2018 INdoor Preview--The Schedule

The 2017-2018 INdoor Track and Field season begins just 3 days from now!

Thus, it's time to begin my DELUGE of INdoor T&F Previews--beginning with this Schedule!

A few Notes--
This is the biggest INdoor Schedule I've ever done!
Which means there are also more possibilities for errors!
Please check for updates with a particular meet's website, or with T&FN.

This Schedule includes mostly INdoor T&F meets!

But it also has several Road Races, if they fall within the period from November 17th through mid-March!

Keep in mind that the Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa SUMMER OUTdoor season takes place mainly during the same time period!

I have NOT listed any of those meets--but this blog will report any OUTdoor results during the INdoor season--if they meet my standards!

Let's begin!

November
17th          Mecklenburg (JDL)
18th          JDL Tune-up
19th          Delhi Half Marathon (NOTE: This race might be postponed or moved, due to heavy air pollution!!  But Almaz Ayana is a listed entrant for her 1st Half!!)
26th          Pilgrim Games (Armory)

December
1st            Fast Track Season Opener (Ocean Breeze)
1st-2nd    Dunamis Invite (Dallas)
3rd           Fukuoka & Sacramento Marathons
8th           Hoosier Open
9th           USATF Club XC Championships (Lexington KY)

                Reveille Invite (Texas A&M)

16th         Boston University Mini Meet
                AT&T Coaches Hall of Fame Invite--HS  (Armory)
16th-17th Bishop Loughlin Games (Ocean Breeze)
22nd        Jim Mitchell Invite (Armory)
30th         Boston U Mini Meet
                Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival

January
5th-6th    A&M HS Classic (A&M)
               Dartmouth Relays

6th          Boston U Mini Meet
               Orange & Purple Classic (Clemson)
6th-7th    Freedom Games (Ocean Breeze)
               Akron Pole Vault Convention
11th         Mile Mania # 1 (Ocean Breeze)
12th         Arkansas Invite
12th-13th  Ted Nelson Invite (A&M)
                Pole Vault Summit (Reno)
14th        Houston Half & Full Marathon
19th-20th  New Balance Games (Armory)
               Clemson Invite
               Virginia Showcase
20th        A&M Quad (A&M)
               USATF 50K Walk Championships (Hope this means for BOTH genders!!)
25th        Ostrava
               Mile Mania # 2 (Ocean Breeze)
25th-27th  Columbia Challenge (Armory) (NOTE: Might be called the Dr Sander Invite!!  I doubt 2 different meets would be scheduled for the same dates in the same venue!!)
26th        ISTAF (Berlin)
               Dubai Marathon (Always FAST!!!)
26th-27th  Razorback Invite

               David Oliver Classic (North Carolina)

               Penn State National Open

28th        Osaka Women's Marathon

February
2nd-3rd  Camel City Invite (Could be HUGE--for top results!)
               Charlie Thomas Invite (A&M)
               Tallinn Combined Events
3rd          USATF XC Championships
               Millrose Games
               Karlsruhe (IAAF World Indoor Tour)
               Villanova Invite (Ocean Breeze)
6th          Dusseldorf (IAAF World Indoor Tour)
8th          Madrid (IAAF World Indoor Tour)
9th          David Hemery Invite

               Fast Track National Invite (Ocean Breeze)
9th-10th  Tiger Paw Invite (Clemson)
               Don Kirby Elite (Albuquerque)
               Tyson Invite
10th        Boston New Balance (IAAF World Indoor Tour)
15th        Torun (IAAF World Indoor Tour)
15th-17th  Simplot Games (High School)
16th-18th  USATF Indoor Championships (Albuquerque)  (UGH!!  Altitude means slow distance races!!)
17th         Aggie Twilight (A&M)  (Kinda strange calling an INdoor meet a "Twilight"!!  Will they dim the lights??  LOL)
                Glasgow (IAAF World Indoor Tour)  (SIX of these babies this year!!!)

The Collegiate Conferences
17th-18th  Conference USA (Birmingham AL)
22nd-24th Big 10 (Geneva OH)  (Held on an Oversize Track--meaning NO Records or List-eligible Marks at any distance over 60 meters!!  Atrocious!!!)
                 ACC (Clemson)
                Mountain West (Albuquerque)
23rd-24th  Big 12 (Ames, IA)  (Another OT!!!)
                  Mountain Pacific (Seattle)  (And yet another!!)
24th-25th  Ivy League (Hanover, NH)  (I believe this is a 200 meter track!)
                 SEC (A&M)
March 2nd-3rd
                 IC4A/ECAC (Boston)  (A late Conference!  I wanted to list them all together!!)

March
1st-4th     World Indoor Championships (Birmingham, England)
3rd           New York State HS Championships (Always great!!)
9th-10th  NCAA Championships (A&M)
9th-11th  New Balance INdoor Nationals (Armory) (Will this be the EIGHTH year in a row that the Women's 5000 HSR is broken here??  Lots of candidates!!  LOL)
16th-18th Indoor Marathon (Armory)
23rd         Front Runners Invite (Armory)

I'll try to note changes--cancellations, new dates, etc--in future posts!
Do NOT look here for those updates, if any!!

Planned INdoor Previews--which I hope to have posted THIS week---
Age Records  (Two posts!!)
Class Records
World, US, Collegiate & HS Records (Possibly 2 posts!)
What's needed to make my Top 24 Performers Lists (24th best mark--all events for my 4 core groups!)

Next Results post will be for the NCAA Cross Country Championships--NOT listed on the above Schedule, but to be held November 18th!!

See you soon!!

           

               

Who's Who ahead of NCAA's?

Five days.
Louisville, Kentucky, will be the host of the NCAA Cross Country Championship races on Saturday, November 18th.
That much is known (barring some apocalyptic natural disaster, that is!).
What we (might have) learned this past weekend was who has an excellent to very good to fair to not-so-good chances to win, or place in the Top 30.
And that's what this blog post is about!

As I've noted over & over & over, times matter less than margin--margin of victory, margin between runners.
But there are things other than times to think about.
For example, are the courses the correct distance?
(If you recall, the Dellinger meet for the Women was 5692 meters, not 6000!)
Did rain & wind & a hilly course affect times--and places?
Who lost a shoe?

Those are SOME of the reasons predicting XC is more difficult than predicting T&F results!
But Hell, let's give it a shot anyway!
First, the Results from the Regionals---

Southeast
Lawrence Kipkoech won easily (by 8 seconds) over Amon Kemboi.
Azoria Kirwa was another 3 seconds back, with Nadeel Wildschott at 29:03 in 4th.
Aaron Templeton was 5th in 29:05, while early season flash Peter Seufer ended 9th in 29:25.
Furman took the team title with 55 points.

The Women's race saw Caroline Sang's 20:05.8 win over Allie Buchalski's 20:10.4.
Charlotte Imer was next in 20:15, ahead of Dorcas Wasiki's 20:22 and Dominique Clairmonte's 20:23.
Katy Kunc was 9th in 20:32, while former HS stars Caroline Alcorta (17th) and Ryen Frazier (33rd) were left behind.
NC State's 68 points beat Furman's 83.

South Central
Emmanuel Rotich's 29:49 beat Brian Barazza's 29:51.
Alex Rogers and Jon Bishop were about 12 seconds back of Barazza.
Austin Dalquist's 30:12 finished 8th.
Sam Worley DNF'ed!
Arkansas won over Texas, 59 to 73.

Nikki Hiltz must have had a good fight with Carina Viljoen, as they ended less than a second apart, 19:35.5 to 19:36.0.
Anna West's 19:40 in 3rd was clear of 4th Woman Michaela Hackett by over 7 seconds!
But Michaela beat twin sister (Both Abilene Christian Seniors, so I assume they're twins!!) Alexandria by over 2 seconds.
Destiny Collins continued a solid year in 10th, time of 20:05, while Lauren Gregory was top Soph in 13th, time of 20:19.
The Razorbacks's 35 points easily defeated Texas (93).

Northeast
Justyn Knight lost a shoe at 1K, stopped to reattach it (& faded to near LAST doing so!!), caught the pack inside of a mile (!!), and just nipped Colin Bennie, 23:08.9 to 23:09.1.
Right with them (23:09.4) was Johannes Motschmann!
Gilbert Kirui finished 4th, with Aidan Tooker's 23:16.7 taking 7th.
Syracuse's 27 beat Iona's 42.

Steepler (Maybe she'll be thinking of switching after her great XC season!!) Elinor Purrier took the title with 21:20 over Paige Stoner's 21:24.
Shannon Malone was another 10 seconds back, 3 ahead of 4th placer Catarina Rocha!
Brianna Ilarda was 6th in 21:47, while Millie Paladino was 11th in 22:13.
Providence took the team race with 84 points!

Great Lakes
Team finishes were reversed, with the Men of Michigan State beating Michigan, 68 to 79, while the Blue Women beat the Spartans, 71 to 87.
Ben Flanagan's 30:54 was 6 seconds in front of Hlynur Andresson!
Oliver Hoare and Ben Veatch both ended in 31:01, with the former given 3rd.
Joe Hardy ran 31:03, while Finn Gessner ran 31:53 in 32nd.

Katherine Receveur beat Gina Sereno by 4 seconds, 20:34.9 to 20:38.9.
Jaimie Morrissey ended just behind Sereno.
Sarah Disanza might be BACK, as she was a solid 4th in 20:43.9.
Haley Meier (Remember the Meier twins??) was 29th in 21:14.3.

Midwest
Iowa State took both team wins, scores of 69 for the Men, and 90 for the Women!
Jonathan Davis's 29:06 beat Hassan Abdi's 29:11, with Dan Curts and Andrew Jordan in 3rd & 4th, both with 29:13's.

But Karissa Schweizer demolished the field, including Sharon Lokedi (2nd), by 21 seconds, 19:50.9 to 20:11.6!!
Frosh Callie Logue was 3rd in 20:13.7.
The Hasz sisters were divided by 6th placer Madeline Strandema's 20:19.7!
Megan was 5th, while Bethany Hasz was 7th!

Mid-Atlantic
Jonathan Green's 30:28 beat Casey Comber's 30:31, with Andrew Marston (30:32) & Conor Lundy (30:33) not far behind.
Princeton's 57 points was enough!

Bella Burda, once a NY HS stud back in the days of Mary Cain, beat Jillian Hunsberger by 4 seconds for the win, time of 20:01.
Danae Rivers--better known as a Miler--was 8th in 20:05.
Rachel McArthur, another short distance person, was 14th in 20:17.
Sophie Cantine--she of the infamous 2:47.64 INdoor 1000 run on Seattle's OT a few years back--was 31st in 20:55.
She's now a Frosh at Princeton!!
(Hope she steers clear of OT's as a Collegian!!)
Penn State's 31 points easily won over Villanova's 60!

South
Kenyan Collegians took places 1-2-3-4!!
Gilbert Kigen's 29:44.5 prevailed over Alfred Chelanga (29:47.1), Jacob Choge (29:50.9), and Vincent Kiprop (30:04.9).
Sean Tobin was 6th in 30:15.7.
Middle Tennessee State won by 5 over Ole Miss, 71 to 76.

Several sister duos here--here meaning all the Regionals!
This one saw the Drop's take 1st and 3rd--Samantha the winner in 19:40.9, with Jessica ending in 19:45.4.
Karissa Nelson finished between them in 19:43.4.
Brenda Kigen upheld the Kenyan presence with her 4th place 19:46.2!
Ole Miss's 59 prevailed over Georgia's 73.

Mountain
Joe Klecker's 30:13.6 won over Rory Linkletter's 30:14.6.
Tyler Day was 3rd,with Conner McMillan 4th, both a couple of seconds behind Linkletter.
Jerrell Mock was 6th in 30:19, while Josh Kerr was 15th in 30:43.5.
Northern Arizona won the team title with 49 points, with BYU's 79 edging Colorado's 80!

Ednah Kurgat's 20:01.4 won over Grayson Murphy's 20:04, with Weini Kelati a strong 3rd in 20:05.5.
Winny Koech was 4th in 20:08.5, while Charlotte Prouse was 5th, but 7 seconds behind Koech!!
Dani Jones--maybe the co-favorite here!--ended in a tie for 12th, about 28 seconds behind Kurgat!!
McKinleyville (CA) HS flash Morgin Coonfield was 50th in 21:20.5!
Colorado beat New Mexico, 62 to 70!

Finally--
West
Someone named Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse (WHO???) took the Men's title with 29:33!
Five seconds back came Jeff Thies--another Who?!!--in 2nd.
Steven Fahy and Nick Hauger were 3rd and 4th, both around 29:41.
A quartet ended in 29:43, in this order-- Colby Gilbert, Tanner Anderson, Andrew Gardner, and Miler (??) Haller!
Grant Fisher said he just wanted Stanford to make the final, so cruised to an 11th place finish in 29:47, just ahead of Michael Williams.
Mahmoud Moussa was 18th, while Cooper Teare ended in 23rd, Blake Haney in 32nd, and Reed Brown in 42nd, time of 30:20!
Portland (!!!) beat Washington, 63 to 65, with Stanford's 85 taking 3rd, way ahead of Oregon's 149!!

Allie Ostrander stuck with Charlotte Taylor, but Taylor's finish was stronger, 19:14 to 19:16!
Taylor's time was a Course Record!
Amy Eloise-Neale was 3rd in 19:25, with Weronika Pyzik's 19:29 prevailing over Katie Rainsberger's 19:30!
Fiona O'Keefe was just 1 second farther back in 6th, with Isabelle Brauer's 19:35 taking 7th.
Vanessa Fraser (19:40), Lilli Burdon (19:43), Bethan Knights (19:44), and Brie Oakley (19:45) taking spots 8th through 11th!
Elise Cranny was 18th, time of 20:05, with Ella Donaghu 20th in 20:08.
In 24th came Christina Aragon (20:13), while Alli Cash was just 43rd in 20:41.
San Francisco (NOT SF State!!) won the team title in 59 over Stanford's 76.
Oregon was 3rd with 92, while Boise State took 4th with 104 points!

Predictions??
How about Knight & Fisher up front--despite Grant's 11th place!.
Maybe a few of those Kenyans--such as Kipkoech, Kigen, Choge, Rotich, Chelanga!!
Joe Klecker, Colin Bennie, Jerrell Mock!
But what about the "newcomers"--the ones first noticed (by me!) this season??
Linkletter, McMillan, Jonathans Green & Davis!
Then there's Monsieur (assuming a French connection!  LOL) Roudolff-Levisse and Oliver Hoere!!

 The Women again show Karissa Schweizer up front, probably followed by Ostrander, Taylor, Eloise-Neale, Rainsberger, Purrier, Receveur & Ednah Kurgat!!
But what about the strong "2nd tier" group of O'Keefe, Fraser, Burda, Hiltz, Sang, and Lokedi??
Finally, some "rookies" (Collegiately speaking!) might "show--like Brie Oakley, Weronika Pyzik, and Callie Logue!!
Should they fear the Sisters--the Drops, the Hasz's, or even the Hackett's??

This is going to be a LONGGG one, so hang in there!!

HS results---
NXN Regional races began with the Northwest seeing an upset of sorts!
Lexi Halladay was 2nd to Camila Noe's 17:13--time of 17:30!
Did she just have a "poor" race, or is this Ms Noe a "find"?
Noe is a Senior, while Halladay is a Soph!
A Frosh took 3rd--Sydney Thorwaldson!
And a Senior--Annie Hill--was just 18th--64 seconds behind Noe!!
James Mwaura won the Men's race in 15:06 over Duncan Hamilton's 15:16.
Both are Seniors, while Stetson Moss (3rd in 15:17) is a Soph!

The Midwest saw Dustin Horter (sp?) win in 14:57.
Danny Kilrea's 15 minutes flat was 2nd, with Conant Smith 3rd another 5 seconds back.
Katelynne Hart took the Women's race in 17:28 over Emma Wilson's 17:33.
Taylor Ewart--best known as a Walker (!!)--was 4th in a respectable 17:44.
She's just a Soph!!

The Heartland Men's race was won by Drew Bosley in 14:53.
Derick Peters was 2 seconds back, with Khalid Hussein in 3rd in 14:56!
The Women's race was won by Tierney Wolfgram's 16:48!
Emily Covert took 2nd in 16:55, with Anna Fenske--a Frosh--taking 3rd in 17:05.
But in 4th, SEVENTH GRADER Lauren Ping timed out in 17:07!!
Sister Grace didn't run--apparently having run a USATF race the day before!!
(More info on that in another post--if I can find it!!)

Assorted other results--
Stephanie Garcia won an 8K Road Race in a solid 25:39!!
Second was Rachel Johnson, a full 40 seconds behind!!
Erin Teschuk--like Garcia, better known as a Steepler!!--was 3rd in 26:28.
Craig Nowak took the Men's race in 22:40.

Claudia Lane won a XC race in Riverside CA in a Course Record time of 15:50!!
The CR was her own!!

The Shanghai Marathon was won by Stephen Mokoka in 2:08:35, while the Women's race saw Rose Dereji win in 2:22:43.
In 2nd came a familiar name--for students of 1990's distance running!
Remember Lydia Cheremoi?
In the early 90's, she ran some FAST track times, breaking Age 13 & 14 records!
She's done it again!
Now 40 years old, she broke the Age 40 record with her 2nd place time of 2:23:31.
Mariya Konovalova ran 2:22:27 in 2015 for the Age 40 record, but her time was expunged, due to a drug bust!!

Finally, Camille Herron--Marathon PR of 2:37+--and recent winner of the 56 Mile Comrades race--SHATTERED the World and American Records in the ONE HUNDRED Mile run--on trails and roads, so counted as a Road race!
Her time of 12:42:39 works out to FOUR 25 Mile races--run back-to-back!!!--of 3:10:40!
(If you give her a split of 9:20 for the final Mile & 385 yards, that's four FULL Marathons of 3:20:00 run consecutively!!  What's the Women's Boston Qualifying time again??)

A few Society column items--
Carmelita Jeter has officially retired!!
She'll be coaching and giving speeches!

Meb Keflizighi might be retired from Marathon racing, but not from HALF Marathons!!
He's signed up to race the Indy Half on May 5th!!

Helen Obiri said she wants to break the OUTdoor 5000 World Record of 14:11.15!
No word of the venue yet!

Is Yelena Isinbayeva pregnant again??
Becca---aka PoleVaultPower--thinks she is!
She provided a family photo--showing Isi with her husband and first child--something PVP says she's never seen before!!

Finally--yes, FINALLY!!--Mary Cain will be returning to track racing in 2018!
In response to a Let's Run feeler, her agent said she was injured for a lot of 2017--thus the ZERO appearances--and is returned to full training under John Henwood!
No word from Mary herself, or of when and where her initial "rust buster" will be!!

See you soon with my INdoor Previews--and more!!

Drums of Drama in New York City

When a large group of elite Women came through 5000 meters in the New York City Marathon in 19:09 (almost 2:42 pace!!), my only thought was "Ridiculous!!".
But 127 minutes later, I was crying, emotionally spent from watching Shalane Flanagan's incredibly strong & steady strides lead her through the finish line tape in victory!!

This was supposed to be Mary Keitany's 4th NYC win, and maybe even a Course Record!
Shalane WANTED to win, but she would have to match the pace of a Woman whose PR was 4:13 faster, and hope to outkick her!
Good luck!

A group of 10 or more cruised through four more 5K's in the high-17's (17:43, 17:52, 17:36, and 17:47)!
They'd hit the Half in 1:16:08--2:32:16 pace!!
And you may not believe this, but a rookie (open) Marathoner--a champion Triathlete!!!--was LEADING the field--though just barely in front.
Sara Dossena, the Italian Triathlete, was leading Keitany, Flanagan, Mamitu Daska, Edna Kiplagat, and several others.

I posted a Tweet saying I was waiting for someone to throw in a couple of back-to-back 4:40-ish Miles--then the REAL racing would commence!
Well, the fastest Mile of the race was Flanagan's 5:03, which came inside Central Park!!

Even with the slowish pace, the top-end group soon became a 3-some--Daska, Keitany, and Flanagan!
A 16:58 split between 25 & 30K did the trick
But still no one was making any resemblance of a "breakaway" move!
Yet the air was filling with the thick humidity of anticipation!
Why wasn't Keitany, who'd beaten Tirunesh Dibaba in the London Marathon, saying "Enough is enough--I'm outta here!!"??
The commentators--Tim Hutchins & Carrie Tollefson--were mystified, as were probably most "experts".

Daska was running more fluidly, but maybe was ALSO waiting on Keitany!
Flanagan, meanwhile, just was---THERE!
She was almost stalking Keitany throughout the race--staying just behind her--covering every "move" she made.
But here--with just over 12K left--you had a Woman who had run a fast 5000 and 10000 this year on the track at Age 36--who had been injured--and was itching to go fully into Marathon training mode for NY!

The break came, but it wasn't that 4:40 Mile I'd thought was inevitable!
After another sub-17 5000 (16:51), the idea was emerging that Shalane could WIN this race--something she'd intimated might bring her not just to the finish line, but to THE FINISH line of her entire Record-smashing career!
(That decision is yet to be made!)

Almost stealthily, a gap formed, with Flanagan now 5 meters in front of Daska and Keitany.
(The next group could even still be seen behind them!)
But when those 5:20 & 5:30 Miles suddenly became a Flanagan-led 5:06, we all knew the break had come!
Daska fell off, and the 2:17:01 PR of Keitany seemed to have come from another Universe!
In fact, at one point, as Flanagan was "hugging the rail"--meaning she was running within a foot of the barriers between the runners and the fans-- Keitany had "disappeared" from view--with people wondering if she'd dropped out!!
Then the camera swung to the other side of the road--where Mary was hugging THAT barrier line!

Another Mile of 5:08 made Flanagan now the "inevitable" winner!
But nothing is taken for granted in a Marathon--especially with over 2 Miles to go--and with the hilly & multi-cornered terrain of Central Park still to be conquered!

ESPN now promised they'd continue with the Women's race to the finish--no ads, no stupid "features"!
And with that vow came the utter thrill of watching one of America's greatest athletes--past or present--in full-out powerful stride--cover the next Miles in 5:11, then 5:03 (!!!)--this being now her Coronation rather than a dramatic spine-tingling sprint finish with Mary Keitany!!

As she rounded each turn, Keitany was nowhere to be seen, and the crowds were thickening, and getting louder!
At about 25 meters from the finish--an iconic image was captured that defined Shalane's feelings & emotions!
The brief video showed her mouth screaming "FUCK YES!!!" to the World, triumphant in certain victory--with a stream of tears beginning to flow!!
Then the tape was broken--after 2:26:53 of a masterfully paced race!

Keitany, looking to struggle, crossed the line over a minute later (2:27:54), with Daska ending 3rd in 2:28:08.
Maybe not the fastest NYC Marathon--but, like Meb's win in Boston in 2014--iconic in American Women's Marathon history!
She'd become the 1st US Woman to win NYC in 40 years, since Miki Gorman's 1977 stunner!
Her Half splits were 1:16:08 and 1:10:45!!
She ran the final 2195 meters in 7 minutes flat!!

Edna Kiplagat--another Super Elite athlete--also "off" a bit, was 4th in 2:29:38.
But ending just ONE SECOND behind her came Allie Kieffer.
Huh?
Who?

I refer you to my post of April 10th, 2016, titled "Rust is Busted!".
Near its close, I reported on the initial INdoor Marathon, run on The Armory's 200 meter track!
Then, Ms Kieffer ran 2:44:44 to secure the American Record for this then-obscure-but-now-popular event!
That had been her first Marathon!
Her second was today's NYC OUTdoor race!
Her time was 2:29:39, a 15 minute PR!!
(Splits were 1:16:36 & 1:13:03!!)

And right "behind" Kieffer--but given the same time!--came the Italian Triathlete, Sara Dossena, who had earlier "led" the race!
This was her first "open" 26.2--and I'm not even sure if any of her Tri's included a Marathon!!

Kellyn Taylor was 8th in 2:29:56, while Stephanie Bruce was 10th in 2:31:44.

The Men's race was also snail-pace!
A large group hit the Half in 66:06--2:12:12 pace!
But unlike the Women, the pick-up was slower (sic!) in coming!
In fact, through 35K, their FASTEST split was 15:21--run between 10 & 15K!
(16:12, 15:43, 15:21, 15:33, 15:38, 15:30, and 15:39.)

Meb Keflezighi, at Age 42 running his "last" Marathon--or "elite" race of any kind!--had fallen back after being up front for a long time!

It finally came down to a "battle" between Mary Keitany's equal--Wilson Kipsang--and Geoffrey Kamworor--another Track racer with more current swift times!
While maybe not the definitive upset of Flanagan over Keitany, this would still be a significant win for Kamworor!

And yes, he won--in 2:10:53--over the closing rush of Kipsang's 2:10:56!
Kamroror looked strong, but Kipsang had finally gone into full-out sprint mode!
I mean, he was KICKING!!
Given another 200 meters, I'm not so sure he wouldn't have clipped Kamworor's wings!!

Lelisa Desisa was 3rd in 2:11:32.
Abdi Abdirahman was the leading American finisher--also in the "40 & over" Age category--in 2:12 and maybe a Quarter!
But Meb--first name only needed!--2 years further into his 40's--finished in 2:15:25--outside of the Top 10.
But who cared?!
His final Mile was just like Shalane's--emotional, happy, and popular with the adoring crowd!
After crossing the line, he fell to the ground--full body--needing help to get up!

Sort of similar to what happened to Shalane Flanagan at the close of the 2016 Olympic Trials race!
(Though he was spent from a cornucopia of emotions, while Flanagan had been just--SPENT!!)

Perhaps expected--after suffering serious blood clots earlier this year--Tatyana McFadden LOST her Wheelchair race to Manuela Schar of Germany--coming in 2nd almost 3 minutes behind!
Yet she was thankful and happy with her result!

The day before, NYC held its 5K Road race!
This was a case of "Good Golly, Miss Molly"--twice over!!
For it was not only last minute entrant Molly Huddle, but newbie Professional Molly Seidel, who finished 1-2--with Huddle prevailing in Course Record time of 15:24.
Seidel ran 15:35.
(The break had come early, with Huddle powering solo to the finish!)

Natasha Rogers took 3rd in 15:44, with Lauren Paquette passing an "off" Brenda Martinez for 4th, 15:44 to 15:47.
Stephanie Garcia was next, with Fair Play award winner from Rio Abbey D'Agostino running 16:00 in 7th!
She beat, among others, Desiree Linden (8th), Shalaya Kipp (9th), and Erin Finn (11th)!!

The Men's race was different--a slow picnic gathering of almost the entire field throughout most of the distance!
With a "lap" to go, Tommy Curtin tried to steal the race, literally PUSHING aside his competitors to take the lead!
(In a Track race, it MIGHT have DQ'ed him, IMO!)
Nonetheless, Shadrack Kipchirchir took the W in 13:57, one second "ahead" of Curtin's, Kirubel Erassa's, and Paul Chelimo's 13:58's!!
Another second "back" came the 13:59's of Abbiliya Simbassa and Ben True!
Will Leer was 8th in 14:01.

I want to clear the decks, so hang in there a minute more, please!!

At the Minnesota State HS Championship XC meet, Emily Covert won the Class AA division race in 17:30.
But it was another division which provided the shocks!
The Ping sisters went 2-3 (behind Tierney Wolfgram's 17:31).
It was the 7th Grader--Lauren Ping--who won that family battle!!
Grace Ping--the more familiar, um, Ping--was almost 8 seconds behind Lauren's 18:19!!

London Culbreath, another youthful stud, took the Texas State meet in a speedy 16:56.

My "Society" news this time leads off with a very sad and tragic story!
Ismael Juma, the Tanzanian National Record holder in the Half Marathon (59:30)--was killed in a motorbike collision at Age 26!!
He'd been planning to run the Half on November 19th in New Delhi!
A promising career cut tragically short!!

Wayde Van Niekerk--who had gotten married on October 29th (See previous post!)--was seriously injured playing a charity soccer game (!!!) just a day or 2 later--apparently on his honeymoon!!
He flew to the United States for surgery (knee), and has already begun his rehab!
Lost is his entire 2018 season!!

Finally, Mo Farah has officially split from NOP and Alberto Salazar--although he'd pretty much already done so over the past couple of years!!
This time, it's a 100% divorce!!

Soon to come--the Schedule for the 2017-2018 INdoor T&F season--now less than two weeks away!!
See you soon!

The Conferences

Before I begin, a little fable.

Once upon a time, there was this ancient blogger who called himself a Luddite.
This person uses his computer all day & all night--but knows almost ZIP on the intricacies of using it.
This person is weird.

One day, he spent much time typing out his latest post of his blog.
He was about to type his last sentence when--POOF!--he hit some key which made the whole thing just go KABLOOEY---and disappear!!

He spent a LONG time trying to get back all the hard work he'd just done--to no avail.
He gave up and wanted to cry.

Then he thought--I have this loyal group of readers who read my blog---and I can't let them down!
Even if they shake their heads & think---Jeez, why doesn't he LEARN how to use his computer?---I had to go back to work & produce that post---as close to the original as possible!
He did that--and lived happily ever after.

The End

Okay, dear friends--because of the above FIASCO (a true story!)--this post will be somewhat truncated (shortened), but will contain everything ESSENTIAL to knowing what went down in the NCAA's Conferences---plus some other items.

A few Conferences saw the individual leaders who SHOULD make up the front-runners in the NCAA's--just 19 days away!
(The Regionals come first, and I'll have a post about those too!)
As this blog doesn't do much XC, I'll concentrate here on those runners who I see as the REAL contenders for the individual crowns on November 18th.

MEN
Justyn Knight and Grant Fisher won their Conferences with hard "last lap" kicks!
While times aren't really important, sub-24:00 for 8K courses are considered good---weather & terrain differences notwithstanding.
Knight won the ACC in 23:13, with Brent Demarest closing in 23:15, and Colin Bennie another 2 seconds back.
Fisher's 23:44.9 whipped past Joe Klecker's 23:48 to take the PAC-12!
Steve Fahey, Alex Ostberg, and Mahmoud Moussa all ended around 23:51.

But if you're placing bets, don't discount the African trio (Kenyan?) from the SEC--names of Vincent Kiprop, Gilbert  Kigen, and Alfred Chelanga.
These 3 have been running fast times all season--and generally finishing in some order on the podium.

Another to watch--though I'm not aware of super fast track PR's from him--is Jerrell Mock, who won the Mountain West race in 23:49 by one second over Cole Rockhold, another unknown quantity!

In previous posts, I've noted the high placings by such as Rory Linkletter and Connor McMillan.
In the West Coast Conference, McMillan's 23:23 beat Daniel Carney, Casey Clinger, and Linkletter, all of whom ran close to 23:29.
Add those two to the clan of possible leaders at the NC's.

A few other names to watch on the Men's side--
Cooper Teare, Tanner Anderson, Austin Tamagno, and Reed Brown from the PAC-12.
Colin Bennie from the SEC.
Josh Kerr from Mountain West.
Edwin Kurgat.
The Big 12's Hassan Abdi, Luis Martinez, and Sam Worley.
And the Big 10 winner--unknown to me!--Oliver Hoere, whose 24:09 beat Joe Hardy's 24:13.
Abdi is probably the most serious contender from the above little group.

WOMEN
Once again, the PAC-12 might provide a bunch who will finish in the Top 30 on November 18th!
Dani Jones--like Grant Fisher--kicked out of the crowd on the final stretch to win, time of 18:57.3.
Also under 19 were Katie Rainsberger and Amy Eloise-Neale.
Vanessa Fraser and Grayson Murphy followed 4 or 5 seconds behind!
Further back--but fairly fast--came Lilli Burdon, Fiona O'Keefe, Bethan Knights, and Brie Oakley.

Karissa Schweizer dominated the SEC's, her 19:36 beating Taylor Werner by 31 seconds!!
Katy Kunc finished another 6 seconds back.
Then came the Drop Twins--Jessica & Samantha.
(I googled them--they're fraternal twins--and both run for Georgia--the same Georgia team that scored 62.5 points at the OUTdoor NCAA's this year---ALL in the Field events!  That could change in 2018!!)

Three other Conference winners (& assorted leaders) to watch are---
Sharon Lokedi from the Big 12.
She ran 20-flat, beating Anna West by 6 seconds!
Callie Logue, a Frosh, was 4th--but led the race early on!
Destiny Collins--alum of the Great Oak (CA) team--was 7th in 20:23.

The Mountain West was won by Ednah Kurgat, another one to watch in Louisville!
Her 19:58.8 beat Weini Kelati by about 13 seconds!
Charlotte Prouse took 3rd another 3 seconds back.
But Allie Ostrander may NOT be a serious contender this year!!
Her 20:27.9 took 4th, but was far off what she's capable of!
Alice Wright was 5th, but divided by 27 seconds from Allie O!!

Elinor Purrier--who recently beat Ms Schweizer with a hard kick--won the American East race by 48 seconds!!
It was a 5K.
Charlotte Imer also won a 5K race--time of 16:52, with 2nd a full 28 seconds behind!!
Paige Stoner, Dorcas Wasiki, and Dominique Clairmonte all went sub-20 in the ACC race, as did Catherine Rocha in the Big East race.
Rocha beat the 20:12 of Brianna Ilarda, and the 20:19 of Bella Burda.

The San Francisco State duo of Charlotte Taylor and Weronika Pyzik took the top 2 spots in the West Coast Conference race.
Taylor's 19:10 beat Pyzik by 20 seconds!
Both should be added to the "contenders" list!

Finally, do NOT overlook Katherine Receveur from Indiana, who won the Big 10 Conference in 20:10.
She led the entire way!
Madeline Strandema was 2nd in 20:13.
Sarah Disanza is slowly improving, taking 8th in 20:31.

The Frankfurt Marathon saw a quartet of Americans run good times.
Shure Tola won the Men's race in 2:05:50.
The NAZ Elite comprised the US group among the Men.
Scott Smith's 2:12:21 was a two-plus minute PR!
Scott Fauble ran 2:12:35 in his initial 26.2.
And Matt Llano--returning from THREE surgeries & months of lay-off--ran just a minute off his PR--time of 2:13:42.

Vivian Cheruiyot wanted a 2:20--or faster!--but fading over the final half, had to "settle" for the win, time of 2:23:35.
Gradually moving up from below 10th place early on, Sara Hall ended in 5th, less than 4 minutes behind Cheruiyot!
Her 2:27:21--run with steady pacing--took 45 seconds off her PR.
She moves from 22nd A-T US to 15th!!

I have just one HS XC result to report--but it's a doozie!!
Katelyn Tuohy took down the Course Record at the Bear Mountain (NY) race--her 15:55.3 run over a 3 Mile course!
BTW, one of Bob Dylan's earliest songs is called "Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues"!!
I'd say Tuohy MASSACRED that course!!
LOL

And yes, I have more Society items to report!
Molly Ludlow gave birth to her first child--a son--on October 23rd.
Alysia Montano should have her 2nd child in November!

Wayde Van Niekerk got married to a woman named Chesney Campbell this weekend!
Don't know anything about her (except that she's quite beautiful!!), but they became engaged last December!!

Finally, Kate Grace became the latest "Bowerman Babe"--the self-described nickname given to the growing group of female Superstars running under Jerry Schumacher at the Bowerman Track Club!!
Besides Grace, that gang includes Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg, Courtney Frerichs and Colleen Quigley, as well as Emily Infeld and Shelby Houlihan!!

Assuming I avoid another traumatic event, my next post will be my report of the NYC Marathon--and the LOADED Road 5K the day before!!

Then follows the NCAA Regionals (plus 3 of the 7 NXN Regionals).

A week after that comes the NCAA Championships of XC!

But intermixed with those will be my usual series of INdoor T&F Previews--Age and Class records--World, US, Collegiate & HS records--and what it takes to make my INdoor Top 24's--plus a detailed Schedule!!!

See you soon!

Results Indicate Strong XC Finish

Joyciline Jepkosgei has run SEVEN World Records!
She didn't break any records enroute--as she did when she ran her 64:52 WR in Prague a few months ago--but her 64:51 clipped one second off her astounding WR!
Using a 3 minute per Half slowdown rate, this indicates a potential Marathon time of 2:15:42---just 17 seconds off Paula Radcliffe's WR!
And SOME athletes are capable of sustaining a 2:30-per-Half slowdown rate, which would give Jepkosgei WR potential time of 2:14:42!!

But what can Tirunesh Dibaba--or Almaz Ayana--run?

Jepkosgei's time breaks her own National Record of Kenya, her own Age 23 record, besides her own WR!!
She of course remains 1st A-T World!

Fancy Chemutai was 2nd in a 65:38 PR.
She moves from 9th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 6th!

Abraham Cheroben won the Men's race in a non-PR of 59:11.
Leul Gebresilase was 2nd in 59:17, four seconds ahead of Fikadu Haftu!
But in 4th came Norway's Sondre Moen!!
His 59:47 is the 3rd fastest non-African Half!!
And it's Norway's National Record, obviously!

The Amsterdam Marathon was won in Course Record time by Lawrence Cherono.
His 2:05:09 was also a PR!
Nobert Kigen was a close 2nd in 2:05:13, with Abraham Kiptum's 2:05:26 taking 3rd.
Tadelech Bekele won the Women's race in 2:21:54.

In today's Toronto Marathon, Philomen Rono's 2:06:52 took 2 seconds off the Canadian Soil record, and was a slight PR!
Early leader Dickson Chumba faded to a shuffle over the last few K's, but still took second!

Well, friends, the Collegiate and High School Championship season is looming into view!
Less than 4 weeks to the NCAA's, and another 2 to 3 weeks for the NXN and Footlocker races!
So let's see what this (and last) weekend has brought us!

The Crimson Classic 8K saw an-all-Kenyan podium finish!
Jacob Choge's 23:22 led Vincent Kiprop's 23:26 and Gil Kigen's 23:34--fast times all!

Marta Freitas ran unattached, and won the Women's 6K by 30 seconds!
Her 19:53 was well clear of Brenda Kigen's 20:23.

But maybe the best result came way back in 262nd place!
(There were 280 finishers!)
Kayla Montgomery has returned to competition after a long lay-off following a serious relapse of her Multiple Sclerosis in the fall of 2015!
Her time of 26:16 (close to 7:00 per Mile pace!) is NOT impressive, UNTIL you remember that many MS victims can't even walk without use of a walker--and many need a wheelchair!
I hope this marks just the beginning of a huge comeback for this incredible woman!!

The Penn State races found Hassan Abdi's 25:12 and Bella Burda's 20:20 leading the way!

The Nuttycombe "B" races were won by Luis Vargas in 23:41 and Vallery Korir in 20:37!
Vargas was 57 seconds ahead of the runner-up!!

As for the "A" races---
Ednah Kurgat continued her strong season, her 19:23 winning by 16 seconds ahead of Grayson Murphy---who is unknown to me---or was!!
GB's Charlotte Taylor finished 3rd in 19:40, with Alice Wright's 19:45 edging Weronika Pyzik's 19:46 for 4th!
Pyzik is another "find" of this Collegiate XC season!!

Some big names finished further back--
Bethan Knights was 8th in 19:55
Allie Ostrander was 9th in 20:00, but seemed okay with that!
Fiona O'Keefe ended 12th.
Amy Eloise-Neale and Weini Kelati were 14th & 15th in 20:06 and 20:08!
Brie Oakley ran 20:19 in 26th.
Sarah Disanza was just 94th, time of 21:16!

Justyn Knight and Grant Fisher might be THIS close at the NCAA's too!!
They ended a sizzling sprint finish well less than a second apart, Knight edging Fisher, both around 23:39!
But Andy Trouard---another "unknown"!!--was just 2 seconds back, his 23:41 taking 3rd!

As with the Women, several "names" followed---
Aidan Tooker was 10th in 23:53.
Alex Ostberg was 12th, one second back of Tooker!
Jerell Mock was 16th in 23:58.
But Josh Kerr's 24:57 found him in 132nd!
And Noah Affolder's 26:05 was a bit further back--in 217th!!

The other "big" meet from a week ago was the Pre-Nationals!
The "B" races were won by Emmanuel Rotich and Hanna Christiansen.
Rotich's 23:47 was 16 seconds ahead of Austin Tamagno's 2nd place time.
Christiansen ran 20:49.
I mentioned awhile back (a year or two?) that I was impressed by Morgan Coonfield's performances in HS---as she was from McKinleyville (CA), just one town up from my former home in Arcata!
So I'm happy to report that she's running well--as her 7th place time of 21:15 indicates!

The main races produced an upset---of sorts!
Karissa Schweizer has all but been handed the Winner's Trophy for the NCAA's!
But Steeplechaser Elinor Purrier maybe has other ideas!
Schweizer took the lead about halfway through, and held it until Purrier's Miler's kick---um, kicked in!!
She beat the vaunted Schweizer by 1 second--19:28 to 19:29!!

Two others expected to finish high at NCAA's are Dani Jones and Katie Rainsberger.
They were 3rd & 4th here--times of 19:33 and 19:40!

Other top name finishers were---
Charlotte Imer in 5th (19:48)
Caroline Sang 6th (19:57)
Lilli Burdon and Sharon Lokedi--both 20:00 in 7th and 8th
The Drop Sisters of Georgia--Samantha and Jessica, in 13th & 14th (20:06 & 20:07)!!
And in 75th came Destiny Collins, time of 20:59!

The Men's race found Rory Linkletter continuing a strong season--as he won in 23:08!
Peter Seufer was 2nd in 23:10.
It was a tight finish, as Aman Kemboi and Azaria Kirwa were 3rd & 4th in basically the same time--23:11.
Dillon Maggard was next in 23:12, one second ahead of Conner McMillan!
Three stud (former) HS'ers performed well--
Casey Clinger's 23:17 took 7th.
Cooper Teare ran 23:45 in 30th, one second ahead of Reed Brown, who ended 32nd!!

Several HUGE names in Women's HS distance running have graduated, and are now in College!
But have no fear---as there's a slough of "replacements" to excite we rabid fans!!
In fact, some of these young ladies may even make us FORGET such HS greats as Mary Cain, Alexa Efraimson, Sarah Baxter, etc etc!
(Okay, maybe "forget" is a bit hyperbolic!!  LOL)

But let's begin with last week's Manhatten Invite in historic Van Cortland Park!
Katelyn Tuohy merely SHATTERED the 2.5 Mile Course Record (13:53 by Jess Lawson in 2015) by 32 seconds!!
Her 13:21 finished ahead of 2nd place by a mere---95 seconds!!!

Not sure where, but Jacqueline Gaughan ran the fastest 5K time of the season--16:48.
(She's another name I'm not familiar with!)

Have any of you watched the full race video (with a SHOUTING announcer blaring out Sarah Baxter's progress toward her (then-) record-shattering run!) from the 2012 Mt SAC Invite??
Please google it.
Makes you wonder what has happened to Ms Baxter these past few years!!

Anyway, you now have Claudia Lane's astounding 15:49 to behold!
Run on a VERY slightly different course (only the very end was changed, due to the Mt SAC track construction--and people have said that the altered course makes maybe a 1 second difference---if any!), Lane broke Baxter's time by 11 seconds!!
And just like Baxter in 2012, she won by a HUGE margin---53 seconds!
(Baxter's margin was about a full minute!)

The Men's race was fast too.
A mouthful of a name--Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau (!!)--won in 14:33.
Colin Fitzgerald was 2nd in 14:40, with Carlos Carvajal's 14:43 taking Bronze.

Back to Katelyn Tuohy again!!
This time--in the Bowdoin race--her 17:28.6 finished 91 seconds ahead of Silver!!
But maybe more interesting is that this was the 3rd fastest time ever run on this course---and that it broke one Mary Cain's Soph Class Course Record!!

With Tuohy and Lane, add London Culbreath, Kelsey Chmeil, and even Grace Ping--and you have the nucleus of another HS Elite Class that might see the HSR's (INdoors & OUTdoors) of Cain, Efraimson, and several others of recent vintage, broken during the 2018 seasons!
(I could probably add 5 or 10 more names to the above list!!)

Call this the "Comebackers Race"!!
Today's Mayor's Cup XC meet in Boston produced not one, but two comeback stories of some note---maybe three!!
Molly Seidel--injured the past year or more--won the 5K race in 16:18.
While 30 seconds back, it was a happy sight seeing Rio's "Fair Play" award winner (Co-winner--with Nikki Hamblin!), Abbey D'Agostino return to action after some SERIOUS surgery in a big way!!

She edged out Chelsea Blaase, whose 16:49 was 3rd, two seconds ahead of Violah Lagat!
Marathon specialist Des Linden ran 16:53 in 5th!

Another "comeback" story is that of Sarah Brown!
If you recall, she had an unexpected pregnancy to deal with prior to Rio, but despite giving birth in March, she ran in the Trials just 3 months later!
But a tweet today (by husband Darren) stated she'd ALSO had a bout with osteoporosis, plus 1 or 2 other problems!!
So her 17:20 time in 13th place bodes well for a possible strong return in 2018!!

The Men's 8K race (WHY this discrepancy in distances run in XC by Men & Women??) saw Ryan Mahalsky's 23:37 beat Tommy Curtin's 23:50!
Julian Oakley was 3rd in 23:57, while former Division III star Ian Lemere was 4th in 24:10.

Speaking of former Div III studs, "retired" Nick Symmonds won a small Half on the Oregon Coast (Newport).
His time of 1:24:17 in his first Half won't exactly scare anybody--but Old St Nick was impressed!
Isn't that what counts??
LOL

Okay, here's MORE "Society" news for you---
Two more "Athlete Babies" arrived--
Lauren Fleshman gave birth to daughter Zadie on October 8th!
And Valerie Adams had daughter Kimoana Josephine Adams-Price (KJAP---sort of the next generation SAFP???  LOL) on October 11th.

New training partners and groups were announced recently--
Kaela Edwards will train in Colorado with Emma Coburn and Aisha Praught-Leer, under the guidance of Coburn's new husband (as of their October 14th wedding in Hawaii!!), Joe Bosshard!!
I don't believe this indicates a switch to the SC, however!!

And Kendra Chambers now has Ajee Wilson and Charlene Lipsey as her new training partners!!
Chambers is represented by Oiselle!

Wilson Kipsang has said he's running the NYC Marathon--after he DNF'ed in Berlin!!

Finally, the venerable Ruth Beitia--Age Records icon--has retired!!
So this means the Age 39 and Age 40 HJ records are safe---unless she changes her mind!!

Most likely, my next post will be immediately following the NYC Marathon!
But next weekend, most of the major Conferences will be having their XC meets!
If results warrant, I MIGHT have a brief report!

See you soon!!

Chicago extends US distance base

At the 13.1 Mile mark of this morning's Chicago Marathon (the 40th edition!), Jordan Hasay was 1 second behind Tirunesh Dibaba--in a pack of 5--who was then on pace to finish in 2:16, the 2nd fastest time in history.

Galen Rupp was jogging past the Half--not even at sub-2:12 pace--but in a much larger pack--between 15 and 20, including the temporary leader, Aaron Braun!

Things started picking up---from 15:30 5K's to 15-flats--after 25K!
This left just Rupp and Abel Kirui left to do battle.
Somewhere in that 10K, Rupp gapped Kirui by 15 seconds!

Then he started running!
A trio of low-4:30 Miles left him free to cruise home--all smiles--to a new PR of 2:09:20!!
Rupp's Halves were 66:06 and 63:14!
He moves from 16th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 10th!

Kirui finished in 2:09:48, while Bernard Kipyego was 3rd in 2:10:23.

Braun faded to 12th, time of 2:13:41.
But Chris Derrick, in his first 26.2 race, was 9th in 2:12:50.
Andy Bumbalough was 13th in 2:14:04.

After the Half, Dibaba kicked into high gear, blasting away from Hasay--and everyone else--except Brigid Kosgei, a 24 year old whose PR was in the 2:24's!!
Hasay fell off by 21 seconds at 25K, but was still motoring at American Record pace!

However, the next Miles found Hasay slowing, fading to 4th, and no longer endangering Deena Kastor's AR!
She then picked it up a bit, returning to the Bronze position!

Dibaba ended in 2:18:30--her Halves in 68:48 and 69:42!
Not bad for running solo the final 15K, with not even any men around her!
She gets the Age 32 record!

Kosgei took a few minutes off her PR, cutting it to 2:20:22!
This makes her 23rd A-T World!

Hasay fell from her 68:50 first Half all the way to 72:07, but her 2:20:57 cut over two minutes from her Boston debut time of 2:23:00!!
She moves from 5th to 2nd on the A-T US list!
And she misses the newly revised World list by just 30 seconds!!

Maegin Kritchin was the next American, ending 7th in 2:33:41.
Alia Gray was 8th in 2:34:25!

The TV coverage (NBCSN) was generally excellent!
Nice scenes post-finish of Rupp with Alberto Salazar (who looked to be crying!) and Rupp's wife and children!!

Tatyana McFadden won her 8th Chicago Wheelchair race--and 7th consecutive---DESPITE having blood clot surgery earlier this year!!

The Cross Country scene is beginning to show who's who and what's what!
Especially at the Collegiate and HS levels.

Katelyn Tuohy ran 2 solid races in a row!
She won her state champs in 17:16 (5K).
Her brother Patrick won the Men's race in 16:28!
Tuohy would have ended 6th in that race, and 3rd on her brother's team!!

Even more impressive was her latest run--where she ran 14:06.88 over what was said to be a 4500 meter course!!
IF the distance is accurate, and IF she continued apace over the next 500 meters, her 5000 time would've been around 15:40!!
She's just a Sophomore!!!

In a Pennsylvania race, Marlee Starliper ran the fastest 5K course time of the year--16:50!
On the Men's side--in an Ohio race--Zach Kreft ran an impressive 14:30 for 5K!
Dustin Horter was 2nd in 14:37.
They're 1-2 in the US High school ranks!

Lexy Halladay ran 17:20 to take the Nike Portland race!
In North Carolina, Kelsey Chmiel won easily in 16:50.
Second was 36 seconds back!!
The most impressive Men's win goes to Brodey Hasty, a HS'er!
His 15:02 brought him home well in front (2nd was 45 seconds behind!!) of a group of Collegians!
Though, to be fair, these were NOT top-ranked Collegians!
This was in a race at Furman!!

The Notre Dame Invite saw Ednah Kurgat steam through 5K in 16:01.8, beating Alice Wright by 11 seconds!
Dani Jones was 3rd, just behind Wright.

Other big names were Bethan Knights (5th), Weini Kelati (6th), Brie Oakley (12th), Destiny Collins (33rd), and Ryen Frazier (55th)!

The Men's 8K at the Dellinger Invite found Clayton Young winning in 23:42, one second ahead of Rory Linkletter, who was in turn 1 second in front of Connor McMillan!
Casey Clinger was another 3 seconds back, but his 23:47 is a good time for a Freshman!
Alex Ostberg was 6th, with Cooper Teare in 9th, Austin Tamagno in 30th, and 3:59.30 HS Miler Reed Brown--also a Frosh--in 34th!

The Women's race's results showed Katie Rainsberger as having SMASHED the Course Record (6K) with her 18:47!
But when many people finished with massive PR's, UO coach Maurica Powell said the course was short by over 300 meters--proven true!
So NO Course Record---but still an impressive runaway victory by 19 seconds over Lili Burdon!
Amy Eloise-Neale was 6th, with Fiona O'Keefe in 7th, Ella Donaghu 21st, and 800 specialist Brooke Feldmeier back in 107th--and last!!

The Notre Dame Men's 5 Mile (NOT 8K!!) was dominated by Kenyans--Gil Kigen, Vince Kiprop, and Albert Chelanga--all of whom finished in the 23:20's!
BTW, 5 Miles is about 8045 meters!!

The Chile Pepper races went to Alex George (10K in 29:45) and Aminat Olowara (5K in 16:23).

The Louisville KY XC races went to Matthew Baxter in a quick 23:10 and Allie Ostrander, who won by 8 seconds in 16:28.
Tyler Day was just 1 second behind Baxter, with Luis Grijalva 9th in 23:42.
Charlotte Imer was 2nd to Allie O, with Allie Buchalski next in 16:42.
Remember Sarah Disanza--the gal who ran an INdoor 5000 in 15:20 & change a few years ago?
She was 12th  in 16:54!

Oh, forgot to mention---one of Ostrander's shoes came loose around 1K.
She finally kicked it off with a K to go!!

Karissa Schweizer won impressively at the Cowboy Jamboree in Oklahoma City.
Her 6K time of 19:56 found her ending 29 seconds in front!!

You might have heard that Emma Coburn had organized a 5K race in her hometown of Crested Butte, Colorado!
Well, it was a success, with Paul Chelimo taking the Men's race in 14:59.
Ian Butler was 2nd in 15:02, with Will Leer 3rd in 15:08.

Elvin Kibet completely dominated the Women's race, her 16:52 finished a full minute & 3 seconds ahead of the runner-up!!

Times slow?
Not so much if you take into account that Crested Butte is at 8900 feet of altitude!!

To wrap up my XC report, let me state that a VERY famous name finished in 5th place in the Men's 10K at the Carleton (MN) Running of the Cross meet!!
Ever hear of John Lennon??

No, not THAT John Lennon---but still...!!!
(He's a Junior at Grinnell College!!)

Speaking of races in Minnesota, I'll close my results report with the Metronic TC 10 Mile Road race!
Shadrack Kipchirchir won it in 47:32, with Len Korir 1 second back, and Emmanuel Bor another sec behind!
Haron Lagat ended next in 47:39.

Sara Hall took the Women's race in 53:41 over Natosha Rogers's 53:45.
Aliphine Tuliamuk was 3rd in 53:49.

Interesting trivia note--
This was a handicapped race, with the Women supposed to start 6:18 before the Men, with a $10,000 bonus to the overall winner!
At first, it was reported that Korir had won the cash---even though he was 2nd man!!--a mistake by the officials!
But that wasn't the only error!
You see, the Women started with just 6:10 headstart--NOT the 6:18!
Thus, Hall finally took home the $10 grand---although I've heard that Kipchirchir (??) also was allowed to keep his bonus!
(Let's Run people discovered the time error!!)

Oops, forgot one more race!
The Cardiff (Wales) Half saw John Lotiang winning the Men's race in 60:42.
The Women's race went to Edith Chelimo, who took about 3 minutes off her PR, running 65:52!
It's the Age 31 record!
She's now 9th A-T World, tied with 1 other!

Cut OFF my Half list was a real icon of the sport--Ingrid Kristiansen!!
Her 66:40 from 1987 was then the World Record!!

Okay, folks!
I don't want to turn this blog into a "Society" column---reporting on weddings, divorces, births, etc!
But when the wedding count moves into overdrive, you take notice!

Since the (former) Weeks twins (Tori & Lexi) began this trend with July & August weddings, respectively, there have been a few others, with yet one more soon to be!

I already reported on Phoebe Wright getting hitched!
Melissa Bishop--Canadian 800 star--wed a Nigerian man she met in College--Osi Nriagu, a former LJ'er while in college!
Kyle Merber joined the party--his wedding taking place in Ireland!
Don't know her name, or if she's Irish!
And of course, Emma Coburn will be marrying her long-time sweetheart (and current coach!) Joe Bosshard in a few days!!

While I'm at it, have I already told you that Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce (SAFP) gave birth to a son on August 7th??
(She's reportedly to begin training for 2018 sometime this month!!)
Jessica Ennis-Hill joined THAT party, as she had her child just last week!!
(And remember, Valerie Adams is due to give birth in November!!

And that IS a wrap!!

(Now less than 6 weeks to the first INdoor meet of any significance!!)

T&F's Characters--The Videos

Are you a Social Media--or You Tube--or just an Internet junkie?

(Or even a sometime casual viewer!)

Then you probably have noticed an increase in the number of videos (lasting anywhere from a few seconds to an hour or more) being produced & posted by various Track & Field athletes!

As Usain Bolt's final (??) year of racing ended, talk abounded as to whether the sport could survive withOUT such a Mega-Star!

Forget the "GOAT" discussions!  WR's get broken---and SOMEday---Bolt's 9.58 & 19.19 will be surpassed!
No, I'm talking of a personality that more "austere" sports (baseball, golf, football) doesn't allow, or at least downplays!
Sport is "SERIOUS"---a "life or death" battle---can't be funny, can't be "different"!!

BULLSHIT!!

T&F keeps turning out "characters"--even if those dull NBC post-event interviews just bore you silly, and fail to show this spirited side of our elite athletes!
But turn to Twitter, and---as I have---you will find several examples of T&F athletes BEING human---offering unusual talents, a "all work & no play makes Jack a dull boy" mentality that might surprise you!

Some of these are "professionally" done--as in Carrie Tollefson's "C Tolle Run" videos and her audio podcasts!

There are biographical informational vids showing athletes in training, with their coaches telling us how they're doing.

For me, I think it began with "Catching Kayla", the ESPN 60 video about MS victim Kayla Montgomery!

It made me cry, as it did Shalane Flanagan and many others!

Lolo Jones kept putting out videos of herself in funny situations!

I remember her InstaGram (??) vids when she was recovering from surgery!

There were those Flotrack vids (not all of them free!!)--their "Driven" series--especially the ones about Alexa Efraimson!

Sandi Morris showed her quirky side with videos showing her with her pet snakes!!

Then she put out some REALLY funny vids about stupid things people say to PV'ers!

And now she's turning out music videos, with her singing and playing acoustic guitar!

She is TALENTED!!
(Surely as good as Brigetta Barrett, another whose singing vids went viral!)

Emma Abrahamson---a mid-class (16 minute 5K's) distance runner at Oregon--has just posted several "Day in the Life" vids of the Ducks XC team---the Women, but showing some of the guys!
UO Coach Maurica Powell says she approves of & likes them, but doesn't do Social Media herself!

Of course, there have been several movies made which are basically extended videos.
Documentaries like "Fire On the Track" about Prefontaine, or "We Grew Wings" about the 1985 & 2011 Women's UO teams!
But these are less spontaneous, more planned & plotted out than, say, Abrahamson's vids!

During the recent World Championships in London, Natasha Hastings turned out a few of her "Tea Time" videos!
These are basically Skype-type vids showing "Tasha" talking to the screen and holding intimate conversations with some of her friends---Allyson Felix, Jenna Prandini, Sharika Nelvis, Eric Kynard, Tianna Bartoletta, Kellie Welles (She has a married name now--can't recall it offhand!), and others!
A few of these were longer than an hour, and were as informal as you could get!

In case you haven't noticed, all of the above are by and/or about Women!!
Part of this may be due to my own predilections---I love women!!
But I also can't think of any MEN in our sport who have produced these types of videos!!

One "candidate" to do so might be Kyle Merber!
His Tweets are funny and honest--two ingredients that make us who we are!!

But are guys's make-up compatible with making self-deprecating style videos, showing their own "silly" side?

(And is it sexist for me to believe that Women can, and do, better & more often than Men??)

If Seb Coe and other powerful "Athletics" execs want to change our sport "for the better", they might want to check out all of the above!!
He (they) will see current elite athletes as the "entertainers" they are---just like Usain was & is!!

BTW, while I've focused here on the visual (& audio, in the case of Carrie's podcasts), I strongly recommend you READ some VERY well-written, and informative, and funny, and serious, and PERSONAL (read "intimate"!!) blogs!
(Besides mine, that is!!  LOL)

Start with Phoebe Wright!
Then add Lauren Fleshman.

And more recently, Morolake Akinosun and Tianna Bartoletta!

Speaking of the latter, I'm seeing Tianna's as the most LITERARY--at least in the way she presents her thoughts on the page.
It's like a poem come to life---ABOUT a life, a person, a human being!
As a writer, I've always seen the written word as being more than just the message of its words & sentences--it's in the FORM it's presented to us on the page!!

Form can add power & depth to what are just gray-type words!
And Ms Bartoletta--of the ones I've read-- does it best!!

So watch, listen, read!

And discover a whole new side to our athletes!!

2017 OUTdoor Collegiate AOY's

Finally!!
Sorry for the delay!

Guidelines are simple--
ALL marks are OUTdoors!
The Collegiate season ENDS when the final event of the NCAA Championship meet is completed!
NO marks made by Collegiates after the meet are eligible for consideration!!
I'll do the Men first.

There were FOUR Collegiate Records by the Men this year!
Christian Coleman ran 9.82 in the 100.
Fred Kerley blasted a 400 in 43.70.
Lindon Victor scored 8539 points in the Decathlon.
And the Texas A&M Sprint Medley Relay team ran 3:11.94!

Class Records went to Nathon Allen's 44.52 as a Frosh.
To Josh Kerr's 1500 of 3:35.99 as a Soph.
Coleman's 9.82 is the sole Junior Class record!
Kerley's 400 & Victor's Dec are the Senior Class records!!

NCAA Meet Records went to Coleman's 9.82 and Ionnis Kyriazis's JT of 270-11.

CHRISTIAN COLEMAN is the Aaron K's T&F Record Book's Athlete of the Year for the 2017 OUTdoor season!!
He didn't win this as easily as he won his races this year!
After all, Fred Kerley's 43.70 (in a HEAT!!) took 0.30 off the previous CR--and of course was the first sub-44 by a Collegiate (not counting marks AFTER the NCAA meet!!).
Lindon Victor's 8539 Dec was his 2nd of 3 this season!
All were high-scoring!
You also had Emmanuel Korir's spectacular 1st year at UTEP in both the 800 & 400!
But when the fog drifted off, there was the smallish dynamo with the initials of CC standing VERY tall!!
But all of the other above-named get & deserve Honorable Mentions!!
More HM's go to Josh Kerr, Justyn Knight & Kyriazis!
Note that FIVE of the six HM's last names begin with K!!

The Performance of the Year was a tough decision to make!
Sure, Coleman's 100 time was GREAT, but isn't also Kerley's 43.70, or Victor's 8539??
Or even Kyriazis's early season 288-9 in the Javelin?
I chose Kerley's 43.70 as my POY!
As noted, it came in a heat.
The fact that he ran several other fast times adds luster!
Also, he broke the CR by a larger percentage of margin than Coleman did---though true mathematicians might tell me I'm wrong!!
If Korir had run his PR of 1:43.10 DURING the season, the award might have gone to him!!
BTW, Coleman had a pair of marks under consideration---his 200 time of 19.85 being the other!
All the above named get HM's, including Coleman for his 200!

As noted in my HS post, my Event of the Year goes to the event with the most 2017 marks on my various DDD's!
We had a TIE this year!
With 5 marks each were the 100 and the 4X100 Relay!
(Goes hand in hand---just as the BATON is supposed to in the sprint Relay!!  LOL)
Four marks each included the DMR and the 400H.
The 200, 400, Decathlon, and the 4X400 Relay had 3 marks apiece.
With a pair were the 800, PV, SP, and the HT.
The 1500, 5000, DT, and JT have just 1 each.
Striking out were the Mile, 10000, 3000SC, 110H, HJ, LJ, and TJ!

My Personality of the Year goes to someone I've often been critical of here!
ED CHESEREK ran too many races in his Collegiate career for medals or points, NOT time!!
But you can't deny the power of his presence---especially when he was ABSENT!!
Injured in May, he was forced to skip the NCAA's, thus ending his career with "just" 17 Golds for Oregon, IN & OUT!
It was then that I realized what he meant to Collegiate T&F---not just in 2017, but in the 3 years prior!
His athletic skills may not have been present in Eugene in June, but King Ches was!

Following are all the athletes with marks on my Collegiate OUTdoor Top 24 Performers list!
Events not listed have ZERO!
100---Coleman (9.82--CR--1st), Burrell (9.93--6th, tied with 4 others), Belcher (9.93--6th, tied with 4 others), Skeen (9.98--19th, tied with 2 others), Mitchell-Blake (9.99--22nd, tied with 3 others)
200---Coleman (19.85--2nd), Richards (19.97--10th, tied with 1 other), Belcher (20.01--14th)
400---Kerley (43.70--CR--1st), N Allen (44.52--13th), E Korir (44.53--14th, tied with 1 other)
800---E Korir (1:43.73--2nd), I Harris (1:45.12--20th, tied with 1 other)
1500--Kerr (3:35.99--6th)
5000--Knight (13:17.51--5th)
400H--Futch (48.32--9th), Benjamin (48.33--10th), Mowatt (48.49--17th), B Robinson (48.58--23rd, tied with 2 others)
PV---Nilsen (18-9.50--12th), Laidig (18-8.25--19th, tied with 7 others)
SP---Hassan (69-11--16th), Miheljevic (69-10.25--17th)
DT--B Williams (213-8--16th)
JT--Kyriazis (288-9--2nd)
HT--Dudarev (243-5--19th), A Young (241-8--24th, tied with 1 other)
Dec--Victor (8539--CR--1st), D Williams (8345--6th), Wieland (8201--18th)
4X100--Houston (38.34--6th), NC A&T (38.48--9th), Texas (38.68--16th), UO (38.76--20th), Ohio St (38.92--23rd)
4X400--Arkansas (3:01.84--19th), Iowa (3:01.91--20th), Auburn (3:02.10-22nd, tied with 1 other)
DMR--Middle Tenn (9:33.25--14th), Penn (9:33.35--16th), Columbia (9:34.92--18th), Buffalo (9:35.72--20th)

Onward to the Women!!

Collegiate Records were numerous on the Women's side--with Relays leading the charge!!
UO's Ducks garnered FOUR of them--42.12 in the 4X100 (later tied!), 1:28.78 in the 4X200, 3:23.13 in the 4X400, and 3:39.05 in the SMR!!
(The latter lasted all of FOUR MINUTES!!!  See my earlier post for details of that tumultuous day of SMR Record-breaking!!)
LSU tied UO's 4X100 mark.
And Texas A&M was the squad that took over from UO with their SMR time of 3:39.04!!
Individual CR's went to Raevyn Rogers's 1:59.10 in the 800, to Kyra Jefferson's 22.02 in the 200, and to Maggie Ewen's HT of 240-7!!
So there were NINE CR's set this season!

Class Records went to--
Katie Rainsberger's 4:11.58 in the 1500, Rochelle Burton's 12.65 in the 100H, Kate Hall's 22-1 LJ (but tied with 1 other!), and Nina Schultz's 6021 Heptathlon all got Frosh Class records!
The lone Soph Class mark went to Tobi Amusan's 12.57 in the 100H.
Junior Class records go to Aleiah Hobbs's 10.85, Deajah Stevens's 22.09 in the 200, Rogers's 1:59.10 two-lapper, Keturah Orji's 46-11.50 TJ, and Ewen's 240-7!
Jefferson's 22.02 was the only Senior Class record!

There were a trio of Meet Records at the NCAA's--
Jefferson's 200, Ewen's HT, and the Ducks 4X400 Relay mark!

My policy is to omit Relays for consideration for "Athlete" of the Year!
After all, FOUR athletes comprise a Relay team!
So while the quality--AND the quantity!--of CR's in the Relays were stupifying, I decided to stick to my policy!
Thus, KYRA JEFFERSON is my 2017 Collegiate Athlete of the Year!!
Since I give highest consideration to those who break records in one of my 4 core groups (World, US, Collegiate, HS), I basically had 3 athletes from which to choose!
I went with Jefferson (over Rogers & Ewen) because that 22.02 broke one of the most respected (& oldest!!) CR's on the books--Dawn Sowell's 22.04 from 1989!!
And it came in a race that was thrilling to watch!
The rest of her season wasn't much to speak of, but that one race--in the most important meet of the year--tipped the scales to Ms Jefferson!
HM's go to Rogers, Ewen, Amusan, Hobbs, as well as to neophyte Steeplechaser Allie Ostrander, Jamaica's new SP find Danielle Thomas, and to Anna Rohrer!

Again, my Performance of the Year goes to Jefferson's half-lapper!!
For the reasons mentioned above!
HM's go to Ewen, Hobbs, Ostrander, and TWO for Rogers, whose 4X400 Relay leg of 49.77 powered the Ducks to a thrilling win in the NCAA's final event--giving them a pair of victories--the race AND the meet!!

The Event of the Year for the Women was the 4X100 Relay---by a mile--figuratively speaking!!
It had EIGHT marks making my DDD list!!
With 5 each were the 100, 100H, and the PV.
Four marks came from the JT, Heptathlon, and the DMR.
Three each go to the 200, 400, 10000, 3000SC, SP, DT, and the HT.
A pair go to the Mile, HJ, LJ, and the 4X400 Relay.
The 800 and 400H have 1 each.
With NONE are the 1500, 3000, 5000, and TJ!!

I love choosing my Personality of the Year MORE than I do my other awards!
Why?
Because its criteria aren't based on things measurable by a stopwatch or tape measure.
It goes into the true heart of our sport--what makes it tick & inspire others--the qualities that make us Humans!!
For those reasons, my Personality of the Year doesn't go to the best ATHLETE, but to the most interesting person--for whatever reason, good or bad!
(Keep in mind that Time magazine's "Person of the Year" choices have included some VERY evil people!!)
Thus, my Personality of the Year goes to 3 Women!!
And two of them USED to have the same last name!!
I speak obviously of the (former) WEEKS twins, TORI and LEXI!
They both got married this summer--Tori in July, Lexi in August--so will not be known by Weeks anymore!
(Don't ask me now their new names--I'd have to look it up, and I'm lazy!!  LOL)
But I give them this award for BEING the twins they are--in their looks, and in their wedding plans!!
The other award goes to ALLIE OSTRANDER!!
I chose her not so much for her fast times in the SC, but for the fact she's even RUNNING such an event, being all of 5 feet "tall"!!
She has perfect (Emma Coburn-style) form, and appears capable of going much faster!
But she gets it for being a Mountain Racer too!!
In fact, she won one of her races this season after winning a Mountain race in Wales (??), then flying home, and running the race a day or 2 later!
She's just a really fascinating person!

Finally, here's all the Women who have marks dated 2017 on my OUTdoor DDD lists---
100---Hobbs (10.85--2nd), M Brisco (10.96--5th, tied with 2 others), Stevens (11.00--11th, tied with 1 other), Henderson (11.01--12th, tied with 1 other), D Carter (11.05--24th, tied with 1 other)
200---Jefferson (22.02--CR--1st), Stevens (22.09--3rd), D Hill (22.41--23rd)
400---C Gordon (50.39--7th, tied with 1 other), Wimbley (50.40--9th), Ellis (50.45--10th)
800--Rogers (1:59.10--CR--1st)
Mile--Purrier (4:32.05--5th), H Green (4:32.50--6th)
10000--Rohrer (31:58.99--7th), C Taylor (32:11.80--12th), Wright (32:29.28--23rd)
3000SC--Ostrander (9:41.31--13th), Purrier (9:43.65--20th), Boreman (9:46.48--24th)
100H---Amusan (12.57--4th), J Camacho-Quinn (12.58--5th), Burton (12.65--11th), A Johnson (12.69--15th), Charleton (12.74--23rd, tied with 1 other)
400H---Watson (54.52--12th)
HJ---Fagan & Gusan (6-3.25--22nd's, tied with 3 others each)
LJ---S Saunders (22-1.75--19th, tied with 2 others), Hall (22-1--22nd, tied with 2 others)
PV---Rhodes (15-1.50--5th, tied with 1 other), Grove (15-1--7th, tied with 2 others), Clute & T Weeks (??) (14-11--11ths, tied with each other), Gruver (14-9--14th, tied with 4 others)
SP---Thomas (62-10--2nd), Woodard (60-3--12th), Farmer (59-5.50--21st)
DT---S Lawrence (205-4--10th), Knibb (203-7--13th), Ewen (198-6--22nd)
JT---Sediva (192-9--12th), Vucevenic (192-2--13th), Wales (191-0--14th), Pryke (186-9--21st)
HT--Ewen (240-7--CR--1st), B Anderson (225-1--16th), Llano (221-2--23rd, tied with 1 other)
Hept--K Williams (6354--5th), T Brooks (6099--14th), Stumbaugh (6023--23rd), Schultz (6021--24th)
4X100--(UO & LSU--42.12--CR's--1st's, tied with each other), Kentucky (42.51--4th), Alabama (42.56--6th), San Diego St (42.99--11th), Auburn (43.02--12th), Clemson (43.31--15th), Arkansas (43.34--16th)
4X400--UO (3:23.13--CR--1st), USC (3:23.35--2nd)
DMR--Penn St (10:56.07--7th), Notre Dame (10:58.22--11th), Indiana (11:02.25--16th), Columbia (11:02.32--17th)

Not sure when my next post will be, as I'm now in what I like to call my vacation period!
OUTdoor season is over, except for the Marathons & other Road races.
I don't do much with XC!
And my INdoor Previews won't begin until November!
But rest assured that whatever happens--on or off the Track & Field--will be reported ASAP, and in as much Detail as possible!!

See you---whenever!!

Berlin, XC & other stuff

First, let me apologize for the delay in posting my Collegiate AOY etc picks!
Should be today!
That said, this post includes some additions & corrections to my High School AOY post!
Scanning the T&FN website's lists, I found a few marks I missed during the year that make my DDD lists!
However, while my HS lists needed revision, none of the changes affected my choices for the various awards!
But I'll begin this post with those new marks!

There is some confusion regarding Sydney McLaughlin's 22.96 in the 200!
Originally listed as wind-legal, T&FN now has it in their windy column!
But someone on their MB says that there was "NWI"---or no wind info on it.
Thus it remains unclear whether it's legit, despite T&FN saying it was wind-aided!
So I've decided---for now---to keep her mark on my list!!
If Jack Shepard's HS Track book for 2018 says it was windy, THEN I'll erase it from my list!!

Clare Martin's 3000SC best is 10:25.80, not the time I listed in my AOY post!
This makes her 6th A-T HS!

Annie Hill ran 3000 meters in 9:16.80.
This makes her 13th A-T HS!
Also, the count of 2017 marks for the 3K rises to 2!

The Women's DT adds 2 marks!
This gives that event 3 marks from 2017, but doesn't change my Event of the Year selection!
The new marks are---
Ashley Anumba's 177-8, which makes her 22nd A-T HS
Obi Annaechi's 177-0, which makes her 24th A-T HS!

The Women's HT also adds a pair of marks, bringing that event's total to 4, but also not changing my EOY!!
Mahenli Forrest threw the ball & chain 188-0, making her 18th A-T HS!
Molly Leppelmaier reached 185-0, giving her 24th A-T HS!

The Men's HT added a foot to Jacob Slate's PR.
His new mark of 232-1 gives him 20th A-T HS!
The event still has 3 marks from 2017!

The Women's JT adds Kaelyn Shipley's 163-6, making her 22nd A-T HS!
And Jonathan Ply scored 7111 in the Decathlon!
He's 10th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
This moves Kyle Garland to 18th A-T, tied with 1 other!
But the event's 2017 total of 2 doesn't change anything!

I'll save my Berlin report for the end, so next up are some Cross Country results of note!

An oldie (one week old?) comes from a Seattle race, where Amy Eloise-Neale won with a time of 20:30 over the 6K route!

A Virginia race found Amon Kemboi winning over 8K in a quick 23:31, with Lawrence Kipkoech a hair or 2 back!
Caroline Sang took the Women's 5K in 17:05!

The Roy Griak meet's main races went to Jerrell Mock (24:52 over 8K).
He beat Grant Reynolds, who ran 25:03.
Weronika Pyzik---Yes, the spelling is correct!!!---beat Charlotte Taylor, 21:09 to 21:11.
Both run for San Francisco State, with Pyzik being a Junior!

An upset of sorts in the Women's HS race!
Grace Ping finished second!!
Emily Covert's 18:13 finished 8 seconds in front of the now-9th Grade phenom!!
Her sister Lauren was 5th in 18:49.
Another Frosh--Anna Fenske--ended third, 10 seconds back of Ping!

The Men's HS race saw a quick 15:49 run by David Peters!
Matt Carmody was 23 seconds behind, while Carlos Carvajal ended in 3rd, another 11 seconds back!

The meet at Texas A&M gave some fast times!
Brian Barraza ran 23:51 over the 8K course, beating Alex Riba's 23:58!
For the Women, it was Susannah Lynch's 20:23 beating Brenley Goertzen's 20:36 over 6K!

The Beantown meet saw Elinor Purrier winning in 16:48, while Jesse Reiser took the Men's race in 24:12!

Loudoun County is famous for being where Drew Hunter went to HS!
Their XC meet saw Peter Morris winning in 15:11.
He beat the better known Sam Affolder's 15:19.

The Women's race had Natalie Morris running 17:49.
I mention her because she also attends Loudoun Valley HS, and is a Grade lower than Peter, so I'm wondering if they're brother and sister!

Speaking of familiar names---
When someone asks my name, and I say it's Aaron, some folks think I said ERIN!!
Well, the Tabor College Invite's Women's winner was one ERIN Krohn!!
NO, she is NOT related to me---as far as I know!!
(Her winning time was 19:30, and she's a Soph at Mid-American Nazarene Community College!  This meet was apparently a CC meet, held in Kansas!)
In 17th came Elizabeth Krohn!
She's a Freshman at the same school as Erin, so they've gotta be sisters!!

This same meet's Men's winner was a guy named Benard Langat!
This Northwest Kansas Frosh's name sounds awfully similar to some dude named Bernard Lagat!!
(Gotta reread George Carlin's hilarious bit on funny names from his Braindroppings book!!  LOL)

BERLIN!!!
No World Record, but some amazing & shocking results nonetheless!!

Eliud Kipchoge--he of the infamous 2:00:25 helped-in-every-way-imaginable Marathon earlier this year--won the race, but NOT easily!!

After an initial kilometer of 2:50, a group of 5 (not counting the 3 pacers) hit 5000 in 14:28.
But that was their fastest 5K split of the day!!
They ran 14:36 (29:04), 14:40 (43:44), and 14:34, bringing them to 20K in 58:18!
They hit the Half in 1:01:29, faster than Dennis Kimetto ran in his 2:02:57, but forcing them to run a negative split race if they wanted a World Record!!

Their next two splits were 14:32 and 14:34---fast, but not enough to keep them on Kimetto's pace!
And then Wilson Kipsang suddenly DNF'ed!!
Right after taking water, he and one of the pacers stopped suddenly!
There was no sign of injury, or even fatigue, so WHY he dropped out is unknown at this time!!

Also apparently DNF'ing was Ken Bekele--although his came later!
He'd fallen behind, and then kept falling back, until his name suddenly disappeared from the leaderboard!

So, did this leave the race open to a guaranteed Kipchoge victory?
Not quite!

Ever hear of  Guye Adola of Ethiopia?
Good, because neither had I!!
My 2017 Athletics Annual (Had to look it up during the race!) says his track 10K PR is 27:09 and change!
A decent time---if you're an American!
But not so if you're from Ethiopia or Kenya!!

So Kipchoge's "clear" road to a W became somewhat foggy when--after the other Super Studs had ended their run---he shockingly found Adola right there with him!!

Then, shock of shocks, Adola skipped AHEAD!!
And spread the gap!!
Could he win??
Would he beat the legendary Eliud Kipchoge??

Sorry, but no, as Eliud passed him in the final stretch leading to the Brandenburg Gate and the finish line!
Kipchoge's time was 2:03:32---a 15:04 split between 35 & 40K sent them way south of any WR possibilities!!
He gets the Age 32 record!

Adola ran 2:03:46, looking strong to the end!
He's 26, but didn't get the Age record!
He didn't run faster than Bekele's NR of 2:03:03 either!
However, his time IS faster than Haile Gebrselassie ever ran!!
It makes him 9th A-T World!!
(Again, I include times from Boston on my lists!!)
Oh, did I mention that this was Adola's FIRST race over the 26.2 mile distance??
Some said his was the fastest-ever debut Marathon!
It was, IF you leave out results from Boston!!
But Moses Mosop's 2:03:06 from Boston was faster!

Ryan Vail ran 2:12:40 as apparently the lone American in the race!

The Women saw a pack of six run the Half in 1:09:40, all on sub-2:20 pace!
But as the race passed the 30K point, splits slowed to 16:41 (1 second slower than the first 5K), then 17:07, putting paid to a sub-2:20!
By 40K, it was down to 3 Women, with Gladys Cherono among them!

Then she pulled ahead, even though running slugglishly, appearing to just be hanging on, rather than driving to a victory!!
In fact, the sprint finishes by Ruti Aga and Valary Ayebei threatened to overtake Cherono---if another 500 meters were tacked on!!
The gaps were wide---Aga was 20 seconds back, while Ayabei was 32---but Cherono was DEAD at the end.
She stopped immediately at the line, and had to be assisted to walk!!

Cherono's winner was 2:20:21, with Aga's 2:20:41 missing my DDD by 11 seconds!
Ayabei's time was 2:20:53.
Helen Tola was 4th in 2:22:51.

Two news items to report---
There's a new Track Club (Running Club??)!!
The Saucony-sponsored Freedom Track Club opened its doors recently, with Molly Seidel a key name among its listed members!
The coach is also a known entity!
Tim Broe's PR's include 7:39.45 (23rd A-T US), and 13:11.77 (ties with 1 other for 18th A-T US) for 5000, both OUTdoor marks!

And Phoebe Wright---who wrote a couple of hilarious & insightful blogs about "dating Profeshes"--got married!!
Yesterday!!
I'd heard she had a boyfriend, but had no idea a marriage was planned!
(Maybe neither did she!!  LOL)
She's now doing some coaching, but not with a school or club!
Congratulations, Phoebe!!

