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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast

Posted July 31st, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Jesse Squire

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

There is little new on the air this week, as things are wrapping up before the Olympics. Times listed are EDT; as always, check your local listings.

A Shot at Glory
MOJO HD, 9-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, midnight-12:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-noon, 5:30-6 p.m. and 8:30-9 p.m. Thursday, 10-10:30 a.m. and 6-6:30 p.m. Saturday, 1-1:30 p.m. Sunday
“Three years ago at the University of Arkansas, 23-year-old Wallace Spearmon Jr. was the yin to Tyson Gay’s yang, the gregarious personality to Gay’s quiet demeanor. Now these two are rivals seeking the same international glory.”

Olympic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies
NBC, 1:30-3 p.m. Sunday
The Class of 2008 includes pioneering marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson.
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Millrose Games’ Wanamaker Mile: Lagat vs. Mottram

Posted February 1st, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Here’s a homemade video I found on YouTube of the 2007 Millrose Games’ Wanamaker Mile, in which Bernard Lagat outkicked Craig Mottram to win in 3:54.26 to Mottram’s 3:54.81. The athlete introductions are pretty amusing, as they are so “pro-wrestling.”

The dynamic in this year’s race will be a little different with Lagat going for his 6th win and Galen Rupp trying to (as he has said) “stick his nose in it.” Expect Mottram to challenge again by going to the front with a few laps to go, just like he did last year. He has said he is “fit and strong” and Lagat has admitted he is distracted by the tragedy unfolding in his native Kenya. The 2008 race should be a classic just like 2007 race below:

Sources: [The Age, Australia][NY Times][IAAF]

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TFS News Briefs: 2/01/08

Posted February 1st, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, TFS News Briefs

2007 World High Jump champion “Way Ahead” Of Where He Was Last Year
Even though he didn’t win his first competition of his -08 season, 2007 high jump world champion Donald Thomas of the Bahamas said that, “I’m way ahead of where I was at this time last year, that’s for sure…. The results won’t show it, but physically and every other way, I know it… “I’m just a little rusty right now, I need a little more time.” It should be an exciting year for the high jump.
Read more at: [IAAF]

Mottram Determined to Show That Big Runners Can Run Indoors
Craig Mottram, at 6′ 2″ and 162 lbs, is much bigger that the average middle-distance runner. He is determined to proved tonight that a big guy like him can take on the best in the world in an indoor, 11-laps-to-the-mile race, and beat them. His determination will surely be challenged by a smaller (5′ 8″, 134 lbs.) Bernard Lagat, the current world champion at 1500m and 5000m.
Read more at [The Age, Australia]

USC Graduate Allyson Felix Begins Two-A-Days
Now that she has graduated from USC with a degree in Elementary Education, Allyson Felix suddenly has a little more spare time, time to step up her training regimen to include two workouts a day. This is all part of her plan to do a 200m/400m double (maybe even tripling in the 100m!) in Beijing.
Read more at: [AFP]
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TFS News Briefs: 1/31/08

Posted January 31st, 2008 at 12:07 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, TFS News Briefs

Michael Johnson: I Played No Part in Wariner’s Decision
World-record holder Michael Johnson says he played no role in Jeremy Wariner’s decision to split with long-time coach Clyde Hart. He also said that it won’t affect Wariner’s chances of winning the 400m gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.
Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited]

Defar To Try For 3000m WR in Stuttgart
Coming off a world-best in the unofficial 2-Mile Run in Boston, Meseret Defar is gunning for a world record in the 3000m at the Sparkassen Cup meet in Stuttgart this weekend. She holds the current record of 8:23.72. Her 2-Mile time of 9:10.50 in Boston was equivalent to a 8:29.8 in the 3000m.
Read more at: [IAAF]

IAAF Preview of 101st Millrose Games
The IAAF Valencia ‘08 site (the home of the 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships) is featuring a preview of the 101st Millrose Games. The meet will be held in New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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Lagat and Mottram Set for Millrose Rematch

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 5:45 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Sitting next to each other today on barstools as they faced the press, Craig Mottram and Bernard Lagat almost looked like drinking buddies. They were relaxed and confident. Praise flowed freely.

“There’s a lot of significance with having a strong athlete like Craig in the race,” Lagat said of Friday night’s Wanamaker Mile, the signature event of the 101st Millrose Games. Lagat, who won both the 1500m and 5000m at last summer’s IAAF World Championships, registered his fifth Wanamaker Mile victory last year, overcoming a strong late race surge by Mottram. “I need to be ready,” Lagat added.

