Runnerville

Today we welcome one of America’s top distance stars, special guest Matt Tegenkamp from the wilds of Wisconsin. We preview this weekend’s Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. We share highlights from our comment line (206-888-0346), including a report from Major Russ Stewart in Tikrit, Iraq. All of that, plus the big story, race results, and more on the Toni & Matt Show.

The Big Story - Kenenise Bekele announces that he’ll make his American debut at the June 8th Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Then quickly adds that he’ll be making a World Record attempt at 10,000 meters (a record he already owns at 26:17.53). Great news, right? Wrong. Bekele’s agent Jos Hermans and meet director Tom Jordan decided the best time of day to make a World Record attempt is 9:30 . . . in the morning . . . on a Sunday . . . three hours before the rest of the Pre Classic gets underway. (shaking heads everywhere)

Matt Tegenkamp joins us in the “studio” from Madison, Wisconsin. The American Record holder at two-miles tells us that he’s ahead of where he was at this time last season (and we all know how that ended), claims that Jerry Schumacher is the best coach in the country, and explains how his wife Michelle cracked the whip. Matt also puts forth this week’s Hot House Idea (hint: think soccer in Europe) and we get our first major scoop on the show - Teg to sit out the 2010 season in protest. (kidding . . . sort of)

Quick News:
- Dathan Ritzenhein withdraws from Saturday’s Healthy Kidney 10K - a serious injury with implications for the US Trials, or just being cautious?
- Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor announced as Team Leaders for this year’s Bolder Boulder 10K International Team Challenge. Not a surprise to us; we had BB10K athlete recruiter Don Janicki on the show last month where he announced his goal of getting Hall and Kastor to Boulder.
- Brian Sell defends his USATF 25K Road Title at the Fifth Third Bank 25K in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The race has always been a good indicator for Sell, which should get all those Hanson-Brooks fans excited for Beijing.
- The London Marathon is losing it’s buttery taste. Race Director Dave Bedford will announce a new title sponsor (to start 2010) at the Tower Hotel this Friday. We can only hope for Crisco!
- The 97th ING Bay to Breakers initiates a gender challenge called The Battle to the Breakers. The first athlete to the line takes home the $25,000 bonus. There’s also a $5,000 bonus for the first man and woman to crest Hayes Street Hill at the two mile mark. One of the more entertaining races just got more entertaining. More races should take note.
- Barack Obama jumps Hillary Clinton in the super delegate count, then jumps a hurdle at the Oregon Twilight Meet thanks to Vin Lanana. Publicity stunt? Of course. Good for the sport? Of course (thanks to the fact that he didn’t fall over the hurdle . . . go ask the Bowling folks how participation has tanked since Obama’s 37!)

EPO, Mice, and Mustard Oil: An article in the San Diego Union Tribune cites a study that claims the skin can trigger the body’s production of EPO. In other words, an athlete could sleep with his/her body in an altitude tent set for 19,000 feet, but with his/her head out of the tent (because you couldn’t live at that altitude). If this works in humans (as it did for the lab rats) it could have enormous consequences for the sporting world.

Highlights from our comment line:
- Major Russell Stewart calls in from Tikrit, Iraq where he reports good running conditions, forms The Tikrit Running Club (Hey Russ, we want T-shirts!), and asks for your help to bring running to Iraq.
- Dan Lilot ponders the decision to split the 1500m at the Cardinal Invite into two heats. Once again track shoots itself in the foot.
- Jeremy Mosher enjoys Perrier while nudging you to get involved. We took your criticism about being too negative on the show; now it’s your turn to join the conversation.

You can do that by calling the comment line: 206-888-0346

[Music is “Run On” by Moby.]

A great show lined up today:

Toni Reavis jumps on the Andrew Wheating bandwagon, but not because of his great performances. Rather, Toni loves the fact that we stole him from the soccer pitch.

Robert Johnson is driving the Wheating bandwagon thanks to finishes like this one.

Jay Johnson browses usatf.org and wonders out loud why in the world there’s not one single video on the site. Great question.

