March 31, 2008

The Amazing Nolan Shaheed


If you checked the results of the IAAF World XC Championships, you know that the best XC runner the world has ever seen, Keninisa Bekele, overcame a dislodged shoe early in the 12km race to win his 12th World XC title, and his sixth long-course title in the last seven years. (He failed to finish last year in the heat of Mombasa, after being in the lead much of the race). I imagine that elite male runners of a certain age have spent the best years of their competitive lives looking up at Bekele and wondering when they would have their chance.

This weekend was also the U.S. National Indoor Track and Field Championships for Masters athletes. Technically, anyone over 30 was eligible to compete, but the real action was on the North side of 40. Among the competitors was the amazing Nolan Shaheed, who won gold in the 1M and 800m in the 55-59 age group. The presence of Shaheed on the track, like the presence of Bekele on an XC course, produces a kind of despair among his contemporaries.

Never heard of Shaheed? Ok, here's a short course:

- He is an accomplished musician and music producer who toured with the Count Basie orchestra as lead trumpeter, and has played with Nat Cole, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, and others.

- He is 58 years, old, and in truth, he has lost a step or two. For example, he "only" managed 2:09 for 800m and 4:43 for the mile. Oh, wait a minute. his 800m time was faster this year than last year.

- In 2007, he won the 800m, 1M, and 3000m for his age group. He does this triple a lot, as long as his plane arrives in time for him to compete in the 3000m Friday night. He almost always wins every event... by a lot.

- He holds five age group world records, including the M55-59 indoor and outdoor 1M records, and the M50 outdoor 800m record (1:58.65)

- He has won over 30 national championships

- He is a fearless racer who takes the lead and pushes the pace whether he is in a tight race or leading by half a lap.

on Saturday, Shaheed won the M55 mile by 30 seconds. On Sunday, he won the 800m by 0.6 seconds, beating another world-class masters athlete Alston Brown, who had just turned 55.

2:09 for 800m at age 58. Amazing.

March 30, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - March 29, 2008

March - In like a lion, out like a barracuda.

With New England temperatures making it feel like February, it's still hard to loosen up to the idea of running really fast outdoors. Nevertheless, many colleges are holding their first outdoor meets of the season.

Tufts University hosted their annual "Snowflake Classic" and there were actual snowflakes in the air as Doug Brecher, ran a tremendously impressive 31:38 to take second-place in the 10,000m, and earn an ECAC qualifying time. That's 5:05 per mile for 6.2 tedious miles of empty tartan, folks. Brookline alum Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot finished 6th in the same race, running 33:06.

After a week of Spring break base training in Newton, Noah Jampol opened up his outdoor campaign with a solid 4:10.40 1500m at the 2008 Maryland Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Maryland. Sorry we didn't get to go for a run while you were in town, Noah.

Wesleyan senior Stephanie O'Brien finished 5th in the 1500m in 5:05.46 at the Trinity College "Bantam" Invitational. At the same meet, Scott Cole -- or someone using his name -- finished 8th in the 800m in 2:05.92.

And in other running news... the agate type at the back of the Boston Globe Sports Section recorded that Jamie Krieder, a good friend of the Newton Summer Running Project won the weekly Fresh Pond 5M road race in 27:30.

(Added 3/31) - At the 2008 SCSU Owl T&F Invitational in New Haven, Yale freshman David Smith tripled in the shot, disc, and hammer. His 49-0.25 in the shot is a PR and placed him 3rd. I'm not sure about the discus (117-0) and hammer (111-03).

March 27, 2008

Running, Endorphins, and You

This NY Times article describes recent research that, for the first time, provides hard evidence for the connection between endurance exercise, the release of endorphins in the brain and feelings of well being, calmness, even euphoria -- the elusive "runner's high."

Yes, Running Can Make You High

Although I, alas, am not someone who experiences intense "highs" after running, I used to run with a guy who said, "If running was a drug, it would be illegal."

The article talks about the possibility of helping runners experience stronger effects from this phenomenon, to which my wife replies, "they want to make running MORE addicting?"

More About Hamstrings and Stretching

I've been thinking a lot of hamstrings and stretching lately, so it was surprise and amazement that I read the following extraordinary paragraph on www.runnersworld.com, in the "Ask The Running Doc" feature. The column is by Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, who writes:

"To reduce your risk of re-injury, please take the time to stretch your hamstrings after every run. Running normally causes microtears between the hamstrings’ muscle fibers, and without stretching the fibers heal back shorter. Over time this decreases your stride length—so you run slower—and makes the hamstring vulnerable to a serious pull or tear. The more you stretch daily, the better; you can’t do too much. If you follow this advice, hamstring worries can be forgotten!"

The author is credited with being "...the world’s premier running physician... medical director of the New York Road Runners, ING New York City Marathon, all of Elite Racing’s Musical Marathons, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program." I on the other hand, am nobody.

And yet, I think Dr. Maraham is wrong, or at least seriously incomplete. First of all, numerous studies have failed to show that systematic stretching before or after runs helps prevent injuries. Here's a recent NY Times Article on that very topic. It states:

"The truth is that after dozens of studies and years of debate, no one really knows whether stretching helps, harms, or does anything in particular for performance or injury rates."

I know, I know, you (and I) don't care what these studies say, we're going to keep on stretching no matter what the papers say... but surely the world's premier running physician would at least hedge a little bit in the face of all that evidence, wouldn't he?

But what I found far more troubling was that line about the micro-tears. "Running normally causes microtears between the hamstrings’ muscle fibers, and without stretching the fibers heal back shorter." What kind of organism is built so that normal activity causes it to break down? Is the human body a lemon when it comes to running?

No, of course not! What's missing from this discussion is that we stretch every time we move. Warming up by walking or jogging is a form of stretching, as are flexibility drills, and, in deed, those static stretches that we all learned and that are now discredited.

Anyway, as someone who has been suffering with sore hamstrings for some time now, I can tell you that I have been stretching more than I ever have in my life. Three, four times a day. Before runs, after runs, in boring meeting. If stretching were a religion, I would be up for canonization. And you know what? It's made almost no difference whatsoever to my injury, or my running, or my sense of well being. I have even begun to suspect that it, not normal running, is introducing those pesky micro-tears that Dr. Maraham warns about.

You know what works? Massage works. Massage + patience + a good warmup + adequate sleep + a sense of humor works even better. Stretching is not the answer. Maybe it's part of the answer, but from where I sit, it's only a small part.

March 26, 2008

World XC Championships on Sunday


On Sunday, Mach 30, Edinburgh, Scotland hosts the 2008 IAAF Cross-Country Championships. The event includes four separate races: junior women (6K), junior men (8K), senior women (8K), and senior men (12K).

The IAAF web site has complete coverage, including history, a course map, previews of the races, and more.

Ever wonder what it would be like to train with the Kenyan team preparing for the world championships, an event their senior men have won 23 out of 36 times it has been run? here's a link to an article on Kenyan XC team preparations for Scotland. An excerpt:

"We must regulate the speed at which the vehicles will approach the runners so that they do not leave behind a cloud of dust that might affect their breathing or knock them down all together..."

March 25, 2008

The Achilles Hamstring

Unlike its more famous cousin the Achilles tendon, the hamstring is not instantly familiar as a symbol of mortal vulnerability. In fact, hamstring injuries -- like bad backs -- often seem elusive, their severity uncertain and ill-reported. People even make fun of professional athletes who complain too often of a "bad hammy" (Manny Ramirez). Bill Parcells famously mocked then Patriots receiver Terry Glenn, saying that it took Glenn longer to recover from a bad hamstring than it took Parcells to recover from his heart attack.

But for anyone who has suffered with a chronic hamstring injury, it is one of the most frustrating, discouraging, soul-sapping conditions imaginable. You never know from day-to-day where you stand, and how you're doing. If a hamstring injury is a metaphor for anything, it's a metaphor for the way the wonderful running machine can be completely ruined by the malfunction of one link in the power chain.

Hamstring injuries are extremely common, but poorly understood. Most of us figure that we get hamstring injuries when we run too fast before we have warmed up, and that we will cure them by being more conscientious about stretching and warming up. This is fairly simplistic, but sometimes it works.

But other times, an initial hamstring injury becomes chronic. An initial injury becomes a trigger point -- a small area that is permanently knotted by errant nerve signals. The muscle tissue around the trigger point is affected, and feels sore, and yet stretching does nothing to alleviate the problem. Using a roller, stick, or even a tennis ball to massage the area can help, but sometimes it doesn't, and the weakness continues. Anything faster than jogging feels mechanically awkward. It's impossible to generate power. Speed suffers, of course, but so does any semblance of fluid stride. The athlete loses confidence, over-compensates by using other muscles in ways they are not used to (possibly developing a secondary injury).

At some point, the injury to the body infects the mind, and the athlete becomes afraid to test him or herself with anything close to full speed. Hamstring injuries can go on for months or years. A pattern of discomfort takes hold and becomes difficult to break.

So what to do?

Well, I think dealing with a chronic hamstring injury requires first that someone competent locate the actual area of the problem, not just the area that feels uncomfortable. Trigger points can refer pain elsewhere in the muscle, making it hard to identify the true problem spot. A good massage therapist can relive the complex of tight muscle fibers, opening up the area for healing. This hurts, by the way, but it is necessary.

The next requirement is patience. Easier said than practice, unfortunately, especially after a long period of suffering with the injury. And yes, patience applies not only to having reasonable goals day-to-day, but also taking the time to develop a good warm-up routine, with or without stretching. (I am not a fan of extensive pre-run stretching, feeling that you are as likely to re-injure yourself with too aggresive stretching, as you are to do any good.)

The final ingredient after therapy and patient rehabilitation is to get your confidence back. I wish I had an easy answer for that one!

March 24, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - March 22, 2008

In the Boston area, the Northeastern Husky Spring Classic is one of the first outdoor meets of the year, offering a chance for collegiate and open athletes to get in some early season competition. At this year's event, Dave Cahill dominated the 400m hurdles, winning by five seconds in 56.33. Bentley's Kevin Chan competed in the discus, throwing 114-11.

For Yale's David Smith, Spring Break is a chance to go wild and throw heavy objects around. He did just that at the UC Irvine Spring Break Invitational, competing in the shot (46-09.5), discus (123-08), and hammer throw (116-05).

Wesleyan competed at the Bulls Invitational in South Florida on Friday, March 21. Seeded at 5:15 in the 1500m, Stephanie O'Brien showed that she has wheels for the longer events, running 5:00.96 and finishing 6th overall. Haleigh Smith finished 11th in 5:06.15. Scott Cole competed in the 800m, running 2:13.19 to finish 11th.

March 23, 2008

It's Spring. Did Anyone Notice?

Since Spring arrived on March 20th, the New England has been clear, cold and windy. VERY windy. On Thursday, even my stoic training partner Terry, who is usually eager to leave the 200m oval behind, was willing to head inside out of the wind for yet another (the last?) indoor track workout.

Running on my own, I don't much mind this cold snap. Since I have mostly been running in the late afternoons, the extra hour of daylight has been a godsend. If I'm tried of anything, it's the asphalt. A winter of running on Commonwealth Ave in Newton always ears on me, and being away from the woods and trails makes running seem tedious, indeed by the end of March. In this year, the quirky pattern of rain in February has meant an early return to the Battle Road Trail, among other off-road routes. If April is relatively dry, we'll be running at Walden much earlier than usual.

But if I, as a lone runner, am enjoying this weather, I know that outdoor track teams are suffering -- especially the coaches. When it's barely above freezing and you're standing outside watching other people run, you chill right to the bone. Early meets are even worse than practices. After a few hours, indoor track seems pretty pleasant by comparison.

This Spring, the Newton coaches have the additional problem of being without a track of their own. It's strange to look at the schedule and see a slate of 7 away meets. It must be even stranger to try to hold the team together and deal with the logistics of getting to other facilities.

