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Lead Stories: Monday, October 13, 2008

Barringer Breaks Own Collegiate Record, Looks Towards Olympic Trials

Posted June 28th, 2008 at 2:15 PM by Cheryl Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Interviews, College

Image details: AT&T USA Outdoor Track And Field Championships - Day 1 served by picapp.com

Jenny Barringer, a cross country and track star at the University of Colorado at Boulder, won the preliminary and final races in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase event at the 2008 NCAA National Championship Track and Field meet on June 13 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Barringer, 21, also managed to break her own collegiate record, finishing the finals race on June 13 in a wicked fast 9 minutes and 29.20 seconds. When Barringer ran the race up front and alone since the gun start, she did not know that she was on pace for the 2nd fastest ever 3,000-meter steeplechase run by an American woman, and that she missed the US record by only a few tenths of a second. Lisa Galaviz set the US record of 9:28.75 in Belgium last year.

“I wanted to win, take home another national championship and set the collegiate record,” said Barringer about her 2008 performance. The collegiate record time to beat was 9:38, and Barringer’s coach, Mark Wetmore, had a finishing time of 9:41 down on paper. “It was a realistic pace with a kick, within range of the record,” stated Barringer, who will be a senior this fall.
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Dathan Ritzenhein: Fueling the Olympic Family and More
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6)

Posted May 20th, 2008 at 4:00 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!

Well, these past two weeks had a few highs and lows. On a high note, we went back to Michigan and saw our folks, Kalin ran the 25k, and we had Addy baptized. On the low note, my training was not progressing like we had hoped, so we decided to withdraw from the Healthy Kidney 10k. I was quite upset, given where I was in my fitness last year, but I have to remember the Olympics are my main focus.

Going back to the Michigan is always nice because it brings me back to my roots. Little things such as grocery shopping, food, meals, and driving all seem so different when I come back. I was reminded of this when I went home to my dad’s house, and noticed how I never thought twice about what I ate until I entered college, and started paying attention about what I put into my body. In his refrigerator I noticed foods that resembled a typical Midwest palate, such as white bread, chicken, canned green beans and so on. If anyone is from the Midwest I’m not trying to offend anyone, I’m simply trying to point out the differences between then and now. I guess we have become somewhat of food snobs, but we try to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, I need to work on my Dad to get some more wholesome foods in there.
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TFS News Briefs: 12/08/07

Posted December 8th, 2007 at 10:45 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, TFS News Briefs

Thailand Track & Field Golden at the Southeast Asia Games
Thailand doesn’t seem to be in a sharing mood at the Southeast Asia Games. A total of 150 gold medals are up for grabs and Thailand has already won 33 of them on day 1 of the track competition. Read more at: [Google News]

Profile of British ‘68 Olympic Gold Medalist David Hemery
David Hemery, who won the men’s 400m hurdles at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, keeps busy nearly 40 years later by coaching, running and going on motivational speaking engagements. He is profiled on the website Scotsman.Read more at: [Scotsman]

Foot Locker High School National X-C Championships Set for Today
The top high school harriers in the nation will be squaring off today in the Foot Locker National Cross-Country Championships. They will be webcast live on the Foot Locker site.
Watch the races live at: [Foot Locker National Cross-Country Championships]
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Podcast 106: CHRIS LEAR, Author of Running with the Buffaloes [Part 1 of 2]

Posted December 1st, 2007 at 1:45 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Books, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts, Drugs In Sports, College

Episode 106 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features the first installment in a two-part series of interviews with CHRIS LEAR, author of the cult-favorite running books Running With the Buffaloes and Sub 4:00: Alan Webb and the Quest for the Fastest Mile. TheFinalSprint.com Assistant Editor Jimmie R. Markham joins us for the interview.

Lear, a 4:09 high-school miler and an All-American at Princeton, talks about his early running career, his post-collegiate career, his inspiration for writing his running books and his business career.

Now pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lear also discusses how he has been approached about selling the movie rights to Running With the Buffaloes and how the book lends itself to the big screen.

Download the podcast to hear Lear discuss these topics, as well, as doping, American distance runners and their place in the world running scene, the grassroots level resurgence of American distance running, and his advice for young runners on how to succeed in both endeavors.

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[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

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Hosts: Adam Jacobs, Jimmie Markham | Guest:Chris Lear
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 18.1 MB | Length: 26:25 MIN

Episode Sponsored By: Nike +

Long Live Running!
Nike Plus will improve the way you run. Get feedback from your iPod on pace, time, distance and calories burned.

