteen miles. It took me seven plus hours to finish thirty miles, but I have not stopped since then."

Since then, Karnazes has run 50 marathons in 50 states,  and various fetes of amazing endurance. He has become Mr. Endurance for many, and writes for all of the major running magazines. It is not hard to get caught up in the whirlwind that is Karnazes, a man who is on the mission of making everyone in America get off their butts and move. For example, in his run across America, the event publicity helped him raise $177k for Action for Kids, a non-profit he supports. 

Dean is everywhere. At the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, while most were finishing the race one time, Dean ran the course start to finish and finish back to start, 52.4 miles in one day, as a promotion for VW, a sponsor
for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Dean is a public relations teams' dream. He is good looking, well-spoken, extremely fit and believes in both his running and his goal of making America move. We wish Dean much success: he is on a mission to get us all moving. So, go take a walk or run after your read this!  

We spoke with Dean on Friday, May 21, as Dean was doing interviews for the Dick's Sporting Goods Running Month.

In a story, released on Reuters.com by long time sports correspondent Gene Cherry, Doug Logan, former CEO of USA Track & Field and USA Track & Field, have reached a settlement in the wrongful termination filing made by Logan last Fall. The story was posted in past few hours.

The story, which can be read in its entirety on the Reuters.com and Yahoo.com websites:  (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/20052011/2/athletics-former-ceo-reaches-settlement-usatf-court.html), quotes a settlement filed in US courts noting that either party had the right to file a response within the next 30 days. The filing is part of the public record and available to anyone researching the category. 

Doug Logan replaced Craig Masback as CEO, after a several month search process that was questioned forensically, in July 2008. Less than two months before his termination, Logan received a substantial raise, which sources within USATF, while defending, noted that the raise was regrettable, considering the circumstances.

In September 2010, Doug Logan was not renewed as CEO of USA Track & Field. This began a series of actions, from the lawsuit by Logan, to a settlement offer of $500,000 to Logan from USA Track & Field (as noted in the Reuters.com story), which was refused.

While the Reuters story does not suggest the amount of the settlement (such is the normal procedures in such legal affairs), educated conjecture would suggest that Mr. Logan will, after paying his legal support, walk away with approximately one million dollars for his time and issues.

The settlement, which happened earlier this week, has been confirmed by several sources and met with complete quiet from USA Track & Field and Mr. Logan, per Reuters.

Hopefully, the issue of USATF leadership will now be able to be addressed and a CEO named in the not so distant future. The settlement obviously was run by the USOC and large sponsors, so that this should be a done deal.

One wonders, however,  if the CEO announcement will follow only after Mr. Logan signs the settlement and collects the settlement check. It is imperative, for the success of the future CEO and the presentation of the brand that is USA Track & Field, that this settlement is final and goes far, far away into the world that is search engines.

Stay tuned for further updates.....

adidas Grand Prix continues to add more prep superstars to the adidas Golden Spikes dream fields, scheduled for June 11, 2011. Note that Blanka Vlasic will be jumping as well!

In doing some research on the new CEO at ASICS America, Kevin Wulff, one former colleague noted several times, " Kevin is all about the big picture, he has big ideas and big goals."

Well, Kevin Wulff, who, in a very cordial telephone conversation two weeks ago, agreed to an interview with Runblogrun.com, has come out swinging.

And well, he should. ASICS America, which has had nearly fifteen years at the top of the performance running food chain, is beset with challenges from old competitors and new! The lightweight shoe category is flying out doors as each brand reacts to minimalism, barefoot running, lightweight or their approximation of it.

The key in this industry is to be nimble, but careful not to react for reaction's sake. The big goals, the big plans are part of the daily battle to be one of the top running footwear brands in the world.

In a confirmed story, first broken in the New York Times, and then confirmed by both NBC Universal and the USOC, Dick Ebersol, the architect of modern Olympic sports coverage, from 1984 until now, has resigned from NBC.

Sources were at pains to note that this has nothing to do with Comcast's rumored need to cut expenditures, and among the major cuts would be the Olympic involvement of the new NBC.

Ebersol's departure is rumored to be over the remuneration of Mr. Ebersol after contract ended in 2012.

This is not an opportune time for NBC Universal to have changes as the auction, held by the IOC, for the next four Olympics is about to begin (one month from now).

Mr. Ebersol was the founding producer of the famed Saturday Night Live comedy show. Dick Ebersol is 63.

