Runnerville

Welcome to our 10th episode, a small milestone and definite turning point for the show. We’d like to count the first 9 episodes as practice - our time to learn the medium and find our voice. We’ve received great feedback from you; please keep it coming by emailing us at comments (at) runnerville (dot) com. But don’t just email us - join the community, join the discussion. Send us your audio comments by calling 206-888-0346. That’s the only way we’ll make the influencers and decision makers of the sport take notice - with many voices.

Okay, on to today’s show:

[3:55 - 21:15] The Big Story - The Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University.
Shalane Flanagan and Kim Smith save the night with their epic duel over 10,000 meters, both setting national records in the process (30:34.49 for Flanagan to 30:35.54 for Smith). Without that race the meet would have been a let-down. Expectations were so high going into the weekend, but fast times did not materialize, especially at 800m and 1500m. Of course there were some impressive results, but the winning times were not as anticipated. Other stories included: Brent Vaughn, Scotty Bauhs, Shannon Rowbury impress, Fasil Bizuneh just misses the A standard, no Rupp or Gouchers, and why in the world would they split the 1500m into two “equal” heats? Not what the fans want . . .

[21:15 - 1:05:45] Nate Jenkins joins us in the “studio” from Lowell, Massachusetts, home to Toni’s first radio gig. Nate finished 7th at last year’s US Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC, setting his PR of 2:14:56. We asked Nate to be on the show after receiving a great, if not long, audio comment. His comment had some constructive criticism for the show, some positive feedback, and some great ideas to improve the sport. Instead of playing his comment on the show, we thought it would be better to open up the conversation and invite him on the show. What a guest! We discuss the complexity of our sport, the sad state of television coverage, USATF’s lack of financial support, and uniform rules. We ask Nate if the athletes should unionize. And Toni unveils our newest segment - The Hot House - to incubate ideas for the sport. He presents his first Hot House idea to Nate - making a half-marathon series with teams - who’s a big fan.

[1:07:22 - 1:18:00] Listener comment from Kevin referencing an Tim Layden article in the May 5 edition of sports illustrated titled: Once They Were Giants - After years of drug scandals, track faces its future as a minor Olympic sport. A sad look at the decline of track’s position on the Olympic stage. This year swimming and gymnastics will take center stage. A real eye-opener for the powers that be. Layden’s best point: the danger for our sport is not outrage, it’s apathy. Amen!

Listen in next week for Episode #11. We’ll be joined by Matt Tegenkamp and we have audio call ins from Dan Lilot and funny-man Jeremy Mosher. You can add your voice to the conversation by calling us at 206-888-0346 - just leave your comment after the beep.

[Music is “Same Old Drag” by Apples in Stereo.]