Another world record set, this one is mine…..Two nights consecutive, of actual, you know…SLEEP.
Only complaint so far: the coffee cups in Carson Hall’s dining room are WAY too small.
At breakfast, I sit next to fellow umpire Dan, a Washington State grad from back in the day. He recalls doing a marathon as a race walker and blowing past 4x World Record holder Henry Rono, who had since put on a hundred extra pounds.
This morning, a casual 5k fun run. My man Ron is the honorary starter, and many of the attendees are old friends of Joan as well.
Ron’s former Reebok agent, Mike
As the field is lined up, a couple of hobby joggers go by, except that their hobby pace is a bit faster; Woody and Grant, 1-2 in the men’s 10,000m last night, and first time Olympians. Everyone goes nuts!
I love track!
My man Duncan took a great shot of me looking suspicious…
I mention my man Grant Fisher, he of the fast wheels and an Olympic berth in the 10,000m last night, not to mention a sighting at the fun run this morning. Who do i run into at daily COVID testing but Mr Grant Fisher?
I know, he looks like he’s 12. He runs like a man possessed.
The dining hall is taking no prisoners: that’s a steak pizza with peppers and onions, and a side of some excellent chicken and tempeh with noodles.
There’s a Eugene company that makes mini vehicles, street legal. This would be a cool toy to use for around town! Think Peter Gregory in the show ‘Silicon Valley.’
While out during the afternoon break, I remember that two of our starters like their beer. And an umpire looked at my Deschutes Brewery neck gaiter and commented that she loves a good IPA. So I successfully seek out these….
We bang on the (closed) dining hall doors and get three plastic bags full of ice. Score!!!! Note: I don’t drink beer, but it’s nice to make other people happy when they don’t expect it. So right now, there is beer in my sink staying cold for them.
But alas, I must return to the reason I’m here….
During the briefing before the event begins, I make reference to Birmingham, England. The chief umpire, a Brit, glares at me and says, ‘WHAT did you say?’
Oh, sorry: Birming-um. Clearly I’ve lost the right to sample some Shepard’s Pie.
In the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals, Taliyah Brooks stands out. Not necessarily for her running prowess, but for her amazing, sea anenome-like head of hair.
One of the starters just shakes her head and says, “I love track!” Since that’s my tagline, I’m thinking of suing her for royalties.
Ugh. Women’s 100m semi…Aleia Hobbs blatantly false starts in front of me and is disqualified. She moves to a corner of the track and sobs.
I hate, Hate, HATE the false start rule. One twitch and you’re gone. I asked a highly ranked track administrator to name another sport that has a similarly draconian process. He said, “drag racing.”
I nearly screamed. Drag racing is a third or fourth tier sport!!!! THAT’S what we’re comparing ourselves to? Years back, Usain Bolt was DQ’d from the World Championships, and the fans went home disappointed that they couldn’t see him run.
My proposal…a false start in the 100m earns you a 0.10 second penalty, or 0.20 in the 200m. You can still run, but you have to work even harder. Modern timing systems could make the adjustment without delay….I can’t get any traction on this idea….does anyone have Phil Knight’s cell phone number?
OMG OMG OMG….women’s 1500m semi finals. My man Chuck’s daughter runs like a stud and gets a big Q….when she crosses the line, Chuck (sitting behind me) yells “BOOM!” and pumps his fist like a 14 year old little league player who just hit his first homer. Chuck knows of what he speaks: he was 4th in the Olympic Trials in 1984.
Translation: the top 5 finishers in each semi automatically advance to the final (big Q) along with the next 2 fastest runners (little q). Chuck’s daughter is looking SOLID; if she qualifies on Monday, I’m going to break umpire protocol and get a picture of him bawling his eyes out.
Between events, Finish Line Head Official Lloyd hands me this…
It’s maybe the only souvenir i have that says 2021….everything else is branded 2020 before the rescheduling, and I guess it was too expensive to reprint things.
Fun day. The weather starts heating up, and so does the competition.
I love track!
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