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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 28, 2008

Josh Cox: Ad Finem
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted February 26th, 2008 at 12:15 PM by Josh Cox

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Track & Field, Famous Quotes, Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox.
Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry and for more information about Cox, also please visit: www.joshcox.com

In ‘97 Cox ran and won a 50-mile ultra, in ’99 he ran his first marathon making him the youngest Trials qualifier. The following year he clocked 2:13, which opened the door for him to train with the world’s best in Kenya. Cox has tried his hand at Reality TV, been all over magazine covers and is a fixture in the sport.

Ad Finem – The Dream Carcass

Ad Finem – Latin: To the end/towards the end (of a page, a chapter, or a three-part, Latin-laced blog at TheFinalSprint.com)

The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight.
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Well, I wake in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin’ me insane.
It’s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor.
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.”

— “Maggie’s Farm” by Bob Dylan

“Don’t you let it all pass you by
Looking through life’s window pane
Don’t you sit around wasting time
That would be a crying shame

There’s a power that’s deep inside
And it burns just like a flame
Just believe and you’ll see that God
Will shower you like pouring rain

If you want it
You can change your world today
If you want it
Just break free and walk away”

— “If You Want It” by Lenny Kravitz

It’s closing time. Clear the dance floor and move toward the exits. Club Latin is shutting down. The night was fun, the music was great but everything with a beginning has an end. Temet Nosce, Carpe Diem . . . Ad Finem. The music has stopped, the lights are on, but as the bouncers usher you out I hand you a promoter’s card—don’t worry, it’s nothing scandalous, I’m like Kix®, kid-tested and mother approved. Well, most mothers . . .
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Jon Rankin:
A Letter to the Goddess of Victory: Falling In-Love
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted January 2nd, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Jon Rankin

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, 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.

I assume you heard it at least one hundred times already, so bear with me as I say it to you one more time:
‘Happy New Year!’ to all of you.

In this entry I will be sharing a letter from my newly minted journal. It’s a letter that describes how I feel about the sport that I play (I want to achieve all that I’m capable of achieving) and also, a girl that has helped re-ignite my passion for life—a passion that I thought only existed in dreams before she won my heart.

I write this letter and will write any subsequent letters to a Goddess known as Victory. In these letters I personify the word victory because in sports victory and the idea of victory is talked about so much that it sounds like it’s something tangible, something that can be touched; and sometimes, even someone that is real. Victory is unique because the concept behind victory and what it really is goes beyond finishing first. I’ve gained a greater sense for the broadness of the definition and meaning of the word from a mentor of mine, Mebrahtom (”Meb”) Keflezighi who tells all that he meets: “RUN TO WIN.”

The interesting thing about his mantra is that it sounds like he is saying run to get first place, and that’s all. But what he is really saying is that you must run in such a way that you’re always giving your best. If you can do this then you’re truly “running to win.”
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Podcast 99: JOSH COX on Faith, Love, Hope … and the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

Posted October 31st, 2007 at 6:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

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

Episode 99 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my interview with American marathoner and Olympic hopeful JOSH COX.

In the interview Cox offers intimate details about his absence from racing and the emotionally and mentally trying journey that began in late 2005 when his father was diagnosed with cancer. Cox went to care for his father, ceased most of his training, and was by his side until he passed away in July 2006. Although a painful journey, it also led to a once unthinkable metamorphosis; enabling the father and son to repair what had been a tumultuous relationship and find forgiveness, as Cox says, “On this side of eternity”.

His personal and athletic life now back on track, Cox is ready to “let it rip” at Sunday’s U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials; a race he says he’ll been running for both his Heavenly and earthly fathers.

Download the podcast to hear Cox discuss these experiences, the Trials, as well as, having his “butt handed to him daily” when he arrived in Mammoth, the “adventure” of earning his qualifier at the Air Force Marathon, what he believes is the “true gold” in athletics, his new video about Ryan Hall on GodTube, and Team Running USA: their strong group dynamic despite stark contrasts in personalities and how a common faith binds them together.

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to you

Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Josh Cox
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 25.0 MB | Length: 36:26 MIN

Episode sponsored by:
Camelbak - the originator and leader in hands-free hydration.

To learn more Camelbak Elixir, their effective, easy-to-use and portable electrolyte beverage, as well as Camelbak’s running specific hydration systems, please visit www.camelbak.com.

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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Can intense exercise, such as marathon running, affect a man’s sexual performance?

Posted March 15th, 2007 at 9:09 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

A study in the medical journal, Fertility and Sterility, shows that the only sexual change caused by hard exercise is a decrease in the volume of a man’s semen.

Twenty-four marathon runners had their blood and semen checked regularly as they increased their training for competition. All sex hormones remained the same except for an increase in the hormone, prolactin, which did not affect their ability or desire to make love. The only change in sexual function was a decreased volume of semen.
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