USATF Day Two and Three.

Quentin Mege in Friday's  Hammer Throw.
Photo by Becky
Miller

On Friday Harun Abda sets Gopher record in the 800 of 1:46.38 at US Track Champs in Des Moines. Abda was 12th fastes in the semi's, so he didn't make the 800 final.  Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf fared a bit better, running 2:00.51(.10 off her personal best), the third fastest semi time to qualify for the women's 800 final. The Gopher's Wally Ellenson finished second in the USATF Junior Champs high jump, clearing 7'.5". Quentin Mege finished 14th in the Hammer Throw with a toss of 206'9"(63.02m).

Harun Abda. Photo by Becky Miller

On Saturday, as noted above, Maggie Ewen won the discus in the USATF Junior Champs with a Minnesota best of 179' 6".  Team USA Minnesota's Jamie Cheever finished fourth in the steeple in 9:53.01.  Lance Elliott of Run 'N Fun was fourth in the Masters 800 in 1:59.63. Team USA Minnesota's Gabriele Anderson was 11th in the 1500 in 4:32.93.  Will Leer finished fifth in the 1500 in 3:45.95 and Ben Blankenship 10th in 3:46.95.

Ewen told reporters after the discus: “It was really good. I’ve been having a rough time in discus lately, so to throw what I did I was really happy. I almost didn’t make it into the finals, until my third throw in the prelims. It was really nerve-wracking. I’ve been focusing a lot on the shot put. My discus has kind of been lacking. But I had a good day! I surprised myself. Maybe I got too focused [on the shot put), too stressed out with it. With the discus, it was all relaxed and easy throwing."

Des Moines Register photo gallery is HERE
Eugene Register Guard on the distance races, and a special race planned to allow women to get 10K IAAF World Champs qualifying marks is HERE.
The Oregonian article on the 1500 meter races is HERE.

Wally Ellenson "pretzels" over the bar.
Photo by Becky Miller

Kampf does a Double; Kelly Brinkman Second in Women's Race, Ben Sathre Fifth, Dan Greeno Sixth at Dam to Dam 20K

Minnesota R.E.D.'sKelly Brinkman finished second in the women's race at the Dam to Dam 20K Saturday in Des Moines in 70:02.  Team USA Minnesota's Ben Sathre finished fifth in  the men's race in 64:02.  Run 'N Fun's Dan Greeno was sixth in 64:47.  "It was really hot and windy this morning, and we kind of went out hard and all died real hard," said Sathre. Results are HERE.

Heather Kampf did the double this weekend winning the 800 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville and at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis. She ran 2:01.96 On Thursday in Nashville and 2:02.51 in St. Louis on Saturday.

Garrett Heath Wins USA Road Mile Title

Garrett Heath won the Mens' USA Road Mile Championship Tuesday night in Des Moines.  Heath ran 4:02.79.  Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf was third in the womens' mile in 4:43.69, Gabriele Anderson was fifth in 4:44.8,  and Meghan Peyton was 12th in 4:54.1.  Full results are HERE.

Video of men's race is HERE. Women's video is HERE.

USA 15K Championship Results

Team USA Minnesota's Ladia Albertson-Junkans finished 11th in 51:23 in the wormen's race in at the USATF 15K Championships in Jacksonville, FL on Saturday. Katie McGregor was 14th in 51:37. Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Peyton was 16th in 52:05, Jamie Cheever was 17th in 52:11, and McKenzie Melander was 20th in 52:26.

Ben Sathre finished 23rd in the men's race in 45:12.  Team USA Minnesota's Jon Peterson was 31st in 45:49. 53-year-old Masters runner Paul Giannobile finished 111th overall in 54:09.  Full results are HERE.

Five Team USA Minnesota Runners Will Participate in the US 15K Championships This Weekend

Defending champions Janet Bawcom and Mohamed  Trafeh lead strong fields chasing after $53,000 in prize money at the US 15K Championships hosted by the Gate River Run this Saturday in Jacksonville, FL. The event is the second stop on the USA Running Circuit, which will conclude this fall with the US National Road Racing Championships. The top ten finishers at each race on the circuit qualify to compete in the .US National Road Racing Championships. Bawcom and Trafeh won their gender divisions in  first race in the series, the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile in October of 2012.

Five Team USA Minnesota distance runners will be running. Meghan Peyton will be making her fifth appearance at Gate River.  She has a best in the 15K of 51:18 and has finished as high as fifth in the championships.  She will lead her teammates – Jamie Cheever,McKenzie Melander, Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Jon Peterson – who will each be making their first trip to Jacksonville.

