Run The Roads

I don’t watch the TV show CSI - Las Vegas very often, but I was flipping through the TV the other day and came across the CSI episode ‘Dead Ringer.’  While I didn’t watch the entire episode, the opening scene was amazing…and yes, it pertains to running.

The opening scene, while obviously scripted and produced, mimicked the Nevada Law Enforcement relay, which runs through the desert outside of Las Vegas every year.  The opening scene (posted below) showed just how cool running can look on TV if time and a lot of money are spent on making it a show, rather than just runners going head to head.

Cycling has done a good job at producing high quality footage for TV, putting in a lot of money to make an energy filled, high impact show.  Road running needs to do the same, spending more money on production and selling the sport to the general public.  TV is powerful and the sport needs to realize this.

(photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

News broke today on Twitter, courtesy of former TrackShark owner Tom Borish, that Usain Bolt will be featured on Sports Illustrated’s cover later this week.  Personally, we can’t even remember the last track and field athlete featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  It may have been Marion Jones or Michael Johnson, but we’re looking into it.

This is a big step for the sport.  While print media is fading as a national scope of current events, Sports Illustrated remains a strong presence in the sports world, especially the cover of each issue.  Usain Bolt is quickly approaching international superstar status, if he doesn’t already hold that crown.  In the U.S., while before the World Championships, I would have questioned Bolt’s popularity and notoriety, it’s obvious now that he has captured sports fans minds and hearts, even if they still love baseball, football and basketball.

(photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

Yesterday morning I read a great article in Sports Business Journal on youth sports, and how various sports organizations (NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS) are working hard to improve their youth portion of their respective sport, not only trying to increase popularity, but trying increase the likelihood those young athletes turn into lifelong fans.

Here’s a portion of the article:

“Connecting with children 6 to 13 is paramount in turning them into lifelong fans, according to data compiled by the NFL. Fifty-five percent of avid NFL fans said they became engaged or interested in football in elementary school or earlier. Seventy-five percent of avid fans and 62 percent of casual fans participated in football at some level as a child.”

Looking at those statistics for the NFL, it is quite clear that having youth participation in a sport is a key element to creating fans for the future. Obviously playing a sport as a child doesn’t necessarily translate to becoming a fan of the sport as an adult, the example being soccer, which is maybe the sixth most popular sport in the U.S., but has the largest participation base in the 6-13 demographic. However, having some type of organized, national youth program is a key element to any sport, and one that cross country, road racing and track and field (the three branches of USATF) lack.

The lack of a well publicized youth program is one of the primary factors why track and field isn’t more popular in the U.S. If you look at high school participation, track and field is the third most popular sport behind football and basketball, but ranks well ahead of baseball/softball, swimming, tennis, golf and soccer. That type of popularity should mean good things, but it doesn’t, simply because many track and field athletes by then have played other sport, sports they’d rather watch on TV and follow when compared to track.

So, how does USATF attract new fans into the sport at that age? Well, for starters, they need to establish a youth running program in schools. I’ve actually talked with USATF about this, but starting a national cross country week and national track and field week in elementary and junior high schools would do wonders for the sport.

Second, youth track and field needs to be better organized and popularized, starting with mass organization at the USATF Association level, which the national office can lead. Third, an interactive, easily-navigated, highly organized website needs to be built and marketed to the youth sector of the sport (i.e. SI for Kids), which showcases the best athletes in our sport, so kids can follow their favorite stars, watch interviews, know when to watch a meet online or on TV, etc.

A combination of those three things would certainly help grow the youth level of the sport dramatically and could potentially create more fans at a younger age for the sport, which is always a great thing. USATF is a stretched organization, only able to put so many resources into various aspects of the sport, but this seems more like something USATF can spearhead, but put the majority of the work on the state associations. It is a complex problem, but the solutions are simple.

Ok, in case you weren’t convinced, Usain Bolt is a global superstar, and is easily the face of our sport. Track and field desperately needed a face heading into the Olympics, with Bolt appearing at the forefront and taking over the sport’s throne, but yesterday he showed why everyone needs to notice when he races. He is track and field!

No one cares about track and field. I mean, you and I do, but the general sporting public in the U.S. doesn’t care. That changed just a bit yesterday, when I saw that ESPN, YahooSports and USA Today all featured Bolt’s world record performance on their front pages, as one of the top 1-2 articles of the day. USA Today went one better by having it as the second largest story of the day, behind Tiger Woods’ dramatic loss.  Furthermore, if you look at the comments section of each piece, there are hundreds (thousands in YahooSports’ case) of comments left by sports enthusiasts.  This shows me that people care about Bolt, with the type of connection few athletes can create.

