Team Circuit Standings All Tied Up

There's a knot at the top of the USATF Minnesota Open Men's and Women's Team Circuit Standings following the suddenly controversial Get in Gear 10K last Saturday.

Run N Fun, the runner-up open team in both divisions at the Human Race 8K in March, beat rival GEAR Running Store's men and women at Get in Gear to tie things at the top of the standings after two events.

The RNF and GEAR men both have 38 points; Lundgren Ford is third with 30. The two stores women's teams are tied with 16 points; the Prairie Striders are third with 8 points.

Run N Fun's men -- led by Ed Whetham -- benefited in part from GEAR fielding a lesser squad due to injury on Saturday. Their five scorers beat GEAR 2:40:19 to 2:41:46. The RNF women, who were edged by GEAR at the Human Race, swamped their rivals at Get in Gear -- 3:07:48 to 3:17:16. Amy Lyons, who didn't compete at Human Race, led RNF.

GEAR is -- sort of -- the defending men's Team Circuit champion: the now defunct Runner's Edge store team that won the 2006 title moved en masse to GEAR in 2007. RNF is the defending women's open champion.

RNF currently leads both Masters divisions; the Molar Milers lead the men's Grand Masters men's standings, while the Prairie Striders to that division women's list.

The next Team Circuit event is the New Prague Half Marathon on May 12. The eight race Team Circuit runs through early September.

Rosendahl Likes $100,000 Guarantee

Distance runner Marty Rosendahl knows he'll make $100,000 a year ...

... if he runs sub-28:00 for 10,000 meters or sub-2:11 for the marathon while a member of his current team, the Hansons-Brooks Olympic Development Program in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

And he likes that.

"I think it's a great idea and I'm really happy to see that it's official," the Fridlay High School and MSU-Mankato alum told DtB. "Since 1999 Kevin and Keith [Hanson] have been putting their money where their mouths are in supporting the resurgence of American distance running."

The shoe-store-owning brothers announced at the Boston Marathon that they will guarantee, for two years, that members of their program who achieve the sub-28/sub-2:11 standard will earn at least $100,000 annually including all "running-related" income. What their super-fast runners don't earn in prize-money and appearance fees, the program will pick up to total $100,000.

Hansons-Brooks is sponsored by the brothers' store chain, Brooks Shoes, and the Saturn automobile company.

"The benefit of the marraige between the Hansons and Brooks has been a great deal for me," Rosendahl (pictured) explained, "because the level of committment from both parties has either remained constant or increased, not one decreasing as the other increases. Now with Saturn signing on and Brooks resigning with a huge contract increase sweetens the deal even more, and obvously the $100k bonus for those performances is a signal of how much our sponsors believe in what we're doing, and their level of committment to us."

"Who else is guaranteeing that kind of money for performances like those," he asked?

Above and beyond committment Rosendahl feels his program is showing to up-and-coming distance runners, Rosendahl likes his own chances for the six-digit paydays.

"Personally I'm very excited," he confided. "I believe that I have the potential to run under 2:11 in the marathon by the end of 2009. If I don't make an Olympic team, maybe I could run under 2:11 at Chicago in 2008. Who knows? I've been making such huge strides in my fitness since becoming injury free in March of 2006 that I have had to constantly reassess my potential."

"I had initially thought I'd be capable of 2:18 for 2006 Chicago marathon," he continued. "Halfway through my training, I realized I had progressed way past that. I wound up having to take a bathroom break at mile 16 and I ran 2:17:05. I think I was fit enough to run close to or slightly under 2:15 .... In November, I thought a top 25 at 2007 Winter XC Championships would be a good performance for me. I wound up 16th and made the U.S. team to race at World XC in Kenya."

Keep an eye on Rosendahl -- he might just become your newest rich friend.

Photo courtesy of Hansons-Brooks.

Watson, Costescu Headline TC 1 Mile Field

Former Stillwater High School and Notre Dame University star Luke Watson will attempt a three-peat and Michigan-based Romanian Denisa Costescu will attempt win back her title at tomorrow's TC 1 Mile, sponsored by the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Watson won last year's race in 4:16 and was victorious in the inaugural race in 2005 as well. Costescu won in 2005 in 5:05. Defending women's champ Kristen Nicolini is not competing this year.

Watson, a former Team USA Minnesota athletes who is back in South Bend as an assistant coach for his alma mater, won the Drake Relays 8K road race last weekend. Hoping to dethrone Watson are Blake Boldon of Ames, Iowa who finished second in the Drake Relays mile in 4:03, Ryan Kleimenhagen of Team USA Minnesota who was 5th at Drake in 4:08, Christian Hesch of Morro Bay, California who has a personal mile best of 4:02, Richard Kimeli of Kenya who was 3rd at Get In Gear this past weekend, and Ryan Meissen of Mukwonago, Wisconsin who has been the runner-up in both TC 1 Mile races.

Team USA Minnesota's Jenelle Deatherage looks like Costescu's toughest competition. She won the Drake Relays 1500m last weekend in 4:13.97. Also in contention are Kenyans Rebecca Tallam and Leah Kiprono the second and fifth place finishers at Get in Gear and Katherine Bloemker of Shawnee, KS, the sixth place finisher at the 2006 TC 10 Mile.

The race, which gets underway at 6:50 on Thursday, starts at Yale Place near Loring Park in Minneapolis and finishes on Nicollet Avenue between 8th and 9th streets.

Marathon Registration Opens ... Registration for the 2007 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon open Thursday as well. Find details HERE.

McGregor Notches Olympic "A" Qualifier at Stanford

Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor took care of some important business in clocking a 3rd place, 31:37.82 10,000 meters at the the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, California on Sunday.

Her time met the 2008 Olympic "A" qualifying standard of 31:45.00 for the 10,000. It also bettered the 2007 World Championships qualifying standard.

"It was a good night and I feel really good," McGregor said in a media release. "I wanted to get my qualifying time. Now I have that done and I don't have to worry about it. I only have to worry about getting in the top three at USA Outdoor Nationals to make the 2007 World Outdoor team, and getting into the top three at the U.S. Track Trials to make the 2008 Olympic team."

McGregor's successful run came two weeks after a bad outing in the 5000 at the Mt. SAC Relays when she went out with the hot pace set for Shalane Flanagan's 5000m American record there.

"I have been gearing all my training this year for the 10,000," McGregor said. "I didn't have a very good 5000 meter race at Mt. SAC on April 13 to open my outdoor season but now I have the reassurance that I am doing the right stuff for what I am focusing on. It goes to show that when you have a bad race, you just need to stay confident in your training."

Jen Rhines won the Cardinal 10,000 in 31:17.31.

"I went out at a pace that I knew I could handle because I wanted to run my own race and get my standard for the Olympic Games," the 2005 USA 10,000 meter champion said. "I didn't go out with the leaders but I was in the top five women from the start. From two miles on everyone was spread out and I was on my own for the rest of the way. I ended up catching one of the girls in the last 2k and I thought about reeling in the second place runner [Kim Smith] but then I didn't want to race. "

McGregor, who placed fourth in the 10,000 meters at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track Trials, had a chance to go to Athens that year after the first place trials finisher Deena Kastor declined her spot in the event in favor of the marathon. McGregor was short of the qualifying standard, however, and was unable to find a competitive 10,000 in the late summer to achieve the needed mark.

"I'm really excited about achieving my qualifying time because now I can start racing," McGregor said.

Carlson Struggling ... McGregor's Team USA Minnesota teammate Andrew Carlson is still searching for the form he had prior to the rib injury that kept him from racing at the World Cross Country Championships in March. Carlson dropped out of the Cardinal men's 10,000 at four miles.

"Between this race and last weekend's 5000 at Oregon [where he finished 13th in 13:57.60], it has become apparent that the time he missed due to the cracked rib has set him back," Team USA Minnesota's Pat Goodwin told DtB. "He's going to spend the month of May getting in a good block of training and will be back out competing after that - just needs to catch up from the training he missed due to the injury."

Carlson will likely run the 5000m at the USA Championships in June. He has a meet-qualifying mark in that event from last year -- his PR 13:32.71 -- but had hoped to convert the his long distance road racing success into a fast 10,000m mark.

The Gophers' Antonio Vega got an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 29:04.13 at Stanford.

Photo courtesy of Team USA Minnesota.

Grandma's Announces New Drug Policy

It wasn't until yesterday that we even had a "Drugs" tag on Down the Backstretch. Now we've got two posts under the heading ...

Grandma's Marathon announced today -- with impeccable timing, we must note! -- that the event has instituted a new performance-enhancing drugs policy. The key elements of the new rules include:

(1) Disqualifying any athlete testing positive for a banned substance at any Grandma’s Marathon event.

(2) Not recruiting, subsidizing, or otherwise assisting any athlete who has previously been suspended for using a banned substance.

(3) Ceasing relationships with the coach and/or agent of any athlete suspended for banned drug use.

(4) Requiring elite athletes competing in Grandma’s Marathon or the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon to sign an affidavit acknowledging awareness of the Grandma’s Marathon drug policy and stating that they are not using performance-enhancing drugs.

The announcement comes in the wake of the disqualification of 2006 Grandma's women's champion, Halina Karnatsevich, for failing a drug test at the event. It also coincides with the revelation that Saturday's Get in Gear men's winner was invited to that race despite a history -- apparently unknown to race organizers -- that included a drug violation and the use of an assumed name.