Live text updates of the race will be available at www.USARunningCircuit.com  beginning at 8:20 a.m. ET.  Video of the race, post-race interviews and photos will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC

Heather Kampf Wins KPMG Front Street Mile

Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf started off 2013 with a win in the KPMG Front Street Mile in Bermuda.  Kampf ran 4:49, nearly two seconds ahead of runner-up Sarah Brown of the US who was timed in 4:50.79.    Full results of all the mile races are HERE. Photos from the races are HERE  The Royal Gazette story on "birthday girl Heather" is HERE.

Andrew Carlson Seventh at Chevron Houston Marathon

Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson finished seventh in a rain soaked Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday in 2:17:16.  Carlson was the first American to finish after the top six places were taken by Ethiopians led by race winner Bazu Worku, who ran 2:10:17.  Marathon and Half-Marathon results are HERE.  Video of Carlson's post-race press conference is HERE.  Post race FloTrack interview is HERE.

Andrew Carlson Will Run the Chevron Houston Marathon

Team USA Minnesota’s Andrew Carlson will run in the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday.

“I am definitely racing on Sunday,” said Carlson.

Some 13,000 participants are expected for the Houston Marathon which will start at 7 AM  The prize purse features $40,000 for first place with additional money for American runners, including $5,000 for first place.

News Items(includes some Monday updates)

A few of the news items that appeared over the Holiday break:

Andrew Carlson has an Achilles injury that may alter his plans for running the Houston Marathon is HERE.

Masters champion Ralph Maxwell still going strong despite cancer scare is HERE.

Gopher All American Barbora Špotáková ranked number one in the World in the javelin by T&F News is HERE.

Joe Moore thanks Alan Webb is HERE.

Interview with Steve Thomas, Minnesota age-group Runner of the Year is HERE.

Augsburg press release on Dennis Barker, who was the coach for the US team that competed this weekend in Scotland, is HERE.

Coach Barker's report on the races in Scotland: "Senior Women:  The Europeans had a strong team and were in control of the race.  The US and GB/NI were neck and neck through three runners but they put their 4, 5, and 6 just in front of ours and that was the difference.  Ladia ran very well. She started a little too far back maybe, but finished strong.  She outkicked Julia Bleasdale, a 15:02 5K and sub 31 10K runner who finished 10th in the Olympics last summer. 

"Senior Men: Team depth won it for our senior men.  The Europeans and GB/NI had some tough guys up front but our 2-6 guys  made up a good pack and broke up those teams a bit.  Jon Peterson ran in that pack.  He wanted to do a little better, but I thought it was a solid race for him."

Another article remembering Johanna Olson is HERE.

Reports on a record run in the Zoom! Yah! Yah! indoor marathon are HERE and HERE.. Race results are HERE.

Launch of second Explore Minnesota Challenge running series for 2013 is HERE and HERE.

Mike Reneau talks about his goals at this weekend's Chevron Houston Marathon HERE

Lydiard Foundation article on running shoes is HERE

Gabriele Anderson makes Competitor. com top ten American runners to watch in 2013 is HERE.. .

Ladia Albertson-Junkans Does It All

Ladia Albertson-Junkans leads a full life.  She's been a high school state XC champion, nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, took a two month trip to Ethiopia in 2008 working with the Tesfa Foundation, which provides early childhood education to disadvantaged children. And she's currently juggling a career in Child Development research with her professional running career.  Below she talks about how she fits it all in, the USATF XC Club champs, her "vacation" from running after finishing her undergrad degree, and representing the US in Scotland.

Down the Backstretch:  You have an interesting history in that you don’t fit the stereotype of the top rung athlete who focuses primarily on the sport.  In a way you are a dual career person with your work in child development research and a pro runner.  How do you handle juggling dual careers?

Ladia Albertson-Junkans: I am definitely still learning how to manage it all. Some days and weeks I do better than others. That said, my success in both careers can be largely attributed to the support I receive from family, friends, colleagues, and especially Team USA MN and my employer. 

My boss and co-workers have been supportive of my running from day one; following my racing schedule and even coming out to see me race occasionally. When the opportunity arose for me to join Team USA MN—on the condition that I could meet for team workouts and have an active presence in the community—my officemates were more than willing to let me flex my schedule so that I could accommodate bi-weekly team workouts and still maintain full-time status. 

Their enthusiastic interest in my athletic pursuits is as invaluable as the support provided by Team USA MN and the community—especially on those days and weeks when I feel on the brink of being stretched too thin.  

DtB:  What is the allure of running for you?  What brought you back to top level competition after taking “time off” to get your masters in public health?

LAJ: As it is for many folks, running is my stress-release, my get-away, my reset button. It is a way for me to see and learn about the world, to meet new people, and make life-long friends, to explore nature and be active. It also offers an opportunity to challenge myself daily and feel a tangible sense of accomplishment. 

Racing offers yet another way for me to challenge myself, and I think this is ultimately what brought me back to high-level competition. Each time I run a personal best in a road race, I want to try again and see how much better I can do in my next attempt. At the same time, there are always new distances to try, new places to race, new people to meet, new goals to set, new things to learn. 

