Archived Homepage For November 19, 2019
Archived Homepage For November 19, 2019

Quote Of The Day

“I was a professional athlete for over 20 years, and I have never missed a menstrual cycle. Ok, do I have your attention now?  Here we go.

“I want to share my experiences of dealing with weight and body composition in my running career right now because, well, they’re positive ones.  In this time of revelation of so much mistreatment of female athletes in the running world, I want people to know that it is possible for a female athlete to feel secure and supported at all levels of development.  I excelled at running in high school, in college, and at the professional and masters level.  I have never experienced fat shaming from a coach, male or female. Am I in the minority here?  I don’t know, but I do know that there are good coaches out there and that it is possible to be a successful athlete without being in a system of abuse. I’m not denying or dismissing the pain that other athletes have experienced.  But just as they are sharing their truths, I want to share mine….

“A question I have is why does there always have to be an emotional component attached to weight? Do we have emotional reactions to the results of our blood work, or a one rep max test in the gym?  It’s most likely that we don’t. There’s no reason that weight and body composition can’t be analyzed and discussed the same way that we discuss all other aspects of training.  It is possible to view a number on the scale with the same amount of emotion that we view a time we ran on the track or a weight that we just did for squats in the gym.  We have the power ourselves to choose whether we make this attachment.  Let me clarify here that these are my thoughts on how to handle weight and body comp as a pro, which I view very differently than the high school or collegiate level…

“…I think that as a whole we are moving in the right direction.  Although there are still some unethical people coaching, I think it’s important that we don’t scare coaches away from challenging an athlete when they need to address something that is important for the athlete’s development.  Over the years I received some tough love from my parents and my coaches, both male and female.  I believe that athletes still need people in their lives that will challenge them, but this challenge needs to come from a place of compassion and good intention.”

-3-time Olympian Jen Rhines writing on jenrhines.com in an article entitled, “My Thoughts and Experiences on Weight, Body Composition and Making Choices.”

MB: Let’s see how much attention this gets – Jen Rhines shares her thoughts 

NCAA XC is Saturday

LRC $200,019 Running Warehouse D1 Cross Country Prediction Contest Tell us who will win NCAAs and you could win a free pair of Skechers GOrun Ride 8 Hyper (the official shoe of Edward Cheserek) and a Running Warehouse Gift certificate.

LRC NCAA XC Men’s Individual Preview: Can the American Drought Finally End, or Will Favored Edwin Kurgat of Iowa State Complete Perfect Season? Galen Rupp was the last American man to win an NCAA xc title in 2008. Conner Mantz, Joe Klecker, and Thomas Ratcliffe hope that changes on Saturday.

Trail / Ultra News

Young Non-Distance Star In Thee News

International Distance Action

Pro Distance News

More Weight Stories / Cain News

LRC Tara Welling Shares Her Experiences Regarding Weight as a Member of the Nike Oregon Project Welling says she had both positive and negative experiences with Alberto Salazar and reveals he wouldn’t let her race at times unless she gained weight. “At the time, I felt that Alberto had my best interests as an athlete in mind and I had no reason not to trust him. It was confusing and I found it mentally difficult when I had to lose weight and look like other runners when I was not them. It was a constant comparison battle.”

RIP News

NCAA XC Regionals *All Region Results *Great Lakes *Mountain *West *Midwest *Southeast *South *Mid-Atlantic *Northeast *South Central

More On The 2020 Diamond League

Your Weekly Read / Listen

LRC Week That Was: Meet Joseph Elsakr The Last Marathon Olympic Trials Qualifier and Robert Keter the Most Unlikely World Record Holder Meet the guy who ran over 2:19 and will be at the Trials.

LRCPodcast: Mary Cain’s NOP Allegations, Diamond League Changes, How to Better Moderate / Leah O’Connor’s Messageboard Complaints + More Marathon Trials Talk We discuss at length Mary Cain’s allegations vs Alberto Salazar and her treatment by Nike and the NOP.

Your Future Weekly Watch on TV?
Link To Screenplay About Olympic Marathoner LRC visitor Greg Zawaski’s pilot is now out for public viewing and available for purchase if you are interested. *Theme Song

Tokyo 2020

Assorted Track News

Assorted Distance News

More On Weight Issues And “Fat Shaming” In Women’s Running

Salazar News

Sports Illustrated Writes 4,000+ Words on Cain’s Allegations on Salazar: Inside the Toxic Culture of the Nike Oregon Project ‘Cult’Chris Chavez‘s article includes Salazar’s full statement in response to Cain’s allegations plus quotes from Julian, Ritz, Cain, her father and others.
*MB: Mary Cain, her father, Ritz, Julian and others talk in-depth with Sports Illustrated includes Salazar’s full statement 

Salazar Apologizes/Defends Himself To Ken Goe “On occasion, I may have made comments that were callous or insensitive over the course of years of helping my athletes through hard training. If any athlete was hurt by any comments that I have made, such an effect was entirely unintended, and I am sorry. I do dispute, however, the notion that any athlete suffered any abuse or gender discrimination while running for the Oregon Project.”
*MB: BREAKING – Kara Goucher attacks Ken Goe on Twitter. Denies him interview request 

LRC Commentary Don’t Believe The Spin, Nike’s Treatment Of Mary Cain Is Very Much In Line With Its #1 Core Value: Win At All Costs Since its inception, Nike’s #1 message has been win at all costs. Not a surprise since Nike was named after the winged Greek goddess of victory. But winning often doesn’t come easy, so sometimes people take drugs or purge themselves to get to the top.

The US Olympic Marathon Trials Will Be Here Before You Know It (Feb. 29th)

LRC  The Road to Sapporo: Assessing the Women’s Field at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials From Jordan Hasay (50%) to Stephanie Bruce (5%), we break down the odds for the contenders at the 2020 US Olympic Trials.

LRC  The Road to Sapporo: Where the US Men’s Marathoners Stand 3+ Months Out From the Olympic Trials Jonathan Gault breaks down the Americans’ chances of making the 2020 Olympic marathon team – from Galen Rupp (90%) to Dathan Ritzenhein (5%) and Benard Lagat (5%).

MB: Who are the favorites for the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials? We tell you here.

More Athlete Blowback To Diamond League Cuts