For Iowa and Nebraska Runners Only

I don't know about Nebraska, but Iowa does put on some pretty mean races for a state its size.

Nebraska's for people who have already given up on their dreams.

I thought Barringer was from Florida.

spastic wrote:

I thought Barringer was from Florida.

She was born in Webster City, Iowa, maybe 15 miles east of Fort Dodge which is Lisa Koll's hometown.

I'd give the Drake a lot of the credit for Iowa being vastly superior to Nebraska as a running state. Year after year we get to see a selection of Olympians and many of the best collegiate track & field athletes. Quite a few people in Des Moines and around the state know a lot about the sport as a result.

Another thing: Iowa has just over 3 million inhabitants while Nebraska doesn't even have 2 million, and that makes a difference. Besides Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska has only a few cities over 25,000 population. And Nebraska is probably one-third larger than Iowa in total land area, so the population density is much lower.

Tim Dooling is from Nebraska. Don't forget that.

Occupy Letsrun

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4324582

Plaque Man wrote:

Tim Dooling is from Nebraska. Don't forget that.

Tim Dooling is a piece of sh! t.

Dooling is the man. Probably the greatest distance runner in the history of Nebraska. Corporate Cup record still stands after all these years.

CornHawk wrote:

Please don't read any further and definitely don't comment unless you are from Iowa or Nebraska.

How can two states with similar demographics and similar geography be worlds apart when it comes to distance running?

How many Olympic champions and medalists do you all have up there in them corn states? Kansas read your thread past the first line, and KANSAS RESPONDS! Slap that sh_t outta here, get a real state.

And don't come back at me with those UFC or Olympic rasslers, this is a running forum.

This proves your point. Nice post.

http://www.teamnebraska.com/new/?p=1389

CornHawk wrote:

Please don't read any further and definitely don't comment unless you are from Iowa or Nebraska. I have lived in both states and probably always will live in one or the other.

Why?

Nebraska has a more of monolithic athletic culture (football and not much else) and there is precious little room for any newer values to be incorporated. Historically, Iowa has never been as culturally closed off from the rest of the country as Nebraska. It has and always wil be more progressive than Nebraska and the celebration of other sports (Hy Vee Tri is a premier event!) besides football is a reflection of that.

And the sad thing is that Nebraska really sucks at football. They haven't been a relevant team for over 10 years.

Hawkeyez wrote:

Nebraska has a more of monolithic athletic culture (football and not much else) and there is precious little room for any newer values to be incorporated. Historically, Iowa has never been as culturally closed off from the rest of the country as Nebraska. It has and always wil be more progressive than Nebraska and the celebration of other sports (Hy Vee Tri is a premier event!) besides football is a reflection of that.

I grew up in Nebraska, about 100mi from the Iowa border, and your original post is right on except for one thing--the demographics between the two states actually AREN'T similar.

Iowa has nearly twice as many people as Nebraska (3mil vs. 1.8mil) and is over twice as densely populated (53/sqmi vs. 23/sqmi).

This makes a huge difference when it comes to talent pool, community and economics (the things that will probably most directly affect the criteria you layed out in your original post).

Finally, in general Iowa is quite a bit more politically/socially progressive than Nebraska, i.e. you are probably a small bit less likely to get shit thrown at you when out running the endless gravel backroads. But only a small bit.

Iowa Olympians, in track and field

Richard Barber, Sibley, 1932; Terrance Beucher, Farmersburg, 1960; Charles Brookins, Oskaloosa, 1924; Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Des Moines, 1992, 1996; Sabin Carr, Dubuque, 1928; Wilson Clement, Belle Plaine, 1912; Chan Coulter, Johnson, 1924; Frank Cuhel, Oelwein, 1928; Allan Feuerbuch, Clinton, 1972, 1976, 1980; Charles Hayworth, New Sharon, 1928; Frank Irons, Des Moines, 1908, 1912; Basil Irwin, Clinton, 1924; Kip Janvrin, Panora, 2000; George Lambert, Hardin, 1956, 1960; Edward Lindeberg, Cherokee, 1912; Frederick Schule, Preston, 1904; Frederick Taylor, Sioux City, 1924, 1928, 1932; Robert Soth, Tama, 1960; Eric Wilson, Iowa City, 1924; Randy Wilson, Knoxville, 1980; Frank Wykoff, Des Moines, 1928, 1932, 1936; A.G. Kruger, Sheldon, 2004, 2008; Jenny Barringer, Webster City, 2008, Leigh Smith 2008, LoLo Jones, 2008

The top American marathon runner for the world track championships was from Nebraska. Mike Morgan in fact went to Division III Nebraska Wesleyan, who just happened to win the Central Region in xc a little more than a week ago. I will admit the Nebraska running program is not the best but that doesn't mean that Nebraska doesn't have quality runners.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that running in Omaha means running on ridiculously hard, stress fracture inducing concrete all the time.

CornHawk wrote:

...Jennie Barringer are native Iowans.

Yes, she was born in Iowa, but I wouldn't consider her a native Iowan. Her school years were spent in Florida, and thus, she grew up in Florida. I consider her a Floridian.

I was born in Oregon, lived there for the first 4 years of my life...but I don't consider myself a native Oregonian.

Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to read (or comment) because I know nothing about either state. Please disregard what I wrote.