In the midst of the 2015 Cross Country season--which is seen mostly as a TEAM-oriented segment of our sport--I started thinking of how INDIVIDUAL rivalries inhabit--and enhance!--Track and Field, both INdoors and OUTdoors!
While Team rivalries dominate XC thinking, there are still those most interested in the Individual rivalries.
Who will challenge Ed Cheserek at NCAA's?
And can that man be considered a RIVAL?
Same goes for the Women, who right now don't have as dominant a leader as Ches is for the Men!
(But how about a rivalry among the Freshmen--Allie Ostrander vs Ryen Frazier?)
Anyway, let's stick with T&F.
Here's a list of some Rivalries that come to mind--event by event.
(Where Americans are NOT involved, I will offer an American-centric rivalry also!)
Men
100-200-----------Usain Bolt vs Justin Gatlin
Gatlin vs Tyson Gay
400----------------Wayde Van Niekerk vs LaShawn Merritt vs Kirani James
800----------------David Rudisha vs Mohammed Aman vs Nijel Amos
Nick Symmonds vs Duane Solomon (vs Boris Berian?)
1500/Mile---------Asbel Kiprop vs Ayanleh Souleiman (vs Silas Kiplagat?)
Leo Manzano vs Matthew Centrowitz
5000-10000------Mo Farah vs Geoffrey Kamworor (vs Galen Rupp?)
Marathon---------Eliud Kipchoge vs Wilson Kipsang
(Sadly, NO real top-level rivals for the USA!)
3000SC----------Consesius Kipruto vs Jairus Birech (vs Evan Jager?)
110H-------------David Oliver vs Orlando Ortega (vs Pascal Martinot-Legarde?)
400H-------------(Again, sad to say this event has NO serious rivalries!)
HJ----------------Mutaz Barshim vs Bogdan Bondarenko
(Derek Drouin vs Erik Kynard for a "North American" rivalry!)
LJ----------------(Greg Rutherford doesn't have any ONE stand-out rival!)
TJ--------------- Christian Taylor vs Pablo Pichardo
(Taylor vs Will Claye, and more recently, Omar Craddock)
PV-------------- Renaud Lavillenie vs Shawn Barber
(Best US-centric PV rivalry was probably in the HS sector this year!!)
SP--------------David Storl vs Joe Kovacs
(You could list 3 or 4 other Americans who now have Kovacs as their main rival!)
DT-------------No really serious rivalries here, World or US!
JT------------- Julius Yego vs Keshorn Walcott
(No solid American rivalry!)
HT------------ No serious rivalries here either!
Decathlon----- WHO is going to SERIOUSLY challenge Ashton Eaton?
Women
100-200-------Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce vs Tori Bowie?
Or Elaine Thompson vs Dafne Schippers?
400------------Allyson Felix vs Francena McCorory vs Sanya Richards-Ross
(Can't think of any serious NON-US rivalries, but might want to add Shaunae Miller to the above trio!!)
800------------Francine Niyonsaba vs Eunice Sum
Alysia Montano vs Brenda Martinez vs Ajee Wilson
1500/Mile-----Genzebe Dibaba vs the CLOCK!!
Jenny Simpson vs Shannon Rowbury
5000-10000--Tirunesh Dibaba (assuming she comes back!) vs Vivian Cheruiyot
Or maybe Genzebe Dibaba vs Almaz Ayana!
Molly Huddle vs Emily Infeld, maybe??
Marathon------No serious rivalries here, with several names in contention!
Shalane Flanagan vs Desiree Linden
3000SC-------Milcah Chemos (if she's back strong!) vs Virginia Nyambura
Emma Coburn has NO real American rival, but there's a solid rivalry for 2nd among 3 or 4 Women!)
100H---------Notwithstanding the WC meltdown, we have Dawn Harper-Nelson vs Brianna Rollins vs Sharika Nelvis vs Etc Etc Etc ETC among US Women!
Will Sally Pearson CRASH (pun intended!! LOL) the US party??
400H Zuzana Hejnova vs Kaliese Spencer (vs Shamier Little?)
HJ------------Anna Chicherova vs Blanka Vlasic (if she's injury-free!)
If they come back strong, the US might have Chaunte Lowe vs Brigetta Barrett again, with Vashti Cunningham added to the mix!
LJ----------- Tianna Bartoletta has a few rivals, but they change from meet to meet!
TJ----------- Caterine Ibarguen vs Olga Saladukha (Or are they now PAST-rivals?)
Keturah Orji vs Ciarra Brewer as a possible 2016 Rivalry?
PV---------- With Yelena Isinbayeva in a SERIOUS return, we have--again!!--Isi vs Jenn Suhr!
And we have Act II of Demi Payne vs Sandi Morris!!
On the Collegiate Frosh level, how about Tori Weeks vs Lexi Weeks??!!
SP-----------Assuming Valerie Adams is BACK, Christine Schwanitz has her main Rival again!
Michelle Carter vs a much-improved Raven Saunders (or Tia Brooks!)
DT----------Sandra Perkovic vs a 2014 Gia Lewis-Smallwood or a 2015 Denia Caballero
JT---------- Barbara Spotakova, at her best, has NO real Rival!
HT--------- If she can reach 260+ level again, pin Betty Heidler against Anita Wlodarczyk!
Amanda Bingson vs Amber Campbell in the US
Heptathlon--The 3 Hyphenates!!--Brianne Theisen-Eaton vs Jessica Ennis-Hill vs Katarina Johnson-Thompson
So, as you can see, Bolt vs Gatlin isn't the ONLY rivalry to grab the headlines!
If you look deeper, there are MANY rivalries to get excited about!
And I've really listed just the few that came to mind!
There's more--if only on a level BELOW that of the true elites!
Getting back to Cross Country for a minute or two, since there's still 9 more days until the NYC Marathon, let me give you a brief rundown of (fairly) recent XC happenings.
The Crimson Tide Men's 8K was won by Cerake Geberkidane in 23:40.
He's won a couple of solid races this fall!
Chad Noelle was a notable name who finished in 8th, but he was 59 seconds behind the winner!
There was a HUGE upset in the Pre-Nationals race in Louisville KY!
Thomas Curtin, a Virginia Tech Senior, beat Ed Cheserek!!
It was by "just" 4 seconds, their times being 23:18 and 23:22 over the 8000 meter course!
And Anthony Rotich was only one second behind "King" (??) Ches in 3rd!
There were 2 Kenyan Frosh ahead of them, but the US Frosh "race" in Louisville was "won" by 2014 NXN winner, Tanner Anderson, who finished 40th overall.
In 46th was John Dressel!
Their times were 23:51 and 23:54, so about 30 seconds behind the leaders!
Marc Scott, a virtual unknown (to ME!!), won in Wisconsin with a good 23:35 over the 8K route!
Justyn Knight of Team-winner Syracuse (101 points) was 2nd, with Sean McGorty 3rd, both within one second of Scott!
Neither Grant Fisher, nor Jim and Joe Rosa, ran for Stanford!
The Wisconsin Women's race was taken by the sensational Freshman from Boise State (via Alaska!), Allie Ostrander, who now looms as one of the SOLID favorites for the NCAA title!
Her time of 19:19.5 broke none other than Abbey D'Agostino's Course Record, and she did that by about 12 seconds!!
In 2nd came Molly Seidel, with Dominique Scott finishing 3rd, their times being 19:22 and 19:32.
Ryen Frazier, who had won her first 2 races in Record times, was with the leaders at 4000 meters, but faded BAD over the final 2K, finishing in 38th, more than a minute behind Ostrander!
Despite being sick in the week prior to the race, Freshman Anna Rohrer ended in 12th place, running 19:56.
New Mexico's Women broke the All-Time Record for points, their 32 points FAR ahead of the others!
In the Pre-Nationals race, Colorado's Erin Clark prevailed, running 20:00.5 over the 6K course.
Chelsea Blaase was 3rd about 2 seconds back, with early leader (Natch!! LOL) Erin Finn finishing in 6th, time of 20:09.
Sarah Baxter is coming back---even if slower than wanted, or expected!--as she ended in 37th place, time of 20:40.
Michigan won the Team title.
On the High School level, leading times were run by Drew Hunter (14:20 for 5000) for the Men, with the Women's leader being Amanda Gehrich's 16:54, also over 5000 meters!
Kayla Montgomery's season continues steady, but at a lesser level than in 2014.
She's been finishing outside of Lipscomb's top 7 Women, but not TOO far outside!
In her latest race (the Crimson)), she was 9th Lipscomb Woman, and just 10 seconds from the Top 7!!
(19 Women finished for the Bisons!)
Her time was 19:06 over the 4953 (!!) meter course!
My next planned post will have the NYC Marathon results--whatever they are!
Along with that, I will most likely outline my plans for the 2015-2016 INdoor season--which I think COULD be one of the best!!
A few notes of interest from some notable Women!
In a San Francisco Half-Marathon, both Alexi Pappas and a comebacking Jordan Hasay "won", even though they were officially the Pacers.
They finished holding hands, both timed (but NOT listed in the results!) in 1:21:53.
Another who ran that race, but in a planned "jog", was Shannon Rowbury, who nonetheless became "competitive" over the last few K's!
Mary Cain is expected to run a 5000 meter XC race in Boston this weekend, her 2nd race of the season!
Her main "rival" seems to be Cory McGee.
Which is a bit ironic, as McGee was a teammate of Cain's in the Moscow WC 1500 in 2013!
Three HS Women have just announced where they'll be competing in College next year!
Hannah DeBalsi is heading to Stanford.
Stephanie Jenks will become a UC Berkeley runner!
And Katie Rainsberger is a future Oregon Duck!!
See you in about 9 days!
Friday, October 23, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
Huddle's FAST in SLOW months
You know how it is.
Life is slow, not exciting, nothing happening.
Then your BFF calls or visits, and WHAMMO!, your day is suddenly HOT!
Now I'm NOT saying Molly Huddle is my BFF---never even met the gal!--but her runaway course record-setting win in today's Tufts 10K sure improved my day!
Not to say it was BAD for 2nd placer Emily Sisson, even though her 32:18 was a HUGE 57 seconds behind Molly's CR of 31:21.
The old Course Record holder (Sentayehu Ejigi, 31:33) finished 3rd in 32:37, with Kim Conley next, followed by Brianne Nelson.
Another fairly new Pro, Emma Bates, finished far back in 16th, time of 33:54.
Tufts was the 4th Road win for Huddle since early September, and 19th overall!
Heather Kampf may be known as "Queen of the Road Mile", but Molly Huddle is Queen of the ROADS!!
Speaking of those 4 wins since September 7th, maybe her most impressive was the 10 Mile, held in Minnesota.
Huddle smashed the Course Record, AND the American Record (for a Women Only race!), running 5:10 per mile pace, her final time 51:44.
Neeley Spence was over a "lap" behind in 2nd, running 53:03
Alexi Pappas, whose TrackTown movie is forthcoming, was 3rd in 53:17.
For the Men, Sam Chelanga edged out Tyler Pennel, 46:47 to 46:48.
This was Chelanga's first race (and win!) as a US citizen!!
Dathan Ritzenhein finished 3rd in 46:53.
Supposedly the most important Road race of the past few weeks was the Chicago Marathon.
Maybe the "most important", but sure as Hell NOT the most thrilling!
Deciding to ban official pacers, and to leave the "rabbiting" to the actual competitors was a BAD idea, IMHO.
In a paced race, you STILL have the question of who's going to beat who, but you have the ADDED excitement of some top runners not only challenging each other, but the CLOCK as well!
While Chicago's famous winds were present, the slow first 13.1 of 1:05:13 for the Men was like watching grass grow!
(That is, if NBC's AWFUL "coverage" of said race didn't force me to turn it off, and rely on Twitter for updates and results!)
The main interest throughout for the Men was where Luke Puskedra would finish.
Running in the lead pack through about 25K, before falling back a bit, Puskedra was looking to improve on his 2:15+ from the Twin Cities race.
And he did!
His 2:10:24 in 5th place (behind winner Dickson Chumba's 2:09:25 and 2nd placer Sammy Kitwara's 2:09:50) makes him 23rd A-T US.
Moved OFF my list was Kirk Pfeffer's 2:10:29 from 1980!
(Keep in mind that my lists include Boston Marathon times!)
The Women's race was taken by---Duh!---Florence Kiplagat, the Half Marathon WR holder!
Her time of 2:23:43 beat Yebrgua Melase by 10 seconds.
But again, it was the top American who made the biggest headlines--as should be in "America's Marathon", as Chicago is known as!
Deena Kastor, whose 2:19:36 remains the US Record, ran 2:27:47 at Age 42 to set the "American Master's" Record.
I don't recognize any "master's" records, but even though my oldest Age record is labeled "40 & over", I have to assume it's the new "Age 42" record!
(Deena turns 43 next Valentine's Day!!)
While Deena ran negative splits (1:14:03 and 1:13:44), the winner ran only 1:13:05 for her 2nd 13.1, after a first half in 1:10:28!
Sara Hall was 2nd American, crushing her old PR by some 17 minutes (!!), running 2:31:14.
My home town (Bellingham WA) fave, Sarah (Porter) Crouch, ran just 7 seconds off her PR, time of 2:32:51, for 3rd American.
So what's what and who's who in Cross Country?
Since this weekend was fairly benign when it came to top names racing, let's take a look at those first few weeks.
On the HS scene, maybe the biggest news came from Katie Rainsberger's win in an Arizona race, in a Course Record of 16:22.
As I noted in my previous post, times aren't really important in XC, but 16:22 is significant nonetheless for a female HS'er!
For the Men, Austin Tamagno was most impressive, running a 3 Mile course in 14:38.
In another race, Drew Hunter came up the winner!
Those two could be the "Fisher-Maton" of the 2016 Track seasons (IN and OUT).
Meaning Grant Fisher and Matthew Maton, of course!
On the Collegiate scene, it's been the usual suspects, with one happy surprise thrown in!
That "surprise" was the "comeback" win for Aisling Cuffe in the Washington Invitational in Seattle.
She ran 19:41 for the 6K route, edging Alli Cash by 3 seconds.
A few Frosh made news in Seattle, as Anna Maxwell took 12th, and Hannah Long was 14th.
Brianna Nerud, once a promising Steeplechaser (She's the HSR holder!), finished WAY back!
(CORRECTION: Anna Maxwell is now a SOPH, not a Frosh!)
A "new" face on the Collegiate scene, after a VERY quiet Freshman year at UO, Sarah Baxter ran a somewhat credible race, ending in 33rd place, but 52 seconds behind Cuffe!
Missing from that race was Cuffe's teammate, Elise Cranny, who was said to be resting!
(Resting from WHAT??)
The Edward Cheserek steamroller---er, rolls on!
He played footsie with Joe Rosa, before deciding to RUN, winning easily in 23:15 over the 8K course!
As with the Women, it was some Freshmen who shone brightest.
The aforementioned "Fisher-Maton" duo ran well in their first Collegiate races--even though Fisher ran as "unattached", at least temporarily redshirting the Stanford squad.
Maton finished 8th in the Seattle race.
Fisher, as noted in a previous post, took 2nd in his 1st race!
Two other Women are looking good in the early season.
Dominique Scott won easily, taking her 1st race by a solid 20 seconds!
And Erin Finn has won TWO races, though her margins of victory were narrower than Scott's.
Keeping to my vow to report any and all Kayla Montgomery news, I'm sad to report her early Soph season at Lipscomb has started slowly!
She ran 19:05 (for 5000, not 6K!!) recently, finishing just 68th (out of 224).
(Chelsea Blaase, who could be added to the above short list of Collegiate stars, won with 17:05!)
One possible bright note for Kayla is that she acknowledges (on her Facebook page) that she's off to a bad start this fall, but seems confident she'll improve!
Finally, Mary Cain made news last week!
Made "news" by announcing she's left Portland U for Fordham U (That's in the Bronx, VERY close to where I lived for a year over 50 years ago!!).
Made "news" by saying that while Alberto Salazar remains her coach, she's basically being tutored by John Henwood, AlSal's East Coast assistant.
And made "news" by WINNING the Women's division in her first XC race of the year (and maybe since her NXN race of 2012??), albeit in a mixed field of Men & Women in a local Van Cortland Park race.
Her time was 17:11.
Yawn.
I will say one thing.
She looks "in shape" (aka "lean and mean"), and says she's happy being home again!
Also says she's looking forward to a "strong" IN & OUT Track season in the Rio Olympic year!
Don't count her---completely!---out!
So what have I been doing lately--besides going crazy waiting for the first INdoor T&F results to start trickling in??
Glad you asked!
LOL
I've been doing a MASSIVE revision of my T&F Record Book.
(Actually a better word would be a "redo", not a "revision", as the only thing changing is the APPEARANCE of the 600 or so pages, not the marks & records therein!)
A bit of background.
My book is not typed or printed!
It's written, in BIC pen ink, on CHEAP College Rule-lined notebook paper, and stuffed in a set of 28 manila folders!
When a new mark is entered, or an old mark is eliminated, I CROSS OUT the old mark, then add the new mark wherever there's room on the page!
This leads, in due time, to a MESSY page!
And the more time between page "redo's", the more the ink FADES!!
This makes SOME of it difficult to read, thus necessitating a "redo", even if that particular page has no (or few) new marks!!
Long story short, I've "REDONE" practically my entire Meet Records and National Records sections (OUTdoors only--so far!!) in the past week or two!
That meant hours and hours of monotonous paperwork!
(To paraphrase the Rolling Stones--It's only paperwork, but I LIKE it! LOL)
And it sure LOOKS a Hell of a lot better.
And I can now READ all the marks and names!!)
Part--but not all!--of this "redo" was instigated by the arrival of Wilfried Kramer's great book "National Athletics Records for All Countries in the World"--even though it goes only through the 2011 season.
My National Records sections are now more complete---and more in adherence to the actual geographical and geopolitical nature of our little orb!
And I'm still working on these changes!
It sure as heck LOOKS better!
See you after the NYC Marathon--if not before!
(Not sure if it will be in the NYC post, but I'll soon lay out my plans for--and thoughts about--the upcoming INdoor T&F season.)
If last year is an indication of WHEN we might expect the first marks to come in, then we're less than 6 weeks away!!
Life is slow, not exciting, nothing happening.
Then your BFF calls or visits, and WHAMMO!, your day is suddenly HOT!
Now I'm NOT saying Molly Huddle is my BFF---never even met the gal!--but her runaway course record-setting win in today's Tufts 10K sure improved my day!
Not to say it was BAD for 2nd placer Emily Sisson, even though her 32:18 was a HUGE 57 seconds behind Molly's CR of 31:21.
The old Course Record holder (Sentayehu Ejigi, 31:33) finished 3rd in 32:37, with Kim Conley next, followed by Brianne Nelson.
Another fairly new Pro, Emma Bates, finished far back in 16th, time of 33:54.
Tufts was the 4th Road win for Huddle since early September, and 19th overall!
Heather Kampf may be known as "Queen of the Road Mile", but Molly Huddle is Queen of the ROADS!!
Speaking of those 4 wins since September 7th, maybe her most impressive was the 10 Mile, held in Minnesota.
Huddle smashed the Course Record, AND the American Record (for a Women Only race!), running 5:10 per mile pace, her final time 51:44.
Neeley Spence was over a "lap" behind in 2nd, running 53:03
Alexi Pappas, whose TrackTown movie is forthcoming, was 3rd in 53:17.
For the Men, Sam Chelanga edged out Tyler Pennel, 46:47 to 46:48.
This was Chelanga's first race (and win!) as a US citizen!!
Dathan Ritzenhein finished 3rd in 46:53.
Supposedly the most important Road race of the past few weeks was the Chicago Marathon.
Maybe the "most important", but sure as Hell NOT the most thrilling!
Deciding to ban official pacers, and to leave the "rabbiting" to the actual competitors was a BAD idea, IMHO.
In a paced race, you STILL have the question of who's going to beat who, but you have the ADDED excitement of some top runners not only challenging each other, but the CLOCK as well!
While Chicago's famous winds were present, the slow first 13.1 of 1:05:13 for the Men was like watching grass grow!
(That is, if NBC's AWFUL "coverage" of said race didn't force me to turn it off, and rely on Twitter for updates and results!)
The main interest throughout for the Men was where Luke Puskedra would finish.
Running in the lead pack through about 25K, before falling back a bit, Puskedra was looking to improve on his 2:15+ from the Twin Cities race.
And he did!
His 2:10:24 in 5th place (behind winner Dickson Chumba's 2:09:25 and 2nd placer Sammy Kitwara's 2:09:50) makes him 23rd A-T US.
Moved OFF my list was Kirk Pfeffer's 2:10:29 from 1980!
(Keep in mind that my lists include Boston Marathon times!)
The Women's race was taken by---Duh!---Florence Kiplagat, the Half Marathon WR holder!
Her time of 2:23:43 beat Yebrgua Melase by 10 seconds.
But again, it was the top American who made the biggest headlines--as should be in "America's Marathon", as Chicago is known as!
Deena Kastor, whose 2:19:36 remains the US Record, ran 2:27:47 at Age 42 to set the "American Master's" Record.
I don't recognize any "master's" records, but even though my oldest Age record is labeled "40 & over", I have to assume it's the new "Age 42" record!
(Deena turns 43 next Valentine's Day!!)
While Deena ran negative splits (1:14:03 and 1:13:44), the winner ran only 1:13:05 for her 2nd 13.1, after a first half in 1:10:28!
Sara Hall was 2nd American, crushing her old PR by some 17 minutes (!!), running 2:31:14.
My home town (Bellingham WA) fave, Sarah (Porter) Crouch, ran just 7 seconds off her PR, time of 2:32:51, for 3rd American.
So what's what and who's who in Cross Country?
Since this weekend was fairly benign when it came to top names racing, let's take a look at those first few weeks.
On the HS scene, maybe the biggest news came from Katie Rainsberger's win in an Arizona race, in a Course Record of 16:22.
As I noted in my previous post, times aren't really important in XC, but 16:22 is significant nonetheless for a female HS'er!
For the Men, Austin Tamagno was most impressive, running a 3 Mile course in 14:38.
In another race, Drew Hunter came up the winner!
Those two could be the "Fisher-Maton" of the 2016 Track seasons (IN and OUT).
Meaning Grant Fisher and Matthew Maton, of course!
On the Collegiate scene, it's been the usual suspects, with one happy surprise thrown in!
That "surprise" was the "comeback" win for Aisling Cuffe in the Washington Invitational in Seattle.
She ran 19:41 for the 6K route, edging Alli Cash by 3 seconds.
A few Frosh made news in Seattle, as Anna Maxwell took 12th, and Hannah Long was 14th.
Brianna Nerud, once a promising Steeplechaser (She's the HSR holder!), finished WAY back!
(CORRECTION: Anna Maxwell is now a SOPH, not a Frosh!)
A "new" face on the Collegiate scene, after a VERY quiet Freshman year at UO, Sarah Baxter ran a somewhat credible race, ending in 33rd place, but 52 seconds behind Cuffe!
Missing from that race was Cuffe's teammate, Elise Cranny, who was said to be resting!
(Resting from WHAT??)
The Edward Cheserek steamroller---er, rolls on!
He played footsie with Joe Rosa, before deciding to RUN, winning easily in 23:15 over the 8K course!
As with the Women, it was some Freshmen who shone brightest.
The aforementioned "Fisher-Maton" duo ran well in their first Collegiate races--even though Fisher ran as "unattached", at least temporarily redshirting the Stanford squad.
Maton finished 8th in the Seattle race.
Fisher, as noted in a previous post, took 2nd in his 1st race!
Two other Women are looking good in the early season.
Dominique Scott won easily, taking her 1st race by a solid 20 seconds!
And Erin Finn has won TWO races, though her margins of victory were narrower than Scott's.
Keeping to my vow to report any and all Kayla Montgomery news, I'm sad to report her early Soph season at Lipscomb has started slowly!
She ran 19:05 (for 5000, not 6K!!) recently, finishing just 68th (out of 224).
(Chelsea Blaase, who could be added to the above short list of Collegiate stars, won with 17:05!)
One possible bright note for Kayla is that she acknowledges (on her Facebook page) that she's off to a bad start this fall, but seems confident she'll improve!
Finally, Mary Cain made news last week!
Made "news" by announcing she's left Portland U for Fordham U (That's in the Bronx, VERY close to where I lived for a year over 50 years ago!!).
Made "news" by saying that while Alberto Salazar remains her coach, she's basically being tutored by John Henwood, AlSal's East Coast assistant.
And made "news" by WINNING the Women's division in her first XC race of the year (and maybe since her NXN race of 2012??), albeit in a mixed field of Men & Women in a local Van Cortland Park race.
Her time was 17:11.
Yawn.
I will say one thing.
She looks "in shape" (aka "lean and mean"), and says she's happy being home again!
Also says she's looking forward to a "strong" IN & OUT Track season in the Rio Olympic year!
Don't count her---completely!---out!
So what have I been doing lately--besides going crazy waiting for the first INdoor T&F results to start trickling in??
Glad you asked!
LOL
I've been doing a MASSIVE revision of my T&F Record Book.
(Actually a better word would be a "redo", not a "revision", as the only thing changing is the APPEARANCE of the 600 or so pages, not the marks & records therein!)
A bit of background.
My book is not typed or printed!
It's written, in BIC pen ink, on CHEAP College Rule-lined notebook paper, and stuffed in a set of 28 manila folders!
When a new mark is entered, or an old mark is eliminated, I CROSS OUT the old mark, then add the new mark wherever there's room on the page!
This leads, in due time, to a MESSY page!
And the more time between page "redo's", the more the ink FADES!!
This makes SOME of it difficult to read, thus necessitating a "redo", even if that particular page has no (or few) new marks!!
Long story short, I've "REDONE" practically my entire Meet Records and National Records sections (OUTdoors only--so far!!) in the past week or two!
That meant hours and hours of monotonous paperwork!
(To paraphrase the Rolling Stones--It's only paperwork, but I LIKE it! LOL)
And it sure LOOKS a Hell of a lot better.
And I can now READ all the marks and names!!)
Part--but not all!--of this "redo" was instigated by the arrival of Wilfried Kramer's great book "National Athletics Records for All Countries in the World"--even though it goes only through the 2011 season.
My National Records sections are now more complete---and more in adherence to the actual geographical and geopolitical nature of our little orb!
And I'm still working on these changes!
It sure as heck LOOKS better!
See you after the NYC Marathon--if not before!
(Not sure if it will be in the NYC post, but I'll soon lay out my plans for--and thoughts about--the upcoming INdoor T&F season.)
If last year is an indication of WHEN we might expect the first marks to come in, then we're less than 6 weeks away!!
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Why I (Mostly!) Ignore XC
Readers of this blog who have been with me for at least one year (The blog began December 9, 2013!) know that the span of time from about mid-September through mid-November is pretty quiet.
Meaning the number of posts per month go down from about 8-12 to maybe 2-4 for those 2 months.
Why?
I post about 100 times per year.
Most of those are during the height of the INdoor and OUTdoor Track & Field seasons.
I post ALL the records broken, and ALL the marks that make one of my Top 24 Performers lists.
I also post predictions of Records that could be broken, and other previews of the Championship meets (WC, USATF, NCAA, NBIN, NBN, etc.).
I do some "editorials" too.
Doing these takes a LOT more time than the 1 to 2 hours it takes me to type it up and do editing & revision.
I first have to gather all the marks, then put them in some sort of order.
(Not to mention the actual revision of my 600 page T&F Record Book--the key source for this blog!)
Anyway, enough of this boring detail of my daily routine!
Back to the subject at hand!
Look at the title of my Record Book again.
It's called a TRACK AND FIELD Record Book!
Simply stated, Cross Country is NOT Track or Field!
Yet its basic element is ALSO a key element of T&F.
That is---RUNNING!
But XC is centered around just one sector of the running world---distance.
Whether it's a Track team's 800-1500 people doing OVER-distance work, or 5000-10000 athletes in their element, XC is essentially for distance (middle or long) runners ONLY!
Sprinters, Hurdlers, Throwers, Jumpers, Walkers, and Multi's are non-essentials.
But there are other reasons I don't do much with Cross Country on this blog.
This blog is all about Records and Marks in T&F.
XC times aren't really comparable--EXCEPT when comparing times run by various athletes on the SAME course!!
Even though many of the distances are the same (8000 or 10000 for Men, 5000 or 6000 for Women), the various courses are NOT the same!
In Track, EVERY OUTdoor track is flat and 400 meters around.
EVERY (legal!) INdoor track is 200 meters around--though some are flat. (Most are banked!)
Thus, times are easily comparable!
Don't get me wrong!
XC is FUN!
Watching the races on livestream is exciting!
The team aspect is always there.
And you often see--as in T&F--new faces emerge, which often extends to the INdoor Track season--as when NCAA XC 2nd placer Sarah DiSanza ran that 15:20+ 5000 in December of last year!
But other than naming names---of the various winners of major races--and noting who's making forward strides (pun intended!! LOL), there's really little compatibility between XC results and the core focus of this blog.
My Record Book doesn't have lists of the Top 24 times over the various 6K routes, or 8K courses.
I would have to have separate lists for EACH of the MANY courses where key races are run.
Compare that to Track.
I do NOT have to compile separate lists for times run at Hayward Field, or the track at Arkansas or Penn or (for INdoors) The Armory and Boston University!
They're all the SAME (for INdoors or OUTdoors, that is!).
There's also the fact that some XC courses---even over the same distances--are tougher (or easier) than others.
There's also the weather.
Sure, weather affects OUTdoor T&F.
But NOT with MUD on the track or in the sand pit!
Not with sloppy puddles to splash through--Steeplechasers (sort of) excluded!
I understand that MANY people LOVE Cross Country--running it, watching it, and following it through its season!
But I haven't found a way to RECORD the season in any understandable way!
And since my blog is ENTIRELY about Records & Marks, I have to ask---What would I put in a post about XC?
Which TEAMS might win at NCAA's?
Nope!
Which INDIVIDUALS might win?
Nope again!
(XC is, if anything, about TEAM cohesion rather than Individual glory seeking!)
So, for the next month---maybe 5 or 6 weeks!---don't expect much reportage from me about XC.
Mostly, what you'll be seeing are NAMES of the leading runners---but withOUT times or knowing which team won, or even the name of the meet!!
All I'm wanting to do is present some names to watch--for when INdoors begins!
