NCAAs is a World Championship⏱

Lap 54: Sponsored by COROS

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NCAA Championships of the World 🌎

It feels like we haven’t had a normal NCAA Indoor Championships since March 2019! Remember when Harvard was the first to pull out of the meet in 2020 and everyone was so mad at them? I guess the nerds were right…

Unfortunately, the last minute cancellation of that event wasn’t enough to stop the worldwide pandemic, but doggonit, it’s good to be back! I don’t mean to discount the 2021 iteration of this meet, but I just don’t know how you can pretend to call yourself an NCAA champion if you didn’t have to beat the Ivy League to do it. (This is a joke, please don’t email me.)

Anyway, it is Wednesday morning, so if by now you aren’t aware of what happened, the odds are you don’t care THAT much. If you’d like to watch what you missed, the NCAA YouTube channel has shared just about everything. Using views as a barometer of what to replay first, as of Tuesday night the most viewed videos are the men’s 4x400 and 200m at 84K each. If you don’t have time for all that, I’ll give you the spark notes and some talking points for the water cooler. (If you don’t chat about the meet around the water cooler with your normal co-workers then please do email me.)

• BYU’s Courtney Wayment won the women’s 5000m in 15:30.17, her third NCAA title. She finished fourth in the Olympic Trials steeplechase and is well positioned to become a regular on future international teams.

• NAU’s Abdihamid Nur doubled up to win the men’s 5000m (13:19.01) in a meet record and the 3000m (7:59.88) to show off his range as someone who can win fast races and slow ones. In both races he had a knack for controlling things from the front over the final laps in a Mo Farah-esque manner.

• Florida’s Jasmine Moore broke her own collegiate triple jump record (14.57m) in addition to winning the long jump (6.57m) to help lead the Gators to the team title.

• After a couple years adjusting to the NCAA, NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy is starting to find her footing — she finished a close second in both the 5000m (15:30.63) and 3000m (8:59.20). As arguably the best high school cross country runner ever, there were — naturally — expectations for her to perform similarly at the next level. But if history has taught us anything it’s that when it comes to young stars, early success unfortunately doesn’t always translate to long careers. No races put a bigger smile on my face this weekend than Tuohy’s.

• The 60m was run twice after a recall. The problem with a six second race is that by the time you realize the gun has been fired again it’s over. Fortunately USC’s Davonte Burnett (6.50) won on both occasions!

• The Arkansas women (10:51.37) and Texas men (9:25.20) won the DMRs. Texas anchor Yaseen Abdalla just narrowly missed making the meet in the mile and 3000m, but the Longhorn walk-on used his fresh legs to hold off Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse, which leads us to the following bullet point.

• For the first time in school history, the Texas Longhorn men won the team title. Hook ‘em, to those who celebrate!

Do you want to support the sport’s elite athletes? Then subscribe to our Friday morning premium newsletter! This week we’ll be speaking with Colin Schultz. The former Liberty University runner now resides in Flagstaff where he splits time working as talented media creator and banging out 800 meters in 1:46! Sign up to receive an interview in your inbox every week to support this initiative, which has now raised over $18,700, with all proceeds going towards those whose stories we share.

Wednesday morning quarterback 🏈

Not to play favorites here, but if there’s one event worth analyzing a bit more from the weekend, it’s the men’s mile. Coming in, Mario Garcia Romo from Ole Miss/Spain had the second fastest time on paper behind Michigan State’s Morgan Beadlescomb. However, time on paper only tells part of the story. Although Beadlescomb’s 3:52.03 is faster than Garcia Romo’s 3:53.36 — feel free to check my math there — one was run getting towed along in an American Record attempt and the other came winning by a full second over four collegiates who would also make the NCAA final.

One of the most common misconceptions about tactical races, especially ones that are eventually won in a time like 4:07.54, is that it’s a crap shoot and the best guy doesn’t necessarily win. That not only discounts the fact that tactics are a huge part of the event, otherwise it’d be run in lanes, but it also ignores the fitness required to sprint faster than everyone else at the end of a mile. For the thousandth time, that’s not about speed, it’s strength! In a world where super spikes, fast tracks, pacing lights and time trials grab all the limelight, wasn't it refreshing to watch a race and not the clock?