Anne Audain is one of the great ones. How great? Audain was queen of the roads in the U.S. for most of the 1980s, and won a remarkable seven times at the Rite Aid 10k distance. Audain was a gutty racer, she took on all comers, and her win-loss record, was well, breath taking! 

In this video, Michigan Runner editor and videographer Jenn McCafferty interviews Anne on her part in making road running a professional sport. A

Few people gambled their careers and financial futures on taking the sport of athletics from the 18th century to the 20th century. The battleground was the 1981 Cascade Run-Off, one of the toughest 15k races in the country, held in Portland, Oregon. Anne Audain was there-she spoke with her footsteps.

Listen to her story.....

One of my first conversations after hearing of the death of Sammy Wanjiru was with a very well placed, and observant sports marketing honcho. In speaking of the death of Sammy Wanjiru, and our own experiences knowing Henry Rono, we had noted some of the very tough stories about Kenyan athletes, who had reached for the sun, and faltered.

Then, I read this piece by Pat Butcher, off his GlobeRunner blog. Butcher's writing is always top notch, but this column was especially thoughtful. Please pass it around, it say better than I could say, these great young athletes that we idolize pay a price for their greatness.....

While questions abound, the facts, as we can tell them, are these: Sammy Wanjiru, the 2008 Olympic Champion, the 2009 London Champion, the 2008, 2010 Chicago Champion, is dead.
 
Let's Run first picked up the story on Sunday afternoon, and RRW confirmed the story with Duncan Kibet.

As far as we can put the story together, here is what we have. Frederico Rosa, Wanjiru's agent, had spoken to Sammy twice over the weekend, and Wanjiru was upbeat and spoke of how well his training was going again. Remember, Sammy had pulled out of the 2011 Virgin London marathon due to some injury issues.

Sometime on Sunday, Wanjiru's wife found Sammy Wanjiru and another women in bed at their home. Per police reports, Wanjiru's wife locked the bedroom door, and went to leave the house.
 
Here is where it gets unconvincing: Wanjiru is to then have jumped the sixteen feet from his first story balcony to the ground, some Police suggested as a way to stop his wife from leaving the compound. One Police spokesperon suggested that Wanjiru was trying to commit suicide.
Another police spokes person said it best, " While we were not there to see why Sammy Wanjiru jumped, we do not suspect foul play." 

Frederico Rosa, Wanjiru's manager, is quoted on CNN as saying " Wanjiru did not commit suicide." There are also questions, per the BBC article of how he died falling only sixteen feet. The hospital spokes person noted that Wanjiru was unconscious, bleeding from the nose and mouth and could not be revived.

Whatever the answers to some questions, the results are the same-the most talented marathoner of this generation, Sammy Wanjiru is dead, at a very young age. We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

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Some amazing competitions coming up in a few hours in Shanghai, China, the second stop of the 2011 Samsung Diamond League series. Veronica Campbell Brown speaks on her desire to double, Alfons provides an event by event preview of the meet and it was announced that the Millrose Games will move to the

New Balance NYC Armory. We look forward to your comments!

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• Millrose Games moving uptown from MSG in '12 (sports.espn.go.com)

A very nice piece on a deserving athlete...proof of the well used adage, if one finds the right coach and training situation, works their butt off, spends years dedicated to the trial of miles (thanks John Parker), then one has a chance to shatter previous thought limitations....

