• Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Track & Field

The loneliness of the long-distance pole-vaulter, by Stuart Weir

Stuart Weirby Stuart Weir
May 7, 2017
0
0 0
0
SHARES
8
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Stuart Weir has been traveling the world, writing pieces for RunBlogRun. He wrote for us in Belgrade, then, World Relays, and now, Doha Diamond League. This piece made me smile. I hope that you enjoy it. Katie Nageotte, we look forward to seeing you at your next meet!

That smile when you know your poles have officially made it onto the plane💃🏼🎉😁. Thank you @emirates!! Qatar here we come!! #adidas #polevault #travel #teampacer #poweredbychike #athletics

RelatedPosts

FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 17, 2025, week 14, day 2, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

Oslo Bislett Games Bislett Stadion, Oslo (NOR), 11-12 June 2025

A post shared by Katie Nageotte (@ktnago13) on May 1, 2017 at 5:38pm PDT



The loneliness of the long-distance pole-vaulter

I met Katie Nageotte at the luggage carrousel at Doha airport a few days before the Diamond League. I was waiting for my suitcase. She was more anxious about her poles.

I had never given much thought to the challenges pole-vaulters face in competing around the world. For Katie – and all other pole-vaulters – it is a way of life. She shared with me the effort involved in getting your poles to the competition: “It’s not the most fun! But that is the sport. Ideally we just try to check them as regular luggage. Mostly everything is confirmed ahead of time but sometimes they don’t show up, sometimes they get broken in half. I have not had that happened but I have heard about it. So for every vaulter it is an added stress because we can’t do what we do without poles. If you get to a meet and the poles are not there, you are screwed”.

Katie tweeted a photo of herself smiling with the caption: “The moment you know your poles are on the plane”. She explained more to me: “It really is a moment of huge relief when they show up and you see them there, ‘yes’ – it is the best feeling, especially if you have a tight flight connection. I think it’s stressful enough worrying about regular luggage but more so with poles. A lot of time people don’t want to deal with them and throw them to the side. Luckily I’ve never had a bad experience getting the poles to competitions but you hear of horror stories. I don’t enjoy carrying them around but I need them so I cannot imagine how miserable it is for the people working for the airlines getting them on to the planes. But as athletes, we are a super appreciative”. British pole-vaulter, Sally Peake, experienced the loss of all her poles in a flight. They were worth about $ 5,000 and the insurance would only pay part of the cost.

When Katie’s poles are located at the airport it is good news but there is still the issue of getting them to the hotel. The meet had only sent a minibus. The only way to get the poles in was through the front window!

Having got them safely to the hotel is good but only the beginning. Katie explains what happens next: “Typically the hotel will find a space to keep them – here in Doha it’s on the lobby level. Yesterday I went to practice and we had to load them on to the bus again and carry them over to the practice area. Then for some reason they did not want us to keep them at the track. So we have to load them back on to the bus and bring them back. Today I think I will do my shake-out in the hotel to make it a little easier. It is always a bit of a struggle – pole vaulters are high maintenance”.

I also wondered why Katie needed 8-10 poles. I wished I had not asked! She told me: “They are different lengths, different weights, different thickness, different flex. You use some of them to warm up from a shorter approach, not running your full length then you have bigger ones for the full approach. Then you have different ones for your full approach – bigger than for the short approach. Then as you get going throughout the competition, you want stiffer ones – as you’re going faster and with adrenalin to launch even higher.

“From the start of the warm up to the end of the competition the pole-vaulter would love to get through all the poles in their bag. On a good day you would hear people say, “I got on my biggest pole” – usually that is the longest and the stiffest one. So if you do that, it’s a really good day. But typically I would say there are two possibly three that you don’t touch, depending on the conditions on the day – tail wind and other factors”.

Katie vaulted well in Doha – a season’s best of 4.45. At least there was a happy ending – ending, well yes, apart from the small matter of getting the poles back home…and then to the next event.

I left Doha full of admiration for the pole-vaulter.

Author

  • Stuart Weir

    Since 2015, Stuart Weir has written for RunBlogRun. He attends about 20 events a year including all most global championships and Diamond Leagues. He enjoys finding the quirky and obscure story.

    View all posts
Previous Post

Mixed Relays for Olympic Games

Next Post

2017 Spring/Summer Workouts, Week Seventeen, Day 1, Easy day of running

Stuart Weir

Stuart Weir

Since 2015, Stuart Weir has written for RunBlogRun. He attends about 20 events a year including all most global championships and Diamond Leagues. He enjoys finding the quirky and obscure story.

