Happy Halloween

Candy, mischief and costumes.  And 5K Runs With Dogs?

Daughters The Elder and Younger with Pooky and Spott at the Bark in the Park 5K.

And 3 great kid's costumes!

Back In Black!

'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
Well, I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black

I have finally made it in front of a computer for a real post!  It was either the Zithromax or the Kung Pao combination of shrimp and chicken that has brought me back from the dead.  My money is on the Kung Pao, as you all know.

Many things have piled up in the meantime, and I'm still procrastinating on the 800M thing and the interview with Olympian Darrell Hill.  There's no end to the stuff piling up around me.

Some items of interest:

• Coach Bill Preston's PSU Mont Alto Women won the PSUAC conference championships. And both of his Men were first team All-Conference.  All of his runners will be headed to the USCAA Nationals in Virginia Beach.  Congrats from his biggest fan.
• I missed the meet because I was in bed, so didn't get to fly Airship 800U to bring aerial views of the whole thing.  Pretty disappointed, but didn't really have a chance.
• The PSU squads are warming up for the Big Ten Championships right now!  Good luck.
• Our Laundry Officer has reminded me to put the Fit For Fritz event on the blog!

Coach Fritz Spence, center, is a better golfer than I.

An Appearance From My Sick Bed

I have been laid low by what must be pneumonia. I haven't been out of bed for 2 days,  and just had an on-call conversation with a patient thinking the whole time that it was Sunday.

I have many submissions for the blog I just haven't been able to get to, so this brief post with pictures of the new track will have to do. I also throw in another vintage Greg Fredericks /Donal Walsh duel at Van Cortlandt Park in 1970
from Mike Fanelli's garage!  I promise to be back tomorrow (cough,  cough)...

Now There's An OUTDOOR Track Named For Horace Too!

 From RunBlogRun:

FACT, FICTION, OR LEGEND??

According to son James, his father once claimed that his teammate and friend Curt Stone once joined him on the track here in Watsessing Park where they preceded to race one another over 5K, each holding their stopwatches in their hands. He claims Ashenfelter and Stone tied at the end, but both watches showed they had each broken the world record!!

Let you, the reader be the judge!!

The dedication of the Essex County track in New Jersey occurred on October 14th.  And both Horace Ashenfelter III and his wife Lillian were able to attend.  Congrats to PSU's greatest steeplechaser*!!!

* Horace never actually ran the steeplechase while a Nittany Lion!

To Heck With Drones, SquirrelCams Are The Next Big Thing

I hope to fly Airship 800U this weekend to bring footage of the PSUAC (Branch Campus) XC Championships from Chambersburg. All 5 airports there have been notified and local authorities grudgingly gave permission! Apparently, if you fold a piece of paper in just the right way, you too can be classified as an "airport'!

 But now I'm wondering if drones are the best thing for those aerial shots. I can't afford a blimp, but there are thousands of squirrels in the neighborhood. Nobody would miss just one if I kidnapped him, would they?

Penn State's Squirrel Whisperer could probably assist me in the efforts, and would be able to talk a willing subject into donating his time! Thus, aid me in avoiding a kidnapping charge.

"Smelling The Chickens"

It is interesting to note the differences in our experiences as distance runners through the decades, despite the overall similarity of our experiences at Penn State going back to the 50s.

When Michael Gross alluded to "Smelling the chickens" on a recent run, I was intrigued.

Turns out he meant that when finishing a run with an increased pace to the locker rooms at the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex, you went by the PSU Agriculture Department's chicken coops. But despite running workouts at the "Ice Palace" as we knew it, our era didn't have locker rooms there.  The Greenberg Complex was an open air ice skating rink with just a roof when I arrived at PSU.  Walls were put up (but no heat installed!) when the first indoor ice arena was built on the other side of the building.  The building was then turned into the Lasch Football Building when the Ashenfelter Complex was built. It has been changed dramatically since due to obvious reasons.

The Ice Palace, 1981.

The Ice Palace, 1960s.

During the height of the 70s boom in PSU distance running (NCAA XC 10th-1977, 3rd and 4th 1978-1980) we had several locker room and indoor tracks.  These facilities didn't matter in the recruiting, at all.  We took it as a badge of honor that we were able to handle whatever came our way.  I wonder if today's recruits could handle any of it?

• Rec Hall Locker Rooms - Until 1979, next to the Wrestling locker room.  Never relax in the showers lest the toilets be flushed!   3rd degree burns were possible.
• Rec Hall Track - Used for actual workouts and time trials until 1978.  Biggest risks included broken elbows on the hand rails on the corners and throat soreness from every single workout there, no matter how short or easy.  Only two 400M runners could run at a time there for time trials.  These were always a spectators dream, like watching action at the Roman Coliseum, blood and everything. People often flew "over the rails"!
• Ice Palace - 1979-1980s.  I suppose it was really the Greenberg Complex but we never called it that.  Possibly if they had heated it higher than 9 degrees (an actual meet we had was run in 9 degree temperatures!) we could have bothered to call it something different.  We used to dress at Rec Hall for all the workouts here.  This avoided frostbite, I'm sure.
• Beaver Stadium - The locker rooms for track were here until 1980s.  This was the visitors locker room for football, which were bare cinder-block construction with no heat or amenities of any sort.  I was always ashamed that PSU treated their visitors AND track team in such shabby fashion.  There was only enough hot water here for 1 1/2 person to shower.  It was then cold water for the other 112 people.  Nothing like a good cold shower after a long hard run in the cold, to be followed by the long, windy trek to the then-closed dining hall!
• State College Area Westerly Parkway Junior High Track - used for workouts and meets (even with Renaldo Nehemiah!) 1977-1978 due to construction at Beaver Stadium.  Distance runners still used Rec Hall locker rooms during this era.

