TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Chris Derrick: NON and Return to Running
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 4)

Posted July 9th, 2008 at 10:52 AM by Chris Derrick

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Chris Derrick

Welcome to the official blog of Chris Derrick; the 2007 Gatorade High School Cross Country Runner of the Year and 5k record holder! Make sure to bookmark chrisderrick.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Tuesday for Chris’ latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Stanford!

So after a couple downer weeks I had a pretty good stretch for these last two. It began with me going to NON to do some reporting for dyestat.com. It was a pretty cool experience even though I wasn’t running. I got to hang out with some of the friends I’ve made throughout the year at National meets and meet some pretty cool people. I also discovered that asking good interview questions is a lot tougher than it looks. In pretty much every interview there was a point where the athlete was talking and I was just like, “Crap, what do I ask next?”. Despite putting the microphone in the wrong place a few times, asking some dopey questions, and getting Jordan Carlson’s name wrong I think I managed to avoid looking like a complete fool. Although it was a little weird and disappointing to be at the meet but not able to race I think that being there and being able to take part in it in small way made it less depressing. And on the plus side I got to meet Pascal Dobert, John Dye, Larry Rawson, and Carl Lewis.

The best news of the past two weeks, however, was that after weeks of sitting around my house in my underwear playing pokemon and 26 days off, I could finally return to running. I’ve always had the great fortune of being able bounce back quickly from lay-offs and the bad habit of not being able to run truly easy by myself.
Read the rest of this entry »

4 comments, add yours | Permalink

Event Preview: USATF Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Posted June 18th, 2008 at 10:25 AM by Jesse Squire

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

The USATF Junior Championships will be held this coming Friday through Sunday in Columbus, Ohio in Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. On the line is a trip to July’s IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. (No, I can’t pronounce that, either.) Yours truly, the Track & Field Superfan, will be on site for all three days.

The meet is open to all athletes who are teenagers for the entirety of the 2008 calendar year, and that means all high schoolers and many college freshmen. Unfortunately, USATF was caught in a scheduling bind–some of the biggest states (New York, Ohio and others) had late state championships, pushing Nike Outdoor Nationals a week later than usual, while the Olympic Trials caused the Junior championships to be held a week earlier, and the result is that the two meets are on the same weekend.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

TFS Running Podcast 142: German Fernandez on His Historic, Record-Setting Double

Posted June 10th, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts, High School

Today on Episode 142 I had a chance to speak with German Fernandez of Riverbank High School in Riverbank, California where he was preparing to run the 2 mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals which will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina from June 19th through the 21st, 2008.

German recently broke Ryan Hall’s state record in the 1600m run by winning in 4 minutes, 0.29 seconds and then followed that by eclipsing Dathan Ritzenhein’s National High School Federation 3200m Record by winning in 8:34.23. He is headed to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he will major in Criminal Justice and run track with Colby Lowe, another outstanding member of the class of 2008 runners.

In the interview German talks about Colby and fellow seniors Michael Fout, Luke Puskedra and Chris Derrick and compares them to the outstanding class of 2001 (Hall, Ritzenhein and Alan Webb). He explains why he decided not to run the 2 mile at the Prefontaine Classic. Download the podcast to hear German discuss these topics, as well as, his outstanding double, the type of training he does, his plans for the rest of 2008 and for the long-term, and to check out his answers to our rapid-fire questions segment.

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

Host: Jimmie Markham | Guest: German Fernandez
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 10.7 MB | Length: 00:15:35

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Nike Press Release: NTN to Become Nike Cross Nationals (NXN), Include Individuals

Posted May 14th, 2008 at 4:26 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, High School

Nike today announced that its Nike Team Nationals (NTN) team cross-country championship will expand this year to include individuals, becoming Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). The Nike Team Nationals event, which began in 2004, featured the 22 best teams of each gender selected via a series of regional qualifying events. This year, the top 22 teams will be joined by the 90 fastest individuals from non-qualifying teams. Nike Cross Nationals is the only national cross-country championship for both teams and individuals.

“Nike Cross Nationals is going to be the ultimate competition for high school cross country,” said Ken Dice, vice president of the Nike USA Brand. “It’s true cross country, and a true national championship. We’re inviting the best runners in the country, whether they compete individually or as part of a team. Nike Cross Nationals is going to take cross country to a whole new level of competition for these elite athletes.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink