May 2012 Archives

Robby Andrews will be running for adidas, per a press release hot off the wire. Andrews, who ran a fine 3:34.78 at the recent 2012 USA High Performance Oxy meeting, finishing third to Mo Farah and Galen Rupp, left the University of Virginia track program to go professional over the spring.

Now focused on his dream to make the 800 meter and 1,500 meter teams for the US Olympic team, Robby Andrews has the solace of knowing that he has a sponsor, adidas. Andrews will also be racing the 800 meters on June 9 at the adidas Grand Prix NYC.

There are few things that infuriate me more than that hearing a women athlete has been told that she is fat, or needs to loose weight. Truth is this, with proper nutrition, eight to ten hours of sleep, and a good workout schedule, your body will get to the weight that it is supposed to be. 

A great meet will be held in Rome on May 31, and one of the clashes will be over the 1,500m, featuring Morgan Uceny, the number one 1,500m for women in 2011. photo by PhotoRun.net.

The 2012 Ostrava Golden Spikes meeting was a very competitive meet, with an SRO crowd, and some fascinating performances. Bear in mind, dear readers, that this is my first time on the IPad,which has had it's frustrations. However, it should be fine, after a few meetings.

Donn Cabral, photo by PhotoRun.net


This piece, on the tremendous program at Princeton, is second in weekly series, written by Dave Hunter. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

​
Princeton's Track & Field Journey
Cabral's Break-Out Spring Highlights
Princeton's Drive For National Recognition

by Dave Hunter


Friday night at the USATF Oxy High Performance Meet in Los Angeles, Princeton senior Donn Cabral turned in a stunning performance by winning the 3000 meter steeplechase over a star-studded field.  The sole collegian in the fast section of the steeple, Cabral displayed a poised and tactical racing approach that saw him patiently running his own race in the middle of the pack for most of the race.  Moving up over the last three laps and kicking hard over the final furlong, Cabral overtook Dan Huling and Evan Jager - who took an unplanned dip after clearing the final water jump - to capture the win in a record time. 

The Princetonian's winning mark of 8:19.14 not only established a new Princeton and Ivy League record, it also represents a new American Collegiate Record - taking down the old standard of 8:19.27 set by Weber State's Farley Gerber way back in 1984.

In vanquishing a covey of elite Americans who had gathered on the Occidental campus in search of the prized Olympic steeple "A" standard [8:23.1], Cabral bested a bevy of talented runners such as Huling, Jager, Billy Nelson, and Steve Slattery - all of whom have previously qualified for either U.S. Olympic or World Championship teams.  Cabral's winning time is the fastest in the nation this year and thrusts him into the forefront of a growing number of legitimate contenders for the three steeplechase positions on the U.S. Olympic team.

Prior to this spring, only ardent track and field fans were likely to be familiar with Cabral's prior accomplishments.  True, in the past two years, he has been the only Div I athlete to score NCAA points in both the steeple [2nd both years] and the 5000 - a very tough double. Only the most rabid track fans dig for and appreciate track stats that granular. 

But this spring has been quite different.  After All-American seasons last fall in cross country and this past winter in indoor track, the Princeton senior hit the outdoor season ready to go.  Last month at the Penn Relay Carnival,  Cabral unleashed stirring anchor legs on the Tigers' winning DMR and 4 x mile relay teams - distinguishing Princeton as the first school to pull off that double at Penn in 51 years. He has since built on that success: with a double win [10,000 and steeple] at the Heps Championships earlier this month; followed by his break-through steeple win at Oxy.  This Tiger is roaring.

And while Donn Cabral and his magical senior outdoor season  - and it's far from over yet - has proved to be the marquee story of this year's Princeton track and field team, it should be underscored that Princeton's track & field program is blessed with many athletes performing at high levels.  "We have four guys [Cabral, Joe Stilin, Trevor Van Ackeren, and recovering Peter Callahan] who can run under 4:00 for the mile," notes Fred Samara, the Tigers' long-standing head coach of track and field.  And Princeton's stand-outs excel in areas other than the distance events. Dave Slovenski has vaulted 16' 8¾". Super sophomore Conor McCullough has a collegiate leading mark of 242' 9¾" in the hammer and is the odds-on favorite to win the NCAA title.  Stilin [13:38 in the 5000;3:39 in the 1500] and Van Ackeren [3:39 in the 1500] not only are likely to earn podiumpositions at the NCAA championship meet, but also are tantalizingly close to qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Indeed a full complement of 17 Princeton athletes will be traveling to Jacksonville this weekend for the NCAA Div I Preliminary Championship Competition. "This is the best, well-rounded team I have ever had," adds Samara.

