the exchange zone - usa track &...
TRANSCRIPT
September 2015 Volume 1, Issue 2
The Exchange Zone ASSOCIATION NEWS We are excited and proud to announce the following USATF Colorado Chair
positions have been filled by worthy and ambitious individuals who will bring
much to the position:
Women's Long Distance Running: Kathy Butler
Master’s Long Distance Running: Norm Kendrick
Paralympics Chair: Tom Southall
USATF COLORADO MEETING DATES, TIMES, & LOCATIONS:
Tuesday, November 17th, 7:30pm will be a teleconference call:
http://colorado.usatf.org/About/Meetings.aspx
Check out http://www.colorado.usatf.org in order to see current schedules
and find out more about running opportunities statewide.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Association News & Upcoming Championships…………………..1
High School Standouts………..2
The Pro-Circuit…………………..2
Elite Standouts…………………..3
Where Are They Now?............3
Championship Results………...2-6
Mountain, Trail, Ultra………...4
Masters Running………………..5
President’s Corner……………...6
Youth Spotlight…………………..6
Race Walking………………………7
Coaching Corner………………….7-8
To contribute content or photos, contact the newsletter administrators:
Angelina Ramos Quinn J. Pack
[email protected] [email protected]
September 19, 2015: Doc Tripp 10000m Race W alk, USATF Colorado Association Championship, Bellevue Elementary School, Greenwood Village, CO, for more information email: [email protected]
September 27, 2015: Colorado Spr ings ½ Marathon, USATF Colorado Association Open and Masters Championship http://www.spreeracing.com/#!the-colorado-springs-half-marathon/c18cd
November 7, 2015: Colorado Junior Olym pic Cross Country Championship, DeKoevend Pk Centennial (tentative)
November 14, 2015: Colorado Club Cross Country Championships, USATF Colorado Open and Masters Cross Country Championship http://flatironsrunningevents.com/races/colorado-club-xc-championships/
UPCOMING USATF COLORADO ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIPS
JUNIOR CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Kaitlyn Benner (Superior, CO), Valerie Costien (Edwards, CO), Katie Rainsberger (Colorado Springs, CO), and Lauren Gregory (Fort Collins, CO) finished first through fourth respectively in this winter’s USA women’s junior 6k cross country championships held in Boulder, Colorado on February 7, 2015, showcasing Colorado’s domination at the high-altitude race on the grassy, undulating golf-course terrain. All these strong ladies qualified for the world national championships in China on March 28, 2015, where they placed 8th overall as the women’s junior team. Kaitlyn Benner (formerly Monarch high school and now a University of Colorado Buffalo) finished the highest amongst the American women at junior world cross country championships—27th—with newfound confidence after CU coaches Mark Wetmore and
Heather Burroughs led her to her first indoor 5,000m conference championship title in the 5,000m (16:08) earlier that fall. Oklahoma’s Cerake Geberkidane (Denver, CO), Eric Hamer (Monument, CO) and Paul Miller (Fort Collins,
CO) were 2nd, 4th, and 5th respectively at USA junior cross country championships in Boulder, Colorado. In March, Cerake Geberkidane (Denver, Co, Eric Hamer (Monument, Co), Paul Miller (Fort Collins, Co), and Paul Roberts (Lyons, Co) were amongst the USA junior team members who fought valiantly through dirt and heat for a sixth place finish, with only Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Bahrain, and Uganda ahead of them. The fastest American junior, John Dressel of Washington (6th at Footlocker cross country 5k championships) will be joining the Colorado Buffaloes next fall. He finished in 27th at world championships in an impressive 25:25 over 8,000m.
HIGH SCHOOL
SCENE
The following
Athletes are
ranked top 25
nationally!