The poet T. S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, but for me, it is March that is the cruel month because it seems so in-between every season. It took forever for the indoor track season to finish - oh, wait, there's still one more meet at Reggie the weekend of March 28-30. On the world scene, it's time for the world cross country championships, which makes sense if you have been following the European/African schedule of running cross-country in the winter, but is completely weird for Americans who run cross in the fall.

In the United States, April is track season, but in March it's just hard to adjust to the idea of outdoor track, especially after coming down from the excitement of indoors. The idea of immediately getting slower as you battle gusty winds frigid warm-ups, and general hypothermia is discouraging.

These days, the only runners who really seem to be locked in to a plan are the marathoners. Anyone who is running the Boston Marathon is (or should be) on a very detailed flight path leading up to the big race. You can see them out on Commonwealth Avenue every Sunday. Hordes of runners, from the elite (who glide up the Newton hills at six minute mile pace) to the vast number of lesser mortals who chug along more slowly, weighed down by sports drinks, energy gels, and plenty of warm clothing. If you go out today, for example, you'll see hundred and hundreds of runners getting in their last or next to last long run.

But for the rest of us, March is an annoying transitional time.

Mr Eliot, bring on April!

March 20, 2008

NSHS Girls at Nationals

Cliff, Henry, and others have expressed surprise that I didn't mention the outstanding performances of the Newton South girls at the NSIC meet last weekend. My only excuse is that my mind was elsewhere - in New Bedford, actually, where I was struggling through 13.1 miles with a strained gluteus medius. A real pain in the a**.

Anyway, I regret the omission and will try to make it right:

Six girls from Newton South competed last weekend at NSIC under the auspices of the "Newton Centre Athletic Club," and all six earned All-America honors.

On Saturday, the 4 x 1 Mile team -- Kelsey Karys, Juliet Ryan-Davis, Kathy O'Keefe, and Bridget Dahlberg -- finished third overall with a time of 20:52.48. Karys, Ryan-Davis, and Dahlberg are juniors; O'Keefe is a freshman. To average 5:13 per mile is outstanding! The NCAC trailed only national powerhouses Burnt Hills and Roxbury Township, and finished ahead of other highly regarded teams such as Colt's Neck.

On Sunday afternoon, the quartet of Ryan-Davis (2:17), Diana Braver (2:20), Julia Frieze (2:21), and Dahlberg (2:16) returned in the 4x800, and came away with a school record 9:16.27, a school record by a whopping 7 seconds. That's what happens when four good runners set PRs in the same race.

Also on Sunday afternoon, Kelsey Karys showed she has completely regained the form she had earlier in the winter -- before the flu sapped her strength at Class A's and States -- running a PR 10:48.18 in the 2-Mile and finishing 7th.

March 17, 2008

Woburn - the Video

I just watched the Flotrack video of Woburn's surprise victory in the NSIC 4x400 relay. To call it "come-from-behind" doesn't do it justice.

Woburn (that's "Woo-burn," not "Woe-burn") is 4 seconds behind with about 500m to go in the race, and then... but why spoil the surpise? View the video for yourself:

NSIC 2008 - Boys 4x400 Final (Heat 2)

Woburn Boys 4x400 Wins National Title

It has been an unforgettable season for the Woburn boys indoor track team. The Tanners have earned two individual state titles (Ryad Bencheikh in the 600 and Brett Sullivan in the 1000), a team state title, and now a national championship in the 4x400.

On Saturday, the 4x400 squad (Matt Perreira, Mike McDonough, Bencheikh, and Sullivan) had the third best qualifying time, running 3:20.92 to win their heat. On Sunday, they ran 3:19.16 to win the title by 2/100ths of a second.

Woburn also finished 4th in the sprint medley, running 3:30.48, which made for a busy weekend for Sullivan, who anchored the SMR and two 4x400s.

Also earning medals, the Belmont 4x400 team placed fifth in 3:22.89. On the girls side, the Andover 4x400 team finished 8th in 3:58.31.

