TheFinalSprint.com | Premier Running Destination for Marathons, Track and Field, Race News, Podcasts, Training Advice and More!

Lead Stories: Friday, May 16, 2008

Chris Derrick: Perseverance
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)

Posted May 13th, 2008 at 2:22 PM by Chris Derrick

Section: News & Results, Elite Athlete Blogs, High School, Chris Derrick

TFS Elite Athlete Blog Series CHRIS DERRICK 425x75 Welcome to the official blog of Chris Derrick; the 2007 Gatorade High School Cross Country Runner of the Year and 5k record holder! Make sure to bookmark chrisderrick.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Tuesday for Chris’ latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Stanford!

chris derrick gatorade cross country runner of the year I’d like to begin my blogging experience by sharing one of the most epic runs I’ve ever had, and one that encapsulates my team as well. First a little background. Like most distance runners, we at Neuqua Valley are pretty weird. One of our more minor quirks is our belief in the Interval Gods*. The Interval Gods hate us. They have cursed us and given us crappy weather at all of our meets and interval workouts this track season. What’s more they are trying to kill us: right after we left the NTN meet in Portland there were mudslides and now, just weeks after we left Arcadia, it is threatened by wild fires.

Fortunately we’ve managed to stay (for now) one step ahead of them. We only got a break from the interval Gods wrath at the Aracadia Invite. Arcadia doesn’t really count as we are fairly certain the Interval Gods live there. We tried to appease them by feeding some squirrels in a local park and it was going swimmingly until Danny Pawola offered them extra-sour-rye bread, which they hated. I’ll let that little tidbit set the scene for our tale…
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Kate O’Neill: Mother Whales and Human Mothers
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8)

Posted May 13th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by Kate O'Neill

Section: News & Results, Elite Athlete Blogs, Kate O'Neill

Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!

Happy belated Mother’s Day! On Sunday I went to a bookstore for story hour with my boyfriend and his mother. I had seen that the author of a book called Delta & Dawn: Mother & Baby Whales’ Journey would be coming to read aloud. The book tells the true story of two humpback whales that wandered into the Sacramento River last year. Humpback whales spend their winters off the coast of Mexico where they give birth and then travel along the coast up to Northern California for feeding during the warmer months. Somehow this duo got separated from the other whales and swam under the Golden Gate Bridge. Having lost their bearings, they continued swimming further up the Sacramento River toward the state capital.

This story hour was of course intended for children, but the event had caught my eye when I was looking at the bookstore’s list of visiting authors. My parents took me on whale watching boat trips when I was younger and the whaling industry had an enormous impact on the area in which I grew up. (Plus a whale played a very important role in a Seinfeld episode involving a golf ball, a little lie, and a walk on the beach. Seinfeld fans know what I’m talking about. All others should really rent the series DVD.)
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Ryan Hall:
More Precious Than Gold
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9)

Posted May 10th, 2008 at 6:15 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Ryan Hall as he begins his quest for Olympic gold! Check back every other Friday for Ryan’s latest entry at http://ryanhall.thefinalsprint.com/

With three months to go before the Olympics begin I am now putting the finishing touches on a vision that birthed 10 years ago during a long, slow, painful, fifteen-mile run around the lake. Now, after all I have been through I have just 105 days to pour myself into my training and prepare for the biggest opportunity of my life. All the training, all the discipline, all the depression, all the sacrifice, all the joy, it was all part of the journey that has prepared me for August 24th.

I love the Olympics. I always have. Growing up I had Olympic rings scribbled all over my text books. I find the symbolism of the rings to be quite dramatic with the five rings representing the unity of man from each of the five continents. There is something powerful about the unity of man.
Read the rest of this entry »

7 comments, add yours | Permalink

Michael Fout: Looking Back, Looking Forward
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)

Posted May 8th, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Michael Fout

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout, High School

Welcome to the official blog of 2007 Footlocker Cross Country National Champion Michael Fout! Make sure to bookmark the link http://michaelfout.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Thursday for Mike’s latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Florida State!

Yesterday, May 7, I officially became a man. And by that, I mean I turned 18 years old. As you could probably guess, I do not feel any different than I did when I was 17. Another year, another two seasons of running almost complete. Along with my birthday celebrations came reflections on the past. Those reflections dealt, of course, with running. And what a year it has been.

This time last year I was a healthy body, running everyday and incredibly excited about the track season I was putting together. I was beginning to think that I could be a national caliber runner. My first goal: Winning the state championship in the 3200 meter run. As the days until the state meet quickly passed, I was beginning to feel very anxious to see if I could reach that goal. In my head, I knew I could do it. The day came, and there was no way I was going to lose. It turns out, I didn’t! I had done it. It was, however, by no means easy. I won by just over a second as a hard charging, now freshman IU runner, came on strong. But as I crossed the line, an unexplainable feeling of excitement rushed through my body. Next stop: Nike Outdoor Nationals. I ran a 9:03 3200 a few weeks prior to NON and my goal on that chilly night in North Carolina was to run sub 9 for 2 full miles. As everybody knows, the 2 mile field that night was ridiculous as far as talent goes. I knew I had a good chance and that I could just hop on the end and “go for a ride.” I wound up finishing 11th and ran 8:58 for the full deuce! I knew I had to now put together a great cross season so that people would not think my run was just some fluke. Let the work begin.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Jon Rankin: If I Had It All
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #12)

Posted May 7th, 2008 at 6:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/

Before I took a nap this afternoon I thought about how tired I was from what turned out to be a very challenging interval session I had earlier this morning. Basically, as I sat on the edge of my bed I wondered why it was so hard. I mean, I was running pretty hard and quite fast, but I didn’t think that the workout warranted the type of reaction that my body exhibited. One of the first thoughts that I had as Coach Cruz described the workout to me was ‘this could be a great workout if I could hit the times.’ In retrospect that would be asking a lot more of my body than it was willing to give me on this day.

