The First Year--A Retrospective

Sometime in the 24 hours prior to my writing my first post of this blog--Aaron K's Track and Field Record Book--I decided to start blogging!
That's right!
I'd thought about blogging----about writing, Bob Dylan, movies & books---and then thought, Hey!, I LOVE track and field, and I have this 600 page T&F Record Book, self-compiled over a 40+ year chunk of my life, and hardly anyone knows about it, and it's worth the time I've spent on it, so yeah, why not blog about THAT?!
And that, pretty much, is how this blog was conceived!

In the past 365 days (not counting today), I've posted 93 times, beginning last December 9th.
As of a few minutes ago, I've had 8049 page views, approximately 86.5 views per post.
I've gotten several positive comments, mostly (ALL?) from a man named "Marco".
Here's some self-chosen highlights.

I've covered the best marks (and all of the records) produced at all the big meets of the past year.
I gave numerous meets their own post, if deserved.
Indoors: Millrose, Boston, NCAA, USATF, WIC, NBIN.
Outdoors: Texas & Penn Relays, World Relays, Payton Jordan, NCAA, USATF (Sr & JR versions), WJC, Commonwealth Games and European Champs, plus MOST of the DL's.  (One or two were so devoid of great marks, I didn't post about them!)

I covered--in detail--all of the World, US, Collegiate, and HS records, INdoors & OUTdoors.

A few RACES were so great that I gave a large chunk of a post devoted to just that one race!

There were some editorials--though I tried to keep those to a minimum.

I made predictions--for individual meets (NCAA, WJC, World Relays, etc)--and for entire seasons and genders (Outdoor, Women & Men, back in mid-March--Indoor, for the 2015 season!).
(Okay, so I was WRONG on most of them!  But let's celebrate the ones I NAILED!!)

Here's a list---titles & dates only---of my "best", or at least my personal favorites!
(In chronological order!)

Should HS Boys throw the 16 pound SP from Day One?  (December 14th, 2013)
Are 55's necessary? and other indoor questions  (December 23rd, 2013)
2013's Best & Worst, Parts 1 & 2  (December 27th & 29th, 2013)
2013 Athletes of the Year, Indoors/Outdoors, Men & Women  (4 posts, all December 31st, 2013!!)
Which Indoor Records to Fall in 2014?  Men & Women  (2 posts, both January 2nd, 2014)
May I Introduce My Book?  (January 11th, 2014)
American Woman Milers Go Wild!  (January 25th, 2014)
TWO World Records...and then there's Millrose!  (February 15th, 2014)
Open Letter to Alberto Salazar  (February 23rd, 2014)
NCAA & NBIN Meet Record Possibles  (2 posts, both March 13th, 2014)
NCAA--Records, Records, and the Ducks win Two!  (March 15th, 2014)
Six HSR's...and that's not all  (March 16th, 2014)
2014 Indoor Season: A Look Back  (March 19th, 2014)
Vaulters Soar Early...and the Outdoor Q's  (March 25th, 2014)
The Future of Track and Field  (April 4th, 2014)
World Relays a PASS-able Meet  (May 25th, 2014)
This Pre's a Classic  (May 31st, 2014)
Rome Diamond meet more like Copper  (June 8th, 2014)
Paris beats Lausanne in DL Series  (July 5th, 2014)
WJC: Dramatic Records & Record Drama  (July 27th, 2014)
Records--And why I've compiled a Book of them!  (August 8th, 2014)
Two Mile Run--Records, History, Marks, Trivia  (August 24th, 2014)
2014 Outdoor Season--High School  (September 21st, 2014)
WR in Berlin!!  2014 Outdoor Season--Collegiate  (September 28th, 2014)
Ins and Outs of Track and Field  (October 17th, 2014)
2015 INDOOR T&F Preview: AGE Records, Parts 1 & 2  (both November 16th, 2014)
NCAA XC, Class Records, 3 WR Attempts  (November 22nd, 2014)
Collegiate Indoor Class Records  (November 22nd, 2014)
What you need to do to make Top 24's  (December 2nd, 2014)
December Bombshell 5000 (& NXN)  (December 7th, 2014)

Those stand out for me, but ALL of them are worth re-reading, IF....you want to relive a particular meet or record......you want to follow the progress of each season (or an athlete or event).....you want to see how many predictions I was WRONG about.....or you just want to see what kind of fanatic passion is needed to do this type of a blog!!

Of course, so much of what goes into each post is dependent on what happens on the tracks and fields around the globe, outdoors and indoors.
Some records were shockers.  (Aren't they all??)
When Genzebe Dibaba ran her 1st of THREE INdoor WR's--her 3:55.17--I had to produce a post just because of that!!
(And was thrilled to do so!)
Those "failed" DL's----Rome and Stockholm---were disappointments for me (and probably everyone!!).
DL's should all produce tons of great records and marks!

This blog, as I've stated many times, covers 4 distinct groups---World, US, Collegiate, and High School.
It completely separates the INdoor & OUTdoor seasons!
It gives equal weight to WR's or HSR's.
I cover individual year Age Records, Meet Records, and Class Records for HSers & Collegians!
My "DDD" lists cover every mark which makes those Top 24 All-Time Performers lists in the 4 categories, with separate lists for each gender and for INdoors and OUTdoors!
Not only that, I'll often mention if a mark ALMOST makes a list, and which legendary athlete's name has been axed FROM the list--which is sometimes more interesting than who MADE the list!!

There have been some changes in the timing of some of my posts---especially the season wrap-ups!
For example, because I didn't start my blog until last December 9th, with the 2013 INdoor season long past over, I felt a need to wrap that season up, even if about 9 months in the past.
Same with the 2013 OUTdoor season, though far less urgent or belated.
THIS year (2015), I could start my INdoor previews at the proper time.

What does the future hold?
To tell the truth, I don't know for sure.
I'm now 70.5 years old, and NOT 100% healthy!
Also, I get discouraged when only "Marco" (and 2 or 3 others, either here, or on Twitter) even acknowledges this blog's PRESENCE, let alone its worth to the history and coverage of our favorite sport.

I think it's a great and worthy blog.
No other blog---or website (including Track and Field News, House of Run, MileSplit, etc)---presents records and marks quite the same way I do.
For example, I do NOT honor 1600 & 3200 meter times (or marks converted from them), INdoor Oversize Track marks, or throwers weight categories other than International and those used by American HS's.
I use actual ages for my Age Records, so don't use such generic categories as "World Junior" or "Youth" or "Masters".

For the record, the URL to my blog is:  trackingtherecords.blogspot.com/2013/12track-and-field-record-book
I started the blog using "Google Blogger".
It's not fancy, doesn't have photos, or links to videos---mainly because I was a VERY late-comer to computers (2009, age 64.6), so don't know how to improve my blog's appearance, or add access to links, etc.
But it does what I set out to do!
It covers-----IN DETAIL----every Top 24 mark made, every WR, AR, CR & HSR broken, and every Meet worth reporting on!
And yes, it "editorializes" (RANTS & RAGES!!) on issues or happenings I feel passionate (or angry!) about!
In the latter case, that's the greatest advantage to doing a blog----being able to say what you feel, and Damn the Torpedoes!!

If you like this blog, please tell your friends and fellow T&F fans----especially those who love the records & marks part of the sport----about it.
Retweet whenever you see one of my many tweets advertising my latest posts.
Pass the message forward to your Facebook friends.
Tell your teammates, whether Professional elites or High School Freshmen!!

In closing, I want to thank the following for being my main sources of information (other than my own 600 page T&F Record Book--See the post "May I Introduce My Book?"):

Track and Field News website, magazine and eTN
Athletics Annual (Peter Matthews)
FAST Annual (Tom Casacky)
High School Track Annual (Jack Shepard)
MileSplit
Twitter (many great folks---whether elite athletes, groups, European tweeters etc)
Meet Results  (from the meets themselves)
various internet articles & other sources

In keeping with my blog's history, I'll end this post with a bit of news.

The 2015 INdoor USATF meet will hold races for the 300, 600, 1000, 1 & 2 Mile distances!
So no 200, 400, 800, 1500, 3000!

Mutaz Barshim, Asefa Powell and Nijel Amos have all announced they will compete INdoors, with Amos saying he's going for the 600 WR at the big Moscow Winter meet!
Also, Yelena Slesarenko has retired at the age of 32.
She's currently 5th A-T World OUTdoors (tied with 3 others), and 6th A-T World INdoors (tied with 2 others) in the HJ.
Her PR's are 6-9 (Out) and 6-8.25 (In).

Next post coming soon!
Thank you, everyone, for at least VIEWING this blog!!