Talking Trials Final Report: Tarmoh-geddon, A Tale of Two Fourths and that Men's 1500

Jeneba Tarmoh hugs Allyson Felix after the 200
(all photos: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

What a week (and a half)! The 2012 Olympic Track and Field Trials have now come and gone and were filled with highs for some and lows for others, but an overabundance of excitement for all; on and off the track. Here are my final thoughts in eleventh and final edition of "Talking Trials." Full results for the trials are here.

Tarmoh-geddon
When I woke up this morning, I heard ESPN's Mike and Mike (and again at lunch on the Jim Rome Show) discussing the Jeneba Tarmoh forfeit to Allyson Felix, and how could someone give up the once-in-every-four-years opportunity to be an Olympian. I'm not quite sure, but I respect Ato Boldon and his explanation that Tarmoh was just too exhausted physically and mentally to go through with it. Seems plausible, but I'll always think there is something else there. As I mentioned on Twitter last night, I believe Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated's final article on the topic is where we should leave it. And then I watched Tarmoh's interview on SportsCenter. Mind boggling. Watch that race again.

A Tale of Two Fourths
Aside from my coverage here at writing about running, I covered local athletes for the Charlotte Observer, the Greensboro News & Record and the Raleigh News & Observer at the trials. Two of those athletes finished in the first spot that you don't want to finish at the trials, fourth.

Calesio Newman starts his run
towards the 200 final

For Greensboro's Calesio Newman, fourth was a huge jump in his career. He had failed to make the 100 meter final earlier in the week and would bounce back and look excellent through the rounds. When the 200 meter final came, he looked great. He would have a tough road ahead, starting out of lane eight, with eventual champion, Wallace Spearmon and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, Shawn Crawford, starting in lanes six and seven, respectively, using him as a personal rabbit. He would run the race of his life. That race would prove to be a mere .01 seconds off of his first Olympic team. He was the slowest out of the blocks and looked over about 10 meters too early at the finish. A tough day, but no one expected him to compete for the spot, so he had something to smile about. Read my final piece in the Greensboro News & Record on him here and watch part of my interview with him here. Watch the Men's 200 meter final here. 

For former Charlottean and NC State standout Julia Lucas, fourth was a bit tougher. In the Women's 5000 meter final Monday night, Lucase mad a strong move with three laps to go and looked to have the win in the bag. That changed with a lap to go. She slowed and would be passed by Julie Culley and American Record Holder, Molly Huddle, with 200 meters to go. It looked like she would hang onto the third and final Olympic spot. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case, as a hard charging Kim Conley would nip her at the line by .04 seconds. Despite the tough loss, Lucas answered questions for over ten minutes and faced her disappointment head on. It was incredible to watch and I take my hat off to anyone with that kind of toughness that makes a move like she did, have it backfire, and then standby it. Watch the agonizing race here.

Leo Manzano outkicks Centro down the stretch

That Men's 1500
The toughest team to make had to be the Men's 1500 meters. From the gun, it was exciting. The Jordan McNamara-Will Leer-John Mickowski plan of attack to try and get the Olympic A Standard almost worked, but they would have had to beat an excellent crowd to make the team; standard or no standard. In the end, the cream rose to the top with the year in, year out, world team lock, Leo Manzano, pushing by Matt Centrowitz in the last 50 meters to take the title and Andrew Wheating doing the same to Robby Andrews for that third final spot. It was a sea of carnage at the finish and Andrews was the face to pure exhaustion as he had to be helped off the track and then back to the warm up area. David Torrence was in second with 100 meters to go and would fade to sixth. That was just a very hard team to make. I wonder how many will drop down to the 800 or move up to the Steeplechase or the 5000 for next year's World Championships in Moscow. Watch the 1500 Final here.

