Oops
It’s been a week of “oops moments” in track & field.
First there was Katy Andrews at the BYU Robison Invitational. Andrews was leading the 3000 meter steeplechase when her spikes caught just before the water jump and she failed to jump and instead went head first into the water pit.
This spectacular fall, which Andrews herself uploaded to YouTube, has gone viral but if that nine second clip isn’t enough for you, you can see the fall from another angle, in super slow motion, as well as a sequence of photos shot by BYU photographer Jaren Wilkey. Andrews was leading the race at the time of her fall and she resumed running after the fall. But after running two more laps, her coaches convinced her to drop out so they could check her for any injuries.
Lopez Lomong in the 5000 meters at the 2012 Payton Jordan Invitational
The next day at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University, 2008 1500 meter Olympian Lopez Lomong, running his first competitive 5000 meter race since his college days miscounted the laps and kicked one lap too early. He started to surge away from the pack at the 4200 meter mark (two laps to go). David Torrance gave chase while the rest of the pack was content to let them go because there were still two laps to go. Torrance would later say that he knew there were two laps to go but he wanted to cover Lomong’s move because he was going for the win. Lomong ran a blistering 54 second lap on what he thought was the last lap but actually was the penultimate lap. After raising his arms in victory and slowing to a stop the crowd and officials started yelling to him that he still had one more lap. No one had passed him yet so Lomong took off running again! He somehow managed to run a 66 second last lap despite the stop and the tremendous lactic acid build-up he likely had in his legs. The results sheet will show him with a 2012 world leading and Olympic A standard time of 13:11.63, three seconds ahead of second place.
Lomong’s early kick reminded me of an indoor race I watched many years ago involving Suzy Favor Hamilton. After some research I found the details from that race. It was the mile at the 1994 Mobil Invitational indoor track & field meet in Fairfax, Virginia. The race was eight laps and pitted Hamilton against the reigning Olympic 1500 meter champion Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria. Hamilton kicked on what she thought was the last lap to pull ahead of Boulmerka. But there was still one lap to go. When Hamilton heard the bell for the final lap ringing she shouted “Oh no!” and you could see the shock on her face. Unlike Lomong, Hamilton did not get back in the race and Boulmerka would win with a time of 4:28.64.
It turns out this was not Hamilton’s only lap counting goof. At the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, Washington, then still in college at the University of Wisconsin, she got disoriented on the track and didn’t start her kick until it was too late, finishing fourth in a race that many thought she could have won.
To err is human, so next time you make a boo-boo remember at least your mistake isn’t being written up in the newspaper or posted as a video on the internet.
The Zippy 5K
Zippy is coming at you on April 22, 2012
On Sunday, April 21, 2012, the thirteenth annual Zippy 5K will take place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I have a special place in my heart for this race because as a member of the then Hoy’s Excelsior Running Club in 2000, I was the co-race director for the inaugural Zippy 5K. I remember a lot of passion and planning went into creating this race. This is also the race where just last year I achieved a milestone goal of mine by breaking 17 minutes in the 5K as a masters runner.
Here are my race tips for my Pamakid teammates and anyone else from the Pacific Association who happens upon this blog.
The start will be fast. Try to settling into your race pace as soon as possible. If you do so successfully you will be surrounded by like-paced runners for the first half mile. It will be crowded but don’t worry. Fall into step with the runners around you and just ride the wave.
After about half a mile it will start to spread out, which is good because that way you can see the road ahead of you. Make sure you run the tangents, which means running the shortest route. There are some minor ups, downs, and turns but your goal should be to maintain your pace for the entire first mile.
The second mile is basically a counterclockwise lap around Stow Lake. I recommend that you study the turns and elevation changes. My mantra for this section is, “if you aren’t moving up, you’re probably slowing down.” Focus on catching and passing people. If you don’t, you can easily run mile two twenty seconds slower than mile one. The more familiar you are with the lap around Stow Lake, the easier it is to stay locked in on your pace.
I love the 0.1 miles between the two mile mark and the mile to go mark. There’s a sweeping right turn on a gradual downhill. I like to accelerate slightly after the two mile mark and say to myself, “run like a bat out of hell.” As I pass the mile to go mark and the road merges on to John F. Kennedy Drive (JFK), I gather myself mentally for what will be a painful but potentially rewarding last mile.
The last mile of the course is almost a straight shot down JFK. It can be mentally challenging because there are really no turns to speak of, just one long long straightaway. My Pamakid teammate Denis Glenn’s mantra for this mile is, “stop means go,” referring to the several stop signs you will see along JFK. Every time you see one of those stop signs surge a little and go!
I find that during this final straightaway, I am constantly talking to myself. My legs and lungs are burning and begging me to slow down. But my brain pushes me to keep going, reminding me of my goal and the miles of training I have put in for this very moment. I’ll make bargains with myself, “float until the museums but then I have to surge” or “a small surge now will be less painful than an all-out sprint later.” Is this the dialogue that goes through all runners’ minds in the final three minutes of a race? Last year some of the positive mantras I was saying to myself during this stretch were, “This is my mile,” or “It’ll be over soon and then I’ll own the time forever.”
