We're The Cross Kids

A cross country themed parody of  "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea feat Charli XCX performed by the  Shepherd High Cross Country team (wherever that is).

 

It's Physics Sunday: Exercise Your Brain Too

A little diversion before the coming XC season...

Those who keep track know my love of, not acumen in, Physics. I managed a "B" in Physics classes at PSU, but must admit I wasn't as interested in it back then.  Genetics and Evolution were my favorites back then.  I'd get an "A" in the same Physics courses now,  just by sheer will.

But my obsession with Physics is strictly informative now. It is enjoyable understanding something new now and again, even if it doesn't bring anything more tangible than some smugness among the nerdy class.

So for those who have hung on until now in this post, here is a link to Richard Feynman's Lectures on Physics.  I have paid a lot of money for these in various forms over the years, and now they are a simple click away on the internet!

Another Mish Mash of Stuff That Has Accumulated

1) I have supplied the coffee and donuts at the last 6 Alumni "Runs" at the track during our May reunions.  Well, maybe the Team supplied it that one year, but they too chose Dunkin Donuts and the Box o' Joe.

It turns out we were trendsetters of a sort as the entire University is now on board with Dunkin Donuts!  Download the app today to get a free coffee after each PSU Football victory this year.

Android and Apple

But there may be a competition for official PSU Track Alumni Golf Coffee next year if the merger between the Brazilian-owned Burger King and the Canadian chain of coffee/donut stores, Tim Horton's, reaches full fruition.  Those who have paid attention know my love of Canada and Tim's coffee. They can take the headquarters of BK north, just bring the coffee of Tim further south!

2) The Main Stream Press has also picked up the scandal in the Temple Track Program.

3) Former foursome-teammate Tim Johnson continues to write 3000% better than I for Penn Live with this article on college football.

If Loving College Football is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right

4) I own a Pomeranian who can't do this.  In fact, mine can only bark incessantly at 4:30AM, eat, poop, pee and then bark incessantly some more.  (And cost me $3500 at an emergency room when he develops hemorrhagic gastroenteritis for unknown reasons.) But then I'm the only person that didn't give up on Monty in the ER, so there's that.

Diamonds Are A Throwers Best Friend

Results from the final Diamond League shot put at the Weltklasse Zürich meeting. Joe Kovacs and his third place finish yesterday gives him a final overall 3rd place for the Diamond League shot put. Ryan Whiting comes in 5th in the competition to finish 6th for Diamond League circuit.

Full Results 

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Result Wind		Diamond Points
1	HOFFA Reese	USA	21.88	SB	23
2	STORL David	GER	21.47		13
3	KOVACS Joe	USA	21.43		10
4	RICHARDS O'Dayne	JAM	20.79
5	WHITING Ryan	USA	20.74		1
6	WALSH Tom	NZL	20.48		3
7	MAJEWSKI Tomasz	POL	20.47
8	KOLAŠINAC Asmir	SRB	20.21
9	CANTWELL Christian	USA	19.91		5
10	ŽUNIC Stipe	CRO	19.31
11	VIVAS JIMÉNEZ Borja	ESP	19.26

IAAF Diamond League Shot Put Final Standings Men 

Reese HOFFA - (USA) 23Pts Rank 1

Reese David STORL - (GER) 13Pts Rank 2

David Joe KOVACS - (USA) 10Pts Rank 3

Joe Christian CANTWELL - (USA) 5Pts Rank 4

Christian Tom WALSH - (NZL) 3Pts Rank 5

Tom Ryan WHITING - (USA) 1Pts Rank 6Ryan 

 Joe also graced the cover of the September issue of MILO Magazine. No cover jinx here.

“@ironmind: September issue of MILO is out! @joekovacsusa @JohnGodina http://t.co/zA0SaFceEf http://t.co/ovrwCScYjD pic.twitter.com/kHeag9AjZe”
— Joe Kovacs (@JoeKovacsUSA) August 21, 2014

It's American Football Me Lass

A typical early morning Saturday during football season is reserved for cross country meets while the pigskin is tossed around afterwards. That will all change tomorrow as Penn State Football begins the season in Dublin. Kickoff  is set for 8:30 am sharp, due to the time difference between Ireland and the East Coast, for Father Franklin's first game paroling the sidelines.