Running is new and exciting, while also familiar and comforting; both deeply personal and refreshingly social; a means and an ends. It is so many things to me that I just can’t imagine life without it!

DtB:  What are your goals for this year?  Do you have a particular event that you are either fond of or you consider your best event or are you searching to find one that may suit your talents?

 LAJ: I am enjoying exploring the many distances that road racing has to offer. I have had some success at the 10K on the roads, but I plan to continue challenging myself in other distances as well.

DtB:  You seem to do well in cross country. State champion as a sophomore at Stillwater high school.  Helping the Gophers win three Big Ten titles, 19^th at NCAA Division I Nationals.  Now fifth in the USATF Club Championships.  Does something about cross country suit you better than on the track or roads?

LAJ: In some ways, metronomic running does not come easily to me; it is more my nature to run as hard as I can, for as long as I can, and just hope I can still kick at the end. In essence, I run by feel, and I think this “style” of running lends itself well to cross-country and road racing. Moreover, my athleticism and agility can really come in handy on technically challenging courses.

DtB: Is your “day job” flexible enough so that you can train, rest, race when it suits you or  do you fit in running when you can around the job?

LAJ: A little bit of both. Prior to joining Team USA MN, I did all of my weekday running before and/or after work (i.e., 6 AM and 6 PM). Now that I am on the Team—and thanks to the support of my co-workers—I flex my work schedule such that on workout days I arrive at the office very early, leave mid-morning for the workout, and then stay late if needed to get in my 8 hours. 

I use my vacation days to travel to competitions. It’s possible that I don’t rest as much, or in the same way, as other pro runners. However, I am a fairly restless person so I’d probably stay pretty active during the day even if I wasn’t at work. 

In some respects, my job forces me to sit down (sometimes, although I usually stand when I’m at my desk) and maintain a schedule. It also limits the amount of time I have to run, thereby limiting my mileage to some extent. I actually view this as protecting me from over-training and risking injury.

DtB:  I assume you kept up your running when you were doing your schoolwork for your masters, correct?  You’ve made a gradual return to competitive running, was that something of a test to see if you could handle both your non-running and running careers?

LAJ: Throughout graduate school, my days were a series of moving parts, and running was not a high priority, although I did continue to run casually. Once I started working full time, my schedule became more predictable. 

It certainly took at least eight months for me to adjust to the demands of full-time work before I was able to consistently run 60-70 miles a week. In the past couple of months, I have been able to gradually add one or two workouts per week to my regimen without feeling completely spent by Friday. 

Moreover, I relish the challenge of pursuing growth and excellence in both professions, as well as personally. This desire to be the best that I can be and to always keep learning and growing really underlies it all.

DtB:  Did the outcome of the USATF Club Championships race surprise you or was what you anticipated you could do?

LAJ: The outcome of XC Club Nationals pleasantly surprised me mostly because I had been sick with a lower respiratory tract infection for much of October and November that significantly interrupted my training for at least three weeks. Thankfully, I had a strong base of summer and fall mileage under me—and a fierce desire to make the team competing in Scotland—so I still managed to have a solid race.

DtB:  Are you looking forward to the trip to Scotland and stepping up to international competition?  Do you view it as more of a new challenge, a bit nervous about taking it to the “next level,” or a little bit of both?

LAJ: I am beyond thrilled for the opportunity to travel and compete internationally, to meet new people and see a different part of the world. This to me is the ultimate vacation. On top of it all, to don a US uniform will be an extraordinary privilege. The generosity of the many folks who work hard every day to make these opportunities possible for folks like me is incredibly humbling. I am much too excited to be nervous. 

Heather Kampf Talks About 2012, Plans for 2013-2016

Photo courtesy of ASICS

Heather Kampf's 2012 running season was "bookended" by US Championships.  In May she won the USATF Road Mile title in Minneapolis and in December she was part of the Team USA Minnesota team that won the USATF Club Championship title in Lexington, KY.  Here she talks about  her road mile success, the Olympic Trials, the Club Champs, and her goals for 2013 and 2016.

Down the Backstretch: You were the Road Mile “Queen” this year.  Was that something that just evolved as you continued to win or was the plan going into the year to focus on those events?

Heather Kampf:  Oh gosh, that term is certainly not one I made up for myself, but I guess it's nice to be called the "Queen" of anything! It's funny, my coach even was answering my calls this fall by saying, "Your Highness..." 

But to answer your question, no, this wasn't necessarily the plan going into the year. The primary focus was obviously the Olympic Trials, and when I didn't make the team, I initially thought I'd try to go out for another European racing tour, but with the Games taking place mid-summer, there didn't seem to be enough races to get in either prior or immediately after the Olympics. Instead, I just started expressing interest in every road mile I could find in the US. 