“It is extremely important for our sport’s future to make it loud and clear that cheating will not be tolerated,” Grandma's Marathon Executive Director Scott Keenan said in a media release. “This policy will help us continue to do our part to inform and educate runners about the consequences and negative impacts of drug use."

Elements #2 and #3 of the policy are in step with the more restrictive measures some events have taken with previous drug violators. Such measures can, however, effectively continue the punishment of athletes who have served their drug suspensions and could impact potentially innocent coaches, agents, and athletes affiliated with offending athletes.

Testing in 2007 ... Grandma's also reported that they have received confirmation from USA Track & Field that drug testing will be done at the 2007 Grandma’s Marathon on June 16. This is only the fifth time drug testing will be conducted in the 31-year history of Grandma’s Marathon.

“We are very fortunate to have drug testing returning to Grandma’s Marathon in back-to-back years. It is our goal to do everything we can to ensure that the sport of long-distance running is clean,” Keenan said.

Read ... Kevin Pates' Duluth News-Tribune story about the new policy HERE.

Get In Gear Champ Sports Checkered Past

Get in Gear 10K men's winner Alena Reta has a competitive past that includes a drug suspension in 2001 and disqualification from the 2005 Peachtree Road Race for competing under an assumed name.

Reta (pictured) failed a drug test in Japan in 2001. In 2005, at Peachtree, after serving his suspension, he raced under a different name, in order to sidestep the event's refusal to allow him entry into the race.

Reta is not currently barred from competition.

Originally known as Alena Emere, the runner currently known as Alena Reta has also raced under the name Amara Leta. The 25-year-old Ethiopian who resides in New York City has been made unwelcome at a number of premier road races including Peachtree and New York City Marathon, according to media reports.

His manager Jason Jett is quoted in this newspaper story attributing Reta's name changes to the customs of his culture.

Get in Gear Executive Director Paulette Odenthal told Down the Backstretch that she did not know that Reta had served a drug suspension previously. Asked if she was aware Reta had competed under an assumed name, she replied, "Of course not."

Odenthal said the race was currently investigating the issue. Reta earned $1200 for his win on Saturday.

"The matter is being looked into this week," she said. "This matter is serious for us and is being looked into. We have not had this issue ever come up in the Get in Gear's 30 year history. The Get in Gear is a first class, top notch race and we intend to keep this reputation."

Get in Gear is the third Minnesota road race to have an unwelcome brush with drug violators. 2003 Twin Cities Marathon Champ Eddy Hellebuyck, who set an American masters record of 2:12:46 at the race, failed a drug test for EPO the following January. Last year's women's champion at Grandma's Marathon, Halina Karnatsevich, was stripped of her title for failing the event's post-race drug test.

(Full disclosure: I was the Elite Recruiter at TCM from 2002 through 2004.)

Photo by Pete Miller.

Deatherage Wins Drake Relays 1500; Gopher Women Sweep Long Relays

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again ...

That might well have been the mantra for Team USA Minnesota's Jenelle Deatherage, who won the Women's Special 1500 meter event at the 98th Drake Relays over the weekend. Her time of 4:13.97 beat runner-up Alice Schmidt by more than 3.5 seconds.

"This was my sixth time running the 1500 at the Drake Relays and it was my first time winning," Deatherage (pictured), who has a best in the distance of 4:07.87, said in a media release. "I've run Drake almost every year since I graduated from the University of Wisconsin. It was nice to finally win on a day when the crowd was unbelievable and the weather was great. I just really had a wonderful time and I hope to be there next year as well."

Deatherage took charge of the race early.

"In the back of my mind, I had planned to take it out from the gun," she explained, "but another girl took it out pretty fast. After the first lap, I knew I needed to do my share of the work so I went to the front and kept that position for the rest of the race. I was pretty happy with how it went."

Deatherage's teammate Ryan Kliemenhagen finished 5th in the Drake Men's Special Mile in 4:08.13. Alan Webb broke Steve Scott's event record, winning in a massive 3:51.71.

Gophers Sweep!

Deatherage's win was but one jewel in a shimmering day for Minnesotans at the historic event. The Golden Gopher women swept the Distance Medley, 4 x 800m, and 4 x 1600m relays -- only the third time in Relays history for that feat. On Friday, the DMR squad of Elizabeth Yetzer, Heather Dorniden, Ayla Mitchell, and Emily Brown beat Baylor by more than half a second to start the Gophers' winning ways. Then, the 4 x 800 Julie Schwengler, Jamie Cheever, Gabrielle Anderson, and Dorniden shattered Arkansas' 2005 Drake record in the event by winning in 8:27.42. Saturday afternoon, the 4 x 1600 crew of Cheever, Yetzer, Anderson, and Brown broke their own 2006 record in the event, stopping the clock at 19:07.75.

