Run to Win

Both Boston and New York both bid for hosting the Olympic Marathon Trials as they did in 2007/2008, but fans will not have to travel to two separate races for the 2012 Trials as Houston has been chosen the location for both the men’s and women’s races.

The city of Houston will be investing $1.7 million dollars to manage the event logistics, athlete support, travel and prize money. The Marathon Trials will be held a day before the Houston Marathon on January 14, 2012, with the top 3 runners of both races getting a slot on the London Olympic Team.

The timing for Houston provides enough time to recover from the race before the Olympics, but is close enough to the early August start of the London Games for the race to still be relevant.
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I was looking through the USATF website for next year’s grand prix race schedule, which hasn’t been updated yet on the grand prix page. Scrolling through last month’s news posts, though, I did find the schedule so now I can plan around that a little:

GRAND PRIX SERIES VOTED FOR 2010
November 20

The 2010 USATF-NE Grand Prix Series has been selected by an online vote of the membership. A total of 440 votes were cast during the one-week period from November 11 through 18. The results of the vote have been verified by the LDR Chairs and the winning schedule is Slate “C”, as follows:

* Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile, 10M, Amherst MA, Sun, Feb. 28
* New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sun., Mar 21
* Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K,12K , Bedford NH, Sat., May 22
* Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) ,5K ,Lincoln RI , Sun., June 6
* Stowe 8 Miler, 8M, Stowe VT, Sun., July 18
* Bridge of Flowers 10K , 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Sat., August 14
* Providence Ronald McDonald House Women’s Classic (WOMEN ONLY) 5K, Providence, Sun, Oct. 3

In a separate vote, the Marathon selected is the Bay State Marathon, Lowell MA, Sun., Oct. 17, 8:00 AM

The vote was the final step in new process in which a selection committee consisting of the Long Distance Running Chairs and representatives from the clubs created a ballot from the 17 bidding races with 4 slates of non-marathon distance races, a separate ballot question for the marathon distance and a survey question on a post-series awards banquet. The Survey Question for a banquet was 54% in favor.

I’m looking forward to a return to regional competition this year; hopefully my running club can field a team at some or even most of these events this year.

(Source: USATF NE)

The USATF has teamed up with The National Center for Drug Free Sport to allow free access for all of their members to the Resource Exchange Center, a subscription service of Drug Free Sport.

The REC is a portal where athletes and coaches can ask questions about drugs and supplements to make sure that they are not ingesting anything illegal within the sport and to learn of any known health risks or side effects.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency already has a hotline that elite athletes can call to determine if a medication or specific substance is banned. The REC broadens this concept by enabling any USATF members — not just athletes in USADA’s drug-testing pool — to inquire about supplements, which can contain multiple substances, some labeled and some not. In addition, the REC and Drug-Free Sport will provide USATF members with information that is reported by athletes who take a supplement and have an adverse reaction to it.

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It has been less than a month since USATF CEO Doug Logan challenged the JAAA to a dual meet series pitting the two nations best sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers against one another in team competition.

The meets have been scheduled, and will happen in May and June of 2010. That will give the USATF and the JAAA 13 months to put the event together, sign the athletes to commit, and arrange media sponsorship.

“We look forward to taking on our American friends in head-to-head competition in 2010,” said JAAA President Howard Aris. “We are confident that this kind of team competition, featuring the most exciting events in athletics, will prove captivating to fans around the world.”

The meet on US soil will probably be in the Southeast, so if I can’t manage to make my way down I really hope that it is broadcasted on a television station that I’ll have access to or is streamed over the web so that I can watch it live.

This is bound to be a pretty exciting meet and it will be interesting to see how the nations do in heads up team competition.

(More Info: Doug Logan’s Letter – USATF)

Now this has to be one of the coolest things I’ve heard about in the past couple of years.

Doug Logan, the USATF CEO, hand delivered a proposal to the Jamaican NACAC Representative Teddy McCook.

The proposal calls for a pair of dual meets between the two countries, one on US soil and one on Jamaican soil.

Rather than racing for medals, the meets would be scored by team and would include these events: (Click here to continue reading…)

Bob Fine of Delray Beach, Florida was a long time USATF volunteer and a member of the Masters Track & Field Hall of Fame. He was killed Wednesday morning in Reno, Nevada while out for a jog before the 2008 USATF Annual Convention. He was 77 years old.

“Bob’s contribution to USA Track & Field has been enormous, and we are all stunned by this terrible tragedy,” said USATF President Bill Roe. “To get news like this is always devastating, and to have it happen here at our Annual Meeting adds to the shock of what has occurred. Our deepest sympathies to go his family, and to the many, many people who benefited from his tireless work.”

This is a good opportunity to remind yourself what can happen when you aren’t paying attention. Bob was running before dawn on a dark, unfamiliar street when he tried crossing the road near a dangerous curve. He was wearing dark clothes with a hood covering most of his face so there was no chance of light reflecting off of his skin.