High Jump: AustinCambell (Regis Jesuit) Dionne Taylor (Pine Creek) Discus: Keely Parish (Longmont) Haley Showalter (Valor Christian) 100m: Jordan Xiong (Broomfield) Shayna Yon (Cherokee Trail) 100mHH: Carly Lester (Rocky Mountain) 200m: Alleandra Watt (Pine Creek) 400m: Nicole Montgomery (Lewis Palmer) 800m: Jordyn Colter (Cherry Creek) 1600m or One Mile Run: Jordyn Colter (Cherry Creek)Katie Rainsberger (Air Academy) Lauren Gregory (Fort Collins) Tabor Scholl William Mayhew (Cheyenne) 3200m: Eric Hamer (Palmer Ridge)
There’s a difference between
interest and commitment.
When you’re interested in
doing something, you do it
only when circumstances
permit. When you’re
committed, you accept no
excuses, just results. 2
“The marathon has so many
elements to prepare for. I
think that is one reason I
always want to come back for
more. There is always
something to change in your
preparation. And I am still
trying to discover what I’m
capable of. I guess I just love
the challenge.”
-Dathan Ritzenhein
Former CU Buffalo cross country and track All-American Dathan Ritzenhein was the top American in the 2015 Boston Marathon field, finishing in seventh in 2:11.20. He wasn't scared to lead the race up Heartbreak Hill despite that it was his first Boston Marathon appearance!
SENIOR & MASTERS XC CHAMPIONSHIPS
FOLLOWING COLORADO ELITES
Boulder Track Club’s Laura Thweat (a former University of Colorado, Buffalo) was a
conference championship contender in college, but is now turning heads as she has
steadily made her presence known on the elite scene over the past few years,
establishing herself as an Olympic hopeful.
Thweat won the 2013 and 2014 USATF Club Nationals Cross Country Championship
title, despite that 2014’s race brought in more than 1,700 runners—the largest field
ever in the 17-year history of the USATF National Club Cross Country Champion-
ships event!
This victory, along with being coached by 3x Olympian Lee Troop, no doubt gave her
confidence leading into her win at USA cross country championships on February 7,
2015, and her 29th place performance at senior world championships in China in
March of 2015. With a 5k best of 15:04.98 from 2014, one of the fastest times in
the US last year, and a US Olympic trials qualifier, keep your eye out on this
Durango High School native in the months to come.
2014 also witnessed BTC’s Curtis Begley—a blue-collar
athlete who was working full-time in hospitality at the
Boulder Marriott—qualify for the 2016 US Olympic Trials
in the marathon. Begley placed 15th in the California
International Marathon, crushing his former personal
record by over five minutes, clocking 2:17.37, which
finished 22 seconds under the Olympic trials qualifying
standard. The 27-year old averaged 5:16 per mile!
PHOTO CREDITS: Michael Scott, Dave Albo,
Glen Delman, Bill Leung, etc.
3
Boulder Track Club’s Laura Thweat (also an assistant distance coach at Monarch High
School) and Mattie Suver (Colorado Springs, CO) led the charge in the open women’s USA
8k cross country championships, taking first and second respectively, and punching their
tickets to China in March, where the women’s senior team finished 5th at world cross
country championships.
The top five female masters at USA 6k cross country championships all hailed from
Colorado: Colleen De Reuck, Melody Fairchild, Maureen Wrenn, Joanna Zeiger, and Laura
Haefeli. Simon Gutierrez of Colorado Springs represented well on the men’s master’s side,
taking 3rd overall in the USA 8k championship.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Niwot, Colorado’s Elise
Cranny set a new
junior American 3000m
record of 8:58.88 in her 2nd
ever 3k race to earn runner-
up accolades at the NCAA
D1 indoor national meet for
the Stanford Cardinals.
Denver, Colorado’s Dior
Hall set the US Hig h
school record for 100m
high hurdles in 12.92s,
earning her a silver medal
at IAAF World Youth
Championships. Now a
USC Trojan, and inspired
by her mother, she
continues to shine out
west. February of 2015 saw
Hall shatter the American
junior 60meter hurdles
record at the Don Kirby
Invitational with a blazing
8.07 seconds.
THE PRO CIRCUIT
MASTER’S SPOTLIGHT:
Steve Gettel (Male 55-59) had
a 2014 season that most dream
about, ending with a trip to the
National Outdoor
Championships at Wake Forest
University where he earned the
following accolades:
1st place Shot Put, M55-59
3rd place Discus
Top 25 national ranking in
both events
Now, after a healed back
strain, Gettel promises a
strong finish to 2015, and even
better 2016!
ULTRA SPOTLIGHT: Sage
Canaday of Boulder, Colorado
finished 16th overall at the
Boston marathon in a speedy
2:19:12, just over a minute shy
of the Olympic marathon trials
standard. Congrats, Sage!
Compared to blazing up
mountains at altitude, we’re
sure heartbreak hill couldn’t
defeat your spirit!
MOUNTAIN, TRAIL, & ULTRA RUNNING
4
MASTERS TRACK AND FIELD
Colorado masters have a busy schedule for the summer months. The Senior Games in Greeley were June 12; The National Combined events , Decathlon and Heptathlon, were in San Antonio, Tx June 27 and 28th; National Senior Games were in Minneapolis, MN, July 10-12, Masters Outdoor Championships were in Jacksonville, FL, Jul 23-26 with Colorado State Games in Colorado Springs being held the same weekend. The World Masters Association Championship (WMA) was in Lyon, France, August 10 - 16; and lastly, the Colorado Association Championship at CSU Fort Collins was on August 28-30, 2015.
Alex Nichols (sponsored by Inov-8) was selected to the US elite team along with seven other elites (five men and three women) from across the country to compete against the best mountain runners in the world, where 15 countries are represented at the race. Nichols is a Colorado Springs native who ran collegiately for Colorado College. He’s had multiple top-five finishes in the Pikes Peak Ascent and marathon. The IAU Trail Worth Championships on May 30th, 2015 required besting an 86 kilometer trail course in France which involves 5300 meters of total climbing. Going into the race, Alex had recently beat Rob Krar at MoabRed Hot and had placed 3rd at Templiers in 2014. He was also no stranger to racing Europe on the Skyrunning circuit. Alex’s race played out as follows: forty-first place at 8k, 29th place at 18k, 21st place at 33k, 17th at 44k, 12th at 50k, 10th at 58k, still 10th at 71k, then sixth at 79.5k, before finishing sixth overall at IAU Trail Championships in Annecy, France. You can see the race course below:
MASTERS INDOOR T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Mid-America Masters Indoor Championship meet was a huge success at the US Air Force Academy, with the following highlights demonstrating both the front-horses and the depth of track and field evident in Colorado masters running.
60M: Brandi Bernert ’s (F35-39) 7.78 was the fastest female masters time of the day while Thal Woods (M35-39)’s 7.08 represented the men’s fastest masters time of the day. Kathy Bergen (F75-79) and Bobby Fischer’s 9.55 and 11.21 respectively were notable for the 75-79 age division, demonstrating dedication to longevity in track and field performance and racing.
200M: Brandi Bernert returned in the 200m w ith the fastest tim e of the day in that event as well in a blazing 25.87 that would have won the open female division as well! Thal Woods’ 23.09 in the master’s division was first, however, his competitiveness would have had him place as high as third in the men’s open division with a 22.8 dual between Trevor Cook and Javan Lanier (both 18) making for an exciting race for the day! Sean Ingram (M35-39) was not far behind Woods with a speedy 24.29.
400M: Cathy Nicoletti (F60 -64) showcased her 32s 200m speed paired with the necessary aerobic strength and speed endurance over the last 150m of the 400m race with a dominant win in the female masters quarter in a time of 1:21.72, almost 4 seconds ahead of the next masters competitor. Amador Bryant (M40-44) stole the show in the masters 400m with a 57.62 win over Ian Ramsey (M40-44) who snuck in just behind him in 57.75.
800M: The race was led by 1500m NCAA All-American Shawn Lindbom, who came off
the 52.64 open 400m win, to win the 800 as well in 2:00.18 after a dual across the last 100m
with training partner and friend Mesfin Haftu Ferede (2:00.83).
Open athlete Ruth Waller (A former NCAA All-American at Baylor University) ran a 2:26
800m, giving masters athletes like Dennis Maher(M55-59) who ran 2:24.81 and Glenn
Erickson (M50-54) who finished in 2:27.57 someone gutsy to battle with across the second lap.