“I will never forget the sight of 18,000 people cheering Brownie (Emily Brown) to the Drake record,” Gopher head coach Matt Bingle said in a media release. “This was such a special weekend. It’s a great time to be a Golden Gopher.”

Only Stanford in 2003 and Michigan in 2004 have scored such a trifecta.

Also ... A pair of Minnesota high jumpers earned victories at Drake. MSU - Mankato's Jim Dilling won the Men's Special High Jump by clearing 7-6 1/2. Osseo High School grad Julian Morris, now a freshman at Iowa State University, won the University/College High Jump with a 6-10 clearance.

Photo by Victor Sailer, courtesy of Team USA Minnesota.

Race Photos: Get In Gear

You can read about the 2007 Get in Gear in the Star Tribune and you can get the full results at the race site. But you can see the pictures right here.

The Short-Cut: Weekend Results for April 27-29

There's a ton of running and track going on this weekend; here are our links to the important action:

Friday:
Drake Relays: Results
Update: Gopher Women Break Drake 4 x 800 Record, win DMR.

Hamline Elite Meet(High School): Results
Update: Finnerty wins loaded 3200m in 9:04.55

Saturday:
Get in Gear 10K: Results
Drake Relays: Results
Update: Dilling wins Drake high jump with 7-6 1/2

St. John's Invitational (Small College Men): Results
Macalester Invitational (Small College Women): Results
Gustavus "Drake Alternative (Small College M/W): Results

Sunday:
Stanford Cardinal Invitational (Team USA Mn): Results

WDTB: Live at the Hamline Elite Meet

That completes the action on the track here at the Hamline Elite-Meet. On behalf of my partner Chris Marshall, I'm Charlie Mahler signing off from Klas Field in St. Paul!

(Sorry, I was just dying to say that!)

Find complete results HERE

Boys High Jump: Clauer (Elk River) wins at 6-7 ... 2nd Murphy (Irondale) 6-5

Girls 4 x400:
1st Leg -- South St. Paul ... 60+
2nd Leg -- Mounds View ... 1:59+
3rd Leg -- Mounds View ... 2:58+
Anchor/Finish -- Mounds View wins in 3:57.52 ... 2nd Hopkins 4:01.21 ... Woodbury 4:04.23

Boys 4 x 400:
1st Leg -- Buffalo leads at 50.5
2nd Leg -- Mounds View ... 1:40
3rd Leg -- Mounds View ... 2:31 .. with Evans to anchor
Anchor/Finish -- Mounds View wins with 3:19.10 ... 2nd Concordia 3:26.22 ... 3rd Willmar 3:27.07

Video of the Boys 3200m is HERE

Girls 3200m:
@400 -- Berndt ... 77
@800 -- Berndt ... 2:42
@1200 -- Berndt, Richardson ... 4:08 ... then Stack, Peterson
@1600 -- Berndt, Richardson ... 5:35 ... then Stack, Peterson ... then pack of five
@2000 -- Berndt, Richardson ... 7:01 ... then Peterson
@2400 -- Berndt, Richardson ... 8:29 ... then Peterson
@2800 -- Berndt, Richardson ... 9:53

Finish -- Richardson (Blake) wins in 11:09.58 ... 2nd Berndt (Kennedy) 11:12.20 ... 3rd Peterson (Sartell) 11:29.31

Boys 3200m:
@400 -- Finnerty followed closely by Heath 64+
@800 -- Finnerty w/ Heath, Lumbar, Mead, Burke ... 2:14
@1200 -- Finnerty, Heath, Lumbar in line at line ... 3:23
@1600 -- Finnerty, Heath, Lumbar, Mead in line ... 4:31
@2000 -- Finnerty, Heath, Lumbar, Mead in line ...
@2400 -- Finnerty, Mead, Heath, Lumbar in line ... 6:51
@2800 -- Mead takes lead w/ 600 to run .... Lumbar right on him ... then Finnerty, then Heath ... 8:00

Finish: Finnerty (Burnsville) wins in 9:04.55 ... Mead 2nd in 9:06.07 ... Lumbar 3rd in 9:06.69

Conditions prior to the 3200m runs ... 73 degrees ... 31% humidity ... winds WNW 14 mph ... atmosphere: electric!

