Just a few Observations

I'll have my normal results report tomorrow or Sunday--and a special Boston Marathon report on Monday--but I have a few observations I want to share about our favorite sport.

I gave in to my Evil Twin and bought a month's worth of Flotrack.
I'd done it before, and every time, I vow to NEVER do it again!
You see, they ain't perfect!

Last year's livestream of the Payton Jordan meet WAS perfect!
Visuals, Audio, the meet itself.
And PARTS of other meets have been good.

But that's what's wrong here!
I want ALL of it to be perfect, not just parts!

Some will say it's my computer's fault.
But then why do USATF-TV livestreams---and EuroSport and BBC and Trackie (and even Flotrack sometimes!)---work for me?
By "work", I mean...
1. Don't stop and start every few seconds, jumping ahead 5 to 25 seconds at a time, causing me to miss most of a race!
2. Have an announcer who I can HEAR, meaning who doesn't whisper his ignorance to one and all.
3. Have an announcer who KNOWS what he/she is talking about.  TWICE he called the 5K split....but it wasn't at the 5K mark!!
4. If you control the camera, have the visuals aligned with your commentators remarks!  During Erin Teschuk's great 3000SC run (See my next post!!  LOL), he kept raving (deservedly so!) about Teschuk's run, but the camera kept showing the 2nd & 3rd place runners--even though they finished 20 seconds back.  We wanted to see Teschuk, Flotrack!!  Listen to your own announcer!!!

Anyway, with Payton Jordan coming up soon (and other meets they say they'll cover), I'm not sure I want to give myself virtual migraines....again!!

Along these lines, my next observation is what's happened to T&F and TV since the Computer Age started.
Before, we had only ABC, NBC, or ESPN to complain to.
Now we have Flotrack, RunnerSpace, MileSplit, and USATF-TV.

Actually, the latter shouldn't be included here, since they offer their livestreams for FREE!!
The others don't.
Want to see a HS meet on MileSplit?  Or something else on RunnerSpace or Flotrack?
Well, you have to PAY!

I've never paid for RunnerSpace or MileSplit, so I don't know what there might be to complain about!
(See my Flotrack rant above!)

MileSplit used to be free.  All their lists and results and videos---all free.
Now---at least for the "exclusive" stuff---there's a monthly subscription fee!

BTW, if you wait long enough---and don't need or want instant gratification!!--even Flotrack offers their videos....for free!  (Race videos, I mean!  I think their GREAT Driven series is always Pay-per-view!)

The World Championships are coming to Eugene in 2021.
I lived in Eugene between 1987 and 1998.
Attended LOADS of meets at Hayward Field.
(Even RAN on the track there---in all-comer meets, and just training runs/time trials!)
So I KNOW Eugene pretty well.

It's going to be UNBELIEVABLE in Eugene in 2021----and I mean the entire year!!
Ever see their newspaper, the Register-Guard?
If you're a fan of T&F, there's NO paper like it!
An ENTIRE 10-12 page section is devoted to big meet coverage---the NCAA's, USATF's, OT's, the Pre meet, etc!
Huge color photos, detailed stories on EACH RACE, FULL results---including heats and semis!!

Then you have the TV stations, and even the alternative weekly, and the Daily Emerald!
And the PEOPLE---whose breadth of knowledge of T&F is unsurpassed anywhere else in the USA!
Attending a meet---even a "minor" one---is unlike any experience you've ever had, or heard about anywhere else!!
If you've never gone, GO!!

The youngsters are DOING it!!
(No, I'm NOT talking about THAT---though they're probably doing "that" too!!  LOL)

I'll give some examples in my next results report, but the classes of 2013 and 2014 have given our sport some INCREDIBLE athletes!
If you study my post about this decade, and how many Top 24 marks were from 2010 on, you'll see what I'm talking about.
I don't know if any other group has been so dominant in so few years as the current group.
And it's not just the young ones.
Vets such as Jenny Simpson, Shannon Rowbury, and Galen Rupp have reached new levels!
My lists are changing fast, and this dynamism makes for a more dynamic---and talked about---sport!
(Maybe Eugene getting the '21 WC's isn't so mysterious after all!)

Does Mary Cain need to leave her coach?
I'm going to reveal a couple of results now----in order to prove my point.

In the Oregon Relays 1500, Mary Cain finished 2nd in her race, running 4:17.91.
Annie LeBlanc beat her by a second.
In the Mt SAC 1500, Alexa Efraimson finished 3rd, running 4:09.43.
She was beaten by Sarah and Stephanie Brown (no relation), who ran in the 4:08's.

Let's do some comparisons.

Both are students.
Cain is a freshman in college, while Efraimson is a HS senior.
Both are top students, academically.
Both turned Pro in their junior year of HS.
Both run for Nike.

Cain's coach is Alberto Salazar.
Efraimson's coach is Mike Hickey.
To compare THEM, I refer you to (for Salazar) the USATF Indoor meet in 2014, and (for Hickey) to Flotrack's 2-part "Driven" series on Alexa.  (You'd have to pay for that, as noted above!)
Salazar was shown to be an angry, out-of-control control freak.
Hickey is shown as what he is---totally laid back and AMAZED by what his athlete has done!

A person on the T&FN MB commented that Salazar might have dictated the pace he wanted Cain to run---and no faster!!
That speaks LOUDLY to the "control freak" label given Salazar....by MANY!!
What about Mr Hickey?
I've never seen or heard anything---from Hickey or Efraimson---that tells me HE is ANYthing like AlSal!!
No way, no how!

So maybe Cain's "rust-buster" wasn't that.
Maybe she ran over 8 seconds slower than Efraimson because---her COACH told her to!

Efraimson felt FREE to run like the wind---freely and joyfully.
Cain felt CONSTRAINED and CONTROLLED---and couldn't produce her fantastic kick she's become known for!

BTW, Efraimson said her next race is the Payton Jordan 5000!!
I'm predicting now that she's going to run MUCH faster than Cain has..maybe well under 15:30!!
Cain?
I'm predicting she is NOT going to make the US team for Beijing!!

Unless she tells Salazar to GO TO HELL!!

About my blog---and me.

I'm just an Old Fart who LOVES T&F, and who wants to share his knowledge of T&F to one and all.
Thus this blog!

But why have my "views" numbers gone down recently?
I'm just 50 or so views from 12,000.
That's a GREAT number!
But recently---the past few weeks---the numbers have slowed.
From over 1000 per month this year, it's down to 500-600.
From 50-100 per day (sometimes), I'm lucky to get over 30.
And why do I have just ONE person who (sometimes) leaves comments?
Surely people who "view" my blog have opinions about it!
Don't you?
Speak up---whether you agree with me or not!
I WELCOME your comments!!

If you "view" the blog, do you READ it??

I'm bragging here, but I've not seen another blog like mine!
There're good ones!
I LOVE the Daily Relay/House of Run....and even the T&FN website!
But NONE present the material like my blog does!!

If you want news and details of the Records broken---and not just WR's, AR's, CR's, and HSR's, but Age, Meet, Class Records too---my blog provides all the details!
If you want to know if a mark makes the All-Time Top 24 Performers Lists---on the World, US, Collegiate, or HS levels---my blog tells you where that mark--and athlete---stands on my lists!
(Others go only 10 deep!)
Want a blog that honors the EXCLUSIVITY of the INdoor and the OUTdoor seasons?
Mine does!
Want a blog that gives equal recognition to a HIGH SCHOOL Record as much as to a WORLD Record?
My blog does!

So please keep on "viewing" it.
But join the discussion!
Leave a comment!
Tell your friends, housemates, fellow athletes about it!
(Bernard Lagat just started following me on Twitter!!)

Anyway, this weekend isn't done yet!
Watch for my next couple of posts!!