Obviously I felt I had something to prove/defend after winning the US Road Mile Champs this spring, but really I think that each success built more momentum and confidence for me for the next. It was a fun way to spend the late summer fall, and was really excited to end it all with a new personal best road mile time of 4:27 in New York.

DtB:  You jumped into a cross country race—the Club Champs.  That’s a departure from your post collegiate routine.  Did something change that resulted in racing cross country, one it just a “one-off” for the team, or will it be part of your yearly cycle in the future?

HK: Honestly, I think I was just hosting some teammates at my house for dinner awhile back, and they mentioned they wanted to run Club Cross, but needed one more for a team. Of course I said I would do it! In the fall, most of our training is more like cross country training anyway, so it fits right into the basic plan to race a 6K at this time of year. I would be happy to make this part of my annual schedule, though I have to say, in hindsight, it was tougher than I remember it feeling!! 

DtB:  You achieved a lot of recognition for your fall and recovery during the indoor season when you were a Gopher.  Now you had another fall that ended with a team title.  Seems like a hard road to success. What happened that led to the fall at the USATF Club Champs?  Where in the race was it?  What caused the fall?  What went through your mind when it happened?  How did your teammates react? Or didn’t they see you until the end of the race with a mud coating?

HK: Well, I think I probably got out a little bit too fast in this race, so even before the first mile (in 5:14), I was battling some side-aches on both sides. The fall itself took place just before the 2-mile mark, about halfway through the race. 

As far as I can remember, I hit something on the ground while I was taking a muddy corner, and just slid rather than catching myself. I'm sure I was hunched over due to the side-aches so my center of gravity was probably off a little bit. Honestly, I kind of just thought, 'oh great...', got up pretty quick, and kept running. I already felt as if I were way behind where I wanted to be in the race, so it was just one more thing. 

The mud was pretty soft, so it wasn't a painful fall by any means, but to add insult to injury, I caught a bug in the eye immediately after the fall, but had too much mud caked on my hands to do anything about it.  Not long after I fell, I heard someone yell to me, "Your team has four in the top ten! Keep it up!" I was really worried I was ruining our chances for the team title, but obviously knew I needed to keep running in order for us to have any chance of scoring as a team of 5. 

My teammates were well ahead, but they all responded kindly to my less than stellar race. I kept apologizing, but they kept telling me it was fine, and that they wouldn't have had a team at all if I didn't come. They're some pretty awesome teammates!

DtB:  Did the team think the team championship was a realistic goal going into the event?  Was there a pre-race strategy/plan?

HK: Yes, we went in with that goal in mind. We thought it was realistic, and were aware of who our biggest competition was. There wasn't a specific plan, but since the course was slick, we were told just get out well because people weren't changing positions in the race much after the first mile. I was the exception to that rule, unfortunately!

DtB:  When did you find out the team won the championship? How did everyone react?

HK: We looked at the individual results during our cool-down and as far as we could calculate, we believed we had pulled it off. We didn't want to say it for sure until we saw it on paper though! When results came through we were all by the team van changing after our cool downs, I think I exuberantly called out: "YES! I didn't suck enough to ruin it for everyone!" 

It was quite the relief. I know that my race wasn't absolutely horrible, but it certainly wasn't up to what I was hoping to do, nor was it near the caliber of my teammates that deserve this win. I kind of feel as though I was just lucky enough to associate myself with these women. Everybody hugged and were happy, and I think we were especially pumped for the girls who will be competing in Scotland in January---Meghan, Ladia, and Jamie.

DtB:  What are the plans for track season?  Will you run indoors, if so any specific plans for races or goals?

HK: So far, I'm planning to start my 2013 track season with, drum roll please, a road mile! There's one in Bermuda on the 18th that would be great to try. I want to try to do at least one good competitive indoor track mile, hopefully at the New Balance Indoor Games which always brings a good field of women. My goal is get more experience in this event so I will be better equipped/aware of what I should do in the outdoor season.

DtB:  You broke through to being a contender for the Olympic team at the Trials this year.  Was the result what you expected?  Disappointing or encouraging?

HK: It certainly was a great experience to race in an Olympic Trials Final, and think that I really had a shot for the team. It wasn't necessarily what I expected, but it felt like it was exactly what I needed. I found it necessary for me to make a final in order to justify what I am doing as a professional runner. 

It was both encouraging to be moving forward and higher in the US Ranks, and disappointing that I couldn't put together a stronger/faster race for that final. The next necessity it to break 2:00, I feel like I am just knocking at the door for that one.

DtB:  Are you thinking of moving up to 1,500, doubling, or experimenting over the next four years to see if you should stay focused on 800 or expand your horizon’s beyond the 800?

HK: I think we will continue to experiment more with the 1,500, but the nice thing is that these two events compliment each other so well, so competing in both over the next four years is not a matter of being uncertain about what I should do, but rather keeping all my tools sharp. By the Trials for Rio, it would be nice to be focusing on one event, but I can't tell you which event that may be right now!

