Athletes Only

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Volume 18, Number 3, Winter 2013–14

Mary Cain

TURNS PRO FALL SHOE REVIEW TESSA BARRETT, GRANT FISHER and MARY CAIN

PhotoRun.net

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GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM Behind every great athlete is a dedicated coach helping them be the best they can be. Coaches play an instrumental role in the development and success of their players, both on and off the field of play. Since 1985 The Gatorade Company has joined coaches to celebrate the success of these athletes through the Gatorade Player of the Year program.

Now in its 29th year, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has honored America’s elite high school athletes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including many of today’s top professional athletes, such as Peyton Manning, Lisa Leslie, Kevin Love, Maya Moore, Kerri Walsh, Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer. The Gatorade Player of the Year program has since become one of the most prestigious high school athletic awards in the nation.

SELECTION PROCESS The Gatorade Player of the Year award is presented to high school student-athletes who have achieved athletic excellence in conjunction with high standards of academic achievement and exlemplary character. USA TODAY High School Sports, in partnership with The Gatorade Company, administers the selection process for Gatorade State and National Player of the Year awards. All final selection decisions are the result of a collaborative effort between USA TODAY High School Sports and The Gatorade Company.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program honors high school athletes in the following sports: Boys Football Boys Cross Country Boys Soccer

Boys Basketball Boys Baseball Boys Track & Field

Girls Volleyball Girls Cross Country Girls Soccer

Girls Basketball Girls Softball Girls Track & Field

Visit gatorade.com/poy to learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program and submit a nomination.

Note: nomination deadlines are on a rolling basis per sport.

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By Roy Stevenson

Sponsored by Skechers Performance Division skechersperformance.com • Facebook: @SkechersPerformance • Twitter: @skechersGO Instagram: @SkechersPerformance

Whenever the world’s elite marathoners toe the start line alongside popular U.S. runner Meb Keflezighi, they know they’re in for an honest race. In fact, the Skechers Performance sponsored Keflizighi brings new meaning to the word ‘consistent’, with a remarkably homogenous series of marathon times.

Consider Meb’s seasons best times since he took up the 26-miler in 2002: 2:12:35 (2002); 2:10:03 (2003); 2:09:53 (2004); 2:09:56 (2005); 2:09:56 (2006); 2:15:09 (2007); 2:09:29 (2009); 2:09:15 (2010); 2:09:13 (2011); 2:09:08 (2012). There are Kenyans who’d give up their racing flats for this staggering string of times!

Some distance runners are known for their fast times and their inability to win or place in the “big show”, but Meb proves you can do both and do them well. His performances—starting with Athens Olympic Silver and NYC runner-up in 2004—and followed by none-too-shabby 3rd (NYC, 2005); 3rd (Boston, 2006); 1st (NYC & US Champs, 2009); 5th (Boston, 2010) and 6th (NYC, 2010); 6th (NYC, (2011); 1st (Olympic Trials, 2012) and 4th (London Olympic Games, 2012) indicate that Meb is always a force to be reckoned with.

Not bad performances for one of a family of eleven children, who emigrated to the USA from Eritrea to escape war and pursue an education. Now living in San Diego, California, Meb has returned to his hometown but still plans on going back to Mammoth, California for altitude training. Meb continues to cruise through workouts that would cripple most young runners and looks to continue to "Run To Win" to his last race....whenever that may be.

Skechers Performance Division signed another endorsement contract in 2012 with Meb. Relatively new to the running shoe mar-

ket, Skechers Performance is primarily known for their innovative and unusual curved sole that encourages mid-foot strike, versus the standard heel strike.

Meb’s NYC victory in 2009 made him the first American to win in 27 years (he was sworn in as a US Citizen in 1998) and now that he has a taste for winning the NYC marathon, he’s eager to repeat his victory.

With 2012 Olympic Champion and 2013 World Champion, Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich, committed to running this year’s NYC Marathon, plus super-stars like Boston and NYC record holder Geoffrey Mutai, Chicago runner-up Wesley Korir, and American Ryan Hall, Meb’s going to have to work hard to outpace these guys.

One consistent rule about marathons is that anything can go wrong at any time, even to the favorites. This year, Meb, who had fallen very hard in early August training run, and missed five weeks of training, had a tough race.

“This year, the race was not about me, it was about the sport,” noted a tearful Meb Keflezighi just after his race on November 3, 2013. Meb has fallen very hard in early August, missing five weeks of training. Meb showed what he was made of this year, staying with the leaders through the halfway. “When they took off, I just could not keep up the pace, but I was not going to quit. I had to finish this year.”

