One of the things I’m most excited about here is coming on weekly and doing a little mailbag session with readers and followers. With this

Two emails from (Jeff and Tim): Why is Matt Centrowitz running the two-mile and not the mile?

At first I thought that it was maybe it just didn’t fit into his training schedule. Then I thought maybe it could’ve been his price tag to run a mile and come back to defend his title. When I saw the announcement, I realized the answer was right in my face. I think he totally wants to beat Jerry Schumacher’s guys. He’s proven that he can win over the mile at Millrose with the 2015 and 2016 titles. Why not take a chance and step up in distance to maybe get a couple scalps and prove yourself over two miles? He’s talked about potentially trying to lower his 5,000 meter time during the outdoor season and this is another step forward in that direction. If he loses, it’s not his event and there was no harm in trying to win. If he wins, that looks pretty good on his resume. Is he the favorite? I think because we haven’t seen much from Ryan Hill and Mo Ahmed yet this year, I’ll go with yes. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Hill finds a way.

From @actuallyhermes on Twitter: Can we expect Drew Hunter to break the American mile record within the next 10-12 years?

Adidas is definitely banking on that idea. Hunter passed on some good guidance from Andy Powell at Oregon but he hasn’t shown any reason why we think he should regret that decision. He has a great coach in Tom “Tinman” Schwartz and his results during the indoor season so far have been solid. As for the American mile record, I think that’s a lot of pressure for someone so young. Plus I think we’ve learned our lesson over the years of prematurely throwing out the title of “the next big thing.” Sometimes, like in relationships, it’s best to let things happen naturally.

Email from Kurt: Saw the video of Dibaba running alone in Spain. Why can’t we get her some company and a plane ticket to New York for the Millrose Games Mile?

That would be something. Instead she’s racing at the Copernicus Cup in Poland to try and lower her 1,500 meter record of 3:55.17. It would’ve been fun to see her in the mile against Shannon Rowbury but we’ll have to settle for Sifan Hassan as the next-best challenger to the American 1,500 meter record holder. Hassan was a late addition to the field on Monday and is coming off a second place finish to Helen Obiri in the 3,000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. Shannon Rowbury was third in the race. After the race, I stuck around and watched them do some of their post-race workout. Didn’t have a clock on it but it was good to see Shannon with a training partner that’s pushing her now that Jordan Hasay has moved to the roads and Mary Cain has left the group.

From Reddit User GulanRapp: I like where this website is going! Plans for a print edition?

Thanks! The reception so far has been great! We’ll see what finances maybe allow in the near future. Possibly something cool for the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships? Someone else messaged us and asked whether we’ll be putting out a newsletter and that’s definitely a goal sooner than a print edition. We’re thinking “The Best of” in a newsletter that you can maybe wake up to on Fridays.

From Reddit User lguiri: As someone who might be coming into track from more team sports – how does track align with those who may be looking for a stable of athletes to support? Like NAZ Elite, etc. Do you see a benefit or a sustainability for a group of athletes to grow a presence that’s bigger than just one of the athletes and garners support for everyone?

I like this question because ultimately the type of track that most people see, and that’s every four years at the Olympics, is an individualized sport that’s all about who get the medals. Yes, you’ll root for your respective country but many the storylines are focused on the success and talent of gifted individuals. You could definitely find yourself rooting for a team in track and field. There are plenty of Nike Oregon Project fans and defenders. There are people who are more aligned with the Bowerman Track Club. I think NAZ Elite as well as NorCal Distance Project, the Brooks Beasts and NJ-NY Track Club and a few others do a very good job of connecting with their fanbases. My high school coach always likes to ask me when we’re going to move into a type of track where teams are the focus, just like the high school days. It’s tricky to pull off but would be cool to someday see. There is a benefit to growing a presence for a group and I think that’s obvious when you see some of these group t-shirts at U.S. Championships.

From Reddit User bigdutch10: No questions but just wanted to say I like the site. The articles are very interesting.

Thanks! A lot of credit goes to the fantastic team of writers that we’ve quickly assembled and the many contributors that have reached out with interest to hop on this project. We’re going to announce a few more contributors soon so stay tuned!

A four question set from Reddit User CatzerzMcGee!