Minnesota Updates

A few updates on some Minnesota runners.  As noted in Meghan Peyton's interview, her teammate Jamie Cheever was "on the bubble" for being on the US team going to Scotland in January for the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Team Challenge.  Team USA Minnesota's Pat Goodwin confirmed that they were notified that Cheever does have a spot on the team in addition to McKenzie Melander.  Also that Augsburg and Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker will be part of the US coaching staff for that event.  Twin Cities Track Club runners Stephanie Price and Joe Moore also were selected to represent the US in Scotland.

Another Team USA Minnesota member, Andrew Carlson, who was supposed to run the ING New York City Marathon, which was cancelled after Superstorm Sandy hit,  will make a return trip to Houston in January, where he ran his debut marathon at the US Olympic Trials in 2012, to compete in the Chevron Houston Marathon on 1-13-13.  So will TCTC's Mike Reneau.

Meghan Peyton Talks About 2012, the USATF XC Club Championships, and 2013

Photo by Gene Niemi

Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Peyton finished off 2012 with a bang.  She led the team to the USATF Club XC team Championship, earned a trip to Scotland, and took a step toward her first goal of 2013.

Down the Backstretch: Winning a National Championships is always nice.  Did you go into USATF Club Nationals confident, hopeful, with or without expectations in regards to the team championship? 

Meghan Peyton: We went into the Championships confident that we could win. We knew that there would be some other strong teams like the Boulder team, but thought that as long as we all had solid races that we could achieve our goal of winning the national title.  

DtB:  Once you got to Lexington and saw the mud, aside from thinking: “This is real cross country,” did the conditions change any of the plans, expectations going into the race?

MP: Personally, the mud didn't change any of my own expectations. The mud was a factor for every runner out there. It being a championship race, I knew that it would take a strong race to place in the top six(she finished fourth), which is what it took to qualify for the USA team going to Scotland.

DtB:  Seems like the team members had different approaches to the race: Jamie took off with the leaders, you and Ladia sort of worked together, McKenzie was trailing behind you two(could she see where you two were or was the course too hilly and twisty for her to see runners ahead of her), and Heather took a tumble.  When did Heather go down and did any of you see or know that Heather fell during the race?  Give us something of a summary of how things unfolded.

MP: The race got out fast, the first mile being the most flat section on the course -- we went through the mile at 5:11 pace. I felt that it was a good pace, putting me near the front but I still felt in control. For the next mile and a half it was just grinding away at the hills and mud. 

There was a little pack of us behind the lead pack pushing each other. We could see the leaders the entire time. At about 2.5 miles the pack started coming back to us, Jamie (Cheever) with them. I knew we would catch up. So on the last downhill before the long climb to the finish I pushed hard so that I would catch up with Jamie. I knew she needed some support because she was in no-woman's land, which is a hard place to be when you are hurting. 

As I caught her I cheered for her telling her "You can do it, come on Jamie". We all needed to finish strong, and I think it was pretty admirable how she had put it out there on the line and, even once her early fast pace caught up to her, Jamie still finished really strong. None of us knew that Heather had fallen until we had all crossed the finish line.  

DtB:  When did you know you won the team title?  Was there a big celebration or a more retrained one?

MP: When we all finished the race we didn't know if we had won or not for about half an hour or so. We knew that Boulder would be our biggest competition, and they had taken first and second place. We didn't know where their other runners had finished, but we did know that Heather had taken an unfortunate spill in the mud, but had the strength to get up and keep running for the team. 

So we waited anxiously for about 30 minutes until they finally posted the results. When the results went up, Lance Elliott (one of our team's board members who was traveling with us and also raced) came running back to our van with the results and said: "We Won!". We were all excited, but Heather was excited most of all...jumping up and down with relief.

DtB:  Are the three of you that qualified planning on taking the trip to Scotland in January?  Did Jamie or McKenzie get spots on the US team because others in front of them aren’t going?

MP: Yes, Ladia, Jon (Peterson, fifth in the men's race), and I are going to Scotland for sure. We think that Jamie(who was seventh) will also likely make the team based on other competitors who said that they will not go, and because she also did well at this year's USA Open Cross Country Championships which took place in February.

DtB:  You’ve had a busy life this Fall with school, helping out with the Augsburg team, and your own running.  How do you juggle all those “balls in the air?”

MP: Very carefully! I don't need any of them falling to the ground. I think the only reason that I am able to juggle all of them is because I have good support groups in each area of my life, and because I'm a planner. I always try and stay ahead of the curve. I did have to start using a paper planner again this year (which I have not done since I graduated college) because my life is going in a lot of different directions.  No day is the same as the day before. A busy life keeps things interesting. 

DtB:  Was 2012 a productive year?  Did you achieve any or all of the goals you set—if you set any—at the beginning of the year?