There is a perhaps more compelling back story to tell about track and field at Princeton University.  Few American universities, if any, can claim a longer and more storied track and field heritage than Princeton.  Collegiate track and field is said to have originated at Princeton in the mid-1870's.  Over the past 140 years, a number of gifted performers have excelled for the orange and black.  In the 1930's, Bill Bonthron set the American record in the mile and the world record in the 1500 as a Princeton undergraduate.  Later on, Craig Masback developed into one of the world's top middle distance runners in the 1980's.  More recently, Tiger high jumper Tora Harris has won several national collegiate and professional titles.

This heritage - and heritage is accorded utmost respect at Princeton University - is fully appreciated by Samara and his accomplished distance coach Steve Dolan.  Quietly, and without fanfare, Samara, Dolan, and the rest of the Tiger coaching staff have been building a track and field program that is coming into full bloom.  More than just a strong Ivy League team, or a power limited to the East Coast, the Princeton University track and field program is now emerging as a more fully-balanced, properly-trained, highly-disciplined group of athletes that is well equipped to compete effectively at virtually any college venue across the country.

The Tiger track & field program is not likely to be content to rest on its laurels.  Noting that its incoming class of recruits looks, "pretty good," Samara says that "it [Princeton's emergence] is like a snowball rolling downhill; we have good momentum going now.  Our goal is to become one of the best teams in the country."

Not lost in all of this are the teachable moments that wise coaches like Samara look for - those rare and often-fleeting instants when a coach can effectively connect with the athlete to make a point that transcends the sport.  And with all of the media attention and opportunity for distraction that comes with success, Coach Samara is not likely to allow his athletes to drift away from the underlying principles that have served as the foundation of the Princeton program.  Notes Samara, "Our program is about teaching our athletes to learn to 'believe in yourself.'" Several times this season there has been evidence that Samara's message has been embraced by his charges.  After anchoring the Tigers to victory in the 4 x mile relay at Penn to complete the rare distance double,Cabral observed, "We did a really good job of keeping our composure, and we dealt with the pressure that was on our back.  To a man, we competed well and stayed levelheaded.  That was more of a feat than any of our times, or our kicks, or anything like that."  Samara's track and field athletes who learn those types of lessons will possess valuable tools that will help them be successful not only in track and field, but also in life. 

Haile Gebrselassie is running well, and his world leading 10k on the roads can attest to that! His 27:39, which gave him a seventeen second victory, at the Bupa Great Run Manchester.  Please note that, Haile is scheduled to run the 10,000m at the FBK Hengelo Meeting, which is next weekend, Sunday, May 27. 

Final of the Brazilian GP meetings. Lauryn Williams took third in 100m in 11.32. Nicole Denby won the 100m hurdles in 13.24. Fast women's steeplechase, and triple jump of  17.17 by Alexis Copello, the Cuban triple jumper, who could be a surprise in London 2012. 

Please enjoy the photos of the 2012 USATF Oxy High Performance Meet, held Friday, May 18, 2012. The photos are from PhotoRun.net. Special thanks to Chuck Bartlett, the Web Director of the Running Network.

Robert Harting threw his personal best, and the World and European leader of 70.31m, Piotr  Malachowski threw 68.94m and Laurence Okaye threw 68.24m, a new British record! Harting continues to pursue the perfect throw. A student of the event, Harting will throw even farther this year.

Our man from Tokio, Jeff Shaver, told us that the press room after the meet was mayhem. Jeff covered the Shanghai meeting for us last year. His comments about the meet this year noted how that the meet had winds and tough rains (which you could see on the Universal coverage).

The 2012 USATF Oxy High Performance Meeting was one of the best meets of the new outdoor season. It may have been also one of the most revealing of the racing and fitness levels of some of the todays major distance talents.