Maybe someday Penn State Cross Country will travel to the "Emerald Isle" to traverse the green hills of the Irish countryside. I may make that trip if it ever happens, but in the meantime I'll just to listen to Flogging Molly and drink a O'Hara's Stout to get my fix.

Bridget Franek No Longer With OTC

Via her blog

"Recently, I found out that I will no longer be receiving financial support from the Oregon Track Club Elite.

To be honest, I kind of expected it after how the last few years have gone for me. Last year was a choice I consciously made to take the summer off. I stand by that decision as something that needed to happen for me, Bridget Franek, the person and I truly believe that it provided me with the motivation and drive that I will be needing to carry me through 2016. This year, I really wanted to be racing but was sidelined by an unfortunately frustrating injury, which I had no control over..........."

We wish Bridget the best as she still plans to take advantage of the prime of her career and compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At the very worst she can always compete in an alumni singlet. Maybe we'll waive her fee for the reunion and golf outing as a means of payment for that.

A Crying Shame

 Coach Groves was a seasoned veteran Senior on the Temple track team when a young, "wiseacre" (his word) entered as a Freshman.  Bill Cosby was on a Football Scholarship, but also was a high jumper and sprinter on the track team. Cosby's support of the Penn Relays and track and field is legendary.

So it comes as a shock to see some of the reasons why Mens Track was dropped at the school recently.  But it's more of a shock to see the depths to which a program can dip with the wrong people in charge. This is a lengthy and thoroughly depressing tale of abuse, incompetence, political correctness and criminality. The article even compares things to Penn State and the "Sandusky Affair".  (Although I challenge anyone to compare our Track teams' reputations and relationship with the Athletic Departments!  Does anyone think such transgressions involving the track team would have been covered up by higher ups?)

Please become involved with PSU Track and Field (and Cross Country!).  Your input will guard against anything similar ever happening at Dear Old State.

Every little bit we do makes a difference and can be heard at the upper levels of the athletic department.

Now Cross Country Season Can Begin!

Coach Groves and Coach Gondak

And Coach Gondak had the good sense to take the driver's side of the cart for the preparation of the Cross Country Course. And notice the ever-present stopwatch on the neck of Coach Emeritus Groves.  I'll bet the youngsters today wouldn't know how to use the one button wonder.

Fall Sports Media Day

Penn State's Fall Sports Media Day took place yesterday. I'm thinking next year we need to get some press credentials for this. Nothing say's a blog is legit like attending and asking questions at a press conference

Full transcript from GoPSUSports

Hey. I Recognize That Classroom!

It seems that in addition to the formal team meetings for the Cross Country team, there are additional meetings for all Freshman athletes.  The NCAA has become a behemoth with so many rules, no one knows all of them with any certainty.  They even had the opportunity to meet the new Athletic Director, Sandy Barbour.  We never had the chance to meet ours back in 1980-81, Joe Paterno!

That has to be the Forum classroom buildings.  I am right, aren't I?  The last class I had there was Human Sexuality, where the professor used a 4-foot long porcine penis as his pointer.  It was in the same room that they had Sunday Catholic Mass.  I wonder if they envisioned all those uses when they built the building?

Another Diamond League Update

The DN Galan Grand Prix in Stockholm, Sweden gave shot putters Joe Kovacs and Ryan Whiting a chance to earn more Diamond League Points. Results below as Joe and Ryan are currently in 3rd and 6th place for the circuit respectively.

Full Results

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Result Wind		Diamond Points	Diamond Ranking
1	HOFFA Reese	USA	21.06		15	1
2	WALSH Tom	NZL	20.79		3	5
3	STORL David	GER	20.77		9	2
4	KOVACS Joe	USA	20.67		8	3
5	RICHARDS O'Dayne	JAM	20.46
6	WHITING Ryan	USA	20.39		1	6
7	CANTWELL Christian	USA	20.38		5	4
8	VIVAS JIMÉNEZ Borja	ESP	20.02
9	MAJEWSKI Tomasz	POL	19.79
10	ARRHENIUS Leif	SWE	19.01

In other news, the men's and women's cross country team completed their first week of training with an 11 miler at the Lower Trail down in Williamsburg, PA. Watch the video below to hear Wade Endress talk about what the men's team wants to accomplish this year. After what looks to be a solid week of training it's time for both teams to settle into the old routine as classes have begun.

