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
I freaking love the outdoor season. After a long, cold, and wet winter / early spring comprised of boring days filled almost entirely with training, the track season comes and we get to finally see our hard work pay off. I got to see a bit of this over the last two weeks as I opened up my outdoor season in Philadelphia and Palo Alto.
Going out to the Penn Relays wasn’t originally in the plans but Coach Gags and I thought it would be a good idea to get a nice effort in before my first 1500m. Also, Penn is the most exciting place to race and nothing like it will get you as pumped up for an upcoming season. I ran a 1200m in a U.S. DMR [Distance Medley Relay] and was very pleased with my performance. I basically decided to treat it as a workout and just ran it as hard as i could. In doing this I split 2:51.1 and found out that I am really really strong right now! I was able to give my USA team a good lead but we were unable to finish that way and the Kenyans won (yet again!).
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This week’s television broadcasts and webcasts of track & and road running events (all times EDT):
Big East Conference Championships
Live at BigEast.tv:
Friday at 10:50 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Saturday at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Sunday at 10 a.m.
Fee: $7.95 for the whole weekend
The men’s title should come down to Georgetown and defending champ Louisville, while the Cardinals are favored to win the women’s title. Stars slated to compete include Villanova’s Bobby Curtis and Georgetown’s Melissa Grelli.
USC at UCLA
Live on Fox College Sports Pacific, 3-6 p.m. Saturday
Replays Saturday at midnight, Sunday at 10 a.m., Monday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
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On Episode 138 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, I had the distinct privilege of being joined by Pat Henry, the head track & field coach at Texas A&M University.
Before bringing his renowned talents as a coach, recruiter and technician to Texas A&M, Henry spent 17 years at LSU where he built a dynasty that enabled his teams to win 27 NCAA Championships\. Since arriving at College Station four years ago, he has turned the Lady Aggies into a national powerhouse. They have won 3 Big 12 titles in a row, placed 10th in the nation in 2006, 4th in 2007 and have been consistently ranked in the top 3 in 2008. The men’s team was also ranked as high as #1 earlier in 2008.
In the interview, Coach Henry discusses Texas A&M’s development of one of the premier indoor track facilities in the nation and his coaching philosophy. He also contrasts the LSU and Texas A&M teams, his recruiting classes, the supposed rivalry between the Tigers and the Aggies, international recruiting and much more!
TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”
Host: Jimmie Markham | Guest: Coach Pat Henry
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 22.7 MB | Length: 00:33:06
Episode Sponsored By: U.S. Army Special Forces
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The 114th Penn Relays kicked off last night at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field with a rousing performance in the men’s steeplechase by American Anthony Famiglietti.
The 29 year-old Olympian ran 8:24.24 to break the meet record and take down the Franklin Field record of 8:24.86 set by James Munyala of the University of Texas - El Paso at the 1976 NCAA Championships.
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Episode 108 of The Final Sprint Podcast,
the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my interview with ANNA WILLARD; a standout at Brown and then the University of Michigan as well as one of the U.S. favorites for the first ever women’s Olympic steeplechase.
In the interview Anna talks about her exceptional year, record-setting performances at the Penn Relays, her first IAAF World Championships and the fatigue caused by the spring track season at Michigan.
Download the podcast to hear Anna discuss these topics, as well as, why she believes winning the steeplechase at the U.S. Trials may require an American record, how special it would be to compete in the first ever Olympic women’s steeplechase, waiting until to March to begin her 2008 season, and much more!
Listen In
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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Anna Willard
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 13.7 MB | Length: 20:02 MIN
Episode Sponsored By: Nike +
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The Ducks have one of the storied programs in collegiate track and field, but they have never won a race at the Penn Relays.
(To be fair, until recent history, they never came. That includes the halcyon years of Kenny Moore, Bill Dellinger, Leanne Warren, Steve Prefontaine, Claudette Groenendaal, Alberto Salazar. That list is endless.)