The 2012 USATF Oxy High Performance Meet is an example of what happens when major players in the sport come together. Here, just minutes before the meet begins, are the surprises that Jon Gugala, our man on the track, think you should know about. Enjoy the meet!

Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream

When you have the world record and you also are the defending Olympic champion, you have a few people who might want to bring you down a few pedestals. Such is the life of Dayron Robles, the Cuban hurdling deity, who not only has the world record and Olympic title, but has a few bits to settle this year.

In Daegu, Korea, in a particularly physical race, Dayron Robles was disqualified in the final, which gave Jason Richardson the gold medal, Liu Xiang the silver and Andy Turner the bronze. The 110 meter hurdles, to paraphrase a retired Russian coach, is not ballet, one does not get points for form or technique.


So far this season, Dayron has run a 13.47 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Dayron will run at Nike Pre on June 2, and then, arrive in New York, to race at the adidas GP NYC on June 9.


The 110m hurdles will be one of the most competitive races in London 2012. With the quality of the event this year, New York should give us a good view of how the top hurdlers are doing, and it will also be the last time we will see American hurdlers before they head to Eugene for the Trials. 

How often do we have to see this story? A BBC writer, wrote this piece about Is Track & Field a Dying Sport in US (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18083154)?

At the Olympic Summit, LaShinda Demus noted, and I quote, ""When we get on the track we know we are taking part in a dying sport,". Understand the sentiment, but for an athlete who is making a nice salary from the sport, is that the smartest thing to say, in front of the largest media gathering for Olympic sports outside of the Olympics?

Now, I love LaShinda Demus. I have written about her since she was a junior in high school. I loved watching her win her gold medal and set the AR in Daegu. Her life story is enough for a movie that is captivating to sports fan and just plain human alike. And, the truth is, she has her perception of the sport, and perception is reality.

The Ponce, Puerto Rico Meeting had a tremendous crowd and they were treated by Javier Culson's World Leading 48.00 for 400m hurdles, and Ryan Wilson's victory over Dayron Robles and Jason Richardson. (Oh, and don't forget Tianna Madison's 100m, 200m and long jump triple! ). Special thanks to the IAAF for the story.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Culson runs world lead and Wilson surprises Robles and Richardson in Ponce - IAAF World Challenge

Javier Culson on his way to victory in the 6th Ponce GP in 2012 (Fernando Neris)

Skin Cancer is something that many of us do not even consider. Deena Kastor, the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon has joined the Outrun the Sun foundation to encourage all to participate (and you can do it from anywhere), by running or walking in the month of May. The note below gives you the details and also provides a strong website.

And remember to pass this around to your teams and your friends and family. Getting checked for skin abnormalities can save a life!

The Running Network, along with USA Track & Field are sponsors of the Outrun the Sun in May race, and encourage all to get a skin check up!

Here is part 4 of Chasing Bolt. Thanks to the PUMA marketing team, we will have the other episodes over the next few days. Usain Bolt is the track & field athlete who has fans in all of the sports world. He can gather a crowd in Daegu, as well as Berlin, as well as New York. He is not merely a track star, he is a global sports phenomenon. Usain Bolt should show the track & field world what the sport can be, with a focus on the competition, and then the entertainment of great competition!

In 2010, when Jenny Simpson signed with New Balance, there were many armchair critics behind the scenes. The competition for Jenny Simpson (then Barringer), was pretty intense by the brands, and the money was more most American women distance runners were getting at the time.

New Balance ended up sponsoring her, and I remember Tom Carleo, the GM of Running at New Balance, introducing Jenny in New York and admitting that he was taking a big chance.

Tom Carleo credited Josh Rowe, his new marketing manager, on much of the work at bringing Jenny Simpson to New Balance.  

The RunningWarehouse is one of the most well respected and fastest growing run specialty digital stores in the country. That Joe Rubio, CEO, uses Shoefitr, tells you two things: Shoefitr must be providing great assistance to the consumer and that Joe Rubio rarely misses a beat.

It also gives me a chance to make a point about the conversation with the consumer. Hire a consultant and they will tell you to have a strong digital presence, one must have a conversation with the consumer. But, how do you do that?

