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Lead Stories: Saturday, July 4, 2009

Nick Symmonds: Indoor 2009 and Some of Your Questions
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 27)

Posted January 28th, 2009 at 1:30 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

Welcome to the official blog of middle-distance track star and 2008 U.S. Olympian Nick Symmonds. Be sure to check every other Monday at http://nicksymmonds.thefinalsprint.com for Nick’s latest entry! For more information about Nick, also please visit: nicksymmonds.com

Wow! I’m so happy to see how many great comments were left on my latest blog. A lot of great questions were asked and I will try to address them in this weeks blog. In order to tackle the bulk of them, this blog might not have the same flow that I try to keep in most of my writings. I will try to address questions in the order that they were received.

First of all, in regards to my indoor season: I am planning on opening 2009 with a 1000m at the Boston Indoor Games on February 7th. From there I am planing on running an 800m in Fayetteville on the 13th. If all is going well and I feel confident in my ability to race and win I will head to the US Indoor Championships at the end of February. The Oregon Track Club will then be spending the month of March in Arizona for some warm weather training to prepare us for outdoors. My outdoor season will not be set up until we have completed indoors, but I imagine I will kick it off as I always do at the Penn Relays.
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Nick Symmonds:
Race Preparation
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 26)

Posted January 5th, 2009 at 2:11 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

I’ll start out by thanking Dylan and John who read last weeks blog and left comments. Im glad to know that fellow 800m runners out there are reading and enjoying what I have to say! I think I can address both of your questions by talking about how I prepare for a race. This is actually a very suiting time to be writing such a blog as I am currently preparing for my first indoor competition which will take place in Boston on February 7th.

As I look to ready my mind and body for a race I start thinking about tweaking a few small things in my training a week out. If it is a race that I am planning on training through, my total mileage for that week will probably only drop about 5 to 10 percent. I typically run 70 miles a week when I’m training at capacity and thus for the week of a race I might only get 60 to 65 miles in. If I am preparing for a big race, such as the trials, the tapering process will be closer to two weeks (i.e. I would go from 70 down to 60 down to 50).
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Jon Rankin:
Facing the Next Step [Part 1]
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 22)

Posted December 24th, 2008 at 10:13 AM by Jon Rankin

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin, the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com

The year 2005 marked the moment in my life when I would enter what’s known to all soon-to-be graduating college seniors as “the real world.” No, I’m not talking about the MTV show The Real World. Even though that would have been a lot more fun post-graduation, it’s as far as you can get from anything like the real world I’m talking about (sorry real world fans). I’m talking about the world where financial aid is no longer student loans (that’s what I had), college scholarships (that’s what I didn’t have) or grants (didn’t have any of these either), but a job that you have to find. Where your living situation is no longer a dorm room, but most likely a small, dirty, really old apartment in a location furthest from where your job is located. Going into my 5th and final year of college I was faced with the inevitability of the bubble that college creates for all 18-22 year olds bursting and having to create a similar situation all on my own once that diploma touched my hands. To say the least, I was staring in the face of the real world and I was uncertain about my future with less than twelve months of school left.
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Nick Symmonds: A Typical Day in the Life of a Pro Runner (Elite Athlete Blog Entry 25)

Posted December 15th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

This blog is for Micah who requested an entry detailing a typical day in the life of a professional runner. I’m sure the average schedule varies quite a big based on geographical location and event, but I can tell you that the day I’m describing is very typical for me and is similar to that of many of my teammates.

When we are on the road for a race our days are very unscheduled and you have to learn to adapt to changes. That can be difficult sometime because when we are home our lives are pretty simple and very plain.

A day at home in Eugene typically begins at 8 am. If I have been smart I will have gone to bed the night before around 11 PM and wake up on my own (without an alarm clock) after 9 hours of sleep. I usually try to have a cup of coffee and a banana before I head out the door for practice. Some mornings I will go straight to the gym to lift but most mornings I leave to meet the team for my first workout of the day.
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Jon Rankin:
We Can All Be Heroes
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 21)

Posted December 11th, 2008 at 11:00 AM 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’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com

Last night, December 5th, 2008, I attended the Nike high school cross country event called the Nike XC Cool Down in Hollywood, California. I had the best time hanging out with all who attended, from the Nike LA Reps, the local high school cross country runners, their coaches and their parents. Along with my training partner, Alysia Johnson I had the joy of being a “celebrity” guest for the event. The event had a little bit of everything: good food and music, running videos, even a dance contest. Unfortunately, I couldn’t compete in the dance competition, but if I did I think I could have given the high school kids a run for the win and bragging rights!