Cas Loxsom Runs With David Rudisha

For 450 meters anyway...

David Rudisha made a little news in announcing he was going for the world record in the 600 M at the Birmingham Grand Prix.  It's very difficult to achieve a world record all by yourself, and the field didn't help him at all in the effort.  Only Cas Loxsom seemed to make an attempt at pushing the pace, hitting the 400 M in 48 flat or so.  But he didn't last long after that.  He drifted to next to last in 1:16.48.  David tied up noticeably as well, winning in 1:13.71.

But don't take Cas's day as an addition to the Loss Column.  He tweeted out his summary not long after...

For better or worse I'll always stick my nose in it. Sometimes it pays off big. No regrets today, and an honor to race with @rudishadavid

David Rudisha leads Cas Loxsom at 200 M.

Results
RANK    ATHLETE    NATION    RESULT
1    RUDISHA David    KEN    01:13.71    WL,DLR
2    KSZCZOT Adam    POL    01:14.69
3    OLIVIER Andre    RSA    01:15.03
4    LEWANDOWSKI Marcin    POL    01:15.17    PB
5    SOWINSKI Erik    USA    01:15.79
6    BUBE Andreas    DEN    01:16.15
7    LANGFORD Kyle    GBR    01:16.30
8    LOXSOM Casimir    USA    01:16.48
9    LEARMONTH Guy    GBR    01:17.13Intermediate times:
200m RUDISHA, David (KEN) 23.25
400m RUDISHA, David (KEN) 47.65

I Did Not Cry and Other Notes

Yesterday was a very busy day for many Penn State Track Alumni Golfers.  It was the biggest day of College drop offs in the nation.  There were many at PSU Main Campus and still more at PSU branch campuses across the state. Still more I have become aware of across the fruited plain.  I joined in for the very first time, and I must say it was a very difficult thing to do.  I didn't cry, but whatever the state of emotion is just before crying, I was certainly there.  This was a very first time for such an emotion since Daughter the Elder's premature birth and the potential loss of my entire family that it entailed.  I'm happy to say that both pulled through with resounding success and I can't beat either of them on a running course today.

Nittany Lion with Daughters Younger and Elder.

The hardest part was the last moments when she said "goodbye" to her dog, who we took along for the trip.  Pooky actually took it harder than any of us.   I've never seen her as despondent as I did on the way home.  She spent the night with Daughter the Younger, and I don't know yet how that turned out, although Pooky seems better this AM.

The dorm room was bigger than any I had and her roommate played basketball for the same high school I did.  Her parents live right near where I had my first job as a gopher for a solar-powered condominium complex.  And he works with a patient of mine who helped take my school record in the 4 x 880Y (4 x 800M by then) and a childhood friend that lived 3 houses away from me.  Which means my daughter lucked into a very fine roommate indeed.  (I was never so lucky as a Freshman in McKean Hall in 1977.)  Thank goodness Doug Kent took me in as a Sophomore (translated as wise fool, indeed).

The deja vu continued when Cross Country Coach Bill Preston showed up and we had discussions about all the people our lives have in common.  Coach Preston didn't know I've known Paul Souza since 1978 and told a great story about Paul singing the national anthem spontaneously at the NCAA Division III Track Championships one year when the tape player (or record player!) broke.  Coach Preston said Paul has a good voice, with which I concurred!  Maybe that makes us both Groupies for the Velveteen Playboys.  We also both concurred that Paul has a lot of difficulty staying still.  Kinetics play a major role in his life.

Even better, Coach Preston presented me with a gift.  It turns out that his wife and Jim Ryun's wife are friends, and speak frequently.  He presented me with a signed copy of his book "The Courage to Run".  I told Coach that I was the very first person to ask him about his Congressional Career at the Walt Disney World Marathon following his election victory but before his taking office.  All the other questions were the very same ones he has been asked 1,000s of times before about his running career.  He told me he appreciated my question about his Committee Assignments (which had just been announced the day before) and what he hoped to accomplish as a Congress member.  He delighted in answering the question and centered on his commitment to small business, something he did keep his campaign promises on.  I never got his autograph at the time, but I have it now.  Thanks Coach.

