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Lead Stories: Friday, March 19, 2010

Jon Rankin:
Facing the Next Step [Part 1]
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 22)

Posted December 24th, 2008 at 10:13 AM by Jon Rankin

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin, the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com

The year 2005 marked the moment in my life when I would enter what’s known to all soon-to-be graduating college seniors as “the real world.” No, I’m not talking about the MTV show The Real World. Even though that would have been a lot more fun post-graduation, it’s as far as you can get from anything like the real world I’m talking about (sorry real world fans). I’m talking about the world where financial aid is no longer student loans (that’s what I had), college scholarships (that’s what I didn’t have) or grants (didn’t have any of these either), but a job that you have to find. Where your living situation is no longer a dorm room, but most likely a small, dirty, really old apartment in a location furthest from where your job is located. Going into my 5th and final year of college I was faced with the inevitability of the bubble that college creates for all 18-22 year olds bursting and having to create a similar situation all on my own once that diploma touched my hands. To say the least, I was staring in the face of the real world and I was uncertain about my future with less than twelve months of school left.
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Jon Rankin:
We Can All Be Heroes
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 21)

Posted December 11th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jon Rankin

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

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin, the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com

Last night, December 5th, 2008, I attended the Nike high school cross country event called the Nike XC Cool Down in Hollywood, California. I had the best time hanging out with all who attended, from the Nike LA Reps, the local high school cross country runners, their coaches and their parents. Along with my training partner, Alysia Johnson I had the joy of being a “celebrity” guest for the event. The event had a little bit of everything: good food and music, running videos, even a dance contest. Unfortunately, I couldn’t compete in the dance competition, but if I did I think I could have given the high school kids a run for the win and bragging rights!

The night provided a rapidly aging runner like me—I know I’m not old but it feels that way sometimes–an opportunity to reminisce with the young audience about my high school experience and what it meant to me looking back now. I have to admit that as I described my high school running experience I felt nostalgic. I hadn’t realized in quite sometime how much I missed the pasta parties. One of my fondest memories from high school cross country was the nicknames that we had for each other, many we still shamelessly use to this day. My nickname was “Rankdog.” I know, I know, “Rankdog?” I’m not even going to try and explain it. All I can say for the name was that I, I mean we thought it was cool at the time…..
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Jon Rankin: Being Human
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 20)

Posted November 7th, 2008 at 10:06 AM by Jon Rankin

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, 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/

The summer is now far behind us and as the fall quickly fades away I find joy in the coming and going of the seasons. I know I haven’t communicated much with the great Final Sprint audience but all of you haven’t been too far from my mind or heart. In fact, I’ve spent a great part of my summer reflecting upon the journey we went through together this past Olympic year and I realize we’ve had “conversations” of great depth: conversations about my fears and dreams, my triumphs and my failures. And as I now reflect upon those conversations I sit here feeling a profound sense of gratefulness for your ears and your kind words. As we move towards a new season of training and racing I look forward to picking up where we left off, only this time our journey will be bound for a destination in Europe–Berlin, Germany for the 2009 World Championships.
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Jon Rankin: Limitless
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 18)

Posted August 24th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jon Rankin

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

I believe the greatest feeling in the world is to know that we’re capable of more than we will ever realize in our lifetime. As I watched the men’s 100m final a few days ago there were a lot of things that went through my mind and my heart. I was in awe of the margin of victory and the ease with which the race was won. And I was inspired because the new world record was a testament to the fact that we’re capable of still going faster than we ever thought possible. Watching that performance motivates me to continue to set my sights high and never limit myself to a time. Such a performance warrants the thought of never being satisfied with my personal best until I stop competitively running. Until that day I must continue to push at the barriers that currently exist.
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Jon Rankin: Saying What Needs To Be Said
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 17)

Posted August 1st, 2008 at 11:15 AM by Jon Rankin

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

I have to admit that I stopped reading, listening or watching anything that related to track & field or running since 2005. It’s not because I don’t love to keep track of what’s going on in the world of running because I love running just as much as any other person who’s a fan of the sport. I stopped doing the latter things only because I didn’t want to be distracted by what was being written about my fellow competitors and I didn’t want to get caught up with myself if there were things, either positive or negative, being written about me. So I developed this habit so as to remain uninfluenced by anything other than what was happening internally, within my self.

So, why bring this up? I bring this up for one reason- my blog here on The Final Sprint. Until recently I had been writing my blogs (blindly) without ever reviewing the beautiful, kind and inspiring comments from you, the readers. My need to remain focused has isolated me from you during this entire process and has made what should be a unique interaction and fun two-sided conversation a one-sided conversation with me doing all the talking. How lame is that?
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Jon Rankin:
Without Fear or Hope
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 16)

Posted July 24th, 2008 at 1:25 PM by Jon Rankin

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

I cried so much when it was over. . . . . . Sitting in 4th place with 30 meters or so to go, once I realized I wasn’t going to catch the guys in 1st, 2nd or 3rd I unintentionally let go. I didn’t even realize I did this until others told me they saw the look of focus slowly fade from my face moments before crossing the finish line. They could tell that I had stopped racing once I realized I was going to fall short of making the team . . . . And all I could do as I took off my spikes to replace them with my flats was cry.

I cried for many reasons that afternoon. I cried because I had been chasing a dream for over twelve years and was less than 1 second from making it come true. I cried because nothing hurts more than putting your whole heart into something and finally having it come to an end, favorably or not. I was so tired once it was all over.
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2008 Women’s Collegiate Dual-Meet Rankings

Posted May 7th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College

On Monday I posted the men’s dual-meet rankings. Here are the women’s rankings, following the same rules and formats:

#1. Southern Cal
The Trojans beat UCLA, and that’s all they needed to be ranked at the top.

#2. Minnesota
The Golden Gophers won the four-team Pepsi Collegiate Challenge by a single point over Oregon.

#3. Oregon
The Ducks took a narrow second at the Pepsi Challenge, defeating Penn State and Washington. (Next year they are expected to join in the revived men’s dual meet with UCLA.)
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2008 Men’s Collegiate Dual-Meet Rankings

Posted May 5th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College

Years ago, the dual meet was the cornerstone of the college schedule, with some schools regularly taking part in half a dozen of them per year. Even into the early 80s they were quite common. But when budgets were slashed and team sized plummeted, the dual meet dropped off the radar screen.

The regionals format for outdoor track has taken much of the pressure off in terms of getting an NCAA qualifying mark, and in recent years the meet has seen a bit of a resurgence; a few were even carried on regional cable TV. This past weekend saw the end of the dual-meet season with three rather important matchups (USC vs. UCLA, Washington vs. Washington State, and Arizona vs. Arizona State vs. Northern Arizona).

Recognizing this fact, I’m going to reinstate something Track & Field News once did: National Dual-Meet Rankings. Rules for ranking are as follows.
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What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast

Posted May 1st, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Columns, What To Watch, College

Track and Running on TV 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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