Maher took home the master’s win for the day.
The quality of Colorado USATF’s ability to bring together champions from age groups across
the board, and continuing to provide opportunities for post-collegiate and high school athletes
alike to race beyond graduation and beyond their own seasons, is clear in meets such as these.
1500M: David Litoff ’s (M50-54) 4:52.33 was a fan favorite, leading with 100m on the rest of the field after 600m in, and extending his lead by over 150m by the end.
3000M: Laura Bruess (F50-54) is an athlete you never want to count out—from her cross
country strength to her boast-worthy road race performances across the years, it’s no surprise
that she took home the gold in 12:01.19 for the women’s race, which would have placed her 2nd
against the open division women as well!
60mH: Christel Donley ’s (F80-84) 15.54 was an impressive run, and anyone who claims that “running is bad for your knees” should see this phenomenal athlete maneuver the hurdles with grace and rethink that idea as she took home the female master’s win for the evening. Don Keller (M55-59) was victorious in the men’s masters race with a 9.69.
JUMPS: LaDonna Reed (F40-44)’s 4.75 and James McCrimmon’s (M50-54) 5.49 long jumps took home the gold. McCrimmons turned right back around to tie for first in the high jump with Jeff Helton at 1.60 (both in the M50-54 age category), and then flipped around to take the masters male win in the triple jump as well (10.62)! Christel Donley (F80-84) was the female masters winner in 5.77.
PV: Frederick Finke (M30-34) won the pole vault in 4.45.
THROWS: Steve Gettel (M55-59) and Quenton Torbert (M60-64) both have experience competing at a high level, and their marks showed with a 14.00 and 14.81 respectively being the top two marks of the day, both gentlemen standing out against the next farthest mark at 12.26. Coming off an injury from last year, it’s safe to say that Gettel is coming back into form just in time for the summer track meets and pinnacle of the season.
Jerry Donley and Christel Donley represented the Masters 80+ age group at the meet, competing hard and with marks within .2 of each other (7.67 and 7.50 respectively)! George Matthews (M70-74) boasts the masters male win in the weight throw (16.97) along with the superweight (10.43). 5
Aidyn Woodall is the 11-12
Girls’ National Cross Country
Champion with a dominating
win in Myrtle Beach. This is
her second straight National
Championship. Her brother
Shawn Woodall joins her with
a National Championship of
his own in the 7-8 Boys. Shawn
pretty much led the entire
race. They both won their
respective races at Colorado
Association Junior Olympic
Cross Country Championship,
held Nov 8th, 2014, at Region
10 Junior Olympic Cross
Country Championship, held
Nov 22rd, 2014, and at
National Junior Olympic Cross
Country Championship, held
December 13th, 2014!!!
Congrats, Aidyn & Shawn!!!
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
6
This month I would like to remind meet directors, event coordinators,
coaches, and athletes alike the importance of having a lightning policy,
with procedures instructing individuals what to do if lighting is de-
tected in the area. Tasked with the mission of providing opportunities
for Colorado athletes of all ages to participate in running and field
events, ensuring the safety for our athletes and officials during these
pursuits is critical. In 2015 alone, I have been at five track and field
meets that have been delayed or cancelled mid-meet due to lightning.
In Colorado, eleven people die from lightning each year according to
the National Weather Service and Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails’
online magazine. Conclusively, lightning needs to be taken into con-
sideration in a lot of outdoor activities, especially during road races
and outdoor track and field meets. Every outdoor event we hold needs
a lightning policy.
HOW TO START CREATING & IMPLEMENTING YOUR EVENT’S LIGHTNING POLICY:
The first thing your event needs is a lightning detection system. Up until about three
years ago light detection systems were scarce and expensive. Now there is a free app
called WeatherBug that turns your smartphone into a lightning detector.
http://www.earthnetworks.com/WeatherBug%C2%AE.aspx
Spark is the part of WeatherBug that does lightning detection. I’ve compared
WeatherBug with some municipal and University systems and it seems to function
as well as the big expensive systems.
