State record, maybe national record?

At yesterday's Eastwood Relays in rural Pemberville OH, a new state record was set. It might be a national record, but I don't know if anyone keeps track of these things. I'm having login problems at the T&FN message boards, so I'm having a hard time asking for help.

Around here it's fairly common to do two- or three-athlete team totals in field event competition. Tiny Woodmore High School (enrollment approx. 390) set a new state record in the three-girl discus throw "relay": 408 feet, 8 inches. This is a huge improvement and significant on a national level.

How did this tiny school do it? Well, their best thrower is Emily Pendleton. As a 17-year-old, she was last year's USA Junior champion and beat a significant number of college freshmen to do it. She even has a profile at the IAAF website. Her sister Erin was fourth at the Ohio Division III championships last year. Their father coaches the throwers at Woodmore, and even poured his own concrete circle in their backyard.

If anyone can confirm or deny the existence of national records in team field even competition, please let us know.

Boston / London Marathons

WCSN had live coverage of the London Marathon this morning. It would have required getting up around 3 a.m. to see it--which I have done to see live Olympic coverage, but a single marathon doesn't quite rise to that level. Besides, I was tired from last night's Village People concert. You gotta have priorities!

For London info, Let's Run had a live blow-by-blow thread, and Athletics Weekly has a nice write-up. The main buzz is that Geb droped out and Ryan Hall more or less lived up to billing (seventh, sandwiched between WR holder Paul Tergat and NYC champ Marilson Gomes dos Santos, less than a minute behind the winner).

By now you surely know what happened in Boston. Cold, rain, headwind. Runners in packs until late in the race. Cheruyiot wins again, Prokopcuka second again, both took large leads in the World Marathon Majors standings which they are likely to keep.

My thoughts on the Versus coverage? Well, a marathon broadcast is one giant waiting game, and so there has to be either a lot of filler or relatively brainless chatter or both. I still believe Carol Lewis should be given a restraining order keeping her at least 100 feet from a microphone, and Larry Rawson has to drop the wierd comparisons like a shoe that weighs the same as three slices of bread. On the other hand, they had a really good race to work with and managed to transmit the excitement.

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

In case you're unaware, Monday's forecast for the Boston Marathon is atrocious. Temperatures are predicted to be in the 30s, with very heavy rain and a 30 mph headwind. (Note that this forecast is actually an improvement from earlier in the week!)

So the BAA sent out an e-mail advising entrants about this weather and the possible hazards of hypothermia associated with it. One punter over at Let's Run posted the following observation:

"[the e-mail warns that hypthermia] will result in muscular fatigue, poor coordination, numbness and disorientation"

Isn't that just about what every marathoner experiences after 20 miles?

College Track Playoffs?

I've got a modest proposal for one over at my Trackshark blog. Read up!

Anti-Doping News

Trevor Graham's perjury trial is set for September 24. Things could get very interesting, as there are two distinctly different but equally tantalizing possibilities.

1) If it goes to trial, many of Graham's former athletes would have to admit PED use in open court in order to show he lied about never providing them with said drugs, or

2) If he pleads guilty, he'll more than likely be used to prove Marion Jones perjured herself when she said she never used PEDs.

Either could be big. I've said it before, I'll say it again: law enforcement is now the most useful tool in anti-doping efforts.

Homemade Commercials

When meet management can't (or won't) do it, you've got to take things into your own hands. Somebody put together a couple of videos to pimp the Mt. SAC Relays. Take a look.Fun. I mean, the production levels are a bit lower than the Vote Smart video, but they really catch the flavor of "non-revenue" collegiate sports.

TV Listings

A quick update. If I'm missing something, post it.

Monday, April 16
9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Versus
Boston Marathon

Saturday, April 28
1:00 - 3:00 p.m., ESPN2
Penn Relays

7:00-10:00 p.m., Fox College Sports Central
USC vs UCLA

Sunday, April 29
6:00 - 9:00 a.m., Fox College Sports Pacific
USC vs UCLA
(repeats at 7 p.m.)

Saturday, May 19
5:00 - 7:00 p.m., ESPN
adidas Track Classic

Saturday, June 2
11 p.m. - 12:30 a.m., ESPN2
Reebok Grand Prix

Sunday, June 3
1:00 - 2:00 p.m., CBS
Reebok Grand Prix

Sunday, June 10
4:00 - 6:00 p.m., NBC
Prefontaine Classic

Friday, June 22
8:00 - 9:00 p.m., ESPN2
AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Saturday, June 23
2:00 - 3:00 p.m., NBC
7:00 - 8:00 p.m., ESPN2
AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Sunday, June 24
1:00 - 3:00 p.m., NBC
AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Wednesday, July 4
7:00 a.m., Fox
Peachtree Road Race

Texas Relays Blog

Track & Field News is hosting a live blog from the Texas Relays. Check it out.

It Worked

When the weather begins to warm, I get a rather common occurrence that annoys the shit out of me. Young punks will drive by as I run and yell things at me. As a high school teacher, I'm used to busting teenagers' chops pretty hard when they mouth off, so maybe this bothers me more than most people. But I doubt it.

It's recently been a topic of discussion at Let's Run, as we wondered what was the best response. My two cents on the topic:

I only get this crap from males in a moving car, and never anywhere near a stop sign or traffic light. I've come to the conclusion that the only useful reply is a rock through the windshield.

So this evening a car full of twerps did this right at the beginning of my run, and I got so pissed I actually did pick up a sizable rock and carried it for a mile waiting for the next idiots who want to start something.

Well, another vehicle containing four white-trash type teenage boys did slow down and actually stop in the road as I was coming the other way. It certainly appeared that they wanted to do something, but continued on their way once they saw the rock. I dropped it right after that--I finally had my lone victory.

Here You Go

In this month's Track & Field News, the "Scoop Malinowski Biofile" on Aussie pole vaulter Steve Hooker mentions a rather painful moment available on YouTube. Here it is.

Title IX Smokescreen Still Working

Over at the "Bringing Back Ohio Track" blog, an article from the school paper about the "evils" of Title IX was posted. Read my comment about how the smokescreen still works. But's that what you might expect from a writer who uses the Eagle Forum as a source of unbiased information.

As for "feminist busybodies", they must not have any pull in this town. A local woman was beat nearly to unconsciousness by her ex-boyfriend, and later tied her up and held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. Our local judge, in his infinite wisdom, refused a restraining order on the ex-boyfriend and released him on his own recognizance (the judge thought his violence was somehow her fault). So three days ago he shot her and her new boyfriend to death; the bodies were discovered by the woman's ten-year-old daughter. Nice. And people say feminists have too much power?