Good luck everyone. Study the course map. Hydrate. Know your start of the race pace. And Go Green!
2012 Post-Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon and 5K Fun Run
Pamakid Runners at the starting line of the 2012 race.
I think February 5, 2012 will go down as a race day that many of us Pamakids remember for a long time. The conditions were excellent to have a good race. The work by RhodyCo and the race volunteers ensured an excellent race experience for all. Not all of us ran personal records (PR’s) or met or exceeded time goals but many Pamakids did and I think overall we’re pretty happy with the race.
For me personally, I had several moments that stand out. As always, it was thrilling to be in the middle of the Pamakid Go Green team cheer. Along the course, my Pamakid friends who were volunteering did the perfect job, yelling for us to be patient for the first seven miles and then getting in our faces and “demanding” that we go hard late in the race. As Adam, Tim, and I ran through the park, I felt very smooth and relaxed. We made it a point to not waste energy in the early stages of the race. When we hit the seven mile mark I felt as if I had just finished a long warm-up run. I was ready to get after it on the Great Highway, which was perfect because all week I had been telling people that the race didn’t start until the Great Highway. As I surged and ran 5:49, 5:46, and 5:50 for miles 8, 9, and 10, I knew that I was having a good day. I made eye contact with Tony at the turnaround and enjoyed boisterous cheering from Jerry, Eduardo, Olga, Anne, and Janeth. When I spotted Denis I pretended to pull on my singlet ala Superman. I was feeling great and enjoying myself so much that I didn’t even care that the wind had seemingly shifted and was in my face both southbound and northbound on the Great Highway. I felt some twinges in my hamstrings at mile 11 and had to slow down a bit. One runner passed me with half a mile to go. Two more passed me with a quarter mile to go. That’s when I decided enough was enough. Malinda’s been saying I’ve had a back kick of late and I felt that I needed to stop that. When we hit the stop sign, I started my kick and re-passed two of the runners in the final 100 meters. I heard Mike, the announcer, call my name, “and here’s our first Pamakid, it’s Andy Chan, the President of the club”) as I crossed the finish line with tired legs but a tremendous feeling of pride.
Below is a table comparing various PamaStats from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 races.
| 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | |
| Runners in the half marathon in Pamakid uniform | 24 | 26 | 41 |
| Top 100 finishers | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Women in the top 100 females | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Top 10 in their age group | 10 | 5 | 13 |
| Medalists (top 3 in their age group) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Sub-1:19 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Sub-1:24 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Sub-1:30 | 9 | 9 | 16 |
| Sub-1:40 | 15 | 16 | 28 |
| Sub-2:00 | 19 | 23 | 35 |
Special congratulations to our 2012 race medalists: Patrick Lee (first in his age division for the 5K), Theo Jones (second in his age division for the half marathon), Markham Miller (third), and your truly (third).
I would like to thank our partners at Kaiser Permanente, and Dave Rhody and the RhodyCo gang. Buzz Ayola, the finish line timing extraordinaire offered a new feature of race day live results so you could get your results via a smartphone at the expo or have friends follow you from home. Pamakid members Mike (race director), Phyllis (volunteer coordinator), and the volunteer captains do a tremendous amount of work, not just on Sunday but also in the days and weeks leading up to the race. We would never have such a highly successful race without people willing to volunteer for their fellow runners.
Please support our race sponsors (see a list of them here) and remember that your participation in the race helped support the Koret Family House, The Harbor Light Center for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and Support for Families of Children with Disabilities.
Results are now available at: http://www.buzzwordproductions.com/iat_016.htm.
Brightroom pictures are available at: http://www2.brightroom.com/96766.
Fourth Place
The 2012 US Olympic Marathon Trials took place in Houston on January 14.
Zoila Gomez, Khalid Khannouchi, Blake Russell, Trent Briney. What do those four runners have in common? They were the fourth place finishers at the 2008 and 2004 US Olympic Marathon Trials. Fourth place. When talking about Olympic spots, fourth place is the most painful place….in essence, the first loser. The top three go on to compete in the Olympics. Fourth place just leads the hundreds of others who must wait four more years for another chance.
For Dathan Ritzenhein (aka “Ritz,” who was a 2008 Olympian) and Amy Hastings (no Olympics yet), they reluctantly add their name to the Gomez, Khannouchi, Russell, and Briney list. If it’s any consolation, four years after her fourth place finish, Russell qualified for the next Olympics in the marathon. In addition, both Ritzenhein and Hastings can still race at the 2012 US Olympic Track & Field Trials in June to try to make the Olympic team on the track. Both of them have pretty solid chances of making the team in either the 10,000 meters or 5,000 meters. Ritzenhein is a former American record holder at 5,000 meters and was sixth at the 2009 World Championships in the 10,000 meters. Hastings is coming off a season in which she made the World Championship final in the 5,000 meters in Daegu.
“Trying out for the olympics (sic) is being willing to serve your heart on a platter along with a knife and carving instructions.” That was US professional runner, Lauren Fleshman’s Facebook status the other day. Fleshman would know. Although she has been the USA Champion for 5,000 meters twice (2006 and 2010) and competed at three IAAF World Championships (2003, 2005, and 2011), she has endured two disappointing “tryouts for the Olympics” (also known as the Olympic Trials). In 2004 she was injured and unable to compete. In 2008, she faded to a non-Olympic team qualifying fifth place.