When people think of world wide celebrity athletes, Tiger Woods comes up #1 easily, with Lance Armstrong probably right behind or LeBron James or Kobe Bryant (he’s much more popular than James in Asia, which is a HUGE market). However, I’d venture to say that Bolt has the potential to be #2 in the world. Track and field is a global sport, no event is easier to understand than the 100m dash and the tag “the World’s Fastest Man” is the most notable tag you can be given in the entire athletic world.

Lets hope the IAAF, Puma, Bolt’s agent and support staff all realize that Bolt is one of a kind and needs to be marketed as such.  He is more talented than Michael Johnson, equally as charasmatic as Carl Lewis and millions of dollars need to be poured into marketing Bolt over the next few years.  Track and field needs a Tiger Woods, it needs a Lance Armstrong, and Usain Bolt is that athlete.

With the IAAF World T&F Championships taking place starting this weekend, the IAAF held their annual meetings.  Reading through the IAAF Council notes on their website, it came to my attention that the Council recommended to the IAAF Congress (the governing body that makes all final decisions) that the World Cross Country Championships take place biennially instead of the current format of being held every year.

If the IAAF Congress decides to change the current format, this could change the event dramatically.  First, the bidding process to host the World Cross Country Championships would more than likely become more competitive.  The past few years have seen fewer and fewer cities bid for the championships, so this could certainly raise the stakes, while increasing potential prize money and event sponsorship in the process.

Furthermore, this could create more interest in the event from the athlete perspective.  Especially in the United States, many of the top distance runners do not take part in the U.S. Cross Country Championships (which qualifies them for national team), or if they do, they choose not to run in the World Championships.  However, this could certainly change if there is more prestige surrounding the event, and perhaps even more bonus money from shoe sponsors.

Personally, this seems like a good decision.  The World Cross Country Championships have been losing steam over the past few years (financially, commercially, etc.), which means putting it into a more unique format could bring the event back to life.  Here’s to hoping cross country can gain popularity on the world stage once more.

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photo courtesy of ikhp123

WILLARD EXCITED TO FOCUS ON 1500M AT WORLD CHAMPS
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Life is good for Anna Willard, and it looks like it could get even better.

Under the coaching of Terrence Mahon, The 25 year-old athlete, who finished tenth at in the Beijing Olympic steeplechase last summer, has risen quickly to become America’s most versatile middle distance runner.  Her accomplishments just this year read more like the accumulated work of a ten-year career: USA indoor 1500m champion; winner of the Reebok Grand Prix and Areva Paris Golden League 800m races; second and third, respectively, in the USA Outdoor Championships at the steeplechase and the 1500m; and personal bests of 1:58.80 for 800m and 4:01.44 for 1500m.  She even won the inaugural B.A.A. Mile on the streets of Boston the day before the Boston Marathon.

But Willard, who will marry steeplechaser Jonathan Pierce in September, surprised more than a few fans when she chose to run only the 1500m at the upcoming IAAF World Championships in Berlin.  Her top-3 finishes at the USA Outdoor Championships last June in both the steeplechase and the 1500m guaranteed her selection for both events, and many thought she would turn to the steeple where she was already an established global player with a 9:22.76 career best.

“It was a tough decision,” Willard explained to Race Results Weekly in an e-mail message.  ”I have had the majority of my professional success in the steeple but have been working so much this year on my 800 and 1500 fitness.  I am very excited about the 1500 right now and think I have a shot to do very well at worlds.”  She added: “(In) the steeple I didn’t feel as confident in my ability to place top-3.”

Moonlighting in the 800m, Willard has demonstrated great racing savvy and closing speed.  At the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City last June, Willard rolled over a solid field of two-lap specialists, notching her first ever sub-2:00 race in 1:59.29.  Six weeks later, she did the same thing at the ÅF Golden League meeting in Paris, passing most of the field in the last 100m, her flawless stride carrying her to a convincing win over Italian star Elisa Cusma Piccione.

“We had already made the decision to focus on the 15 before I ran the 800 in Paris, but that P.R. really solidified my confidence in our decision,” said Willard.  ”The 800 has been really fun for me this year, and not necessarily just as an indicator for the 1500 potential. I really enjoy tapping into my speed and I am definitely looking to run faster in the 800 post-WC’s.”

