I Hate Mondays: Here's Some Blog Memes To Ponder

I really hate Mondays.  But I have accumulated some things related to previous blog items to post.

1.  Celebrating early is stupid.  But celebrating early after you passed the other guy that was celebrating early is stupider!



2.  These two guys from Arkansas celebrate a classic movie character.

3.  It's good to know that the Ohio State Marching Band didn't miss a beat following their hazing scandal.



4.  Stephen Hawking says we could be doomed after all.  This is from the same paper that just solved the Jack the Ripper murders!

Stephen Hawking, pondering.

Aaron the Ripper

5.  Guess who this is in second place of these three runners in the comments! (Thanks to Malcolm East for the photo!)

Thats's (Sort Of) How You Run A 1000

 1000 Metres – Men

1 Kszczot , Adam POL 2:15.72

2 Aman , Mohammed ETH 2:15.75

3 Lewandowski , Marcin POL 2:15.79

4 Rotich , Ferguson Cheruiyot KEN 2:16.88

5 Musagala , Ronald UGA 2:17.11

6 Hathat , Yassine ALG 2:17.15

7 Bett , Reuben KEN 2:17.98

8 Olivier , André RSA 2:18.11

9 Kitum , Timothy KEN 2:18.33

10 Robinson , Paul IRL 2:18.46

11 Loxsom , Casimir USA 2:19.16

12 Chemut , Anthony KEN 2:19.55

Som , Bram NED DNF

Ok so maybe Cas Loxsom was hoping to place better at the 2014 Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium. The last Diamond League meeting featured a 1000 meter race with some of the years top mid-distance runners, despite it not counting towards League standings. Cas at least was able to find a silver lining in his performance.

8 second PR!!!! ...for second to last. That's what happens when you line up with the best in the world! What an great experience #moretocome
— CasimirLoxsom(@cazzylox) September 5, 2014

Not only was it a PR but it also a new Alumni Record as he bettered the 2:19.72 run by Randy Moore in 1986. Certainly a successful first pro season for Cas with a good foundation to build on. Two years till Rio.



Meanwhile, back stateside, Owen Dawson took 3rd place at Teri's Run 5k in Downingtown, PA. His time was 15:02.

 





Two Great XC Tune Ups in Central PA

The Nits had a very good start to the season at the Dolan Duels in Lock Haven. Robby Creese defended his individual title and Abbie Benson bettered last year's 2nd place finish with her victory.

 

Lock Haven is a Division III Cross Country paradise.  Their program is very special.  It's great to see the excellent relationship that PSU has with them.

Just after the results from the Dolan Duels beeped onto my phone, I was at another great Division II/III cross country race in Shippensburg, The Galen Piper Challenge*.  I was pleased to see the high level of competitiveness of the race involving large teams from Shippensburg, York College, Elizabethtown, Kutztown and others.  Cross Country is still a wonderful sport, no matter how many Division I schools drop their program.

Personally, the race was the debut of the new Penn State Mont Alto XC teams.  Coach Bill Preston looks to have them on a fine path.  When word gets out to the school population, I expect their numbers to increase.  Daughter the Elder had a good race, and learned a valuable lesson involving pacing in her first college race.

Daughter the Elder with her HS teammate Sam Gehly running for Elizabethtown.

*Possibly the greatest challenge was the bagpiper playing the entire time of both races!

How About Some Night-Time Cross Country Running?

That's right.  I'm heading to a cross country race this evening at Shippensburg University's Outdoor Recreation Complex.  The Galen Piper Challenge is the early season appetizer run at night on a 1K lighted loop.  It's 6 loops for the men and 4 loops for the women.

It will be the unveiling of Penn State/Mont Alto's brand new team and my Daughter the Elder's very first college race.  I'm excited as she has been doing repeat 1,000s all summer, so she should be comfortable with the format.  And I always loved running at night.

But has anyone else here ever run a XC race at night?

Are You Ready For Some Cross Country!?

The first meet of the year for the Nittany Lions is this evening at the West Branch Cross Country Course in Lock Haven, PA. The annual Dolan Duels as Penn State races Lock Haven for fishing rights on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (not really).

The women's race has a gun time of 6 pm while the men follow at 6:30, they will be running a 4k and 6k respectively.

Previews from GoPSUSports and the Daily Collegian

The USTFCCCA preseason rankings have the women at 4th in the Mid-Atlantic Region and 29th nationally while the men come in at 5th in the region. Personally, I think both will be better than that when it matters in November but tonight is the first chance to show off a little of what's to come.

Last Day of Off-Topic Drivel Before XC Season: Fermilab To Figure Out If We Live In "The Matrix"

I credit the movie The Matrix (1999) for ruining movies for all time.  The CGI of people dodging bullets led directly to the 3D slow motion CGI of a rotating axe coming toward you in the theatre in every movie you see, even the chick-flick love stories!

For some reason, there is no longer the need for writers at all in movies, just scads of 13 year old computer geeks making up story boards on green backgrounds that actors feign moving in front of.  If you don't believe me, just get ahold of the script of a modern movie and read it.  It is an incomprehensible mess of meaningless drivel.  Compare the script of Transformers (2009) (any version) to The Maltese Falcon (1941), or even The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984).

