The Run Down: Jenny Simpson's double at USA's leads a big weekend

Simpson had lots to smile about in Albuquerque
 (photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

It was another incredible weekend to be a Track and Field fan. Whether you were competing or spectating, it was hard to keep up with it all. The USA Indoor Championships were happening in Albuquerque, NM, tons of conference meets were going on all over the country (USTFCCA has an excellent page with links to all results) and the Brooks PR Invite ended the weekend for the top preps the in country.

Jenny Simpson's performances led the way, as she repeated her 1500/3000 double at USA's. On Friday, she bided her time in the 3000 and took the win in a tactical 9:19.15 over Jackie Areson and Sara Hall and Saturday, she held off a hard charging Brenda Martinez and the newly signed to Nike, Sara Vaughn. It looks like she'll be skipping World's in Instanbul, so the above four ladies will be booking their tickets. Also, it should be noted that Erica Moore looked superb in the 800, winning in a very nice 2:01.08, and pulling her teammate, Phoebe Wright, along with her for a trip to Turkey.

Introducing Erica Moore...
(photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

On the Men's side, Bernard Lagat said it best with the line (to the AP): "I just wanted to show those guys that Daddy can still kick." That may have been the understatement of the night, as he left Lopez Lomong, a 1:45 and 3:32 guy in the blocks with a 25 second last lap in the Men's 3000. Duane Soloman made it look easy in the 800 and pulled Michael Rutt along with him to Worlds, while Leo Manzano outkicked an unknowing Matt Centrowitz in the 1500. Centro may indeed have heard him coming after he went past Galen Rupp, but it sure didn't look like it.

In the collegiate world, Southern Utah's Cam Levins quadrupled to help the Thunderbirds take the Summit League Men's title. There was also an 800 round he had to run in there to complete this impressive feat. Here's how his weekend went:

Friday - qualified in 800 semifinal (1:54) then won the 3000 final in 8:19 (meet record).

Saturday - at 1:20 pm, he won the Mile in 4:10. At 2:45 pm, he won the 800 in 1:50 (meet record). Finally, at 3:25 pm, he won the 5000 in 14:35. What a weekend. Hope he's got something left for NCAA's and Outdoor!

Martinez runs out of real estate in the
 1500 (photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Finally, the Brooks PR Invite was back and produced some excellent results. Molly Seidel continued her excellent season by winning a competitive two mile in 10:13.45, while Texas' Daniel Vertiz ran a very strong race from the front and broke the meet record (in the same event) with a nice 8:59.15. He also led North Dakota's Jake Leingang under 9 in the process. Check out Flotrack's Crack Recap here.

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Battle Royale: Rupp/Lagat duel leads USA Indoor Championships

Does Rupp have enough to get by the master?
(Photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships kick off Saturday and the distance race of the meet will certainly be the showdown between Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp. They'll close out Saturday night at 8:05pm Mountain Time in an event in which Lagat owns the American Record (7:32.43); the 3000 meters. Both should qualify for the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey from March 9-11, as the top two in each event will qualify, if they have hit the standards.

Both are fresh off breaking each other's American Records in recent weeks; with Lagat besting Rupp's 5000 Record and Rupp trumping Lagat's 2 Mile Record just hours later. It should be a two man show, but Lopez Lomong could make things interesting, as he makes his first indoor appearance in an event over 800 meters this year (where he ran 1:47).

Right before the Men take the stage, the Women will square off in another duel of sorts for 3000 meters. The favorite has to be Jenny Simpson, but Sara Hall may give her a run for her money, as she beat her to the line in Boston (after Simpson faded from going out hard). Hall also is coming off a national Cross Country title, so her confidence will be high.

On Sunday (at 2:15), the first distance event will be the Men's 800. Last year's winner, Duane Solomon, leads the field in his indoor season debut. The New York New Jersey Track Club has the next three qualifiers in Michael Rutt, Tevan Everett and Christian Gonzalez, while the unattached (sponsors take heed) Mark Wieczorek rounds out the top five. It'd be nice to see Wieczorek take the win and secure some sponsorship before his outdoor bid to make the Olympic Team. He'll have his hands full in doing so!

Sara Hall will know how to lean
this weekend if needed

30 minutes later, the Men's 1500 will go off. Leading the field is Daegu Bronze Medalist, Matt Centrowitz. Centro looked awesome in the Wannamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, but will have to execute brilliantly again to hold off Leo Manzano, Garrett Heath, Russell Brown, Jeff See (who won last year) and Galen Rupp, who will look to double up after the 3000 Saturday night.

The Women's 1500 field will hit the track next in a Jenny Simpson/Sara Hall rematch. Also, the sharp Brenda Martinez will look to continue her excellent season by facing these two mainstays. The Women's 800 will follow with Phoebe Wright looking to repeat. Erica Moore and Latavia Thomas look to be her top competition as Maggie Vessey has opted out of the event.

The event will be broadcast (via tape delay) Sunday on ESPN at 7:30pm Eastern. Also, everything that isn't on TV will be streamed live via RunnerSpace.com. Flash Results will have live results starting Saturday and here's a link to the newly re-designed USA Indoor Championships homepage. Oh, and make sure you wear the right uniform.