Provide unique content is one. Provide it consistently is another. Make your site easy to spend time on is another. But, the most important, is to provide tools that allow a conversation to happen.

For brands, that means, giving the consumer a 24/7 opportunity to have a conversation, at their leisure. Brands like RunningWarehouse do that. Applications like Shoefitr give the consumer more information, and a recommendation on product that fills the needs of the consumer.

Remember, don't dictate to the consumer, be open to the conversation.

Christian Olsson, the 2003 World Champion, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump loved his discipline. He sustained over six surgeries to stay jumping, finishing sixth in the 2011 World Outdoor Champs, with a jump of 17.23m.

His best jump ever was 17.83m. This was the world indoor record in 2004. 


He won the gold medal in Athens with a jump of 17.79. With three World Champ golds, one silver, an Olympic gold and two European championship gold, Olsson spent two years recovering from injures, in 2007 to 2009.


Olsson was a world class high jumper as well as a triple jumper, with a pb of 2.24m outdoors and 2.28m indoors.


Christian Olsson was always a thoughtful interview, he will be missed. Per EME News, Olsson sustained an injury recently as he was training for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Sebastian Coe, once told a sports journalist, that the triple jump must be one of the most damaging events in athletics. The pounding that it takes, on the joints, the back, the achilles, can not be underestimated.

Christian Olsson paid much for his dedication to the triple jump. He also had magnificent moments, which is the most all of us can ask for, in our vocations and avocations.

 

This invitation from Norwegian Federation was lost in my spam folder. My apologies.

This is the information for the USA Junior T&F Outdoor Championships. We were asked to send it to our readers. If this makes sense for some of your athletes, we encourage you to read on and get your athletes to the event!

Sammy Wanjiru ran the Olympic marathon in 2008 like a man on fire. His blazing performance, in the humid conditions of Beijing just built on his legend. His wins in London, Chicago, and his comeback from injuries just gave a hint of how amazing an athlete he was. Several keen observers of our sport, have suggested that Sammy Wanjiru may have been the greatest marathoner who ever lived. 

His tragic death is still wrapped in mystery.

A new book titled, Death Runner, and written by Fritz Conijn, will focus on Sammy Wanjiru. The book has been published in Dutch. The book will be published shortly in English.

Dayron Robles, the world record holder in the 110m hurdles, and the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, will be visiting the US in the coming weeks. Robles is one of the most popular athletes in track & field and also one of the most traveled Cuban athletes of his generation.

Last summer, Dayron Robles was disqualified in the final of the 110m hurdles. It was, in many keen observers minds, a questionable decision. This past winter, RBR met with Dayron Robles in Birmingham at the AVIVA Indoor Grand Prix at the NAI Stadium in Birmngham, UK. Robles took second to Lui Xiang in that race, over 60 meters.

Robles is a student of the sport. He and David Oliver had a wonderfully animated, and humorous interview together last summer in Paris, just before the AREVA Paris meeting. Both athletes knew how many times that they had raced against each other, win-loss, etc. Robles is a consumate hurdler and sprinter, who understands his craft, is highly competitive, and races well with lots of competition nearby. 

Dayron Robles will be competing in the adidas Grand Prix NYC on June 9. The 110m hurdles in New York will feature Jason Richardson, 2011 WC, David Oliver, Olympic bronze medalist, and Aries Merritt, 2012 World Indoor Champ and fastest 110m hurlder in 2012 (13.03, 12.98 wind aided).
This is, the best 110m hurdle race of the year, so far. 

Robles will also be running, the week before, at the Nike Pre Classic (June 2). Two great races in one week, should be an excellent adventure for Dayron Robles.

Jeremy Wariner ran 45.04 for 400 meters, at George Tech International on Friday. And then, Charles Jock finished 1:44.75 to Ryan Martin's 1:44.77 in Irvine at Big West Conference.

At the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, it came down to the 4 x 400 meter relay for both championships. On the men's side, Wisconsin took the win and on the women's side, Ohio State took the title. Over 3900 fans watched the third and final day of the Big Ten Outdoor T&F Championships. (The meet was held in Madison, Wisconsin). Link to Big Ten story  ). This was first title for Wisconsin men since 2007!