The night provided a rapidly aging runner like me—I know I’m not old but it feels that way sometimes–an opportunity to reminisce with the young audience about my high school experience and what it meant to me looking back now. I have to admit that as I described my high school running experience I felt nostalgic. I hadn’t realized in quite sometime how much I missed the pasta parties. One of my fondest memories from high school cross country was the nicknames that we had for each other, many we still shamelessly use to this day. My nickname was “Rankdog.” I know, I know, “Rankdog?” I’m not even going to try and explain it. All I can say for the name was that I, I mean we thought it was cool at the time…..
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Dysfunction Run Amuck
Part VI: Overstepping by USATF Board Members and Conflicts of Interest

Posted December 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

This is Part VI in TheFinalSprint.com’s seven-part series titled “Dysfunction Run Amuck: USA Track & Field and the Need for Change”. To catch up on the preceding installments and/or to view the publication timeline for the final parts in the series, please scroll to the bottom of this article.

Overstepping by USATF Board Members

A major problem with having a bloated board of directors is that its members tend to venture into administrative areas instead of limiting themselves to focusing on the big picture, as they’re supposed to do. Two high-profile deals, in Birmingham and Eugene, illustrate the point admirably.

It has become practice for the organizing committee for each Olympic Games to help nearby cities provide training facilities for national teams from all over the world. The way the Olympic marketing rights are supposed to work is to have the Olympic organizing committee compile a list of “approved training camp cities” and announce those cities during the preceding Olympic Games. The announcement, according to the UK’s The Herald, acts as “the starting pistol in the race to attract teams and sports.”

That article, published on last February 20, reported, “Birmingham City Council has scooped the jewel in the [London Olympics training camp] crown, the American athletics team. A memorandum of understanding was signed during the indoor athletics international there on Saturday. Stephanie Hightower, the former international hurdler who is now chair of USA [Women’s] Track & Field, signed the memorandum with Birmingham Council leader Mike Whitby.”

The only problem was that the USATF national office knew nothing about the deal, and had no inkling that it was in the works until thenewspaper report of February 20. Though the memo of understanding was not binding on USATF, it could have been a major embarrassment if USATF’s national staff decided to cancel the deal.
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Nick Symmonds:
Post-Collegiate Running
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 24)

Posted November 18th, 2008 at 9:24 AM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

I am often asked what a post collegiate running career consists of. Sometimes I am asked by a friend or a fan who doesn’t entirely understand how someone can make a living running. Other times I am asked this question by collegians who are interested in continuing their own track careers. Unfortunately, there simply are not a lot of resources out there to help these people understand the options available to athletes interested in running at an elite level after college. While there are many different options out there, I feel I must admit that I know very little about many of them and therefore only have the expertise to explain how my own professional running career came about. Ill start at the beginning.

After a fairly successful college career I had several sponsors expressing slight interest in representing me. Generally speaking, it is through these sponsors that one is able to make a living. I knew that in order to secure a good deal with these sponsors I would need two things: better marks, and an agent. As it would turn out I was able to tackle both of these challenges in the same weekend.
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Team Meb to Participate with Conviction in Nike+ Human Race, Support NineMillion.org

Posted August 28th, 2008 at 7:25 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Columns, SPOTLIGHT, Road Racing

Team Meb Nike+ Human Race Logo Press Release: This month the world watched as athletes from nations around the globe united in competitive spirit in one amazing city: Beijing. On August 31, that spirit continues with the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s largest sporting event, which will feature 10K races in 25 cities around the globe.

In Los Angeles, one group of family members, friends and fans of U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi, will unite with professional runners, including Nike athletes Khadevis Robinson and Jon Rankin, and Team Running USA member Jacques Sallberg, to run the race and raise money and awareness for NineMillion.org, the United Nation’s program that supports refugee children around the world with access to education and sports.

Team Meb has a unique tie to the noble causes of NineMillion.org. Their team name sake and running inspiration, Meb Keflezighi, who also remains the reigning U.S. record holder in the 10k with an astonishing 27:13:98, not only supports the cause vigorously, but he lived it, as did his brother, Hawi Keflezighi, owner of HAWI Management, which manages both Rankin and Sallberg.
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Programming Note: NYC Half-Marathon Video Available On-Line

Posted July 29th, 2008 at 12:23 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Road Racing

You can watch last Sunday’s NYC Half-Marathon presented by NIKE at the website of the race’s broadcast partner, WABC-TV in New York. The direct link is here:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news&id=6289832

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NYC Half Marathon:
Elite Preview

Posted July 26th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Cheryl Lowe

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Road Racing

Thousands of runners will hit the streets of New York City this Sunday, July 27, at 7:00 AM for the NYC Half Marathon presented by Nike. The 13.1-mile race is expected to be a big hit with distance runners, and with a hefty amount of prize money for the top ten finishers, the event is also sure to draw a few elite athletes to the starting line. In addition to the endorphin high and feeling of accomplishment, top male and female finishers in the Open Division will be able to take home $10,000 each. The race is on the final day of the Runner Experience, a four-day-long festival of fitness held at Niketown.

Dathan Ritzenhein (USA) is expected to be among the top American male finishers as he prepares for the marathon race at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China next month. Ritzenhein has had recent success by finishing 8th place in the men’s 10,000 meter race at the Track & Field Olympic Trials on July 4, and with a half-marathon PR of 1:01:25 set in 2006, this race could very likely provide an opportunity to set a new PR.
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