Day 1 at USAs

LRC Day 1 Recap: Shelby Houlihan, Paul Chelimo Earn Dominant 3K Wins Thanks to Big Last Laps The best distance runners in the US the last three years, Shelby Houlihan and Paul Chelimo were on display. Houlihan led the BTC women to 1-2-3 finish (and 5 of the top 6), and Chelimo led the Scott Simmons group to a 1-2-3 finish as well. Christian Coleman (6.48) looks like he can break the WR in the 60 and the TJ record fell twice (Keturah Orji (14.60m), Tori Franklin (14.64m)).

LRC 800 Prelims: Ajee’ Wilson and Bryce Hoppel Cruise as Athing Mu Struggles; Raevyn Rogers is a DNS The biggest surprise may have been Kaela Edwards at the former NCAA mile champ showed the form she flashed in 2018 when she broke 2:00.

Not Every US Distance Star Ran USAs
MB: Jenny Simpson runs 14:58 5k She wanted to bang out an Olympic qualifier in the 5000 in case disaster strikes in the 1500.
MB: Bowerman Track Club men and Jerry Schumacher- Skip USAs to run on illegal track in Washington Lopez Lomong (7:45), Evan Jager (7:46), Sean McGorty (7:46).
MB: LRC Day 1 Thread

UKA Athletics Gets Some Bad Press

• UK Sport Commissions An Independent Review Into UK Athletics Over “Major Concerns” Raised In Recent Months There was the fallout from the Alberto Salazar/NOP scandal which saw performance director Neil Black resign and then the backlash UKA received for almost hiring Zara Hyde-Peters as CEO despite allegations about her husband. *2nd article
• Setback For UKA Athletics As BBC Balks At Renewing $4 Million TV Rights Deal Insiders think the BBC is only willing to pay a fraction of what it currently pays for the rights to broadcast elite track in the UK (the current deal was set in 2013) because of the declining popularity of the sport and recent UKA controversies.
• Joanna Adams Appointed New UKA Athletics Chief Executive As Chris Clark Stands Down As Chairman Clark will become an adviser while interim CEO Nic Coward will take over as chair.
  *The Telegraph: More Upheaval For UKA As Chairman Chris Clark Quits
• Sean Ingle: Top Coach Says ‘Dreadful Neglect’ Of British Athletics Has Squandered 2012 Legacy Former head coach and UKA’s first performance director Malcolm Arnold says this is “the most worried” he’s ever been about the state of the sport and that UKA has failed in supporting UK athletes and coaches.

Learn About One Of America’s Iconic Clubs (Sponsored By HOKA ONE ONE)

LRC Head Coach Joe Rubio Explains The HOKA ONE ONE Aggies To The World The Aggies are known for having a good time and running fast. Joe Rubio (founder of Running Warehouse and a 2 time OT qualifier himself) gives some insight about the Aggies, how they good hooked up with HOKA, and their athletes running the Olympic Trials.

Jim Walmsley Breaks Out PR-Wise And Gets 3 National Profiles All On The Same Day

NY Times Sunday Magazine: Can The King Of Ultrarunning Conquer A Race As Short As The Marathon? “A lot of people train to have their best day ever,” said Walmsley. “In ultra­running, you learn to train for your worst. I’m looking to get to the most painful spot I can.”
*MB: Jim Walmsley gets big feature in New York Times Magazine
*MB: Why Walmsley is popular. Get over it. 

• Runner’s World: How Japanese-Style Training Inspired Jim Walmsley’s Olympic Trials Approach  
• Sports Illustrated: Jim Walmsley’s Long, Winding And Unconventional Path To The U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

More Shoe Controversy News

• Good Read: The Washington Post: “Nike’s Vaporfly Shoes Changed Running, And The Track And Field World Is Still Sifting Through The Fallout” Many in the shoe industry aren’t happy with World Athletics’ regulations, feeling they did too little, too late. New Balance’s general manager feels the rules were made around Nike’s shoes that were already out there, rather than any kind of science.
• The Guardian: “Running Reaches Crossroads As Nike-Led Footwear Arms Race Infects Mainstream” Johnathan Liew writes, “From Olympic and world records down to parkruns, Vaporfly’s sole technology thrives at the expense of a sport’s soul.”
• Irish 2:26 Marathoner Fionnuala McCormack Talks About Her Internal Debate About The Nike Vaporfly Running Shoe “Maybe it is technological advancement but even for me, how do I compare myself with myself after this? If I wore the shoe, would I have a PB before and after?”

More News From A Crazy Weekend

• Mike Smith Gives A Brief Evaluation Of Galen Rupp’s Tune-Up Half In Arizona “He was really pleased with it. He felt really comfortable and really easy, and that was great. The most important thing is his body feels good. He’s come a long way in a short time, particularly with his left side. He’s been holding up. …From a health standpoint and excitement standpoint, [Rupp] is in a good spot.”
  *MB: Galen Rupp 61:18 At The Sprouts Mesa Phoenix Half Marathon
• The Guardian‘s Sean Ingle Thinks Mondo Duplantis “Shows The Kind Of Personality Athletics Needs” Ingle recalls a story from 1992 when Michael Jordan and former pole vault WR holder Sergei Bubka met and Bubka tried a two-handed dunk. He wonders if track could get back to that level of popularity now.
• GB’s Jemma Reekie Didn’t Know How Good Her Mile Time Was At Millrose Until She Called Her Coach She ran 4:17.88 (breaking Laura Muir‘s British indoor mile record) but said, “I actually phoned my coach and said, ‘is that OK?’ I had no clue of what a good mile time was.”

More Indoor Results: Mondo Gets Pole Vault WR!

• Mondo Duplantis Says He Received A Text Message From Renaud Lavillenie The Morning He Broke His World PV Record The message read, “Have a good day baby, but not too good.” Duplantis says Lavillenie was his idol growing up so he was pumped to be the person to “succeed him.”
• Mondo Duplantis Breaks Pole Vault World Record With 6.17m In Torun Duplantis cleared it on his second attempt. Afterwards he said, “It’s something that I wanted since I was three years old. It’s a big year, but it’s a good way to start it.” *Video/Discussion
• Sam Kendricks Breaks North American Pole Vault Record With 6.01m Clearance At The Perche Elite Tour Meet In France
• Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Wins 60m At The Mile Western Relays In 7.32 Seconds; Asafa Powell Won The Men’s Race In 6.73
• George Kusche Breaks His Own Nebraska School Record With 7:50.93 At The Husker Invitational
• Garret Scantling Posts 8th Best All-Time US Heptathlon To Win At The USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships
• Annie Kunz Wins With 8th Beset All-Time US Pentathlon At USATF Indoor Combined Champs

Track And The NFL

• Donavan Brazier Says He’d Consider Trying Out For The NFL As A Wide Receiver In The Next Year Or Two When I’m in practice and I’m going through a lot of pain and training, I start thinking about anything else I’m good at so that I don’t have to do track.”
• Usain Bolt Says That Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill Has “No Chance” Of Making The Tokyo 2020 Olympics “A lot of people think it’s about one-off runs, but it’s rounds that really show who you are and the amount of work you do. So I think no, he wouldn’t make the team.”

Better Running Shoes

LRCThe 10 Most Popular Running Shoes On LetsRun.com Before we do our final call of shoe reviews in 2019, we decided to take a look at what shoes are the most popluar on LetsRun. Four shoe lines dominant, the Nike Pegasus, the Brooks Ghost, the HOKA Clifton and the Saucony Kinvara. These four might be a great place to start when looking for a new pair of shoes.