And finish he did, in twenty-third position, after experiencing some of what most marathoners feel in marathons, both good and bad.

“I know that there is another personal best in my legs," Meb noted right after the race. Anyone who watches Meb, knows that he will line up once again, and run his best, in his SKECHERS GoRun 2s.

et run.n Photo

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Publisher’s Comments This is the last issue of Athletes Only for 2013 and first issue of 2014. Sound confusing?

Modern media is confusing. At a time when our numbers in print continue to grow, it parallels the growth in social media and the Internet for our websites and blog, runblogrun.com.

It seems that you, one of the 1.4 million high school athletes in cross country and track, want posters, stories on the sport, daily training information and chances to tell us what you think. So, we at RunBlogRun and Athletes Only are trying to do just that. We’ve added an intern to our staff and are looking for others, so send us your info at runblogrun@gmail.com.

What do you want in a magazine? Do you want your information in print, digital or both? How do you use social media? We need your input! Please tell us what you think. You can email me at runblogrun@gmail.com any time. Story ideas? We want those, too!

I was just in Edinburgh, Scotland, where four high school boys and three high school girls made the junior XC team for the BUPA Great XC match! Watch for our article about it on RunBlogRun. Happy New Year! See you on the track!

P.S. Enjoy the poster of Deena Kastor, Olympic bronze medalist, and Ryan Hall, fastest American male at the marathon, from our poster archives.

Larry Eder Publisher, Athletes Only

runblogrun@gmail.com n twitter: @runblogrun n www.atf.athlete.com n 608.239.3785

ON THE COVER: Mary Cain

CONTENTS • 2013 Fall Shoe Review • Tessa Barrett Wins Foot Locker XC Girls Champs • Grant Fisher Wins 2013 the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship National Finals • Mary Cain’s Professional Debut wwwPhotoRun.net

6

Athletes Only is produced, published, and owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc., P.O. Box 801, Fort Atkinson, WI 535380067; 920.563.5551 (ph); 920.563.7298 (fax). Publisher assumes no liability for matter printed. Publisher assumes no responsibility or liability for content of paid advertising and reserves the right to reject paid advertising. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher. Copyright ©2014 by Shooting Star Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Publisher. Athletes Only is not related to or endorsed by any other entity or corporation with a similar name and is solely owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc. Publisher recommends, as with all fitness and health issues, you consult with your physician before instituting any changes in your fitness program.

• Winter 2013–14 • atf-athlete.com

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t the recent Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, I came face to face with how much our world of running has changed. The show is a celebration of year-round outdoor activities, from adventure to trail, from camping to environmental concerns, to running. You’ll see investment bankers walking the show on the hunt for the next “cool” thing, and then there are the aging hippies who helm their own small running apparel brands.

Cregg Weinmann, your footwear guru, and I spent a day checking out footwear and apparel brands. We visited a Brooks launch party for the Transcend, a new concept shoe coming in Spring 2014, and an ASICS media event where I was reminded of the intense competition in running footwear.

Right behind the ASICS booth was the Saucony booth, where the Saucony lightweight running products continue to astound. In front of ASICS was the Brooks traveling trade show that takes a humorous look at advertising and communications and displays its fine performance running gear.

I also enjoyed spending time with Jim Van Dine, president of HOKA ONE ONE, a young shoe company gaining cache in the ultra running community and among age 40+ runners who find that these shoes are helping them return to running.

The Running Network team puts this review together twice a year to provide a synopsis of the best you’ll find on the retail shoe walls. Give it a read and then you’ll be ready to visit your favorite local running specialty store to select the running shoes that will serve you best.

Larry Eder President, Running Network LLC

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s you can imagine, I spend a lot of time around runners and attending running events.

Lots of people know about my work with the Running Network’s shoe reviews, so I frequently field questions about the state of the running shoe industry and trends in product development. Here, as a Q&A, are how those exchanges usually go.

Where is Minimalism going? In a nutshell, Minimal shoes help runners develop stronger feet. Minimalist shoes will continue to have a place in the market; Some estimates place it at about 5% of the overall running shoe market, which seems about right to me. The findings of researchers, developers, and runners working and running in this category—everything from shoe geometries to spare designs and lighter-weight materials—have penetrated the other categories.

Minimalism has reignited the quest for innovation in what had become a stagnant industry.

