November 2007 Track and Field Articles

David Kinsella has been through the thick and the thin of distance running, having to take time off for injuries. He placed 12th in 10K last year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and is just coming off an 8th place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Can you give me a brief walk through your history with the sport of running?
My first year of high school was my first year of running; I was a sophomore, because I’d went to the junior high. I guess you could say I ran there, but… more »

It had been a little over a week since the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships and already preparation for the next season has begun. It seems as if a runner’s work is never done. As the temperatures get colder and the precipitation turns white, Mother Nature pushes us rather forcefully inside for the indoor track season. Indoor we train our bodies for the outdoor season and dream of warm weather; unless you go to school in Florida then you do not dream as much. The NCAA Division II Indoor Championships will be held at Minnesota State University, Mankato on… more »

Brian Sell recently qualified for the 2008 Olympics, but for his coach, Keith Hanson, there is one more stop before Beijing - the Women's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

Keith and his brother, Kevin, coach the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, a post-collegiate elite training group in Rochester Hills, Mich. While the brothers started the team in 1999, it was not until 2003 that there was a women's team, after Brooks Sports, Inc. became the team's sponsor. Financial support from Brooks and Saturn now allow them to offer incomes up to $100,000 to athletes who run specific times.
… more »

Washington Lady Husky Anita Campbell leads her team into the NCAA Division I Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana. In the past years she had only went as an individual. Let’s see how she does after making the trip with her entire team to back her up.

PART ONE (BEFORE NATIONALS)

Can you talk about your training this far in the season?
My summer training went pretty well. I went home, I didn’t stay in Seattle. I started with a good base and didn’t run too much, just enough to feel good coming into… more »

“They are crazy” I overheard one spectator say before the gun shot pieced the dry, warm Missouri air. I thought to myself, runners are crazy to an extent. Who else is willing to fly or drive half way across the country to torture their bodies by running thru a freshly cut thistly field? Loud chanting brought me out of my thoughts and I quickly realized who the spectator was referring to; it was not the runners but the freshly painted fans. Adam’s State had Thing 1 and Thing 2 but instead of their usual blue hair, they had green. Vikings… more »

Marla Runyan is well-known for overcoming obstacles to accomplish her dreams. Legally blind since the age of 9, Runyan, 38, inspired athletes of all abilities when she became the first Paralympian to ever compete in the Olympic Games.

Despite her success with distance running, Runyan began her track career in the high jump at San Diego State University. She then progressed to the heptathlon, in which she competed at the 1996 Olympic Trials. After her 800-meter time of 2:04.7 in the heptathlon, she realized her talent for mid-distance running. Runyan left California for Eugene, Oregon, to… more »

Hakon Devries, a former Footlocker finalist, is one Stanford's top runners as they head into Monday's NCAA Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana.

Name and Title?
Hakon Devries, Stanford University, Junior(athlete), 4th year academically.

Picture of Hakon Devries, Thanks to Stanford Athletics Website for the picture.
Why do you run?
I played a lot of different sports when I was growing up and I found that I was good at running when I did all of those. Everyone likes to do things that they are good at and I'm definitely no exception.… more »

Though it’s 11 days old, its still fresh as ever in my mind. Did I really get up and watch the entire broadcast on my computer? Did Hall really drop a 4:32 18th mile then proceed to coast away from the field? Did the Today show really miss the start? Maybe it was all a dream or some type of runners’ fairy tale? It wasn’t, and it all happened, but I’m not here to talk about the race, even though it was emotional, unforgettable, inspirational, and whatever other word you enjoy. I’m here to rehash the broadcast. Two plus hours… more »

A total of 378 participants (188 men and 190 women) will compete in the championships. All regions automatically qualified two teams of seven student-athletes each. Additional berths were awarded to the regions with the first eight team finishers at the 2006 NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. Missouri Southern State University will host the championships, November 17, at the Missouri Southern State Cross Country Course in Joplin, Missouri. The women's race will begin at 10:30 a.m. Central time followed by the men’s race at 11:30 a.m. Central time.

So why pick Joplin, Missouri as… more »

Almost anyone can run a marathon. Siri Terjesen just ran her 99th this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. Terjesen, 32, from Akron, Ohio, is a professional ultrarunner who routinely runs marathons every few weeks as part of her training.

“I find it difficult to get out of bed for anything less than a marathon,” Terjesen joked.

Ultrarunning is underrated in the serious running community, often associated with slow jogging, insanity and publicity stunts.

“There are people who promote themselves over the sport,” Terjesen said, but she described most ultramarathoners as… more »

Former Footlocker Champion AJ Acosta, who now runs for the Oregon Ducks, recently ran an 8k PR of 23:24 at PAC 10’s. He and the Ducks are heading into Regional's and the NCAA Championships.

What does “AJ” stand for?
Andrew Joseph
An article recently came out about your adjustment to college, can you explain that?
It was really just an acclimating process. I was coming in as the top high school guy in the country. I was going into a program where I was running with guys like Shadrack Kiptoo, Galen Rupp, Scott Wall… more »

Most people on the morning of November 3 where sleeping warmly in their beds. Most fans of distance running were glued to their television sets following the New York City Olympic Qualifying trial, and some were lucky enough to be New York to follow it live. I, along with many other Division II runners, was toeing the line of a Regional meet to attempt to gain a bid to NCAA national championships on November 17, 2007. The Regional meets answer many questions but leave some unanswered. Some of these questions are: What happened to Nicodemus Naimadu? Who is going to… more »

American track and field athletes now have many opportunities to run competitively beyond college. In the past several years, groups such as the Brooks-Hansons Distance Project, Team Running USA, McMillan Elite, and Nike’s Oregon Project, provide elite athletes with an opportunity to train full-time with a team.

“I feel like it’s getting better and better,” Molly Huddle said.

Huddle, 23, could have gone to medical school after she graduated from the University of Notre Dame this year with a degree in biology. Instead, the nine-time NCAA All-American chose to postpone that plan and… more »

New York City 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon Trials- November 3, 2008

It is hard to expect the unexpected. With a Men's Olympic Marathon Trials race full of highs and lows, it is hard to see the bright side of things in this situation. Flotrack recently received word that Ryan Shay, 28, runner from Flagstaff Arizona and Notre Dame, passed away unexpectedly during the race. While we do not have details, our thoughts will be with him and his family.

Shay was an ardent supporter of the sport, and his efforts went well beyond his… more »

New York City, 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon Trials - November 3, 2008
The Eagles song "In a New York Minute" seemed fitting of the highs and lows that made the 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon Trials. With rain, gusty, winds, and cold temperatures, 128 of the Country's best toed the line in Central Park, all with the same hope: making the Olympics. Arguably, this was the most competitive Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in history.


Picture of Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell after winning their tickets to Beijing

Some of the… more »

It's go time. The hay is in the barn and not much more can be said or done in preparation for the Olympic Marathon Trials. As we sit here, only hours left until the gun sounds, 128 of the best runners in the country will jet off down the streets of Manhattan. The trials of miles and miles of trials are over and it will all come down to who has what come Saturday morning. The favorites for this race have graced the cover of the nation's running magazines and have been featured in numerous interviews, newspaper articles, and videos.… more »

University of Arkansas’s Christine Kalmer is one of the top XC runners in the SEC and in the country. She is looking to improve her 117th place finish last year at NCAA’s (where she lost her shoe).

Coming off a 2nd place finish at SEC’s, how would you say your season is going right now?
I’m really excited about my season thus far. It’s really picking up and things are going according to plan. It kind of got off to slow start. But after SEC’s it really shows that I’m on track. I’m really looking forward… more »