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Compiled by David Melly and Paul Snyder

What We Learned From Indoor’s “Opening Weekend” 🧐

The wait is over! Track fans no longer have to begrudgingly turn on basketball or choose sides in the Eagles-Chiefs slugfest this weekend, because it’s indoor season, baby, and the pros are officially heading back to work in the oval office.

Not only was there finally plenty to watch, there was plenty to talk about. From the BU Terrier Classic to the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, plus a handful of races not held in one square mile of Boston, the heavy hitters wasted no time dusting the cobwebs off their spikes and putting eye-popping performances up on the board. 

For some, the message was “I’m back,” as was the case with Will Sumner’s ongoing return to racing after posting no results in 2024, or Melissa Courtney-Bryant’s statement victory in the Grand Prix 3000m after missing the British Olympic team last summer. For others, it was about picking up where they left off: Quincy Wilson lowered his own high school national record in the 400m while beating the pros, Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred won their first races of the year, and Salwa Eid Naser ran the eight-fastest 500m of all time against a bunch of college kids.

If following all these meets across social media platforms, streaming services, and physical facilities around the country felt a little bit like drinking from a fire hose, we can’t blame you. So here’s a quick roundup of the biggest takeaways from a jam-packed weekend:

This year’s meet schedule has a big impact.

One recurring theme coming out of virtually every pro’s mouth in the mixed zone this weekend—whether at BU, NB, or both—is that navigating this indoor season requires serious planning. Whether you are just getting back to racing after a long post-Olympic break, planning to peak at a global championship set for September, or practicing for the two-race Grand Slam race weekends, athlete after athlete was sure to mention that their racing this weekend was carefully slotted into the broader context of the track calendar. 

Because of pandemic-related delays and cancellations, the normally-biennial World Indoor Championships will occur three years in a row, with the 2025 edition (initially slated for 2020, then 2021) set to take place in Nanjing, China, in March. As a side effect, it sure seems like athletes aren’t necessarily circling the date on their calendars. Reigning 800m champ Bryce Hoppel said he’s skipping his title defense and last year’s 60m silver medalist Noah Lyles is limiting his whole indoor season to one race. Distance runners looking to nab a 10,000m qualifier at The TEN on March 29 may not want to make an intercontinental trip two weeks earlier—although Graham Blanks did Harvardly deduce that it’s a shorter flight to China from LA than it is from Boston, so he’s considering it, should he qualify.

Elise Cranny said she specifically picked this weekend in Boston, where she raced the mile on Friday and the 3000m on Sunday (clocking indoor PBs in both), because she wanted to mimic the cadence of GST race weekends and figure out what racing with just 24 hours of rest (compared with back-to-back race days or two days of rest, which are more common in championships) would look like for her. And GST’s first event, set for April 4th, is another reason why athletes may not want to exhaust their race efforts with a full indoor season. It’s an unfortunate reality that even the most ambitious of professionals can’t truly commit to racing every weekend for nine months straight, and it does seem like, when push comes to shove, dropping a few races off the indoor calendar is a common compromise many are making.

Ethan Strand is the real MF deal.

It’s not every day a 22-year-old college student bumps Hicham El Guerrouj back a spot on an all-time list. And sure, you can talk about carbon spikes or perfect pacing or the near-mystical qualities of the BU track, but that doesn’t change the fact that Strand became only the fifth American ever to break the 3:50 mark indoors, picked up his second collegiate record in two months, and took down a field that included two-time Olympian Robert Farken and Euros finalist Adam Fogg. When UNC coach Chris Miltenberg calls Strand and Parker Wolfe “the next two great American distance runners,” it’s starting to sound less like a proud coach fluffing his top guys’ egos and a little more like the guy who guided Grant Fisher, Sean McGorty, and Emily Infeld through their college careers recognizing generational talent as it takes form.

Diljeet Taylor is the real MF deal.

Okay, we didn’t “learn” this last weekend because it’s been self-evident for years. But it was nevertheless thrilling to watch a large cadre of college and professional athletes guided by BYU women’s coach Diljeet Taylor run rampant over the competition at the Terrier Classic. First, BYU senior Meghan Hunter won the 800m in an NCAA-leading 2:00.21. Then, her teammate Riley Chamberlain moved to #6 all-time in the mile with a four-second PB of 4:26.19. But the signature “Taylor Made” performances came in the women’s 5000m, where her athletes finished first, second, fourth, sixth, and ninth, led by Paris Olympian Whittni Morgan’s World qualifying 14:48.41. Despite coming from two countries, three brands, and the collegiate ranks, Taylor’s growing gang clearly shares an ability to train well together and execute flawlessly. 

