What We Learned At The Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier
David Melly unpacks how key storylines developed at the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier on and off the track.
PROS
Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier: Bria Wetsch, Emma Spencer Among Those Chasing 10,000 Meter OTQ
Bria Wetsch and Emma Spencer are among those targetting U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers in the 10,000 meters in Texas.
Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier: Lianne Farber, Megan Mansy, Dani Aragon Shoot for 1,500 Meter OTQ
Lianne Farber and Dani Aragon target the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials qualifying standard of 4:06 for the 1,500 meters.
Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier: Loaded Men’s 5,000 Meter Field Includes Cheserek, True, On Athletics Club And Tinman Elite
The men’s 5,000 meters at the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier will feature Ben True, Edward Cheserek, Ryan Hill, Drew Hunter and more.
Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier: Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers Headline Women’s 800
The women’s 800 meters at the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier will feature Ajeé Wilson and Raevyn Rogers’ first rematch since Doha 2019.
World Athletics’ Shoe Rule and the Fight Against Fairness
David Melly has a bone to pick with World Athletics’ latest iteration of its rules on footwear and prototype use in competition.
I Like Track (And So Should You)
People asking “How do you make track more entertaining?” are asking (and answering) the wrong question. Track is entertaining.
Bringing Ekidens to America May Be Just What The Sport Needs
The coronavirus has forced professional teams to get creative with their respective racing plans and the Michigan Ekiden is doing that.
WATCH: Night of the 5K – Presented by Trials of Miles x Bakline
Watch Olympians, world championship qualifiers and other pro and sub-elite athletes chase fast times at the Night of the 5K in New Jersey.
Bakline x Trial of Miles Night Of the 5K: Entries, Live Stream Information
Who to watch and how to watch the Bakline x Trial of Miles Night of the 5K featuring Donn Cabral, Colby Alexander, Allie Kieffer and more.
Run For Rivs, More Shoe Talk, Russia Canceled? + A Personal Best!
A look at the biggest news stories in track and field from Tommy Rivs’ battle with lymphoma, World Athletics changing its shoes rules again and more.
Run With Rivs Virtual Challenge – August 1st to 9th
A virtual challenge has been set up to raise money for the family of Tommy Rivers Puzey as he battles Primary Pulmonary NK T-Cell Lymphoma.
Michael Norman’s 9.86, More Whereabouts Failures + Bowerman PRs
Unpacking everything from Michael Norman becoming the first American under 10, 20 and 44; Bowerman Track Club’s third intrasquad meet + more podcasts
Let’s Give This A Try Again!
An attempt to re-launch a newsletter rounding up the biggest news from the track and field world with commentary and analysis by Chris Chavez
MVMNT Race Series Set For Boston
Races will return to Boston on July 18 with the MVMT Race Series featuring Molly Seidel, Natosha Rogers and Abbey Cooper.
Gwen Berry: Sport, Politics, Protest… and the Olympics
Gwen Berry shares an open letter on the truth and reasoning behind protesting at major global championship stages.
Johnny Gregorek’s Blue Jeans Mile Will Be More Fun Than The Olympics
Johnny Gregorek’s blue jeans mile has the potential to mix things up, provide a great spectating experience and raise money for a good cause.
Johnny Gregorek To Attempt Blue Jeans Mile World Record, Fundraising For National Alliance on Mental Illness
Johnny Gregorek will attempt to break Dillon Maggard’s 4:11.80 world record for the blue jeans mile on May 30.
Track Rewatchables: 2017 World Championships Women’s 1500 Meters
The 2017 World Championship women’s 1,500m final is underappreciated.
A Good Rabbit is Hard to Find
With the Olympics looming, and therefore qualifying-standard-chasing upon us, as well as runners everywhere hoping for new PRs, well-paced races are a necessity.
A Historical Analysis of the Olympic Trials
Analyzing some data on the 34 men and 25 women US Olympic marathoners since the Trials system began in 1968.
Let Erin Run
Ivy League champion Erin Gregoire ran 2:42 at the Houston Marathon and was not accepted to the U.S. Olympic marathon trials.
One Quick Thing: U.S. Marathoning Decade Review
A quick look at some stats shows sub-elites are getting quicker in the United States.
Peter Snell Was a Legend
Peter Snell remains the only man in 99 years to have won the 800 and 1500 meters at the same Olympics. He died on Dec. 12. He was 80.
What is the Diamond League Doing?
Why the IAAF is totally missing the mark in cutting events from the 2020 Diamond League circuit
Unpacking Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 and the Great Shoe Debate
Should the IAAF ban the shoes worn by Eliud Kipchoge in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge? What are the rules? What’s next for the GOAT?
Heroines: Mary Decker Slaney
Recognizing some of the brilliant and most talented female distance runners in history. Examing Mary Decker Slaney.
“Road to the Olympic Trials” Podcast Debuts Next Week
The Rambling Runner Podcast is launching a new show following eight runners on their respective journey to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Trying to Find the ‘Why’ in 100 Miles
Stephen Kersh will be lining up at Western States for his first 100-mile race. Why? He’s still figuring out the answer.
A Pride Month Ode to Nikki Hiltz and Therese Haiss
The sport needs more athletes like Nikki Hiltz and Therese Haiss.