1 – How has the atmosphere of Millrose changed since the location switch?

I can’t tell you how many times I watch these old Youtube clips of the MSG days and wish I could’ve maybe caught one of them in person. Many veterans of the sport maybe didn’t think it was the best track to run on but that’s what added to the great stories from them. It’s definitely different and the attendance was on quite the decline as recorded by Jesse Squire in 2011. If you watch the throwback video that I posted this morning, you can even see that the stands were pretty empty behind the athletes while they were introduced for the Wanamaker Mile in 2012.

I shot a message over to Kyle Merber, who won the HS Mile and will run Saturday’s Wanamaker Mile and asked for his opinion on how it changed. He wrote back the following:

“MSG was a special event for athletes that sat on the top of their bucket lists. People generally did not run as fast (although sometimes they did) and it was often just about racing. When the crowd was packed, there was a palpable energy that became amplified. But it was the same in the reverse, because once there were empty seats, the vacancy became deafening.

The move to the Armory made it easier to pack the house and to run faster which feeds into the excitement of the night. More athletes and [a lot of better athletes] wanted to come because it was now an opportunity to chase records. The current trend in track and field is less and less racing. And when you race only a couple times a winter, you don’t want to run slow, even if it’s a big stadium. You could convince people to do that when seats were filled, but you couldn’t convince an athlete to do it when no one was watching.”

2 – What are the “iconic” venues in track and field. Hayward Field is a given. Have there been others in the past that have been forgotten?

Hayward tops the list as the Mecca of track and field. I did a fair share of traveling to a few others over the past couple years. Although it was hot for most of the time, Drake Stadium in Des Moines didn’t have the best attendance but I’ve read stories about how rowdy it can get for the Drake Relays and have been meaning to check it out at some point. The other Drake Stadium on UCLA’s campus can seat 15,000, has a beautiful campus around it and will probably have some role for the 2024 Olympic bid. I wish there would maybe be a bigger meet hosted there. I’m also curious what the final look of Mt. SAC’s track will look like after renovations. Another event I haven’t been to is a Texas Relays at Myers Stadium. That can seat a lot of people and Austin definitely embraces the event.

3 – Has indoor track gotten more popular in the past ~5 years with the advance of social media and “shareability” of performances?

I think to some degree it has. The stands may not be as packed as some of the old meets but there’s now way to watch the sports’ stars on your phone or on your laptop so maybe there is a more knowledgeable audience. It’s also probably helped fans connect with elites. Imagine how much time Eamonn Coghlan could have saved from replying to fan mail if he just had a Twitter account?

4 – What obscure distance records or relays can HS/College/Pro teams go for indoors this year?

The 600 seems like a popular choice in 2017.

From Twitter user @chrisnickinson: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

I don’t think this will be the last time that I will be asked this question and this was something that was discussed at great lengths back when I was a member of the college newspaper at Marquette. My roommate, Joe Kaiser, came up with the best philosophy and something I believe.

“Everything is a sandwich. By that, I mean everything has some sort of sandwich-like property, but some of course more than others. For example, a Reuben would have more sandwich-like properties than toast and peanut butter. But toast and peanut butter has more sandwich-like properties than, say, pasta. Hot dogs and tacos have sandwich-like properties, and it’s not incorrect to label them as such. But it’s less correct than labeling BLT or grilled chicken sandwich, a sandwich.

An ice cream sandwich is a sandwich. It has sandwich-like properties. But you might argue it’s sans bread. True, that’s a defining characteristic. But it’s only defining characteristic. Lacking that quality makes open-faced sandwiches less of sandwiches than full sandwiches. But even OFS have some sandwich-like properties. And while an ice cream sandwich lacks bread, it compensates by being in the form of a sandwich. Hot dogs don’t have “bread” per se but a bun is also made up of carbs. And a bun is hardly really different than sub sandwich bread, which we would call a sandwich. By the same token, tortillas and taco shells accomplish the same ends as bread. These are all properties that shape our idea of what a sandwich is.”

This was a lot of fun. Feel free to send in questions for next week’s mailbag by emailing me at chrisjonathanchavez@gmail.com or shooting me a tweet @ChrisChavez.