An American Medalist in London

A week ago I was all jazzed because Galen Rupp closed in 53 seconds out-kicking Bernard Lagat for the win in the 5000 meter run at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. I thought then that he would have a shot at getting a medal in London in a month....Now? Maybe in the 10,000m, Galen. In Paris today, Dejen Gebremeskel closed in 54 seconds but ran a world leading time and 36 seconds faster than Rupp did in an admittedly more tactical affair in Eugene. The race in London will surely be tactical too, but it will come down to who puts themselves in the best position with 400m to go. If Rupp or Bernard Lagat or Lopez Lomong do not put themselves in third with a quarter left they are going to be like Bumbalough was last week--sure you can hang on but you sure as hell ain't passing anyone. Enjoy the view from 4th place. 


Like I said, Rupp has a better chance in the 10,000m. He and his training partner Dathan Ritzenhein are of the age and experience now that when it is time to race they will be ready. It also does not hurt that they workout with the favorite to take home gold in the 5 or the 10: Mo Farah of Great Britain. It is way too early for me to make any predictions but I will state the obvious that these Olympic Games will be a sight to see for fans of Team USA. I like the chances of Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, Kara Goucher, Shalane Flanagan, and Desi Davila in the marathon as well. The success of Team USA would have some nice symmetry since it will have been a little over a decade since the turning point (a race I was very fortunate to witness in person). Almost all of Team USA (at least on the men's side) have Hall, Ritz, and Alan Webb to thank for re-energizing a youth that had drifted to soccer, basketball, and Xbox360. 


I still see it being another Olympic cycle before America gets gold in a distance event, but it is time for someone to crack the top three. I guess this is why we run the races...


Happy running everyone.  

Bring Back the Mile

Everyone in the country should know who Bernard Lagat is.

Everyone in the country knows who LeBron James, Payton Manning, Tom Brady, Michael Phelps, and Michael Johnson are. They are the best at their craft: forward, quarterback, swimmer, sprinter. Lagat? I don't know. Alan Webb? Maybe. Jim Ryun? Steve Scott? Vaguely. Everyone in the country should know these names.

The Mile should be as easily celebrated as the 100 Meter Dash for the casual sports fan. It is four minutes long and fits into most attention spans of the American couch potato. It is more dramatic than stock car racing, more exciting than golf, and not as time-consuming as any of the Big Four team sports. As a student, athlete, and coach of track & field of course I am going to have these feelings, but I am also the guy who can sit happily and watch a marathon or 25-lapper on the track and not get bored so I get pissed when they go to commercial in any event longer than four laps. I'm an adult so I appreciate that not everyone is going to share my feelings on the 10,000 meter, but surely we can all get together for less than four minutes and watch the Mile, right?

Alan Webb had a chance to bring the country back to the Mile in 2001. ESPN broke away from SportsCenter then to show his attempt to break Jim Ryun's national high school record in the Mile. He did so. To my knowledge, ESPN hasn't done that since and instead has broken away from Lagat winning distance races to go to an attempt at a no-hitter a few years ago. I swore off ESPN for a whole month after that I was so pissed. I know a whole month--I really showed them.

Back to Webb... he had his chance. It has been a topsy-turvy decade for him. He went to Michigan and then left that great situation for reasons passing understanding. He had his best season ever in 2007 setting the American Record in the Mile, and then followed that up in 2008 with one of his worst seasons. He has gone through coaches and training partners and is still kicking. He is trying to make it to London this week in either the 1500m or the 5000m. I don't expect him to make it in either event. Anyway, he had his chance.

Why isn't the Mile the premier event in track and field? How is it not celebrated by sports fans and casual fans alike? Part of it is our doing... in a lot of states, high school associations run the 1600m instead of the Full Mile (1609 meters). On the world stage they run the Metric Mile (1500m) and the 3000m instead of the 3200m or a true Two-mile. Confused yet? In college indoors they run a full mile but outdoors they run the 1500m at championship meets. Pick a distance and go with it, people! In this regard, I feel we (the USA) should just do ourown thing: The Mile. I feel that is the most commonly asked question of a runner from a non-runner: "How fast do you run the Mile?" I usually just tell them my 1600m PR and not bother with the global-political sports landscape.

Another issue is coverage. NBC, ESPN, etc. are great... for televising sports that do well on television: football, basketball, and even soccer is getting good pub. Track just doesn't work on television to me (it can it just doesn't with the team sports' suits running the show). It does work very well online though with knowledgeable people and analysts who care deeply about our sport. Think Ryan Fenton & Flotrack.org, Doctor Bob & distancepreps.com, and Jason Byrne & Milesplit.com. When these guys get the chance to be the central body for covering our favorite events in the sport they knock it out of the park (forgive the baseball analogy). When I see that NBC or ESPN has the video rights to an event I groan because I know the coverage is going to be piss-poor to lukewarm at best.

If these guys had the sort of power (and probably more importantly money) to get the rights to cover our sport 24/7, it could go a long way to getting people more interested in our sport. Even if it didn't, maybe more average people would be able to pick Lagat out of a line-up...or at the very least be able to not only watch but really enjoy the Mile.

This is a thought I scribbled down last winter after running through the Tallahassee trails bundled in every bit of clothing I could find...In retrospect, this 'sub-elite' system still might work but I know that not even the best distance runners in the country make the kind of scratch they really need to retire after their running career is over. 

I noticed an interesting thing this morning as I ran in 30 degree weather once again. Other than the six figure salary of my current running heroes, one of the big difference between the elites and those of us chomping at the bit for "sub-elite" status is consistency in clothing. Today, I had Saucony shoes, underarmor socks, Puma half tights, an Adidas top, and Pearl Izumi gloves on my run. Oh and Zoot compression sleeves. Six different corporations sponsored me on my run today. Now, this is just wishful thinking of course but if I were Nike or Adidas or K-Swiss (I know one of the shoe reps... just saying) I would look at the sub elite age groupers, those of us who are knocking on the door of sub-elite or elite status and give them a small contract, per diem maybe or a stipend, and all the gear they needed. Maybe pay for travel? Get a group of sub-elites together and send us to Atlanta for a road race or something? We'd still have to keep our day jobs to ensure that running remains a passion, but what could we do with a few extra hours in the day?

Would that make the difference between me being a hindrance on my loved one as I strive for my 80+ mile weeks? Maybe. It would make it just a little easier, and maybe that would be the difference between sub 1530 and sub 1400, a sub 2:40 marathon and a sub 2:25, or a 72 minute half and qualifying for the Olympic Trials... If I had an extra 10-20 hours a week I could train an extra 20-40 miles a week probably (this including getting good sleep at night and requisite naps during big training weeks). 

And, Nike can't tell me it would be bad for business to pay me 10 grand a year to wear all your products when I train and race. 10 large is a hiccup in these companies' books. Think what the company would get in return: people wanting products. Locals would come up to you at road races and ask, are you sponsored? do you like the product? the company? And, we'd all say hell yes. Then you would have more people wearing your product and wanting to work harder to get sponsorship on any level. I think some of this would create the time and money needed to train at a more elite level. Again, I do not think that this little bit extra would get me or anyone I know on the next Olympic team (not necessarily), but it might get a few more sub-elites knocking on the door of the Olympic B Standard or maybe even stepping to the line at the Trials.