To say the least the workout wasn’t a great workout. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. So, what if the workout had been the ‘great workout’ that I was hoping to have? Would that have changed anything? . . . . . . Maybe. Maybe not. No matter the case, I did learn that, to have the type of expectations I had about my ability to execute a great workout upon hearing what the session would be, I had some clues as to my mental state:

1. It didn’t matter to me that I was tired coming into today’s training session.
2. It didn’t matter what I had done in the days prior to this day.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Dathan Ritzenehin:
Homeward Bound: New Beginnings and Role Reversals
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)

Posted May 6th, 2008 at 4:30 PM by Dathan Ritzenhein

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com/ as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

Sunday night, a night of great races [at the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational], made me want to be out there racing. Even though I was at home, already in my pajamas, I wanted to be there racing. Watching Brent Vaughn grit his teeth down the homestretch, and Shalane [Flanagan]’s American Record was also exciting. I would check the computer intermittently to catch an update of the races. Stanford is such a great place to go if you want great weather and fast times. No other place or meet has the predictability and guarantee that Stanford can offer.

It is always one of the hardest things to do; watching races when you are sitting at home, but I just have to keep my head down and work hard know that I will be ready for August 24th.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Sara Hall: In Definition
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8)

Posted May 2nd, 2008 at 12:58 PM by Sara Hall

Section: News & Results, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Sara Hall

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. middle-distance runner Sara Hall. Sara’s list of running accolades include being a former NCAA All- American at Stanford, the 2006 USA 5K road champion, and the 2006 champion at the Continental Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry at http://sarahall.thefinalsprint.com/

Recently I came across some comments on a video of Ryan where people seemed confused as to what he means by “glorifying God”. I don’t normally look at people’s comments because I don’t really like criticism, but for whatever reason I started to read some this day.

Some people were vehemently anti-religion, some people held a strong in-your-face religious stance, and everything in between, debating what Ryan was talking about. It made me realize the ambiguity of this term, “glorifying God”, and so this blog is an attempt to extrapolate on what we mean when we say
we strive to glorify God when we run.
Read the rest of this entry »

20 comments, add yours | Permalink

Josh Cox: Miracles 50
and A Boy Named Sue
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8)

Posted May 1st, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Josh Cox

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox. Every other Wednesday visit http://joshcox.thefinalsprint.com for Cox’s latest blog entry and for more information, also please visit: www.joshcox.com

“I believe in miracles.
I believe in a better world for me and you.
Oh, I believe in miracles.
I believe in a better world for me and you.”
-The Ramones,
I Believe in Miracles

“Son, this world is rough
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
And I know I wouldn’t be there to help you along.
So I give ya that name and I said good-bye
I knew you’d have to get tough or die
And it’s that name that helped to make you strong.”
- A Boy Named Sue
(A song written by Shel Silverstein made famous by Johnny Cash. A song about a dad who names his son Sue and leaves - the son vows to exact his revenge for his awful name. He finds his dad, fights him, his dad gets up, smiles, and explains why he named him Sue. )

“The secret of man’s being is not only to live but to have something to live for.”
-Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian literary giant & Casino fiend

Somewhere around 41 miles, in the high hills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains the race came undone. I could no longer run; a humbling experience for a self-assured 22-year-old college senior who, several hours earlier, had thought running a 50-mile race was a good idea. For the first time in my life I wished I were jogging – oh the horror – anything but the “J-word.” But alas, I was doing the S-word. Shuffling. Shuffling is what we runner’s do, we bypass the jog and enter straight into the shuffle. It’s part of the unwritten code – run slow, shuffle, but never, ever jog.
Read the rest of this entry »

18 comments, add yours | Permalink

Jon Rankin:
Somewhere Only We Know
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #11)

Posted May 1st, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jon Rankin

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

It’s the end of April and the weather here in San Diego is getting hotter and hotter. I’m grateful for the warm weather, but boy, anything over 90 degrees makes things a little tough for training. However, as hot as it has been I do believe that it must be a blessing in disguise because I’ve been told that the weather in Beijing, China is particularly warm . . . Well, all of the athletes living here at the ARCO Olympic Training Center here in Chula Vista, California are adjusting and making the most of everyday no matter the weather conditions.

I’ve actually been on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to weather conditions. For nearly eight days a small group of track and field athletes from the Chula Vista ARCO Olympic Training Center travelled to Eugene, Oregon for a sneak peek at the Olympic Trials venue at Hayward field on the University of Oregon campus.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Michael Fout:
Let Me Be Fearless
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #4)

Posted April 24th, 2008 at 6:06 PM by Michael Fout

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout

Someone once said, “Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.” For those who do not know, I have been dealing with injury for some time now. Up until last week, I had not run since March 22. I had, and am recovering from, a stress fracture in my right tibia. Sure, injuries are no fun, but the fact is that most of us will come across one at some point in time. I have had my fair share of injuries, and they never really get any easier to deal with, but you learn to deal with them in different ways.
Read the rest of this entry »

7 comments, add yours | Permalink