Girls 200m: Buerkle (Forest Lake) wins 24.96 ... 2nd Post (St. Cloud Tech) 25.64 ... 3rd Rozman (Edina) 25.77

Video of Girls 800m is HERE

Video of Boys 800m is HERE

Boys 200m: Hancock (Anoka) beats Otto (Hill-Murray) 21.54 to 21.72 ... 3rd Brunette (Mounds View) 21.95

Girls 800m: @ 400 in 65 ... Gigstead (Perham) wins with 2:15.81 ... Lundgren (Mankato East) 2:17.97 ... 3rd Schellinger (Sartell) 2:18.76

Girls Triple Jump: Post (St. Cloud Tech) wins with 36-7 1/2 ... 2nd Renner (Mounds View) 35-5 3/4 ... 3rd Udeh 35-4

Boys 800m: 56.9 @ 400 ... photo finish! 1:55 ... Mellon (Buffalo) wins in 1:55.26 ... 2nd Shelendich (Mounds View) 1:55.28 ... 3rd Campbell (Blooming Prairie) 1:57.26

Boys Long Jump: Otto (Hill-Murray) wins with 22-8 ... 2nd McNamara (Mounds View) 22-6 1/2 ... 3rd Williams (Lester Prairie) 20-6

Girls 300m Hurdles: Simmons (Kennedy) wins large in record 44.44 ... 2nd Smith (Woodbury) 46.49 ... 3rd Sawtell (Mounds View) 47.33

Since there's a long break in the action now between hurdle races, let me take the opportunity to thank DtB videographer (and loyal side-kick) Chris Marshall for his fine work in the press box tonight. We're counting the blog and video hits, sweating a technological glitch or two ... and having a great time!

Video of Boys & Girls 400m HERE

Boys 300m Hurdles: Duling crashes ... Griswold (Totino Grace) wins in 39.22 ... 2nd Greenprice (Buffalo) 39.63 .. 3rd Reeve 40.22

Girls 400m: Buerkle wins going away ... in 57.37, a meet record ... 2nd Lundgren (Mankato East) 58.91 ... 3rd Brunn (Rogers) 59.50

Boys Pole Vault: Atwood (Mankato East) wins with 14-6 ... 2nd Pllack (Irondale) 14-0 .... 3rd Hymer (Apple Valley) 14-0

Boys 400m: Evans (Mounds View) beats Hancock (Anoka) 48.79 to 49.55 ... 3rd Bradley (Mounds View) 50.42

Girls 4 x 100m Relay: Mounds View wins BIG! 48.72 ... 2nd St. Cloud Tech 49.98 ... 3rd Hopkins 50.17

Video of Boys 1600m is HERE

Girls High Jump: Wilson (Armstrong) wins in jump-off with 5-5 ... 2nd Lambertson (Litchfield) 5-3 ... 3rd Dohrn (Lake City) 5-3

Boys 4 x 100 Relay: Fridley wins in record 43.21 ... 2nd Forest Lake 43.50 ... 3rd Andover ... 43.54

Girls 1600m:
@200 -- Senf leads at :34
@400 -- Senf leads with 71.8
@800 -- Senf still leads in 2:35.7 with Volz right behind
@1200 -- Senf & Volz 3:57.0
Finish -- Volz (Lakeville North) wins with a big move at 200m-to-go, in 5:07.33 ... Senf (Woodbury) 2nd in 5:13.70 ... 3rd Bates (Elk River) 5:14.64

Boys 1600m:
@ 200 -- Richardson :28
@ 400m -- Richardson :57.1
@ 800m -- Richardson 2:05.1 ... Yak .. Stublaski
@1200m -- Richardson 3:15.3
Finish -- Richardson wins in record 4:17.10 .. opening and closing in ~27 seconds! ... 2nd Stublaski 4:20.02 ... 3rd King (Lakeville North) 4:21.50

Girls 4 x 200 Relay: Mounds View wins in record 1:44.67 ... 2nd Hopkins 1:44.97 ... 3rd Forest Lake 1:46.16

Boys Triple Jump: McNamara (Mounds View) wins record with 46-5 ... Johnson (Roseville) 2nd with 44-0 .. Doh (Andover) 3rd at 43-2 3/4

Boys 4 x 200 Relay: Anoka wins in 1:31.06 -- by .oo3! -- over a charging Mounds View also at 1:31.06 ... St. Louis Park 3rd at 1:32.22

Video of Boys & Girls 100m is HERE

Girls Shot Put: Hampton (St. Louis Park) wins with 40-4 ...2nd Rollins (Grand Rapids) 39-10 1/4 ... 3rd Kubat (Owatonna) 39-9

Girls 100m: Johnson (Armstrong) false start DQ ... Rozman (Edina) wins in record 12.38 (her prelim 12.28 is the new record) ... 2nd Tanoe (Hopkins) 12.61 ... 3rd Lauer (Brainerd) 12.63

Boys 100m: Hancock (Anoka) wins in meet record 10.79 ... Cora 2nd in 10.90 ... Brunnette (Mounds View) 11.07

Girls Long Jump: Gauthier-Culnane (St. Louis Park) wins in 16-9 3/4 ... Lundgren (Mankato East) 2nd in 16-6 3/4 ... Johnson (South St. Paul) 3rd in 16-5

Video of Boys 4 x 800 Relay is HERE

Girls 100m Hurdles: Kelly Stalpes (Wayzata) wins in record 14.74 ... Woods (Blaine) 15.06 2nd ... Sawtell (Mounds View) 3rd in 15.22

