Quote Of The Day

It's a tough trip. Everything about it is tough. It's hot, it's a lot of rounds, and what the reason for it is, I have no idea."

- Oregon men's and women's head Vin Lananna talking about the upcoming NCAA Round 1 West Regional meet in Austin, TX. Register Guard journalist Curtis Anderson uses the words "ordeal" and "chore" to describe next week's meet.

USATF High Performance Mid-D Meet At Occidental

*USATF Occidental Results Leo Manzano and Russell Brown raced to the wire in the 1500 with Manzano getting the win and Brown a PB, both in 3:36.

*Video/Results Runnerspace was there with coverage of the women's 800/1500 races where some big name pros stepped down in distance. Treniere Clement won the women's 800 and Nicole Edwards was the surprise 1500 winner.

*Boards: JennyB - 4th, Clement - 1st, More results to Come Tonight! Rowbury 4th!

Former Jamaican Sportsperson Of The Year Incensed With 2-Year Ban Chris Williams, 38, is appalled at the way he was treated by the JAAA.

Top US Pros In LA For 800/1,500 Races Saturday start lists
Seemingly all the healthy American mid-d runners will be in L.A. this weekend for a 4-race USATF High Performance meet at Occidental College. Also look for distance runners Galen Rupp (we heard he was entered but don't see him on the 1,500 start list), Shalane Flanagan and Jenny Barringer going down in distance to join Shannon Rowbury, Leo Manzano, Jacob Hernandez, Morgan Uceny and others in the 800/1,500 fields.
*Boards: USATF High Performance meet @Occidental College May 22nd 6:30pm West coast time start, 1,000 fans expected ...

US 25k Champ Andrew Carlson Featured In AZ Daily Sun One of America's most dedicated runners gets some nice attention after adding a US 25km title to his 15km title.

Eugene Register Guard: Oregon Looking Outside The Box For Next AD The article says, "There apparently aren't any internal candidates," but mentions former Duck and Nike exec Rudy Chapa as an example of someone who might be pursued.

Report From Kenya: Ebuya, Chepkok (12:51), Kiptoo Beaten By Unknown In Men's 10,000, US Road Phenom Chepkurui Glides To Women's Victory

LRC Cheating Hurts The Honest Man - The Dark Side Of Charlie Francis' Impact On The Sport
Former Canadian 1,500m record holder, NCAA 1,000m record holder and 1988 Olympian Doug Consiglio wrote us a great email about Charlie Francis' impact on the sport. His take - as a runner who refused to cheat and take steroids - is that Francis set the sport back for decades in Canada and repeatedly and unabashedly sent the wrong message that it's okay to cheat if other people are doing it.

David Mack, Former US All-Time #3 At 800, Oregon Star, Gets Out Of Prison
Mack, a former LAPD officer, was part of the Rampart scandal. He went to jail for bank robbery but was a suspect along with fellow Oregon teammate Amir Mohammed in the murder of Notorious B.I.G. We hope Mack turns his life around but reports are he became an avowed member of the Bloods gang while in prison.
*LetsRunners Shared Their Mack Stories Here Last Year

Recommended Read: Coaching Advice - Jerry Schumacher Speaks We found this interview inspiring.

NCAA Track and Field: Pacific-10 Conference ChampionshipsLetsRun.com's Week That Was Last week was an epic week. The BCS power conferences had their conference meets, the Diamond League got under way in impressive fashion, Tyson Gay ran 19.41, Charlie Francis passed away, and there were a ton of high quality road races. We try to recap it all for you. Along the way, we announce the return of Nancy Langat and give out special praise to AJ Acosta for an amazing performance at PAC-10s and famed coach Renato Canova for ripping the idiots on the LRC message boards.

Some More NCAA News From Big Weekend

Conference Champ Ducks Deliver *Conference Results Central

Duck Women Absolutely Crush It (215 Points!), Manly Eaton And Acosta Propel Duck Men
*Final Results
*Ken Goe PAC-10 Recaps Nicole Blood, Chris Derrick win 5k/10k double. Ashton Eaton wins decathlon, 110 Hurdles, LJ, 2nd in 100, runs leg on 4 x 1 ... Acosta scores in 1,500 (3:41), steeple (8:52), 5k (13:46) to give Ducks close win over USC.

Boards: *AJ Acosta - 13:46.87 - 3rd place in 5,000 !!! 19 Points at Pac Tens!!! WHAT A STUD!!!
*Wheating Wins, Primm chokes to 4th...
*Upset > Zoe Buckman beats Katie Follet by 5/100ths to Take Pace Ten 1500m Title

Big 12 Lisa Koll 15:22!
*LIVE Results *LIVE Blog
Nebraska 1st, Oklahoma 2nd, US #1 Texas A&M men 3rd. No problem for A&M women, who win handily.

Big 10 *Final Results Big Ten Nailbiters! Gophers Grab Men's, PSU Lady Lions Take Women's Big Ten Titles. Minnesota had 3 scorers run 1:49 in 800, Angela Bizzarri wins 1,500 by 0.01 and 5,000 in 16:12, Wisco men 1-2 in 1,500, Franek scores 10, 5, 6 in Steeple, 1,500, 5k.

SEC Florida Men, LSU Women On Winning Track - Arkansas Men Getting Trounced
*Razorback Alain Bailey Leaps 27'5" To Win Epic LJ
*Final Results

IC4A A first: GMU frosh Chris Carrington runs 1:48.96 and misses the final thanks to strong 800 prelims.
*IC4A/ECAC Results

City Games Impress In Manchester

Athletics - Great CityGames Manchester Tommie Smith Thinks Gay Can Beat Bolt At 100m Gay almost ran as fast for the first 150m of the 200m as Bolt did last year when he set a straight 150m WR.
*Boards: Did Gay really run 8.72 from 50m-150m??

 Great Read: Reporter Looks At Motivation Of Jamaican Youths Running To Escape Poverty

High School Freshman In Korea Runs 15:38 5,000m A national record as well. Pretty damn impressive.

Recommended Read: Former Ivy 800m Runner Writes Great Piece On Genetics And Speed For SI.com Nature or nurture? Genetics or environment? What are the genticists finding out about specific genes and how they relate to sprinting?

Maybe Track Is Getting Popular In The US

Chris Solinksy's Run (And LetsRun.com) Gets A 3 Line Mention In A Mainstream Sports Blog Look out, NFL. Proof of the soaring popularity of track and field (see Washington Post article below). The story on a high school track team losing it's league championship because of a pole vaulter wearing a friendship bracelet got a full story. Seriously, we want to give a shout out to the LetsRun.com fan who fought hard to get Solinsky a little press.

Bolt Impresses - This Time In Shanghai

LRC Recap/Results: Bolt Smashes Competition, Fast Distance Races Headline Shanghai Diamond League
Usain Bolt ran a 19.76 200m to wow the Chinese crowd. Other happenings included Liu Xiang finishing as the 2nd Chinese hurdler, Sentayehu Ejigu winning a great 5000 in 14:30, Asbel Kiprop showing he is in top form, and flops by some dominant field eventers.
*Bolt 19.76 Video

Results: USA's Karjuan Williams Runs 1:45.79 For 5th In Brazil The X-Man won the slower of two 200m heats and the men's 5000 was won in 13:17 in this IAAF World Challenge meet attended by a number of US sprinters.

Latest Track Talk

NCAA "Round 1" Declarations Announced ... Wheating Doubling 1,500/800

*Men East - West *Women East - West
In the new system starting this year, the top 48 D1 performers in each event from the East and West compete for 12 spots in their region. Combine the top 12 from East and West to make the 24-person fields in the NCAA finals in Eugene.
*Championsip Central
*Site/Date: Greensboro, NC and Austin, TX ~ May 27-29 (Thu-Sat)

Lance And Landis Hot On The Boards After Unexpected News:

Shanghai Previews

Diamond League Shanghai Entry Lists
Usain Bolt, Jeremy Wariner and Liu Xiang highlight Sunday's sprinting action and we'll also see many of the top African distance runners square off, including Asbel Kiprop and Deresse Mekonnen in a loaded 1,500, Pamela Jelimo and Jenny Meadows in the 800 and Linet Masai in the 5,000. Plus field event fans will like to see Irving Saladino (PAN) vs. Dwight Phillips (USA) vs. Fabrice LaPierre (AUS) in the 2nd of 12 Diamond League meets.
*Liu Xiang And Bolt Meet Shanghai Press - Liu Says Bolt Is Not From Earth

Running Times Interviews Lukas Verzbicas After demolishing the competition at the '09 Foot Lockers, Lithuanian-born Verzbicas cemented himself as the best HS distance runner in the US. Only a sophomore, Verzbicas may focus on the triathlon for a few years to try to make the US 2012 Olympic Team.

