November 2008 Track and Field Articles

Butler Bulldog senior Andrew Baker recently took 40th at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. He's finished 28th at said meet before and looks for fast indoor track and outdoor track seasons. Can give me the play by play of how YOUR race played out at NCAAs? I got out OK we were in box 29, I got to the front but then by the end of the straight the two sides of the field swamped the middle a little and I found myself a little further back than I wanted to be. My plan was to get to… more »

(C) - Copyright - Christopher Kelsall - 2008 AGSI Canadian Cross Country Championships – Saturday, Nov 29 2008. - For the AGSI Canadian National Cross Country Championships there is currently a few centimeters of snow on the course and the forecast is for temperatures to hover around the freezing mark. For best results long spikes are advised. There are 739 confirmed entrants to date from across the country, most however, are from the Province of Ontario. Some of the top seeds contesting the Men’s senior race are: Dylan Wykes, ON Steve Osaduik, BCSimon Bairu,  SaskEric Gillis, NSJoel Bourgeois, NBJames Gosselin,… more »

Monte-Carlo, Monaco - adidas and the IAAF formally announce today a11-year partnership agreement granting adidas the world-wide sponsorship rights for all IAAF World Athletic Series events until 2019. Under the agreement, adidas will be the official IAAF athletic sponsor and licensee product supplier for the next decade.  The partnership incorporates every aspect of athletics, from product creation, to grassroots development and retail distribution.  Among the highlights of the deal, adidas will be the Official Sponsor of the 2009 IAAF World Championships next summer in Berlin, August 15 through 23rd. The partnership was announced during a press event in Monaco supported by CEO and Chairman of… more »

So Nationals came and went, and while I was unable to attend, there is some pretty good footage that was put up by a flotrack user...you may need to search for it, although as of press time it is on the front page under user videos.  As for the results, surprises were kept to a minimum for the most part for both genders individually and for the team scores. Here are your results http://finishtiming.com/2008/11-22/index.htm The Men's Podium featured first time Champion SUNY Cortland, followed by North Central, Williams and Steven's Point leaving Calvin off the podium for the first time… more »

MEN Individual WOMEN Individual 1 Sam Chelanga (8) 1 Sally Kipyego (14) Liberty Quite the contrast in weather from Pre-Nats to tomorrow's championship race. Will it change Chelanga shot at a title? Probably not, but Rupp will give him his all. Texas Tech Sally has proved her entire career she's the best female runner in the country. On 11/24 she looks to dominate the field, again, and stay undefeated in her XC career.  2 Galen Rupp (6) 2 Susan Kuijken Oregon Rupp's the most experienced runner on the men's side. One of his goals this year was taking an individual… more »

Saturday was a beautiful snowy, cold afternoon.The kind of day when Jack Frost nips and the nose, and perfect weather for building snowman, throwing snowballs, ice-skating and, apparently, running the National Cross Country race. Whereas most normal humans would be wrapped up in several layers of clothing, the DII XC fans of Chico, Grand Valley, Western, UAH and Slippery Rock decided to go shirtless to cheer on their teammates, forgoing any worries about frostbite. This Championship race will surely be one talked about for years to come, especially if some of the fans loose a couple of fingers to frostbite.… more »

Kyle Perry, a Brigham Young Cougar senior, has put together an impressive 2008 XC campaign. He's coming a second place finish over 10 kilometers in the Mountain Regional Championships, with a time of 29 minutes, 29 seconds. A runner with great foot speed to match (7:51 3k and 3:59 mile), watch Kyle make a bid for a top spot at the NCAA XC Championships in only a few days. What are you doing this week in preparation for the NCAA Championships? Yeah, we're tapering. We're going to do some shorter, faster stuff this week. We've done a lot of tempo… more »

Detecting gene doping (this is the 4th article in a series of 4 focusing on Gene Doping) by Danny Mackey M.S.             I raced last week and it was a disaster.  In the beginning of the last article I talked about how my workouts had been coming along and I was excited to race.  But, sometimes the equation does not make sense.  I felt horrible physically, and when things started going bad I think I subconsciously disengaged (then the race went down hill even more).  So to keep it short, the lesson I learned from the race was I should… more »

(C) Copyright - Christopher Kelsall - 2008 In this age of highly acute environmental consciousness, I have become hyper-aware of what I throw out and what I recycle. Sometimes while performing this household duty, I get into an argument with myself: Thinking: Should I or should I not dump 20 liters of hot tap water into this plastic peanut butter jar to clean it so the plastic can be recycled? Myself: Yes, because the sea-life (where my tap water goes) would like to feed on hydrogenated oils. Me: Or should I just chuck it in with the waste and let… more »

JOHN HANCOCK FINANCIAL ANNOUNCES TOP AMERICAN RYAN HALL TO RUN 2009 BOSTON MARATHON Olympian and U.S. Trials Champion Ryan Hall seeks American win in Boston BOSTON, MA November 18, 2008—In its 24th year as the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the signing of Olympic marathoner and American half marathon record holder Ryan Hall for the 113th running of the race on April 20, 2009. The fastest American marathoner in 2007 and 2008, Hall has quickly proven himself as one of the best distance runners in the world. He seeks to become the first American… more »