If lightning is detected within 6-10 miles of an event according to the app, (counting
seconds is no longer a reliable source of information) everyone needs to go to safe
place until 30 minutes after the last strike in the area. Lightning can strike more
than ten miles away from the center of a thunderstorm—well beyond the audible
range of thunder. Therefore, if you hear thunder, you're already within striking range
of a storm and should seek shelter immediately.
For further help with creation of your lightning policy, I recommend referring to The
National Weather Service’s website http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/ which
explains how to develop a lightning plan as well as how to implement it.
I’d encourage everyone to download WeatherBug and visit the lightning safety website,
especially event directors.
Let’s all stay safe, so we can keep having fun for many more years to come!
Sincerely,
Dan Pierce
USATF-Colorado President
YOUTH SPOTLIGHT
RACE WALKING
Marianne Martino
(Female 60-64) deserved
a big applause after the
300m race walk win at
the Mid America Indoor
Track and Field
Championship in
Colorado Springs, CO on
March 1, 2015. Her time
of 18:38 was five minutes
ahead of the next finisher,
male or female. At 7000
feet altitude, she led with
confidence from the gun.
USATF COACHING CERTIFICATION UPDATE
Any LEVEL 1 coach who
received their certifica-
tion PRIOR to Dec. 31,
2012, will be required to
recertify before Dec. 31 of
2016. Level 1 Coaches
who have not recertified
by December 31, 2016
will be removed from the
certification database.
Any Level 1 coach is
entitled to seek a
permanent LEVEL 2
certification prior to Dec.
31, 2016 to continue as a
USATF certified Coach.
Level 2 schools will be
available in July of 2016.
Attend upcoming Level 1 Coaching School in 2015:
November 20-22 Denver, Colorado Johnson & Wales University: 2015
COACHING CORNER
7
Across four years, former professional US distance runner Jason Hartmann coached
Niwot High School’s Elise Cranny to some pretty impressive accomplishments:
A junior cross country USA 6k title
The third fastest 1500m time ever run by a high school female athlete (4:10)
An 800m (2:04.86) and mile (4:40) indoor junior New Balance national title
A runner-up Nike Cross Country Nationals finish
4th at the world junior 1500m championships—tying a USA female junior’s highest
finish ever.
Breaking Melody Fairchild’s long standing record in the mile from 4:49 to 4:47
Breaking the course record for Colorado’s state cross country championship course
Elise is also the kindest individual you’ll ever meet, and one of the smartest people yet
most humble athlete that you’ll come across, with an “others” mindset.
“What’s the secret?” That’s the million-dollar-question that hundreds of parents and
athletes alike asked parents Bob and Sandy Cranny along with Coach Jason Hartmann
during Elise Cranny’s senior year of high school. The secret to success, and what makes
someone an outlier has been a hot topic of debate for the last decade amongst various
authors from Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers) claiming that it’s a combination of 10,000 hours
of discipline, environment, culture, and being at the right place at the right time to David
Epstein (The Sports Gene) claiming that it’s a combination of genetics, community,
direction, and work ethic.
Hartmann gives the inside scoop on the recipe for being good at the high school
level, having been a top-four Footlocker Championship finalist (4th), a six-time
Olympic trials qualifier, an All-American at University of Oregon, and pro-runner
himself:
JH: Being very good is very hard, whether you have all the right genetics or not.
Just because she’s talented or genetically has mom’s engine, there’s a lot of work behind
the performances, and discipline. I’ve been coaching for a while now, and I’ve seen a lot
of athletes come through the Colorado high schools that could have won the state cross
country title and plenty who could have gone on to be All-Americans at the collegiate
level and possibly further who didn’t end up doing so—they had the genetics—they
didn’t have it between the ears though, the ability to trust coaches and exhibit patience,
or the discipline to endure the rough days along with the great. Elise was willing to do
the work even when no one was looking—that’s what made her great.
Which Performance of
Elise’s Were You Most
Proud Of?