I recommend against playing chicken with a car. Just last night I had to remind somebody that no matter who wins when a pedestrian or cyclist is involved, the vehicle that weighs 2000 pounds more than you is going to win.

If you are going to run in the dark or if you are going to jaywalk, use a little sense and keep yourself safe.

• Use sidewalks & crosswalks whenever possible.
• Wear bright and reflective clothing.
• Look both ways before crossing the street.
• Wear a headlamp or carry a flashlight.
• Always assume that the car doesn’t see you, even when you have the right of way.

I’ve written a few newsletters on the topic that you may want to read. One of them deals with the steps that I take to avoid getting hit by a car again, and the other details a more complete list for running in the dark.

My thoughts go out to Bob’s wife and four children, to the woman who accidentally killed him, and to the USATF community at large.

(More info: Master’s Track)

The USATF is in the process of restructuring and is seeking input from its members. Here are the most relevant changes that are being considered, followed by my opinion on what these changes mean:

Youth Division

A youth division is being created to place more of an emphasis on developing elite talent in the country and to help improve the level of fitness of our population at large.

15 Member Board

Currently, the USATF has a 32 member board, and it is a bit bloated and difficult to get anything done. In an effort to become more nimble, the board is going to reduce its size by over 50%, with the 15 seats consisting of:

1. The USATF President
2. 3 athletes
3. 1 representative from each of the following groups:
   • High Performance
   • Long Distance Running
   • General Competition
   • Youth
   • Coaches & Officials
4. The IAAF representative
5. 1 representative from “5E” organizations such as the NCAA
6. 3 Independant Seats

Each constituent group will nominate 3 people for each seat that they have on the board, with nominations for the independent seats being selected by a nominating committee.

The Board Will Elect Its Own Chair

The board will also elect its own chair, with the USATF President serving as the vice-chair if he is not elected as the board chair. This allows the board to select its own leadership while maintaining the seperate duties of the President, who is elected through popular vote. The President would still preside over the annual meeting and the volunteer leadership group.

Full Time Employee for High Performance Plan

A full time employee will be assigned to be responsible for and accountable to the programs put in place to develop our elite athletes, which should make the high performance plan more efficient and streamlined.

National Team Staffs will Require Board Approval

The board will have to approve the national team staff selections, who will then be accountable to the CEO. This will provide oversight and accountability to the positions and allow for greater service to the athletes.

My Opinion on These Changes

I think that streamlining processes and trimming the fat from the board is going to help create a more nimble organization that is going to be better respond to changes in our sport. I hope to see administrative costs go down while providing better services for the athletes, which will also allow more work to be done with youth and volunteer organizations.

One concern that I have, though, and this is a concern that I have had since Doug Logan was named CEO, is that too much emphasis is going to be placed on the elite athletes and the high performance plan and not enough emphasis will be placed on the competitive amateurs in the regional USATF clubs that make up the bulk of the organization’s constituents.

I think that developing our elite program is very important and I want it to succeed, but more attention needs to be paid to the average member of USATF. Doug has a lot of experience dealing with high profile athletes through his work with Major League Soccer in the late 90s, and I worry that sometimes he misses the tree while concentrating on the apples.

(More Info: Existing Bylaws – Proposed Bylaw Changes [PDF: 338k] – Doug Logan’s Take)

Last night, I explained my reasons why I think that Ariel O’Connell did not win the Nike Women’s Marathon this past weekend. After all, she wasn’t the first to cross the finish line.

Thanks to a thoughtful reader, though, it appears as though Nike might be changing their minds. Here’s the reply he received through their help desk system:

Hello,

Nike is announcing today that it recognizes Arien O’Connell as a winner in last weekend’s Nike Women’s Marathon with the fastest chip time, completing the full race in 2:55:11. She shattered her previous time and achieved an amazing accomplishment.

Arien will receive the same recognition and prize, including a Tiffany bowl, the full marathon elite group winner received. Arien was unfortunately not immediately recognized as a race winner because she did not start the race with the elite running group, which is required by USATF standards. Because of their earlier start time, the runners in the elite group had no knowledge of the outstanding race Arien was running and could not adjust their strategies accordingly.

Learning from the unique experience in this year’s race, Nike has decided today to eliminate the elite running group from future Nike Women’s Marathons. Next year, all runners will run in the same group and all will be eligible to win.

Nike has a proven track record of supporting athletes and we’re proud to be able to honor Arien and other athletes who surpass their goals and achieve great accomplishments.

Sincerely,
Nike+ / Nike Running

So Nike is going to own up to their not overly well thought out system and change things next year, and will recognize Arien for the great race that she ran this weekend.

They are not going to take away the win from Nora Colligan, since she did in fact win the race, but are going to have a dual prize to recognize that Arien was the first woman to cross the line that started with the main pack.

I’ll update with a link to the press release when (and if) this becomes official.

Update: Still no official word, but there is an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about it that was published about an hour after my article.