What better way to get motivated when you’re dreading the end of Christmas break than to watch FloTrack.com’s Best of 2008 Videos. Watch Shalane Flanagan power through a long workout in the wind and at altitude. Watch a recap of the University of Washington’s Lady Huskies’ season that will go down in history as one of the best ever in NCAA Cross-Country. Also, don’t miss the Best Kick (Jordan Hasay, Jenny Barringer), the Funniest Athlete and more!

Watch Shalane’s workout below, and go to FloTrack.com for more:

Most Motivational Workout of 2008

Filed under: Cross Country, Running, Track & Field by anngaff
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Dawn Harper’s Gold Medal performance in the 100m Hurdles at the Beijing Olympics has been called an “upset” and a “surprise”. She says, “I was an underdog. I wasn’t well-known”.

But her training partners and her coach knew. Harper trains in LA under legendary coach Bob Kersee with an all-star group that includes gold medalist Joanna Hayes, double world-champ Michelle Perry and NCAA Champ and record-holder Ginnie Powell. These athletes not only pushed the young star in training but mentored her as she prepared to compete on the biggest stage of her life: the Olympics. She also received advice from Kersee’s wife and Olympic Championship heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who told her to take the Olympics one race at a time.

Harper didn’t even have a new pair of spikes and was using tattered ones from her collegiate days at UCLA as she saddled up to the starting blocks at practice alongside her training partners who had shoes specially made for them, even monogrammed with their initials. Perry gave Harper an extra pair of spikes one day–the only pair she had left without her initials. “For me, it was intimidating and motivating to come to practice to not be sponsored and see everybody with new stuff,” said Harper, “I was just waiting for my time to come.”

And it did, during one of the closest finals ever in the event. Harper had to wait to see the results on the big screen before she knew she had done it. Harper then pointed at herself in astonishment, a gesture that she said had a higher meaning.

“Second is good and third is good, but God chose me to finish first,” Harper said. “I was questioning ‘Why me?’ Making the team told me that God was listening and when I won the Olympics it showed me God can do anything, if you put your faith into it.”

Filed under: Beijing Summer Games 2008, Olympics, Track & Field by anngaff
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December 16, 2008 - Olympian and World Championship 10,000m bronze medallist Kara Goucher has signed on to run the 113th edition of the Boston Marathon on 20 April 2009.

Goucher made her marathon debut in New York this autumn, her 2:25:53 third place performance the fastest ever US debut ever. With those credentials, Goucher is poised for a top finish in Boston, where the last American winner was Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985, and before her Joan Benoit in 1983.

“I could not be more excited to participate in the 2009 Boston Marathon on the John Hancock Elite Team,” said Goucher.  “As an American, Boston is an incredible opportunity to run a major marathon.  The race has a history like no other and its legacy spans generations.  I am so thankful to continue my journey toward my goal of becoming the best runner in the world here in the United States.”

With Boston champion Alberto Salazar as her coach, Goucher is certain to learn how to manage the difficult course, as did Salazar in his famous 1982 course-record duel with Dick Beardsley. “Coach Salazar will guide me to be ready to tackle the course, and the infamous Heartbreak Hill,” added Goucher. “Winning Boston is my next big challenge, and I could not have picked a bigger stage.” 

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials winner in the 5,000m and runner up in the 10,000m, Goucher went to the Beijing Olympic Games and in one of the hardest doubles on the track, finished ninth in the 5000m and 10th in the 10,000m (30:55.16).  At the 2007 World Championships, she won the bronze medal in the 10,000m, becoming the first American to ever medal in that event. On the roads, in her first half marathon, Goucher handed World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain a rare defeat by winning the 2007 Great North Run in 1:06:57, one of the fastest times in the world.

(via IAAF) 

Filed under: Marathon, Running, Track & Field by jane
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The University of Washington’s Katie Follett, Cross-Country All-American, got interviewed by Flotrack as she completed a workout on the school’s Alter-G treadmill.

An Alter-G treadmill allows you to run as if you weigh only a fraction of your actual body weight. This innovative piece of technology has allowed injury-prone runners or runners looking to up their mileage to get in more miles without the pounding and stress on the body. Only a handful of universities in the nation have access to Alter-G’s, as well as a few professional athletes. They are expensive pieces of equipment but have proven to be very worthwhile.