Katie Landry USA Track & Field Marketing & Communications Coordinator 317-713-4672 Katie.Landry@usatf.org Elite Athlete Spotlight - Nick Arciniaga Most accounting graduates move on from the classroom to the land of cubicles and corporate offices to count the beans, but after Nick Arciniaga graduated from Cal-State Fullerton in 2006, he quickly realized that was not the life he was called to lead. Today, Arciniaga works in a professional field where shorts are part of the uniform, naps are encouraged and running twice a day is the norm. © Mike Scott   Arciniaga is a professional runner for the McMillan Elite team based in Flagstaff, Ariz. However, when Arciniaga first graduated from college, he knew he wanted to continue running, but he did not have the times on his resume to go pro. While he considered himself a miler and middle-distance runner through high school and college, he decided to try his hand at the marathon, and made his debut at the ING Chicago Marathon in 2006. Not only did he surprise everyone else, but also himself with a time of 2:16:58. "It was a surprise and a shock to have done so well," Arciniaga said. "I was thrilled to find an avenue that allowed me to continue my career." With his Chicago performance good enough to earn him the Olympic Trials 'A' Standard, Arciniaga trained for the trials for the 2008 Olympics, and entered the race blissfully unaware of the talent he was facing. "I was ignorant to the rest of the field, I thought if I had my best day I could make the team, and I really went in to it over my head." Arciniaga admits. While his 17th place finish didn't qualify him for the Olympics, it whetted his appetite for more. Since 2007, Arciniaga has lowered his marathon PR by more than five and a half minutes, or 13 seconds a mile over the 26.2 mile distance. His best race came earlier this year at the Chevron Houston Marathon, where he was tasked to run as a pacer for his teammate Brett Gotcher. Arciniaga was tasked with running 4:53 splits through 25 km (approximately 15.5 miles). Coach Greg McMillan had agreed that Arciniaga could continue to run if he felt good at that point, but stipulated that he could only finish if he was going to run a PR. After completing his 25 km pacing task and with the pressure to hit the exact splits lifted off his shoulders, Arciniaga began to drop back from Gotcher. But after a few miles, he began to pick up the pace, and not only caught Gotcher, but passed him. Running the splits through his head, and calculating the pace, Arciniaga began to realize he was in position to run a PR. As he moved up to a surprising third place, he caught a cheering section off-guard as they began to chant, "Brett! Brett! Brett!" While Arciniaga admits that the cheers caused him to laugh, he reveled in surprising the crowds and continued to pick up the pace. He crossed the line in second place knocking 18 seconds off his previous best setting a new PR (2:11:30). This time around, Arciniaga is looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Team Trials for the Marathon with a better understanding and appreciation for the event and the athletes he will be competing against. "This time I know the competition, and I know myself. If things pan out right, I can make the team if I have my day, but I know where I belong, and that is in the top five or six guys. " Arciniaga knows that he doesn't have the same clout as the Ryan Hall's and Dathan Ritzenhein's of American marathoning, but it is a role that he thrives in. Arciniaga admits, "I prefer to be the underdog. I know that I am not less talented than the top guys, I'm just taking longer to develop." This weekend, Arciniaga will look to add a USA Championship title to his resume at the USA 25 km Championships hosted by the Fifth Third River Bank Run. At last year's edition of the race, he finished third in 1:15:18, and this year he will battle defending champion Andrew Carlson for the win. "I want to repeat my performance in the top three, but obviously I want to go for the win," Arciniaga said. "I know it will be a competitive field, but I want to be able to control the entire race." To watch Arciniaga, and the rest of the USA 25 km Championship field, tune in to the live webcast at www.USARunningCircuit.com at 7:00 a.m. CT.

About USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.

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Gentle Readers,

A note from Peanut Dwayne Harms has arrived on my various email addresses. With such an important event, I have dropped all that I was doing. I was, presently, building a graven image to the Nordic God, Thor, and his father, Oden. That, dear and gentle readers, will have to wait.

If you anywhere in the Eugene, Oregon vicinity during the 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field champs, then pool all of your dollars (you could start by selling your Rush albums or autographed pictures of Bootsy Walker), and visit The Grill. Beside great track & field, there will be adult beverages of many varieties, food of many species and, perhaps, we can see David Frank in his natural habitat. (Rumor is that Jeff Shaver may travel back from the far east to visit the humble track meet held at the end of June 2011).

So, read on, gentle readers, and make sure you find me for some conversation on the only sport that really matters....track & field!

(Continuing the tradition, there is no drug testing for the Hootie 5k).

Toni Reavis, TV commentator and keen observer of our sport, sent this to me yesterday. I wanted to post it for you to read. There are many reasons for doing this: to recognize Grete Waitz, and notice through the elegant style of Mr. Reavis, the observations he noted about Grete & Jack, Grete's brothers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Grete's many friends. A life well lived, a life well loved, and a life with few compromises. Please keep Jack, Grete's brothers and her many friends in your thoughts and prayers.

Please consider her on your next run or walk....

The 2011 Colorful Daegu Pre-Championship Meeting gave athletes like Walter Dix, David Oliver,

Allyson Felix have two wins already this year.

A good meet, part of the IAAF Challenge, the next on the tour is
the Shanghai DL, second stop on the
2011 Samsung Diamond League series!

Updated May 11, 2011-photo updates and commentary

I missed this one in my in basket, sorry about that.