Dan Lilot, watching the Doha meet from work, insists that it’s the best time ever to be a track nut. Sure there are problems, but we’ve never had it this good.

Jeremy Mosher takes Nate Jenkins one step further - Mosh wants eight Vin Lannana/Mary Wittenberg super spawn to run the sport.

Brett Larner sends an update on Mizuki Noguchi and Atsushi Sato, Japan’s top Olympic marathon hopefuls. Noguchi will try to defend her title in Beijing, while Sato will look to make a name for himself in the marathon.

Matt Taylor is rubbing mustard oil all over his skin. Why? To naturally produce his EPO levels. Just read this article. Scary, scary stuff.

Check out RunnersCookbook.com to support the Jenny Crain “Make It Happen” Fund and the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund. You’ll also get recipes from some of the best runners in the world. Great cause, great food.

[Music is “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by Saul Williams.]

Toni Reavis, perhaps it’s better that you not read any further.

Those of you who have read my embarrassment of a bio know that I am a native of the great state of Cincinnati. As such, it was with a keen ear that I followed the recent coverage of Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon, called one of America’s “10 Most Enjoyable Marathons” by Runner’s World back in 2005.

You should know we’re in trouble right there.

Pardon my ignorance, but when did the marathon become “enjoyable”? I am among the uninitiated, so maybe when I finally get out there, I will discover the marathon is like a three hour episode of How I Met Your Mother: soft edges, plenty of chuckles and warm feelings all around. Such is the tack taken with Cincinnati’s marathon, and, I suppose, at least they are up front about it. The name says it all: novelty marathon. Read more…

Welcome to our 10th episode, a small milestone and definite turning point for the show. We’d like to count the first 9 episodes as practice - our time to learn the medium and find our voice. We’ve received great feedback from you; please keep it coming by emailing us at comments (at) runnerville (dot) com. But don’t just email us - join the community, join the discussion. Send us your audio comments by calling 206-888-0346. That’s the only way we’ll make the influencers and decision makers of the sport take notice - with many voices.

Okay, on to today’s show:

[3:55 - 21:15] The Big Story - The Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University.
Shalane Flanagan and Kim Smith save the night with their epic duel over 10,000 meters, both setting national records in the process (30:34.49 for Flanagan to 30:35.54 for Smith). Without that race the meet would have been a let-down. Expectations were so high going into the weekend, but fast times did not materialize, especially at 800m and 1500m. Of course there were some impressive results, but the winning times were not as anticipated. Other stories included: Brent Vaughn, Scotty Bauhs, Shannon Rowbury impress, Fasil Bizuneh just misses the A standard, no Rupp or Gouchers, and why in the world would they split the 1500m into two “equal” heats? Not what the fans want . . .

[21:15 - 1:05:45] Nate Jenkins joins us in the “studio” from Lowell, Massachusetts, home to Toni’s first radio gig. Nate finished 7th at last year’s US Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC, setting his PR of 2:14:56. We asked Nate to be on the show after receiving a great, if not long, audio comment. His comment had some constructive criticism for the show, some positive feedback, and some great ideas to improve the sport. Instead of playing his comment on the show, we thought it would be better to open up the conversation and invite him on the show. What a guest! We discuss the complexity of our sport, the sad state of television coverage, USATF’s lack of financial support, and uniform rules. We ask Nate if the athletes should unionize. And Toni unveils our newest segment - The Hot House - to incubate ideas for the sport. He presents his first Hot House idea to Nate - making a half-marathon series with teams - who’s a big fan.

[1:07:22 - 1:18:00] Listener comment from Kevin referencing an Tim Layden article in the May 5 edition of sports illustrated titled: Once They Were Giants - After years of drug scandals, track faces its future as a minor Olympic sport. A sad look at the decline of track’s position on the Olympic stage. This year swimming and gymnastics will take center stage. A real eye-opener for the powers that be. Layden’s best point: the danger for our sport is not outrage, it’s apathy. Amen!

Listen in next week for Episode #11. We’ll be joined by Matt Tegenkamp and we have audio call ins from Dan Lilot and funny-man Jeremy Mosher. You can add your voice to the conversation by calling us at 206-888-0346 - just leave your comment after the beep.

[Music is “Same Old Drag” by Apples in Stereo.]

The greatest time ever to be a distance running fan? London, Boston, Drake, Penn, Olympic Marathon Trials, and Stanford on the horizon. All in an Olympic year. Get the rundown on the Toni & Matt Show Episode #9:

So many great races (see above) and story lines (Olympic year), but can the average fan keep up? With no organization orchestrating the whole show, everything gets lost. And as a result, during the sports segment on the show Morning Joe, they covered Alicia Follmar, the athlete from Stanford who fell and got spiked in the head. She finished her leg of the relay with blood rolling down the side of her face. Courageous? No doubt. But it’s only happenings like this (also see Cheruiyot’s fall at the line in Chicago) that get us on national television.

The Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston - a complete success. So why won’t the BAA bid for the event again? Will NYC host every marathon Trials from here on out? Can USATF put their foot down and demand the USOC sponsors pitch in to cover the cost? (Don’t count on it.) One thing is clear - putting the trials in a major city the same weekend as their major marathon works. (And Boston fans are the greatest running fans in the country.)

Drake takes it to the fans with an indoor pole vault. Hats off to them, but will anyone follow their lead? Imagine the London and Boston Marathon fields racing over the US Women’s Olympic Marathon criterium style course in Boston? Or imagine the Olympic Marathon Trials where anyone can enter . . . for a $200 entry fee. Instead of 180 participants, you’d have 30,000.

Have we reached the greatest period in American distance running? Toni says no. Matt is non-committal. But one thing is clear: man, have we come a long way the last 5 years. Remember 2000? Yikes.

This weekend’s Stanford meet will be totally off the charts. Look at these heet sheets! You’re going to see (err, read about) some incredible performances and some that leave you shaking your head. Why is this not on television? Note to NBC: Wake Up! This is where you’ll get all the backstories you need for the Pre Classic, the Olympic Trials, and the actual Olympics.

We touch briefly on athlete contracts and how they actually hurt the sport from a fan perspective. They’re structured around two things - fast times and making National teams. There’s no incentive to run off distances (e.g., two-miles) or to race strong competitors when not 100% fit. As a result, we rarely get the match-ups we (fans) want to see. The one exception: Stanford this weekend.

What do you think? Call us at 206-888-0346 and leave your comment. We’ll play it on the show. Thanks for listening.

Like thousands of people every year, we caught a bad case of Post Marathon Depression. The best weekend in Boston (Red Sox at home + Celtics in the playoffs at home + Boston Marathon + US Women’s Marathon Trials + LetsRun/Puma Party = Greatest Weekend Ever) led to a depression so deep we couldn’t even get out last week’s show. But we’re back!

And we’ve got a great episode:

Chris Lear wonders what John McDonnell’s legacy will be: greatest coach ever or foreign importer?

Toni Reavis says it with clarity: we suck! Too much of a good thing?

Scott Bush wants every college team to put a dual meet on their schedule. And maybe add a “fall game.”

Jeremy Mosher loves the format: Olympic Trials marathon piggy-backed onto a major marathon. After all, Pittsburgh couldn’t handle this.

Scott Bush comes again with his thoughts from the Penn Relays. Jamaicans rock the party.

Matt Taylor praises the Drake Relays and their decision to host an indoor pool vault . . . at the mall! Brilliant

[Music is “The Euphonius Whale” by Dan Hicks and his hot licks!.]

