5 (more) Questions with the Gate River Run Elite Athlete Coordinator, Richard Fannin

Richard Fannin will be everywhere this weekend

Today we have five more with more questions with the man behind the elite fields at this weekend's Gate River Run 15k National Championship. Here's the first set of 5 Questions with Mr. Fannin (from 2012) and the 2013 edition is below! Follow the race this Saturday on Runnerspace.

5 (more) Questions with Richard Fannin

1. Writing About Running: The Gate River Run 15k kicks off the road racing season each year. Everyone is excited for a new beginning. How does that energy translate to your event?

Richard Fannin: Yes, it seems that after a long track season, and the big fall marathons, everyone is ready to rest and re-group over the holidays. Many of these runners train in cold winter locations and are excited about an early season fitness test in balmy Florida. There is usually a little element of mystery, as many runners haven't raced in a few months and this is often their first race of the year. The slate is clean on the USA Running Circuit - and it is open season !

2. Writing About Running: American distance running icon, Todd Williams, set the American Record here in 1995 with a scintillating 42:22. How has that record stood for 18 years?

Todd Williams in Adidas' "Runners, Yeah we're different" ad

Richard Fannin: Todd Williams' American (and course) record was the result of a great runner having one of those perfect days where it all clicked. The course was a little different that year, with a long downhill ramp coming off the Hart Bridge. But that was such a great performance, I think it would still be the American Record on the current course, just maybe 15-20 seconds slower.

3. Writing About Running: You fly a great deal of athletes in, put them up in a nice hotel, feed them and host a post-race party. What else is it that makes this weekend such a "can't miss" on the USA Running Circuit?

Richard Fannin: We really do try to pay attention to every last little detail for the runners, and we have assembled a great group of volunteers here from JTC Running that get it done! My belief is that the less they have to worry about logistics, and the more relaxed they are, the better they can perform on race day. And as mentioned earlier, Jacksonville in early March typically has lows in the fifties and highs in the seventies - and tons of sunshine - that makes this race an easy sell after often long cruel winters in Minneapolis, Mammoth, Flagstaff, Boulder, etc.

4. Writing About Running: You are very plugged in to the sport. What changes could be made, in your opinion, to move the sport forward?

Richard Fannin: I think the advent of the big teams and training groups is the best thing that has happened to US distance running in 20 years. It has allowed many more elites to forego the professional world for a few years and focus solely on their sport. The team competition we created five years ago was designed to really reward and encourage those teams that are making it happen. A lot of runners come here and - although they might not finish in Top 10, end up going home with some nice prize money. The team competition is something we hope will catch on around the USATF circuit. I know the 8k championships is having a team competition this year.

5. Writing About Running: What's new for the 2013 edition of the Gate River Run?

Richard Fannin: We have several new things we are excited about this year. The first is that The Equalizer bonus is going to be 6 minutes 35 seconds .. based on our new formula of using the exact split the prior 3 years, averaged to the second, which we think will make for a very close race.

Craig Virgin on multiple Track & Field News covers

As referenced earlier, the team race is not new, but this year is the largest and most robust it has ever been; with teams from Hansons Brooks, Asics Aggies, Adidas Boulder Running Company (ADP), Boulder Track Club, ASTF, New Balance Silicon Valley, Nike Team Run LA, Sacramento Elite, Team USA Minnesota, Team USA Arizona, and Zap Fitness.

We are excited about our guest speaker for Friday night, Craig Virgin. Between breaking Steve Prefontaine's high school record, winning an NCAA title, winning two World Cross Country Championships, and appearing in three Olympic Games, he has quite a resume and quite an inspirational story to tell.

And as always, we are excited about the parties we throw for the runners on Saturday night. After a couple of nervous days and a big race, it is fun to blow off steam and celebrate with the runners. The elite distance running crowd in the US is really a pretty small fraternity, and most of the runners know each other well and are good friends. We try to position our race as a fun, spring break "family" reunion weekend; where hey, there also happens to be an awesome 15k race!