Nice to see SPENCO Medical, the company that invented insoles, looking to some key players to get them on track. Truth be told, SPENCO has become the generic brand while SuperFeet and others lead the way in run specialty. What Dr. Scholls is doing right now, per some key viewers of the industry, in the general consumer market and medical footcare business, has been to fill the vacuum that SPENCO has left without any consumer brand messaging for most of the past six years. SPENCO Medical's last consistent consumer marketing was in 2004-2006.

It is not that SPENCO medical has gone away. On the contrary, new packaging, some new products have been developed, but the company has focused most of its promotion at events, with couponing, etc. In some eyes, that has been a partial success, developing new consumers. However, as one pundit put it, "by abandoning SPENCO consumers, SPENCO created the room for a dozen companies to develop."  Run specialty likes to see its channel being promoted: that has not been a strong suit for SPENCO.

Evan Wert is a true believer. He is on parallel with the key shoe geeks we write about most days. We wish him luck (and Ms. Wilson as well) in helping such a respected brand regain some resonance within the consumer product food chain.

Watch for an interview of Evan in the next couple of weeks....

IHRSA, the publisher of Get Active! magazine, sent us this release today. They were one of two groups, IHRSA and Let'sMove.org, to join Michelle Obama in announcing free health club memberships for military families!

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden joined with the IHRSA representatives to make the announcement of free 100,000 family memberships for military families across the country. This program starts June 1.

What a nice program for families who give up their family members to protect our country!

(Get Active! magazine is a member of the 23 publications who make up the RunningNetworkLLC and Running Network.com)

Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter, David Oliver and Walter Dix are among the elite athletes who will be competing in the Daegu IAAF Challenge event. A real dress rehearsal for the World Champs, this will give the attending athletes a chance to see the facility for the last time before this summers' upcoming World Champs (August 27-Sept 5).

A team from the New York Road Runners Club, including TV commentator and road essayist Toni Reavis will be attending a memorial for the late, great Grete Waitz. Mary Wittenberg & George Hirsch, the CEO and Chairman of the board of the NYRR, will be among those attending the memorial, which will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, May 12, 2011. Please keep Grete, her husband Jack and their families and friends, in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow.

This is the newest video by the Shoe Addicts. This time, they have placed their sights on David Oliver, the number one rated 110m hurdler in the world in 2010, and with his 13.16 debut this season, Oliver already has the world leader in 2011.



Here is the link on the runningnetwork: http://www.runningnetwork.com/RNW/index.php/media/rntv/viewvideo/888/nike/shoe-addicts-present-david-oliver-110m-hurdles

If you would like to see the original on YouTube, please use this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7KYmNkun68

Due

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When the weather is hot, and the winds are blowing, the last thing one might want to do is run a marathon. Not so in Dusseldorf, Germany, where 14,000 marathoners braved the 68 F temps in the shade (20 Celsius) and windy conditions to run 26.2 miles.


That Nahashon Kimaiyo won is an amazing story-that he ran his best by two seconds, running 2:10.54, when many elites dropped out before 20 k, is even more fascinating. Likewise, Merima Mohammed, all of 18, won with a strong lead, running 2:28.15, building a five minute lead before Merima hit the finish line of the METRO Group Dusseldorf marathon.

We hope that you enjoy the story on the METRO Group Dusseldorf marathon, provided by the meet management and www.race-news-service.com:

10,423 runners braved the BIG 25k distance through the streets of Berlin, Germany on Sunday. Mathew Kisorio and Filomena Chepchirchir gave us world leaders over the distance for 2011. Just another example of how the sport is growing on a global stage!

One of the crazier jobs is being a track & field athlete. Early in the season, if you play your cards right, you can go from Qatar to Japan to China to Rome, all in four weeks! Take the whimsical twitter commentary provided by one LoLo Jones, (twitter.com/followlolo):

"I won the race. Today's motiviation was jet lag. I realized the faster I get to the finish line, the faster that I can get back to hotel & go to bed."

Well, Lo Lo Jones won the 100 meter hurdles in 12.93. Sharese Woods won the 400 meter sin 52.68, and Ryan Wilson won the 110m hurdles in 13.73.

On the local side, the Japanese women set a new NR of 43.39 and Koji Murofushi, the rock star of Japanese track & field, took second in the hammer throw!

What a weekend of track & field! The season has opened with a bang, gently prodding athlete, coach and track fan to note that this is a World Championship year. One is only as good as their last race....now, the road to Daegu is only months away and less than 500 days to 2012 London!