Willard had flirted with doubling in Berlin, but a key workout just one week after the USA Outdoor Championships convinced her to put the steeple aside for the rest of this season.

“We decided after a workout the week after USA’s when I ran a 24.5 in a 200,” Willard recalled.  ”I felt so excited about my speed that it almost felt like a waste to run the steeple.  Since that day, I haven’t looked back once.  I am very happy with my decision to focus on the 1500.”

Willard’s decision to abdicate her team berth in the steeple meant that Beijing Olympian Lindsey Anderson would be named to the team.  Anderson had finished fourth in the USA national meet and already had the IAAF World Championships “A” standard of 9:40.00 in her pocket.  Willard chose to alert Anderson early on so she could be prepared to race in Berlin.

“I thought she deserved to know,” said Willard.  ”I knew I had until the end of July to decide, but felt that I should expedite my decision so that both Lindsey, or Erin Donohue, had the same opportunity to plan their season.”

Donohue, another Beijing Olympian, finished fourth in the 1500m at the national meet and would have made the team had Willard chosen the steeplechase, instead.  At the time, Donohue recognized that Willard had earned the right to pick the event which was best for her.

“It’s up to her,” said Donohue.  ”Whoever was the fastest should get to represent the U.S.  If she’s feeling up to it, she should do it.”

*   *   *   *   *

Only two American woman have medaled in the 1500m at the IAAF World Championships.  In the inaugural contest in 1983 in Helsinki, Mary Decker won the gold medal.  Regina Jacobs won the silver medal in both Athens in 1997 and Sevilla in 1999, but was later convicted of a doping violation.  In the last contest in Osaka in 2007, no American women made it to the final.

ENDS

The Washington Times reported today that Alan Webb is packing his bags and moving westward, all the way to Portland, Oregon. Steve Nearman broke the story, reporting that Webb will leave Virginia and move to Portland, training under the watchful eye of Alberto Salazar, while still having some guidance from former coach Scott Raczko.

For the past two years, critics have loudly chastised Webb for staying with Raczko, despite missing the final at the Beijing Olympics and failing to qualify for this year’s World T&F Championships in Berlin. However, his move to train under Salazar is quite interesting.

Salazar’s training group now consists of Galen Rupp, Kara Goucher, Adam Goucher, Amy Yoder-Begley and Dathan Ritzenhein, while working in conjunction with Jerry Schumacher’s training group (Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky, Evan Jager, etc.). While Webb doesn’t necessarily fit into the mold of Salazar’s group, which tends to focus more on 5k-marathon, the move is certainly intriguing, as Salazar has had great success over the past few years with all of his athletes.

While Webb’s season was announced over after the U.S. T&F Championships, fans will remain closely focused on Webb in Portland. For Webb, this seems as if he is starting over, moving to the opposite coast to start anew. Salazar, and the Nike resources, give Webb the best shot to jump back on track to where he was in 2007, breaking the American record in the mile and having the fastest 1,500m time in the world (and #2 800m time).

As I discussed two weeks ago, Webb is one of the most recognizable faces in the sport, but that attention was waning as of late. Here’s to hoping Webb can make a successful transition and work his way back towards being one of the best in the world.

With the start of the IAAF World Championships less than two weeks away, last minute preparations are being conducted by USATF to make sure Team USA is ready to perform their best in Berlin.  While it has yet to be announced by USATF, according to a Runner’s World interview with Team USA marathon member Matt Gabrielson, Ed Torres was added to the U.S. squad, replacing Fernando Cabada.

Torres’ addition to the U.S. squad gives the U.S. men a strong contingent, with their race taking place on August 22.  Torres, along with teammates Gabrielson, Justin Young, Dan Browne and Nate Jenkins, comprise the men’s team.

One of the most insightful Q&A portions with Gabrielson is when the Team USA Minnesota team member talked about the U.S. preparation for the World Championships race.

Runner’s World Interview - Click Here

So you haven’t yet gone over to Berlin to check out the marathon course like some team members have.

MG: I’ll be going over 11 days before the race. I think there will be enough time to run a six-mile loop on that thing. Or even drive it, or whatever (the course is a 10K loop, with an extra 2K added on the last circuit). We were very fortunate in early June to be able to go out to Colorado Springs to the Olympic Training Center as a team, men and women, and have Dr. Dave Martin, and a few other people, talk to us at the Marathon Summit. They’ve done this for a few years. I pretty much have a picture of the course in my mind already. It was outstanding, the information they presented, and it was kind of a good bonding time, too.