The US has a very objective system to qualify for the Olympics. Four years of training comes down to one race. It’s all or nothing. It insures that the US Olympic marathon and track & field athletes have earned their spot on the team, having endured the pressure that accompanies the Olympic Trials. Before the 2012 US Olympic Marathon Trials, I read a line that stuck with me, “trying to add the word Olympian to their name.” By placing in the top three, one qualifies for the Olympics and does have the word Olympian associated with their name for the rest of their life. That’s quite the reward, but with such a mighty reward comes pressure and the potential for disappointment – thus “serving your heart on a platter with a knife and carving instructions.”
As it turned out, of the six qualifiers (three men and three women), only one truly added Olympian to their name. That would be Desiree Davilla. For the other five, this is a return trip to the Olympics. This will be Meb Keflezighi’s third Olympics, Ryan Hall’s second, Abdi Abdirahman’s fourth, Shalane Flanagan’s third, and Kara Goucher’s second.
It is no wonder that Ritzenhein and Hastings were so distraught at the finish line of the Olympic Marathon Trials. Both of them shed tears as the reality that they did not miscount, they were fourth, set in.
Ritzenhein, who was only eight seconds behind Abdirahman for the coveted third place spot, was described as disconsolate at the finish by bloggers covering the race. Despite running a PR, in post race interviews he said things like “Obviously being fourth is the worst place to be, and I’m trying not to react in the completely negative, but the marathon has been a continued problem. I’m not saying that I will never run another marathon but I am going to shift my focus back to the track. I am really going to focus on the disciplines and distances that I am good at.”
Hastings, who finished over 70 seconds behind Goucher, said in a Runners World interview that she had known for the last two miles that she was not going to finish in the top three but that she held back tears for miles 25 and 26 because crying then would affect her breathing. But the tears rained down when she finished. Still, she composed herself to attend the post-race press conference as the official USA Olympic Marathon alternate. That takes some class.
There’s something noble about being fourth at the Olympic Trials. I wish I were the fourth best at something out of everyone in the USA. If that something happened to be an Olympic event, all the better, but I’d settle for being fourth American at anything. The sting of fourth place will be there for a while for Ritz and Hastings but hopefully over time they will be proud that they gave it their best and they will rebound to battle for an Olympic spot in the future.
Running the race you want to run, when you want to
Go Green!
Running the race you want to run, when you want to. That’s the challenge all of us runners face. It’s what keeps us motivated to train and to sign-up for big races – all in the hope that things will come together perfectly on race day. The 2011 USA Club Cross Country National Championships (aka “Club Nationals”) was my big goal race. I first thought about the Pamakids attending this meet over three years ago. We started talking specifically about the 2011 Club Nationals last year. Trip planning to go to Seattle has been going on for the last nine months. To say I’ve been targeting this race would be an understatement.
Since turning forty last year I have had a great year of training and racing. However, in the fall my focus was on coaching more than my own training. As a result I had some up races and some just okay races. At the Pacific Association Cross Country Championships (PA Champs) on November 20, I went out too hard and lost a lot of places as I fought through the muddy conditions. Coming off that disappointing race I really wanted to run a better race in Seattle. My main goal was to be competitive for the entire 10K, ideally moving up as the race went on rather than being passed.
I bought cross country spikes problems in case the grass was wet and muddy so that I would not have traction problems as at the PA Champs. I studied the course map and on Flotrack video of the course. The course was more or less a 2K loop that would be run five times. I decided I would use the kilometer marks to monitor my pace rather than the usual mile markers. Based on my recent previous times, I figured I could run sub-37 minutes on this 10K course. My goal was to run 3:40 per kilometer and 7:20 per 2K loop in order to run under 37 minutes. With those splits, I calculated I would place around 130th, but my more ambitious goal was to try to break into the top 100, which would likely require a low 36 minute time.
The opportunity to race with these guys is what motivates me to have a good race.
On your marks. Set.
The energy at the starting line was intense. Over 350 of the fastest masters runners were toeing the line and there was an electricity in the air. I was excited to be with my Pamakid teammates at this meet, but I also had my game face on. I noticed Margaret Gallagher taking my picture as I did my drills and stride outs. Five minutes before the race began the officials fired a gun to indicate sweats off and no more run outs. Our Pamakid masters men’s team stripped down, took a team photo, and did our “Go Green!” cheer. As we stood at the starting line anticipating the gun it grew eerily quiet. I looked down the row of runners, all crouched in the set position, toes behind the white line. Then bang, the gun fired and we were off.
There were a lot of elbows being thrown and the footfalls of 350 of us sounded like thunder.
For the first 400 meters the challenge was to get a good start but not get sucked out at too fast a pace. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a field this large and competitive. Over 350 runners from all over the country were jockeying for position along the grass straightaway. I had to use my elbows to protect my space and avoid falling. There were many times that I was surrounded by other runners and had no choice but to go with the crowd. It was so crowded that speeding up and passing was not an option, nor was slowing down unless you wanted to be trampled. When I hit the 1K mark, I clicked my watch and carefully took my eyes off the course to check my watch. It read 3:36. Beautiful! Only four seconds faster than goal pace. I settled into a rhythm and ran with the crowd of runners around me. I had no idea what place I was in but I saw Dan Mancini of the River City Rebels next to me so I figured there was a good chance I was in the right group.
