Incredible Tracksmith article about Columbia's 2007 Penn Relays 4x800

seriously one of the coolest things i have ever read!

Fun read, but tell me, are they now giving watches for third? Finishers medal watches? Seriously?

when your have drive your father's old 5 series to practice.... #tracksmithproblems

malmo wrote:

Fun read, but tell me, are they now giving watches for third? Finishers medal watches? Seriously?

Did you get too mad at your imagined "finisher's watches" to actually read the several sentences that explained why they may have gotten a watch even if they didn't win?

That was fantastic

gahuga wrote:

malmo wrote:

Fun read, but tell me, are they now giving watches for third? Finishers medal watches? Seriously?

Did you get too mad at your imagined "finisher's watches" to actually read the several sentences that explained why they may have gotten a watch even if they didn't win?

Why would I be mad? Are you projecting? Yes I read it, and diluting the value of the Relays watch makes no sense to me.

wndfk wrote:

seriously one of the coolest things i have ever read!

You need to start reading a bit more.

isaac7 wrote:

https://journal.tracksmith.com/here-comes-columbia

well worth the read.

Also, I can't find a video of the race anywhere online....someone help

I haven't had time to read the article yet. Do they have mention the win should come with an asterisk*? ;)

If Michigan hadn't been manly and run the DMR, 4 x mile and 4 x 800, they probably would have won the 4 x 800. Michigan's anchor (Ellerton) had already run the DMR the day before and mile the same day. Columbia forfeitted the 1st two races.

Also wasn't this race that resulted in the Penn Relays directors determining that if the COA 4 x 800 wasn't won in under 7:20, that winner's watches wouldn't be handed out.

Sincerely,

A Princeton alum.

PS. In actuality, I was coaching at Cornell at the time and I remember watching this race and seeing it totally bunched up with 200 to go and thinking, "Come on anyone but Columbia. When they won, I was like, 'you've got to be kidding.' LBP is clutch."

Weldon was there and turned to me and mocked me like only a big brother could do and said, "They just did what you dreamed of."

Yes indeed.

In reality, we had a fairly friendly rivalry. I'd score every heps trrack meet separately 800 on up and kept track of who was doing the best job in the mid-d only and also in mid-d and distance.

Here is arguably my proudest stat at Cornell.

Mid-d and Distance Points 2005-2009

Cornell - 449

Princeton - 363

Columbia - 313

The key is to any stat is of course to cherry pick the years so you look the best as shown below.

Mid-d at Heps 2005-2010

Cornell 298

Columba 291

Boom Cornell #1. But if you go 2005-2011, then Columbia gets the edge.

Columbia 333-Cornell 330

Unfortunately, my appeal to the Heps rules committee to get either of those stats traded in for one Heps xc title was denied.

In actuality, most of the time Columbia did well it helped us keep our track dynasty going. We pretty much won Ivy League title in track every year except if Princeton was crazy good in the distances (which didn't really happen until they got Cabral and Leung and Co. The 2011 Princeton team was unreal. They scored 159 mid-d/distance points at heps that year indoors and out which is a crazy number).

rojo wrote:

I haven't had time to read the article yet. Do they have mention the win should come with an asterisk*? ;)

If Michigan hadn't been manly and run the DMR, 4 x mile and 4 x 800, they probably would have won the 4 x 800. Michigan's anchor (Ellerton) had already run the DMR the day before and mile the same day. Columbia forfeitted the 1st two races.

Also wasn't this race that resulted in the Penn Relays directors determining that if the COA 4 x 800 wasn't won in under 7:20, that winner's watches wouldn't be handed out.

Sincerely,

A Princeton alum.

12 Cornell 7:33.84*

*Didn't run 4xmile either

I swear they have watched some of the same speakers I have regarding e-commerce. Storytelling is effective marketing. Great story.

I recall watching that race and thinking it was cool seeing a Heps school in the COA. Cornell was near the front from the beginning, but I kelp thinking they were going to get dropped at any moment. By the time they reached the anchor leg I knew if they got the baton to Liam near the front, they could make the podium, but I never gave them a chance at winning. There is something really special about seeing an ant move a rubber tree plant.

TrackCoach wrote:

I recall watching that race and thinking it was cool seeing a Heps school in the COA. Cornell was near the front from the beginning, but I kelp thinking they were going to get dropped at any moment. By the time they reached the anchor leg I knew if they got the baton to Liam near the front, they could make the podium, but I never gave them a chance at winning. There is something really special about seeing an ant move a rubber tree plant.

Oops, Columbia.

isaac7 wrote:

https://journal.tracksmith.com/here-comes-columbia

well worth the read.

Also, I can't find a video of the race anywhere online....someone help

Here's the vid on FloTrack. Free to watch.

This is lame. Yeah it was a close race and yeah columbia ran well, but this article is dumb. Written by the dude who ran the anchor leg, it is a clear humble brag attempt 10 years after the fact. This was evident a few sentences into the article.

"Remember that time i won that race, wasn't that awesome? Didn't i run great? I'm not gonna let anyone forget about it, I'm gonna write about it every 10 years"

Who cares if it is a humble brag? It's a drop in the ocean compared to all of the TV tales we're subjected to, most regaling days of football glory. Damn, even good Ivy League runners can't catch a break on LR! Let the guy relive a good race.

I thought the article was really good. It did a nice job of including insight into the dynamics of the team, the insecurities athletes sometimes have, tough coaching decisions, etc. If you can't enjoy it without thinking of it as nothing more than a "humble brag attempt," then you must be pretty cynical.

Great read and thanks for sharing. Brings back memories of Penn and how great a meet it was and is.

has anyone tried their clothes?

The Penn Relays has given out watches to the top IC4A/ECAC team in the final for decades, probably even when Malmo was a student (although I doubt Coach Groves would accept them!) - it isn't new just no one is particularly aware of it. As the IC4A fades . . . I'm not sure how much longer the tradition will continue. Similarly, watches are often given to the top American high school when a foreign high school wins.