Boys 110m Hurdles: Duling (Mounds View) wins in record 14.89 ... Reeve (Fairmont) 2nd in 15:08 ... Speath (Montevideo) 3rd in 15.25

Girls 4 x 800 Relay:
Lead-off Leg -- Woodbury leads in 2:23
Leg #2 -- Woodbury leads in 4:59
Leg #3 -- Woodbury leads in 7:16
Anchor/Finish -- Woodbury wins in meet record 9:36.18 ... Brainerd 2nd in 9:43.19 ... Grand Rapids 3rd in 9:44.26

Boys' 4 x 800 Relay:
Lead-off Leg -- Fairmont leads in 1;59.8
Leg #2 -- Willmar leads in 3:59.5 ... Edina ... Brainerd
Leg #3 -- Willmar 40m up
Anchor/Finish -- Willmar wins in meet record 8:00.07 ... Brainerd 2nd in 8:04.61, Buffalo 3rd in 8:08.60.

Girls 100m Prelims: CORRECTION
Heat 1 -- Rozman(Edina) wins in 12.29
Heat 2 -- Johnson (Armstrong) wins in 12.52

Boys' 100m Prelims:
Heat 1 -- Hancock (Anoka) beats Cora in 10.63
Heat 2 -- Schmidt (Andover) wins in 11.09

Handy Meet Links: Order of Events ... Heat Sheets ... Ordered Startlists ..2006 Results ... Meet Records

Conditions: At 5:15, fifteen minutes before the start of the meet, the temperature is 73 degrees, humidity is a pleasant 25%, and winds are from the west at 9 miles per hours.

Welcome to Down the Backstretch's first-ever attempt at live, on-site coverage of track and field. We're reporting live from Klas Field at Hamline University in St. Paul for the Hamline Elite-Meet. If you liked the Goph-O-Meter -- our event-by-event coverage of the Gopher teams at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, you should love this!

Just pull up a supportive chair and a cool drink -- all you need to do is refresh your browser window regularly for event-by-event coverage of the meet. The latest coverage will appear at the top of this page, older news will be collected beneath.

Star-Tribune: How Hamline Elite-Meet Director Lynden Reder Got His Coaching Job

As the WDTB production truck rumbles up I-35 toward the Hamline Elite-Meet ...

We thought you might want to read the Star-Tribune's interview with meet director and Hamline men's coach Lynden Reder. As part of their Business Page series called "How I got my job," Reder tells the story of sending e-mails to every college track and field program in the state and hearing back from only one -- Hamline -- where, only three years later, he's now the Head Men's Track & Field Coach.

The heat sheets are now posted for Reder's Elite-Meet.

Keep your browser tuned to Down the Backstretch tonight for live coverage of the event. If the truck -- a 10-year-old pick-up with a bed full of firewood, we should clarify -- doesn't break down between Northfield and St. Paul, we'll have results, updates, and even video of the meet starting at 5:30 p.m.

Local Stars, International Talent Vie for Cash and Glory at 30th Annual Get in Gear 10K

Local stars Joey Keillor and Amy Lyons will each wear bib #1 tomorrow at the 30th annual Get in Gear 10K. The race will make its traditional loop of the Mississippi River between the Ford and Lake Street Bridges starting at 9:30 a.m.

As is also traditional at Get in Gear, some strong imported talent will vie for the $1000 winners' prize checks, although neither Henry Kipchirchir or Jemima Jelagat, last year's winners, both from Kenya, return in 2007.

"Local runner Joey Keillor placed 4th last year and he is wearing number 1 this year," race director Paulette Odenthal told DtB, "so it is nice to have a local runner wearing number 1. We also have a couple of runners signed up that have very good resume' Daniel Cheruiyot and Richard Kimeli have both run under 30:00."

Cheruiyot and Kimeli both hail from Kenya.

Odenthal hopes for a good local/international battle on the women's side as well.

"Amy Lyons who placed 3rd last year has a good chance of winning but we also have Ketema Atalelech, 2005 female overall winner back this year as well as a few more new to the Get in Gear that have impressive credentials," she said.

Atalelech is from Ethiopia.

Fittingly, Kenyan Jonah Koech has the event's men's record of 28:45 set in 1994; local Olympian Janis Klecker ran 32:52 for the women's best in 1992.

Get in Gear is also the second leg of the USATF-Minnesota Team Circuit and is the USATF-Minnesota 10K State Championship race.

Update: GEAR's Pete Gilman tells DtB that Joey Keillor will not be running Get in Gear after all. Keillor and a number of other GEAR athletes are nursing injuries, according to Gilman. GEAR currently leads the open men's division of the USATF - Minnesota Team Circuit after the first event.