Beyond Morgan’s win, the biggest takeaway was probably Lexy Halladay-Lowry joining the small group of NCAA sub-15 women with her 14:57.63 run. While it’s only the third fastest of the season behind Doris Lemngole and Hilda Olemomoi’s performances on the same track in December, Halladay-Lowry, who finished fourth in the 3000m and fifth in the 5000m at NCAA Indoors last year, has officially entered the national title conversation.

U.S. women’s middle distance stays fascinating.

Over the last several seasons, the incredible depth in American middle-distance (especially in the 1500m) has made for thrilling storylines in virtually every domestic race. And so far, 2025 is shaping up to be more of the same in a good way. But while head-to-head racing is always the most fun to watch in the moment, the chatter coming out of the results this weekend was focused on trying to compare similar results from different venues to get a sense of where things shake out among the country’s best. On Friday, Nikki Hiltz looked phenomenal kicking their way to a new 3000m PB at BU in 8:32.52. Then the next day, Shelby Houlihan returned to racing with an 8:31.56 solo effort in Arkansas. And to cap it all off, Elise Cranny finished the weekend with a 8:29.87 runner-up finish at the Grand Prix on Sunday two days after a 4:20.83 mile across town at BU.

Throw in Heather MacLean’s 4:23.32 win in the mile at New Balance, Sinclaire Johnson’s 4:23.58 on her heels, and Parker Valby’s pro debut with an 8:34.95 3000m PB, and the pecking order is far from determined at the moment. We’ll get a little clarity at next weekend’s Millrose Games as to who comes out on top—Hiltz, Cranny, Johnson, and MacLean are all in the Wanamaker Mile while Josette Andrews and Karissa Schweizer will open up their seasons in the 3000m—but it’s clear the yearlong battle for dominance in these tightly-packed events is just getting underway.

Julien Alfred isn’t a one-trick pony.

Because Julien Alfred is so dang good at the 100m and the 60m (she’s the reigning global champion in both), it’s easy to assume that she’s hanging on for dear life just to get halfway around the track, even as she picks up an Olympic silver in the 200m. But Alfred, thanks in part to the demands of competing for Texas as a collegian, has logged her time on a few 4x400s and is a savvier long sprinter than you’d think. Her range was on full display at New Balance on Sunday as she smoothly outran training partner Dina Asher-Smith to win the 300m in 36.16. The more Alfred builds strength and confidence in over-distance racing, the more nervous Gabby Thomas and Shericka Jackson have to be about Alfred’s potential in the longer sprints.

Grant Fisher isn’t a one-trick pony.

Anyone who has serious doubts about Grant Fisher’s top-end speed probably missed the finals of the distance races in Paris, because the reality is that contending for (and winning) medals in the 5k/10k requires serious wheels. But that doesn’t change the fact that watching the American record holder at 10,000m knock almost a full second off his 1500m PB and take down guys like Commonwealth Games champ Olli Hoare and two-time NCAA champ Joe Waskom in January is seriously impressive. It’s hard to argue that Fisher’s toolbox isn’t already full to the brim with race-winning potential, but if the 27-year-old wants to move up a step or two on the podium next time a global championship comes around, sharpening his speed against a bunch of middle-distance specialists is a good place to work on finding that extra one percent.

Coaching changes can really reinvigorate a career.

The end of one Olympic cycle and the start of the next can be a moment for reflection, revitalization, and if those two things go poorly, retirement. For athletes who didn’t end the year on a happy note, it can be a time to really shake up the training setup. Take Olympic bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers for example. Rogers has tried out a few different coaches over the last few years, and determined the fall of 2024 was time for one more big big shift—to more sprint-focused training and teammates under USC coach Joanna Hayes. Rogers seems to be in a much better place both physically and mentally after a disappointing end to last season, where she missed the U.S. team for the first time since 2017. She took the win in the 500m at the Grand Prix in 1:08.98.

After spending time with both Bowerman Track Club and Nike’s Union Athletic Club, Sinclaire Johnson is now being coached (and being paced for workouts) by her fiance, steeplechaser Craig Nowak, and has returned to racing for the first time in six months with two indoor PBs. And although Josh Hoey began training under his new coach before last year’s Olympic Trials, it’s clearly still working great for the former high school superstar, who’s clocked PBs at 800m, 1500m, and 1000m (an American record) in the last six months, then won the 1500m on Sunday under the tutelage of Australian coach Justin Rinaldi.

It may feel like we squeezed a full season of racing into three days, the fun is just getting started. And the first real taste of 2025 racing only increased the excitement for the battles we’ll get to see in the weeks to come. Perhaps what we really learned is that it’s going to be a very, very fun year.