Amy "Hasty" Hastings

The Eugene Scene
The town was electric for the trials. I met so many great people that it would be impossible to list them all. The people inside, outside and around the sport are some of the most interesting and introspective people I've ever met. I had the fun of meeting lots of great writers, athletes, shoe company employees and of course, the two groups that have helped every track and field fan see more of sport in real time, Flotrack and RunnerSpace. Both of these groups work relentlessly and quite frankly, I don't know how they have the energy to do it. I'm happy they do. Some highlights from talks with athletes were speaking to Lauren Fleshman and Matt Scherer late Saturday night about the sponsor game, speaking with Amy Hastings about her breakthrough and of course, hanging with my old friend Steve Edwards and the 3 Non Joggers, while his wife, Shalane Flanagan, ran the 10,000. 

I truly hope that the trials come back to Eugene, as it was easy to navigate everywhere and was very reasonable financially. Not to mention, a packed house of knowledgeable track and field fans every day. I was unsure if I'd understand all of the field events, but Kevin Sully of the House of Run podcast, educated me on them and I thoroughly enjoyed the nuances the exciting atomosphere that the fans loved. I fully expect this team to well in London and can't wait to watch them try.

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Talking Trials: A barefoot 4:30 mile in rolled up jeans

Nike ain't got nothing on Levi's

This is the sixth installment of "Talking Trials." There will be more to come every day during the 2012 USA Olympic Track and Field Trials from Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, OR. Full results for the trials are here.

Tuesday was the first off day out here in Eugene, but Track Town was still alive. As people filed out of the dorms, my roommate Jeff Caron and I hit up the morning Flotrack run per usual. Felt great, better than I have in a while. 7:00 miles felt easy again. I've been injured for the past two years and am on the running every other day plan right now. So why not double back and run the All Comers meet "Jogger's Mile" later in the afternoon after a good one? What could go wrong?

That's right. I outkicked a 13 year old.

After yet another meal at Big Mouth Burrito on campus, we discussed and prepared for what could be a disaster. The goal for me was 5:30. I ran 5:02 on the road and 5:03 indoors a couple years ago before getting injured (at 31), and still hope to get back under five before I go under. But that's neither here nor there. The story of the day was Jeff's race.

The first heat was for those 4:40 and under. Jeff mentioned he thought he could run "maybe high 4:30's at best." He didn't realize what he'd be up against. Your typical bunch of skinny dudes hit the starting lines with two outliers. One was a guy in a full grey sweatsuit and the other was a guy wearing a green cotton shirt, rolled up jeans and no shoes. Is this for real? No, it's Oregon. Weird stuff goes down. As my friend Steve Edwards (aka Mr. Flanagan) said, "Portland is not like Raleigh. I saw a woman taking her paper mache pig for a walk last week, then a guy riding a unicycle, covered in mud."

The truth would soon come out. Contenders or pretenders? Sweatsuit guy, joker. Got lapped. In the mile. Barefoot and in jeans guy? Legit. He had a few strides on Jeff going into the final 400. Luckily, Mr. Caron went to the well and beat the hipster by a stride in a very nice 4:30. Video proof, you ask? Yes, right here.

My heat was the 5:15-5:30 heat and of course some clown won it in 4:40 something. How did I do? Straight 81's baby. 5:24, 6 seconds under prediction. Not bad after a steady diet of beer and burritos all week and a good run earlier that morning. One day, my body will function correctly and I'll run fast again, in a hobby jogging sense of course.

By now, you know where we would venture off to later in the evening. The good ole Wild Duck. Awesome beer selection, awesome crowd full of track dorks and athletes. As Maggie Infeld mentioned in an articled today, this is "an alternate reality." Holding court would be the funniest guy on the oval, Khadevis Robinson and the one and only Amy "Hasty" Hastings. She's as cool as you've imagined.

One more off day and then it's back to the track.

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5 Questions with Matt Scherer

Matt Scherer paces the 1500 field at Payton Jordan
(photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Today we have 5 Questions with the self-proclaimed "best 800 meter pacer/rabbit in the world." With what he's done on the track lately, how can we argue? As Canadian Olympian Marathoner Reid Coolsaet recently tweeted "the guy is a billboard for 400-500 meters in every important 800."