(The past 2 Decembers have seen a series of FAST 5000's--mostly from people whose star shone during XC!)
I'm expecting MORE fast 5K's in a couple of months!
I DO have a few XC results to post.
BUT I'm going to wait until Monday, when I'll have results from the Chicago Marathon and the USATF Women's Road 10000 to report!
In THAT post, I'll bring you up to date on who's who in XC thus far---through this coming weekend!
See you in a few days!
Meaning the number of posts per month go down from about 8-12 to maybe 2-4 for those 2 months.
Why?
I post about 100 times per year.
Most of those are during the height of the INdoor and OUTdoor Track & Field seasons.
I post ALL the records broken, and ALL the marks that make one of my Top 24 Performers lists.
I also post predictions of Records that could be broken, and other previews of the Championship meets (WC, USATF, NCAA, NBIN, NBN, etc.).
I do some "editorials" too.
Doing these takes a LOT more time than the 1 to 2 hours it takes me to type it up and do editing & revision.
I first have to gather all the marks, then put them in some sort of order.
(Not to mention the actual revision of my 600 page T&F Record Book--the key source for this blog!)
Anyway, enough of this boring detail of my daily routine!
Back to the subject at hand!
Look at the title of my Record Book again.
It's called a TRACK AND FIELD Record Book!
Simply stated, Cross Country is NOT Track or Field!
Yet its basic element is ALSO a key element of T&F.
That is---RUNNING!
But XC is centered around just one sector of the running world---distance.
Whether it's a Track team's 800-1500 people doing OVER-distance work, or 5000-10000 athletes in their element, XC is essentially for distance (middle or long) runners ONLY!
Sprinters, Hurdlers, Throwers, Jumpers, Walkers, and Multi's are non-essentials.
But there are other reasons I don't do much with Cross Country on this blog.
This blog is all about Records and Marks in T&F.
XC times aren't really comparable--EXCEPT when comparing times run by various athletes on the SAME course!!
Even though many of the distances are the same (8000 or 10000 for Men, 5000 or 6000 for Women), the various courses are NOT the same!
In Track, EVERY OUTdoor track is flat and 400 meters around.
EVERY (legal!) INdoor track is 200 meters around--though some are flat. (Most are banked!)
Thus, times are easily comparable!
Don't get me wrong!
XC is FUN!
Watching the races on livestream is exciting!
The team aspect is always there.
And you often see--as in T&F--new faces emerge, which often extends to the INdoor Track season--as when NCAA XC 2nd placer Sarah DiSanza ran that 15:20+ 5000 in December of last year!
But other than naming names---of the various winners of major races--and noting who's making forward strides (pun intended!! LOL), there's really little compatibility between XC results and the core focus of this blog.
My Record Book doesn't have lists of the Top 24 times over the various 6K routes, or 8K courses.
I would have to have separate lists for EACH of the MANY courses where key races are run.
Compare that to Track.
I do NOT have to compile separate lists for times run at Hayward Field, or the track at Arkansas or Penn or (for INdoors) The Armory and Boston University!
They're all the SAME (for INdoors or OUTdoors, that is!).
There's also the fact that some XC courses---even over the same distances--are tougher (or easier) than others.
There's also the weather.
Sure, weather affects OUTdoor T&F.
But NOT with MUD on the track or in the sand pit!
Not with sloppy puddles to splash through--Steeplechasers (sort of) excluded!
I understand that MANY people LOVE Cross Country--running it, watching it, and following it through its season!
But I haven't found a way to RECORD the season in any understandable way!
And since my blog is ENTIRELY about Records & Marks, I have to ask---What would I put in a post about XC?
Which TEAMS might win at NCAA's?
Nope!
Which INDIVIDUALS might win?
Nope again!
(XC is, if anything, about TEAM cohesion rather than Individual glory seeking!)
So, for the next month---maybe 5 or 6 weeks!---don't expect much reportage from me about XC.
Mostly, what you'll be seeing are NAMES of the leading runners---but withOUT times or knowing which team won, or even the name of the meet!!
All I'm wanting to do is present some names to watch--for when INdoors begins!
(The past 2 Decembers have seen a series of FAST 5000's--mostly from people whose star shone during XC!)
I'm expecting MORE fast 5K's in a couple of months!
I DO have a few XC results to post.
BUT I'm going to wait until Monday, when I'll have results from the Chicago Marathon and the USATF Women's Road 10000 to report!
In THAT post, I'll bring you up to date on who's who in XC thus far---through this coming weekend!
See you in a few days!
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