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Thanks to Splitcaster for sponsoring the blog this week. If you haven't used this app before, it's awesome. I used it during Aisling Cuffe's National 2 Mile Record last year and think anyone who goes to track meets will love it. Also, 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.

The Run Down: Top 10 Moments in American Distance Running this weekend

Sara Hall gets her first Cross Country title in a lean

What a great weekend it was in track and field. There was a ton of hype leading up to it with the Cross Country Championships and multiple indoor meets. It's hard to only have a top 10, as I am sure I missed some big performances, but here's a few highlights.

10. Kim Conley outkicks Lisa Uhl to run 8:57.62 at the Husky Classic

9. Oregon's Trevor Dunbar and Parker Stinson run big 5000 PR's (13:36 and 13:39, respectively)

8. Jenny Simpson outkicks Shannon Rowbury to win the Wanamaker Metric Mile in 4:07.27

7. Sally Kipyego leads Washington's Katie Flood to a pair of 4:28's (and World leaders)

6. Ryan Hill outkicks Diego Estrada to run one of fastest collegiate 3000's ever (and fastest ever by an American collegian)

5. Bobby Mack kicks from 800 out to win second national title in a year (and first cross title)

4. Matt Centrowitz wins the Wanamaker Mile and leads Miles Batty to a new Collegiate Record

3. Sara Hall outkicks Molly Huddle for first national title at the USA Cross Country Championships

2. Galen Rupp essentially solos the American 2 Mile Record in Fayetteville, Arkansas

1. Bernard Lagat gets American Indoor 5000 Record and leads Lawi Lalang to the Collegiate Record and Edward Cheserek to the High School Record in the process

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The USA Cross Country Championships kick off a big weekend of competition

Huddle's 2012 return starts
 in St. Louis

There are three big track meets this weekend (Husky Classic, Millrose Games and the new USA Track and Field Classic), but there's also the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships, which will be held this Saturday, February 11th, at Forest Park in St. Louis, MO. There's no World Cross this year, but five slots for the NACAC team are up for grabs. The NACAC Championships will be held on St. Patrick's Day in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Not a bad paid vacation I'd say.

The favorite on the Women's side is American 5000 meter record holder, Molly Huddle. With the recent Olympic Marathon Trials and the aforementioned track meets in play this weekend, competition will be a little lacking on the top end. Sara Hall is registered (Ryan and Desi Davila are speaking at the Friday Panel Discussion), after a nice 3000 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, where she was the top American finisher over the more heralded Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson. Hall has consistently improved in the past few years and hopefully can find her way onto the Olympic team this summer in the steeple. Another podium contender this weekend will be the always strong Renee Metivier Baillie. Former high school phenom, Melody Fairchild, will be competing as well and one interesting entry is the newly pregnant, Julia Webb. Maybe she'll bring her husband and he'll run. Let the speculation begin.

Mack will aim for more
 Team USA gear

On the Men's side, the big news was that Dathan Ritzenhein was planning on bouncing back after a personally disappointing Olympic Trials Marathon and trying to keep the train rolling. That changed a few days ago when Ritz announced his decision to pull out. Some favorites on the Men's side are recent Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country Team Race runner-up (and Raleigh resident), Bobby Mack, McMillan Elite's Aaron Braun, Team USA Minnesota's Chris Rombough, road warrior Christo Landry, steepler Kyle Alcorn and USATF 10k Trail Champ, Joe Moore. A few other interesting entries are triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker and the University of Wisconsin's Elliot Krause.

Runnerspace will be broadcasting the event live at http://USARunningCircuit.com starting at 9:45 Central. Full field information (including juniors and masters races) is available here. Check out this page for Runnerspace's coverage leading up to the event.

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Track and Field Athletes Association members use celebrity on Twitter for greater good

The Track and Field Athletes Association (TFAA) has been looking for an identity over the past few years. $100 annual dues and lack of membership plagued it's existence until Nick Symmonds decided to write an open letter and start a Facebook group. One of the most active voices on Twitter in the sport of Track and Field is Ann Gaffigan. If you're a track fan and on Twitter, you've probably had some interaction with Ann. Her passion for the sport is as great as her knowledge and her bounty of ideas. It's no wonder that she was the one that urged Symmonds to join the TFAA and to offer his opinions on how to make it viable.

Very soon, Symmonds was championing the group (TFAA) on his Facebook group (which is now over 6000 vocal members). And today, the TFAA got to show what they were made of. Yesterday, distance darling, Lauren Fleshman, was told to remove her temporary tattoos of her company, Picky Bars, from her arms before starting the NYC Marathon. Picky Bars is her company. It's a start-up that she, her husband and Stephanie Rothstein started. We're not talking Nike or Gatorade or GU. We're talking about a Gluten-Free Nutrition bar (company) that she makes herself. PS, they're very good. I was one of the first customers. This seemed pretty unjust and the TFAA has rallied around her.

If you were on Twitter today, you probably saw a member of TFAA's message about the subject.

