Nike's Dropping the Invaders???

Well, what have they done? I mean aside from the coach sleeping with one of the best athletes on the team and breaking up her marriage?

I don't think that the coach broke up her marriage...sounds to me like it was the other way around.

I have heard nothing about Nike dropping the Invaders. While their distance program has not been successful the last couple of years, their sprints and field events are going well.

Plus they have a great director

what's wrong with sleeping?

Get your facts right before slandering someone. You must have been on a team that got your A** handed to them by the Invaders.

Wow! Imagine that! Somebody is ripping on a group that is trying to get the club system going...what a surprise! Invaders provide a great opportunity for all events to continue training. Check to see how many Invaders made the Olympic trials, I believe quite a few. But I guess considering you guys rip on the Hanson team, Farm team, and any other team that is trying to give a chance to post collegiates it really shouldn't surprise me.How 'bout you try to thank these people that try to provide a team for people to go to to train.

Run Indy Run wrote:

Well, what have they done? I mean aside from the coach sleeping with one of the best athletes on the team and breaking up her marriage?

I agree, a club system should get started in the US but the clubs you are talking about require that peeople be elite caliber runners. What about the rest of us that give it everything we have and can only manage to run 15 and change for 5k......what do we do. Above average runners have no place to go in the US!!!

Sorry, the standards to gain access to this team make these runners quite elite. That's why they have such problems filling spaces. If they relaxed their standards a bit and actually gave runners a chance to develop it would be a much better team. Look at these standards:

men women

5,000m 13:59.00 (2) 16:30.00 (2)

10,000m 29:30.00 (1) 34:40.00 (0)

Marathon 2:18.00 (2) 2:40.00 (1)

You can't compare this club to the Hanson's. Last I checked you didn't have to be a 2:18 marathoner to join Hanson's.

I have a question about those standards. If you look at their list of athlete's, they're completely desimated of distance runners right now. We can assume that's because of the standards. How come all of their Marathoner's don't meet the standard?

I have no idea. I do realize, however, that my first post was a bit over the top and I don't know the whole story about why that coach left and what happened. But that is all I've heard about them locally in the past year or two. (shrug).

I disagree with the claim that somehow they are making a huge effort to rebuild the club system. There are very few 13:59 5k'ers out there to fill spots on this club, and fewer still that want to live in Indianapolis (no offense, I live there too). I believe they mostly want to coach semi-elite or elite athletes. If this is the case, fine. But please don't say they are the same as a Hanson's though, who clearly are looking long-term to develop athletes (ala Trent Briney) who do not come to them with semi-elite or elite credentials.

Any pictures of Colette Liss?? She looks great in those bun-huggers!

Doug E. wrote:

I have a question about those standards. If you look at their list of athlete's, they're completely desimated of distance runners right now. We can assume that's because of the standards. How come all of their Marathoner's don't meet the standard?

I have a question about those sentences. If you look at your post, it's completely decimated by poor English. We can assume that's because of your teachers' lax standards. How come Americans are given high-school diplomas when they can't even meet the academic standards of fourth-graders from Kampuchea?

As I understand it, there are standards for full funding, but others can qualify as unfunded but on the team. Which would explain why some of the people they have listed don't meet their standards. I believe Hanson's has some progressive levels of funding as well.

Some of those folks are training with the team but paying their own way otherwise.

Athletes that make the standards listed on the site receive more aid than those athletes that have not met the standards.

The Invaders are a development program, therefore, they will take folks that haven't met those standards. Those athletes still receive some travel assistance and free shoes and uniforms as part of being in the organization. Additionally, they have access to quick, timely, and often free medical care. They also provide access at a reduced rate to a health club, massage therapists, coaching, etc.

If you are interested, why don't you contact Greg Harger, the club director, to ask. I think that they are very much still interested in redeveloping the distance program. I found it very helpful when I was there. Some not so great things happened...but that was not a reflection on Greg or the Invader organization.

Doug E. wrote:

I have a question about those standards. If you look at their list of athlete's, they're completely desimated of distance runners right now. We can assume that's because of the standards. How come all of their Marathoner's don't meet the standard?

i wouldn't go so far as to assume that, doug. i'm not sure what their roster looked like last year, but clubs tend to lose members right after olympic years because, for many runners, sprinters, jumpers and throwers, they spend a couple years "chasing the dream" of the olympic trials and, when that passes, they move on with their lives. not sure if that's the case with the invaders (i do remember them having a few other distance runners last year), but it happens pretty regularly with clubs generally.

They do normally have a pretty good amount of both male and female distance runners. In fact I believe that they are usually a contender for the club cross championships. Your explination makes a lot of sense, and I don't know if I would have ever thought of it that way.

Neither woman listed on their elite pages has come even close to 2:40. They list PRs at 2:47 and 2:46.

Does anyone know where Chris Buhler is at now?

I was on the team when it first started, I think I was like the 7th athlete or something. The standards where set pretty high, but they have 7 XC spots for guys/women that don't quite meet the track standards for the distance runners. You get some equipment and some travel money, then if your times improve you can be moved to one of the track spots opening up a spot for someone else to take an XC spot. I THINK the standards are more for if spots fill up then they will only take those that meet the standards after that...just a thought. Harge is excellent, and Indy provides a great training area with good tracks, decent trails, and numerous road races offering money. Also in the middle of the country so you can get to other major cities relatively easy. Harger has a good relationship with the Hansons, Indiana U, Butler U, and many others so you can get into some good meets that might not otherwise take post collegiates.They just need to get numbers again on the men's side.

Doug E. wrote:

I have a question about those standards. If you look at their list of athlete's, they're completely desimated of distance runners right now. We can assume that's because of the standards. How come all of their Marathoner's don't meet the standard?

still coaching Collette in Indy.

? wrote:

Does anyone know where Chris Buhler is at now?