 
Yohan Blake has come out the door, blasting away, with a wind-aided 9.80 for the 100 meters. Daniel Baily, Mike Rodgers and Michael Frater follow in 9.94, 9.96 and 9.98. Doc Patton takes fifth in 10.10! And WC medalist Richard Thompson is eighth!

15,000 fans were entertained, and surprised by some of the performances in Doha, Qatar this evening! Check your local Universal sports station to see when you can watch the meet this evening!

Ted Meekma knows alot about sports academies. He managed what became IMG sports academies, and now he and his team will be launching them at the SPIRE Institute. Meeka, in an interview with him and Stephanie Tolleson, to be seen at a later date, struck me as a man at the top of his game. I am fascinated how this could work in track & field.......

Michael Johnson, SPIRE Indoor Track Facility, photo courtesy of SPIREinsititute.org


In the movie, Field of Dreams, a baseball diamond is built by one who hears a voice, "if you build it, they will come."

That voice in the ear could have been in the ear of Ron Clutter and his wife, Tracy. Wanting to do something to bring their communities together, and wanting to bring a true excitement to the Geneva, Ohio area, the Clutters' started building their dream, the SPIRE Institute.



Clutter made his fortune selling air conditioning units to the military, and after selling that business, devoted his time and energy to his dream: the SPIRE Institute. The parents of two, Ron and Tracy wanted to give something back to the community. 

The nobleness of learning something through the activity of sport is not new. Building a 754,000 square foot facility on fifty acres (and there is still another 110 acres to build on), is.

My visit to the SPIRE Institute started last Friday, when, on a walk in San Jose, California, I received a phone call from Lisa Levine, who is managing public relations for the Institute. After sending me a link to the site, and drawings of the facility, I was intrigued. When she told me who was involved with the project and where they wanted to take SPIRE, I changed my plans, flew back to Wisconsin, and drove out to Geneva, Ohio from my offices in Fort Atkinson, WIsconsin.

David Smalley, Director of External Affairs,  gave us the tour of the facilities. From the indoor volleyball courts and basketball courts, to the indoor regular soccer (FIFA rules, high school rules) fields, to the attention to detail, SPIRE has done an amazing job at building a tremendous facility. David has been around sports all of his life-his father coached basketball at the naval academy-and his enthusiasm for this facility knows no bounds. And quite frankly, with as wonderful a facility as they have built, there should be no bounds.


Opening the facility up to the community, they encourage people to walk inside their facility each day ($15 a month or $1 for a day). A sports medicine doctor has established his practice in the building, working with the athletes from local high schools, youth clubs, and colleges.


The indoor track, with a 300 meter flat Beynon surface, has two long and triple jump runways, abilty to throw discus, shot, weight throw, inside, and seating for 3-4,000. The facility is so large infact, two 200 meter indoor tracks could be placed, side by side inside the indoor track facility. The indoor track was started in June of 2009 and hosted events in January of 2010.


The outdoor track is a Beynon surface, and the field inside the track can host football and soccer games. The day we were there, three double dual meets and a tri-meet were going on. With top of the line timing (FinishLynx, the best in the business), this facility is hosting events. Rick Marinelli, the Director of Track & Field Operations, noted that if they had to build a 400 meter indoor track, they would only have to reline the track surface-the surfacing is there and they already have the room.  Remember, " if you build it, they will come..."

So, with indoor and outdoor facilities, back to back (the outdoor can seat 7-12,000), would one think that a throw stadium was about to be developed, right next door, with a nice track as well? One has to think that SPIRE sure must want to host elite indoor and outdoor meets, and aspirations for US national events? In the indoor facilities, one can have all of the field events in action, without impacting the running events. The attention to detail is amazing. 

" Yes, we would love to host national and elite events at SPIRE" noted Stephanie Tolleson, former IMG Vice President and member of the SPIRE management team. In fact, besides the facilities, the management team is also one of the most impressive parts of this fascinating new project.


Ted Meekma, who managed IMG sports academies and worked with IMG Tennis academies for nearly two decades, is the man behind the new SPIRE sport academies. Meekma made it clear that he wants to develop the new stars in the sport of track & field, among others. Think about a world class training center in the heart of mid-America, one of track & field's strong holds!

Ron Clutter has that, "vision thing." Clutter is a believer. He and his wife have believed in this project from day1, and will build "until the market stops us." Clutter believes that SPIRE will grow as long as it answers the needs of an ever growing community.

