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It’s a new 5K WR! 🏅🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

14:41 — The 2016 Olympian at 10k, Beth Potter, extended Scotland’s hot streak by (unofficially) taking down the 5K road WR this week. Although this time may have been a shock to some, it was no surprise that the performance was undermined by someone playing the role of ‘stereotypical British press’ so perfectly. It should be noted that Beth has been training and competing as a triathlete since the Rio games and framing her as a 4:18 1500m runner is clearly ill-intentioned. Similarly, I prefer not to be introduced by my steeplechase time and I’m sure Centro wouldn’t want me to mention his 400. A beautiful aspect of this sport is that we have always actively chosen to label athletes by their best performances. And yes, there are shoes involved. Many people are saying that the Asics model is amongst the best. But this is 2021 and that’s the reality of the sport so if you want to talk about it then just come out and say it rather than slagging Beth without the courtesy of a tag. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

2:09 marathoner aspires to go pro 🎸

Even a 2:09 marathon doesn't necessarily pay the bills these days! At the end of 2020, Noah Droddy's Saucony contract was not renewed, despite his breakthrough performances and cult-like popularity on social media. The problem is it’s difficult to quantify how many shoes Noah sold.

So we're left with a methodology for determining an athlete's valuation that is archaic and completely made up. There is no real data that goes into the decision making, so if you're an athlete up for a new contract then you're left praying there’s a bidding war or that the one person in charge of the decision really likes you.

Until we find a way to measure incrementality, athletes can only protect themselves financially by stocking up on as many shoes as possible to later sell on Craigslist as an insurance policy.

That’s why The Lap Count is starting a pledge! It’s time we demonstrate the value that professional runners can bring to a company. I haven’t had to pay for a pair of running shoes since high school, but I’m ready to speak with my wallet:

Whatever company sponsors Noah Droddy—you have my word that I will buy a pair of your shoes that same day!

Join me in signing THIS PLEDGE and share!

Using their voice!

Being a World Championship finalist has given Nikki Hiltz a platform — one that will hopefully bring some comfort and inspiration to a fan watching at home somewhere. After first coming out about their sexuality at 19 years old, Nikki has been a public advocate of the LBGTQ+ community and last year hosted a wildly successful virtual 5k run to raise money for The Trevor Project. On International Transgender Day of Visibility, Nikki posted a statement identifying as non-binary and was met with tremendous support from competitors and fans alike. Preferred pronouns are She/They/Badass.

Let the jealousy run through you 🦆

The biggest regret of my career is that I didn’t buy some property in Eugene on my first trip there in 2010. It makes me sick to think of all the money I’ve given to that Holiday Inn Express, which easily adds up to a downpayment on a 3BR 2BA. But I take back everything I have ever said about spreading the wealth to other parts of the country in regards to hosting events. After watching that video, there should never again be a track meet held within the contiguous United States that’s not at the new Hayward Field. Is the only thing preventing Oregon from fully monopolizing talent in the NCAA scholarship limits? (I can think of a few schools who would disagree)

64:02

Ruth Chepngetich was rightfully jumping for joy as she broke the tape in Istanbul on Sunday morning, knocking 29 seconds off the half marathon world record. Given her accolades as a world champion and 2:17 marathoner, this was being pegged as a record assault from the gun with a total prize purse worth over $1 million. 

That budget is why the race broadcast experience was so disappointing for fans, despite the great camera angles and split screen capabilities. Unfortunately the commentator was set up for failure from the start simply by being alone in the booth — there are very few people who could carry an hour long broadcast alone.

Rather than listening to a conversation amongst experts about an unfolding race, the audience sat through a live reading of various Wikipedia entries. Actually. One of the highlights was when we heard what a half marathon REALLY is.

(Spoiler Alert: It’s half of a marathon)

The NCAA made a bad decision…again

Under the guise of COVID, the NCAA has decided to reduce the preliminary fields from 48 to 32 athletes per event. Hypocrisy aside — think about how much bigger a meet like the Texas Relays is than an NCAA regional — this disproportionately hurts non-Power 5 schools. In a year when travel is supposed to be limited, the more competitive field sizes will increase the need to fly across the country for better qualifying meets. And while programs are getting cut left and right, having a few NCAA qualifiers could make all the difference for a smaller program fighting Athletic Department budget cuts — especially if it was done without the extra travel expense. A modest (half-kidding) proposal: If #’s 33-48 are vaccinated, they get to go!

Staggered start 🐎

As referenced a couple Lap Counts ago, Australia loves the handicapped race. Please allow me to introduce you to the 143 year old Stawell Gift — Which gives a $40,000 check to the winner of a race…held on grass…over a made-up distance…with head starts! I want to know how the fastest athlete, who started in last (8.75m back) feels on the car ride home. This validates the theory that any race can become important if everyone would agree that it’s important.

In the 3200 (why not 2 miles?), Stewart McSweyn obliterated Craig Mottram’s meet record with a blistering 8:20, but because he started laughably far behind, he lost. Based off the case study of my two visits there, gambling is a big part of Australian culture and it’s a major part of this event’s success. Betting is the #1 suggestion made by armchair experts about how to popularize the sport and it appears to be working in certain corners of the world.

Note: Fascinating that the pro athletes are allowed to wear non-sponsor uniforms!

Speaking of uniforms!

If the biggest rising star in track and field runs a race and no one talks about it, did it even happen? Sydney McLaughlin ran a 13.03 in the 100m hurdles this past weekend in Phoenix, which was a .31 second PB (her previous best was from 2014) and was even into a slight headwind. You wouldn’t know this because virtually no one, including Sydney mentioned it. It’s a shame because this New Balance kit deserves more attention for channeling Flo-Jo’s style and is one of the best we’ve seen on the track since Maggie Vessey.

Working that Magic! 🧙‍♀️🏀

The fact that Magic Johnson, the 12x NBA All-Star, and self-proclaimed BIG fan of track and field, has no clue when the Olympic Trials are is not a great sign. The existence of Google aside, this has since prompted everyone in the sport to respond, including the normally Twitter-silent CEO of USATF, Max Siegel. We should embrace this mindset and fly-in various famous people/athletes/TikTok stars for an all-access and behind the scenes meet experience. Let’s sell out!

Post-April 1st Apology

Running twitter thrives on April 1st every year and I’d like to formally apologize to those whose hopes were raised by this false NBC Sports announcement. Chris Chavez and I will not be hosting an alternative ‘track nerd’ stream, but you can hear us commentate the Trials of Miles meet in Kansas City live and free on YouTube on May 1st!