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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

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

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

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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Nick Symmonds:
Building the Base
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 23)

Posted November 3rd, 2008 at 4:29 PM by Nick Symmonds

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

I have returned to Eugene, Oregon and am in the process of building my base. As always, I felt terrible when I started to come back from my time off. Its amazing how out of shape one can get after simply not running for two weeks. I was ten pounds heavier and every step I took those first few days felt like an action that was totally foreign to my legs. I kept complaining about how incredibly out of shape I was to my parents and they just laughed and asked, “Wait, how many miles did you run today?”

That first week back the answer was usually five or six. I know to most runners that isn’t much, but to the average person 5 to 6 miles a day is a lot. I think that just goes to show you how strict our standards are for ourselves as runners. Even now, as I sit on my couch recovering from a 10 mile run I ran this morning I cannot help but cringe at how unfit I am. On the outside I probably look exactly the same as I did the day I won the trials this past July, but on the inside I feel so radically different.
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Nick Symmonds: Preparing for Indoor Track & My Base Training Regimen
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 22)

Posted October 14th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Track & Field, Training Plans, Training Tips, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

My two week break has just come to an end and, as always, I cannot believe how fast it went by. I had a lot of fun not worrying about getting my run(s) in each day and was able to do some of the things I love like hunting, fishing, golfing, and even getting out for some pick up ice hockey.

As much as I have enjoyed this break I woke up today VERY excited to begin my fall base training. I’ve said before that I truly believe this is where an athlete makes much of their progress. The stronger I become this fall the more speed work Ill be able to put in the spring as well as providing me the fitness to extend my outdoor season well into the summer.

I get messages and email from friends and fans that mean so much to me. Often I am unable to respond due to my busy schedule of training and travel. I apologize! Perhaps the most frequent messages I get are about my training.
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Nick Symmonds:
Off to Beijing!
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 18)

Posted August 11th, 2008 at 10:29 AM by Nick Symmonds

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

Note: The following entry was written on August 6th, just prior to Nick’s flight to Beijing. His next entry will be written on Sunday, August 24th and published the following morning on Monday, August 25th.

I’m currently in a dorm at San Jose State getting ready for bed early because I’m waking up at 6 AM to catch a flight to Beijing, China to compete in my first Olympic Games. Its hard to believe myself. The last month has been amazing; Ive put in many miles and had a lot of good workouts including one of the best speed-endurance sessions of my life yesterday. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to sneak in one last run on American soil.

The dorm I’m staying in is apartment style and sharing the rooms with
me are Andrew Wheating, Christian Smith, Dathan Ritzenhein, Galen Rupp, and Matt Tegenkamp among others. Its literally a whose-who of track and field and I suppose you would expect nothing less from the USA Olympic Track and Field team. Watching all of us go through team processing today you would have guessed our average age to be about 8 as we ran around filling shopping carts with the amazing team gear issued to each Olympian. It was literally Christmas in August.
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Nick Symmonds:
Conventional Wisdom
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 17)

Posted July 28th, 2008 at 11:44 AM by Nick Symmonds

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

Its July 15th as I sit on my couch in Springfield, Oregon and write this blog. To people who follow my race schedule closely that might seem a bit strange as I was on the start list for the meet in Luzern Switzerland tomorrow. I was actually scheduled to race again next week in Belgium and in London on the 25th as well. Unfortunately, I will not be running in any of these meets. I spent all spring looking forward to my trip to Europe and imagined running a 1:43 or two as I prepared to compete in China, but after the amazing experience of the trials I was left physically and emotionally drained. The combination of training, doing interviews, signing autographs and cheering on my teammates in the second session was simply too much. My usual perfect schedule that includes nine hours of sleep each night, regular meals, and naps in the afternoon was thrown for a total loop. By day 8 of the trials I was running on an average of about 5 hours of sleep and had lost 6 pounds. In training I felt worn out.
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Nick Symmonds: Olympian
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 16)

Posted July 8th, 2008 at 5:15 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds, College

I can hardly believe it myself. After dreaming about this for most of my life and specifically devoting two years towards this goal, I can finally call myself an Olympic athlete. The last 48 hours have been unreal and I would very much like to share with you what has been going on, but first I need to talk about how I arrived at this point in my career.

Growing up in Boise I was blessed with an amazing family that made me want for nothing. I had love from my sister and parents and they supported me in any goal I set for myself, but more importantly made me believe I could accomplish these goals. When I told them that I would one day like to be an Olympian they just smiled and said, “then do it.” When other people laughed or doubted they just kept smiling, almost as if they knew it was destined to be. They have made this possible and of the 20,000 people at Hayward Monday night I don’t think any were as happy and proud as they were. Mom, Dad, Lauren: I LOVE YOU!!!
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Note on the News: Article on Coach “Gags”

Posted July 7th, 2008 at 3:02 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

My friend Wayne Coffey of the New York Daily News wrote a nice profile on coach Frank Gagliano of the Nike Oregon Track Club.

Originally from the Bronx, N.Y., “Gags” is retiring from the OTC at the end of this season and plans to move back to the New York City area. He has truly been one of the most dedicated coaches in the United States.

Read the story here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/07/05/2008-07-05_frank_gagliano_godfather_on_track_has_ha.html

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Flanagan & Ritzenhein Dominate U.S. XC Champs

Posted February 16th, 2008 at 8:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Shalane Flanagan Dathan Ritzenhein Win 2008 USA Cross Country Championship Shalane Flanagan and Dathan Ritzenhein each brought their “A” game to Mission Bay Park here today, running away with their first long-course U.S. Cross Country titles in commanding fashion.

Flanagan, who struggled with the high altitude in Boulder at last year’s championships where she was soundly beaten by Deena Kastor, jumped quickly to a five second lead after 2 km of the 8 km race, and expanded it with each lap. She was unrelenting, pressing all the way to the finish line to win by a whopping 70 seconds in 25:26.

“I had a blast,” said a beaming Flanagan who liked the grass course and the warm conditions. She added: “If we could have venues like this I would be coming every single year.”
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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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Eugene set to host 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and ‘09, ‘11 Championships

Posted December 13th, 2007 at 7:40 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

hayward field university of oregon eugene OR USA Track & Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced their intent to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in Eugene, Oregon, USATF CEO Craig Masback announced Wednesday. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference on the University of Oregon campus.

Eugene, which next year will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, also will host the 2009 and 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Masback announced.

Site of the 1972, ‘76, ‘80 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field and the 1999 and 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field will be the site of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where the roster for Team USA will be selected for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In 2009, Team USA will select its roster for the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany, and 2011 will see the selection of the American squad for the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
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