The first Samsung DL meeting of the year, Doha, was a great opening for the season! Not only was there fast races, but just some great competitive events!

The following piece was written by Peter Abraham. Peter is a friend of mine who has spent his adult life in the media world. We text each other, tweet each other most days, and converse on the world of media and our sport, track & field. The following column came out of several observations by Peter, and I asked him to follow up with a thought piece.

Tell us what you think. You can reach me, anytime at runblogrun@gmail.com or larry@runningnetwork.com.

We provided some suggestions for sprinters, jumpers, throwers, and now, distance runners, on their warm up and cool downs. Special thanks to American Track & Field writer Roy Stevenson, who has written for us for a few years now.

Here is his suggestions for distance runners:

Jason Richardson, photo by PhotoRun.net Aries Merritt, photo by PhotoRun.net David Oliver, photo by PhotoRun.net The hurdle battle at the adidas Grand Prix NY, on June 9, 2012, will be epic. David Oliver, Jason Richardson, and Aries Merritt, three of our fastest 110m hurdlers, will be competing in New York, as they build up to the Olympic Trials, to be held later in June. In fact, while there is not an easy event on the Olympic Trials schedule, the men's 110m hurdles is one of the toughest teams to make. We have the World Outdoor Champion and the World Indoor Champion. The adidas Grand Prix NYC continues to add to its fields, so that over a week, we will have both the Nike Pre (June 1,2) and adidas Grand Prix NYC (June 9). Runblogrun will cover both meet via Live Blog. We look forward to see you at both meets.

The promising story of Serena Burla's seven minute personal best at the Seoul Marathon in March, after a very disappointing Olympic Trials. Serena had taken second, two years in a row, at the Aramco/USA Half Marathon Championships. This, after an amazing recovery from cancer.

Serena is a thoughtful person, who speaks from experience, as her live was rocked to its core less than three years ago. One of our most talented runners, Serena is showing her promise, and that the mantra, one learns more from failues than successes, holds much truth. We encourage your to read this story by Duncan Larkin.

We asked Dave Hunter to spend a few days in the city of Brotherly Love, to see his first Penn Relays. This is his third article on the Penn Relays, regarding Saturday, Day three. We think you will enjoy his keen observations.

Also, nice to see Mike Rodgers,Justin Gatlin, Doc Patton and Walter Dix, four of this writer's favorites, run a crisp 4 x 100m relays in 38.40. They are a great team.

A strong early season meeting in Kawasaki, Japan. Liu Xiang of China ran 13.09 for the 110 meter hurdles, to open his 2012 season. Mike Rodgers took second in the 100 meters, running 10.04.


Allyson Felix won the 100 meters in 11.22. Amantle Montsho ran 50.52 to win the women's 400 meters.

The season has just begun.

A great meet last night in Kingston, Jamaica. Usain Bolt opened with 9.82 for 100 meters. Yohan Bolt ran 19.91 for 200 meters. Two other world leaders were Carmelita Jeter, who ran 100 meters in 10.81. Brigitte Foster-Hylton ran a superb 100 meter hurdles, in 12.51. The 2012 journey to London is getting more and more interesting.

EUGENE (USA): World 2009 finalist Chris Solinsky, the first American under 27:00 for 10 000 m and the second fastest ever at 5000 m, is still on the road back from major hamstring surgery and has elected not to enter the US Olympic Trials in Eugene in June. "I'm going to have to bag it this year and swallow the hard pill that it's not going to happen," Solinsky told the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

  Brett Gotcher, fifth placer in US Olympic Trials-Marathon in January, ran a 28:21 for 10,000 meters last weekend at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Here is a short video of Brett running in the adidas Supernova Glide 4, a shoe that was given best shoe Neutral by the Running Network in its Spring 2012 shoe review.

 The video is two minutes and thirty seconds long. Don't let that fool you. The music, the voice-over, but most of all, the stunning video, and of course, Gary Muhrcke, who is at his best in this video, make the time go by quickly . In fact, the length is perfect, as this viewer wanted the experience to last longer. 