What Brave Like Gabe Means to Me
Gabe Grunewald proved that in the face of adversity you have a choice to be optimistic and make the most of your time.
A Tribute to Gabe Grunewald
We often get caught up in the times and the places and forget what really matters in this life. Gabe never forgot. I’ll never forget because of her.
Kyle Medina Knows About Falling And Getting Back Up
Kyle Medina is one of the newer faces of Tinman Elite and this is his story.
Breaking Down Jim Walmsley’s 50-Mile World Best
A front-row look at the significance of Jim Walmsley breaking Barney Klecker’s American record for 50 miles, which stood for 39 years.
Meet the Photographer Capturing Shots of Eliud Kipchoge and the NN Running Team
Meet the photographer responsible for many shots of the NN Running Team, Eliud Kipchoge and the world’s best runners.
Comparing Samuelson and Howe
61-year-old Joan Samuelson ran yesterday’s Boston Marathon in 3:04:00. That’s really fast. How fast? Age-grading calculators say that’s worth about 2:19 for a woman under age 35.
Her stated goal was to run within 40 minutes of the time she posted while winning the race 40 years ago. She did that and then some; she was less than 30 minutes behind the then-world record time of 2:35:16 she ran in 1979. That day she wore a Bowdoin College singlet and a backwards Red Sox cap, and she did the same yesterday.
Samuelson’s career accomplishments are unparalleled in distance running: Olympic marathon champion, multi-time world record holder, four-time Boston Marathon winner, and ageless wonder. There is only one athlete in any sport whose accomplishments are similar: Gordie Howe.
Howe was the greatest left wing in the history of hockey, and is one of three men in the discussion for the greatest hockey player ever. Let’s see how the two of them measure up.
EDIT: Samuelson qualified to seven Olympic Trials marathons, but only ran in four.
CITIUS Reads: ‘The Passion Paradox’ by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
What we thought of The Passion Paradox by Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg.
Four quick things: volume II
Alrighty, I’ll jump right in here with my four quick things from today’s final competition at the 2019 USATF Indoor National Championships.
- Donavan Brazier threw down
- The Nike Oregon Project athlete absolutely crushed in the men’s 600 meters competition, running an all-time world’s best time of 1:13.77. There were six men in this final heat and five get paid, which is good work if you can get it.
- Athing Mu is a world-beater
- The 16 years-old athlete not only set a 2nd best ever world indoor time in the women’s 600m, she also crushed the existing indoor American record and walked down Raevyn Rogers, who has a 1:58 PB and has finished 2nd twice at US Championships.
- Shelby Houlihan got her revenge race in
- After finishing second in the previous night’s mile race, Shelby barnstormed the last mile of this evening’s two mile, slowly dropping the field. She appeared to be on a mission, and given that the slow heat was won in ~9:50, she was not going to leave much up to chance when it came down to getting the W.
- Craig Engels does Craig-Engels-Things
- After looking incredibly calm at the start line, Craig did the thing that he always seems to do, which is find himself in excellent position with 600 meters to go and slowly dismantle the rest of the field. His last 400m were run in ~54.X, his last 800m in ~1:52.X and finished in 3:59.69. The man fought off Henry Wynne and Johnny Gregorek for this title.
Four quick things
Without further ado, here are a couple of thoughts from the racing today at the USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships on Staten Island:
- Clayton Murphy has the 1,000m in the palm of his hand
- The NOP stand-out controlled his heat with a win, ran the fastest time in prelims and even had enough of a buffer to walk it in the last few steps. He’ll have to fight off the likes of Brannon Kidder, who had an excellent prelim as well, and Robbie Andrews, who despite having a bit of rocky start to the season got a little q for the final and can never be counted out.
- Ajee Wilson is not here to relax
- This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as she has won a US title indoors every meeting since 2013, but Ajee Wilson come out of prelims with the fastest mark, while also setting meet record in the 1,000m distance (2:37.96). She will be your favorite heading into the final.
- The men’s 2 mile final was weird as hell (and I loved it)
- So here’s the skinny: Drew Hunter, an arguable contender for the two mile title, entered the race without a seed time. This usually means, if there are multiple heats, you are in the slow one. Drew, along with his Tinman Elite teammates, proceeded to time trial the race and propel Drew to a meet record and world leading time of 8:25.29. The second heat then proceeded to take the first mile out in 4:25ish, all bur securing the victory for drew, as he watched from the sidelines. That’s Drew’s first US Title and one hell of a story.
- Colleen Quigley out-Shelby’d Shelby Houlihan
- It’s pretty wild that we got to the point where Shelby is the favorite after 1) not racing any indoor this season and 2) just winning the 10K Cross Country Championships on February 2nd. Shelby has been so dominant that despite these two aforementioned items, we all pretty much expected her to walk to another indoor title. After unsponsored Eleanor Fulton won the “B” heat in 4:33.47, the standard was set for the fast heat, which after going through 800m in ~2:19 or so, wound-up pretty quickly with a 2:10 last 800m. This is Colleen’s first track US Title, which is wild, considering she has been 8th at the Olympic Games in the steeplechase.
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Mondo Hits New Heights, Minnesota Keeps Fighting, XC is Coming Back?
At the Rome Diamond League meet, Mondo Duplantis broke Sergey Bubka’s long-standing outdoor pole vault world record with a 6.15m clearance.