Laurel Run Road

Matt Fischer, Katie Rodden, Leigha Anderson, and Coach John Gondak give some insight on how both teams look after summer training

That's Laurel Run Road the team is running on. The run starts at the Tussey Mountain Ski "Resort" and finishes at Whipple Dam State Park. If I did what I should have done over the summer it was a cruise. If I didn't it was a straight up death march as the pace always got hot after reaching the top and making the long steady descent to Whipple.

A Big Advantage

#PSUXC's tweet of the team's first run brings back many memories for me from August 1977.  I distinctly remember those first runs with team captains Bruce Baden and John Zeigler.  They welcomed me with open arms and "showed me the ropes" as if we were childhood friends.  John has been a friend ever since.  We cross paths frequently, being in the same profession.  And it was a huge pleasure when I last saw Bruce at Coach Groves' Retirement Celebration in 2006.  I am sure we will resume a great relationship the very next time we cross paths.  Maybe someone out there will convince him to thrash the greenery on the golf course next year.

Coach Gondak and the team's first run in the State Game Lands.

And in those early years, Coach Groves always somehow appeared at least twice every distance run, just like Coach Gondak here. Out of the blue, there he was, somewhere in the woods, holding his stopwatch and barking things few of us actually heard.

Certainly, the rural setting of PSU gives us an advantage in the myriad of running trails right next to campus to entice future distance stars. It's about time we start promoting that more broadly.

Back To School!

Youngsters across the nation are heading back to school in droves.  And that means college too.  Three different Group Idiots, me among them, are carting their kids to PSU and branch campuses this Friday.  Good luck to Founder Clark Haley and Grand Exalted IT Czar Jeff Sanden as they haul their eldest to Freshman Move-In Day.  (Don't forget your fans for the hot dorm rooms!)  Former pole vaulter Don Skerpon also will be hauling his youngest to State College to join the Track and Field Team as a hurdler.  Best of luck to all!

I have not been fazed by any of Daughter the Elder's life transitions up until now, but I'll admit this one is going to get to me. I'm happy she will be running cross-country at the Mont Alto branch campus for an excellent coach and mentor, Bill Preston.  I have told her often that the friends you make on a team in college will be the best friends you will ever make.  She has seen first hand that PSU Track Alumni Golfers are the most intelligent, most interesting and most accomplished group of people anyone can come across.  And it is what keeps me going in trying to motivate as many of you as possible to become involved.  Our record here at the blog has been quite good, and we will even get better.

Does anyone remember if we ever had an actual team meeting for Cross Country.  I certainly don't remember any.  Unless the Mountain Runs counted as one...

2014 XC Team Meeting.

And here's a little first day history lesson for Freshman Rodney Dangerfield by Professor Sam Kinison which has quite a bit of relevance for us today. Content warning for swear words!

This One Will Take Some Getting Used To

But Coach Gondak will be beginning his first Mens and Womens Cross Country season and it's up to all of us to do what we can to make it a success.  Throw your support behind the PSU Program and Coach Gondak with actions and contributions if you are able. It looks to be a great year for PSU XC and Track and Field.

Challenge Accepted

I'm sure you are all aware of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that is sweeping the nation thanks to social media.If you are living under rock the following videos will bring you up to speed as Coach Gondak accepts the challenge from co-blogger Nick Scarpello. More to come if the folks Gondak has called out accept the challenge.

On an unrelated topic, Shana Cox has helped The United Kingdom follow up their bronze medal 4x400 at the Commonwealth Games with another bronze at the European Championships. Results here

Post by Nick Scarpello.

Post by Penn State Cross Country and Track and Field.

Update: Mark Parker was challenged by Kobe Bryant and accepted as well.

Nike President & CEO Mark Parker accepts @KobeBryant's #ALSIceBucketChallenge http://t.co/5gTI8fcM2Q pic.twitter.com/IvIfPMBYdD
— Heidi Burgett (@heidiburgett) August 18, 2014

Golfing Brings Us A Rare Example Of Good News Lately

  “It again shows the great values and traditions of the game and the honesty and integrity of its competitors.”

With track and field headlines dominated by PED suspensions, shirtless suspensions, phantom disqualifications and other negativities, let's turn to Golf for a little good news in this crazy world.

Cameron Tringale realized HE MAY HAVE broken a rule and demanded to be disqualified from the PGA Championships just in case.  That means he gave up $53,000 without knowing if he really did anything wrong.  There was no one who could have testified against him.  No one saw what happened, and even Cameron wasn't sure if he had addressed the ball before his little air swing above it. 

