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USATF Foundation Announces 2009 Distance Project Grant Recipients
Posted March 9th, 2009 at 10:53 PM by USATF
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Road Racing
The USA Track & Field Foundation, running event organizations and generous fans have come together again to make possible a significant investment in USA distance running in 2009.
Thanks to support from the following sponsors, grants totaling $282,000 will be directed to the development of elite and “up and coming” American distance runners via the USA Distance Project:
- New York Road Runners - Presenting Sponsor
- Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. - Major Sponsor
- Houston Marathon Foundation, Inc. - Major Sponsor
Following a rigorous evaluation process, the following seven comprehensive post-collegiate training groups will receive grants in 2009:
- Mammoth Track Club (Mammoth Lakes, CA)
- Marathon Performance Group (Eugene, OR)
- McMillan Elite (Flagstaff, AZ)
- Team Indiana Elite (Bloomington, IN)
- Team USA Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
- Tempo Sports (Boulder, CO)
- ZAP Fitness (Blowing Rock, NC)
Logan Seeks Uniting Role for USA Track & Field
Posted February 11th, 2009 at 11:37 AM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results
USA Track & Field CEO Doug Logan on Tuesday gave the “Leadership Luncheon” address at Running USA’s annual convention in La Jolla, California. His latest Shin Splints blog, entitled “Doing Our Part,” provides the full text of his speech, in which he addresses the role that USATF should play in uniting the long-distance running community.
To read the full speech, please visit:
http://www.usatf.org/about/leadership/ShinSplintsBlog/?b=22
Vigil, Mahon to Present at Distance Running Summit
Posted December 17th, 2008 at 3:23 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results
Renowned coaches Joe Vigil and Terrence Mahon will be amongst the presenters at next month’s National Distance Running Summit in Charlotte, N.C. The event takes place on January 3 and 4 on the campus of Queens University.
Vigil was the USA distance coach for the Beijing Olympics, and is best known for taking Deena Kastor from a solid collegiate runner to a global marathon star. Mahon is Kastor’s current coach, and is the coach-in-residence for Team USA California in Mammoth Lakes. He currently coaches Ryan Hall, Ian Dobson and Jen Rhines amongst others.
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TFS Running Podcast: Insights Into the Life of Sports Agent Hawi Keflezighi
Posted October 6th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
Today’s podcast gives listeners a unique look into the life of sports agent Merhawi “Hawi” Keflezighi of HAWI Sports Management, who happens to be the brother of none other than 2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi. Hawi discusses Team Meb’s recent involvement with Nike+ Human Race. He also talks about what inspired him to become a sports agent and how he was able to use his platform in professional sports to get involved with various charitable causes while he and Meb were students at UCLA as well as throughout his career. He discusses the philosophy behind his agency’s motto (”Handling Adversity With Integrity”) and how it epitomizes what he and his athletes do, both as professional athletes and as humanitarians.
Download the podcast to listen to Hawi discuss the recent performances of his elite clients, which include his brother Meb as well as middle and long-distance runners Peter Gilmore, Jon Rankin and Jacques Sallberg. He also provides TFS listeners with insights into the inner workings of his own career as a Running/Track & Field sports agent, including how he conducts his business (and his life), how he views the USATF Olympic selection process, his view of global athletics as someone of Eritrean heritage, the challenges of being both brother and agent to Meb Keflezighi and much, much more!
TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”
Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Merhawi “Hawi” Keflezighi
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 29.9 MB | Length: 00:43:39
Episode Sponsored By: Secret Clinical Strength Sport Deodorant
Before you hit the road, get the antiperspirant that was inspired by athletes, Secret Clinical Strength Sport. Not only does it have prescription strength wetness protection, but also a self-renewing scent that kicks in just when you need it. So whether you’re running a mile or a marathon, you know you’re covered. Check out secretsport.com for more info just for athletes!
TFS Running Podcast: Lindsey Anderson on the State of the Women’s Steeplechase
Posted September 12th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts, Road Racing
Today I had the pleasure of speaking with American steeplechaser Lindsey Anderson who over the past couple of seasons has become one of the best runners in the United States. She had a breakthrough season in 2007, finishing 2nd in the NCAA Championships steeplechase and then finishing 3rd at the US Outdoor Championships to earn a trip to Osaka. In 2008, she finished 2nd at the US Olympic Trails while setting a PR of 9:30.75, thus becoming the 5th fastest American steeplechaser of all time and earning a trip to the inaugural Olympic women’s 3000 meter Steeplechase. I caught up to Lindsey after her return from France where she ran a time of 9:45.28 to win the steeplechase in the DecaNation meet in Paris, France on September 6th, 2008.
Download the podcast to listen to Lindsey talk about her Olympic experience, her thoughts about the improvement in the women’s steeplechase, her role as assistant coach at Weber (pronounced “wee-ber”) State and how that helps her as an athlete, her plans for 2009 and the 2012 Olympics. Listen as Lindsey discusses the reality of competing as a clean athlete against possible cheaters, her plans to compete in road races over the next couple of months and much, much more!
TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”
Host: Jimmie R. Markham | Guest: Lindsey Anderson
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 22.9 MB | Length: 00:33:26
Episode Sponsored By: Secret Clinical Strength Sport Deodorant
Before you hit the road, get the antiperspirant that was inspired by athletes, Secret Clinical Strength Sport. Not only does it have prescription strength wetness protection, but also a self-renewing scent that kicks in just when you need it. So whether you’re running a mile or a marathon, you know you’re covered. Check out secretsport.com for more info just for athletes!
TFS News Briefs: 2/27/08
Posted February 27th, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

Heavy News Day At IAAF Website
The folks at the IAAF website have been busy today. There are 9 news items for you to read, including an article about the 51 USA athletes going to the world championships, plus profiles of the Chinese, Italian, Moroccan and German contingents.
Read more at: [USA][China][Italy][Morocco][Germany][IAAF]
World Indoor Championships: Greek Team Profile
The European Athletics site is quite busy, too, with a profile of the Greek team going to the World Indoor Championships, plus an article about how the World Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland has set a participation record.
Read more at: [Greece][Edinburgh][European Athletics]
Mainstream Press Acknowledges US Distance-Running Resurgence
When the mainstream press finally gets wind of happenings in US distance running, you know there must be no doubt about it whatsoever. The Boston Globe has published a profile detailing the resurgence of US distance running, something the US running community has known for a long, long time.
Read more at: [Boston Globe]
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Asics to Host Distance Summit at USA Cross Country Champs
Posted February 5th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Cross Country
Asics announced today that they would hold a distance summit prior to the USA Cross Country Championships later this month in San Diego. The summit is free and open to the public.
Scheduled for Friday, February 15, at 5:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Mission Valley, the summit will feature three prominent figures in the annals of U.S. distance running:
- Joe Vigil: U.S. Olympic Coach, 1998 - 2008
- Steve Scott: Former U.S. record holder in the mile
- Terrence Mahon: Coach of Team Running USA California, which includes Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall
Train for the Marathon With Olympic Trials Hopeful, Get Colllege Credit
Posted January 7th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jamal Walker
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Among the thousands of runners who will participate in running events during Grandma’s Marathon weekend this June, a few dozen will be there to take a final exam. Lake Superior College is offering its unique online marathon training course again this spring, providing an opportunity to train for and run Grandma’s Marathon or the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon for college credit.
The course provides race training and nutritional information in addition to history, etiquette, and basic skills. Course work is presented online through the Lake Superior College Virtual Campus, making it easily accessible to students at a distance. Enrolled students are guaranteed entry into the marathon or half marathon. They may also arrange to compete in a comparable race to meet course requirements.
Native Duluthian Katie Koski will teach the online physical education course. Koski is an elite runner who hopes to qualify for this year’s Olympic trials in Boston. She was asked to teach the online course for Lake Superior College because of her experience competing in Grandma’s Marathon. She has run in the event eight times, finishing in the top ten on several occasions.
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Jon Rankin: Training to Become An Olympian
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)
Posted December 19th, 2007 at 1:00 PM by Jon Rankin
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin
Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star
Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint.com’s
Elite Athlete Blog Series. Make sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry.
Hi everyone. I hope this entry finds all of you happy and healthy this holiday season. I am writing this entry while I sit on my bed feeling terribly sore. Yesterday, December 17th, twenty of us athletes from the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA experienced something that will forever change our perspectives on mental toughness and limitations: we spent the day going through the BUD/S Navy Seal training course
The day started off with all of us getting up at 4:30 AM. We departed at 5:10 AM for the Naval Special Warfare Training Center in Coronado, CA. We couldn’t arrive late because to keep the instructors waiting would have made an already-hard day that much harder. They would already be yelling at us and putting us through the worst day, psychologically, of our lives. So we left really early to avoid being late and start off on the wrong foot.
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Top Ten Moments for U.S. Distance Running in 2007
Posted December 18th, 2007 at 10:50 AM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics
What a difference 7 years can make. Back in the “Dark Ages” of U.S. distance running circa 2000, there wasn’t a lot to cheer about or acknowledge, or put simply, U.S. distance running was in a funk.
And now, in 7 short years, due mainly to training groups, dedicated athletes and coaches, increased financial support, more promotion and success (think Meb & Deena) begetting more success (see the below), the United States has dramatically more to cheer about and moreover, has inspiration and a foundation for current and future stars. From a shortage of best moments 7 years ago to a surfeit of best moments, here are the best of 2007 for U.S. distance running:
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The Final Sprint
On June 9, 2009
Bridget said:
I completely agree with this article. Although I don't think moderate caffeine before a moderate workout...