Have a request or recommendation for who next 5 Questions with should be with? Email writingaboutrunning@gmail.com

Follow writing about running on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest

Support the site and start here when you shop on Amazon.com

Tracking Track this weekend (where to watch and get live results)

Bernard Lagat's quest for Gold will
begin at 2pm ET Friday
(photo:TrackAndFieldPhoto)

It's March Madness all around this weekend as College Basketball isn't the only thing that's going on. World Indoors started late last night  (check out the results link for Day 1 to see the hot start that Team USA is off to) and will get going again at Noon eastern today (Friday), NCAA's kick off at 4pm eastern in Boise, ID and one of the biggest non-Marathons in the country, the Gate River Run, is Saturday at 8:30am eastern.

Here's a few links to keep you posted on the action:

IAAF World Indoor Championships
March 9-11
IAAF Coverage site
Results are here
Watch live on UniversalSports.com for $14.99 (Or only $9.99 with $5 off code USNTAF)
Preview: IAAF Day 1 Preview, IAAF Day 2 Preview

NCAA Indoor Championships
March 9-10
NCAA Coverage site
Results are here
Watch live via NCAA and ESPN3.com (ESPNU will show the meet on tape delay Sunday, March 18 at 7:30pm ET)
Friday: 12pm ET - NCAA.com, 7:30pm ET - ESPN3.com
Saturday: 12:30pm ET - NCAA.com, 8:00pm ET - ESPN3.com

Preview: Track Superfan has multiple previews from individual to team predictions

Mo Trafeh will be looking to threepeat
 in Jacksonville this weekend

Gate River Run

USATF 15k Championship

March 10

Race Homepage

Runnerspace Coverage site

Results are here

Watch live via USARunningCircuit.com (coverage starts Saturday at 8:20am ET)
Preview: Trafeh needs a little Mo speed for Gate River Run equalizer bonus (via Jacksonville.com)
Interview: 5 Questions with the Gate River Run Elite Athlete Coordinator, Richard Fannin

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks again to our sponsor, RaceSplitter, for sponsoring the blog this week. 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.

5 Questions with the Gate River Run Elite Athlete Coordinator, Richard Fannin

Today we have 5 Questions with the brains behind the first big United States Road Race (save the Marathon Trials) of the year and it is this Saturday in Jacksonville, FL. The Gate River Run 15k has a long history of being a target race for many American Elites before the start of Marathon season. We'll do a race preview later in the week, but today we were lucky to do an interview with the Elite Athlete Coordinator of the Gate River Run, Mr. Richard Fannin.

Richard Fannin is a self-described "running junkie," father of 5, native of Jacksonvile, Florida and coordinator of elite athletes for The Gate River Run, the US 15k Championship Road Race. The race will celebrate it's 35th running this year. I met Richard at his excellent post-race party at the Marathon Trials and his passion for the sport and it's athletes runs deep. Whether you are an elite or a hobby jogger like myself, I highly recommend making the trip down to Jacksonville to run the Gate River Run at some point in your life.

5 Questions with Richard Fannin

1. Writing About Running: What is your role with the race - and how did you get involved?

Richard Fannin: Doug Alred and his wife Jane are the co-race directors - and since 2009, my specific job responsibity is the coordinator of the elite athletes for the race. My father, along with a small group from the Jacksonville Track Club, founded the race in 1978, and I have had a vested interest in continuing his legacy with my involvement. In the late 70's and early 80's, I used to sit down with my dad with a stack of Runner's World magazines and Track and Field News lists, and compile our recruiting lists for the race. 30 years later, I am still doing the same thing.

Photo of lead pack from inaugural Gate River Run
(then known as River Run 15,000) in 1978 ..
L to R .. Benji Durden, Bill Rodgers, Barry Brown,
Chris Stewart, Jerome Drayton and Ken Misner 

2. Writing About Running: What changes did you make when you took over?

Richard Fannin: I joke that I was "already starting on 3rd base" as we already had one of the greatest fields - if not the greatest - in American roadracing when I started. But one objective I had was to try to make the field even deeper. In 2009, we started our first competitive team competition - known as "The Tenbroeck Cup" - named after John Tenbroeck, a tireless volunteer for the track club who had passed away the previous year. Our team competition has a separate $20,000 prize structure - on top of the individual prize money. It has been successful beyond our wildest dreams, drawing teams such as Team USA Minnesota, McMillan Elite, Bay Area Track Club - and others. It has indeed made our fields deeper than ever ... in 2009, we had 13 women run under 52 minutes. Last year, we had 8 men under 44:00 and 21 under 45:00.