MP: 2012 for me was a learning year. Anyone who looks at my results from the past year could probably safely assume that I unfortunately didn't achieve the goals that I had set at the beginning of it. From 2008-2011 I had steadily improved -- moving from consistently placing in the teens in races and working my way up to finishing in the top seven at most National Championships.

As with most people in this sport, I had big aspirations for 2012. However, some inexperience with the marathon, and also finding out that I had low B12 and low Iron (both essential for energy production) put those goals out of reach this year. But, I haven't given up. I still have the same big goals -- I've just had to push them out a year or two. 

DtB:  What are the plans, goals of 2013?

MP: My goals for 2013 are to, first of all, continue to improve as an athlete and person. Secondly, I want to represent our country at the World Cross Country Championships, and also want to compete at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In the Fall I plan on competing in a marathon -- maybe one that is near and dear to us all--Twin Cities in Motion's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  

Team USA Minnesota Women Win USATF Club XC Team Title

The Team USA Minnesota women’s squad – Meghan Peyton, Ladia Albertson-Junkans, Jamie Cheever, McKenzie Melander and Heather Kampf – won the open women’s 6K team title at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Lexington, KY.  In the open men’s 10K  Jon Peterson finished fifth.

For the women, Peyton was 4th, Albertson-Junkans 5th, Cheever 7th, Melander 11th, and Kampf, who fell in the mud, got up to finish 63rd. Three of the Team USA Minnesota athletes – Peyton, Albertson-Junkans and Peterson – automatically qualified for the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Team Challenge by finishing in the top six of their event.  The Challenge will be held in Scotland on January 5, 2013.  Nine women and nine men will be on the US senior teams for the event.

“It was a hilly course, and there had been lots of precipitation the last couple of days, so it was slick and very muddy,” said Peyton.  “Even given the conditions, the race got out fast, and we went through the first mile in 5:11.  I got out quick, but in control, so I would have enough to finish the race.  I was in 10th place in the first mile while my teammate, Jamie, went out with the leaders and was in a top group of four.

“Ladia and I were running together.  We caught up with Jamie in the last mile...It was definitely a strength course.  My legs were really burning toward the end, but I felt strong.  We are all pretty happy with the team win.”

“I wanted to get ahead of most of the crowd, so I got out in the top 30 or so and waited for it to thin out,” said Peterson.  “It was quite muddy and mucky out there, so it was true cross country.

“By the last mile I was in seventh place.  I started making a move with 800 meters to go.  I picked up the pace, made it hurt, and outkicked two runners in the last 400 meters (Sean Quigley and Alan Webb, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively).  I knew I needed enough in me at the end to do a kick knowing who was in the field.

“It’s nice to be out there racing cross country again.  I’m really excited to be a member of the US team that will compete in Edinburgh.  That was my goal.”

The Run N Fun womens' team finished 10th.  The Run N Fun B team was 14th in the men's team race.  Twin Cities Track Club had only two runners(Joe Moore in 9th and Mike Reneau in 13th) finish the men's race and one(Stephanie Price, 12th) the women's.  Full results can be found HERE.

This was the first time that Team USA Minnesota sent a women’s team to compete at Club Cross.  In 2011, the Club Cross men’s race was won by Team USA Minnesota’s Jon Grey.

Peyton Fifth, Peterson 13th in Turkey Trot 5K

Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Peyton finished fifth in the women's race and Jonathan Peterson was 13th in the men's race at the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving in San Jose, California  Peyton ran 16:19 in the race won by Kim Conley in 15:40.  Peterson was timed in 14:19 in the men's race won by Stephen Sambu in 13:28.

The race was the Pacific Association USATF 5K championship. Men's results are HERE.  Women's are HERE.

Run for the Turkeys

Six Team USA Minnesota athletes – Heather Kampf, Jamie Cheever, McKenzie Melander, Ladia Albertson-Junkans, Andrew Carlson and Chris Rombough - will participate in the Life Time Fitness Turkey Day 5K in downtown Minneapolis on Thanksgiving morning.

 

Kampf is the 2012 USA 1-Mile Road champion and a seventh place finisher in the 800 meters at the Olympic Track & Field Trials.  Cheever also competed at last summer’s Olympic Trials and was in the steeplechase finals; she was sixth at the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships last February.

 

Melander and Albertson-Junkans joined Team USA Minnesota this fall.  Melander graduated last spring from the University of Iowa and was the Big Ten Champion in the 5000 meters.  Albertson-Junkans is a 2009 graduate of the University of Minnesota and most recently was eighth at the USA 10-Mile Championships in October.

 

Carlson, a two-time national champion in the 15K and 25K, was the sixth place finisher at the 2012 US Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials with a debut time of 2:11:24.  Rombough was fourth at the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships last February.

