The Toni & Matt Show #12 [85:32m]:
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Today, we look back at last weekend’s Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. Great track meet. Terrible theater. We’ll re-visit the Healthy Kidney 10K in NYC’s Central Park. Great Run. Little competition. We welcome as our guest the woman who created the largest grassroots running series in American history. And the segment you don’t want to miss - Runner’s Digest Flashback with Bob Bright. Now that’s some serious trash talk. That and more on the 12th edition of the Toni & Matt Show.
The Big Story - What happened at last Sunday’s Adidas Track Classic? Though Jenn Stuczynski set an American record in the pole vault, Tyson Gay doubled in the 100m and 200m, and new middle distance sensation Shannon Rowbury ran the fastest women’s 1500m by an American in six years, only 3500 people were on hand to witness one of the top track meets in the world this season. Why can’t track succeed in drawing a crowd? Toni & Matt analyze the impediments to track viability in a new era of sport promotion.
Quick News
1. Matt’s hometown of Pittsburgh to resurrect its marathon after an absence of five years. Matt begins training regimen.
2. Chicago Marathon signs NBC5 to a three-year contract as exclusive broadcast partner for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
3. Nike takes on Foot Locker for high school cross country supremacy.
4. The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, set for Sunday, October 5, announces it has reached its entry limit of 11,000 runners. The race reached its limit in just one month’s time, even though the entry cap being raised by 500 runners to help meet high demand.
Cathy Griffin joins us in the “studio” from an undisclosed Apple Store. Cathy created the largest grass-roots running series in the nation, the Diet Pepsi series. Beginning with just 26 events, she grew the Diet Pepsi series to 265 events across the country, including the national championship race held both in New York City and at Pepsi headquarters in Purchase, New York. Following her work with Pepsi, she worked for Sports Illustrated, working with ad clients to maximize their association with the magazine. Then in the early 1990s she began working for World Cup Soccer, helping bring the World Cup to the United States, which, FIFA, the international governing body of the sport, hoped would kick-start a greater interest in the game in the U.S. historically a minor player in world soccer. Currently, Cathy is an executive recruiter and career coach. We break down the sport with one of the more knowledgeable minds.
USATF CEO Search Fact Sheet - With Craig Masback’s retirment from USATF, the governing body of track and field and road running is without a CEO. Though she was unable to talk about it because she has been hired by USATF to conduct the search for Masback’s replacement, Cathy Griffin did distribute a CEO search fact sheet. What qualities, skills, and attributes are being sought to fill one of the most important jobs in running? Toni & Matt discuss the issue, led by the CEO Search Fact Sheet, a primer on the job which USATF hopes to fill by the end of June.
From the Comment Line - Joe and Seamus weigh in on the conversation. Last episode Matt Tegenkamp discussed the need for athletes to be more organized and off-handedly mentioned 2010 as a year to do it. But Joe says the time is now. What better leverage than the Olympics Games. And Seamus loves Toni’s Hot House idea from Episode #10 to start a half marathon series within the Rock ‘n’ Roll fall races, and expands it by suggesting a performance cap. What do you think? Call us at 206-888-0346.
Runner’s Digest Flashback - We close today’s Toni & Matt Show with our Runner’s Digest Flashback segment. From the archives of Toni’s 1979-1988 Boston-based radio show, Runner’s Digest, we go on the run with former Chicago Marathon race director, Bob Bright, perhaps the most flamboyant race director the sport has ever known. In the Star Wars Years of the mid-1980s when the Chicago and New York City Marathons were heated rivals, Beatrice Foods poured millions into America’s Marathon/Chicago, and gave Bright the key to the bank. A former Marine captain and Viet Nam vet, Bright recruited the likes of Steve Jones, Rob de Castella, Carlos Lopes, Joan Samuelson, Ingrid Kristiansen, and Rosa Mota. In those years Chicago and New York were run one week apart, and the rivalry between Bob Bright in Chicago and Fred Lebow in NYC was every bit as much fun as the competitions they staged on the streets of their two respective cities. In this Runner’s Digest flashback we are on the run with Bob Bright the day after Steve Jones set the world record in Chicago with his 2:08:05, taking down Alberto Salazar’s 2:08:13 mark from New York 1981 (then still considered the world record). Now these are the rivalries this sport is missing. Mary, Carey - Let’s get it on!
Join the discussion. Call our comment line at 206-888-0346.
[Music is “Summertime” by Brother Love.]
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A full debrief of the Olympic Trials with special guest Coach Vin Lananna (co-chair of the Eugene ‘08 organizing committee and director of track & field at the University of Oregon). Toni and Matt kick off the show with their assessment of the Trials - the highs and lows, surprises and disappointments - before bringing on Coach Lananna, who gives a candid recap of the show.What lived up to his expectations? What can be improved for 2012? How do we make the sport more professional? Can USATF succeed in Indianapolis? This and more on the Toni & Matt Show.