3. Writing About Running: Who are the top competitiors this year?

Richard Fannin: Mo Trafeh - who won in 2009, and 2010, is back - and going for the "threepeat". He has run exactly 42:58 each of the last 2 years - the 4th and 5th fastest times in the history of the race. He certainly looks to be the class of the field. We have another 15-16 men that could make it very interesting: Fasil Bizuneh, who always runs well here. Bobby Mack, who won the USATF cross country title last month. Scott Smith, who just ran a 63:18 half in Houston. Then another handful of young guys such as Nick Arciniaga, Sean Houseworth, Christo Landry, Jimmy Grabow, Matt Llano, Ben Bruce, and Tim Ritchie. Antonio Vega is also back from injury, running his first race in nearly 2 years. Rounding out the challengers are Sergio Reyes, Zach Hine, Mike Sayenko, Danny Mercado and Justin Young.

The women's race is very intruiging; former champions (and veterans) Katie McGregor and Blake Russell are running. Magdalena Lewy-Boulet is running as well. But some of the toughest challengers will be some women that are running our race for the first time. Molly Huddle, the American Record holder for 5,000 meters (14:44) is making a rare road appearance, and has to be considered a favorite. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, who just was cleared as a US competitor in September, won all 3 races she ran on the circuit last fall, won the USATF road title for 2011, and just placed 5th - with a 2:29 - in The Olympic Trials Marathon. Adriana Nelson, another runner recently granted US citizenship, is running as well. There are a whole host of young challengers behind this group. Maegan Krifchin, who ran a brilliant 71:04 in the Philadelphia Half-Marathon last fall, 2:29 marathober Clara Grant, Meghan Peyton, Sarah Porter, Lindsey Scherf, Alisha Wiliams, Kathy Newberry, and Emily Brown round out a deep, deep women's field.

Richard Fannin (2nd from right) on the awards
stage with McMillan Elite in 2011

4. Writing About Running: What changes have you made to the "Equalizer Race"?

Richard Fannin: For the last 8 years, we have started the elite women with a head start over the men - with the overall winner receiving an extra $5,000. For the first 6 years, the "headstart" was 5 minutes - basically the split between the men's and women's American Records (both set on our course). We have changed the rules to the rolling average of the actual split the prior 3 years - rounded up or down to the nearest minute. This year, for the first time - the split will be 7 minutes. I feel the "bogey" for men is 43:00 and for the women it is 50:00. I think the real story this year is - can the women hold off the men ? It has only happened once in 8 years. If you look at the Twin Cities 10 mile championship last fall, which uses a similar format, the split was 46 seconds per mile (Mo Trafeh and Janet Cherobon). An equal split over 15k would be 6:53. So I think it will be very, very close.

5. Writing About Running: What differentiates your race from the other top US road races?

Richard Fannin: I think mother nature is really on our side. March in Florida is typically sunny and beautiful. Many of these runners - who train in often snowy winters in Minneapolis, Flagstaff, and Boulder, et al. - relish the opportunity to come to a "spring break" type of setting (Author's Note: I ran the GRR during my grad school spring break week in 2010). Also, the fact that we really showcase the Americans. Not to take anything away from some of the fine races that award prize money to foreigners, but we really go out of our way to showcase and put the spotlight on America's best every spring. Lastly, we really make it a point to show them all some good old-fashioned "southern hospitality" while they are here. We put them up in the host hotel for 3 nights, have a nice elite pasta dinner with a guest speaker on Friday night, and the race director hosts a dinner is his backyard on Saturday night. It really is a 4 day "happening". Tune in at 8:20am Saturday to watch live on RunnerSpace. It should be quite a show!

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our new sponsor, RaceSplitter, for sponsoring the blog this week. 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.

Road to Houston: Final Trials Thoughts and Fantasy Recap

This will be the final article in the "Road to Houston" series. I hope you enjoyed them!

Final Trials Thoughts
The weekend in Houston was incredible. The trials were staged well and it was fun to watch. Aside from the streaming debacle, I think it was a success. I hope NBC remedies that for 2016. It was exciting to see Meb prevail after his disappointment in 2008, followed by the roller coaster that began with his win in NYC, his move from Nike to Skechers and his PR at NYC just two months ago.