The Pros And Cons Of College-Based Pros ⚖️

If you were tuning into the BU Terrier Classic this weekend, you might’ve noticed certain coaches were a little busier than others. That’s because they were cheering on a stable of athletes that included both collegiate and professional runners, an increasingly common setup in the current landscape of American distance running. The winners of the women’s mile (Elise Cranny), 3000m (Nikki Hiltz), and 5000m (Whittni Morgan) all shared one thing in common: They are currently being guided by Jarred Cornfield, Mike Smith, and Diljeet Taylor, respectively, all of whom have day jobs at universities.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it’s one that gained more attention over the last few years, driven in part by the dissolution of pro groups like Nike Oregon Project, Oregon Track Club, and NJ-NY Track Club. (Plus the mass exodus from Bowerman Track Club after its move, with coach Jerry Schumacher, to Eugene and the University of Oregon.) Other sports occasionally see pro teams shifting locations (shoutout to the Montreal Expos), taking on new sponsors (Visma/Lease-a-Bike doesn’t have quite the same ring to it), or undergoing major rebrands (usually for good reasons), but track and field is somewhat unique in its heavy blurriness between the—theoretically—amateur NCAA and the—theoretically—professional ranks.

Who benefits from this training setup? Usually, the pros themselves. Continuity with a successful coach-athlete pairing can be a huge asset for long-term development. If you find a training setup that works so well that it catapults you to a national title or All-American status, why change? And even if you don’t remain with your collegiate coach, in a famously under-resourced sport, access to precious perks like indoor tracks, medical staff, and training facilities make it absolutely worth it to pick up a side job as a “volunteer assistant coach.” Plus, pro training groups are almost always tied to a sponsor—and trying to find a training setup that meets both your physical needs and your contractual obligations can be tricky. But informal university-based training groups often feature a mix of differently-sponsored (or even unsponsored) athletes.

It’s not all roses for the athletes, though. Hiltz mentioned on Friday that they chose BU over New Balance in part so that their coach could physically be present, a convenience when you’re able to choose among two great meets but a challenge if you’re over in Europe all of August while your coach is back on campus for pre-season. And, with all due respect to the cosmopolitan paradise that is Eugene, Oregon, it became abundantly clear in the months following BTC’s big move that not every 25-35 year old wants to spend a decade of their adult lives on the fringes of a college campus.

If college athletes are willing to cede a bit of their coach’s time and attention to other priorities, having mentors and workout-pacers with Olympic ring tattoos hanging around can be a great co-benefit of this arrangement for up-and-coming athletes. As top collegiate distance runners navigate new uncharted waters like racing at USAs, hiring an agent, and landing endorsement deals, access to experienced brains to pick at practice every day is a real asset. And there’s gotta be a confidence boost that comes from knowing you’re training under the same system that is proving successful at even higher levels of competition.

The real tradeoff here is the effect it has on the sport. It’s no one athlete or coach’s fault, but the net result is that many aspects of professionalism we wish track would embrace are undermined by these arrangements. When superstar Duke freshman Cooper Flagg turns pro, he’s going straight to the NBA Draft and joining a pro team, not sticking around Durham for a few more years to hone his craft. And that pro team will have a name, branding, fan base, and identity that transcends any one player or coach—which are all hard to come by in track’s transient and ever-changing training landscape. He’ll be playing other NBA players in NBA games, not dropping 50 points in pickup ball in the campus gym.

This muddying of the professional-amateur waters is the direct result of a clear competition structure and underlying financial constraints. If qualifying for Worlds at a collegiate meet wasn’t an option, top elites would spend a lot less time in the city of Boston or around the Randal Tyson Track Center. If it were more financially viable for the best shot putters in the world to afford a world-class gym membership on a thrower’s salary, they wouldn’t need to lean on a university weight room. 

Just like the rest of us working stiffs, most pro track and field athletes are just trying to cobble together a work and life setup that gets them through the week—but in a high-stakes, highly individualized environment. Pros flocking to college coaches may not be ideal, but it’s what we’ve got until something better comes along.

One Small College-Meet Tweak For A Better Fan Experience 📺

For plenty of readers, the suggestion that there’s anything even improvable with the well-oiled machine that is a BU indoor meet might sound nuts. 

NCAA stars from all over the country eagerly descend on Boston, decimating their athletic departments’ travel budgets, misquoting Good Will Hunting, and committing to a weekend full of hotel-room takeout dinners. American pros reach out to old college teammates now working in consulting looking for a couch to crash on as they come down from altitude in pursuit of a new PR. European pros hop the pond and eschew the potential prize purses on World Athletics Indoor Tour, letting WA know that they’d rather pay their own way to a meet without immediate financial reward because the springy surface and pacesetting is worth that much to them.

Yes, from the athletes’ perspective, BU is essentially Valhalla. The proof is in the pudding.