After watching Garcia Romo, my initial reaction was that he ran one of the more tactically sound and beautiful races I’ve ever seen. In his post-race interview he gives a nod to Matt Centrowitz’s ability to lead the 2016 Olympic final from the front, and it’s quite obvious that he studied the game film. The NCAA mile is often won by leading the entire thing, wire-to-wire (Purrier 2018, Kerr 2017, Wynne 2016, O’Connor 2015, Coburn 2013, O’Hare 2012, Emmanuel 2010). Compared to other events, it’s harder to make passes in a mile on the banked turns because of the consistently fast pace and the number of athletes jockeying for position.

Garcia Romo executed in all the right ways. First, he established dominance early. Once the initial sprint off the line began to settle he ran an extra few steps harder than everyone else to take control at the front. Then once it became apparent that no one wanted to make it fast, he allowed it to get slow. In the first half mile, the pace gradually fell off (30.7 - 32.4 - 33.9 - 34.7) and while he was cruising easily, and unencumbered, those behind him were shoving each other and running more tensely.

Then as things started to inch closer to the point where someone may have tried to contend for the lead, he checked his peripherals and looked for that move over his right shoulder. The whole time Garcia Romo was running in the middle to outside of lane one, meaning there wasn’t enough room for anyone else to go inside and it’d take an even wider run to go around. The shift was slight, but if you watch the race carefully he surged slightly on straightaways and then settled through the curves.

And finally, when it just about came time to kick, he began to wind things up progressively. Had he waited too long, then someone could have made an aggressive move to the front like we saw in the women’s mile from Colorado’s Micaela Degenero. She was able to jump the whole field just before the 1200m mark — the leaders had settled into running 34s and 35s, so she surprised the hell out of them when she dropped a 30.6 on the penultimate lap to open up a second-plus lead with 200m remaining. Compare that to Romo’s final 600m splits of 28.8 — 27.4 — 25.8. Since he was steadily picking it up, the whole field was content to follow. Although five guys ran a faster last lap than him, Garcia Romo won because the first 1409 meters also matter.

But even the most beautifully executed race isn’t necessarily perfect. Mario did make one mistake. When he came onto the final straightaway he drifted outside. Had Reed Brown had the tiniest bit of gas left, then there was an open hole for him to take (cue Nick Willis saying the rail always opens up). Remember kids, the best route around the track is always the shortest one!

In partnership with New Balance Nationals

The CITIUS MAG team was at The Armory this past weekend covering all the best high school action from New Balance Nationals. Chris Chavez and I were behind the desk for two days recording After The Final Lap with co-hosts Emma Coburn, Cory McGee, and Trayvon Bromell, which is now available via YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Some meet highlights:

• The Newbury Park boys demolished the 4 x mile national record in a solo effort going 16:29.31 to average 4:07 per leg.

• After running the second fastest 2 mile ever (9:44.44), Natalie Cook returned with her Flower Mound teammates to break the 4 x mile national record in 19:37.78!

• Cade Flatt won the 800m in 1:48.86 to break The Armory record and then gave one of the most electric interviews you’ll ever hear from a high schooler. In his own words, “the first 200 I wanted to get out — I wanted to drag these guys into deep waters. I wanted to make it hurt the whole time, make them question why they’re in this event. I went out there with bad intentions.”

• Four boys ran 4:02 in the mile, led by Pennsylvania’s Gary Martin.

• Juliette Whittaker ran a personal best of 4:37.23 in the mile to hold off freshman Sadie Engelhardt.

• Justin Braun pulled double duties, winning the 400m (46.21) and 60m (6.65).

If you want to relive the magic, then head on over to RunnerSpace.com to watch all the race videos for free!