   

Huge Nittany Lion Victory!

No, I don't mean anything on the gridiron.  I'm talking about Ron Moore's victory at the Firewater 100K Ultra  race in Greenback, TN.  We may need to start a GoFundMe to get a spare Alumni Jersey for Ron, as he could not find his before heading out to the race.

Looking good at 50K!

As a podiatrist, I won't comment on this softball photo submission.

The demented look of a 100K victor! Tennessee whisky optional.

And if that wasn't crazy enough for the rest of us, Partner the Better ran a 5 hour tune-up for her upcoming Dopey Challenge ON THE TREADMILL yesterday.  Which do you feel is the more "crazy", 62 miles on Mountain Trails or 5 Hours on a Treadmill?

PSU Track Alumni Store Reviews Are Coming In

  "Very nice. Took awhile. Worth the wait."

-Ted Lyon.

The merchandise is arriving all over.  And the reviews are unanimously great!  Here's Ted Lyon's son modeling the Rain Jacket...  Looking good!  Addendum:  Remember, the items are shipped one month after the Store closes.  And they arrive via USPS.  Don't panic if you haven't received yours yet!

I wore my Rain Jacket yesterday in the coincidental rain.  Had 3 comments from admirers at Mod Pizza!  Those in Centre County needed one too, with the up to 7 inches of rain they received yesterday.  I slept in my t-shirt and can report a better than usual somnolence.  The blanket is headed for use in the RV.

Keep us updated with your opinions of the merch!

The Store Just Delivered! More Fill Before XC Championship Season!

I just received my order from Kelly's Sports and the most recent opening of the Penn State Track and Field Alumni Store.  Everything is as ordered and Nittany Lion nice.  I have purchased one of everything to let everyone know that the quality is great.

I'm thankful for the Rain Jacket as precip is in the forecast for some of the upcoming races.

Let me know when you get yours and send pics to let everyone else know how happy you are with the products and the Intern-inspired logo!

The next sale may not commence until the May Reunion, which will be held during the Big Ten Outdoor Track Championship.  Stay tuned to the blog with it all.

A Physics Public Service Announcement: A Lull In The XC Action

Why you shouldn't put forks in the microwave.  Thanks to the anonymous Alumni (Golfer) who sent this my way.  Keeping the rest of us morons alive is certainly commendable!

Forks In The Microwave

I'm pretty sure it was the Hot Pocket at fault!

A Year Older, No Wiser, But Ever Hopeful

Another year has come and gone in my life's journey.  Can't say the last year was really that good, but I am thankful that it wasn't worse.

But today started with a very good sign.  I found a penny when I got out of the car at work.  And it was face up!  Everyone, including Homer Simpson knows what that means...



Homer went and messed it up by thinking it meant he could skip church without any repercussions. I am going to try to not make that mistake.

Thank you to all who have helped me keep the Blog With It All alive during the past year. I really appreciate it.

We Are Always "This Close" To An Award

As we patiently wait for the category Track and Field/Physics to be added to the Annual Blogging Awards, we almost won some awards from PSU as Alumni Fellows!

Mary Beth Ward is the sister of former  manager Lou Ann Ward!  Thanks to our Official Physicist for the heads-up!

Mary Beth Ward 1982 (Springfield, Virginia) currently serves as an environmental appeals judge on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board. She brings to the board almost three decades of litigation and management experience at the U.S. Justice and Commerce departments in matters arising under federal pollution control and natural resource laws. Previously, Ward served as deputy general counsel for the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She led a staff providing legal advice across an array of NOAA programs to manage the nation’s commercial and recreational fisheries and protect at-risk marine species and their habitat, and was recognized twice with the Department of Commerce Gold Medal, the department’s highest award.

And this guy has a name familiar to all of us, but I don't think there is a relationship.  (All you Interns, Please advise me if otherwise!)

 Joseph Kovacs III 1996g (Columbia, Md.) is vice president and chief engineer at Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT), an engineering, science, and information technology government services contractor. Kovacs manages and collaborates with engineers and scientists on developing an earth-observing spacecraft to help predict weather and monitor global climate change; deep space missions to investigate scientific theories about the universe; and scientific missions to study the moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, and the sun. Prior to joining SGT, Kovacs was a program director at Northrop Grumman Corporation and a systems engineer at Lockheed Martin Corporation. Kovacs supported development of the Polar Operational Environment Satellites, which provide daily earth observations used in weather forecasting and research.