It was also exciting to see fellow Tar Heel, Shalane Flanagan, take the win. Her past year and a half (or so) has been truly amazing and I believe it's safe to say now that her move from John Cook to Jerry Schumacher has been a complete success. It was also inspiring watching Amy Hastings throw down a power move when it looked like she was out of it. (Click here to check out the TwitVids that I recorded while on course)

Myself and Blaine Moore from RunToWin.com
at the Post-Trials After Party

Beyond the racing, it was nice to meet a lot of the athletes and the other kind folks in the running business. The sport of running has some nice people in it, and I'd especially like to the Richard Fannin from the Gate River Run for hosting an excellent after party at the Flying Saucer. Good times were had by all!

Fantasy Recap
The first fantasy draft was this fall for the NCAA Cross Country Championships and the league was stocked full of some of the most knowledgeable minds in track and field (that are readily available on Twitter). The field consisted of Jesse Squire, aka the Track Superfan, Kevin Liao from Spiked Up, Psyched Up, Chris Nickinson from Runnerspace, Ryan Fenton from Flotrack, Kevin Sully from the House of Run podcast, Jim McDannald from TrackFocus and myself. Liao won the Men's (and overall) and McDannald won the Women's. For the Olympic Trials, the tables would turn.

In the NCAA draft, we had seven rounds (of snake drafting) and five scored. For the trials, we also had seven rounds, but only four scored, due to excessive DNF's. For the next trials, we may need to draft eight, as there were even more DNF's than predicted.

Two smart fellows: Fenton was second and
Nickinson took the win

The winner on the Men's side was Chris Nickinson. He had a solid squad whose scorers were Andrew Carlson (picked 6th, finished 6th), Abdi (picked 9th, finished 3rd), Josh Cox (picked 20th, finished 14th) and Drew Polley (picked 37th, finished 21st). Nickinson also took the overall win this year with a strong Women's performance. This was a strong comeback from his sixth place finish for NCAA XC. It should also be noted that Nickinson had prior obligations with Runnerspace the night of the draft, so he emailed me a depth chart. The depth chart delivered. I finished tied for second on the Men's side with the Track Superfan and my scoring squad was Meb (picked 2nd, won), Cabada (picked 13th, finished 7th), Max King (picked 27th, finished 19th) and Zach Hine (picked 41st, finished 31st).

The winner on the Women's side was Kevin Sully (with help from  Jason Halpin). That's correct, the two headed monster that is the House of Run went from seventh overall at NCAA XC to a Women's win at the Trials. Their scoring four were Amy Hastings (picked 4th, finished 4th), Katie McGregor (picked 11th, finished 11th), Linda Somers-Smith (picked 25th, finished 28th) and Camille Herron (picked 39th, finished 26th). I finished fifth on the Women's side with a scoring team of Magda, Zoila Gomez, Jen Houck and Alisha Williams, my steal, who I picked 37th and finished 14th. The Women's side was close though, and I took the overall bronze, two steps down from Nickinson, and one from runner-up, Ryan Fenton. Fenton is the only league member to podium in both competitions. I like forward to the next!

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Hobby Jogging: 2000 Miles for 2010 (and some highlights)

After taking a 2 week break after the Dash for Cash to heal up from a bunch of nagging injuries, I was itching to get back on the roads and trails to get that last 65 miles to hit 2000 for the year. 2009 was my first year back to training with consistency and I hit 1411.5, so 2000 was a pretty big jump. After getting a solid week of training in this past week (51.5 miles), I was sitting just 14 miles shy of the mark after my Christmas run. Charlotte got dumped on with snow Christmas evening, making a Sunday long run nearly impossible. I took the rest, headed back to Greenville today (Monday) and set out for a 14-miler, only my third double digit run since Chicago. Snow was all over the place and I was forced into 10" of snow during one mile stretch of highway. Made it through and took a gel and a half a bottle of water at 8.5 before cruising the last 5.5 and rolling home in 6:41 for the last mile. I felt best on the last 20 minutes of the run. Hopefully a sign of good things to come. Now, onto 5 highlights from 2010...