The voice-over, done as a gentle conversation as we view Gary Muhrcke, a man who has run over 150,000 miles in his life, continue to
traverse the world's greatest city park.  

The happiness of the long distance runner is the theme of Muhrcke, a man who ran 2:31.29 to win the first NYC marathon, and went on to build, with his wife Jane, one of the most influential run specialty chains in the country. Muhrcke gives the viewer a personal tour of his Park, where he has run, in rain, snow, sun. Treadmills? Not for Gary Muhrcke. Gary finds his strong, to use the Saucony vernacular, in Central Park.  

The music, the quick interviews of the two other runners, just show Central Park for what it was built for: an oasis in the urban jungle that is the wonderfully vibrant and crazy city of New York. The video also shows one of the more iconic characters in our sport as the cheerful road warrior, and will put a smile on those who know Mr. Muhrcke. Those who don't know Mr. Muhrcke, will, after this video, want to run in Central Park with him.

The video is part of the Saucony Find Your Strong Project, encouraging people to run, to move and to find the currency (Find Your Strong) that
makes running a viable way to exercise for them. 

We are looking forward to more videos from the Saucony team.

Usain Bolt, Lausanne, photo by PhotoRun.net

A fun contest showcasing one of the most compelling stories and athletes in our sport. Nice job IAAF on this one! The contest: send in a photo, in the Usain pose, and the grand prize is a trip for two to the Herculis Monaco meeting!

Strike the Usain Bolt Pose - IAAF and Usain Bolt launch exclusive online contest

 

Monaco - The International Association of Athletics Federations in partnership with World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt are pleased to announce a brand new online contest open to all fans around the world with only one week to go to the Samsung Diamond League series.

 

Ever dreamt of meeting Usain Bolt?

Ever dreamt of attending a Samsung Diamond League meeting?

Ever dreamt of going to Monte Carlo?

 

All of your dreams can become true in just one shot!

 

Take part in the exclusive Strike the Usain Bolt Pose contest and you could be the lucky winner of a trip for 2 to attend the Herculis meeting in Monaco, part of the prestigious Samsung Diamond League circuit, and a chance to Strike the Usain Bolt Pose alongside World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt!

 

All you have to do is Strike the Usain Bolt Pose wherever you are, in your backyard, in the mountains or by the sea... take a photo or a video of your Usain Bolt Pose and upload it to the IAAF World Athletics Club Facebook page.

 

Make it fun, make it creative, make it breathtaking, make it unique coz Usain Bolt will personally select the best photo or best video.

 

The winner of the Strike the Usain Bolt Pose will be announced on 5 July 2012.

 

Play at https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthleticsClub

The Compeed Golden Gala Roma meet is held in the grand setting of the 1960 Olympic stadium. Last year was my first attendance, and it was tremendous. This year's meet, held on May 31, will feature a battle between Vivian Cheruiyot and Meseret Defar! Should be a great competition! 

LaShawn Merritt has opened well for 2012, with his 44.73 in Meeting Guadelupe. The 2008 Olympic and 2009 World Champion is running towards Eugene 2012. Looking forward to seeing him racing more.

Very deep fields at last weekends' Payton Jordan. With athletes from 30 countries, the next biggest to US, was Canada and then Great Britain and Japan. Cobb Track & Angell Field is a great complex to watch middle and long distance races. For sprints, there is this well groomed palm tree that does make it interesting to watch the sprints, but I digress.

Congrats to the Stanford staff and team, lead by Coach Floreal, who did a great job once again at a true fixture on the college and elite circuit!

Special thanks to Sarah Hunninghake for the following comments from Jason Richardson, 2011 World Champion over 110 meters and Aries Merrit, 2012 World Indoor Champ at 60 meter hurdles. Both young hurdlers were World Junior Champions, and both have exciting futures. Watching Richardson and Merritt race is a lot of fun as both are such different hurdlers. We learn a bit about them in these excerpts from the adidas GP NYC press conference today:

Collective Brands has been purchased by Wolverine Worldwide, Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital, ending months of speculation on the new purchaser of one of the more innovative footwear holding companies in the world. Their portfolio included brands such as Saucony, Sperry Top-Sider and Keds. Their portfolio also included 4,300 PayLess & Stride-Rite International stores.