Now, the former home of Ron Moore, the Fermilab is trying to figure out if we are actually living in The Matrix.  God, I hope not.  I don't belong.



Here's a proposed scene from a remake of Erich "The winner of this race will be wearing socks" Segal's Love Story as envisioned by 13 year old computer geeks.

A Beast Of A Tune Up

Flotrack recently caught up with Cas Loxsom as he completes a workout in Teddington, England. With the outdoor track season coming to an end Cas is hoping to end his first professional year on a high note.

Watch more videos on Flotrack

Yesterday in Roverto, Italy at the Palio della Quercia meeting he placed 5th in 1:48.57. Placing behind fellow Big Ten alum Eric Sowinski (Iowa).

 

Full Results

Pos.	Lane	Bib	Athlete	Year	Cat.		Mark
1	8I	1	MOHAMMED Abdulaziz Lada	1991	M	KSA SAUDI ARABIA	1:47.12
2	6I	33	KUCIAPSKI Artur	1993	M	POL POLAND	1:47.68
3	7I	27	SOWINSKI Erick	1989	M	USA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA	1:47.88
4	3E	32	CHEMUT Anthony	1992	M	KEN KENYA	1:47.99
5	1I	40	SECK Mor	1985	M	SEN SENEGAL	1:48.57
5	4I	35	LOXSOM Casimir	1991	M	USA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA	1:48.57
7	5E	38	RIFESSER Lukas	1986	M	ITA ITALY	1:48.58
						C.S. ESERCITO
8	2I	37	ROTICH Andrew Kiptoo	1987	M	KEN KENYA	1:49.04
9	4E	59	MOTSAU Jeremiah	1990	M	RSA SOUTH AFRICA	1:49.37
10	1E	39	RICCOBON Enrico	1995	M	ITA ITALY	1:49.78
						ATHLETIC CLUB FIREX BELLUNO
11	2E	36	VOJTA Andreas	1989	M	AUT AUSTRIA	1:50.61
12	3I	3	BENEDETTI Giordano	1989	M	ITA ITALY	1:51.00
						G.A. FIAMME GIALLE
13	5I	34	CRONJE Joahan	1982	M	RSA SOUTH AFRICA	1:51.22
	8E	41	EL KABBOURI Soufiane	1993	M	ITA ITALY	DNF
						C.U.S. TORINO

ISTAF Berlin

Following their final Diamond League competition Joe Kovacs and Ryan Whiting took to the throwing circle at the 2014 ISTAF Berlin meeting.

Shot Put – Men

1 Storl , David GER 21.41
2 Whiting , Ryan USA 21.06
3 Walsh , Tomas NZL 20.77
4 Richards , O’Dayne JAM 20.72
5 Majewski , Tomasz POL 20.64
6 Marcell , Jan CZE 20.46
7 Kovacs , Joe USA 20.18
8 Dahm , Tobias GER 19.54

Outdoor track is winding down. Cross country is winding up.

Will Barr's Discus Lands In The Big Ten*

Will Barr will stay within the Big Ten family* with the announcement of his hire by Rutgers University (Newark)of his position as Assistant to the Athletic Director and Assistant Throws Coach of the Track and Field team.  Congrats to Will!

*Rutgers-Newark.  Not the first error I've made, and not the last. 

RIP Jane Welzel

5-time Olympic Trial Marathoner and former Nittany Lion and winner of the 1979 Nittany Valley Marathon Jane Welzel passed away recently following an aggressive onset of pancreatic cancer. 

I remember her as an honest and extremely friendly runner, always eager to lend a helping hand.  Her adopted home-town of Fort Collins Colorado is in mourning for this running pioneer and Colorado Running Hall of Fame member.

Does anyone have any memories of Jane and her time in State College?

It's Hard To Go For A Run When You Can't Leave Your Yard

Several years ago I read a report on the gradually shrinking play areas of children over 4 generations in Great Britain.  The first generation was allowed to roam over 4 towns and 16 square miles, while each generation was restricted more and more to the point of a restriction to the immediate neighborhood.  The trend continues today, with many children not being allowed to leave their yard even when mom or dad is watching.

And now 68% of Americans say that parents allowing their children to play unattended at a park should be arrested.

I was never restricted from playing anywhere in rural Pennsylvania and can remember playing "War" over the whole town.  Now, I would be arrested for carrying a "gun" made from tinker-toys, and all the adults would be locked up for allowing all of us to roam.

This is not an effective way to stimulate interest in, and promotion of distance running.  It's a wonder the sport even still exists.

Happy Labor Day!

Enjoy your holiday and eat plenty of hot dogs and burgers as we close out summer. After today it is officially fall (according to me) and that means football, pumpkin everything, and cross county!

Here's to the working man!

 

 

P.S. Why is it a fashion faux pas to wear white after today?

 

P.P.S. Should you thank Lenin or Marx for this day off?