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Episode 50: Wesley Paul, Boy Wonder of the Marathon
Episode 50 is all about the New York City Marathon…and breaking three hours, of course. Imagine doing that as a nine-year-old. Gregg chats with Wesley Paul, who in 1977 zipped around the five boroughs in 3:00:39 at the tender age of eight, then went sub-3 the next year. Paul offers a childhood peek at the race and wise advice both for young runners generally and for adults looking to run their best at 26.2. Brenn will take Cloud259’s next crack at sub-3 at the NYCM on Sunday, and he bubbles over with pre-race denial about just how awful those last six miles will be.
Episode 49: Oh, Canada
In his first marathon since a sacral stress fracture postponed his quest for Cloud 2:59, Gregg braved the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. He offers a race report under intense grilling from his co-host. We highlight the top performances at that race, discuss the mysteries of ideal pacing, give a few shout-outs to listeners, and take a look at the elites who will be running the New York City Marathon on November 6. And Gregg mentions the T-word.
Episode 48: Rio, incoming
In Episode 48, we recount the high drama at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where America’s best distance runners left nothing on the track, and we discuss the participation of Intersex athletes at the Games. Gregg welcomes a new runner to the fold.
Jenny Simpson and Brenda Martinez, here pictured at the 2015 5th Avenue Mile, won spots on the Olympic team in a dramatic 1500m race.
Episode 47: Esther Atkins and the Spirit of Competition
Esther Atkins at the 2015 World Marathon Championships. Photo courtesy Esther Atkins.
In Episode 47, we cover the recently completed Boston Marathon and upcoming London Marathon. Our guest, 2014 U.S. Marathon Champ Esther Atkins (nee Erb), discusses how to accomplish even pacing over 26.2. In a wide-ranging interview, she also covers the business side of the sport, the “Erbbot,” and her plans for the future (hint: Tokyo Olympic Games, 2020). We revisit the issue of the harassment of women’s runners, and provide shout-outs to listeners whose impressive performances all ended with a “9”.
Episode 46: Ian Burrell aims for top 10 finish at Boston
Ian Burrell and his daughter. Photo courtesy Ian Burrell.
In Episode 46, we let our guests do (most of) the talking. Ian Burrell describes to Gregg his approach to the April 18 Boston Marathon, his recent sponsorship changes, running with Tourette’s syndrome, and the daily routine of an elite distance runner who’s also a family man and a partner in a law firm. In our second interview Polly Jones speaks out about the troubling and pervasive issue of the harassment of women runners.
Episode 45: Thirteen ways of looking at Millrose
In Episode 45 James Chu joins Brenn in the broadcast booth and geeks out on the Millrose Games. In post-race interviews, Garrett Heath addresses gamesmanship in the Wanamaker Mile pacing, Ryan Hill reveals how last year’s narrow loss propelled this year’s thrilling win, and Abbey D’Agostino shares her reading list. Duane Solomon and Molly Huddle also make cameos.
If Millrose were a college meet…
By James Chu
Note: James Chu, who runs for North Brooklyn Runners, was our interview guest on Episode 4.
NCAA track & field features the most thrilling and competitive races in the sport that we love. Collegians race not for a paycheck, but because they care about the glory and love of sport and competition. For that, and the tremendous depth and parity in the college ranks, I am a huge fan of NCAA Cross Country and Track & Field.
As a Princeton University track alum myself, I have a rooting interest in the sport. Princeton is not exactly known as a powerhouse in the major sports of football, baseball, or basketball (save for the occasional March tourney berth), but Princeton has fine programs in Cross Country and Track & Field, turning out a few professional runners in recent years. When I saw the start lists for the 109th Millrose Games, I got excited as I saw quite a few Princeton alums and two current students on the lists. I decided that I wanted to see how many representatives from each college were in the meet, and while I was at it, I scored the meet NCAA Championship style by college alma mater of the participants.
As expected, University of Oregon dominated the athlete count with 15. Princeton had the second most representatives with 7 including Olympian Donn Cabral (3000m), Liz Costello (5000m), Greta Feldman (5000m), Justin Frick (high jump), Joe Stilin (mile), and current students Noah Kauppila (800m) and Garrett O’Toole (800m). If you throw in incoming future frosh Conor Lundy (HS mile), the Tigers would have 8 representatives. For this, I use the orange and black as my title and column header colors.
I will use the green and gold of Oregon for the team scores, as their superior numbers and dominating performances take the wins for both men and women. The men’s competition actually came down to the last event of the meet, the Wanamaker Mile. Oregon trailed USC (with wins from Andre DeGrasse in the 60 meters and Duane Solomon in the 800) by 7.5 points. Oregon had three guys in the mile (Matt Centrowitz, Blake Haney, and Daniel Winn), needing to collect at least 8 points collectively to win. Haney got one point (8th place), so Centrowitz needed at least 7 points (2nd place) for the team win, and he got 10. Six points (3rd) or fewer would not have been enough.
The MVP of the men’s competition can go to none other than the greatest athlete in the world Ashton Eaton of Oregon. Eaton scored 8 pts in the 60m hurdles and 4 pts in the long jump for 12 of Oregon’s 32 points.
The women’s MVP goes to Shannon Rowbury for winning the Women’s Wanamaker Mile tallying 10 of Duke’s 15 points for a 3rd place finish in the women’s team standings.
Shannon Rowbury (Duke ’07) still holds the school record in the 3,000 (9:02.73 in 2007). Photo by Andy Kiss.
My Tigers finished with 5 points coming from the current Tigers Kauppila and O’Toole in the 800.
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