What a weekend!  A few reflections from the greatest marathon in the world from a hometown boy:

• First off, great job by Matt & the PUMA gang on the PUMA / LetsRun.com Boston Marathon pre-race party Saturday night. The store was jam-packed, the Harpoon suds were flowing, a dance move or two were busted, and many a conversation were had. I walked by the NikeTown store on Newbury St. after leaving the PUMA party and it was eerily dark and quiet — in other words, closed. If Nike’s smart, they’ll throw a pre-marathon blowout next year in their store. These things are good for the sport, if you know what I mean.
• Ryan Hall was signing posters at the race expo on Saturday.  Nice of him to come down from the mountains and enjoy the most beautiful Boston weekend thus far in 2008.  Adoring fans formed a line around the Expo to meet Ryan, say a word or two, take a picture with him, and get an autograph.  Nice to see a nice guy and great runner getting the attention he deserves from fans of the sport.
• I picked up the re-designed Running Times Magazine at their expo booth on Sunday.  It was my first time seeing it in a few months, and I have to say this: quite simply, RT is the best publication available for fans of the sport.  I subscribed several years ago, way back when RT was like a souped-down version of RW with less impressive design and basically one page dedicated to races and athletes.  I’ve always liked RT better than RW, but today, the magazine is the perfect blend of training tips, race reports, and athlete bios to feed my need for running sustenance.  And with the exception of microscopic typefaces on a few articles, the whole package flat out looks great.  Kudos to Editor Jonathan Beverly and his staff for the new — and much improved — Running Times. (and big ups to our own Matt Taylor for a quality cover feature on Tegenkamp in the most recent issue)
• As I stood among the “commoners” on the race course Monday (just before Kenmore Sq, if anyone’s curious), I was struck again with the question that many have posed on this blog and podcast: “How are is the sport of running neglecting all these people?” Sure, people come out to experience the pomp and pageantry of the world’s greatest marathon, and to watch their friends and family members sweat it out. But do they know about the elite runners? My conversations Monday say they don’t. It seems the task ahead for the powers that be remains making fans out of the nominally interested participants and observers found along race routes and in races all over this country.
• Was Monday’s women’s finish the best in history?  Conservatively, it was definitely high on the list.  It was the type of back-and-forth, digging deep kind of competition that really energizes crowds and creates fans of the sport.  Two virtual unknowns separate convincingly from a pretty good field of runners, and then break into a sprint with a mile to go … amazing.  The Tune-Biktimirova finish is one for the record books.
• Monday’s race was the first time I’ve watched Boston in person, and thus it was the first time to witness the throngs of wasted college students along Commonwealth and Beacon Streets enjoying their day off.  Marathons and drinking: a curious combination, methinks.  One is the payoff for months of tireless and thankless hard work, and the glory lasts a lifetime.  The other is an act of instant gratification that is quite short-lived and has one or two quite negative side-effects.
• Folks went nuts when Lance and his entourage ran by on Monday.  If Lance Armstrong trained — like really trained — he’d be a 2:35 marathoner, easy.  As it is, he’s beating 95% of the field and hovering around 2:50 on what I’d call minimal marathon training.  (he said he ran about 5-6 miles a day with a few long runs thrown in while training for Boston)  He likely won’t ever train hard for a marathon, partly because he’s so dang busy pounding cancer and mostly because he simply doesn’t love marathoning enough to do so.  That’s fine.  Lance is what he is — an amazing cyclist-turned-amateur marathoner who is a mighty fine ambassador for the sport.

Live from Boston, a roundtable with LetsRun.com’s Weldon Johnson. Toni, Matt, and Weldon preview the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials and the 112th Boston Marathon as a tune-up for the LetsRun Boston 2008 Party hosted by Puma. Enjoy the show.

Trying a new thing here: To help anyone like me who has running-centric tunnel-vision to the extent that you didn’t even recognize that it was Wolf Blizter having brunch at the table next to you last Saturday, we’re going to relate a figure from current events to a figure from the world of running. This way we can all learn one new thing about the outside world, while putting that thing in a context we actually understand. It’s called, If [ BLANK ] Were a Runner! Give it a whirl, after the jump…

You may have heard that the Pope is currently on his first papal visit to the United States. (It IS baseball season, after all…) For those unfamiliar with His Vaticanness, here’s a handy reference to help you along: Read more…