The World Athletics Athletes’ Commission 👩‍⚖️

Do you know that old scout motto about leaving the campsite a better place than you found it? If you think that concept ought to apply to track and field as well — and happen to be one of the best athletes in the world — then you should consider running for election to become a part of the Athletes’ Commission.

With applications due on March 23rd, now seemed like an appropriate time to demystify the Athletes’ Commission for fans and maybe motivate some of our faster subscribers to consider running for something that isn’t their usual event. To share a bit more about the World Athletics Athletes’ Commission I reached out to two-time Olympian Aisha Praught-Leer of Jamaica to hear about her involvement.

I guess a good place to start would be: what is the Athletes’ Commission?

Aisha: I didn't even know it existed until I was nudged to run myself, so don't feel bad if you don't know much about it. It is a group of 18 athletes (12 are elected and 6 appointed) who represent the athlete’s interest in all things World Athletics related. We are involved in every decision that affects athletes. We're basically an athlete's governance group, but it has changed a lot over the last six years — it has a much stronger voice now as our chair and vice chair both sit as council members. That’s the group that’s making all the rules for World Athletics.

Additionally, there has to be a member from the Athletes’ Commission on every working group. I was on the human rights working group, or you could be involved in something like the rules surrounding footwear. We're privy to a lot of information and are able to help make key decisions.

Since you came on board in 2019, what is the one thing that you’ve seen athletes have the greatest impact on?

I'm going to give you three. First is bringing all the events back to the Diamond League. We acted as a collective and just put our foot down so hard that all events had to return. It was a multi-pronged approach across the entire sport — everyone standing up and saying it all has to return. The second is we work a lot with the Athletes Integrity Unit on anti-doping efforts, providing insights and guidance to their process. And the third way we’ve been very active is in footwear. There’s been such a huge evolution in that side of the sport and the group hasn’t always agreed with every decision that's been made, but we've had a strong voice in the conversation.

I am assuming this is all a volunteer position. How much of a time commitment is it on your end? Are you traveling much to be a part of the Athletes’ Commission?

Some people have never shown up to a meeting and that's crazy. We're hoping that this next election motivates people to consider coming on board and bring a fresh perspective. There are quarterly calls for updates from the various groups. And one of the perks is that we all go to Monaco for congress in November. If you're interested in governance, it's awesome to be involved in high level decisions of the sport.

Maybe this is a layup question, but I’m interested to hear you speak on it — why should athletes care about this?

It’s about having your voice heard, and now more than ever it’s important to have an athlete in the room when big decisions are being made. Athletes love to sit around the dinner table and talk about ways the sport could be improved, but this is the best way to do it.

At times it can be tedious. But if you're an ideas person with innovative ideas for track and field, this is the place for you. This is the place where you can have your ideas heard by the people who can make them happen. It has helped me grow and I’ve been challenged by it. It’s about being more than an athlete and using your brain and experience to help out fellow and future athletes.

Kyle, you would have loved to do it.

Is there like a minimum requirement to be a part of it? Can any athlete do it?

You have to have competed in one of the last two World Championships or the most recent Olympics

Damn…

Meet your heroes! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️

If you are ever feeling sour about running or the sport’s beginning to feel a bit stale, then I highly recommend finding a way to surround yourself with young athletes.

During my professional career, there was nothing more rejuvenating after a long season than stopping by a cross country camp, and experiencing the enthusiasm of kids who see the sport through a fresh lens.

As anyone involved in track in any capacity already knows, there is plenty to push us toward bitterness: bad races, drug cheats, a lack of funding, injuries, the crushing reality that there will always be someone out there who is faster... Although it’s pretty understandable why track Twitter regularly devolves into a toxic cesspool of complaining — it still occasionally makes me wonder, like, are any of us even having fun anymore?

Well, if growing resentment over the ills facing the sport is ailing you, let high school kids be the panacea!