Other Mass. athletes included Charlestown's Omar Aden, who placed 4th in the mile in 4:13.70, Brookline's Robert Gibson, who placed 15th in 4:19.58, Triton's Keely Maguire, who was 5th in the girls mile in 4:56.13, Canton's Alyse Rocco who was 12th in 5:06.14, Newton South's Kelsey Karys, who placed 7th in the 2-Mile in 10:48.18, Nashoba's Anthony Raduazo, 14th in 9:33.08, Lincoln-Sudbury's Emily Mepham (state champ in the 1000) who ran 2:12.68 to finish 9th in the girls 800, Nashoba's Joe Doyle, who ran 1:56.96 to finish 19th in the boys 800...

State HJ champion Andrew Powell of SJS finished 3rd in the indoor pentathlon with a core of 3554. Hopinkton's Cecily Boyle placed 8th with a score of 3160 and state champ Antoinette Toussaint was 10th with 3090 points.

March 15, 2008

NCAA DII Nationals - Gill(s), Caves, UML Represent Mass.

Keith Gill, Kevin Gill, and Doug Caves qualified for the finals of the mile and 400m, respectively, and two Mass. relay teams scored at the NCAA DII Nationals, taking place at Minnesota State University this weekend.

Keith Gill, a 2004 graduate of Brockton and a senior at Stonehill College, was recently named the NCAA DII men's indoor track athlete of the year. On Friday, he won his heat of the 1 mile prelims in 4:17. Brother Kevin, a freshman at Stonehill, ran 4:14 to qualify on time in the faster of the two heats. The finals are today at 4:10 Central Time.

Kevin Gill also competed on Stonehill's DMR team, running the 800 leg for a team which placed 5th in 10:05.35. Last year, Keith Gill ran the mile prelims and the DMR on Friday, and seemed a bit tired for the mile final on Saturday. As the top seed going into the meet, we wish him the best of luck as he pursues a national championship.

Also running the DMR and finishing 6th in 10:07.65 was UMASS-Lowell, with an all-Massachusetts team of Angus MacDonald (Central Catholic), Doug Caves (Oxford), Mike Malinowski (Peabody), and Ruben Sanca (O'Bryant). It has been a breakthrough for Sanca on the track, as he twice ran 4:11 for the full mile this season, six seconds faster than his previous PR.

Caves ran 48.96 to win his heat of the 400m and make it to the finals.


NCAA DII Championships Results

Disappointing Finish for Barnicle at Nationals

Chris Barnicle's NCAA Indoor championships debut came to a less-than-happy ending last night on his home track in Fayetteville, as the Arkansas junior faded in the final kilometers to finish in 14:43.

Two weeks ago, Chris ran a PR 13:56 for 5K, and for the first 1000 meters of the 5K final Friday, the pace seemed ideally suited to another good time. The splits show that Chris was in the tightly-grouped lead pack at 1K (2:47.9), a 14-minute pace. He was still there at 2K as the pace slowed slightly (5:38). That's when all hell broke lose. I haven't seen the video yet, so I'm not sure who the instigator was, but I'm guessing it was Alabama's David Tyson who threw in a couple of 64-second quarters to string out the pack.

The sustained surge didn't kill off everyone right away, but after the pack, with Chris in tow, passed 3K in 8:20, the damage had been done. The very strongest survived, with Texas Am&M's Shadrack Songok surviving best, winning in 13:51. Everyone else had a pretty miserable last 2K. Chris ran a 2:55 fourth 1000m, dropping to 8th and falling off the lead pack for the first time. The last 1000m was a shambles, and must have felt like it took all evening.

Let's hope Chris isn't discouraged by a bad race, in which he made a bid to stay with the leaders and paid the price. It's clear that the 5K is his race and his race two weeks ago is evidence that his fitness is certainly at the highest level it's ever been.

His experience at nationals is also an example of how championship races throw different things at you than other races, and how you have to be prepared -- mentally and physically -- for anything.

Archbishop William's grad and LaSalle Senior Sean Quigley weathered the stormy middle of the race well, and finished a strong 3rd in 13:54.