Similar Post

FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025
Continental Tour Gold

FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025

June 17, 2025
Is Beatrice Chebet Quietly Building the Most Dangerous Range in Women’s Distance Running?
Spring Training

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 17, 2025, week 14, day 2, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

June 17, 2025
Morning after Thoughts on Bislett
Diamond League

Oslo Bislett Games Bislett Stadion, Oslo (NOR), 11-12 June 2025

June 17, 2025
2024 Summer Mileage Program, Week 1, Day 4, July 11 , 2024, learning from Adversity
Spring Training

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 16, 2025, week 14, day 1, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

June 17, 2025
Diamond League Stockholm
Uncategorized

Diamond League Stockholm

June 16, 2025
This Day in Track & Field History, June 15, Buddy Edelen sets WR in Marathon, 2:14.28 (1964),  by Walt Murphy News and Results Services
Athletic History

This Day In Track & Field, June 15, Jack Lovelock wins Mile of Century in front of 35,000 fans at Princeton (1935), Buddy Edelen sets WR in Marathon (1963), written by Walt Murphy

June 16, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to RunBlogRun's Global News Feed

Wake up to RunBlogRun’s news in your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll keep you informed about the Sport you love.

*we hate spam as much as you do

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Clyde Hart’s Guide to 400 meter training (from 1996 Super Clinic Notes/World Coaches Notes)

Clyde Hart’s Guide to 400 meter training (from 1996 Super Clinic Notes/World Coaches Notes)

April 5, 2023
2023 Nike Pre Classic: Two Amazing Days of Track & Field!

Noah Lyles, The Clock Doesn’t Lie

March 7, 2024
Grand Slam Track’s Kingston Slam Comes to a Close with 12 Slam Champions

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, April 11, 2025, week 4, day 5, fourth week of year, Friday is an easy day!

April 12, 2025
USATF / Day Four:  USA’s Assembled Team Is Ready!

Abby Steiner replies via twitter, on the curiosity about her new professional running contract

February 6, 2025
Mondo Duplantis and the Jump that made him the greatest of all time

Mondo Duplantis and the Jump that made him the greatest of all time

8
What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

7
My Five Biggest Takeaways from the Men’s Olympic Trials Marathon, by Oliver Hinson

My Five Biggest Takeaways from the Men’s Olympic Trials Marathon, by Oliver Hinson

7
Asafa Powell, Considering Longevity in Sprinting

The RunBlogrun Interview: Asafa Powell

5
FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025

FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025

June 17, 2025
Is Beatrice Chebet Quietly Building the Most Dangerous Range in Women’s Distance Running?

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 17, 2025, week 14, day 2, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

June 17, 2025
Morning after Thoughts on Bislett

Oslo Bislett Games Bislett Stadion, Oslo (NOR), 11-12 June 2025

June 17, 2025
2024 Summer Mileage Program, Week 1, Day 4, July 11 , 2024, learning from Adversity

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 16, 2025, week 14, day 1, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

June 17, 2025

Popular Stories

  • Clyde Hart’s Guide to 400 meter training (from 1996 Super Clinic Notes/World Coaches Notes)

    Clyde Hart’s Guide to 400 meter training (from 1996 Super Clinic Notes/World Coaches Notes)

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Noah Lyles, The Clock Doesn’t Lie

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, April 11, 2025, week 4, day 5, fourth week of year, Friday is an easy day!

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Abby Steiner replies via twitter, on the curiosity about her new professional running contract

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • An epic pole vault competition

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025
Continental Tour Gold

FBK Games FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED), 9 June 2025

June 17, 2025
Is Beatrice Chebet Quietly Building the Most Dangerous Range in Women’s Distance Running?
Spring Training

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 17, 2025, week 14, day 2, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

June 17, 2025
Morning after Thoughts on Bislett
Diamond League

Oslo Bislett Games Bislett Stadion, Oslo (NOR), 11-12 June 2025

June 17, 2025
2024 Summer Mileage Program, Week 1, Day 4, July 11 , 2024, learning from Adversity
Spring Training

2025 Spring Racing/Training Program, June 16, 2025, week 14, day 1, Third week of sharpening, Third week, transition from track to cross country.

June 17, 2025

Recent Tweets

Next Post

2017 Spring/Summer Workouts, Week Seventeen, Day 1, Easy day of running

runblogrun

RunBlogRun comments on the global world of athletics, sports & ethics, and the Olympic movement. @runblogrun

Browse by Category

Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Home page
  • My Account
  • Sample Page

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

Select a password for yourself. (minimum length of 8)

Paste here the user biography.

Provide here the twitter screen name. i.e. @RunBlogRun

Provide here the instagram screen name. i.e. @RunBlogRun

Provide here the facebook profile URL. i.e. http://www.facebook.com/RunBlogRun

Provide here the linkedin profile URL. i.e. https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-eder-5497253

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Home page
  • My Account
  • Sample Page

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved