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Blowin' in the wind⏱
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Soaring to an American Record 🛸

It’s only April, but Valarie Allman is picking things up right where she left them. While competing at the Triton Invitational in San Diego, just her second meet of the season, the Olympic gold medalist in the discus threw 71.46m to eclipse her previous American Record of 71.16m. Despite being the farthest throw in 30 years, the mark is only 15th on the all-time list — that’s when fans read between the lines of the descending order list.
Unfortunately, as is the case with many field events, the large majority of the best performances were set during the 1980s by countries in the Eastern Bloc who were operating under the shadow of government sanctioned doping programs. If you aren’t old enough to have seen the Berlin Wall come down, then Google the names of those ahead of Allman. Many of their Wikipedia pages will have an annotation regarding failed drug tests and subsequent bans. That middle step needs to be eliminated — taking anabolic steroids at any point in your career should be a disqualifying event, resulting in your marks being erased from any all-time lists.
I’m holding back the temptation to add the title of “clean world record holder” to Allman’s Wikipedia and citing this newsletter as the source. There’s certainly a possibility of an innocent athlete ahead of her. But at the very least we should start treating Allman as such, which begins with being in awe of how gracefully she spins in the ring and how powerfully she cleans hundreds of pounds in the weight room.
Rotterdamnnnnn

When Abdi Nageeye finished second at the 2020 Olympics, it was the highest he had ever finished in a marathon. It’s not like he was new to the event, having previously started in 12 of them. He’d just never eked out a win or finished in the silver position. But on Sunday in Rotterdam he finally one-upped himself and got to experience the euphoria of breaking the tape in front of his home Dutch crowd in a personal best of 2:04:55.
It was a wild sprint finish against his NN Running Team teammate, Leul Gebresilase, which only further validated NN’s position as the premier road group in the world. Perfect timing considering the team just signed a three year extension with the Dutch financial services company. The odds are that you didn’t even know what NN did prior to reading that sentence, and honestly, I am still not positive. But I guarantee you that if I ever need to set up a retirement plan in the Netherlands, they will be my first choice.
The reality is that what we consider a lot of money in our sport is peanuts for multinational corporations. The barrier to entry for owning this space is so incredibly low that a moderately successful finance bro could make a splash in the sponsorship world with the commitment of a single annual bonus — he just might need to cut down on his UberCopter rides to the Hamptons. However, what Jos Hermens has been able to do since founding this team extends beyond providing structure and support to the world’s best runners. He’s taken things to the next level via effectively marketing the group’s identity that has been carefully sculpted.
On the women’s side, Ethiopia’s Haven Hailu went out hard on her way to a 2:22:01 and broke the field in the process. Meanwhile, eventual second place finisher and NN teammate Nienke Brinkman ran well-behind at the beginning and took advantage of the carnage up front. Having a friend run everyone else into the ground is the epitome of team tactics!
Brinkman’s time of 2:22:51 was the Dutch national record, which is especially impressive considering she only took up running two years ago. While most of us millennials opted to temporarily dabble in the arts of mixology, she instead discovered running as a healthier form of stress relief. It may take a couple Olympic cycles worth of schooling for Brinkman to complete her PhD in geophysics, but it only took her two years to go from couch-to-being-on-the-best-team-in-the-world.
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The first state doesn’t sign last ✍️

If only Thomas Jefferson knew how long it’d take for every state to have a sub-four minute mile. Maybe he would have written some additional bonus incentives into the Constitution. On the surface, there is nothing comparatively difficult about breaking the barrier within the confines of invisible lines drawn on a map, but it creates a reason to put together a high-level track meet in parts of the country that have never had one.
The few exceptions to that statement about difficulty would maybe be places like Alaska, due to variable conditions, or Colorado, since it’s all at altitude, or New Jersey, because of the pollution. But despite these obstacles, a sub-four has been run in each of these states. However, there remain several states that have never hosted a race in which that milestone is broken — including Delaware.
Enter: Tinman Elite’s Sam Parsons, a native Delawarean, who wanted to cross The First State off the short list of those that remain without a sub-four. On Saturday night, the burden Delaware has been carrying for 235 years was finally lifted thanks to Parsons’ 3:58.17 mile on his old high school’s track. In addition to the men’s race, there was an impressive women’s field assembled, with Molly Sughroue winning in 4:34.56.
In an exclusive text message interview with The Lap Count in response to a congratulatory message, Parsons shared that racing at The Long Island Mile ‘really inspired me to do my own.’ I will never forget the hug Sam gave me after the race. It was his first time breaking four, and I was a few days removed from sports hernia surgery. He picked me up in the air in celebration and when he shook me it felt like I re-tore my adductor!
As badly as I want to take all the credit for being the first person to ever put on a track meet, Parsons worked with his high school coach, Patrick Castagno, to make what I am sure was one of the more rewarding experiences of his career happen. Of all the pressure-filled environments to compete in, there are few less understanding than competing in your hometown, where the expectation is that a state title ten years ago means you’re currently destined for Olympic gold. For Parsons to still show up and execute in those conditions is impressive.
Now just Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming still need a sub-four. These remaining states aren’t necessarily a hot bed of professional running talent, and are pretty sparsely populated, so it makes sense. How do you expect a kid from Hawaii to believe he’s capable of running a sub-four minute mile if he’s never actually seen it? It’s a chicken or the egg situation! New Hampshire is the most surprising one left on the list (@Eric Jenkins), although Dartmouth’s Steve Mangan ran 4:01 to win Heps in 2013 on their flat 200m track (which converts to sub-4). And while not exactly what we are looking for, Elle Purrier-St. Pierre’s average tempo run in Vermont would probably net more points on the World Athletics scoring tables.
USATF Bermuda Games 🤷♀️

Teahna Daniels’ expression pretty much sums up the first USATF meet hosted on a British overseas territory. How does something like this come about? I guess we’ll have a better idea after the 2022 taxes are filed.
Initially there was a huge set of stars slated to compete, which makes sense given it’s the first stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour. Plus, getting paid to race in a tropical paradise seems like the perfect April gig. But as the meet drew closer, all those big names slowly started to fall by the wayside: Sha’Carri Richardson, Athing Mu, Marvin Bracy, Kenny Bednarek, Ronnie Baker.
And then Grant Holloway, who was in Bermuda, tweeted a plea to meet organizers to “flip the track” and to “think about the athletes and not the viewers.” He then dropped out before things started.
Why? Well, as Jasmine Todd noted in the Citius Slack channel, there are probably a bunch of high school athletes who took a look at the results and thought about skipping college to turn pro. Due to crazy high headwinds, the times were bordering on laugh-out-loud [relatively] slow. For example, Canada’s Jerome Blake won the 100 in 10.36, running into a -5.6 m/s wind. In a perfect world (+2.0 m/s), that is worth a 9.86!
I don’t fundamentally agree with Holloway’s suggestion to totally ignore the viewers. That’s more or less how the sport has always operated, and look where that has got us. However, I do believe it would have benefited the meet as a whole if the 100 and the hurdles competed in the reverse direction.
There are valid arguments as to why this shouldn’t be a regular occurrence and how it could set a dangerous precedent for future events to follow.
First off, the marks don’t count for anything with an outrageous tailwind so they’re virtually meaningless. Television cameras are set up for the finish to be at the finish-line. And the biggest (or wealthiest) fans pay good money to sit in the best seats. Part of racing outdoors is the unpredictability of the weather and rather than focusing on the clock, we should instead focus on the competition. In fact, I have long been beating this drum and have even been mocking up t-shirts for sale that say exactly that — for distance running.
Unfortunately, there are no tactical races in the sprints. I just wanna see fast and hear the crowd’s disbelief before the wind reading populates on the scoreboard! Had the track been flipped, then Jerome Blake would have bettered Usain Bolt’s 100m world record of 9.58 by a sizable margin. Isn’t that way cooler than what actually happened? Sure the mark would have an asterisk, but the story would have been picked up by every major news outlet and the TikTok would still be going viral.
I’m not suggesting meets flip the track at championship races or for a minor headwind, but in this scenario thinking about the athletes IS thinking about the viewers. Would you rather be sitting on the far end of the track watching Grant Holloway run ridiculously quick or be in the comfort of the best seats in the house and not watch him run at all? Seems like an easy decision.
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Gabriela DeBues-Stafford leaves Bowerman

On Saturday, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford announced via Instagram that she has left the Bowerman Track Club. The decision by the two-time Olympian and seven-time Canadian national record holder came as a shock to fans, as DeBues-Stafford has run exceptionally well since joining the team in July of 2020. In her post, Gabriela cites the doping violation and subsequent four-year suspension of teammate Shelby Houlihan and its continued aftermath as the reason for her departure.
To learn more about the thought process behind the move, we reached out to DeBues-Stafford. The following interview was conducted via email and has been left in its entirety.
Given that Shelby's doping violation became public last summer, what motivated the decision to leave now rather than after the Olympics or at the start of 2022?
Honestly, my initial instinct when this happened (in June) was to leave. Reputation is very important to me. However, knowing everyone on the team and having an otherwise extremely positive experience at BTC, it was hard to walk away when I had invested so much. Invest literally, in terms of it being very expensive to move all our stuff out to Portland, find a place, buy a car and such, but also psychologically, moving to a new country for a second time in two years, and my husband putting his career on hold to move with me. We were highly invested in making this move stick. I think I settled on the decision to stay at BTC by acknowledging that so long as this scandal stays in the past and the group moves on, I could still be true to myself.
So why leave now? When Lucia made her decision to commit to BTC in the late summer and early fall, neither Lucia nor I were told that Shelby was going to keep training through her ban, nor the extent to which Shelby was going to be around the team. There was no communication about this situation at all.
As the fall progressed, my and the group’s exposure to Shelby’s plans grew as did our concerns. Conversations between the athletes and the staff were had, and I was so dissatisfied by the unwillingness to listen to the athlete’s input that I began the discussions of leaving the group then in December. In the last few days before training camp, however, I was talked out of it. By mid February of that Flagstaff camp however, it was clear that BTC would not be a sustainable environment for me to operate in.
Had I had a crystal ball to see what November, December, January, and beyond would be like at BTC, or not even a crystal ball but just all of the information surrounding Shelby’s plans and the knowledge that the athletes’ inputs and concerns surrounding those actions that affect the group would not be listened to, I would have left after Tokyo.
By all accounts your short time with the group was successful, maybe most notably was the range you displayed having run personal bests in the 800 (1:58) and 5000m (14:31). From a training perspective, what does the group do differently than everyone else that has led to so much success for seemingly everyone who wears the uniform?
Different coaches skin the cat in slightly different ways but from what I hear of other groups and coaches around the world what BTC does isn’t crazy or super complicated. Build as big an aerobic base as possible through mileage and lots of tempo work, get up to altitude and start to load up on distance specific workouts, come down to sea level and smash it. Whether coaches dress up workouts with special names, do two tempos in a day, how much they cycle sea level to altitude or not, that can all change; but ultimately that’s the foundation for most top athletes right now.
I think what has made BTC special beyond that foundation is the athletes themselves plus Jerry’s own motivational capacity. BTC has a great concentration of talent that is able to push and pull each other along. It means taking tremendous young talents like Grant and giving them world medalist role-models like Evan and Moh to emulate and chase down. Take a super hungry high school phenom like Elise and one of the top NCAA talents of the past 5+ years in Karissa and have them learn from a consummate pro and multiple medalist in Courtney. If one athlete isn’t feeling it on the day, there’s three more who can push it. It was a special feedback loop to be able to witness and contribute to. Tie that together with Jerry’s motivational skills; he is a great motivator. In my opinion, this is his best coaching trait (that doesn’t get mentioned enough), he is fantastic at helping athletes build their own belief and confidence in their abilities.
Of all the potential options to work with various coaches or groups, what attracted you most to moving back to Canada to work with Trent and Hilary Stellingwerff?
I was really impressed and heard great things about Trent and his adaptability in working with Melissa Bishop-Nriagu after she had Corinne (her child) and the passing of her old coach, Dennis. Plus, I have a ton of respect for Hilary having looked up to her as a kid growing up in the sport and then racing against her. They have a very comprehensive approach to the sport. As a scientist, Trent might be one of the best minds not just in track but across modern sports physiology; I think he’s approaching 200 published articles now and has been an advisor for just about any acronym you could scramble together (WA, IOC, FINA, to name a few). They’ve both known/worked with Jerry and BTC throughout the last twenty years so that understanding has helped keep the transition seamless.