 

The Turkey Day 5K starts at 8 AM near the Target Center and finishes on First Avenue.  The event is a fun run so no official results will be kept. 

 

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5K

Meghan Peyton and Jon Peterson will be part of a competitive invitational field at the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5K in downtown San Jose, CA, on Thanksgiving Day.  The elite women run at 10:00 AM followed by the elite men at 10:30.

 

Peyton has run 15:41 in the 5000 meters and was fourth at the 2010 USA 5K Championships and fifth at the 2011 USA 5K Championships.  Most recently she finished ninth at the USA 10-Mile Championships.

 

Peterson, who joined Team USA Minnesota in August, has a best of 13:41 in the 5000 meters.  In his professional road debut in October, he placed 12th at the USA 10-Mile Championships.

 

Commitment

The title of this Lifetime Fitness promotion has generated many jokes about the difference between being committed and getting committed, but it is one of those seemingly timely ideas that counts on the fact that a lot of people make New Year's resolutions to improve themselves around the first of the year. We'll see how this one goes.

TwelveTeam USA Minnesota distance runners are participating as seminar speakers in Life Time Run’s free eight-week training program that leads up to the first ever Life Time Fitness Commitment Day 5K on January 1. The athletes will talk about such topics as goal setting, core and strength training, stretching, injury prevention, and race preparation.

The Commitment Day 5K training programs began on November 6 and includes 16 sessions of running and education to prepare participants to run the 5K that will be held on New Year’s Day. The sessions start at 6 PM every Tuesday and Thursday evening leading up to the race. The training program is open to both Life Time Fitness members as well as non-members. Participants can still sign up.

In the Twin Cities, the Commitment Day 5K will take place in downtown Minneapolis beginning at 10 AM on New Year's Day next to the Metrodome. The entry fee is $34 for Life Time Fitness members and $39 for non-members. It is expected to become an annual event dedicated to helping people live a healthy way of life.

The Team USA Minnesota athletes will speak at the following seminar sessions in the Twin Cities:

Nov. 15 – Meghan Peyton and Andrew Carlson at Life Time Fitness Crosstown
Nov. 29 – Heather Kampf and Jon Grey at Life Time Fitness Minnetonka; Gabriele Anderson and Antonio Vega at Life Time Fitness Chanhassen
Dec. 6 – Jon Peterson at Life Time Fitness Savage
Dec. 13 – Chris Rombough at Life Time Fitness Fridley
Dec. 20 – Jamie Cheever at Life Time Fitness Maple Grove; Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Emily Brown at Life Time Fitness St. Louis Park
Dec. 27 – McKenzie Melander at Life Time Fitness Eagan

For more information or to register for the free training program, go to www.LifeTimeRun.com.

Andrew Carlson Ready for the Big Apple

Photo Courtesy of Team USA Minnesota

Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson hopes to follow up on his impressive performance at the US Olympic Trials at Sunday's New York City Marathon against strong national and international competition.  Reared in North Dakota where he was the state high school XC champion, Carlson continued his distance running success at the University of Minnesota where he set a school record in the 5K on the track that was broken by Hassan Mead in 2009 and finished ninth in the NCAA 10,000 in 2005.  Carlson has won two national championships on the roads--15K in 2008 and 25K in 2010.  At age 30 he hopes that his best years are ahead of him as he moves his focus to the marathon with his aim at the Trials for the 2016 Games and another shot at the Olympic team.

Down the Backstretch: Quite an auspicious debut in the marathon—2:11:24, sixth at the Olympic Trials.  What were your thoughts going into the race?  Did you have concerns about not having run the distance before?  Did you have any specific goals other than to give your best performance or where you just “going with the flow’ and would see how things unfolded?

Andrew Carlson: My thoughts going into the Olympic Trials revolved around getting the best I could on that day. I  had ideas in my head of what I hoped I would do, but I wanted to be flexible with my approach because I was not sure how the race would unfold. When the leaders went out at such a strong pace it made my decision to not go with the lead group easy. I had to make decisions based on giving myself the best chance I could to place high and going out on 2:06-2:07 pace was not in my best interest. 

DtB: You talked afterward about the tight hamstrings, wishing you had known what the last eight miles would feel like, and that you could get through rough patches you experienced.  Talk a little about what was going through your mind as the rest of you felt fine, but your hamstrings were rebelling on you. The “freaking out.”

AC: I would say that  a more experienced marathoner would have been equipped to deal with the notion of hamstring cramping late in the race. I freaked out a bit, but for the most part was able to keep myself under control. Hopefully going forward I will be able to have a better understanding of what my body is going through late in a race and make adjustments from there. 

DtB: You said after the race that you’d thought about a lot of stuff in preparation for the race , but some things way too little.  What things do you think need more thought before the next one?  Things you need to improve upon?