Log into Nikeplus.com to track your progress, set goals and challenge friends.

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TFS News Briefs: 10/14/07

Posted October 14th, 2007 at 4:36 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country

Oregon Men and Women Sweep Hodges X-C Invitational
Both of the Univ. of Oregon cross-country teams, #1 ranked men’s team and the #3 ranked women’s team, swept the Hodges Invitational Saturday. The men’s team scored a near-perfect 16 points while the women scored an impressive 28 points. Read more at: [GoDucks.com]

Univ. of Colorado Coach Mark Wetmore Expects Buffs’ Ranking to Drop
Competing at the Pre-Nationals Cross-Country meet this weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes men’s team, ranked #3 nationally, finished second while the women, ranked #2, finished in sixth place in the white race. After the meet coach Mark Wetmore stated that, “We basically got what we were looking for and where we hoped to be. When the rankings come out, our women will drop a lot but I am pretty sure we can put a big dent into that in the next few weeks. And our men will drop a little bit, which is about what I expected. I thought we were a little over-ranked.” Read more at: [Colorado Buffaloes]

#1 Ranked Stanford Women’s X-C Wins Pre-NCAA InvitationalThe Stanford women’s cross-country team took first place at the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Terra Haute, IN Saturday, scoring 102 points. Senior Teresa McWalters, a four-time All-American, led the Cardinals with a 2nd place finish in a time of 20:01. Susan Kuijken of Florida State won the race with a time of 19:55.5. Read more at: [Stanford Cross-Country]
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Podcast 79: Univ. of Arkansas XC & Track Coaching Legend JOHN MCDONNELL

Posted September 12th, 2007 at 7:40 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Cross Country, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Episode 79 of The Final Sprint Podcast features my interview with legendary University of Arkansas track and XC coach John McDonnell.

In the interview, Coach McDonnell reflects on the stellar IAAF World T&F Champ performances by former Razorbacks Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon, explains why Gay was one of the most disciplined and driven athletes he ever coached, and responds to those critical of the recruitment of international runners, such as former Razorback Alistair Craig, for NCAA Teams.

Download the podcast to hear Coach McDonnell discuss these topics, as well as, the benefits and challenges of his current XC squad’s youth, how to develop a young runner possessing incredible, pure talent (i.e. incoming frosh Duncan Phillips), his lower mileage training regimen vs. 100+ miles/week philosophies of coaches like Colorado’s Mark Wetmore, and when and why he would eventually decide to cap off his Hall of Fame career and retire from coaching.

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to you

Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Coach John McDonnell
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File Size: 12.5 MB | Length: 18:15 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

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Stanford #1 In 2007 Pre-Season Women’s Cross Country Rankings

Posted September 11th, 2007 at 7:34 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Two-time defending NCAA champion Stanford opens the 2007 cross country season ranked first in the country among Division I women’s teams, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced today.

Stanford received nine of the 13 first-place votes in the initial poll. Michigan is ranked second. Third-ranked Colorado received the remaining four first-place votes.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 4 Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona State, Minnesota, Providence and Michigan State.

The second 10 consists of Virginia, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina State, Princeton, Duke, Colorado State, Washington and Virginia Tech.
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Wisconsin #1 In 2007 Pre-Season Men’s Cross Country Rankings

Posted September 11th, 2007 at 7:29 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

If the first Division I men’s poll of the season is a reliable indicator; this should be a very interesting cross country season at the national level.

Wisconsin claimed the top spot in the poll released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Badgers received five first-place votes to tabulating 379 points.

Second-ranked Colorado picked up four first-place votes. Third-ranked Iona and fourth-ranked Oregon received one and three first-place votes, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 are Arkansas, Stanford, UTEP, Oklahoma State, Texas and North Carolina State.
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Book Review: “Running with the Buffaloes” by Chris Lear

Posted July 16th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Paul Petersen

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Books, Cross Country, Track & Field, Special Features, TFS Reviews

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run for an NCAA cross country powerhouse? Have you ever wanted an inside look into the minds and workouts of a D-I national contender? “Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men’s Cross-Country Team“, by Chris Lear, brings all of those perspectives, and much much more.

“Running with the Buffaloes” chronicles the 1998 Colorado University cross country season, day-by-day, workout -by-workout, race-by-race. The book takes you through the intense three-month season via an easy-to-read narrative that flows smoothly amidst team activities. Each day of the season fills its own short chapter, which not only makes the book consumable for people with short attention spans (like me), but also makes it hard to put down!
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