Success in Track & Field ... and Life
Share Running My Way by Harry Wilson ( UK residents click here) Who can remember the Steve Ovett – Sebastian Coe rivalry back in the late 70’s and early 80’s? I was always an Ovett fan. Unless Lord Coe sends me complementary tickets to the London 2012 Games, I’ll change my mind. Once reason I [...]
Share For 400 meter runners, there may come a day when you will be asked to move up to the 800 meters, especially if you are tall, light & lean, and haven’t improved over several seasons. For 800 meter coaches and athletes, you are probably asking yourself these questions: What the ideal mileage for 800 [...]
Share If you are interested in a 3 hour rare audio recording of Arthur Lydiard, visit the Bud Winter website for a copy of the International Sports Symposium. I was once told by my previous coach Dennis Barrett, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Actually, that quote came from Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832). You [...]
Share What can I say about the success of David Rudisha that has not already been said? Great coaching Great planning Great teammates as training partners A great friend who is good enough to rabbit Great teammates for support and friendship Breaking the WR not once, but twice in a 6 day span shows it [...]
Share I predicted David Rudisha would break the World Record in Rieti. He ran a World Record 1:41.09 6 days earlier on August 23rd. When you analyze the top men’s 800 meters performances over the last 25 years, NINE were set in Rieti. Make that TEN as of today! SIDENOTE: In 1997, Wilson Kipketer also [...]
Share I predicted David Rudisha would break the World Record in Rieti. Perhaps I could still be correct with the meet being one week away. But my crystal ball is besides the point. David Rudisha broke the world record in Berlin with a 1:41.09, meat slicing a measly 0.02 seconds off the old standard of [...]
Share This is a continuation of my previous article 400m Sprinter Moving up to the 800 meters If you are a hard core elite half-miler, you’ve probably researched other coaches like Jack Daniels, Bill Bowerman, Arthur Lydiard, or even Peter Coe, Sebastian Coe’s father and coach. The big question is: How much mileage should an [...]
Share The past articles on my visit to Rieti and David Rudisha’s 400/800 performance brought on a few emails asking the obvious question: Where Are The Videos? Okay, here they are. I decided to use some high tech server technology and use the JWPlayer to display MP4 files instead of the usual FLV (my apologies [...]
Share There comes a (sad) time when an aging or “not so successful” 400m sprinter decides to move up to the 800m. Usually it’s the coach who decides this. Why would you want to move up? For me, anything over 400 meters I take a taxi. But seriously, there are several factors. The number one [...]
Share When you analyze the top men’s 800 meters performances over the last 25 years, NINE were set in Rieti. Canada’s Gary Reed PB for 800m is 1:43.93 from 2006, also set in Rieti. Rieti was also the venue for Asafa Powell’s 9.74 100 meter WR set in 2007. If you are a half-miler, you’ll [...]
Share Interesting article from the IAAF Council Meeting notes, Monaco – 20 November, 2009. It states under the TRACK EVENTS: No more than three rounds for any event A preliminary qualification round of men’s and women’s 100m to include only unqualified athletes Relays spread over at least three days Semi-Finals and Finals in same session [...]
Share What the heck is an Icosathlon? The icosathlon is simply a Double Decathlon, formerly known as the “Double Deca”. When you think about it, Track and Field has 19 events without relays. So what’s the 20th event? A 800 meter race walk which was held in the original Decathlon? A 150 meters straightaway? Nope, [...]
Share I re-read Tommie Smith’s autobiography Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith (Sporting) and he mentions in Chapter 2 FOUR times that he held 11 World Records concurrently. The "11 World Records" are also mentioned on his Bio on the inside of the back cover. But nowhere in the book does it list all [...]
Share Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson – step aside… Why on earth would Kenenisa Bekele and Usain Bolt race each other at 600 meters is beyond me. If anything, it would help promote Bekele as he is not a household name as compared to Bolt, despite his amazing accomplishments. If you don’t believe me, just [...]
Share Thoughts on the post 2009 World Championships in Berlin I love Track and Field (Athletics to the rest of the world) primarily for one reason. With the Track running events, the first person to cross the line is the winner. Usually. In the Winter Olympics, all but one event is either a time-trial or [...]
Share Why You Won’t See a World Record in this Upcoming World Championships or Olympics When was the last time you saw a world record in a World Championship or Olympics Games in a middle distance or long distance event from 800 meters upwards? Sprinters take advantage of the Championship atmosphere, the multiple rounds, and [...]
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Track and Field Lessons: Taking Things for Granted
Share This whole Coe-Ovett movie brought back some old memories. The Sebastian Coe – Steve Ovett dual in Moscow 1980 was a surprise where they each won the event they weren’t supposed to win. I had a similar experience back in 1991 at the Provincial Championships where a top 5 finish (with a standard) earned [...]