But from a viewer’s perspective, there’s a problem: given these meets’ structure (sprawling) and mixed purposes (World qualifying, NCAA qualifying, personal bests for local club runners, funding BU’s whole athletic department on entry fees, etc.), it can be challenging to follow along either in person or from home. Great duels do occur at BU from time to time, but very few athletes’ stated goals coming in is to win. It’s a venue for knocking out standards or running PBs. And for the most part, fans can appreciate the meet retroactively by scanning the results the next day and/or scrolling through social media for the highlights.

But suppose you did want to tune in, or you live in Boston and wanted to take in the action in-person. If you don’t work on Fridays, don’t have any social life on Saturdays, and absolutely love the drama of heat 17 of the 800m, this is the perfect meet for you. But if you’re (dare we say it?) normal, it’s an unrealistic slog.

They typically extend over the course of two days (the first being a weekday) and each session can be 10 hours long. Giving every collegiate runner with a dream the shot at a personal best is a laudable goal. But their secondary objective is to print money, so it’s unlikely the length will ever be pared back. To even sign up for the next BU meet, an athlete or athletic department will pony up $75 per miler, and 3000m/5000m specialists are on the hook for $100 a head. Without knowing the full financials, it’s entirely possible that the Boston University track and field program generates the most revenue of any of the school’s 22 varsity sports—not something you see every day.

Unless you’re a volunteer assistant at one of the UMasses, there are a lot of races to wade through to get to the stuff you care about. And those big races are often hours apart. Time trials or not, the fastest sections of the men’s and women’s mile, 3000m, and 5000m at BU are usually bound to be exciting and often feature some of the sport’s more established and rapidly ascending stars. 

Right now, fans interested in watching this roughly 45 minutes of racing need to set aside their entire Friday and Saturday. They’ll catch the top-seeded women’s mile at roughly 4:50pm, go do some laundry, start an episode of Monk, half-watch it while checking their computer compulsively until about 6:30pm when the fast heat of the 3000m kicks off, make a quick dinner, eat, clean up while keeping an eye on their computer, then rush over at 7:50pm for the final 5000m section. Then do the exact same thing the following day.

There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with getting multiple benefits out of one meet. BU has a cash cow. Athletes have a meet circled on their calendar in bright red ink with the words “PR CITY” scrawled next to it. Fans get to repost graphics on Instagram with increasingly mind-boggling times splashed across them. But there’s also a way to have our cake and eat it too.

The simple solution is to gently adjust the schedule, so that the six or so races most relevant to the sport on a global scale take place in one, compact, “Hot Window,” to borrow a phrase from our pals at Portland Track. The BU overlords have already experimented with similar schedule adjustments before – moving slower heats of the distance races earlier in the morning in the past, and occasionally having special time trials on “off-gender” days. Either carving out a thrilling two-hour window of track and field once a weekend, or two one-hour windows across two days, would be a major improvement. The one downside would be slightly constraining your pool of available rabbits, as often pacers for distance races have contested miles or 800s earlier in the day, but that’s a very small downside to navigate in exchange for a massively-improved entertainment product.

While we’re firmly a “pro-racing” newsletter, even we can acknowledge that watching people run faster than they ever have—and maybe ever will—in a masterfully rabbited time trial can be really exciting. So as long as track and field’s amorphous schedule includes these sorts of events that exist wholly separate from any sort of circuit or championship, let’s at least make them captivating live entertainment. 

More News From The Track And Field World 📰

– In news from the track and field world and the publishing world, Chris Chavez is writing a book, all about the marathon, through Penguin House’s Dutton Books imprint. The working title is… you guessed it… The Marathon Book, and he’s set up an Instagram account for the project—be sure to give it a follow!

– Grand Slam Track has announced its U.S. media rights partners for its inaugural season, and it’s good news for anyone not looking to doll out for a new subscription: all four Slams will be broadcast live on the CW and simultaneously streamed on Peacock, with a season in-review special-type thing airing on NBC in May.

– There’s a reason Fayetteville is widely considered the Boston of Northwest Arkansas: plenty of performances posted at this weekend’s Razorback Invitational sit at or near the top of the world leaderboards, like Florida’s Jenoah McKiver in the 400 (45.19). (Full results)

– Masai Russell, reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 100m hurdles, will participate in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Valentine’s Day. Her team will be coached by rapper 2 Chainz as well as retired, controversial MLB-legend-turned-Strava-power-user Barry Bonds.

– The field is set for the women’s 800m at the Millrose Games, and while it’s a strong one top to bottom, your headliners are undoubtedly Shafiqua Maloney and Nia Akins. Maloney chatted with Chris on the CITIUS MAG Podcast about her breakout 2024 season and the obstacles she’s had to overcome to reach this point in her career.

– Looks like we know where Sha’Carri Richardson will be on the first Monday in May, as she was named a member of the host committee for the 2025 Met Gala.

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