Boston - This was a race I have watched since my teens and qualifying for it at NYC in 2009 was one of my biggest sporting thrills ever. Competing at Boston was everything I had hoped it could be. Felt great from the gun, went through the half in 1:22 and was on 2:48 pace through 30k. Didn't quite hold it, but still ran a 9 minute PR and had a blast. A trip and event to remember. Here's the full race report

Gate River Run - Luckily, this race fell over my spring break and a few good friends of mine live in Jacksonville. I was lucky enough to qualify for the top corral and it was cool warming up with the pros and having our own port-o-johns! It was a hot day and the race was tough, but coming down the Green Monster, I turned on the jets and ran from the 9 mile mark to the finish (600 meters) at 5:08 pace (and passed a ton of people); good enough to get me on the scoreboard for the USATF National 15k Championship. Here's that race report


Get Your Rear in Gear 5k - This was my first competitive race back in 2009 and I almost won, just running out of real estate against a high school kid, running 19:29. This year I took it out conservatively and was mentally tough the whole race. I hammered the last downhill mile and finished 3rd in 17:29, my best 5k time since starting to compete again (and only 12 seconds off my lifetime road PR of 17:17 from the Stumptown 5k in 1996). Here's that race report

Lifestyles 5k - After battling a troubling hamstring for the last 23 miles of Chicago, I was eager to heal up and get back to it. I hopped in this race in Little Washington as a test/tempo to see where I was just 13 days later and was rewarded with my first road race win since 1991 (Eastover Fun Run)! Here's that race report

Falmouth Road Race - Probably the quintessential All-American Road Race. Although we stayed in probably the crappiest hotel that $150/night can get you and my girlfriend went to get Meb to autograph a poster for me that ended up being addressed (and personalized) to her (he's charming :), this was an awesome event. It included dueling with Joan Samuelson for about a mile and experiencing the Falmouth Cinema Pub, plus great weather and a very cool race. Here's that race report

Now we'll look towards 2011 and can't wait to up the miles a little more, run Raleigh's Second Empire Grand Prix and Boston again. If you are reading this (or following my twitter), you'll hear all about it!

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Hobby Jogging: 3/13/10 - Jacksonville, FL - Gate River Run 15k

The Gate River Run is an awesome race. I had heard a lot about it and luckily it fell on my spring break this year. Even more convenient, my good friend Payton Rogers lives in Jacksonville, so I was able to stay with he and his fiance Courtney. Flew in Friday and picked up my packet at the expo. Cool Adidas tech shirt and cool number with my name on it (see below), which was quite popular with the locals being that most folks were celebrating St. Patty's along the course and liked yelling "Patrick." Went to a cool restaurant called Bistro AIX on Friday and saw Antonio Vega (who came in 3rd overall) and my friend Jon Swope from Charlotte.

Got up early Saturday and headed over to the course. 20,000 entrants and luckily I was seeded in the top corral with the elites (top 300). It was cool warming up by people like Jen Rhines, Tim Nelson, Vega, etc. They took off like a cannon when the gun went off! Went out a little too fast in 5:32 as I got a little caught up in the moment. Ran mile 2 in about 6 and then hit 3 miles around 17:40 before rolling through the 5k in 18:22. Had been sick all week and felt a little dead legged, so really focused on my form and tried to work to my strengths over the rolling course. It was hot too. Wow. I practiced taking water, which will hopefully help at Boston and really worked the hills well. After slogging through the second 5k to get to 10k in 37:32, I really started to turn it on shortly thereafter.

My last 5k was only 19:12, but lots of people were coming back to me as it was the toughest 5k of the 3 by far. The first mile and a quarter (of the last 5k) were up through a neighborhood before you got to the highway overpass and stared down what they call "the green monster," which was a half mile 7% grade hill (the Hart Bridge). Passed a few folks on the highway, a few on the bridge, and a bunch in the last 600 after the 9 mile mark. Really wanted to break 57 and just hammered it home passing 5 guys in the last 0.3 miles (including a guy that ran 2:44 at the City of Oaks Marathon 2 years ago where I "ran" 3:56 before starting to train). Finished in 56:44, grabbed a free massage, some free Coors Lights at the post race celebration and saw my name on the jumbotron just a few spots back from Bolota Asmerom and a ways ahead of Matt Gabrielson (ok, they had off days). The heat that was tough during the race felt great afterwards. Fun race, fun weekend. Highly recommended as the folks from Jacksonville and 1st Place Sports put on an awesome event.

Post race beers with my friend Payton

I also found out shortly after the event that I placed in the USATF National Championship. It was quite a thrill seeing my name on that page considering how hard I have worked in the past year!

More info available at: http://patprice.com/running/races/
reports/20100313GateRiverRun.htm

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook