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The Official Publication of USA Track & Field

Youth Outdoor Champion Jasmine Todd

Summer/Fall 2011Volume XIII • Issue 2

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8 Track and Field Through a Camera Lens

14 USA Youth: Best in the World!

16 A Championship Season

24 A True Fit: Alvina Begay and Nike N7

27 Beauty, Strength, Voice, and Vision: What I learned from a Centurian MK3 Military Tank

29 One for All — Olympic MarathonTrials to Unite Men, Women

30 USATF Events Calendar

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Fast Forward is an official publication of USA Track & Field, 132 E. Washington St.,Suite 800, Indianapolis, IN 46204, published quarterly by USA Track & Field.

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For more information, visit www.usatf.org or call us at 317-261-0500. Questions orcomments about Fast Forward ? Send email to: [email protected]. For adver-

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ill Frakes remembers the day well. It’s familiarenough to the Sports Illustrated photographer that he can even recite the date — August 2, 1992.“It was the best day of track and field I have everseen,” he said.

Frakes points specifically to the men’s 4x100-meterrelay final of the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in

Barcelona. It may have been one of the best days of trackand field anyone had seen.

And the photo from the race is timeless.First across the finish line was Carl Lewis. In winning

one of his nine career Olympic gold medals, Lewis an-chored Team USA to a new world record. Next it wasNigeria. And then Cuba. All three countries crossed the

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Bill Frakes took the iconic photoof Carl Lewis anchoring the USA4x100m relay team to a victoryand world record at the 1992Olympic Games in Barcelona.


finish line in intense celebration. To those who didn’t knowany better, they would think each team had established aworld record.

The memory of that race will not soon be forgotten.The images will be forever shown as long as there remainstrack and field. On that Thursday alone, Team USA rackedup a total of nine medals, four gold, in just six events.

For love of a sportIt’s for these reasons that Frakes and fellow photogra-phers such as Victor “Victah” Sailer dedicate themselvesto shooting the sport. They and their colleagues aroundthe country work tirelessly to help promote the sport and to tell the story of track and field through a cameralens — all while making a living.

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Track and FieldThrough a CameraLensPhotographers work hard to promote the sportBY J A R ED S L I N D E

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“It’s the pure competition of thesport,” Frakes said when asked thereason he shoots track and field.“The winner is the fastest person or the highest jumper. There is no arbitration. It’s the essence of athleticcompetition. And it’s one of the fewsports where men and women getequal billing.”

Their photos appear everywherefrom Sports Illustrated to Track &Field News. They are circulated to theworld on newswires, on universitywebsites and on newspaper websites.

Sailer owns his own company,PhotoRun (www.photorun.net),while Frakes shoots for one of theworld’s most respected sports publi-cations. Sailer, as well as fellowentrepreneurial photographers ErrolAnderson and Kirby Lee, shoot al-most all the photos of elite athletesthat USATF uses in its publications,

Clockwise from top left: Bill Frakes,Victah Sailer and Kirby Lee. Bottom:Errol Anderson

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promotional materials and website.Although they clearly need to make a living, all of these men approachtheir livelihood as a bit of a crusade.

Like all journalists — both photoand text — Frakes lobbies for his pub-lication to cover track and field and togive the sport space in SI. Sailer andhis staff travel around the world, year-round, shooting nearly every roadrace and track meet on the planet.Anderson and Lee give USATF accessto even more world-class photogra-phy, especially at events such as theUSA Outdoor Championships,Olympic Trials, World Champi-onships and Olympic Games.Without them, timely photo galleriesat www.usatf.org would not exist.

Competitors and teammatesAt USA Championship events, they work together with their fellowphotogs and USATF staff to set rulesfor photographers in terms of wherethey can be, to enforce the rules, and to make sure everybody gets the shot they are looking for. They“compete” with each other in themarketplace, but they work in a fra-ternity of “shooters.”

And they want to make sure theathletes get their due.

“Whether they have already won agold medal or if they are running intheir first championships, the athletesare going to treat you the same,” saidSailer, a retired New York firefighter,about the humble personalities intrack and field in contrast to the egos in other professional sports. (Anderson likewise is retired from theFDNY.) It’s what keeps him comingback to shoot the sport.

Numbers gameLife behind the lens can be anythingbut glamorous. 14-hour days in hotsun, day after day, while wearing unfashionable, gym-class-style “pin-nies” denoting infield access is hardly

a day at the spa. All in the interest ofgetting a few great shots.

The 2011 USA Outdoor Track &Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.,spanned four days of competition.That week in June also included theUSA Junior Outdoor Championships.During those four days Sailer esti-mated he took a total of nearly 20,000pictures. He estimates he made use of 1,000 of them. Frakes estimated hetook close to 5,000 photos of elite ath-letes, using around 200. It’s also anumbers game.

“I’m sure they (average fans) don’trealize what all goes into it, but I don’tknow that they need to,” Frakes saidof the story behind the photos. “Ifanything besides the message of thecompetition becomes the message ina photo, then that’s a problem. Youwant to see the glory of the competi-tion. That’s what it’s all about.”

And what it’s all about is the fin-ished product. As the saying goes, apicture is worth a thousand words,but it remains difficult to estimate the impact for the sport of one wellcirculated photo.

Millions of people will see onephoto placed in the “Leading Off”section of Sports Illustrated, which is a collection of three photos towardthe front of each issue. That impact is difficult to measure.

“If you show somebody somethingthey have never seen before, they ripthat picture out and stick it on theirbulletin board,” Frakes said. “Youbuild the sport one viewer at a time.The more people who learn how greattrack and field is, the more people will come back to it.”

“I like shooting from the point ofview of the athlete,” Sailer said. “Whatwould the athlete like to see? We arejust trying to get things out there thatpromote the sport. Everyone has theirown point of views and not everyoneis looking for the same angle.”

Frakes, who has been shootingCONTINUED ON PAGE 30



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On a hot and sticky July evening in MyrtleBeach, S.C., parents, athletes and coachescrowded into a school gymnasium. Withstanding room only, there was an eerie silenceas the room filled with tension. Then the

moment everyone was waiting for came as the names of the 41 young athletes selected to Team USA for theIAAF World Youth Championships were announced.

The 41 select athletes represented the very best theU.S. had to offer after hundreds of 16- and 17-year-olds

tried out at the World Youth Trials. While those who didnot hear their names read from the roster returned hometo continue their summers, for the World Youth team,that was only the beginning of their adventure.

The team members reported to training camp the nextmorning and hugged their parents goodbye. After a brieftraining period in South Carolina, the team departed forLille, France. Decked out in USA gear, the strangers fromacross the country quickly became friends as they en-countered a long list of firsts. For most it was their first

international competition, for many it was theirfirst time out of the country, and for one it waseven his first time on a plane.

The athletes had three days in France toadapt to the time difference, cuisine and culture.As the meet got under way with the opening cer-emonies, the team had to quickly adapt to beingtrack and field celebrities. As the American ath-letes marched through the city of Lille with all of the other nations they took pictures withother teams and townspeople and heard chantsof “USA…USA...USA” as they walked down the cobblestone streets. After each event on thetrack, the young American athletes were bom-barded with local school children asking forautographs.

Even with all of the distractions competing in a foreign country brings, Team USA wonboth the medal count and point score from themeet. The U.S. team won the placing table with a comfortable margin of 52 points over second-place Kenya, and brought home a haul of 16medals (six gold, four silver, six bronze) to tiethe record-count set at the World Youth Cham-pionships in 2009. H

For more on the World Youth Trials and WorldYouth Championships, visit the Events section ofwww.usatf.org

Best in the World!U S A Y O U T H

BY KATIE LANDRY

Jacob Burcham


WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Jennifer Madu, Bealoved Brown, Robin Reynolds, Kendall Baisden

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TEAM USA INDIVIDUAL GOLD MEDALISTS, WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Ajee’ Wilson (Neptune, N.J) 1st 800m – 2:02.64Nnenya Hailey (Marietta, Ga.) 1st 400mH – 57.93Jennifer Madu (Murphy, Texas) 1st 100m – 11.57Trinity Wilson (Oakland, Claif.) 1st 100mH – 13.11Arman Hall (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) 1st 400m – 46.01


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A ChampionshipSeason

BY JARED SLINDE

The summer of 2011 was filled with more than the usual amount ofnational, regional and even world championship events — and allthat before the IAAF World Championships came to Daegu in lateAugust. The following is a quick run-down of key championshipevents. For full coverage and photo galleries, visit www.usatf.org

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2011 World Youth Trials and Youth OutdoorChampionshipsMyrtle Beach, S.C. (June 28–July 3)It was a combination of the 2011 World Youth Trials andUSA Youth Outdoor Championships that made theirway to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In the Youth Championships, Lauren Williams(midget girls division) and Tyjon Lindley (midget boys)each recorded a hat trick of national titles. Williamspicked up wins in the girls’ 100m, 200m and 400m andLindley did the same in the boys’ 200m, 400m and 80mhurdles. Also winning multiple events were JasmineTodd in the girls’ long jump and triple jump (youngwomen); Magdalyn Ewen in the girls’ shot put and dis-cus (young women) and Margaux Jones in the girls’pentathlon and high jump (youth girls).

In the World Trials, Aldrich Bailey and MadeleineMyers stole much of the attention. Myers established anew high school record in the 2,000m steeplechase whileBailey claimed titles in both the 200m and 400m.

USATF National Junior Olympic ChampionshipsWichita, Kan. (July 26–31)Marcus Krah’s performance at Wichita earned him USATrack & Field’s Athlete of the Week honors.

Krah won three gold medals and set a national youth record. He won the triple jump with a leap of13.54m/44-5.25 to beat Michael Martin’s 31-year-oldrecord and also picked up event titles in the long jumpand 100m hurdles.

A total of three records fell during the Junior Olympiccompetition. Along with Krah, Adam Coulon (pole vault)and Ashlie Blake (discus) also established national records.

USA Masters Outdoor ChampionshipsBerea, Ohio (July 28–31)World records and multiple gold medals were the storyat the 2011 U.S. Masters Outdoor Championships.

Khalid Mulazim (M45, 400m), Ralph Maxwell(M90+, pole vault) and Thaddeus Wilson (M60, 100m

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World record-setting W75 4x100m team of Christel Donley, Barbara Jordan, Flo Meiler and Irene Obera

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hurdles) all established world records and 97-year-oldLeland McPhie won an astonishing eight gold medalsthroughout the meet.

There were also multiple American records estab-lished which included Carol Young (W70, hammerthrow and weight throw); Robert Whilden (M75, 100m);Ruth Welding (W55, weight throw); Jennifer Stephens(W35, weight throw); Mark Green (M55, race walk);Chris Schmid (M60, race walk); and Johnnye Valien(W85, high jump).

USA Junior Outdoor ChampionshipsEugene, Ore. (June 23–26)In the middle of Track Town USA and senior athletes hop-ing to punch their tickets to the World Championships, theUSA Junior Championships did not disappoint.

Among the highlights, Central Florida University’sAurieyall Scott completed a sprint double by claimingthe 100m and 200m, Shelby Ashe won her second con-secutive U.S. Junior hammer throw title and AvionneAllgood established a new national high school record in the javelin. Although he competed in the “open”

competition, Trevor Barron established four Americanjunior records in the 20km race walk in Eugene, includ-ing his 20km time of 1:23:25.10.

USA Outdoor ChampionshipsEugene, Ore. (June 23–26)Spots were on the line for the World Outdoor Champi-onships in Daegu, South Korea, when the 2011 USAOutdoor Track & Field Championships converged onHayward Field.

Walter Dix claimed national championships in both the 100m and 200m while Allyson Felix became the firstsprinter to win national championships in the 100m,200m and 400m in a career with her win in the 400m inEugene. Ashton Eaton established a new world-leadingmark and led a stellar American class into Daegu in thedecathlon.

World Masters Athletics ChampionshipsSacramento, Calif. (July 6–17)In the midst of multiple world record setting perform-ances, Johnnye Valien stole many of the headlines.

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Valien won an impressive five gold medals during com-petition while setting world records in both the W85long jump and high jump.

Other standout performances from the meet includedRalph Maxwell setting a world record in the M90 de-cathlon, Team USA winning a total of 13 gold medals inthe 100m alone, Gary Stenlund bettering his own worldmark in the M70 javelin, Patricia Peterson’s new worldrecord in the W85 400m and John Altendorf ’s newworld record in the M65 pole vault.

Pan Am Junior ChampionshipsMiramar, Fla. (July 22–24)Over the three days of competition in Miramar, Fla.,Team USA dominated the medal count. The 59 totalmedals Team USA captured were eight more than all the other countries combined.

When competition had concluded, Team USA’s medalcount included 26 gold, 21 silver and 12 bronze. Thattotal was significantly ahead of second-place Canada,which finished with 14 total medals. For Team USA itwas the second-highest number of gold medals and thesecond-highest number of total medals ever won.

USATF Club T&F ChampionshipsIcahn Stadium in New York City (July 8–9)The Norfolk Real Deal captured the women’s team titlewhile Shore Athletic Club and the Central Park TrackClub tied for men’s supremacy at the 2011 USATF National Club Track & Field Championships. CentralPark Track Club captured the men’s and women’s com-bined team title.

Aubrey Baxter of the Team Nebraska Brooks was theMost Valuable Female Athlete by placing first in the

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The author Charles Dickens opens A Tale of Two Cities likethis: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”That line could have described the challenges Mother Naturethrew at the 23,543 finishers of the Honda LA Marathon, pre-sented by K-SWISS. While the race started under threateningclouds, those clouds did open, but the nearly 25,000 startersbraved, at times, torrential rains, tough winds and a chal-lenging course throughout the city of Los Angeles, for the du-ration of the race. Yet, with all of those challenges, nearly97% of the starters finished the 2011 Honda LA Marathon.

Rod Dixon, 1983 winner of the NYC Marathon, four-time Olympian and Olympic medalist, is director of coaching& training for the Honda LA Marathon. Dixon noted, “What aday, what a weekend. Certainly one for the record books!”

Rod was rightly proud of the high finishing rate of histraining club, the LA Road Runners (sponsored by the race’sofficial footwear and apparel sponsor, K-SWISS). The LA RoadRunners were a microcosm of what happened in the 2011Honda LA Marathon. There were many, many success sto-ries. Rod noted, for his club, “We had eight runners under 3hours. Fourteen runners qualified for Boston (the previousbest was two), and it looks like 96–98% finished and 58%set personal bests!

Why did so many marathoners not only finish (97%),but 58% ran personal bests? Part of the story is the successof training groups, and the fact that the more one preparesfor a situation, the better one’s chance of success.

Many of the marathoners were running for causes. Formany marathoners, this makes the actual running of the racean even bigger thing, as they are running for someone orsomething else.

Rod Dixon says it best: “The LA Roadrunners trainedand prepared for the LA Marathon, with a great team of paceleader-coaches. For whatever race day presented, we pre-pared the best that we could. Based on that confidence, theRoadrunners accepted the weather and adjusted their goalsand tackled the adverse conditions like true champions.”

23,543 stories at the 2011 Honda LA Marathon, wherethe weather, the course and the runners’ focus and trainingall overcame their personal challenges. Markus Geneti, anelite Ethiopian runner known for his racing over 1500 metersand 3000 meters, debuted at LA. Geneti took charge before10 miles, and just did not stop, running a 4:26 mile en routeto his 2:06:35 marathon finish. Geneti faced the rain, includ-

ing a flooded street in Brentwood, like the other 23,542 fin-ishers. He just ran away from everyone, including defendingchampion Wesley Korir, who finished 3rd.

Just how amazing was Markus Geneti? He went by theelite women, around 1 hour, 34 minutes into the race, evenwith the elite women’s 17 minute, 3 second lead. This is partof the $100k LA Marathon race challenge, which is given tothe male or female elite runner who actually crosses the fin-ish line first. Each year, the handicap for the elite women isa bit different. Just before 20 miles, Genuti flew by thewomen. His countrywoman, Buzunesh Deba, charged pastAmy Hastings into the lead. Hasting followed her, andcharged back into the lead, just as she had for the previous20 miles.

Deba, Mara Dibaba and Hastings did battle over 26.2miles. Hastings, training with Terrance Mahon and the Mam-moth TC, hit the halfway point in 1:14 and duked it out withDeba, who, in her ninth marathon, ran her personal best of2:26:34. Deba finally broke away from Hastings just before23 miles. Hastings did not give up. She held on to run 2:27:03and become a real possible challenger for the U.S. OlympicTrials in 11 months.

Marathons are about preparation. Marathons are aboutfocus. The Honda LA Marathon, as presented by K-SWISS,has elevated the game: a more runner-friendly course andamazing digital communication with the runners as they pre-pared. Constant positive affirmation, like a digital coach, wasgiven to the marathoners as they prepared for the race.

Even with all that Mother Nature could throw at it, thefield persevered, because, as all 23,543 finishers understood,the pursuit of the marathon, the goal of finishing the2011 Honda LA marathon is bigger than any oneof the individual runners. When all those fieryspirits come together, there is strength andpower in numbers!

See you at the 2012 Honda LA Marathon, presented by K-SWISS!

—By Larry Eder

2011 Honda LA Marathon Race Report:

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Alvina Begay and Nike N7BY J A R ED S L I N D E

A True Fit


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Without rehearsal, Alvina Begay and SamMcCracken answer the same questionsnearly identically. And without coinci-dence, their backgrounds are just assimilar.

So it only seemed logical that McCracken, who hasdedicated more than a decade of his life to promotinggood health through sports to his fellow Native Ameri-cans, and Begay, a U.S. distance runner, registereddietician and also a Native American, would cross paths.

McCracken is the General Manager and founder ofthe Nike N7 program, which is an organization commit-ted to “bringing sport and all of its benefits to NativeAmerican and Aboriginal communities in the USA andCanada.”

It was an idea that grew when McCracken watched hisbrother suffer and die from type 2 diabetes in 2001. Atthat point McCracken wished to make a difference andbegan building a relationship with Nike. It was that rela-tionship that eventually led him to work with Begay.

Begay struggled to summarize just how importantprograms such as Nike N7 have been in helping her get towhere she is today. Programs such as Nike N7 and Wingsof America, a similar organization Begay remains in-volved with, have been with her every step of the way.

“Wings of America helped me see my dream and NikeN7 made my dreams a reality,” Begay said. “It gives methe opportunity to give back to the Native Americancommunity. Through sport and through running, I pro-mote all Native American people to be active to promotegood health and fitness.”

“Alvina exemplifies everything we do,” McCrackensaid. “When you think about her background and whereshe came from; we really complement each other.”

Where she came from is the Navajo Reservation inGanado, Ariz. It is a place which will always be close toBegay and a place she hopes to return to in the future. Itwas there she began her interest in running.

Now 31 years old, Begay was a standout high schoolathlete and competed collegiately at Adams State Collegeand Arizona State University, where she is eighth all-timein the 10,000 meters for the Sun Devils. But her accom-plishments didn’t stop there as she continued competingafter college. Among other accomplishments, this yearshe qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trialsto be held January 14 in Houston, Tex., running 2:37:14at the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon.

There is also her career-driven focus of promoting

a healthy lifestyle as Begay is a registered dietician and attains a master’s degree in Health Administration.

It all adds up to Begay being a walking billboard forthe goals and missions of the Nike N7 program.

“Alvina has found a home here,” McCracken said. “Shesaw the reality in this company and was excited to be-come a part. She asked me how can she help and I askedher how can I help you.”

Essentially Nike N7 allows Begay the chance to con-tinue to compete in the sport she loves and the continuedopportunity to provide assistant in promoting what hasbecome such a vital part of her journey.

“Being able to give back and to promote my message,”she said is the most rewarding part for her. “Being a dieti-cian and being a professional runner, I can now promotethe sport even more. Nike N7 helps me to do that.”

And Nike N7 extends much further than the track oron the roads. Among other impressive figures, a quicksearch through other current ambassadors reveals thenames of Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury andSt. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. Both standoutNative American athletes just like Begay, each has a storyof giving back through Nike N7.

It is these examples of athletes coming together for alldifferent sports and backgrounds to make the personalcommitment to promote the N7 cause that McCrackencalls humbling.

Begay isn’t quite sure how much longer she will con-tinue to compete in running, but has no plans to give upthe sport anytime soon. At some point she would like toreturn to the Navajo Reservation and continue to pro-mote her mission and her chosen career path.

It’s a path that started long ago running the trails inher hometown of Ganado and brought her to places suchas the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.

“I started running when I was in the sixth grade,”Begay reminisced. “Right now my focus is on theOlympic Trials in January. And I definitely have the de-sire to keep competing.”

Whenever the time comes that Begay takes a stepbackward from the world of competitive running, her ca-reer goals are just as driven as they have always been.

“Eventually I would like to move back to the NavajoReservation,” she said. “I want to work with Native Amer-icans like myself working as a dietician or as a coach.And just keep advocating good health.”

And chances are good Nike N7 will be right there be-side her each step of the way. H

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FAN FEATURE

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This summer I ran on top of anoverturned military tank in aninternational art exhibit.

Sound strange? It did to me andto everyone I spoke with when theyasked about my summer plans. Iwas a running performance artist in the installation called “Track andField,” within the United States’ ex-hibit, for the 2011 Venice Biennale.The Biennale has been referred to as“The Olympics of the Art World.”Countries choose one exhibit torepresent them in this awe-inspiringcollection of art to be seen by art en-thusiasts and collectors from aroundthe globe. The U.S. exhibit, “Gloria,”was created by Jennifer Allora andGuillermo Calzadilla.

When I saw the notice from USATrack & Field requesting runners totake part in the art installation, I sawthe words “perform,” “art exhibit”and “Italy.” “Wow!” I thought to my-self. So, I e-mailed, I called, I prayedand I posted the ad on the fridge.And I was accepted. I started train-ing for good form, for grace on atank, for not being afraid of heights,for people watching or in any otherway that I thought would help for arunning event I never imagined. Ididn’t realize that the running wouldbe second to all else I learned. I be-came part of a family of people thatincluded runners from all over theUnited States, and artists, perform-ers, and visitors from all over the

world. In the process, I also gainednew definitions of beauty, strength,voice, and vision.

I was in awe of the beauty of all of the people that became partof the experience. The runnerswere Olympians, world rankedmarathoners, ironman triathletes,sprinters, coaches, filmmakers,artists, educators, and more. DaveDurante, our Athletic Recruiter,gave us encouragement, informa-tion and instructions about our timein Venice. I was also grateful forother people who were part of theexperience, The Rose City Runners(my home team), my family in theUnited States and Italy, the otherperformers, the visitors, and the

Beauty, Strength, Voice, and VisionWhat I Learned from a Centurian MK3 Military Tank

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Kimberly Ann Borin runs atop a tank as part of the“Track and Field” installationat the 2011 Venice Biennale.

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artists. Alessandro and Matthew, in-terns at the Guggenheim, became my“coaches” as they watched and gave meclues about how much time was left inmy 15-minute performance.

I was in awe of the strength re-quired to perform as a runner or as agymnast. While in Venice, I lived withother runners and the gymnasts whoperformed on the other installations at the Biennale. Their concentration,flexibility, and strength were amazing!When I started performing, I realizedthere were elements of strength Ineeded that I had never encounteredbefore. The treadmill went at a slowspeed so I had to run on my toes, withhigh knees. The 10-foot drop to theleft of the treadmill required me to getover my fear of heights in a hurry. Thetreadmill shook with the vibrations ofthe tank from side to side. There wasalso the sound of the treads, a loudmetal-on-metal grinding, an unbeliev-able though sometimes comfortingsound. When we turned the tank oneach morning, people came fromeverywhere to find the source of thenoise and then watched while coveringtheir ears.

Another factor that made it chal-lenging were people taking picturesand videos around the tank and underneath the treadmill too. The performance required concentration

to be safe, to be graceful, to performwell, to smile to children who waved, tobe one with the sound of the tank andto be aware of the 10-foot drop. Whileconcentrating, I was also thinkingabout how I loved that tank, how grate-ful I was for the experience and how Isometimes felt like giggling out loud.

I was in awe as I was reminded ofthe power of our voice. After each session, visitors would clap, give highfives, give a thumbs-up and justwanted to chat. People from all overthe world wanted to talk about thetank, the message, the runner, andworld peace too. The runners wereanonymous but people were curious toknow what we did outside of runningon a piece of art. I enjoyed hearingpeople’s questions and interpretationsof the art and we laughed together aswe shared insights about life, too. Theirstories energized me and reminded meof the power of our voice. We neverknow how our voice, our art, our story,our laughter, or our words can bring apositive message around the world.

I am in awe of the power of oppor-tunity, imagination, and a vision forwhat is possible. The whole experi-ence stretched what I understandabout running, performing, and ourpart in the international community,art and gratitude. I am grateful for

SUBMITTE

D PHOTO

O F F I C I A L U S AT FS P O N S O R S

O F F I C I A L U S AT FS U P P L I E R S

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30


OLYMPIC TRIALS

One for All — Olympic MarathonTrials to unite men, women

BY K AT I E L ANDRY

VICTA

H SAILER/PHOTO

RUN

KIRBY LEE/IM

AGE OF SPORT

2008 Olympic Trialschampion Ryan Hall“Winning the Olympic Trials was one of thehighlights of my life. It was the fulfillment of a vision I had when I was14 years old and had just finished my first run around the lake.What was so specialabout it for me is that I had so many hardtimes throughout my running career that itmade it that much more sweet to hit a greatday on the right day.”

2004 Olympic silver medalist Deena Kastor“It is great that the men’sand women’s trials arebeing hosted together.There is going to be afantastic energy inHouston this Januarythat no running fan willwant to miss.”

EXCERPTS FROM ATHLETE Q&As HOUSTON2012.COM

For the first time ever, hundreds of men and womenwill line-up on the same day, in the same city, for theU.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon. Hundreds ofathletes have qualified, but only three men and threewomen will represent the United States in themarathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

USATF and the Houston Marathon Committeehave launched www.Houston2012.com to serve as thecomplete guide to the trials. Schedules, weather infor-mation and spectator details are all available. Q&Aswith well known favorites and up-and-comingmarathoners are regularly featured on the site as well.

Spectators will be treated to double the action asboth the men and women compete on the same cri-terium style course made up of three large loops.

WHEN: January 14, 2011

WHERE: Houston, Texas

LEARN MORE: www.Houston2012.com

29


shot put, second in the hammer,third in the discus and fourth in thejavelin. Kevin Thompson of ShoreAC was Most Valuable Male Athlete,placing first in the 200m, fourth inthe 100m and running on the 2ndplace 4x100m relay team. A total often meet records were set. H

For complete stories, results andanalysis of these and other summercompetitions, visit the Events sectionof www.usatf.org.

USATF EVENTS CALENDAR

OCTOBER 22USA Masters 5 km Cross Country Championships

Fairport, N.Y.

OCTOBER 23USA 50 Mile Championships

Boalsburg, PA

OCTOBER 30USATF 30 km Race Walk

ChampionshipsCongers, N.Y.

NOVEMBER 5USA Marathon Trail Championships

Bend, Ore.

DECEMBER 10USATF National Club CrossCountry Championships

Seattle, Wash.

USATF National Junior OlympicCross Country Championships

Myrtle Beach. S.C.

NOTE: Schedule is subject to change

Track and Field Througha Camera LensContinued from page 12

©2011 New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.

Introducing the New Balance 890 with REVLITE. It weighs practically nothing. It’s about to change everything.

com/890

the beauty of all the people I met andworked with and the artists JenniferAllora and Guillermo Calzadilla. I amgrateful for the strength of the per-formers and the ability to perform onthe tank. The experience affirmed thepower voice, and how our conversa-tions with others can bring greatercompassion and community with theworld. Lastly, I am grateful for the op-portunity offered by the USATF thathelped me to expand my vision of allthat is possible. H

For More Information:http://www.imamuseum.org/venice

Beauty, Strength, Voice,and VisionContinued from page 28

Olympic Games and world champi-onships since 1984, will not forget theangle he had that August day in 1992.And thanks to timeless photos fromthat day, neither will anyone else. H

A Championship Season Continued from page 22


Introducing the New Balance 890 with REVlite.

The neutral-cushioning bar is hereby raised.Built with REVlite — the lightest midsole foam we’ve ever created — the 890 weighs practically nothing, and it’s about to change everything.

©2011 New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.com/890


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