Follett placed 19th at last year’s NCAA DI Cross-Country Championships, making her Washington’s first All-American since 2001. This year, she is running 5th for her team–not because she is having a rough season but because her team has gotten that good.

This weekend, #1-ranked Washington faces #2 Oregon in the West Region Championships. Both teams should easily take the top 2 automatic team spots for the NCAA Championships. The question is, will the Washington Lady Huskies sweep the top 5 spots like they did a couple weeks ago at PAC-10’s?

Listen to what Follett has to say:

Filed under: College Athletics, Cross Country, Running, Sports A-Z, Student-Athlete, Technology, Track & Field by anngaff
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November 7, 2008 - Kara Goucher has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after running the fastest marathon debut ever by an American woman at the New York City Marathon. She ran in memory of her father, who was killed by a drunk driver in New York when she was four.

The 2007 World Outdoor 10,000m bronze medalist, Goucher crossed the line in 2 hours 25 minutes 53 seconds bettering the 2:26:58 run by Deena Kastor in 2001. It marked the first time since Anne Marie Letko in 1994 that an American woman placed in the top three at the New York Marathon.

Goucher grew up in Minnesota and made her mark as part of the the track and cross country teams of Duluth East High School. As a runner for the University of Colorado, she was the NCAA Outdoor Champion in a number of long distance events. Goucher competed in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics 10000m final where she placed 10th with a personal best time of 30:55.16, and the 5000m where she placed 9th with a time of 15:49.

The New York Marathon was Goucher’s marathon debut.  Based on her result this year, we look forward to many more great races.

Filed under: Athletics, Marathon, Track & Field by jane
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October 27, 2008 - Track phenom Jordan Hasay showed that cross-country is no weakness for her, as she clobbered the impressive field at the 2008 Mt SAC Cross-Country Invitational, a meet attracting the west coast’s top talent for a showdown year after year. According to DyeStat.com:

Hasay’s gap on the field at the mile was about 12 seconds, amazing considering the quality of the chase group – led by San Clemente CA sr Alex Dunne, Rancho Bernardo CA soph Molly Grabill, and Xavier Prep AZ jr Jessica Tonn. Coming down to the crossover, Dunne had separated herself from the others and cut that gap almost in half. The race was clearly not over and Hasay’s pursuers looked ready and eager to try and reel her in.

Hasay reached two miles in 11:05, with Dunne just four seconds back at 11:09. Downhill running has never been one of Hasay’s big strengths and Dunne was catching her on each one. Not only did a record look out of reach, but CA’s top-ranked D1 runner, who had clearly been California’s best all fall while Hasay kept a low profile, was a real threat to win the race.

Except … except the third mile showed that Hasay still had something left, or was able to get it back … and Dunne had gone too deep in the well trying to catch her. Hasay pulled away again and Dunne dug deep to hold on to second. As she got to the airstrip, it was clear that Trotter’s record was safe, but Hasay had a good shot to break 16:30 and get the #2 spot on the all-time Mt. SAC list – a spot held by Marie Lawrence from 2005, when she ran 16:29 in the Team Sweeps and Hasay 16:48 as a frosh in the Individuals. She did just that, crossing in 16:27, with Dunne holding on to a very good 16:48, followed by Grabill (at left) under 17:00 at 16:54 and Tonn settling for matching her time last year with 17:05.

Hasay now has three sub-17s in this meet, tied with “Mel” for the most of anyone, and four straight Individual Sweeps wins (though the 2007 version was called the SuperSweepstakes). Dunne’s time is =#7 all-time for the course (6th fastest girl ever), while Grabill is #7 with the 12th-best time. Never had two girls broken 17 in the same race here, let alone three.

Watch the video of the race here:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234116/76476

Filed under: Athletics, High School Athletics, Running, Track & Field by anngaff
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October 7, 2008 - Shalane Flanagan won the bronze medal in the women’s 10,000-m at the Beijing Olympics in August. Since the event was added to the Olympics for women in 1988, only one other American has medaled: Lynn Jennings in 1992.

Flanagan shattered her own American Record in the process, running 30:22.22. That’s 4:53 per mile, for more than 6 miles in a row. She crossed the finish line absolutely dumbfounded, asking “Did I do it?” and covering her mouth with her hands as she watched the big screen and learned that she did, in fact, do it.