Matt Scherer is that guy. The one you keep seeing leading high profile races for a lap or two. The guy barking back at the guy behind him to speed up or stay calm. He's fast, even keeled and wide bodied; perfect for blocking wind. He was asked to go through an 800 recently in 50.50. His FAT split? 50.50. Solid as a rock. He's also sponsorless. He'll be running in Diamond League London, and probably more. He'll be pacing the 800 at the  Victoria International tonight. Check it out live on Flotrack. Check out his website SchererSpeed.com and follow him on Twitter @mscherer

5 Questions with Matt Scherer

1. Writing About Running: You were a part of the fastest 800 meters on US soil Saturday. What does it feel like to be involved in something so historic?

Matt Scherer: To be honest, I'm not even sure I appreciate the magnitude of it yet. I've been busy as of late with a lot of races and travel, so I've had to stay very focused on just doing what I'm supposed to on the track. This was the first time I'd paced for Rudisha, and at the very least, I didn't want to screw anything up for him, that was the main objective. Past that, hitting the 400 meter split at a consistent pace was the only thing on my mind.

I was beyond excited to see the clock stop on 1:41 when he crossed the line. In the past, Rudisha has always had his friend/training partner Sammy Tangui pacing him, so I hope that he liked me enough to request me for more races later in the season and I can help him do something even more special.

2. Writing About Running: On Sunday, you were pacing the 800 on the other side of North America (Harry Jerome in Canada), which has become the norm for you of late. How difficult is it to bounce back and perform on target, when so many are expecting you to hit a time?

Matt Scherer: After having a decent amount of success pacing last year, I prepared myself this year, mentally and physically, for an increased work load. I've always been good at going with the flow and not getting stressed out over little things. That has come in particularly handy with all the things that never go right when traveling. The back-to-back New York and Vancouver races haven't even been my toughest turnaround this year. A couple weeks before that, I paced in Shanghai on Saturday, flew to Phoenix via Chicago and paced again on Monday. That was about a 26 hour travel day. But just like most athletes do, when it's show time, you put on a game face and go do your job and perform. You can't let travel ever be an excuse.

Pacing Kaki at Prefontaine in 2011
(photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

3. Writing About Running: The 600 you ran against Nick Symmonds at Hayward in 2008 was a great showcase of quite possibly the perfect distance for you. Did this race give you an idea that you might be pretty good at pacing longer races?

Matt Scherer: At the time of that 600 with Nick, pacing wasn't on my radar as a career. But what that race has done for me since I became a full-time pacer is give me a solid credential on my resume. (#6 All-Time) Now when meet directors see PB's like 45.1, 1:14.4, and 1:46.1 it doesn't hurt in getting jobs.

4. Writing About Running: Do you prefer Rabbit or Pacemaker? Does it matter?

Matt Scherer: It doesn't matter to me. It seems like in the US it's usually rabbit and most everywhere else it's pacer or pace maker. You usually can get better jokes with rabbit, which I always appreciate. Sometimes my friends introduce me as a professional quitter.

5. Writing About Running: You've been very busy in pre-Olympic action. What do you have on the schedule coming up?

Matt Scherer: It's still early, but I have the London Diamond League 800 meters on my schedule. I think fields will solidify a bit more once country's national meets and the European Championships are over. I would love to continue pacing at Diamond League and World Challenge meets as much as I can. And am hoping that Rudisha liked me enough to maybe use me for a world record attempt later in the year. For a pacer there isn't anything bigger than being part of a world record.

Watch Scherer pace David Rudisha to the fastest 800 on US soil (1:41.) below:

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Film Major: "The Real Maine" debuts tonight for free online

Erik van Ingen's new film, "The Real Maine" debuts tonight (Monday, May 21, 2012) at 6pm Eastern at TheRealMaineMovie.com I was lucky enough to see the film in advance and I can guarantee that if you're a fan of distance running, you'll love the concept, the personalities and the delivery. You'll walk away from your computer wanting more. Hopefully van Ingen will release some more outtakes, as it's fun getting to know the guys.

It's been an exciting year for the cast of characters. Chris Derrick hit the Olympic A Standard in the 5000 and 10,000. Erik van Ingen, Kyle Merber and Riley Masters hit the Olympic Trials A Standard in the 1500. Mark Feigen also PR'd in the 1500 this week, and will be running in the NCAA East Regional this weekend (with Merber and van Ingen. Derrick and Masters will be running in the NCAA West Regional).