“The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things.” With a few days left until November 22, 2008, the time has come to make final predictions for DII XC Nationals.  This year’s race is shaping up to have its share of drama. The weather in Slippery Rock, PA looks to be brutal, with a chance of snow the entire week and an estimated high temperature of 39 degrees on race day. The question is how these adverse conditions will affect those runners who are use to warmer weather? There will be other factors, besides the weather, that… more »

Nov. 16, 2008     NDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee announced today the team and individual qualifiers for the 2008 Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships.   In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions.   Thirty-two teams were selected to participate in each championship.  The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 16 teams.  Sixteen additional teams were selected at-large.   Fifty-six individuals, the first seven athletes from each region… more »

NCAA Men’s Qualifiers   QUALIFIER #1 is IONA (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is GEORGETOWN (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is WISONSIN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is OK STATE (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS AM (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#1 West) (PLACED TOP… more »

Auburn sophomore Hollie Knight, originally from England, was an All-American in the 5000 meters last outdoor season. After finishing second in the Blue Race at Pre-Nats and second at the SEC Meet, she's ready to threaten a top spot at the NCAA Championships. Check out her profile here: http://www.flotrack.org/members/Hollieknight       What did you do at practice today? Today was another steady run. We did eight miles. It wasn't too bad. What kind of mileage do you usually do? On the build up to racing season I was probably at 75 miles a week. Now we're tapering for regionals… more »

“Six miles…10,000 meters over hill and dale out in the middle of nowhere. Spit freezing on your godamn [sic] chin. Five hundred complete wild men in the mud, running up your heel with long spikes. Oh, I love cross country all right. I also like being flayed alive with a rusty straight razor” so proclaimed the famous fictional runner, Quenton Cassidy.  This love-hate relationship with the sport is familiar to many; as grueling as cross country races can be, many runners are reluctant to see the season come to an end.  For a handful of hard working individuals and teams,… more »

  NCAA Men's National Qualifiers (based on Kolas Calculator projections) (Click HERE for Women's List.)   QUALIFIER #1 is IONA (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is GEORGETOWN (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is VIRGINIA (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is WISONSIN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is OK STATE (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS AM (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT… more »

NCAA Women's National Qualifiers (based on Kolas Calculator projections) (Click HERE for Men's List.)   QUALIFIER #1 is STONY BROOK (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is PRINCETON (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is WAKE FOREST (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN STATE (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is MINNESOTA (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is ARKANSAS (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS TECH (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT… more »

With the conference championships done, most teams took the week off (ECAC's aside) and so the focus is now onto the eight regional meets and getting into one of the 32 starting line blocks (per gender) in Hanover for the 22nd. Since most teams just send their JV runners to ECAC I have decided to not give the race much attention other than stating the winners (Williams Men and Women). Now onto the regional previews (new national rankings came out this week, so the ranked teams will be reflected in the previews. ATLANTIC MEN Leading the way is #1 ranked… more »

Wisconsin Badger senior Gwen Jorgensen is a converted collegiate swimmer. She placed 83rd at the NCAA Championships last year in her first XC season and second recently at Big Tens. After coming off of being second at Big Tens, can you give me your individual goals this XC season? Throughout the entire season it's been about the team. So, basically scoring the lowest points possible for the team. Our team is really strong this year and I want to improve upon last year. Last year I was kind of just getting my feet wet. It was my first XC season.… more »

The Risks of Gene Doping (3rd in a 4 part series looking at gene doping) By Danny Mackey M.S. (note: that picture heading for the article is a classic one of a rat’s muscle composition before and after taking a PED)               Since I post my training log on the site, I will start out with a little about my running.  I just go to my blood tests back yesterday and my red blood cell count is almost “normal” but my testosterone is double what is was in May (but still on the low end of normal).  Also, my… more »

There is one last barrier for teams to successfully hurdle in order to make it to Slippery Rock, PA for the DII National 2008 Cross Country meet held on November 22. This last hurdle is the Regional meet. DII regionals work differently then DI; there are no at-large bids, but rather a straight qualification system.  Each region sends at least two automatically qualifying teams and two individuals to the national meet. The top five individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will also automatically advance. The number of team qualifying spots per region, however, depends on whether or… more »

Ok so I did not get as many conference previews up last week as I wanted to, however, I did call many of the upsets both team and individual. The one team champion I did not call was from my old conference (how about that). I will admit I had a good feeling that NYU would pull it out, but I just could not get myself to say the words, but congrats to the Violets as Coach Mcdonough and his squad did it again.  I did not have an interview this week...again, my bad, but this coming week is an… more »

Goucher 3rd as fastest American woman ever at NYC Marathon; 4 Americans in men's top 10 NEW YORK - World record holder Paula Radcliffe won her third ING New York City Marathon as 2007 World Outdoor 10,000m bronze medalist Kara Goucher turned in a history-making American performance in third Sunday morning. 2006 champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won his second men's title as four American men placed in the top 10 on a sunny, cool and windy day. Great Britain's Radcliffe moved to 3-0 in the five-borough race, pulling away from Irina Petrova of Russia in the 20th mile… more »