Being a part of the festivities at New Balance Nationals, that early spark that drove us all to a lifelong obsession with this sport was everywhere, and it was contagious. It felt like I walked into The Armory for the first time, all over again. Maybe it was the personalized uniforms or the cult-like craze for the backpacks, but for most of these teenagers, there has never been a bigger stage to compete on. The fervor was palpable.

When analyzing all the possible reasons behind the surge of depth and all the wildly fast high school times today, I can personally attest to the power of exposure. As I was coming up, the more I learned about the sport, the faster I became.

As a distance running-lone wolf at a school with a much more developed sprinting program, my development really started when I was introduced to others who enjoyed logging miles as well. Representation is essential — and while seeing other skinny dudes who enjoy ripping tempos in short shorts is pretty far down the list of places where representation is important, for me at the time, it was.

A friend recently told me that I’m the only person they know who grew up to do what they dreamed of as a kid. And my journey to making that possible in this sport began to slowly materialize when I became a fan. If I can be so bold as to give some advice to coaches who are hoping to get more investment from their kids, get them interested in the elites — it’s one of the main reasons why I write this newsletter!

While it was motivating to see how fast other guys my age across the country were running, the idea that I aspired to one day be amongst the world’s best gave that process long term vision. Listening to Derrick Adkins after his Olympic gold medal in Atlanta or meeting Craig Mottram after the Boston Indoor Games — these were pivotal moments in my life that helped shape the trajectory of my career.

During the national meet this weekend, we had the chance to facilitate conversations between some of the best runners in the world, now, with the future stars of tomorrow. The high schoolers were legitimately stepping off the track and a few minutes later sitting down with their heroes. There were no introductions necessary — thanks to social media, people like Emma Coburn, Trayvon Bromell, and Cory McGee aren’t just names on the results page. They’re people living out their dreams, whose paths to greatness feel navigable. They’re proof that their dreams can come to fruition. And they’re setting the bar now that these younger athletes can set their sites on and strive like crazy to clear when they’re pros.

But that moment wasn’t just special for the kids — passion is infectious.

Rapid Fire Highlights 🔥

• 2019 world champion Ruth Chepngetich ran 2:17:18 at the Nagoya Marathon in Japan. This was virtually a solo effort and is the second fastest time in history for an all women’s race. For her efforts, she won $250,000.

• At 63 years old, Mariko Yugeta ran 2:58 in Nagoya to set the women’s 60+ marathon world record.

• Helen Schlachtenhaufen is taking her 4:01 1500m talents to a new sponsorship deal with Nike.

• Emmanuel Bor will no longer be traveling to Serbia to represent the United States in the 3000m at the World Championships. As a current US soldier, his leave was not granted due to security concerns related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (More details)

• For the fifth straight year, there were no finishers at the Barkley Marathons. (Full recap)

• Watch out for the #BigThrowsGuys from Italy at Worlds! Zane Weir (21.99m) and Nick Ponzio (21.83m) both hit personal bests for the #2 and #5 throws in the world for 2022.

• At the ripe young age of 17, Nick Griggs of Ireland ran 1 mile in 3:56.40 and in the process set the European U20 record. (Race Video)

• The United Airlines NYC Half is on Sunday! The weather is looking prime for Sara Hall, Karoline Bjerkeli-Grøvdal, Senbere Teferi, Emma Bates, Des Linden, Galen Rupp, Rhonex Kipruto, Abdi Abdirahman, Conner Mantz, Elkanah Kibet and way more people who should be insulted that they weren’t mentioned here. You can watch via ABC/ESPN at 7AM ET.

• Ben Blankenship has declared war on junk miles. (Article)

• AthleteBiz has officially launched the Fan Hub — a one stop shop for all the latest in T&F!

• The World Indoor Championships begin on Friday! Storylines: How high can Mondo go? Is anyone going to challenge Jakob? Can Crouser throw a world record? Will Coleman avenge himself for missed time against Marcell Jacobs? Can Ethiopia sweep the men’s 3000m and the women’s 1500m? Can Hodgkinson break 1:56.36? GRANT HOLLOWAY! YULIMAR ROJAS! (How to watch)

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