Lowell's Brian Gagnon was eliminated in the 800 prelims, as he got stuck in a slow heat and didn't manage one of the top two places and automatic qualifying spots.

NCAA D1 Championship Results

March 11, 2008

Barnicle, Gagnon Qualify for NCAA D1 Championships

Newton's Chris Barnicle (5000m) and Lowell's Brian Gagnon (800m) qualified for this weekend's NCAA Div I Indoor Track and Field Championships, it was announced today. The 1-2 finishers at the 2004 D1 XC championships, Barnicle and Gagnon will be competing in their first NCAA T&F championships.

Archbishop Williams' alum and former Mass. D2 XC champion, Sean Quigley, is also in the 5000m, as well as the 3000m.

The complete NCAA championship field can be found here.

Props for the Lowly Push-up

They are the unofficial symbol of junior high gym classes, presidential fitness tests, military basic training, and the rigors of going out for just about any athletic team at any time in your life. They are a symbol of vigor, of submission to authority, of determination. they are push-ups, and love 'em or hate 'em, you've got to admit that they have played and continue to play an important role in athletic culture...

...NO TALKING IN THE BACK THERE! DROP AND GIVE ME 20!!

Today's New York Times has a nice article re-evaluating the lowly push-up: An Enduring Measure of Fitness (March 11).

I have fond memories of the 2001 Newton North XC team that seemed to have a particular love of push-ups (and sit-ups). At the start of the season, every practice began with a stretching routine that was followed by "20-20" (20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups). By the middle of the season, it was "50-50", and I seem to remember the captains exhorting the team to do "75-75" at one point.

For what it's worth, I find push-ups and other body-weight exercises to be an important part of my training, keeping the body strong enough to maintain decent posture during fast running. I had a revelation a few years back when I realized that push-ups were as much about abdominal strength as arm/chest strength. Now I try to start every day with a series of exercises -- including push-ups -- before I ever take my first running step of the day.

Anyway, the article makes some good points about how using push-ups to maintain strength as one ages (push-ups, it turns out, are useful for maintaining the strength to fall properly). While we don't expect to see all the folks at the senior center doing push-ups, maybe it's not such a crazy idea.

March 10, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - March 8-9, 2008

Indoor Track is the weirdest season because every week from late February to late March seems to be the "last weekend of indoor track." You never know when the damn season is going to be over. For many H.S. runners, the season ends late January/early February with the final dual meet or league meet. For a smaller percentage there are the State Divisional championships, possibly leading to the All-State championships.

The top six at All-State can, if they choose, run in the New England meet, typically held the following Friday (this year it was on leap day, Feb 29). And that's it, right? Not necessarily! Even as results from outdoor meets in Texas and Florida begin appearing, it's two more weeks until the the National Scholastic Indoor Championships (NSIC) and Nike Indoor Nationals (NIN) meets.

It goes on and on. Although the U.S. Indoor Championships were two weeks ago, the NCAA championships aren't for another week. How can the Collegiate runners finish their season AFTER the world championships (held last weekend)?

And if you care, the masters indoor season drags on and on, culminating in the U.S. Masters Indoor Championships the last weekend in March! With Daylight Savings upon us, I'm impatient to declare outdoor season open for business and be done with it.

Ah, but there's still a little bit of business left. There were a few results from NNHS alumni who qualified for regional championship meets this weekend.

Dan Chebot competed in the ECAC Div III championships on Saturday and ran 8:54.82 to finish 14th in the 3000m. It capped a terrific indoor season for Dan, who recovered from a nasty spiking earlier in the season to break 9:00 for 3K for the first time in the Valentine's meet at BU, and do it again Saturday.

Also competing in the ECACs, Doug Brecher ran 15:32.27 for 5K, placing 20th. In the women's 800m, Stephanie O'Brien had an off race, running 2:23.36 -- well off her season's best.