How has the Lightweight trend changed the running industry? Let’s face it: Light shoes are fun to run in. The technologies and engineered solutions we’ve surveyed over the last 20 years saw shoes that were heavy. We’re at a crossroads where new, lighter-weight materials and a paradigm shift in what runners need and want are making way for lighter shoes in all categories.

What’s happening with traditional running shoe categories? A funny thing happened in all this tumult: The industry achieved some equilibrium. Minimalism was everywhere and growing, but now Neutral and Stability (especially lightweight, stable shoes) have come back with a vengeance. Every shoe in this review has some motion-stabilizing features, and the shoes are more evenly distributed between categories than we’ve seen in the past 5 years or more.

Categories may blur some as full-contact bottoms and geometries (midsole shapes) that enhance the gait play a larger role in shoe design and as runners adapt to these simpler design solutions. There will be a little bit of the hydrid in most shoes (that blurring of the categories that I mentioned), so we’ll see more similarity among running shoes. The only real exception is the higher-end shoes where plushness reigns supreme: They are better cushioned and have a more luxurious feel.

This rebalancing and innovation reinforce what we in the Running Network have been saying in our reviews since 1998: Know your feet and what they need. Educate yourself about how shoe companies are addressing your needs. Then head to a running specialty store to get its assistance in selecting a quality running shoe.

—Cregg Weinmann, Running Network Footwear Reviewer

; American Track & Field www.american-trackandfield.com Athletes Only www.atf-athlete.com Athletics (Canada) www.athleticsontario.ca Austin Fit www.austinfitmagazine.com California Track & Running News www.caltrack.com Club Running www.rrca.org/publications/club-running Coaching Athletics Quarterly www.coachingathleticsq.com Colorado Runner www.coloradorunnermag.com Get Active! www.healthclubs.com Greater Long Island Running Club’s Footnotes www.glirc.org Latinos Corriendo www.latinoscorriendo.com MarathonGuide www.marathonguide.com Michigan Runner www.michiganrunner.net Missouri Runner & Triathlete www.morunandtri.com Running Journal & Racing South www.running.net RunMinnesota www.runmdra.org RUNOHIO www.runohio.com Track & Field News www.trackandfieldnews.com USATF’s Fast Forward www.usatf.org USATF–New England’s Exchange Zone www.usatfne.org The Winged Foot www.nyac.org The Winged M www.themac.com Youth Runner www.youthrunner.com '

BEST SHOE MOTION STABILIZING

BEST SHOE

BEST SHOE

FALL 2013

FALL 2013

PERFORMANCE

NEUTRAL

FALL 2013

Nike LunarGlide+ 5

Mizuno Wave Sayonara

ASICS Gel-Nimbus 15

BEST NEW SHOE

BEST RENOVATION

FALL 2013

FALL 2013

adidas adiStar Boost

Saucony Cortana 3

Reviewer: Cregg Weinmann Project Coordinator/Editor: Christine Johnson Designer: Kristen Cerer Proofreader: Marg Sumner, Red Ink Editorial Services Shoe Photography: Daniel Saldaña, Cregg Weinmann Advertising Sales: Running Network LLC, Larry Eder, President, 608.239.3785, larry@runningnetwork.com Publisher: Larry Eder, 608.239.3785 Website: www.runningnetwork.com For a Media Kit, please visit our website.

This 2013 Fall Shoe Review is produced independently by Running Network LLC for its partner publications. All shoes reviewed were tested by experienced, competitive runners who were matched to the biomechanical purpose of each shoe model.

Copyright © 2013 by Running Network LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be stored, copied, or reprinted without prior written permission of Running Network LLC. Running Network LLC and its partner publications suggest that, as with all fitness activities, you meet with a healthcare professional before beginning or changing your fitness regimen.

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• Summer 2013 • atf-athlete.com

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Tessa Barrett Wins

By Larry Eder

e 2013 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) was the 34th that this fine event has been run. To say that the FLCCC has been the beginning of many an elite American distance runner’s careers is an understatement.

Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, Sara Hall, Adam Goucher, Julie Culley, Meb Keflezighi, Alysia Montaño, Lukas Verzbicas, Ed Torres and Jorge Torres were all there in San Diego to cheer on 40 of the best high school cross country runners in the country.

Foot Locker XC Girls Champs; Northeast wins team title

e girls’ race was very different from the boys’, and both races were very exciting. e girls’ race went out fast, hitting 65 seconds for the first 400 meters. As the front-running pack evolved, it hit 800 meters in 2:35 and the mile in 5:20, and it became evident that Tessa Barrett and Stephanie Jenks were vying to win the race. Taylor Werner, the tough little senior from Bloomsdale, Missouri was pushing the pace.