I'll try to get my Collegiate AOY post up soon!!

2017 OUTdoor High School AOY's

Two for the price (FREE!) of one!
(Meaning I'm putting the Men & Women together in this post!)
Lots to do, so let's get started!
Simple set of guidelines--
1. ALL marks are OUTdoors!
2. No 1600 or 3200 times were considered, nor marks computed from them (for the HS 1 & 2 Mile).
3. HS Men's Throws (& Dec) are with HS weighted implements, NOT Youth or Junior!

This was a good year for Records of various kinds.
The Men had a pair of HSR's--Mondo Duplantis's 19-4.25 (his last & highest!), and the American Fork (Utah) 4 X Mile Relay team, who ran 16:41.30.

Frosh Class Records went to Brandon Miller's 1:49.87 in the 800, and Trey Tintinger's 7-1.50 HJ!
Ty Cooper's 20.51 broke the Soph Class record in the 200.
Eric Edwards's 13.32 in the 110H got the Junior Class record, as did Mondo's 19-4.25!
However, no Senior Class records fell this season!

The New Balance Nationals saw 5 Meet Records fall--
Jordan Geist's 76-0 SP, Turner Washington's 220-9 in the DT, Ayden Owens's 7009 in the Dec, as well as two Relay marks--Motor City TC's (Michigan) 3:20.25 in the SMR, and Parkview Express's (Georgia) 1:52.40 in the Swedish Relay!

Despite a great year for HS Men's T&F OUTdoors, my choice of MONDO DUPLANTIS as my Athlete of the Year was a given!
His THREE HSR's (18-6.50, 19-0.25, and 19-4.25) were WORLD Class, moving him beyond just 2017--to being an ALL-TIME Great!!
But my Honorable Mention list is long, and deserving!
Jordan Geist led a SP challenge that made Michael Carter sweat a little!
(Not to mention his massive PR in the Hammer Throw!!)
Reed Brown added his name to the growing list of sub-4:00 Milers!
Cooper Teare ran a fast 5000 & Mile!
Vernon Turner renewed interest in the HJ, while Turner Washington did the same with the DT!
Anthony Schwartz got injured, but his 10.15 100 before that got people talking!
Jamal Walton dipped under 45 in the 400--a rarity!
And FROSH Brandon Miller destroyed the Class Record, running (finally) 1:49.87!!

Performance of the Year?
You have to ask?
19-4.25 for MONDO!!
But you can't ignore Miller's Frosh 800 record, nor Geist's 76-0 (& 238-9), Turner's 7-6, Washington's 227-10, Brown's 3:59.30, or Schwartz's 10.15.
All of those get an HM!

My Event of the Year is based on how many marks date from 2017 (OUTdoors only!) on my DDD lists!
The Men's Mile is my EOY, with 5 marks on my list dated 2017!
The DT has 4.
With 3 are the 200, 110H, PV, SP, and the HT!
Two each for the 100, 400, 800, 2 Mile, and the 400H.
One apiece for the 1500, 5000, HJ, and the Decathlon!
ZERO marks in the 3000, 10000, 3000SC, LJ, TJ, and the JT!

My Personality of the Year is shared by DUPLANTIS and TYRESE COOPER!
Besides being the greatest PV'er ever (for HS), Mondo was a crowd pleaser, a striking performer (in the Show Business sense of that word!), and just a nice guy!
Tyrese gets this award for his penchant to double (& TRIPLE!!) in most of his many meets.
Not to mention having to run some heats or semi's also!!
While this might have prevented his running faster (& breaking records!), he gave his all in every meet, win or lose!

Here's all the athletes on my DDD's that have marks dated 2017!
Events with NO marks from 2017 are not listed!!
100---Schwartz (10.15--6th, tied with 1 other), Barnes (10.22--19th)
200---Ty Cooper (20.51--17th), Barnes (20.54--20th), Walton (20.57--23rd, tied with 1 other)
400---Walton (44.99--2nd), Shinnick (45.20--9th)
800---Cameron Cooper (1:47.59--5th), Worley (1:48.25--18th)
1500--Hasty (3:44.75--17th)
NOTE--1500 splits in Mile races were rarely taken!  I'm certain we would have seen more 1500 times make this list if they'd been timed there!!
Mile--Reed Brown (3:59.30--4th), Teare (4:00.16--11th), Worley (4:00.61--13th), Principe (4:00.73--14th), Hasty (4:01.75--21st)
2 Mile--Hasty (8:45.95--19th), Grijalva (8:46.68--24th)
5000--Teare (14:13.26--19th)
110H--E Edwards (13.32--5th, tied with 1 other), J Anderson (13.33--7th), Trey Cunningham (13.35--9th, tied with 1 other)
400H--Poole (49.88--8th), Burns (50.12--15th)
HJ---Turner (7-6--2nd, tied with 1 other)
PV---Duplantis (19-4.25--HSR--1st), Lightfoot (17-8.50--16th, tied with 3 others), Riddle (17-7--22nd, tied with 2 others)
SP--Geist (76-0--3rd), Piperi (74-11.50--6th), Oladipo (73-8.75--8th)
DT--Washington (227-10--4th), J Wilson (221-5--6th), Oladipo (215-3--12th), Mason (212-11--22nd, tied with 1 other)
HT--M Feldman (242-8--9th), Geist (238-9--13th, tied with 1 other), Slate (231-1--23rd)
Dec--Owens (7009--17th, tied with 1 other)

Now we turn to the Women!

Six HSR's were set by the Women OUTdoors this year!
Brie Oakley's 9:51.35 Two Mile, Alyssa Wilson's SP of 58-1, Western Branch's (Virginia) Shuttle Hurdle Relay time of 55.06, Lauren Harris's 1500 Walk time of 6:17.20, and a pair from Sydney McLaughlin--her 53.82 for 400H & 38.90 for the 300H!!

One HS PRO record was set--Candace Hill ran the 400 in 52.70!

Frosh Class Records went to Lexy Halladay's 4:41.80 Mile, London Culbreath's 10:04.73 for 2 Miles, Markalah Hart's 40.28 over 300H, and Jenna Rogers's 6-0.75 in the HJ!
Soph Class Records went to Kelsey Chmiel's 9:18.04 over 3000 meters, Tia Jones's 13.01 in the 100H, and Jasmine Moore's TJ of 43-7.25!
The sole Junior Class Record was Lanae Tava Thomas's LJ of 21-11.
Senior Class Records were set by Oakley in the Deuce, Wilson in the SP, and by McLaughlin's pair!!

HS PRO Senior Class Records went to Hill's 22.76 in the 200, and her 52.70!
This is a first for me, but I must mention two EIGHTH Grade Records--Grace Ping's 5000 of 16:25.63, and Tamari Davis's 23.21 in the 200!!

New Balance Nationals Meet Records included--
Symone Mason's 11.27 in the 100, though she tied the record!
McLaughlin's 54.22 over 400H, Anna Watson's 13-9 PV, Alyssa Wilson's 179-7 DT, plus a trio of Relays--Bullis TC's (Maryland) 44.88 in the 4X100, Union Catholic's (NJ) 2:05.93 in the Swedish Relay, and the 55.06 in the Shuttle Hurdles for Western Branch of Virginia!

Another in the "Do you really have to ask?" department is my Women's Athlete of the Year!
Who else but SYDNEY McLAUGHLIN??!!
Breaking TWO High School Records, one in the USATF meet's spectacular 400H race!
Running sensational Relay legs!
And being the best Juggler!!

Honorable Mentions go to Oakley, Wilson, Harris, and to Samantha Watson and Tara Davis!
Special Mentions to Grace Ping and Tamari Davis!

Choosing a Performance of the Year was simple---if we're speaking about the ATHLETE, not her mark(s). But in Sydney McLaughlin's case, I had to decide which was better--her 53.82 or her 38.90.
It's the 300H mark!!
She ran that solo at the Arcadia meet--very early in the season--and SMASHED the old mark, held by the venerable Lashinda Demus!
Her 53.82 was great also, but she ended 6th in that race--and she was breaking a record (her own!) she'd broken a few times already!!
Honorable Mentions go to McLaughlin's 53.82 (Natch!!), Oakley's Deuce, Harris's Walk, Chmiel's 3K, Wilson's SP, Watson's 2:00.65 PR in the 800, Rachel Baxter's 14-5.50 PV, but not leaving out Tara Davis, who LJ'ed 22-1 and ran the 100H in 12.95!--but also to Ms's Ping & Tamari Davis, who proved you don't need to be a HS'er yet to run HS-level times!!

My Event of the Year--as noted above--goes to the event with the most 2017 marks on my various DDD lists!!
So my Women's EOY is the Two Mile with 5 marks!
The TJ has 4.
Three each for the 400, 400H, and the LJ.
A pair are in the 100, 200, 800, 3000SC, 100H, PV, SP, JT, and HT!
One each for the 1500, 3000, 5000, DT, and the Heptathlon!
ZERO marks in the Mile, 10000, and the HJ!

My Personality of the Year--like the Men--is a dual award this year!
SYDNEY McLAUGHLIN just overwhelmed everyone in her events, including anchoring Record-breaking Relays.
But she's also a VERY interesting PERSON!
Not only her juggling, but just her humility and graciousness toward her friends & other athletes!
TARA DAVIS shares this award!
If you're on Twitter, check out her many offerings there--in words, photos, and videos--where her vivacious & endless smile--and her self-avowed love for her boyfriend--are there for all to enjoy!

Following is the list of everyone who makes my DDD (Top 24 A-T Performers) lists, with marks dated from 2017!!--OUTdoors only, of course!!

100---Mason (11.24--17th, tied with 2 others), Richardson (11.28--24th, tied with 1 other)
200---McLaughlin (22.96--17th, tied with 3 others), Mason (23.00--24th)
400---J Reed (51.71--11th), S Anderson (51.99--17th), Minor (52.05--21st)
800---Watson (2:00.65--3rd), Collier (2:03.32--15th, tied with 1 other)
1500--Tuohy (4:18.51--18th)
3000--Chmiel (9:18.04--13th)
2 Mile--Oakley (9:51.35--HSR--1st), Lane (10:01.18--10th), Culbreath (10:04.73--12th), Gregory (10:05.26--14th), Chmiel (10:10.45--22nd)
5000--Ping (16:25.63--16th)
3000SC--A Harris (10:14.76--3rd), C Martin (10:46.36--9th)
NOTE--My list for the 3000SC is just 14 deep!
100H---Tara Davis (12.95--4th, tied with 2 others), C Little (13.29--24th, tied with 1 other)
NOTE--I don't have a list for the 300H---but if I did, the following would make that list--
McLaughlin (38.90--HSR--1st), M Hart (40.28--6th), S Anderson (40.31--8th), Woodward (40.78--16th), S Robinson (40.84--21st)
400H--McLaughlin (53.82--HSR--1st), D Young (57.51--19th), Russell (57.55--21st)
LJ---Tara Davis (22-1--3rd), Tava Thomas (21-11--5th), Flannel (21-2.75--10th)
TJ---J Robinson (43-10.50--7th), J Moore (43-7.25--8th), Marsh (43-5--10th), Tara Davis (43-4--13th)
PV---Baxter (14-5.50--3rd), A Watson (13-9--15th, tied with 6 others)
SP---Wilson (58-1--HSR--1st), Young (53-5--11th)
DT---Wilson (182-0--11th, tied with 1 other)
JT---D Baker (169-2--13th), Ciccolini (164-9--19th)
HT--Shippee (201-4--4th), G Rao (185-8--21st, tied with 1 other)
Hept--Gittens (5490--6th)

Well, folks, that's it for the HS crowd!
I'll post my Collegiate AOY selections either later today, or tomorrow at the latest!!

See you soon!