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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

Michael Fout: I Told You So
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 8)

Posted June 26th, 2008 at 4:01 PM by Michael Fout

Section: News & Results, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout, College, High School

Welcome to the official blog of 2007 Footlocker Cross Country National Champion Michael Fout! Make sure to bookmark the link http://michaelfout.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Thursday for Mike’s latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Florida State!

What a weekend this past weekend was! There were jaw-dropping performances from both the NON meet in North Carolina and the Junior Nationals in Ohio. I am sure that the news has been broken to you about those performances, but I just wanted to congratulate all of those who had the opportunity to compete in those races and especially congratulate the winners and All-Americans. A huge congratulations goes out to German Fernandez for his uncontested performance of the week in my eyes and many others’. His national record in the 2 mile run was truly incredible, and even though he is a competitor of mine and I will race him in the seasons to come, credit must be given where credit is due. Congrats man.

While last weekend was nothing short of amazing and entertaining to follow, starting tomorrow the athletes that strive to represent the United States in Beijing will toe the line (throw, jump, etc.). This is really the first time I will closely follow the trials and the Olympic Games, and I am extremely excited.
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Michael Fout:
Recovery and Beyond!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 7)

Posted June 16th, 2008 at 1:44 PM by Michael Fout

Section: News & Results, Announcements, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout, College, High School

The road to recovery has been undeniably long. It has been a struggle to watch as the state finals here in Indiana came to a close and to sit back and see all of the jaw-dropping results that runners across the States are throwing down. But, I am extremely happy to announce that I am well on my way back to being and feeling like the runner I should be.

Sure, right now it is nothing major … run 2 days, take a day off, run 2 days and take a day off, and so on. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now. And as much as I would like to be able to go out for a 15 miler on Sunday, I know that I have to remain patient. It is nice to have my coach, Bob Braman of FSU, preaching that to me. Because of him, I feel more grounded already, and to me that is a good thing. This coming up week, since all is going well, I hope to run each day, just 30 minutes. But after being kept from the sport I love for 2 dreadful months, some is certainly better than none.
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Stadium Record & NCAA 10,000m Title for Koll

Posted June 13th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College

Hometown favorite Lisa Koll, the American collegiate 10,000m record holder from Iowa State University, shattered the Drake Stadium record here tonight to win the NCAA women’s 10,000m, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Shadrack Songok successfully defended his NCAA men’s 10,000 crown. Both athletes had to contend with warm and humid conditions as the NCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships concluded its second day.

Koll, who earlier this spring shattered the American Collegiate 10,000m record with a 32:11.13 at Stanford University, charged into the lead less than a lap into the race and proceeded to run away from the field, covering the first 1600m in 5:13 and 3200m in 10:25.

Behind her, a tightly bunched pack that included Stanford frosh Alex Gits, Providence’s Danette Doetzel, Boston University’s Marisa Ryan, Iowa’s Diane Nukuri, Arkansas’ Denise Bargiachi, Wisconsin’s Katrina Rundhaug, and several others battled for the medals and critical team points. At 3200, the chase pack was almost 30 seconds behind Koll.
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What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast

Posted June 5th, 2008 at 1:00 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, Olympics, What To Watch, College, High School

Track and Running on TV Here are the running and track & field events coming your way on TV and/or through online webcasts. All times EDT. If I’ve missed anything, put it in the comments section. Check your local listings and enjoy!

Bislett Games
ESPN Classic (live), 2:30-4:30 p.m. Friday
CBC, noon-1 p.m. Saturday
USATF.org (live), Friday, time TBA (probably around noon to 4 p.m.)
replays on ESPN Classic at 7 a.m. Saturday
The second stop on the IAAF’s Golden League series, this meet is known for its fabulous distance races, capped off by the legendary “Dream Mile”.

Prefontaine Classic
NBC (live), 4-6 p.m. Sunday
The year’s best domestic invitational promises to be as exciting as ever.
Meet website
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Michael Fout:
Not Just A Runner
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 6)

Posted May 29th, 2008 at 6:30 PM by Michael Fout

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout

Talk about the excitement in the air. The post season is finally here in Indiana and in many states across the country. Collegiate regionals will even be run soon. Yeah, yeah, it kills me to watch, but I am a huge fan of the sport in general, so being that it is time for people to start rolling, I am excited. And, as time has gone on and my injuries are beginning to heal up, I have learned even more and appreciated even more than I thought possible.
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What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast

Posted May 29th, 2008 at 4:30 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Columns, Olympics, What To Watch, High School

NCAA Midwest Regional Track & Field Championships
Huskers.com, Friday and Saturday
Free live coverage of the national championships qualifier from Lincoln, Nebraska.
Meet Website

California High School Track & Field Championships
Fox College Sports Pacific, 7-10:30 p.m. Saturday
replays Sunday at 2 p.m.
The best high school track meet in the country gets richly-deserved regional coverage.
Meet Website
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Chris Derrick: An Unusual End
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)

