Today on Episode 136 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, I participated in the USATF-hosted, Drake Relays Media Teleconference which featured 110m hurdler Allen Johnson. In his distinguished career, Johnson has won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games, 4 golds and 1 bronze in the World Outdoor championships and 3 gold and two silvers in the Indoor world championships, including his 2nd place finish this year in Valencia, Spain.
I joined Mike Mahon, the media coordinator for the Drake Relays, Peter Gambaccini from Runner’s World and reporters from the Associated Press, Oakland Tribune and Reuters in the teleconference. We asked Allen questions that covered a wide range of topics, including his career, doping, promotion of track and field, the athletes’ ability to speak out at the Olympics, how much longer he plans to compete, and much, much more.
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Host: USATF | Guest: Allen Johnson
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 23.6 MB | Length: 00:34:24
Episode Sponsored By: U.S. Army Special Forces
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Here’s something you don’t see every day. So far in 2008, the top 6 times in the world at the 60 meter distance belong to sprinters who are not Americans:
Samuel Francis (QAT) 6.54
Samuel Francis (QAT) 6.55
Yahya Al-Gahes (KSA) 6.56
Olusoji Fasuba (NGR) 6.56
Craig Pickering (GBR) 6.57
Olusoji A. Fasuba (NGR) 6.57
A time of 6.54 is not exactly burning up the track (last year, American Marcus Brunson topped the world indoor 60m list with a 6.46 and Maurice Greene holds the world record of 6.39) so that probably means the season is still pretty early. Read the rest of this entry »
Rock Star Now Hooked on Running Instead of Drugs
Babyshambles front man Pete Doherty is reportedly going to run the 2008 London Marathon. The UK musician has embraced a healthy lifestyle after years of drug abuse. Read more at: [Google News]
15,696th Straight Day of Running for Legendary Ron Hill
Legendary British runner Ron Hill, known for his ultra-high-mileage training in years past, is featured in an Independent (UK) article in which he discusses his superb running streak of 15,696 straight days without missing a run. For those of you not interested in dividing that number by 365, Hill’s streak began on 12/20/1964!Read more at: [Independent, UK]
Runners in New England Have New Springtime Marathon Option
The Cox Providence Marathon, set to be launched on May 4th, 2008, is a new springtime marathon option for New England runners who are interested in having to deal with qualifying times or the hype associated with that other famous springtime marathon in New England. Read more at: [TheDay, CT]
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Price has long been associated with quality when it comes to consumer goods. However, for all those athletes out there pinching pennies to save up for a decent pair of running shoes, good news is afoot.
According to an article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, cheap and moderately priced shoes are just as good - and sometimes better than - pricey ones when comparing cushioning impact and general comfort.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HesFit.com
The first thing I did before my 200m heat at the 2007 World Masters Athletics Championships in Riccione, Italy was check the track surface to determine which spikes and spike needles to use. The second thing was to check is the size of the curve, or where the curve meets the straightaway.
Initially, they had me in Lane 1. I measured the track and discovered that the curve was 122 meters with a 78 meter straightaway. That’s a pretty “fat” track, so Lane 1 did not bother me. (I would later be reassigned to Lane 2.)
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One question that some endurance runners ask themselves is how much of their training they should be dedicating towards higher intensity runs and how much of their training is better off at low intensity. The common thought would be that since they are training for endurance, they should train in a similar manner. Some coaches and professionals however believe that training at higher speeds will help to improve their total body conditioning better and thus simply transfer over to a better performance during endurance related events.
Some researchers recently set out to run some tests on just this. The study was designed to compare the effect of two different training programs on endurance performance, one that comprised a great portion of training time in a lower intensity zone and a second that comprised more time in a higher intensity zone.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HesFit.com
Last week, Oscar Pistorius established three new world amputee sprint records. Running at the Nedbank Championships for the Disabled in Germinston, South Africa, the 20-year-old Paralympian gold medalist has continued to live up to his reputation as “the fastest thing on no legs” by shaving time off his own 100m, 200m and 400m World Records.
He has now smashed World Records that he established since competing in the Paralympic Games in Athens 26 times. His 10.91 second time in the 100m on Wednesday, April 4, 2007, makes Pistorius the first amputee to officially break the 11-second mark.
The young phenomenon followed this up on Thursday, April 5, 2007 with a win in the 200m when he ran the race in 21.58 seconds. Then on Friday, April 6, 2007, Pistorius clocked a time of 49.16 seconds, or.26 seconds off the previous world record of 49.42 seconds. In all instances, timing was electronic and wind dated. Jan Bodvag from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was on hand to certify the authenticity of the World Records.
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It has been established for more than 50 years that caffeine helps you exercise longer in events that require endurance.
Recently researchers at Christ Church University in Canterbury, UK, showed that caffeine also helps you in much shorter events. Trained cyclists raced one kilometer (0.6 mile) on three times, in random order, after taking 5 mg of caffeine, taking a placebo, or taking nothing.
Their speed, mean power and peak power were more than three percent higher after taking caffeine (Journal of Sports Sciences, November 2006).
Read the rest of this entry »
I had the pleasure of being joined by 2004 4×400 Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards for Episode 25 of The Final Sprint Podcast.
Sanya is coming off of an incredible 2006; a year where she graduated from the University of Texas, was undefeated in 13 finals in the 400m, won a share of the IAAF Golden League Jackpot, lowered the long-standout American record in the 400m to 48.70 and was named World Athlete of the Year.
In the interview Sanya speaks about deciding to abstain from this year’s indoor competitions, training with Jeremy Wariner, goals for the World Champs, the impact of her Jamaican roots and representing the United States.
Download the podcast to hear Sanya discuss these topics, how her speed compares to that of Aaron Ross (her boyfriend and Univ. of Texas football standout), what she thinks of Oscar Pistorius (who also specializes in the 400m), her role models, drugs in sports, advice for others and much more!
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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Sanya Richards
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 11.1MB
Length: 00:16:18
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The Final Sprint and I have the utmost respect and admiration for handicapped athletes and are proud to be official sponsors of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. These gifted individuals demonstrate incredible resolve and the power of the human spirit by successfully participating, competing and excelling in athletics despite their physical disabilities.
Today’s podcast features an interview with one such hero and TFS’s February 2007 Success Story honoree. His name is Oscar Pistorius and he is a 20-year old South African Paralympic runner known as “The Fastest Thing on No Legs”.
After having both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was only 11-months old, Oscar has exemplified the astounding spirit of these challenged athletes. Oscar is sponsored by Ossur and with the aid of their Cheetah Flex-Foot prosthetics, Oscar has ran his his way to multiple Paralympic gold medals and set world records in the 100, 200 and 400m events. He has also gone on to break his own world records 19 times in a single year and has successfully competed against able-bodied runners.
Having already attained unparalleled success, Oscar is now on the verge of making history once again – but this time by becoming the first amputee to ever compete in the able-bodied Olympics.
However, even if Oscar is able to run a qualifying time, he could still sadly be denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympics because he has attracted a number of critics who believe his prosthetics provide him with an unfair advantage. No able-bodied sports federation, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has ever been forced to consider rules for athletes with prosthetics. As the IOC struggles to make decision, Oscar has kept his head-up and pushed forward despite the uncertainty that surrounds his future.
Download the podcast to hear my exclusive interview with Oscar where we discuss his life, historic achievements, the controversy, how he deals with the critics and the very real possibility of him redefining society’s concept of human potential.
Listen In
[MP3] Direct Download (Right click, select “save as”).
[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to youHost: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Oscar Pistorius
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 29.4MB
Length: 00:42:55
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
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