Collegiate Athletes of the Week

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference named its Athletes of the Week recently.

Gustavus Adolphus College senior Tanner Miest, who won the 110 meter hurdles at the Carleton Relays in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 14.84 last Saturday, and Bethel University sophomore Lucas Blodgett, who also qualified provisionally for the NCAA Championships in the hammer throw with a toss of 173-11 at Carleton, were then men's honorees.

For women, Concordia College senior Heather Schuster (pictured), who finished second in the University/College 800 meters at the Kansas Relays in an auto-qualifying 2:11.79, and Hamline University senior Dana Luiken, who posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the heptathlon at the Bison Classic with a score of 4346, were honored.

In the North Central Conference, UMD's Matt Kleffman, who placed fifth in the hammer throw at the Carleton Relays with a throw of 163-11, finished sixth in the discus (135-7), and was fourth in the shot put (48-7) was the only Minnesota athlete highlighted by the conference.

All the the Nothern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Athletes of the Week this week were from out-of-state.

Photo courtesy of Concordia-Moorhead.

Hamline Elite Meet Entrants Announced

The final competitors list for the Hamline Elite Meet (Presented by Nike) has been announced on the event's web-site. All the events look deliciously strong -- it's an elite meet after all! -- but the Boys 3200 meter run is particularly mouth-watering. (I'm an old distance guy, though, it should be noted.)

Toeing the line in the 3200, and perhaps taking aim at Mike Torchia's meet record 8:59.18 from last year, are 2006 MSHSL Class AA 3200m champ Elliott Heath of Winona, 2006 Class AA Cross Country champ Hassan Mead of Minneapolis South, 2005 Class AA 3200m champ Rob Finnerty of Burnsville, and Edina stars Tom Burke and TC Lumbar who have clocked 9:22 and 9:29 already this year. Missing, however, is the young season's fastest two-miler: Ben Blankenship of Stillwater, who ran 9:15 last week.

Other headliners include: Class AA 400m champ Quinn Evans of Mounds View, teammate Sean Duling, the Class AA 110m hurdles champ (who's only seeded #4!), and Class AA Long Jump champ B.J. Otto of Hill-Murray. On the girls side, cross country champs Alex Gits of Edina (Class AA) and Claire Richardson of Blake (Class A) will duel over 3200m.

Don't Touch That Dial -- Down the Backstretch will be reporting live the Elite Meet. We'll post real-time updates, results, and (if everything goes well) video from the meet. If you can't be at the corner of Snelling and Taylor in St. Paul on Friday night, pull up a chair in front of DtB and "watch" the meet with us!

Gopher 4 x 800 Eyes Drake Record

The Star-Tribune's Michael Rand just wrote a nice profile of the Gopher women's 4 x 800 meter squad. The Gopher foursome of Heather Dorniden, Julie Schwengler, Jamie Cheever, and Gabriele Anderson will attempt to break the Drake Relays record in the event this weekend.

Arkansas set the record ot 8:29.13 in 2005. The Gophers would need to average 2:07-lows to eclipse the mark. Breaking the school record of 8:41 would require 2:10s.

Also ... Drake will provide a striking backdrop for a battle between Minnesota's small college steeplechase stars. Chris Erichsen of St. John's and Travis Bristow of Hamline, currently ranked #1 and #2, respectively, on the NCAA Division III performance list, will attempt to make a splash against the big boys at Drake -- including the University of Minnesota's Ben Puhl.

Erichsen has run 9:05.84, Bristow has run 9:06.09, Puhl has clocked 9:06.51

Dunn 4th at Pan American Cup Walk

Carleton College alum and two-time Olympian Philip Dunn placed 4th in the 50K event at the Pan American Race Walking Cup in Balneario Camboriu, Brazil on Sunday. (Racewalk results come to DtB more slowly because, ah, they can't lift their feet off the ground.)

Dunn (pictured) clocked 4:14:58.

The USA squad won the team 50K title at the event -- they were the only country with enough finishers to record a team score. Columbia won the Men's 20K event; Mexico won the Women's 20K.

Dunn finished 28th in the 2000 Olympic Games and 35th in 2004 in the 50K. He is the 2006 USA Champion in the 50K Walk.

(Full disclosure: I coach at Carleton ... but when Dunn was there running XC and track, I was coaching against him at Gustavus!)

Photo courtesy of USA Track & Field

Star-Tribune Profiles Sade Pollard

A day after we noticed that the Duluth paper had profiled defending MSHSL Class AA 100m champ Garrett Cora of Duluth East, we see that the Star-Tribune's John Millea has written a nice piece on St. Paul Harding super-sprinter Sade Pollard.

Pollard won the Class AA 100, 200, and 400 meters last year as a sophomore. She also won the 200 and 400 in her 9th-grade year.