Hats off to Cameron.  I wish track and field had the honesty you do.

For those non-golfers out there, you should really join us on the links next May for the Coach Groves golf tourney, where competent experts can help you with the fundamentals of the game.

This First Pitch Was a Miracle

Scott Fahs

I had almost nothing at all to do with it, but I can't help but smile anyway.  One of my patients got the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at Oriole Park at Camden Yards recently.  You aren't likely to find more of an Oriole fan anywhere.  All I did was help him with his (sometimes significant) foot problems over the years.*


Scott Fahs has been a patient for a number of years, and I've seen his transformation recently as somewhat of a miracle.  His son graduated from high school with my daughter recently, and he never figured he would live to see it.  Now he actually will be beginning rehab in addition to all the practice he did throwing the baseball!  You can read some about his medical pilgrimage and his love of the Orioles in this article:

Heart transplant recipient, avid "School of Roch" fan Fahs to throw out first pitch

He assured me he would do better than President Obama and Fitty Cent, and he followed through!



*I obtained verbal permission from Scott to divulge even that minimal information on his medical care to comply with the HIPAA requirements.

Steeplechase Jerk: At Least He Wasn't Slitting Throats*

Gloating at the finish line garners even more scorn from officials than "magically" bumping a Salazar-coached runner from afar during an indoor championship race!  Or so it seems.

But French steepler Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad has a history of finish line antics including slugging a competitor and shoving a 12 year-old girl in a mascot costume.  So when he took his shirt off down the homestretch, official showed him a yellow card.  Then it turned into a red card and he was disqualified as the winner of the European Steeplechase title.  They had a track meet and then a soccer match broke out!

*Throat-slit reference HERE.

Was My Grandmother Right All Along?

Whenever I told her about my runs, she was mystified about the whole sport.  She never understood anything about it.  When I would tell her I just returned from a ten mile run, she would reply, "But you're still here?"  She really never understood why someone would voluntarily run any more than a little without coercion.  She would immediately begin cooking something to fatten me up.  (It ended up working only years after her passing!)

And now there is all this "scientific confirmation" that long distances and strenuous exercise is detrimental to one's health.  Maybe anything more than 4 miles daily will kill you! I'm, of course, quite skeptical of these scientists.  These are the same types of people that told us coffee will kill us, cure us and then kill us again.  Butter is now preferred to margarine by "experts".  And don't get me started about the whole salt intake dichotomy... 

Artist's Conception of a 35 mile/week runner and racketball player

As We Await the Beginning of Cross Country Season...

Here's some old-timey photo goodness from the 1983 Penn Relays Distance Medley Relay Championship of America, featuring Penn State Track Alumni Golfers Paul McLauglin (800M) to Founder and Professor Emeritus Clark Haley (1600M).  Does anyone know the results and time?  

This was the year of Coach Groves' first 4 x 800 M COA victory.  And the time my wife caught him crying in the stands.  He asked her to not tell anyone, and she didn't for about 30 seconds or so until she found me!

Paul McLaughlin with Clark Haley "hugging the wall"

Paul handing to Clark! Go, Clark, go!

This Is SportsCenter

Looks like Casimir Loxsom was on the ESPN campus recently and even though this is a spoof of a "This Is SportsCenter" commercial, it still gets a chuckle. Shame it won't be on TV anytime soon.

Post by Chris Chavez.

A Tribute to a 1:58 Half Miler, a 52.9 Quarter Miler and a HS XC Runner

Everyone has a tribute to Robin Williams and I might as well have one too.  I feel really bad about it but could still laugh when I watched this again.  This is a post I made a long time ago when I had more friends and took more risks.  I miss Robin and I miss my old friend too.

Be forewarned, there is gratuitous use of THE f-word throughout this bit, which may be the funniest bit with a tangential link to our track/golf blog!

Thanks to Mike Fanelli and Phil Passen for the pic.

Calm Before The Storm

The following photo comes courtesy of Kevin Fuller and Brian Fuller. Sporting their Alumni singlet's as they brave oncoming Hurricane Iselle while on vacation at the island of Maui.

There's a hurricane on the horizon!

