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Lead Stories: Sunday, July 20, 2008

Nick Symmonds: Teammates
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #11)

Posted April 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner 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: www.nicksymmonds.com

Most mornings I wake up excited at the physical challenges I have planned for me that day. Whether it is an intense set of 200s, a grueling day of mile repeats, or just an easy jog followed by some lifting, I usually roll of out of bed anxious to start my workout. Today however, I woke up and was literally dreading my morning session. On the schedule I had a 5 mile tempo run averaging 5:05 pace. As an 800 meter runner this is a difficult workout, but I’m usually able to key off my teammates and literally let them drag me down the marked bike path that runs along the Willamette River. Today however, I did not have the pleasure of working out with any of them and was left tackle this 5 mile monster by myself.

I am part of a very unique training group here in Eugene, Oregon; there is no other running team in the United States as talented or as deep as the Oregon Track Club Elite. It is a group that has been carefully selected by the great coaching minds of Frank Gagliano and Vin Lananna as well as the higher ups at Nike. We have guys who have run 45 seconds for 400 meters, guys who can run well under 13:30 for 5000m and guy who can race the lights out of any distance in between. It is an honor to be part of this group and sometimes I forget just how important my teammates are to me and how much more difficult and less enjoyable my life would be without them.
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Note on the News: Video Interview with OTC Coach Frank Gagliano

Posted January 31st, 2008 at 9:35 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Our colleagues at RunnerSpace.com have posted a video interview with Frank Gagliano, the coach of the Oregon Track Club Elite team.

In the interview, which is embedded below, Coach “Gags” talks about the team’s preparations for this weekend’s two-day University of Washington Invitational, and the addition of Kevin Hicks and Bolota Asmerom to the team.

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