I’ve never been prouder to call
an athlete my athlete than when
Elise earned runner-up at Nike
Cross Country Nationals her
senior year because she should
not have toed the line in the
first place. She was looking flat
in workouts and I knew
something was wrong. By the
time we got blood work done to
discover her ferritin iron levels
were drastically low, it was two
weeks to race day. Sometimes
you make decisions based on
what’s best for an athlete’s
spirit. She had been dreaming
of winning that race since she
finished seventh in 2013. She
raced like a champion even if
she came in short of her goal of
winning that day. She pushed
former NXN three-time champ
Sarah Baxter from the very
start, and the two of them
battled that entire race. At the
end, Elise surged beyond Baxter
and thought she had the win,
but got outkicked by Alexa
Efraimson. Elise was shocked
by her inability to respond to
Alexa’s kick 300m from the
finish line and cried after in a
way where I cried too inside. It
was a hard day for her, but it
was my proudest moment of
her—I truly believe Elise can be
an Olympian someday (with
time) because of how she raced
that day, and her strength in the
face of adversity. She bounces
back from the races that don’t
go as expected or hoped for:
that shows the depth of her
character—she’s a fighter
through and through. 8
Having Quality Direction: I find that many athletes who don ’t make it had
nothing to do with lack of genetics, but rather a lack of (proper) guidance on
how to execute goal-setting to goal-attainment, and develop over time,
oscillating between appropriate doses of being challenged in workouts/race
situations, and being put in confidence-building workouts/race opportunities
that do not result in the athlete being overwhelmed. Elise was lucky to have
quality guidance in many areas, one being her parents are highly sought-out
physical therapists and Ironman competitors, both of whom assisted the design
of her strength training/core plan to avoid the injuries they see in many run-
ners, and they did it together each week as a family. Growing up, she knew
nothing but perseverance seeing Ironman training from her parents daily.
Listening to said Direction: I think this generation is overwhelmed by
over-influx of knowledge and information and they want to try to do what they
read in Running with the Buffaloes in addition to what their coach tells them to
do. From Flotrack Workout Wednesdays to RunnerSpace to MileSplit to Dyestat
to Let’s Run to every edition of Running Times/Runner’s World, high school kids
now-a-days know what everyone else is doing. There are no secrets—Pro-
athletes have blogs, and they can see a glimpse of what it looks like, and
because they see a glimpse, sometimes they make the mistake of thinking they
see the whole picture. What they don’t know is how to tailor it appropriately to
their own training resources, their own running background, and how to piece
it altogether. Coaching happens in putting it all together, establishing trust with
an athlete so that they believe in what they’re doing, in timing a peak, teaching
race execution, in adapting the plan toward athlete needs, weather, etc. Part of
being good means being patient, and trusting the process.
Discipline/ Willpower to do what you know you should do even if you
don’t feel like doing it: Running can be a lonely sport, you have to be self-
motivated because the press isn’t going to be at your practices. Even if there
was snow on the ground, if it was dark out, Elise would have truck lights
blaring up a hill and up she’d run: hill intervals again and again until the
workout was done, even if no one else was watching. Elise ran 25 miles per
week her freshman year, gradually up to 45 her senior year, but aerobically she
was doing the equivalent of an athlete doing double that because she was
swimming an hour to 90 minutes some days after having run a seven mile run
before swim practice. Not many kids are willing to do that, especially in high
school. She had the courage to do the work and that’s why she went from 21:30
for a 5k time in 8th grade to 16:45 by her senior year. I’ve seen that girl run
repeat miles in 5:00-5:10 pace at altitude, do 12 x 200m in 29 seconds off 200m
jog recovery, and do uphill tempos up canyons at altitude at paces some
collegiate athletes would be happy to race at.
Courage: If the space between your ears isn’t ready to race, it doesn’t matter
how fit you are below the shoulders. Elise failed just as much as she succeeded,
but she has strong character and believes in herself to perform under any
situation, even when chips are down. By the summer of her junior year, she was
fearless to execute race plans that involved being vulnerable and taking the
lead from the gun. A coach can always give an athlete the playbook, but they
have to have the courage to run, to execute, to believe in themselves.
HARTMANN’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: HIGH SCHOOL & BEYOND