Get to know them better tonight and check the links below for a little more background on the film.

Check out 5 Questions with Erik van Ingen (from last week) here

Check out the excellent 10 Questions with that Flotrack did to give you an overview of the characters.

"The Real Maine" is on Twitter @RealMaineMovie

"The Real Maine" on Facebook as well

Finally, "The Real Maine" is on Vimeo with some extra footage

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Thanks to our sponsor, Adharanand Finn's new book "Running with the Kenyans" for sponsoring the blog this week. Read my review of it here. If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network. You can also support the site by buying something on Amazon.com through this link

Millrose, Husky and the USA Classic lead a big weekend of Indoor Track

Rupp will chase Lagat's record in Arkansas

It's a great weekend to be a track and field fan with tons going on! Along with the USA Cross Country Championships (previewed earlier in the week), there are three big meets that highlight indoor track action across the country.

Here's a little information on each of them:

USA Track and Field Classic
Fayetteville, AR
Saturday, February 11, 5pm Central
Broadcast: Sunday, February 12, 12:30 - 2:30 on ESPN2
Entry List / Schedule
Results

The highlight of the meet will be Galen Rupp's attack on Bernard Lagat's American 2-Mile Record of 8:10.07. New Balance's Craig Miller will be pacing the affair and he'll be joined by OTC/Schumacher Group's Andrew Bumbalough, former California standout Michael Coe, Aron Rono and Stephen Pifer. Lagat set the record last year and it'll take quite the effort to break! The Women's 1500 will feature a showdown between the veteran Treniere Moser, Anna Pierce, who bounced back last week with a nice 1000, Brenda Martinez, who dominated the US Open Mile, Sara Vaughn, Ashley Higginson, Btissame Lahkuoad, who looked great last week, and YouTube sensation, Heather Dorniden. Finally, the Geoff Hollister Mile will feature an absolutely stacked field. Leo Manzano leads the American contingent that includes Jeff See and Russell Brown. Boston winner, Ciaran O'Lionard, is back with an impressive international field that includes Amine Laalou, Daniel Kipchichir Komen, Silas Kiplagat and Boston 3000 winner, Caleb Ndiku. Former Chapel Hill High standout, Jack Bolas will pace the affair. ESPN2 will show the event on tape delay Sunday.

Fast Times at "The Dempsey"

Flotrack Husky Classic
Seattle, WA
Friday, February 10, 4pm Pacific (and Saturday, Feb 11)
Broadcast: Live on Flotrack
Entry List / Schedule
Results

The Husky Classic has turned into one of the premier indoor meets in the country as athletes love the fast 309 meter track at "The Dempsey." Spiked Up, Psyched Up has a nice preview of the distance events. Flotrack will be streaming the entire event and will have a special program for the collegiate section of the meet from 6 to 9pm Eastern on Saturday.

Southern Utah's Cam Levins won't have to look
 far for competition in the Wanamaker Mile

Millrose Games
New York, NY
Saturday, February 11, 4pm Eastern
Broadcast: Youtube Live
Entry List / Schedule
Results

The Millrose Games is sold out! 5000+ will enter the Amory on Saturday to see tons of great competition. You wonder if they would have put together a similar field last year as they did this year, whether or not they could have kept it in Madison Square Garden, as it is truly stacked. Lots of great college athletes are in the fields and Let's Run has an excellent preview worth checking out. YouTube will be showing the event live, which is better than nothing!

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Things I Like: Flotrack's new show, Run Junkie

There's a new running show on the block from the excellent team over at Flotrack. My twitter account was greeted to a tweet (from Flotrack) this morning, introducing their new show, Run Junkie. Hosts Ryan Fenton and Alex Lohr do an excellent job of keeping the news brief and exciting and interject some true track dork comedy. While there are other excellent recap shows like Runnerspace Live and the House of Run podcast, in my opinion, there's always room for more. Here's to the newcomer! Check out the first episode below:

Watch more video of Run Junkie on flotrack.org

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