Meet the Winners of Running Warehouse Indoor Prediction Contests- One Guy Has a Chance to Win the NCAA Triple Crown of Prediction Contests
by LetsRun.com
April 10, 2018
We love announcing the winners of our RunningWarehouse.com Prediction Contests.
The winners highlight the interesting people who make up the LetsRun.com community. We’ve had pro runners, legends of the sport, rocket scientists, 13-year-olds, and even ourselves win the contests.
This indoor season for the first time ever, we had an overall indoor prediction series, and we had a more than worthy winner in Gregg Cantwell, who represents the very best of the LetsRun.com community as instead of accepting his four pairs of shoes that he wins and a $100 gift certificate he wants to give them to high school runners who really need them. We’re profiling Gregg separately here.
Below we highlight the top three in our individual contests: USA Indoors, World Indoors, and NCAA Indoors. And you’ll see that the winner of our NCAA contest also won the NCAA XC contest and is in contention for pulling off the triple crown.
USA Indoors Winners- Us and a Kind Soul
The top three finishers in our USA Contest were Gregg Cantwell first, LetsRun.com writer Jonathan Gault second, and LRC co-founder Robert Johnson third. Yes you read that correctly, two people with LetsRun.com finished second and thid.
For the longest time, we’ve said in our rules that we can win our own contests (and we have so in the past), and are eligible for the prizes. Now we’re changing our minds because we did so well in this contest, some of you accused us of cheating.
We didn’t cheat. To be honest USA indoors went largely to form and you should have just followed our official predictions.
However, going forward we’re going to make owners of LetsRun.com ineligible for prizes. If Jon or someone else who works for LetsRun wins a prize, we’ll give them their prize but also give the person they beat out a prize as well.
Hoka One One Mach
Finishing in 4th place and getting Robert’s prize was Jared Shorten. He’s a junior at Western Oregon University, studying zoology, but not on the team. H’s a running lifer, running 45 miles a week and chasing the sub 16 minute 5k. His dad was on the DII NCAA Championship team at Eastern Washington in 1982. Jared was excited to get his shoes saying, “I’d love to have some Mach’s. My shoes were definitely due for a replacement and I’m super excited to try out the Hokas!”
We tried to contact 5th placer, “Komen72067” but were unsuccessful.
World Indoor Winners-37 Year-Old PHd Student, Guy Who Organizes the Paralympics, and a “Hobby Jogger” Come out On Top
Tanner Bushnell dominated our World Indoor contest winning by an impressive four points. Tanner is an “unconventional 37 year old PhD student” at Oregon State in Corvalis. Before you try and emulate him Tanner says it’s a “terrible idea.” Showing how small the running world is and how he’s a true LetsRun.com devotee, Tanner said his favorite professor is former Cornell runner Jeff Nason who competed against LRC co-founder Weldon Johnson in college. Tanner writes, “He probably smoked yo’ (Weldon’s) ass back when you sucked (see: Why I Sucked in College) . Just kidding. I’ll tell him hi from you if you remember him.”
Tanner showed his smarts not only by winning the contest but also deciding to give his shoes to his wife. He chose the Hoka One One Cavus in black and white.
In second place was 30 year-old, Todd Fraser. Todd now lives in Bonn, Germany where he’s got a cool job. He works at the International Paralympic Committee as the Summer Sport Event Operations Manager. So for example he worked with the team to help organize last year’s 2017 London World Para Athletics Championships. Todd’s from the US and ran cross country and track at Ohio University and then coached in the US at the high school level and collegiately with Marietta College. Todd chose the Hoka One One Cavus as well.
We had a nine way tie for 3rd place, but coming out on top via the tiebreaker was Ed Remaley of Austin, Texas. Ed is 45 and a software consultant in Austin with a wife and three kids. He didn’t start running until he was 32 but now is “complete fanboy of the sport of T&F.” Ed also claims to be a “self-proclaimed hobby jogger” but we’re calling BS on that one as he has his eyes on qualifying for Boston this year. Ed chose the Hoka One One Mach shoes.
NCAA Indoor Contest- Can Dylan Paul Pull off the Prediction Contest Triple Crown?
Dylan 4th from the right
We saved what may be the best story for last.
The winner of our NCAA contest was Dr. Coleman aka Dylan Paulk. If that name sounds familiar it’s because he’s the same guy who also won our last NCAA contest, the NCAA cross-country prediction contest.
Don’t worry, we went and checked the server backups, and confirmed Dylan somehow wasn’t hacking our system. (We really did this). He’s just really good or maybe really lucky at picking the NCAA action. Dylan also is somewhat of an NCAA specialist as he didn’t even play in our USA or Worlds contest. He’s also now got his mind focused on the impossible- pulling off winning the NCAA prediction contest triple crown- winning the NCAA XC, indoors and outdoor contests.
He writes, “As a multiple time contest winner in the last six months, I’m trying to not let this get to my head and remember I will have to actually use my own money to buy shoes again assuming I stop winning these. Maybe (hint hint) I can earn some special prize if I can overcome the odds and win the triple crown of LetsRun NCAA prediction contests once NCAA outdoors rolls around?”
Dylan most definitely deserves a special prize if he can pull it off. If he wins the NCAA outdoor contest, we’re going to give him $2,018. Dylan was born in Virginia but now lives in the running mecca of Portland, Oregon. He said the Virginia and Oregon connection helped him with his DMR picks. He ran cross country and track at NAIA power Southern Oregon University. His dad Kevin was a masters national champion (800 and 1500) and won the M45 world indoor 800 championship in 2006 (Linz, Austria).
Jon Hootman, 25, from Chicago, finished in second. He works at a non profit social research organization, and is the assistant distance coach at a north Chicago high school. Jon ran track on his junior college team and saw Andre DeGrasse run a wind aided 9.96 at the NJCAA championships (Jon points out future NFL player Tyreek Hill and future Olympian Shavez Hart were also in that race. We had no idea and Hill almost beat De Grasse). Then Jon transferred to the University of Illinois and ran for the NIRCA club team there. Jon employed a picking strategy we encourage, “As for a picking strategy, it was pretty simple. I go on LetsRun daily and used LetsRun articles and predictions while throwing in a few upsets here and there for good measure,” he said.
Jon and Dylan both chose the Hoka One One Mach shoes.
Niles Bashant finished 3rd but we haven’t been able to reach him. Niles please email us back!
Thanks to everyone who played and for Running Warehouse for sponsoring the contest. Boston Marathon contest coming next.
Profile on our overall winner: The Best of LetsRun.com: We’re Giving Away 4 Pairs of Shoes to Needy High Schoolers Thanks to Winner of Our Prediction Contest
Remember There is One Place That Stands Out to Buy Your Shoes Online RunningWarehouse.com