Posted May 29th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by Chris Derrick

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, High School, Chris Derrick

TFS Elite Athlete Blog Series CHRIS DERRICK 425x75 Welcome to the official blog of Chris Derrick; the 2007 Gatorade High School Cross Country Runner of the Year and 5k record holder! Make sure to bookmark chrisderrick.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Tuesday for Chris’ latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Stanford!

chris derrick gatorade cross country runner of the year The last month or so since the Arcadia invite has been for me a really low key time in my racing. I haven’t really had any races to get worked up for or to treat as anything more then glorified workouts. This was supposed to be my downtime to train hard and charge up for my final glorious exit from high school track. My last chance to test my limits, set records, place my mark, etc. But then I got mono and, instead of a fitting climax, I just kind of hit the rising action and petered off somewhere to a denouement.

My symptoms began last Wednesday or Thursday when I began to get abnormally tired and just generally feel like dog doo-doo. I ran the 3200/1600 double at my sectional meet where I had been hoping to run around 8:45 for the 3200. When I nearly fell asleep a little over an hour before my race and doing strides was a serious labor I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t push extremely hard in the race, although I did push, but still it was one of the worst races of my life. Not so much because of pain but frustration at running slower than my 5k pr pace and feeling like I was struggling. I ended up running 8:58 which is actually faster then I had run the year before but was also completely demoralizing. I seriously considered scratching the 1600 but at the time I thought that this was just a passing bug that I would be over by the time state came so I thought I would just gut it out. I ended up feeling much better the second half of the 1600 and actually ran 4:14 (2:11-2:03) to win by 3 seconds. That got me in a better mood (one that was interrupted when Danny Pawola played a practical joke and told me Kevin Havel had just run 8:44/4:14), but I was still ridiculously tired.
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Chris Derrick: Perseverance
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)

Posted May 13th, 2008 at 2:22 PM by Chris Derrick

Section: News & Results, Elite Athlete Blogs, High School, Chris Derrick

chris derrick gatorade cross country runner of the year I’d like to begin my blogging experience by sharing one of the most epic runs I’ve ever had, and one that encapsulates my team as well. First a little background. Like most distance runners, we at Neuqua Valley are pretty weird. One of our more minor quirks is our belief in the Interval Gods*. The Interval Gods hate us. They have cursed us and given us crappy weather at all of our meets and interval workouts this track season. What’s more they are trying to kill us: right after we left the NTN meet in Portland there were mudslides and now, just weeks after we left Arcadia, it is threatened by wild fires.

Fortunately we’ve managed to stay (for now) one step ahead of them. We only got a break from the interval Gods wrath at the Aracadia Invite. Arcadia doesn’t really count as we are fairly certain the Interval Gods live there. We tried to appease them by feeding some squirrels in a local park and it was going swimmingly until Danny Pawola offered them extra-sour-rye bread, which they hated. I’ll let that little tidbit set the scene for our tale…
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Michael Fout: Looking Back, Looking Forward
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)

Posted May 8th, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Michael Fout

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout, High School

Yesterday, May 7, I officially became a man. And by that, I mean I turned 18 years old. As you could probably guess, I do not feel any different than I did when I was 17. Another year, another two seasons of running almost complete. Along with my birthday celebrations came reflections on the past. Those reflections dealt, of course, with running. And what a year it has been.

This time last year I was a healthy body, running everyday and incredibly excited about the track season I was putting together. I was beginning to think that I could be a national caliber runner. My first goal: Winning the state championship in the 3200 meter run. As the days until the state meet quickly passed, I was beginning to feel very anxious to see if I could reach that goal. In my head, I knew I could do it. The day came, and there was no way I was going to lose. It turns out, I didn’t! I had done it. It was, however, by no means easy. I won by just over a second as a hard charging, now freshman IU runner, came on strong. But as I crossed the line, an unexplainable feeling of excitement rushed through my body. Next stop: Nike Outdoor Nationals. I ran a 9:03 3200 a few weeks prior to NON and my goal on that chilly night in North Carolina was to run sub 9 for 2 full miles. As everybody knows, the 2 mile field that night was ridiculous as far as talent goes. I knew I had a good chance and that I could just hop on the end and “go for a ride.” I wound up finishing 11th and ran 8:58 for the full deuce! I knew I had to now put together a great cross season so that people would not think my run was just some fluke. Let the work begin.
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2008 Women’s Collegiate Dual-Meet Rankings

Posted May 7th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College

On Monday I posted the men’s dual-meet rankings. Here are the women’s rankings, following the same rules and formats:

#1. Southern Cal
The Trojans beat UCLA, and that’s all they needed to be ranked at the top.

#2. Minnesota
The Golden Gophers won the four-team Pepsi Collegiate Challenge by a single point over Oregon.

#3. Oregon
The Ducks took a narrow second at the Pepsi Challenge, defeating Penn State and Washington. (Next year they are expected to join in the revived men’s dual meet with UCLA.)
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