The U.S.O.C. has visited the facility. The U.S.A. Track & Field team will be visiting in the next two weeks.


In my mind, this is a perfect answer to what some coaches of track athletes are begging for now-access to training facilities for the athletes just on the verge of reaching elite status. Meekma and Tolleson made it clear, that while they want the emerging athletes to come here, and many events (they can do many at once and will have residential units within 18 months), they want to open to war veterans, para Olympians, youth soccer leagues and the couple who want to get their daily walk in a place that is not rainy or cold.

The management team is a virtual IMG College reunion. Understand one thing, most of these folks have no need to gettting involved in something that will take long hours to develop. Meekma, Tolleson and her husband Peter Johnson, among others, have obviously understood or share Ron Clutter's vision: SPIRE is simply, the best sports facilities in the country.

Most of the media were fascinated with nine time Olympic medalist Michael Johnson, who called the indoor facility, " at least the equal of the World Indoor facility in Doha, Qatar", if not, the best in the world. That is a statement that bears some consideration, when one notes that Mr. Johnson is not one prone to exaggeration. Michael Johnson made it clear, " this facility is second to none."

Just like when Michael Johnson was running, he is a man of few words. His actions are what need to be considered. MJ Performance will develop only its second facility and staff at SPIRE. This is not a man looking for a franchise business. Michael Johnson told RBR that he wants to help develop athletes. " This is not a track specific performance business, we are about building athleticisim, preventing injuries and developing overall fitness." Citing the lack of physical education across the country, and the single mindedness of many athletes to one sport (" playing multi-sports develops a wide range of skills"), Michael Johnson is a man on a mission.

The final fascinating part of this puzzle is that the SPIRE academy is non-profit. Working with foundations to find answers to childhood obesity, and developing wellness programs for all ages, SPIRE and its management team wants to impact that way the business of sports is conducted, but also how sports impacts athletes and the community.

For the 300 teen age track athletes who were having a meet at SPIRE, the memory of the day will be having Michael Johnson speak to them. Johnson is one of the most important track & field athletes of his generation. He is also a businessman and a father. His talk to the young athletes was meant to inspire-who knows who will become a coach or a top athlete in the future. His time with them, signing some autographs, signing shoes, is a big deal to these young people.

Congratulations for SPIRE getting the SPIRE academy and the MJ Performance center announcements to the world. This facility, and its staff are winning people over, one track and field meet at a time....

With the facility, and their new partnerships, SPIRE Institute is on its way....

Emma Coburn had a superb steeplechase race at the 2011 Payton Jordan Invitational. She ran an amazing race!

One of my favorite meetings each year is the American Sports Builders Convention. The ASBA, or www.sportsbuilders.org are all about building the best track facilities and tennis facilities. They encourage this through education and the certification of track and tennis builders. They are a huge resource for information on building the right facility for you!

The 2011 version of the Payton Jordan Invitational was held under near perfect conditions. The goal was to give as many athletes the chance to hit the qualifying standards, A and B Standards, for the World Champs. The qualifying period started May 1, 2011, so the Stanford management moved the meet to coincide with the official beginning of the qualification time period.

The meets major highlights were some fast 1,500 meters, with Kate Follet surprising some top women milers, running 4:08.92. Bryan Blackenship used a 54.9 last lap to hold off Lopez Lomong in 3:42.9.

In a great men's 5,000 meters, Bryan Bethke helf off a brutal charge over the last lap, where Bethke won in 13:25.78 to 13:26.18. Bethke ran a last lap of 56 while Elliot Heath ran a 55 second lap. " I did not feel that great, but the last lap was fun!"  One wonders how fast Mr. Heath will run in six weeks at the NCAA outdoor!

A titanic struggle ensued for between Sally Kipyego and Shalane Flanagan, where Kipyego took the World leader and Shalane took the American leader over 10,000 meters. Molly Huddle, the second American in the 10,000m, finished sixth.

In the men's race over 10,000 meters, 14 made the A standard, including Bobby Curtis, Tim Nelson, Matt Tegenkamp, with 14 under the Olympic A Standard of 27:45-in fact, all 14 were under 27:32!

A great night of track & field, watch for more comments tomorrow! For now, you can enjoy the complete results!

Elliot Denman, one of our roving writers, gives us his thoughts on the 2011 Penn Relays. A great meet, but how relevant in 2011? Per Elliot Denman, the 2011 Penn Relays are quite relevant....