Rio 2016 Olympics!

In this installment of my blog about running, we will be talking about the upcoming Olympics and what it will take to make the team! The Pacific Northwest is home to the historical Hayward Field, which will once again be the site of the USATF Olympic Trials in July. Athletes from all over the country will gather here to try and place in the top 3 of their event for a trip to Rio De Janeiro. An athlete must not only place top 3, but also must have a time that meets the Olympic standard. The “B” standard must be attained prior to the trials because it grants the athlete entry. The “A” standard is the tough one to achieve, it is the one that grants you a spot on the Olympic team if you place top 3. You can place top 3 at the trials, but if you don’t have the standard then you won’t travel with the team to Rio. The next closest finisher with the “A” standard will take your place instead.

Now on to the meat and potatoes of this post; the predictions. This fields for each event are always loaded with tremendous talent. I will only be analyzing the 800 meter run because it was my favorite event in high school. In this event, defending champion Nick Symmonds will try and defend his title against a sea of top professionals and even some rising college stars. Donovan Brazier, a true freshman at Texas A&M, recently ran a 1:45.93 on an indoor track which earned him the U.S Junior Record. The former record was a 1:47 set way back in 1982. Other challengers for the Olympic trials bid include Duane Soloman, Boris Berian, Erik Sowinski, Cas Loxsom, and maybe some more college stars like Clayton Murphy and Brandon Kidder. I have always loved watching Kidder and Loxsom run because they both are from Penn State. Kidder is currently a senior and Loxsom graduated and is now a professional runner for Brooks. 

I feel like the race will be a very tactical one with the winner decided in the final 150 meters of the race. I would really like for Nick to win again because he is such a class act and fights for equal rights for track athletes. My ideal team to go to Rio would be Symmonds, Berian, and Kidder. It all depends on who has the wheels to go with Symmonds over the final lap. He is a great finisher and has a reputation for running in the back until the 300 meters. Berian is a recent breakout star and is having a great indoor season so far. He is looking strong after he ran a 1:46 last weekend. Finally, we have Brandon Kidder. He is one of my favorite athletes to watch because he looks so fluent when he runs. He really drives with his arms and has phenomenal closing speed. He also has some mile strength to him with a recent 3:55 mile. Overall, I can’t contain my excitement for this race and all of the races in July because of the incredible amount of competition. This year’s Olympics will sure be one to watch.  

Introduction to Professional Running

Many runners have the goal of getting better and achieving a new personal best, but for some that is all trivial in the grand scheme of things. These runners want something more than a time to be proud of, they want to race against the best of the best and see who can come out on top. This is where we enter the world of professional running and take a look at some of today’s top athletes in the sport.

While professional running is nowhere near as lucrative or as famous as other professional sports, it still exists and is the pinnacle for those extra competitive people. Most pros begin by dominating the scene in which they reside. For most it is the college running scene, but recently there have been a few who have went pro straight out of high school. The most famous of which is Mary Cain, the New York star who set high school records like it was nothing. She started the “trend” of turning pro out of high school and ended up paying the price for it. The rigorous training was so rough on her young body that she began to decline in performance. She is still running professionally, but has relocated back to her hometown and is taking a slower approach to her running.

The world of pro running is slowly on the rise with more and more television channels and shoe brands picking up interest in the sport. The athletes have a series of meets known as the Diamond League which take place all over the world from New York to Shanghai. Winning a race in this series will net you points for your event and if you have the most at the end of the season you win a large sum of money and are crowned the diamond league champion. 

Most shoe contracts that the runners receive have a lower salary than almost all the other professional sports, except for a few very famous athletes. Ashton Eaton, who owns the decathlon world record, got a six figure bonus on top of his salary when he set the world record. Others such as Allyson Felix, Matt Centrowitz, and Galen Rupp are very marketable by USATF. USA Track and Field is the governing body of track and field in the United States and has most of their competitions broadcast on NBC Sports. As glamourous as it may seem, the word professional doesn’t automatically mean you will become a millionaire off of your sport.