*Speaking Of 2012: Photos Of Kid-Chosen London Olympic Mascots The mascots are friendship bracelet-wearing cyclops with London taxi lights on their heads.

Daegu Crowds Stand And Applaud Bolt

Olympic and world champion Bolt of Jamaica poses with his caricature, a gift from a South Korean fan, during a news conference before his race in Daegu Boards: Bolt 9.86 In Daegu
*Recap Bolt got a bad start before running hard to an 9.86 victory on a day where most times were not fast. See the race video to the right. (Shorter Video (1:00))

*Full Results Jamaican Kenia Sinclair (2:00) got a nice win, beating Pamela Jelimo (2:01), Steve Slattery showed he is back in great shape with an 8:24 steeple, world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi got an easy win in the 800 in 1:45.6. USA's David Oliver (13.11) crushed WR hlder Dayron Robles and reigning world champ Ryan Brathwaite in the high hurdles.

*South Korea Use Bolt/Daegu As World's First Live Stereoscopic 3D TV Broadcast South Korean TV watchers became the first nation to see a live sporting event in stereoscopic 3D.

Boards: "Are we going to see the most unbelievable year for sprinting in the history of the sport?"

Recommended Read: Funeral For A Friend - Jim Ferstle Recalls Charlie Francis Ferstle describes the pinnacle of the sprinting world: "Contrary to popular belief, not everyone was seeking an 'edge' from doping, many just wanted it to be a 'fair fight' where each side came into the battle with similar tools."

Around The World - Korea, Kenya, South Africa

*Times Says Athletes May Protest Return Of Caster Semenya We think the headline is potentially misleading, as the quotes come from many months ago.

*Bolt Expects Very Fast Time Wednesday In South Korea

*Kenyan Organizers Hustling To Get Ready For African Champs In 5 Weeks They're just now laying asphalt for a warmup track.

Maybe We Should All Listen To The Smart Guy

12th IAAF World Athletics Championships - Day FiveRecommended Read: World-Leading Sports Scientist Tim Noakes Speaks Out In Defense Of Semenya, ASA If anyone has an educated, unbiased grip on the Caster Semenya situation, it's Tim Noakes, the South African-based co-founder of the IOC's Olympic Science Academy and of the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town. In no uncertain terms, Noakes explains why he believes unequivocally that Caster should be allowed to run and the case is more about protecting image rather than a reality.

*Turmoil In South African Athletics As Hendrick Ramaala Resigns In Protest Of ASA Election Holdup

History Lessons

File photo of athletics coach Francis of Canada talking with sprinter Johnson during a workout in Toronto Ben Johnson Says The Time Has Come To Speak The Truth - Will Appear At NYC Symposium, Release Book

Recommended: Mike Hurst - A Personal Perspective On Coach Charlie Francis A great read from a friend of Francis titled "End of good run for flawed coach."

Short Piece On Marathon WR Setter Derek Clayton This short bio was sent to us by a reader. It's amazing to look back 40, 50 years to see what guys were doing in that era.

Chepkurui Sets Another World 12k Record At SF's Wild Bay To Breakers Lineth Chepkurui is having a road racing season to remember: 30:45 10k Crescent City, 51:51 Cherry Blossom 10-mile, 38:10 WR Lilac Bloomsday 12k, 38:07 WR Bay To Breakers 12k. Sammy Kitwara got a very narrow win in a much slower men's race (yes, that is an avatar in the photo above).

Finally: Track On TV!

Princess: Watch Sanya Richards-Ross $600,000 Wedding On WEtv Mon Late Nite You knew "Track On TV" was a hoax.

*Photo Of $10,000 Richards-Ross Wedding Cake

Pauper: IAAF's Lamine Diack Announces Plan For Million$ In Cuts Some are calling for Diack to give up the leadership role of the supposedly imperiled IAAF.