I hit the 2K mark at 7:15 and smiled to myself. I was right on pace and the danger of going out too fast was pretty much over. Now I could concentrate on maintaining the pace and passing people. I was in a real groove and that’s exactly what I did. I passed twelve runners on the second 2K loop, running 7:11 and pulling away from Dan Mancini. I hit 5K in 18:02 so I knew I was not only well on my way to a sub-37, I was flirting with a low 36 minute 10K. The third loop was another 7:11. I was in the zone.
Sometime mid-race I noticed that Nick and Francesca Cannata-Bowman, two kids that I used to coach at Sacred Heart Cathedral (SHC) who now live in Seattle, were cheering for me. Their sister, Sophia, is a current SHC runner. I’ve been to a lot of meets coaching members of the Cannata-Bowman family and it made me feel great to know that this time they had come to see me race.
Mid-race I came upon a familiar rival, Jeff Hongo of the Asics Aggies. I knew I was having a great race if I was near Hongo!
Slightly after 6K, I noticed an Asics Aggie uniform ahead of me. I surged and passed the runner. Seconds later I heard someone cheer for this person. “Go Hongo,” they said. “Hongo? Jeff Hongo? I just passed Jeff Hongo!? I must be having a great day,” I thought to myself. Now I had to work to make sure Hongo didn’t re-pass me, so I tried to speed up just a bit. I next lapped my Pamakid teammate Mark Huffman. Mark encouraged me saying, “Go Andy, you’re having a great race!” I was getting pretty tired and started wishing the race was 8K instead of 10K. I knew I had enough gas in the tank for the fourth loop. It was the fifth loop I wasn’t so sure about.
By this point in the race, although I felt like I was surging, all I was doing was working harder in order to keep from slowing down. The good thing was that I was still passing runners fairly frequently. I tried to never settle into my position but instead constantly target the next person I wanted to pass. It was working, though, as my fourth 2K was 7:18. One lap to go. Pamakid teammates were all over the course cheering. There was no chance to let up or someone would see you and give you an earful. Malinda had told me that my form was tight the last couple races so I made a conscious effort to relax. As I rounded the final turn I knew I had about 400 meters to go. It was a long straightaway but I had plenty of company around me and I knew I needed to kick better than I had at the PA Champs if I wanted to be proud of my race. I got up on my toes and pumped my arms hard. As I approached the finish line I could see the clock, 35:55, 35:56, I was still 50 meters from the finish line so breaking 36 minutes wasn’t going to happen. But it was going to be a great time (and later I would learn that I was 92nd, achieving my top 100 goal!).
National Championship
Looking at the National Championship banner and taking a mental snapshot. Photo by Margaret Gallagher (SportsImageWire.com)..
I looked up and saw the National Championship banner that indicated the finish line. At the team meeting the night before the race, I had reminded all my Pamakid teammates to take a mental snapshot of the scene as they raced towards the finish at the USA National Championships. I took my own personal snapshot so that I will always remember coming down the final straightaway at my first Club Nationals….having run the race I wanted to, on the day I wanted to.
USATF National Club Cross Country Championships
The USATF National Club Cross Country Championships are taking place in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, December 10, 2011. For the first time in recent memory and possibly in club history, the Pamakid Runners have runners traveling to compete at this meet. The last time the club had representation at this national championship meet was in 2006, when the meet took place in San Francisco. At that meet in 2006, newly minted master, George Rehmet placed 120th in the 40-44 age division and Keith Johnson placed ninth in the 65-69 year old age division. Also racing in 2006 representing the Hoy’s Excelsior team was John Spriggs. John will be racing for Pamakids this weekend.
There are two cross country championships a year in the USA. In February what is commonly referred to as the ”Winter Cross Country Championships” takes place. This serves as the qualifying race for runners who want to run at the World Cross Country Championships. This meet tends to be more elite and individual runner oriented. The list of recent champions at this meet include Olympic medalists and American record holders like Dathan Ritzenhein, Meb Keflezighi, and Shalane Flanagan. In 2008, Jocelyn Rodriguez ran in the Junior race at this meet for Pamakids, placing 33rd out of 63 runners.
The second meet is the National Club Cross Country Championships and it takes place in December. This is the meet taking place this weekend and it is often referred to as “Club Nationals.” The meet is more team-oriented with an emphasis on clubs from all over the country coming together to compete against one another. The list of recent champions, while still impressive, includes more the second tier of elite athletes like Aaron Braun, Scott Bauhs, Renee Metvier Baillie, Rebecca Donaghue, and Delilah DiCrescenzo.
I am very excited that the Pamakids are going to Seattle. To say that going to Club Nationals has been on my bucket list is not quite accurate, because I’ve been wanting to go to Club Nationals for longer than saying something is on your bucket list has been in vogue.
The Pamakids will have 21 runners competing this weekend, with two supporters (one fiancé and one six month old baby). Most of us are staying at the Seattle Hostel so that we get a real road trip/team bonding experience.
The races will take place at Jefferson Park Golf Course, which was also the host for the 2010 Pac-10 Conference Cross Country Championships. The course is basically a 2K loop that is run multiple times depending on the race distance. There will be four races (Masters Women, Masters Men, Open Women, and Open Men), with all the women’s races 6K and all the men’s races 10K.
The first race of the day is the Master’s Women at 10:45 A.M. Representing the Pamakids will be Louise Stephens (2011 Pamakid Female Runner of the Year and sixth place in the Pacific Association Cross Country Grand Prix), Malinda Walker, Amy Sonstein, and Cammie Dingwall. Registration shows that we can expect 140 runners in this race with 16 masters teams. The Pamakids look like they have the potential to finish somewhere between 10th and 13th.
At 11:45 A.M., the Masters Men will take the course. Running in Pamakid green will be Anthony McGrath, Adam Lucas, Jerry Flanagan, John Spriggs, Paul Zager, Mark Huffman, and yours truly, Andy Chan. Over 340 runners are expected in this race with 23 masters teams. With a solid day, the Pamakids can shoot for top 20. If everyone has a great day, maybe top 15.
It may not be as muddy at Club Nationals as it was at the PA Champs, but it's going to be colder.
The Open Men will be the final race of the day at 1:45pm. Justin “Beast Mode” Mikecz, Steve Holcombe, Raymond Yu (fresh off a 3:06 marathon at CIM last weekend), John Gieng (the 2011 Pamakid of the Year), Steve Perez, and Thang Ta (2011 Pamakid Most Inspirational Runner) will represent the Pamakids and be amongst the 370 runners with 45 teams.
For many, this will be the largest and most competitive cross country race they’ve ever run. It will be an experience to toe the line with runners from all over the country, many of whom are the best of the best in their respective age divisions. The Pamakids may not be in contention for the win in any of the races but we’ll compete hard like we always do and we plan to paint the Emerald City, Pamakid Green!
Some but not all of these women will be racing at Club Nationals...and the Soonar mascot may or may not make it.
West Coast Conference Championships
Tune in on Saturday, October 29 for an exciting cross country conference championship. The West Coast Conference (WCC) Championships are taking place at Crystal Springs in Belmont, CA. If you can’t make it to Crystal, the meet is to be streamed live at wccsports.com.
The highlighted showdown will take place in the men’s race, which starts at 9:00 A.M. The University of Portland has won the WCC men’s team championship an amazing thirty-two straight years. That’s every conference championship since 1979. Their streak is in jeopardy due to Brigham Young University (BYU) joining the WCC this year.
BYU arrives to run at Crystal Springs and in a WCC Championship for the first time as the third ranked team in the nation. Miles Batty has led BYU to a win at the Notre Dame Invitational and to a second place at the Wisconsin Invitational.
Portland, however, is no slouch. Led by Trevor Dunbar, Portland took second at the Pre-Nationals Meet and is ranked number eight in nation. Portland also has the advantage of experience and knowledge on the challenging Crystal Springs course.
Portland’s streak is one of the longest in NCAA history in all sports. Arkansas won thirty-four consecutive conference championships between 1974 and 2007, the first seventeen while members of the now defunct Southwest Conference (SWC) and the last seventeen as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Over the thirty-two years of the streak, Portland has also had the individual champion every year except 2007, when University of San Francisco’s (USF) Cheyne Inman edged out Portland’s top runner by five seconds. Current Portland coach, Rob Connor, was the 1984 WCC Champion, which was also the last year the WCC Championships were not held at Crystal Springs. The last team other than Portland to win the conference championship was the University of Nevada Reno, which won four straight titles from 1975-1978.
Some years Portland has been particularly dominant, scoring a perfect fifteen points (sweeping first through fifth place). They have done this nine times, including five years in a row between 1995 and 1999. Of late, however, the rest of the conference has been closing the gap on Portland. In 2010 Portland’s margin of victory was just seven points over USF and in 2008 the margin of victory over Loyola Marymount was just ten points.
Will Portland continue their conference winning streak or will BYU crash the party and win the WCC on their first try?
Marathoning In the News – Fall 2011
There have been several marathon races and news of note over the last couple of weeks. I could blog about the IAAF’s recent decision to count women’s marathon world records in women-only races, or Patrick Makau’s new men’s world record of 2:03:38 set in Berlin, or the impressive times by Chicago Marathon winners Liliya Shobukhova (2:18:20) and Moses Mosop (2:05:37), or the amazing story of Amber Miller, who completed the Chicago marathon in 6:25:50 while 39 weeks pregnant and then gave birth to a baby girl Sunday evening.
Instead, however, the marathon news story that caught my eye came from the Kielder Marathon in Northumberland in the United Kingdom on Sunday, October 9, 2011. This marathon had 1,109 finishers, 1,108 of them legitimate. Rob Sloan started the race but at the 20 mile mark flagged down a bus driving spectators to the finish and caught a ride. He then got off the bus, went back on the course, and re-entered the course. He crossed the finish line in third place in 2:51:01. However, the real third place runner questioned the result and after spectators came forward to say they saw Sloan on the bus, Sloan was disqualified, by event director Steve Cram – yes, the THAT Steve Cram (1983 World Champion and 1984 Olympic silver medalist in the 1500 meters).
