Wejo and I agree - This is the best piece Jonathan Gault has ever written - Tales From the Call Room

The piece on shot putter Michael Carter can't be beat. That should have won a sports journalism award.

Well this article is fun, really that piece on Michael Carter was amazingly great

That's the best????? How sad. It's full of cliché's and hackneyed writing....and boring.

The whole lede paragraph about Simpson is just uninspired. ...... "she had a problem" I've seen 100s of stories like it. heck just google it and multiple stories come up. Do you guys even edit?

Occam wrote:

That's the best????? How sad. It's full of cliché's and hackneyed writing....and boring.

The whole lede paragraph about Simpson is just uninspired. ...... "she had a problem" I've seen 100s of stories like it. heck just google it and multiple stories come up. Do you guys even edit?

These people are the worst. You’re getting great journalism for free. Even if it’s not perfect the vast majority of readers appreciate it. Your rude and insulting comments are much more of a reflection of you than the article itself.

Honestly I agree. That was a great read with some cool stories.

All I remember from pre races is the frequent trips to the bathrooms!

Agree - awesome article and very fun to read and hear the stories. Thanks for posting it.

In Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell goes up to Harold Abrahams in the call room before a race (early 1920s) and literally just wishes him the best of luck, but the way it plays out, Abrahams got psyched out by it and Liddell won the race. In the scene it comes across that Liddell is just being a gentleman and a good sport but then Liddell talks some trash before the 400 at the Paris Olympics which makes you wonder if he was also trying to get in Abrahams head in the call room.

Good read. Thanks Jon

Really?!

Riveting stuff in this article on par with other fascinating everyday tales like, "Man Drives to Work, Leaves Laptop at Home" , "Woman Goes on Two Week But Forgets to Pack Toothbrush", "Lady Totally Sleeps Through Morning Alarm", and "Dude on Road Trip Can't Make It to Next Rest Area, Pees On Shoulder of I-70!!!".

My takeaway is that the sport is populated by people that have not progressed beyond high school interpersonal relationships and organizational skills. Otherwise, world class track is just like working in an office. You have smart people, dumb people, quiet people, trash talkers, back stabbers, violence prone jerks, needy whiners, and a bunch of people just trying to do their jobs without getting hassled. Yawn.

Let's be honest: this site has few connections within the current sport and the staff are not insiders. The sources for this article are mostly retirees. I suppose that we should be grateful that we can put names to these sources unlike this past weekend's travesty of "journalism". We should all be thankful that the crack LRC staff is getting deep into the heart of the biggest issues facing our sport. I am anxiously awaiting the publication of fresh bombshell pieces on some elite athlete's STD test results, secret recordings of some mid-level talent saying complimentary things about a rival sponsor's new basketball footwear, or a hard hitting expose on what vehicles Bowerman TC athletes drive...and what the monthly payments are!

Superb piece.

I’m guessing you’ve never run a high profile race based on your comment. Be gone troll.

To the naysayers:

You search the net for someone saying something positive about someone else so you can bring all of them down.

Most of you are intelligent people.

Just not very nice people.

Doped Up Real Estate Broker wrote:

"Dude on Road Trip Can't Make It to Next Rest Area, Pees On Shoulder of I-70!!!".

I have peed on the shoulder of I-70 before. At the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign.

rojo wrote:

We just published a story on the front page that I think is the best one Jonathan Gault has ever written. It's about what goes down in the "Call Room" at big time track meets.

While I am starting to hate coming on here and reading all the racist, misogynistic troll comments, this reminds me why I do still continue to come on here. Very good read. Thanks for this, guys.

I never heard about that Lagat near fight with Rami before. Ramzi was as juiced as they come, but is there any benefit to doping minutes before the race? Seems odd if that's what that was.

rojo wrote:

Wejo and I agree

Well, as long as the massive minds of the genius twins agree...

Occam wrote:

That's the best????? How sad. It's full of cliché's and hackneyed writing....and boring.

The whole lede paragraph about Simpson is just uninspired. ...... "she had a problem" I've seen 100s of stories like it. heck just google it and multiple stories come up. Do you guys even edit?

Look at this 🍆 sucker.

Article was solid.

Dwightarm wrote:

rojo wrote:

We just published a story on the front page that I think is the best one Jonathan Gault has ever written. It's about what goes down in the "Call Room" at big time track meets.

While I am starting to hate coming on here and reading all the racist, misogynistic troll comments, this reminds me why I do still continue to come on here. Very good read. Thanks for this, guys.

Maybe you should invest in a weighted blanket.

This piece was fantastic. I was laughing out loud as I read all the Capel stuff.

The call room sounds just like the waiting lobby at a big employer. A half dozen candidates vying for a single job at cattle call. One guy looking at his phone non-stop, some guy bragging about the prestigious school he graduated from, a young woman casually dropping what Fortune 100 she interned at for two summers. Another checking her makeup and picking lint off of her blazer. A guy trying to catch a few winks since he didn't sleep the night before due to nerves. The last guy is giving everyone else the evil eye / sly smile in hopes of rattling the others.

Other than some bombast, a couple of skinnies looking to throw hands, and some dude letting it all hang out, what was so earth shattering? Oh noes! Forgot my shoes!!! Oh dear! We can't find a race number or a printer! I've got funnier stories about guys racing drunk at college meets and a guy getting dumped by his screaming girlfriend as the starter called his race to the line.

I haven't run an international championship so....I guess I am not allowed to have an opinion on Gault's article. But I'm sure you have a really hilarious story about almost getting on the wrong school bus after a low key high school invitational this past April.

I ran at the 1996 Olympic trials in Atlanta.

They had a warm up track away from the stadium and a shuttle to get you to the stadium to hang out in a warm up room.

Then you were moved to a hall.

Then you were sent to the track in a line within your heat.

I ran the 1500, so they marched us behind the start line while the previous event was going on.

I was in the 4th heat.

I’m trying to time my warm up to when I thought my heat would start, but I also have to be at the right spot for the shuttle pick up on time.

It was around 7 pm but still very hot.

I was fairly warm and loose when I stepped out n the shuttle.

Then I was in that room for about a half hour just trying to keep my warm going.

We go to the hall and guys are on their singlets, shorts and spikes so I do the same. I should have left a t shirt and running pants on.

It was probably another 20 minutes before my heat was sent to the track to jog down the back stretch to the start line. (We came out near the 200 start as I recall)

It must have been at least an hour and a half between when I started the jog for my warm up and the start of my race.

On the line, I look at my arms and I have no sweat even though the heat index was near 100 degrees.

My pulse was low, too. I was too relaxed.

The gun goes off. We are running steady 60/61 pace and hit the 12 in 3:01 but I had to work hard to stick with them. As they all kicked with 300 to go, I had nothing.

I picked off one person in the home stretch but my 3:47 was disappointing as the top guys put 5 seconds on me and I was eliminated.

The whole call room process messed me up. It was my first nationals. I never even ran NC’s before.

I was used to doing my own thing and showing up at the line 5 minutes before the start.