March 07, 2008

IAAF Worlds, IC4A, ECAC Championships This Weekend

If you're like me, you might have lost track of the fact that the IAAF World Indoor T&F Championships is taking place this weekend in Valencia, Spain. If that's your cup of tea, you can watch the championships live via Webcast. Here are the details (from USATF):

"WCSN.com, in partnership with USA Track & Field, will provide free LIVE
coverage for the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships being held in
Valencia, Spain at Palau Luis Puig Velodrome March 7-9. The free live webcast starts at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, March 7th. Live coverage continues on Saturday March 8 (10:50 a.m. ET) and Sunday, March 9 (10:50 a.m. ET)."

For all the details, see the WIC page at the IAAF web site.

If you prefer to see your indoor track and field up close, you have three great options this weekend. You can watch the IC4A Collegiate championships at Boston University; you can watch the ECAC Women's Div I Championships at Reggie Lewis; or you can watch the ECAC Div III Championships at Harvard.

March 04, 2008

The Bunion Derby


Maybe as a counter-balance to watching speedy athletes hurtling around 200m tracks all winter, I recently finished reading "The Bunion Derby," an account of a 3400-mile stage race across America.

It was on this day in 1928, 80 years ago, that 199 men set out to race from Los Angeles to New York, a distance of 3422 miles to be covered in 84 days, an average of 41 miles a day.

It was billed as the First Annual International Transcontinental Footrace and it was the brainchild of a somewhat unscrupulous sports promoter named C.C. Pyle. Pyle had big dreams of capitalizing on the public's interest in the race and in the new highway -- Route 66 -- which stretched from L.A. to Chicago. He planned the race to hit many of the big and little towns along the way, and hoped to make money with a traveling sideshow that would follow the runners from town to town.

The field included some of the best long, long distance runners (and walkers) of the day, including Arthur Newton, one of the all-time great ultra-distance runners and many-time winner of South Africa's Comrades Marathon. It also included a lot of near destitute young men hoping to persevere long enough to claim one of the top ten places and a cash prize. This was not an amateur race.

After only a few days of racing, several runners had dropped out. Conditions were very hard, and there was little in the way of practical support for the runners. Pyle had promised to feed and house them, but when the race started losing money, he looked for every excuse to shirk this responsibility. After a few weeks, the race had turned into a slog. Almost without exception, the best athletes had retired from the race, and the athletes who were left wouldn't have known an Olympic medal if it dropped out of the sky and hit them on the head.

As a spectator event, watching bedraggled men stumbling along at 10-minute mile pace was less than compelling for many. Heres how one modern day scribe described it:

"C.C. Pyle’s First Annual International Transcontinental Foot Race, better known as the Bunion Derby, was a plodding, disorganized event that taxed the health and sanity of the runners and was largely greeted with indifference by the American public."

However, public indifference has never been the true test of a worth endeavor, and th longer the race went on, the more the participants earned the right to be remembered. They were everday people with an extraordinary ability to put up with almost anything, and continue to move along the highway.

In a particularly cruel twist, to bring the race to a "swifter" conclusion and save money on food and expenses, Pyle lengthened the stages as the runners crossed Ohio, trying to "kill off" the slower runners. If they couldn't make the midnight cut-off time, they were out. During one three-day stretch, the "bunioneers" covered 173 miles - 58 miles a day.

The race produced some genuine heroes. The winner was Andy Payne, a 19-year-old from Oklahoma who had entered the race against the wishes of his father and who showed a patience beyond his years -- rarely winning a stage, but rarely having a bad race. Johnny Salo, a Finnish immigrant and policeman from Passaic was second. Third place went to Phillip Granville, a championship walker who had switched to trotting after the first few weeks. Fourth was Mike Joyce, a bricklayer from Cleveland.

The story of Andy Payne has been told in books, and even a documentary. You can see a preview here: The Great American Footrace

March 03, 2008

Barnicle: 13:56.43 at SEC's


Arkansas junior Chris Barnicle (Newton North class of '05) ran 13:56.43 for 5000m on Sunday, placing third in the SEC Championships. Barnicle's performance was a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Div 1 finals and makes him the eighth fastest collegian in the country this season, meaning that he is virtually guaranteed a spot in the NCAA finals, to be held at Arkansas March 15th.