My friend Chris Lundstrom was 3rd (farthest to the right in the above photo) at the 2001 NYC Marathon. Martin Franklin didn't "beat" Chris!
This cheater reminded me of another marathon cheater who got caught. This one took place almost ten years ago at the 2001 New York City Marathon. Martin Franklin used times from races that he likely cheated at to earn elite status for the 2001 NYC race. He started the race but then hopped on the subway where he was seen by several marathon fans, who noticed Franklin when he re-entered the race in Central Park and crossed the finish line, appearing to be the in nineteenth place and fifth American. LetsRun.com had expose on Franklin including pictures and called for his arrest for fraud. Steve Holman, an elite American 1500 meter runner in the 1990’s, wrote an open letter to Franklin that appeared in Runner’s World Daily (download it below). I still get a chuckle when I read Holman’s letter. My favorite part is when Holman questions why, if Franklin was going to cheat he, only came in nineteenth, “When you cheat, Martin, you have must have the courage to cheat with gusto. The only thing worse than a cheater is a cheater with low standards.”
Open Letter to Martin Franklin from Steve Holman
There was no cheating by me when I ran the 1997 Boston Marathon.
All this cheating brings to mind
the posterchild for cheating at a marathon – Rosie Ruiz at the 1980 Boston Marathon. Taking an illegal shortcut during a race is now commonly referred to as “pulling a Rosie Ruiz.” The 26-year old Ruiz had only begun running 18 months before the 1980 Boston Marathon.
From a moral point of view, I believe cheating is just plain wrong. But the oft-overlooked backlash from cheating incidents like those described above is the harm it causes the rightful award winner. At the Keidler Marathon it was the real third place winner, Steve Cairns, who informed race officials about the cheater, Sloan. Although race officials disqualified Sloan and properly awarded Cairns third place, Cairns was robbed of intangible things that accompany placing third, such as being interviewed on television. “My prize will get forwarded to me, but he has stolen my glory and my moment on the podium,” said Cairns.
After the 1980 Boston Marathon, it took eight days until Ruiz was disqualified and for Jackie Gareau to be rightfully named the race champion with a time of 2:34:28. BAA officials did everything they could to make it up to Gareau, including staging a ceremonial finish in which she ran the final few yards of the race and broke the finish line tape as the winner. But that still doesn’t compare to the moment of having the winner’s wreath placed on her head on Boylston Street in front of thousands of cheering fans. That irreplaceable moment was stolen from Gareau by Rosie Ruiz. That fact is not lost on the BAA officials who continue to try to honor Gareau for her victory. They brought Gareau back on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1980 race to be the grand marshal for the 2005 race. Again in 2005, BAA officials staged a ceremony for Gareau where she got to recreate the end of her race by breaking the finish line tape. Gareau would continue to run marathons at a high level. Her marathon best was 2:31:27, she placed fifth at the 1983 World Championships Marathon, represented Canada at the 1984 Olympics, and was named the Canadian marathoner of the twentieth century. In 2010 Gareau was one of many former champions honored at the Boston Marathon. At the age of fifty-seven she ran the 2010 race in 3:44:17 on the thirtieth anniversary of the famous 1980 race.
Despite the evidence against her, Ruiz maintained her innocence and refused to return her first place medal. At that time, the winner of the women’s Boston Marathon received a medal that was smaller than what the winner of the men’s race got. BAA officials decided to present Gareau with a new medal, one that was the same size as the men’s winner and larger than the one Ruiz refused to return. After that, BAA officials kept the medals for the women’s winner and the men’s winner the same size. If one good thing came of this cheating incident, this would be it.
For those of you preparing for the NYC Marathon, Cal International Marathon, or any other race, get your training in and don’t even think about doing a “Rob Sloan,” “Martin Franklin” or “Rosie Ruiz.”
Underdogs at the World Championships
Taylor and Claye pulled off a surprise in the triple jump taking gold and bronze
Now that the 2011 World Championships are complete, I would characterize this championship meet as one full of surprises and unexpected results. The underdogs seem to have come through with big performances at the right time, while the pre-meet favorites seemed to have come up short. In fact, at one point there was a daily program cover jinx. Athletes featured on the cover of the program (usually a pre-meet favorite) failed to win their event on six of the first seven days of the meet, with only race walker Olga Kaniskina breaking the jinx. Finally some of the favorites came through on the final two days of the meet with Sally Pearson winning the 100 meter hurdles and Usain Bolt anchoring the Jamaica 4X100 meter relay team to a world record.
The first surprise took place on day two of the meet, when in the 100 meter final Usain Bolt false started, thus the world record holder and defending champion was eliminated from the race. Yohan Blake of Jamaica seized the opportunity to win gold in a time of 9.92 seconds. Blake’s accomplishment is somewhat tempered by the fact that the three men readily acknowledged as fastest men in the world (Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Tyson Gay) were not in the race.
On day three of the meet, the favorites in the men’s hammer included Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia and Krisztian Pars of Hungary. Way down on the season best list with a mark of 78.10 meters was Koji Murofushi of Japan. Murofushi was the 2004 Olympic Champion and his PR of 84.86 meters was set eight year ago. The thirty-six year old who has battled a back injury was not expected to contend for a medal at this year’s championships. In the third round he threw 81.24 meters and matched that mark again in the fifth round. A final throw of 81.18 meters by Pars in the last round was six centimeters short. Murofushi became the oldest hammer throw World Champion in history. This year’s gold came one decade after winning his first World Championship medal and gives him a complete set of medals; he won the silver in 2001 and the bronze in 2003.
The three favorites in the 110 hurdles - none of whom won the gold
Much of the World Championships hype centered on the day three showdown in the men’s 110 hurdles between David Oliver (USA), Dayron Robles (Cuba), and Liu Xiang (China). All over Korea there were banners and posters of these three under the heading, “Who’s the Fastest?” But that is why they run the race. Oliver has been in a slump all summer and was never in contention. Xiang looked like he was going to make a move for the win over the last couple hurdles but chopped his steps. It turns out that the reason he chopped his steps was contact by Robles. This contact led to Robles being disqualified. That made the somewhat unheralded and certainly overlooked Jason Richardson (USA) the gold medal winner.
Both the men’s and women’s 400 meter races came down to the final strides. In both races the USA had one of their superstars competing. Also in both races, the prime competition came from a runner from a country without a rich 400 meter tradition.
In the women’s 400 on day three of the meet, it was Amantle Montsho from Botswana who held off a late charge by the USA’s Allyson Felix to win Bostwana’s first World Championship gold medal. Montsho ran a PR 49.56 to beat Felix, who also ran a PR of 49.59. Montsho has been dominant in the Diamond League this summer, but her previous record of finishing eight at both the 2009 World Championships and the 2008 Olympics made many skeptical that she could win in Daegu…but she did!
On day four of the meet, in the men’s 400 meters it was 2009 defending World Champion Lashawn Merritt against eighteen year old Kirani James of Grenada. Merritt had the lead down the final homestretch, but in the final strides James overtook him to win Grenada’s first ever World Championship gold medal. Similar to the women’s race the winner ran a PR (44.60) to win by the slim margin of 0.03 seconds over a USA superstar.
The final steps of the men's 400 - James beats Merritt
On day four of the meet, the women’s steeplechase was expected to be dominated by the Kenyan trio of Micah Chemos Cheywa, Mecy Njoroge,
Zaripova wins the 3000 steeplechase
and Lydia Rotich. Cheywa, having won eight steeplechases in a row this year, was the heavy favorite. But instead it was Russia’s Yuliya Zaripova and Tunisia’s Habiba Ghribi who not only went 1-2 in the race but became the third fastest and ninth fastest steeplechasers of all-time. Zaripova’s 9:07.03 is the 2011 world leading mark. Ghribi’s 9:11.97 was a Tunisian national record. She and her supporters were the happiest people in the stadium. Ghribi jumped up and down – and after handing her a Tunisia flag, three ecstatic Tunisian fans could be seen sobbing. Why? Ghribi was Tunisia’s first woman to ever win a medal at the World Championships.
Ghribi celebrates
Ghribi's supporters weep and call home to share the good news
Simpson came from behind in the final homestretch to pull off the upset win
On day six of the meet, the women’s 1500 meters produced an upset for the ages. Most of the focus was on the two-time defending champion, Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain. American Jenny Barringer Simpson was hardly mentioned, and when she was it usually centered on the fact that she was fifth at the 2009 World Championships….in the steeplechase; but for some reason known only to her and her coach she was competing in the 1500 meters at these championships. Simpson’s 2011 season best in the 1500 ranked her ninth out of the twelve women who started the race. It was a typically tight race but with 300 meters to go, Simpson moved into contention. With 150 meters to go she looked poised to move into the top three to secure a medal. With 50 meters to go she had the same look that she had at the 2009 Prefontaine Classic when she shocked the world by running a new collegiate record of 3:59.90. After seeing that look, I knew she was going to win it…and she did. That’s why she was in the 1500 instead of the steeplechase…to win a gold medal!
Day seven featured the men’s shot put, which was a who’s who of past champions: 2009 World Champion, Christian Cantwell (USA), 2008 Olympic Champion Tomasz Majewski (Poland), 2007 World Champion Resse Hoffa (USA), 2005 World Champion Adam Nelson (USA), and 2003 World Champion Andrei Mikhnevich (Belarus). Despite the presence of these five throwers, the pre-meet favorite was Dylan Armstrong of Canada, who had the 2011 world leading mark (and Canadian national record) of 22.21 meters. Lost in this crowd was twenty-one year old German, David Storl, who had only the eighth best mark in 2011 among the twelve finalists. Storl took the early lead with a throw of 21.60 meters (a PR) in the second round. Armstrong pushed him back to second with a throw of 21.64 meters in the fourth round. In the final round, on the second to last throw of the competition, Storl launched the shot 21.78 meters (another PR, giving him 28 centimeters of improvement in one day, which is just short of one foot). On the last throw of the competition Armstrong could not re-take the lead and Storl was the champion. Among the historic oddities from this event were Storl wining Germany’s first ever gold medal in the shot put and the USA getting shutout of the medals for the first time in twenty years.