Another storm, the NFL season, is coming. The Philadelphia Eagles held an open practice yesterday at legendary Franklin Field. For those who don't know the Birds played at the home of the Penn Relays from 1958-1970. Winning their last championship at the venue in 1960 against the Green Bay Packers (only team to beat Vince Lombardi in a playoff game).

Photos via PhiladelphiaEagles.com

 



Javelin Record Broken

Michael Shuey's fine Sophomore season's extension paid off handsomely at the NACAC Championships in Canada.  His javelin toss of 249' 5" set the Penn State Record in the event and won the event for the USA.

Even better, Head Coach  John Gondak was there to see the whole thing. Congrats to both.

Coach Gondak with record holder Michael Shuey.

Brittany Howell Representing the Red, White and Blue!

Brittany leads the heptathlon after day one.

• 13.81       100 M           1005 pts.
• 5' 7 1/4"   High Jump     867 pts.
• 37' 10"     Shot Put         630 pts.
• 25.29       200 M            860 pts.

The Death of Collegiate Track?

Some quotes from James Franklin and new athletic director (yeah we have a new AD in case you didn't know) Sandy Barbour regarding college athletics moving towards stipends and cost of attendance allowances for student-athletes.

via StateCollege.com

Franklin

“I think a lot of times when things are being discussed and talked about it’s football specific and it shouldn’t be,” Franklin said. “What I want to make sure is that the decisions we make are going to allow student-athletes -- women, men -- great opportunities to come get an education and play great sports.”

“But, I would say I have an old soul and I’m old school when it comes to college athletics and student-athletes. I played at East Stroudsburg, and we’d get on the bus and drive 13 hours to play and pull over to the side of the road and eat a soggy hoagie and a Snickers bar."

“I think student athletes should be unbelievably appreciative of having an opportunity to come to a place like Penn State, I really do. I also am sensitive and I’m concerned because I think a lot of the decisions are made based on football. I think that’s troubling because these decisions need to be made on what’s in the best interest for all of our student-athletes."

“We have so many great sports here at Penn State and my concern is that some of the decisions would affect that long term. I think there are some things that the NCAA can do that’s going to be in the best interest of student-athletes and I think we’re all in support of that, doing whatever we can. But I also don’t want to do anything that's going to affect other sports and other student-athletes’ opportunities long-term. We’ve seen sports being cut and things like that, and I think we just have to be very careful with the decisions we make.”

Barbour

“I believe that student-athletes ought to have access to cost of attendance. I have been part of the governance structure that pushed for that. I stood up at the convention four years ago and advocated for it.”

“I do not believe that unionization has any place in college athletics. Our student-athletes are students; they're not professionals. We're going to be about students and about students first.”

“I’m not a fan of unionization. I think it would be a mistake. We’re here for the student experience. And athletics is a wonderful part of the student experience. So we want to do it really well. But we’re not here to have people come in the door and go out the door and not get their education."

Penn State at the NACAC-Under 23 Championships

Head Coach John Gondak is also the head distance coach at the championships, and has 5 current PSU student athletes with him in Kamloops, British Columbia.

• Darrell Hill  -  Shot Put
• Brittany Howell  -  Heptathlon
• Michael Shuey  -  Javelin
• Kiah Seymour  -  400 M Hurdles
• Steve Waithe (Trinidad-Tabago)  -  Triple Jump

Live Results

List of events/schedule:

400-Meter Hurdles – Seymour – 1:45 p.m. EDT (Sunday)
Heptathlon – Howell 100-Meter Hurdles – 7 p.m. EDT (Friday)
   High Jump – 7:40 p.m. EDT (Friday)
   Shot Put – 9:20 p.m. EDT (Friday)
   200-Meter Dash – 11:15 p.m. EDT (Friday)
   Long Jump – 4:10 p.m. EDT (Saturday)
   Javelin Throw – 5:30 p.m. EDT (Saturday)
   800-Meter Run – 6:30 p.m. EDT (Saturday)
Javelin Throw – Shuey – 4:05 p.m. EDT (Saturday)
Shot Put – Hill – 2:45 p.m. EDT (Sunday)
Triple Jump – Waithe – 2:50 p.m. EDT (Sunday)

Barney Ewell Honored in Lancaster

Penn State's very own Olympic gold medalist (and double silver!) sprinter Barney Ewell has been honored in his native Lancaster, PA with a mural shared with educator Ida Gantz.  Barney ran in the streets of Lancaster before ever coming to PSU and onward to the Olympic track in London.