He'll be competing against an old Mass. rival, LaSalle's Sean Quigley (Archbishop Williams '03), who owns a 13:50 this season.

Barnicle completed a great weekend in which he ran PRs for both the 3K (8:03.29) and 5K distances. The 5k was his only attempt at the distance this season, and represents a 6s improvement on his outdoor PR.

Barnicle's 12 points in the two distance events helped Arkansas win their fourth straight SEC championship.

March 01, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - March 1, 2008

Lots of NCAA conference meet action to report from around the country.

While Boston College was hosting North Carolina in basketball, North Carolina was hosting the ACC Indoor Championships. Wake Forest freshman Jess Barton had a busy weekend. On Friday, she ran 5:00.03 to qualify for the finals of the women's mile. On Saturday, she ran 5:05.28 in the finals, and then doubled back to run 10:06.99 in the 3000m.

At the same meet, Boston College sophomore and Wellesley alum Brielle Chabot ran 17:01 for 5000m on Friday and 10:02.41 for 3000m Saturday.

At the SEC Championships, hosted by Arkansas, Chris Barnicle ran a PR 8:03.29 for 3000m, finishing 3rd and scoring 6 points for the Razorbacks. (8:03 is the equivalent of an 8:39 two mile, folks! It is also a provisional mark for the NCAA championships.) Chris is also entered in the 5000m Sunday and hopes to get an NCAA automatic qualifier.

On Day 1 of the Heptagonals (Ivy League), hosted by Cornell, Yale freshman David Smith threw the weight 13.34 (43-9.25). He'll compete in the shot put tomorrow.

Noah Jampol ran the mile at the Centennial Conference Championships on Saturday, placing 12th in a field of 21 in 4:31.34.

ADDED 3/2: Dan Chebot ran a personal best for 3000m at the New York State Championships on Saturday. The Rochester junior ran 8:52.08 to place 9th overall at the meet, hosted by St. Lawrence University. Dan has qualified to run the ECAC championships next weekend in Boston.

Putzeys 3rd in New Englands

Seb saved the best for last.

Seb Putzeys ran 2:31.04 -- a PR by 0.75 -- to place 3rd at the H.S. New England Championships held at the Reggie Lewis Center Friday night. The only other Newton North competitor to participate was Ivan Kostadinov, who jumped 21-3.5 to place 7th in the long jump.

There were a number of outstanding performances from other Bay State athletes:

Brookline's Robert Gibson won the 2-mile in 9:24.72, two seconds ahead of a blanket finish for the next six runners. Brookline teammate Mike Burnstein finished 6th in 9:27.61.

Wellesley's Hannah Muir won the girls high jump with a leap of 5-7.

Natick's Becca White ran a season's best 11:07.02 to place 6th in the girls 2-Mile.

Dedham's Phil Weltman placed 6th in the boys 300, running 36.03.

Brookline's Alex Lippincott finished 7th in the boys high jump with a leap of 6-3.

The Weymouth girls finished 2nd in the 4x800, running a school record 9:25.78, only three seconds behind Glastonbury, CT.

The Brookline boys 4x800 team placed 2nd in 8:02.65, a little over a second behind Merrimack, NH.

The Milton boys 4x200 team placed 4th in 1:33.28.

Complete Girls Results
Complete Boys Results

NNHS Alumni Results - February 29, 2008

Day 1 of the New England Intercollegiate Championships at Boston University included two outstanding runs in the 5000m.

Bates sophomore Doug Brecher ran a 30-second PR to finish 11th overall. His time of 15:07.66 works out to 4:52 per mile. Outstanding!

After being confined to cross-training for nearly a week because of a stress reaction earlier in the season, Wesleyan freshman Haleigh Smith ran a PR 18:04.10, finishing 10th overall in the women's 5K.

Steph O'Brien ran 2:17.11 in the prelims of the women's 800, which placed her 13th overall but did not qualify for the final.