Pollard, we learn, owes a lot to coach Henry Combs, whom she refers to a "dad." Combs discovered Pollard in 4th-grade.

"I could see the stride, I could see the hunger," he told the Star-Tribune. "She didn't back down."

Also ... Check out KARE 11's coverage of B.J. Otto, one of their Prep Athletes of the Week.

Grandma's Marathon Finally Reaches Capacity

It took longer than usual, but Grandma's Marathon finally reached its 9500 entrant capacity, according to race officials. The marathon joins its sister events (grandchildren?) William Irvin 5K and Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in being closed to registration.

More than 17,000 athletes are expected to compete in the three events held on the weekend of June 15-16 in Duluth.

Patrick Reusse Attends a Track Meet!

Sometimes the news is the news ...

Minneapolis Star-Tribune sports columnist Patrick Reusse -- better known for scrutinizing the activities of professional sports franchises and, of course, his annual Turkey Awards -- was spotted at a local, small-college track meet over the weekend. Reusse confirmed the sighting himself with this story about the Carleton Relays. If story subject Bill Huyck intrigues you, check out the this documentary about him.

In 1990, it should be noted, I saw Sid Hartman at an Olympic Festival track session at the University of Minnesota.

In other weekend news ... Dan Carlson, who we featured ahead of the the Carleton Relays, finished second in his return to the 10,000 meters there. After leading during the middle miles of the event he won in 1984, Carlson was caught and passed by Hamline sophomore Dan Steinbrecher.

Bob Kempainen and Dick Beardsley each dropped a notch on the U.S. all-time list in the marathon over the weekend. Ryan Hall's 2:08:24 in London on Sunday dropped Kempainen to 3rd and Beardsley to 5th on the list.

U.S. Men's All-Time Marathon Top 10 Performers
2:05:38 Khalid Khannouchi
2:08:24 Ryan Hall
2:08:47a Bob Kempainen
2:08:52a Alberto Salazar
2:08:54a Dick Beardsley
2:08:56 Abdi Abdirahman
2:09:00a Greg Meyer
2:09:28a Bill Rodgers
2:09:32 David Morris
2:09:32a Ron Tabb

(a = point-to-point course which could be aided by slope and/or tailwind; not eligible for U.S. record)

At the Oregon Invitational, Minnesota natives Kara Goucher and Cack Ferrell won the 5000m and 10,000m respectively. Goucher clocked 15:16.86; Ferrell ran 33:31.42. Former Stillwater star Sean Graham was 6th in the 5000m in 13:39.97; Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson was 13th in 13:57.60. Adam Steele, who we chatted with last week, finished 13th in the 800 in 1:51.79

MSHSL Class AA 100m champ Garrett Cora was featured recently in this Duluth News-Tribune story.

Statistics courtesy of Running USA.

Sunday Mass at the Boston Marathon

Twin Cities Marathon Elite Recruiter Rick Trueman -- a fellow I had the pleasure of coaching at St. John's back in the late-1980s -- describes one of his favorite Boston Marathon rituals.

Over the years, one my personal highlights from the Boston Marathon weekend, is the 11 a.m. Marathon Mass at Our Lady of Victories church in downtown Boston. I love the name, Our Lady of Victories. It sounds like I'm at the right place.

This is one of first churches in Boston founded by the French settlers. I have talked about this tradition with my own circle of running buddies that by the time I arrived, our group had already filled two pews. We even had a couple of Jewish friends who attended simply because of the connection between running, life, and their own spirituality.

I went over to the elite hotel and recruited a couple of athletes to join me for the service. Within my group was Mary Akor, Zoila Gomez, and Jenny Crain, or in the recruiting world, known as #2, #3 and #6 from TCM '06. They immediately knew what to do. They blew by my friends who were seated near the back of the church and went to the front.

Before mass, Mary Akor was off to the side, lighting a prayer candle and spending a few minutes to herself. After mass, Jenny Crain asked me for $2 so she could walk over and do the same thing. (I never did get my $2 back.)

As the mass went on, chills were running up and down our spines and tears were welling up in our eyes. At the beginning of mass, we were reminded that running and celebrating mass are similar in the sense that not every workout can be run at full speed. Every now and then, you need to pause, reflect, and slow it down, simply because its the healthiest thing to do.

The Gospel reading was the story about Doubting Thomas, so the entire homily connected our own doubts about running, (the weather tomorrow), life ever after, and believing in yourself. At the end of mass, they asked all of the runners to come up to the alter for a final blessing. They all assembled as the theme from "Chariots of Fire" played from the organ in the balcony. By the end of the blessing, you are ready to run a marathon right now. It really is a special feeling.

When most of us think of elites, we think they are bullet-proof. What I found were people who trusted me on the service and were genuinely touched by what was going on. There really is a spiritual connection between running, racing and life, and it runs through all of us no matter how fast or slow you are.