Thanks to another Olympian, Greg Fredericks for the tip!.

British Commonwealth Games

"the empire on which the sun never sets" 

The British Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland weren't without PSU Track Alumni representation with Shana Cox and Fawn Dorr competing for England and Canada respectively.

Fawn bowed out in the first round of the 400 meters with a 55.33 for 4th in heat 1 while Shana advanced to the semi-finals where a 52.57 just missed the final.

Both came back to help there nations advance to the finals of the 4x400 where Shana claimed a bronze medal with team England and the Fawn led Canadians came in 5th. We all love to say that PSU is 800U but how does Quarter Mile Commonwealth sound?

If I missed any other alums who competed for a former or current Commonwealth nation, please let me know in the comments.

Full Results 

Was hoping we might get a shot of them with Prince Harry.

Old White Kenyans Without Cars Getting Coffee

Vacation has meant a lull in blog posting that is unprecedented since our start in 2008!  To keep you informed, here is an itinerary of yesterdays vacation activities:

1. Awake and head to Hotel complimentary breakfast.
2. Return to Suite for nap.
3. Head to Health Club for 3-mile run on treadmill.
4. Return to Suite for nap.
5. Awake and head to lunch at Wa-Wa.
6. Return to Suite for nap.
7. Head to Atlantic City for the Borgata Buffett.
8. Return to Suite for sleep.

The worst part is that it is 100% accurate and verifiable.  But then I wouldn't have it any other way!

Today has already seen much more activity.  I met with honorary PSU Track Alumni (Golfer) Tim Kelly for delivery of 2 autographed copies of his book on the legendary Red Klotz.

Long time runner and author Tim Kelly.

We had a wonderful wide-ranging discussion on many topics, punctuated by new-found knowledge of his PSU street cred of having actually climbed Mt. Nittany before most of you were ever born!  He even posed like the Heisman Trophy in the ed zone of Beaver Stadium before they even closed in the southern end of the stadium!  I have invited him to golf with us and meet Coach Groves next year.

We discussed his efforts and tribulations on writing a book on his idol, and how tough it can be to see the whole thing through.  It is important to note that Tim finished the book in time for Red to read it before he recently passed away at 93.

Tim has tried to motivate me into a similar effort concerning Coach Groves.  He assures me I would have what it would take to undertake the effort.  Maybe I can check into it, although I would need extensive help from many of you.  Coach Groves deserves a book more than anyone I can think of.  Running With the Buffaloes and Once a Runner would have nothing on a book detailing Coach Groves' contributions to Collegiate Running. What do you think?

It Wasn't Easy Finding a PSU Connection at the 2014 Sea Isle City Beach Run

Penn State Track Alumni (Golfers) have combined to win many of the recent iterations of the sand-filled event.  Tyler McCandless and Kyle Dawson combined to win the last two.  Barb Black finished her 21st in a row despite the food poisoning caused by New Jersey's storied tomatoes!

But other than that, I was hard pressed to find any PSU connections at all among the 1,400 or so brave souls.  Thankfully I was introduced to Rick Robinson (PSU 1980 Biochemistry), who joined fellow "old white Kenyans" Bill Kehner (37 in-a-row!), Tim Kelly (author of the recent book on basketball legend Red Klotz), and felllow podiatrist Ron (Bile) Ferguson. These guys have combined for well over 100 Island Runs in their time.

"The Old White Kenyans" Bill Kehner, Tim Kelly, Ron Ferguson and Rick Robinson.

For the record, I did my usual 3-miler earlier.  So as our President recently opined, "Stop the hatin!".

Still More Vacation Runs... Err, Fudged A Little

Artist's conception

This is the photo I would have taken of the Matterhorn during my run in Zermatt, Switzerland if:

1. High mega-pixel, mini digital cameras had existed in the early 1990's that  I could carry during a high altitude run.
2. My altitude headache and autobahn-induced nausea relented enough to take the picture.
3. And I wasn't shaking too much after the sheep herder tried to kill me.
4. But most of all, if the Matterhorn was not hidden in fog for all three days I was there.

Send me more vacation run pics.  People seem interested in them!