AC: I certainly need to improve on my nutritional intake during the race. I think I was too quick to discard my fluids and that may have had something to do with my hamstring cramping. But it may not have been either. I choose to focus on the most major parts--training and preparation--and let the other things fall into place. 

DtB: You were going to debut at Twin Cities in 2011, but you tore some ligaments in your ankle in a training run before the race.  How was the recovery from that?  How serious an injury was it?  You’ve noted that it might have been a blessing not doing the Twin Cities prior to the Trials? Why?

AC: I certainly wanted to race the marathon at Twin Cities and hope to in the future. I'm just not sure how I would have recovered between TCM and the Olympic Trials. I think the training and preparation ahead of Twin Cities really benefited me in my preparation for the Olympic Trials. I was able to have a barometer for key workouts and a better understanding of how my body would respond to the rigors of marathon training. 

DtB: You have a degree in kinesiology, has that scientific background been a help, a hindrance, or somewhere in between in approaching your running, training, racing?

AC: Though I have a degree in kinesiology I don't believe I think with a very scientific mind. I didn't graduate with honors or anything like that. I believe I have a very keen understanding of the amount of work it takes to run fast, but I don't think I derive much of that from science. I leave that part up to Dennis Barker and just train hard. 

DtB: You have a geographic connection to another runner with Minnesota ties, a contemporary of your college coach Steve Plasencia--Mark Nenow, who was born in North Dakota but moved to Minnesota for high school in Anoka .  He was the American recordholder for 10K.  Ever meet him or had a chance to compare notes?

AC:  I have never met Mr. Nenow, but have certainly heard a lot about him. I have a strong interest in the history of distance running in Minnesota and North Dakota. Though I don't put myself in the category of Plasencia, Beardsley, Bjorklund, Nenow, Kempainen, etc, it is fun to aspire to be at that level and maybe one day be in that category. 

DtB: You’ve got a lot of range, having been successful on the track, on the roads at intermediate distances, but everyone is probably going to be pushing you for the marathon after your trials performance.  What are your thoughts on future plans?  A mix of track and marathon, somewhere in between, or total focus on the marathon?

AC: My future plans are in the marathon, beginning on November 4th in NYC. I think I will compete at a variety of distances until my career is over though. I believe that being a well rounded athlete is very important to having success in the Marathon. 

Interview With Dennis Barker

Runner's Space interview with Augsburg/Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker done at the Olympic Track Trials in Eugene this summer is HERE. Covers the history of Team USA Minnesota, history of MN distance runners, training, coaching.

Albertson-Junkans and Melander Join Team USA Minnesota

Ladia Albertson-Junkans and McKenzie Melander joined Team USA Minnesota this month.  Both athletes are from the Twin Cities area with Albertson-Junkans competing collegiately at the University of Minnesota and Melander at the University of Iowa.

“We’re happy to add two great Minnesota runners to our group,” said Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker.  “A lot of people here have followed the careers of these two throughout high school and college and are excited to see them continue on to the next level.”

Albertson-Junkans is from Stillwater.  She was the Minnesota State High School Cross Country champion as a sophomore and competed in a range of events at the State Track & Field Championships including the 4x800 relay, 1600m and 3200m.

At the University of Minnesota she graduated with  a bachelor’s degree in child development and a masters in public health and was a member of three track and field teams that won Big Ten titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009.  She was also a two-time cross country All-American and helped lead the squad to its first Big Ten championship in 2007.  In addition to finishing 19th at the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championships, she holds the U women’s second best time in cross country at both the Big Ten and NCAA championships.  She was also the 2009 Big Ten candidate for NCAA Woman of the Year.

After her collegiate running career, Albertson-Junkans stepped away from training and racing to focus on her academic and career interests and now works in child development research.  During the past two years, she returned to competition and in 2012 won the Fargo Half Marathon, placed third at the Cow Harbor 10K with a time of 33:19, and was eighth at the USA 10 Mile Championships earlier this month with a personal best of 55:44.

Melander, who is from Apple Valley, went to Eastview High School where she placed third at the Minnesota State Cross Country Championships.  In track, she finished second in the 1600 and 3200 meters as a junior and senior, ran on the third-place 3200-meter relay and helped her team win the Minnesota State title.  Melander holds school records in the 1600m (4:59.25), 3200m (10:52.32) and cross country 4000m (14:28).  She also was the recipient of the 2008 Twin Cities In Motion College Scholarship.

At the University of Iowa  she was the 2012 Big Ten 5000m champion and the runner-up in the Big Ten 10,000m.  She also qualified for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5000m.  Melander was a three-time academic all-Big Ten honoree, recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, and holds the school record for the indoor mile (4:39.78).  Since graduation, she has competed on the roads placing fourth at the 5th Season 8K and 10th at the Bix 7 Mile.  Melander has a bachelor’s degree in speech and hearing science from Iowa and is currently working on her master’s in speech pathology at the University of Minnesota.