Mottram, who made his first Millrose appearance last year, made a strong bid for victory with two laps to go on the tiny 145m track. At six feet three inches, many said he was too tall for the tight turns, and his aggressive move caught the much smaller Lagat a little off balance.
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Rupp Hopes Wanamaker Mile Will Help Him Get to Beijing, Faster

Posted January 29th, 2008 at 5:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College

When he steps on the track Friday night for the Wanamaker Mile at the 101st Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden, Galen Rupp will be looking well past the finish line, all the way to Eugene, Ore. It will be there in six months time that the 21 year-old NCAA 10,000m record holder will be trying to make his first Olympic team, and he wants to be ready if his 10,000m qualifying race comes down to a kick.

“Obviously, the 10-K is my best event and that’s what I’ll be running this summer and at the Trials,” Rupp said at today’s New York Track Writers’ luncheon as he sat next to his coach, Alberto Salazar. “The goal this winter is to drop down in distance.”

Rupp, who is on a leave of absence from the University of Oregon, has yet to break four minutes for the mile. He has terrific endurance, evidenced by his 27:33.48 10,000m personal best. But improving his raw speed, Salazar said, will give him another tool to win longer races, even if it means losing in the short term.

“I’m going to take my licks,” said Rupp boyishly.
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TFS News Briefs: 1/29/08

Posted January 29th, 2008 at 2:32 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs, Trail / Ultra

Richmond, VA Designated As U.S. Men’s 10K Championships Site
The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K road race in Richmond, VA will be the host of the U.S. Men’s 10K Championships this April 5th. Prize money will total $25,000 with the winner getting $7500.
Read more at: [USA Today]

Ultra-Runner May Get To Keep His Toes
Andrew Wells, an ultra-runner from Davenport, IA, who won the Frozen Otter Ultra Trek in Wisconsin last week but suffered severe frostbite, was scheduled for surgery to remove his toes. He may, in fact, get to keep at least some of his toes.
Read more at: [Des Moines Register]

Olympic Hurdles Champion Hayes, Other Stars to Compete at Millrose Games
Joanna Hayes, the Olympic 110m hurdles champion, and Kara Goucher, the world-championships bronze medalist in Osaka, will be competing at this Friday’s 101st running of the storied Millrose Games. A Stuczynski-Dragila showdown in the pole vault and a talented Wanamaker Mile field (Bernard Lagat, Craig Mottram, Nick Willis, Galen Rupp) are also among the highlights of the meet which will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Read more at: [IAAF][Millrose Games]
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Sara Hall: Hello from Philly!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)

Posted January 25th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Sara Hall

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Sara Hall

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. middle-distance runner Sara Hall. Sara’s list of running accolades include being a former NCAA All- American at Stanford, the 2006 USA 5K road champion, 5th place finisher in the 1500m at the 2007 USA Track & Field Championships and the 2006 champion at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry!

Hello from Philly! I am staying out here in between east coast competitions for the next couple weeks with my training partners Jen Rhines and Kassi Anderson. Tomorrow we head to Boston for the Reebok Indoor Games, and then Jen and I will return before Millrose the following weekend. It has been fun getting to know the running community here in Philly and being reminded how running brings people together socially. I had this same impression in Flagstaff, Arizona prior to coming to the east coast. The running community in Flagstaff is made up of all kinds of people. From working the night shift at a pharmacy to taking a break from practicing law to recently graduating from college, all the runners come from different places, yet are brought together by this common passion.

These experiences, as well as some others I have had recently, have reiterated to me how life is all about relationships. It is so easy to get tunnel-vision as a professional athlete, and become so fixated on the goals you have in front of you and where you are in the process that it becomes all-consuming (especially in an Olympic year!).
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Rupp & Willis To Run Wanamaker Mile at Millrose

Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 9:18 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Meet director Mark Wetmore added some additional depth to the Millrose Games’ Wanamaker Mile, announcing today that Galen Rupp Pictured and Nick Willis would be on the starting line with last year’s 1-2 finishers, Bernard Lagat and Craig Mottram.

Rupp, 21, the NCAA 10,000m record holder, is a natural distance runner, who also holds the U.S. junior records for 3000m and 5000m. However, has never achieved a big performance in the middle distances. His top goal at the Millrose Games might be to achieve his first-ever sub-4:00 mile (his personal best is 4:01.8, outdoors), but the tight 11-laps-to-the-mile track at Madison Square Garden makes running fast times difficult.
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Shobukhova, Baddeley Win Invitational Miles at New Balance Games in NYC

Posted January 21st, 2008 at 11:02 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, High School

Both Liliya Shobukhova [Pictured] and Andy Baddeley ran with confidence at the 13th New Balance Games here today at the Armory, winning the invitational miles held during one of the largest and loudest high school indoor track meets anywhere, with some 5000 competitors.

Shobukhova, of Russia, the former world indoor record holder for 3000m, loosely followed the pacemaker, Caryn Gehrke of the Nike Central Park Track Club, preferring to stay a few meters back because none of the rest of the field of 14 runners was with her. She hit the half-way in 2:16.1 with Canadians Hilary Stellingwerff, Carmen Douma-Hussar, and Megan Metcalfe in a group just a few meters back.
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