The final upset winner came on day nine in one of the last events of the meet, the men’s triple jump. The field included three former World or Olympic Champions: Phillip Idowu of Great Britain (2009 World Champion), Nelson Evora of Cuba (2007 World Champion and 2008 Olympic Champion), and Christian Olsson of Sweden (2003 World Champion and 2004 Olympic Champion). With Teddy Tamgho, the 2011 world leader, out with an injury Idowu wore the hat as the favorite. After one round of jumping the three former world champions held the three medal spots. However, it was the young American jumpers who leaped to glory. In round three twenty year old American Will Claye leaped a PR of 17.50 meters to take the lead. Idowu responded with a 17.70 meter jump to re-take the lead. Twenty-one year old American Christian Taylor then jumped 17.40 meters to move into third. Taylor followed that up in the next round with a jump of 17.96 meters, making him the fifth best triple jumper of all-time. Idowu would improve to 17.77 meters but that was only good enough for silver. The gold went to Taylor, the youngest triple jump gold medalist in history, with bronze to Claye, the youngest triple jump medalist in history.
The difference between winning a world championship and coming up short is a fine line. That fine line is often measured in milliseconds and millimeters. That’s why an underdog can pull off the upset. The unpredictable nature of track & field is what makes watching a World Championship meet so very exciting.
Note: All the great photos in this blog entry were taken by the Track Widow from our fantastic seats in row ten right by the finish line.
The Best Track & Field Team in the World
Maybe we aren't the best track & field team in the World. But in 2010, we were the best JV Girls track & field team in the WCAL - undefeated in dual meets and invitationals and league champions!
Team USA’s strong performance at the 2011 IAAF World Championships cements America’s claim that we have the best overall track & field team in the world. There were some disappointments, like the fall in the men’s 4X100, getting no one on the medal stand in the men’s shot put for the first time in twenty years, and despite high expectations, having a best finish of only sixth place in the men’s 400 hurdles.
In terms of the medal count, Team USA won 25 medals, twelve of them gold. That bettered the 2009 performance in Berlin that saw the USA win 22 medals, ten of them gold and was just a tad behind the 2007 performance in Osaka that saw the USA win 26 medals, fourteen of them gold.
However, as any coach will tell you, the strength of an overall team is based on not just your athletes who win medals, but also those who make the final. Using a scoring system like the NCAA Championships, with 10 points for first, 8 points for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth, 4 for fifth, 3 for sixth, 2 for seventh, and 1 for eight, I scored the 2011 World Championships. The top eight countries were:
2. Russia, 223
3. Kenya, 194
4. Jamaica, 113
5. Germany, 89
7. Ethiopia, 69
8. China, 65.5
Again, Team USA lives up to the billing as the best team in the world. See scoring table for all the statistics (2011 World Champs Results Table_country scoring).
Some countries are strong in certain subsections of the sport but are not strong in others. Jamaica, for example scored 111 out of their 113 points in the sprints events (100, 200, 400, 110/100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4X100, and 4X400). Germany scored all of their 89 points in the field events (high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, hammer, javelin, decathlon/heptathlon). Kenya was actually the best team in the distance events (800, 1500, 5000, 10,000, 3000 steeplechase, and marathon) by a wide margin. But those were almost the only events they scored in (191 out of their 194 points came in the distance events). Ethiopia’s 69 points were good to make them the second best distance nation in the world. But again, those were the only events Ethiopia scored in. I am a little biased against race walking because it’s not a particularly high profile sport in the US. Despite scoring no points in race walking, Team USA won the scoring competition. Russia and China, meanwhile, improved their point totals with big points in the race walking. Russia scored 56 points (25% of their points) in race walking and China got 23 points (35%). Russia is the country closest to the USA in terms of being good in many different events. However, it’s worth noting that the Russian women outscore the Russian men almost two-to-one and eleven of their thirteen non-race walking medals came from the women.
Team USA had strong numbers of medal winners and point scorers in all event subsections except race walking. The point balance between USA men and USA women was virtually fifty-fifty. Team USA was particularly strong in the sprint, outscoring all other countries in these events, including the Jamaicans. There is a lot of talk that the Jamaicans are a better sprint country than the USA, but at the 2011 World Championships the USA sprinters won 14 medals (six gold) compared to Jamaica’s 9 medals (four gold). Team USA even outscored the German men in the men’s field events. USA men’s distance held their own behind Kenya and Ethiopia. And the USA women’s distance and women’s field, although not scoring a lot of points, did not get shut out either.
One reason for this is that the USA has strong athletes in almost all of the events. Team USA had 129 athletes (66 men and 63 women) entered in the meet, by far the largest team. Russia was second with 83. Even Great Britain, the only other country besides the USA and Russia to have athletes score in all the event subsections (not counting race walking), had 67 athletes, 62 less than Team USA. Some countries are only able to get one or two athletes to achieve the necessary standards to qualify for the meet. It certainly speaks to the strength and depth in USA track & field that our country can qualify so many quality athletes for the World Championships. Before a team can be the best in the world, you first have to get athletes in all the events qualified for the World Championships.
