TheFinalSprint.com | Premier Running Destination for Marathons, Track and Field, Race News, Podcasts, Training Advice and More!

Lead Stories: Sunday, July 20, 2008

Kate O’Neill: Re-living Childhood at Red Robin
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 12)

Posted July 7th, 2008 at 10:41 AM by Kate O'Neill

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials have been addicting. As much as I would have preferred to have a spot on the starting line rather than the living room couch, I still found myself enjoying the viewing experience. I was cheering along with the amazing Hayward field crowds; feeling inspired at the breakthrough performances of Christian Smith in the 800 meters, Amy Yoder Begley in the 10,000 meters, and Billy Nelson in the steeplechase; feeling awe at the survival story of 1500 meter Olympian Lopez Lomong; and smiling at the pure joy that registered on Abdi Abdiriham’s face as he celebrated after his victory in the 10,000 meters.

I had been afraid that watching the Trials would be emotionally difficult. For some moments, it was. I kept re-living the last Olympic Trials and wishing the intermittent four years had brought more success. For the most part, I tried to re-direct those thoughts toward the next four years. The thought of all that I want to accomplish makes me excited, but does not completely vanquish the feelings of nostalgia for the past.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Kate O’Neill:
Personal Fulfillment
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 11)

Posted June 23rd, 2008 at 7:58 PM by Kate O'Neill

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

With the Olympics fast approaching, I have been spending more time than usual thinking about goals. Ever since the Chicago Marathon, I had been chasing the goal of making the US Olympic Marathon team. When that did not work out, I was miserable, but quickly made new goals. I had to remind myself that being part of the US Olympic team was not the only reward of accomplishing my goals. The feeling of personal fulfillment was my prime motivation and that was something that I could still chase after.

For some people, personal fulfillment comes from very different accomplishments. After my long run this morning, I lounged on the couch for a while and watched the MTV show “Made” with one of my roommates. I had never seen the show before today. For those of you who are not familiar with it, the series profiles teenagers who want to be “made” into something more glamorous such as singers, athletes, or dancers. To guide them in the process, they are given a coach who is an expert in their chosen field. On this particular episode, a girl named Dyanna wanted to win her high school’s beauty pageant.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Kate O’Neill: My Dad, the Ultimate Sports Fan
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 10)

Posted June 9th, 2008 at 1:30 PM by Kate O'Neill

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

I ended my blog four weeks ago by talking about my mother’s support of my running. With Father’s Day approaching, my dad needs a proper tribute! My dad has been equally supportive, but in a different way. Like my mom, he never ran competitively. He has, however, played sports for his whole life. Throughout my childhood, I had the chance to see his pure enjoyment of all sports. By watching him, I saw the importance he placed on participating in athletic endeavors at any level and the importance of learning to work with a team. These lessons did not translate into success in any of the sports that he actually played (as I have mentioned in past blogs, I was terrible at any sport involving a ball), but they did apply to running.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Kate O’Neill:
Taking the First Steps
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9)

Posted May 27th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Kate O'Neill

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

For the first few weeks after the Olympic Marathon Trials, I was not able to run at all, but I thought about running constantly. Worries about what I had done wrong filled my head and doubts made me question all of my decisions leading up to the race. As my knee improved and I progressed toward running again, those thoughts quickly changed from the past to the future. I kept wondering what those first few steps of running would feel like. The first run loomed over thoughts and I wanted to do everything I could do to make sure that it went well.

I have been running for 13 years. In an ideal world, all those years of experience would make the act of running instinctual. I would not have needed to waste energy with all these thoughts. Instead, I felt sick with worry that my feet would no longer remember how to support me, my arms would start flailing, and my knees would buckle forward into each other.
Read the rest of this entry »

6 comments, add yours | Permalink

Kate O’Neill: Mother Whales and Human Mothers
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8)

Posted May 13th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by Kate O'Neill

Section: News & Results, Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

Happy belated Mother’s Day! On Sunday I went to a bookstore for story hour with my boyfriend and his mother. I had seen that the author of a book called Delta & Dawn: Mother & Baby Whales’ Journey would be coming to read aloud. The book tells the true story of two humpback whales that wandered into the Sacramento River last year. Humpback whales spend their winters off the coast of Mexico where they give birth and then travel along the coast up to Northern California for feeding during the warmer months. Somehow this duo got separated from the other whales and swam under the Golden Gate Bridge. Having lost their bearings, they continued swimming further up the Sacramento River toward the state capital.

