It may seem odd that a city in west Texas is similar to an east African country, but that is why Haron Lagat, from Eldoret, Kenya, lives and trains in Lubbock. Lagat, 24, said the stable weather and friendly community remind him of home, but with more opportunities.
“I think I’ll live here for a while,” Lagat said. “If there’s a place where you can make your life better, why not go there?”
The former Texas Tech athlete-turned-volunteer assistant coach runs for the AmeriKenyan Running Club, based in Santa Fe, N.M. His manager, Scott Robinson, convinced Lagat to forgo his last year of NCAA eligibility to run professionally in 2006, despite never winning a national title. Lagat mentioned that most people had never heard of him while he ran in college.
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J. Oliver Jackson, a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame who coached track and field athletes from Abilene Christian University who set or tied 15 world records and won four gold medals in the Olympic Games, died Wednesday at 87 years of age.
While Jackson directed Wildcat track and field for 16 years (1948-63), Abilene Christian fielded one of the top collegiate teams in the nation. The Wildcats under Jackson won 78 titles at the Texas, Kansas and Drake Relays, and his athletes also set or tied 17 American records and 15 national collegiate records.
He developed three U.S. Olympic team members - sprinter and National Track & Field Hall of Famer Bobby Morrow, who won gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400m relay in 1956 in Melbourne; quarter-miler Earl Young, who won a gold medal in the 1,600m relay in 1960 in Rome; and Billy Pemelton, who placed eighth in the pole vault in 1964 in Tokyo.
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The nation’s top high school pole vaulters will open their season this weekend at the Club Altius Season’s Greeter at Forney High School in Forney, Texas. Seven State Champions from Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma will compete on Saturday, December 15 at an all day indoor pole vaulting festival that will feature two pits and competitions for all ages and abilities.
Shade Weygandt will lead the way for a loaded girls field that features seven of the top ranked returning high school pole vaulters.
Texas State Champions Weygandt and Jessica Doyle from Hays HS in Buda, will face Arkansas State Champions Stephanie Forman and Staci Yahn.
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According to the Associated Press, two-time Olympic medalist Robert Taylor died Tuesday at a hospital in Missouri City, Texas, after becoming ill Monday at the school where he was a teacher. He was 59.
One of the finest sprinters of his era, Taylor won a gold medal in the 4×100m relay and a silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
“Robert had one of the greatest personalities,” friend Terry Henson of Tyler, Texas, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “His ability as an athlete was unmatched. He never really got his just due on how great an athlete he really was.”
Porter Robinson, who helped coach Taylor at Texas Southern, told The Associated Press that Taylor had “great, great talent.”
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Episode 98 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my interview with two-time U.S. Olympian and National High School 200m Record Holder
ROY “ROBOT” MARTIN.
The former Olympian talks about his recent arrest, coaching, his take on the infiltration of performance enhancing drugs and how it contributed to his own retirement.
Since retiring from professional racing, Martin has focused on coaching and giving back to his community. He is also employed as a hall monitor at Florence Middle School in Pleasant Grove, TX. However, Martin was placed on administrative leave after being arrested on drug charges earlier this week. Police officials have charged Martin with drug possession, report that Martin conducted an “unauthorized drug sting” and are moving forward with their investigation. Conversely, the highly respected Martin says that he was only trying to help fight the significant drug problem in the middle school and in his community.
In the interview, Martin provides his side of the story and also discusses coaching, wanting to become the next Bob Kersee, highlights of his own career, and provides his own, startling estimate of the percentage of elite runners using performance enhancing drugs in the mid 1980’s to early 1990’s.
Listen In
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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Roy Martin
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 20.2 MB | Length: 29:27 MIN
Episode sponsored by:
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DISCLAIMER: The opinions and beliefs expressed by interviewees on The Final Sprint Podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the opinions and beliefs of TheFinalSprint.com, TFS Media Network, The Final Sprint, LLC, and/or our sponsors.
Roy “Robot” Martin broke speed records and ran his way on the U. S. Olympics team. Tuesday he was arrested for possessing Xanax without a prescription at Florence Middle School in Pleasant Grove, TX where he is currently employed.
However, Martin says that the possession stemmed from his efforts to fight the middle schools’ drug problem.
Click on the video below to watch CBS-11’s report on the Martin arrest:
For a more detailed analysis of this situation, check out the article published yesterday by TheFinalSprint.com’s Assistant Editor Jimmie R. Markham entitled High School Record Holder Roy “Robot” Martin Arrested.
For more information on Martin, please visit: www.robottrack.com/ourcoach.htm
The city of San Antonio, Elite Racing and RunTex have announced the creation of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon San Antonio. This marathon and half-marathon will replace the city’s existing Marathon of the Americas which began life in 1975 as the Las Colonias Marathon.
Elite Racing estimates that its first-year event will draw approximately 21,000 runners and generate a $20 million economic impact for San Antonio. The date for this year’s Marathon of the Americas is November 11. The 2008 date for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon San Antonio will probably be the same Veterans Day weekend.
For more information: Click Here
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The Aramco Houston Half Marathon has extended its commitment to host the USA Half Marathon Championships through 2011, USATF has annoucned. The event has previously hosted the USA Men’s Half Marathon Championship (2005-’06) and both the men’s and women’s championships in 2007.
“Houston has traditionally been a great proving ground for new U.S. talent,” said Bill Roe, USATF President. “The support that Houston and Aramco Services Company have put forth both in the race as well as in key funding for the USA Distance Project will continue to keep the momentum moving forward for USA long distance athletes.”
The 2008 USA Half-Marathon Championships will be held in conjunction with the thirty-sixth running of the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 13, and will be the first race on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC).
The USA Half Marathon Championship races have attracted some of America’s top young runners. In 2007, that field included Ryan Hall of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., who clocked an American record 59:43 over the 13.1-mile course, obliterating the previous record set by Mark Curp in 1985. Hall’s time shaved 1:12 off the old record and made him the first American to break the 1 hour barrier in the half marathon distance.
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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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Warwick Ford is a guest contributor to The Final Sprint and author of “Fun on Foot in America’s Cities,” the book that details and maps the best on-foot routes in 14 major US cities. Check out FunOnFoot.com for more information and to purchase the book or maps.
Big “D”, Dallas, TX, seems much more a place for automobiles than for pedestrians. If you asked the average person here what was the most important thing he did with his feet, he would say hitting the accelerator and the brake. Nevertheless, Dallas does have a thriving subculture of on-foot enthusiasts. There is a keen running community and a few really good trails convenient to downtown. The DART bus and light rail system can help you get to and from these trails, making it possible to plan exercise outings without using a vehicle at all.
The weather is excellent for running in October through April, with good temperatures and only a small risk of precipitation ruining your outing. In the other months, average maximum temperatures move into the 80s and 90s, meaning you might want to go to extra pains to fit your outdoor exercise in early in the day. In this short article, we shall look briefly at the very best of those local on-foot routes.
For a training or recreational route to be motivating and enjoyable it needs to have four attributes:
Applying this model to Dallas, we came up with the following three winning routes:
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