When Villanova was in its historic run of DMR wins (1966 to 1981), West Coast fans used to argue that the Ducks could have handled them. The teams never met at that distance.
Now, the Oregon women are coming to Philadelphia looking for that inaugural victory. Coach Vin Lananna’s Ducks are contenders in two of the distance relays, the 4×800 and the 4×1500. Those teams are both led by Oregon’s superstar, Rebekah Noble, who won the NCAA 800m last year as a freshman with a stunning straightaway finish.
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Is this the year of the Seminole?
Bob Braman’s Florida State men’s team are the reigning NCAA champions, and this winter they were second in the indoor meet. But—the Seminoles have never won a men’s championship at the Penn Relays.
This year they have put together another powerhouse on the track, and they will be a threat to win any event they enter:
4×100, 4×200 – The Seminoles have four different sprinters who have placed in NCAA sprint finals in the last year, led by a superstar, Walter Dix. Dix (Coral Springs, Fla.) has won NCAA championships in the 100m and the 200m, and he broke the American Junior record in the 100m two years ago, running 10.06.
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Kelly Baptiste of LSU is back to defend her championship in the women’s 100-meter dash at this year’s Penn Relays, but she will have her hands full.
Baptiste will face Kerron Stewart of Auburn, who won both NCAA indoor sprint titles last month in Fayetteville, and Courtney Champion of Tennessee, who was second to Stewart in the 60-meter final. Baptiste finished third in that race.
A year ago, Baptiste ran 11.10 win the Relays 100, a personal best and a new national record for her native Trinidad.
Champion won the Florida Relays 100 this spring, while Stewart was second in the NCAA outdoor 100 championship last June in California.
And there are a host of other challengers in a great 100 field for the women this year, including:
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Yohan Blake is quickly becoming legendary in Jamaica. The question is, will he become a legend in Philadelphia?
Blake is a junior and 17-year-old sprinter for St. Jago High School. At the Jamaican High School Champs last month in Kingston he was part of four spectacular victories: he broke a famous meet record in the 100 meters, running 10.22, and won the 200 in a personal-best 20.62. He also ran legs on two winning relay teams, both of which set records in this famous meet—39.80 in the 4×100 and 3:09.51 in the 4×400. It was the first time a Jamaican schoolboy team had dipped under 40 flat.
Two weeks later, Blake won the Carifta Games 100 in 10.11 seconds, setting a meet record at these important Caribbean Junior Championships.
A year ago at the Penn Relays, Blake ran legs on St. Jago’s 4×100 and 4×400 teams. They finished third in the 4×100 in 40.59, losing to Camperdown (a meet-record 40.13) and Kingston College; in the 4×400, Blake ran a 46.2 anchor, but again it was not enough to catch Camperdown (3:11.46-3:12.40). At the Championships, Blake ran a 45.5 leg.
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Most Penn Relays records do not last 35 years; however, the one for the boys’ mile has stood since 1972, when Gordon Oliver (Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Md.) clocked 4:08.7.
This year’s field can probably handle that.
This is a field for the ages. It includes this year’s Millrose Games champion, Chris Moen (Walter Johnson, Md.), who has run 4:16.96; the National Scholastic Indoor champion, Charles White (Cherry Creek, Englewood, Colo.), who ran 4:10.04 at Arcadia earlier this month; Dominic Della Pelle (Salesanium, Wilmington, Del.), the defending champion, at 4:13.82; Matthew Centrowitz (Broadneck, Annapolis, Md.), winner of the 3,000 here in 2006, who has run 4:08.76; Paul Springer (Unionville, Kennett Square, Pa.), a best of 4:12.61; Andrew Perkins (Watertown, Wis.), who set a national freshman record of 4:15.07 in 2005; Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial, Salt Lake City), 4:13.60 for 1,600 meters; Eric Avila (Bonita Vista, Chula Vista, Calif.), 4:14.9 for 1,600; and Ryan McDermott (Chaminade, Mineola, N.Y.), 4:16.96y.
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