This story hour was of course intended for children, but the event had caught my eye when I was looking at the bookstore’s list of visiting authors. My parents took me on whale watching boat trips when I was younger and the whaling industry had an enormous impact on the area in which I grew up. (Plus a whale played a very important role in a Seinfeld episode involving a golf ball, a little lie, and a walk on the beach. Seinfeld fans know what I’m talking about. All others should really rent the series DVD.)
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Magdalena Lewy Boulet still leads with one loop to go

Posted April 20th, 2008 at 9:56 AM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Magdalena Lewy Boulet continues to lead the U.S. Olympic Trials- Women’s Marathon with one six mile loop to go. Deena Kastor has closed the gap to 1:17 and now has about a 55 second lead on Blake Russell. Russell has a 5 second lead on Desiree Davila in the battle for third place and the last Olympic spot.

Unfortunately, we have just learned that Kate O’Neill has dropped out of the race.

Comment on this post | Permalink

TFS Running Podcast 135:
Kate O’Neill on this Sunday’s USA Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials

Posted April 15th, 2008 at 6:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Kate O'Neill On Episode 135 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, I had the pleasure of speaking with 2004 Olympian Kate O’Neill who will be running in her first US Olympic Marathon Trials this weekend in Boston. Kate is the 2008 US Half-Marathon champ and goes into the trials with an impressive debut marathon time of 2 hours 36 minutes and 15 seconds (Chicago, 2007).

In the interview, we talk about her goals and thoughts on the Trials and her preparation at altitude in Mammoth Lakes, CA alongside her Team Running USA teammates Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall. We also talk about fellow Yale Alumnus Frank Shorter and about her blogging for The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete blog series.

Download the podcast to hear Kate talk about getting used to training at altitude, the similarities of her training to Deena Kastor’s, the possibility of running the 10k in Eugene at the USA Olympic Track & Field Trials and much more!

TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”

Host:Jimmie Markham | Guest: Kate O’Neill
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 19.3 MB | Length: 00:28:11

Episode Sponsored By: U.S. Army Special Forces

If your measure of success goes way beyond the mainstream, if you think limits are something to be pushed, if your greatest motivation is doing the impossible, we may have a career for you.

U.S. Army Special Forces.
Visit goarmy.com/specialforces.

There’s strong and then there’s Army Strong.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Olympic Marathon Trials ‘08:
Elite Athlete Profile:
KATE O’NEIL

Posted April 12th, 2008 at 6:17 AM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

kate o'neil Kate O’Neill was a seven-time NCAA All-American at Yale University, and was runner-up in the 10,000m at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships. She graduated from Yale holding school records in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m.

In 2004 she placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000m, and went on to become the first Yale graduate since Frank Shorter to compete in a distance event in the Olympic Games. O’Neill was the top U.S. finisher at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships, placing 15th in the 8K race.

She made her marathon debut at the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, placing third overall and running an “A” standard qualifying time for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon. O’Neill then won the 2008 USA Half Marathon title in Houston, posting a time of 1:11:57, and beating a field heavy with Olympic Trials qualifiers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Kate O’Neill: A Long Way to Lisbon … and Back
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)

Posted March 19th, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Kate O'Neill

Section: News & Results, Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark http://kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com/ and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

As I write this blog, I am on my way back from the Lisbon, Portugal. My plane is about to land in Frankfurt, Germany where I have a five hour layover before my 11 hour flight back to the US. So I still have a long day of travel ahead of me! On the bright side, the change in time zones will make St. Patrick’s Day seven hours longer for me! As someone who is 99.999% Irish I’ll try to find some joy in that fact, even though St. Patrick’s Day hasn’t really been the same since I moved from the East Coast and started missing my parents’ annual corned beef and cabbage dinner.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Kate O’Neill: Cabin Fever
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #4)

Posted March 3rd, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Kate O'Neill

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

According to holidaysforeveryday.com, March is Cabin Fever Month. I go to this website often in search of something fun to celebrate. I don’t observe all of the mini-holidays. (For example, January 2nd is Swiss Cheese Day, but that is one of my least favorite kinds of cheese so I bypassed that holiday. January 19th is Learn to Ski Day, but I think I will have to wait until my running career is over before picking up that sport.) At the end of January when my roommates and I were searching for a reason to throw a party, we were ecstatic to find that January 26th is Australia Day! All the guests had to bring an Australian dish. Most approached this challenge with their whole-hearted enthusiasm, procuring crocodile meat, whipping up egg whites to make Pavlova, and building an Australian salad (a hard thing to do in the dead of winter since Australia’s seasons are opposite to ours.) One person, who shall remain nameless, just bought some Teddy Grahams and taped the word Koala over the word Teddy. While this did not require a great amount of effort, we were impressed with his resourcefulness.
Read the rest of this entry »

4 comments, add yours | Permalink