Flanagan has been known to keep to herself; she trains mostly alone or with her husband, unlike many professional women runners who live near each other and train together. You don’t see her writing blogs, showing up in commercials, or giving speeches. The only commercial I’ve seen her in is a Johnson & Johnson one that honored mothers; Shalane looked into the camera and thanked her mother for all of her support.

Watch Shalane open up a bit to Runners World, below:

Filed under: Athletics, Beijing Summer Games 2008, Running, Sports A-Z, Track & Field by anngaff
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October 5, 2008 - We don’t write this news; we just link to it. Here’s a round-up of results from this weekend.

Golf: Paula Creamer calmly won her biggest LPGA Tour title yet, holding off a large pack to win the Samsung World Championship on Sunday near where she grew up in the Bay area.

Snowboarding: U.S. rider Jamie Anderson claimed the final Slopestyle Title of the Southern Hemisphere portion of the Swatch TTR World Tour  and finished the southern hemisphere season as tour leader.  

Surfing: Silvana Lima has claimed the Billabong Ladies Pro in Costão do Santinho against fellow Brazilian Tita Tavares along with ASP South American title.

T&F: Yelena Isinbayeva, often called the Queen of Pole Vaulting, has capped another tremendous year by being voted the female Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year 2008.
 

Filed under: Athletics, Golf, Pole Vault, Snowboard, Surfing, Track & Field by jane
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September 22, 2008 - Most professional track & field athletes have been racing meet after meet since May, beginning in their home countries, shifting to Europe for the Grand Prix circuit and then to Beijing for the Olympics.  Once the Olympics are over, many of them go back to Europe for a couple more Grand Prix meets to take advantage of some more prize money-winning opportunities and then FINALLY they can go home and take a load off.

Except for the milers, that is.   The milers are tempted to hold on just a couple more weeks for the 5th Avenue Mile in New York City. The 5th Avenue Mile is a miler’s dream: run down the streets of New York, from 80th Street to 60th Street.  The course is mostly downhill and doesn’t make any turns.  What does that mean?  You get to run FAST.

And run fast they did. Olympians Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain and Shannon Rowbury of the USA battled all the way to the end, with Dobriskey (one spot out of a medal in Beijing) edging Rowbury by 6 tenths of a second, 4:18.6 to 4:19.2.  No those are not typos.  They ran that fast.  The times were the 2nd- and 3rd- fastest times ever on the course, only behind Patti Sue Plumer’s 1990 course record of 4:16.6.  

Watch the race:

Filed under: Running, Track & Field by anngaff
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by Ann Gaffigan
 The 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials was not just a track meet; it was a track-a-palooza. 

I landed in Portland, Oregon, and took the Athlete’s shuttle to Eugene, where the meet took place.  As we approached “Track Town USA”, I started to see billboards with phrases like “Home of the Hardest Team to Make” and “Where You’re Fired for Being 0.01 Seconds Late”, punctuated by the Nike swoosh. 

As the shuttle neared my drop-off at the Living Learning Center, a dormitory rented out to athletes during the Trials, we passed the famous Track Town Pizza and a bar that had a large Adidas banner hanging above its front door.  The time had finally come.

I competed in the 3000m steeplechase in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.  I won and set an American Record in the process.  But I did not go to the Olympics in Athens.  The steeplechase was not yet an Olympic event for women (it has been an Olympic event for men since the first Games).  So for the past 4 years, I put the rest of my life on hold and trained. 

I stayed in Lincoln, Nebraska, to be coached by my collegiate coach, Jay Dirksen.  I worked hard to balance the training, the recovery and sleep, the proper nutrition, and the job to pay the bills.  The 2008 Trials were the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Since 2004, more women have tried the steeplechase and those who already were doing it honed their hurdling skills, water jump technique, and training to perfect the art of the event.  The American record had been re-set twice since I had set it and several women were threatening to break it again SOON.  It was definitely going to be one of the “hardest teams to make”. 

Only the top three women in the final would qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team and many more than three wanted to make that team.  BADLY.  This was the first shot at the Olympics for all of us steeplechasers. 

(more…)

Filed under: General, Olympics, Profiles, Sports A-Z, Steeplechase, Track & Field by anngaff
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