Quite frankly, it was awesome. Although Track and Field isn't the NFL or MLB or the NBA, it still has stars, and the stars came out. Everyone from David Oliver to Sara Hall to Matt Tegenkamp to Doc Patton to Maggie Vessey was spreading the word that #WeAreUSATrack&Field. If Rainn Wilson selling tacos is worth $12,000, the combined celebrity of the TFAA world has to be worth a few ears.

It's a great step in the right direction and I applaud all of those involved. To learn more about the TFAA, check out their website or just tweet at Ann Gaffigan!

TFAA is now open to everyone and is only $20 a year! Click here for more information on membership.

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Road Rage: David Torrence takes on the big boys at the 5th Avenue Mile

Road Warrior, David Torrence

David Torrence is as close to the king of the road mile as you're gonna get. The three-time consecutive USATF Road Mile Champ will have his hands full this weekend at the season ending Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, NY. Torrence rose to cult fame with his now famous downhill sub-4 attempt thread on LetsRun.com that he took video of (see video below).

Just last weekend, Torrence won the Front Street Mile in Maui, in a course record of 3:57, but didn't have to face Bernard Lagat and the boys. He will Saturday at 1:05pm eastern. Along with Lagat, there's a huge field that will fight for the win down on one of Manhattan's biggest streets. Joining the fun on the American side is new pro, AJ Acosta, Steepler/Jack of All Distances, Ben Bruce, Saucony's Garrett Heath, 32-year old Sub-4 man, Christian Hesch, the sometimes mustachioed Will Leer, New Balance's Craig Miller, Nike's Kyle Miller, former Buckeye Jeff See, US 800 champ Nick Symmonds and the resurging Fam, Anthony Famiglietti. Defending champ, Amine Laalou, leads the international competition, with Australia's Jeff Riseley throwing his hat in the ring.

Let's get physical

Morgan Uceny will be the favorite on the Women's side, as she looks to be the first #1 World ranked American Woman in the 1500 in many, many years. The Women's race will go off at 12:50pm and also includes Brooks' Gabrielle Anderson, Road Mile Champ, Sara Hall, multiple time US 1500 Champ, Shannon Rowbury, 2011 World Champ Jenny Simpson and 800 meter specialists, Alysia Montano and Maggie Vessey. World Championship Silver Medalist, Hannah England, leads the international challengers. Somewhere in the middle is OTC's Sally Kipyego, who took Silver for Kenya at 10,000 in Daegu. She, along with a large field of other international competitors, will make for an exciting race.

New York Road Runners TV will show highlights at 8pm. Full race schedules are available here.

Experience Torrence's 3:46 Downhill Road Mile:



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Road Rage: Anthony Famiglietti is back for the USATF Road 5k Champs in Providence

Have you seen this man?

It's been a while since Anthony Famiglietti has competed. What better place to return than one where he has won before? Fam won the 2008 USATF Road 5k Championships and will start his drive towards qualifying for a third consecutive Olympic team with another run through the streets of Providence, RI tomorrow, in search of another National Championship at the CVS Caremark Downtown 5k. He's written a blog post about his return as well.

Fam's recently been training in Davidson, NC (right outside of Charlotte) and recently returned to the roads with a tune-up win at the Sunset 5k in Salisbury. Fam also attended Appalachian State for two years (before transferring to Tennessee) and leads a charge of runners with NC ties at Providence. USATF 8k Champion, Bobby Mack, will be among the favorites as he continues to have a breakout season. My friend, Sandy Roberts, will be making his USA Running Circuit debut. Both Mack and Roberts run for The Athlete's Foot Racing, out of Raleigh, NC (my team). Also out of Raleigh is Duke Law student, Lauren Bonds. Bonds has had a great past few years and will be representing Adidas Raleigh TC. All will be skipping out on the Mag Mile tomorrow (NC USATF Road Mile Championship in which Mack is a multiple time winner). Finaly, Stephanie "Pezz" Pezzullo, trained in Charlotte for a while, before relocating to Flagstaff, AZ.

Robert Cheseret, who is Bernard Lagat's brother, will be defending on the Men's side, as he kicked down Ben Bruce last year in the final steps to take the National Championship. An excellent field will challenge for the win, as many have traveled to Providence for the shot at the $30,000 purse. Aaron Braun and Ben True will be favorites, along with Fam, Mack and Cheseret, as Braun is currently 1st in the overall USA Running Circuit standings with True a close second.

Conquering one barrier at a time
(TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Sara Hall will look to improve on her second place performance from 2010 on the Women's side, and has a Fam connection as well, as she's spent some time with him working on her steeplechase technique. She'll likely choose that event to try to qualify for the 2012 London team. Hall is currently ranked fifth in the USA Running Circuit standings and could make a big jump with a win in Providence. An injured Molly Huddle won't be defending her title, but Hall will get plenty of competition from the likes of Julie Culley, Emily Brown, Pezz, Bonds and a strong field from all over. If the Runnerspace race coverage team team remains the same, Chris Nickinson will have the call on the Women's side.

Runnerspace will be streaming the race live tomorrow at 11:05am eastern and more information and interviews are available at http://www.runnerspace.com/USA-5km

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