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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 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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Elite Racing Names Turnbull New Elite Athlete Coordinator

Posted December 12th, 2007 at 9:15 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Elite Racing, Inc., announces Matthew Turnbull has been hired as the company’s new elite athlete coordinator.

Turnbull replaces Mike Long who died in July. Long served as Elite Racing’s athlete coordinator for 16 years.

Turnbull, 30, from Stocksfield, Northumberland in England, is now responsible for recruiting and managing the professional and elite amateur athlete fields for Elite Racing’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and the Carlsbad 5000.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series includes seven major marathons and half marathons throughout the U.S. The Carlsbad 5000 is home to 16 world records and is known as the “world’s fastest 5K.”
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Hundreds gather to remember Mike Long

Posted July 28th, 2007 at 11:22 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Under the warm Southern California sun, which no doubt had influenced his sunny disposition, hundreds of family, friends and running industry colleagues gathered at Mission Point Park to remember Elite Racing’s legendary elite athletes coordinator, Mike Long, who died unexpectedly last week at 65.

Tears flowed freely as more than a dozen people came to the podium to remember Long, showering him with praise and sharing their goodbyes.

“For those who never met him words would not suffice,” said writer and television commentator, Toni Reavis, who acted as emcee. He called the diminutive Long, who only stood 5′ 6″ (168cm) tall, “the center around which all we revolved.”

Long’s son, Bruce, said that his father’s sudden death –believed to be a heart attack– was probably how his father would have wanted to go, not caring for lingering goodbyes. “He was never a hospital bed kind of guy,” he said, his sunglasses concealing his tear-swollen eyes.
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Long distance running enthusiast Mike Long dies

Posted July 20th, 2007 at 7:30 AM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results

One of America’s greatest long distance running enthusiasts and the face of San Diego’s Elite Racing, Mike Long, died Wednesday at his home in Mission Beach, Calif. Long, who friends and family believe died of a heart attack, was 65.

Well known for traveling the world to recruit professional runners to compete in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series and the Carlsbad 5000, at times Long would have so many runners staying in his home that he would be left sleeping on his couch.

Although Elite Racing could not afford the customary fees paid to recruit the world’s best runners to compete in its events, through the years Long built relationships with many top agents and athletes, which enticed many world class runners to compete.
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World record holder Defar to lead elite field at Carlsbad

Posted March 29th, 2007 at 11:17 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Meseret Defar, the Race Results Weekly Runner of the Year for 2006 and the world record holder for both 5000m on the track and 5 km on the road, will return to Carlsbad this Sunday to defend her title.

The event, which will be the 22nd annual, has hosted 16 world records, including Defar’s 14:46 from last year.

“I am coming back to the Carlsbad 5000 to break my record,” Defar said in a prepared statement circulated by event organizers, Elite Racing. “I feel I can run closer to 14:40.”
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