Another key factor is resources. Athletics Canada has a training hub in Victoria, so in terms of an integrated support team - physios, nutrition advice, gym facilities, medical support; it’s all top class and right there. It’s the most comprehensive set up I’ve had in my whole career so far. Hilary is also the head coach of the University of Victoria track team, so I’m able to work out with some of their men’s team. When you’re a woman trying to break 3:55 in the 1500m, there’s only about four women in the world who can drag you all the way there, so working with a coach who also comes with a small army of athletes capable of hitting those splits is also a nice bonus on top.
Has it been tough dealing with some of the reservations by fans as a result of being associated with a club connected to Shelby? There’s obviously been these all-time performances and there’s a population of fans who cast this cloud of doubt or suspicion. Did it ever feel like other athletes treated the group differently now because of it?
Managing haters and doubters comes with the territory. As soon as I ran 3:56 in 2019 at Worlds, I had people giving me grief who just couldn’t believe I was capable of that, not realising I was running 4:07 at 19, then at 20 making the Olympics and going head to head with women like Shannon Rowbury. It’s annoying, yes, but I know that generally those people are totally unfamiliar with my own story, or are cynical past a point of no return.
What does matter more to me though, is the respect of my fellow athletes, coaches, and the active pro track community. I definitely felt a shift in how some other athletes responded to me; sometimes it would just be things like feeling avoided in a meet hotel dining room, other times it would be a more explicit question like, “what’s the deal with your team?” or something like that. It has been tough feeling like I can’t be fully open with people on the circuit about the situation at BTC. To be clear, this shift wasn’t ideal, but it was manageable. That is not why I left - as I have said elsewhere, fundamentally I left due to the lack of clear boundaries and lack of communication within the club.
(On Tuesday night, Shelby Houlihan issued a statement to LetsRun following their story about the departure of DeBues-Stafford.)
Rapid Fire Highlights 🔥
A New Balance all-star team of Elle Purrier-St. Pierre, Heather Maclean, Sydney McLaughlin and high school star Roisin Willis will be chasing the indoor DMR world record* of 10:39.91 set by the Union Athletic Club earlier this year. The event is part of the brand’s opening of The TRACK in Boston and will be streamed on RunnerSpace at 8:30pm. (*world record, world best, who gives a crap, they’re both cool!)
Freshman Sadie Engelhardt continued her rise to prominence with a win at the Arcadia Invitational in 4:35.12, breaking a 42-year-old age group record for 15-and-under.
Newbury Park’s Colin Sahlman (8:34.99) and Lex Young (8:35.72) went 1-2 to lead 32 boys under 9:00 for 3200m at Arcadia.
Rachel Smith shared the very sad news of her experiencing a miscarriage. She spoke about how such tragedy is much more common than we realize because it is so rarely spoken about.
Devon Allen signed an NFL contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He plans on pursuing a football career following this year’s World Championships.
Samantha Roecker, a Philadelphia-based 2:29 marathoner and full-time nurse, is running the Boston Marathon in scrubs to raise money and awareness for mental health support for front-line health care workers.
What happens when the best high school 800m goes up against the NCAA mile champion? Ole Miss’s Mario Garcia-Romo ran 1:46.90 to hold off his future teammate Cade Flatt whose 1:47.04 is the third fastest time in prep history. Afterwards he said, ‘In 2 months time I rewrite history.’
Abby Steiner ran 10.92 (+0.5) and 22.38 (-5.8 m/s!) to win both races at LSU.
Mark Conover passed away this week at 61 years old. In addition to being the former Director at Cal Poly, he won the 1988 Olympic Marathon Trials. This video of the finish with the Twin Towers in the background is incredibly cool!
Kenya has named its marathon team for the World Championships, led by defending champion Ruth Chepngetich and Geoffrey Kamworor. Kenya has won 44% of the possible global medals from World and the Olympics since 2007.
Grayson Murphy is the newest addition to Jonathan Green’s Verde Track Club.
Thanks so much to Brooks for supporting this week’s newsletter! I will be watching the Boston Marathon from the Brooks Hyperion House with the CITIUS MAG crew and some very special guests — you can check out that stream on YouTube. If you are looking ahead to the Boston Marathon then subscribe to the CITIUS MAG newsletter for a comprehensive preview coming out later this week.
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