Tessa Barrett looks like she’s always charging. She pushed on the downhills, then she pushed on the uphills: Tessa Barrett did not stop.

Barrett’s tactics took a toll on the others, though. e field hit 2 miles in 11:03 as Barrett started to build a short lead over Jenks, who started to fall back, eventually finishing 9th.

Hannah DeBalsi and Caroline Alcorta moved up through the race, especially between 11⁄2 and 2 miles and started to go after Barrett.

But this was Barrett’s race. She just

pumped her magic arms, and those legs started to charge, and charge some more. DeBalsi got as close as anyone to Barrett, finishing 10 seconds behind her.

Tessa Barrett, by being amazingly aggressive and focused the entire race, threw off all challengers with her hard charges. “is is surreal,” noted Barrett after the race. Deena Kastor, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and four-time Foot Locker qualifier, called Barrett the “new queen of high school cross country running.”

So on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013 at Morley Field in San Diego’s Balboa Park, a race for the ages took place. Tessa Barrett, the senior from Abington Heights in Waverly, PA, won the 2013 girls Foot Locker championship with a strong time of 17:16, in a fantastically aggressive race that kept the fans on their feet.

And so, the 34th Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, presented by ASICS, was in the record books.

2013 Girls FLCCC Finals 1. Tessa Barrett, NE, 17.16; 2. Hannah DeBalsi, NE, 17.26; 3. Caroline Alcorta, SO, 17.31; 4. Anoush Shehadeh, NE, 17.35; 5.

Anna Maxwell, West, 17.39; 6. Brianna Schwartz, NE, 17.43; 7. Lucy Biles, West, 17.43; 8. Makena Morley, West, 17.43; 9.

Stephanie Jenks, MW, 17.43; 10. Taylor Werner, MW, 17.44. e Northeast won the girls’ team title at the FLCCC this year with 26 points. ose Northeast girls were just, well, dominating.

2013 Girls FLCCC Team Results Team Results: 1. Northeast (1,2,4,6,13,20,22), 26 pts; 2.

West (5,7,8,14,15,26,28), 49 pts; 3. South (3,11,12,19,21,25,27), 66 pts; 4. Midwest (9,10,16,17,18,23,24), 70 pts.

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• Winter 2013–14 • atf-athlete.com

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Grant FisherWins

2013 Foot Locker Cross Country Championship; West takes team title

By Larry Eder

Just as we were relishing the fantastic girls’ race we had just witnessed, the boys’ introductions were made.

Peter Henkes, the Midwest regional Foot Locker meet director for the past 29 years, told me that Grant Fisher would be a real tough one today. I consider the Midwest runners to be some of the toughest runners in the Foot Locker national races. is race started out very slowly. With 40 runners in contention at the first mile, you knew that we were looking for a really tough finish!

And the Foot Locker course is set up for a great rush over the finish. at pack of 40 boys went out pretty hard over the first 400 meters, but then they slowed it down and seemed to lumber through the course for the first half of the race. At about the mile point, hit in just under 5 minutes, the four regional winners were all up front, followed by the rest of the field. e day was warm and dry, and dust was everywhere. e boys were pumped up for running hard and fast, and they did just that over the second half of the course.

It seemed like everyone tried to make a run for it, but John Dressel did it best. First, he charged up the hill just before 2 miles, making the race a contest between himself and Grant Fisher. Dressel pushed past Fisher into the lead and started to break away. en Fisher pulled Dressel back on the downhill and went by, much to the crowd’s astonishment.

Fisher wanted to win this race. But guess what? So did Dressel. As they came up the final hill, Dressel gutted his way back into the lead, with Fisher next to him. Fisher edged to the front with 200 meters to go, and Dressel stayed right next to him. e crowd screamed as the announcer noted that the race was neck and neck. At 150 meters, there still was no obvious winner.

Dressel, for the third time in the race, built up a lead over Fisher. With 100 meters to go, Fisher started to pull Dressel back, one meter at a time, and finally Fisher was nearly up on Dressel. Who would win?

Fisher pulled up on Dressel, and with 75 meters to go, Fisher was running right next to Dressel. In reviewing the video, it’s evident that both Fisher and Dressel were tired. Fisher bumped Dressel, and Dressel faltered. As he fal-

12

tered, he gave the first glimpse of a man who had some limits. He didn't recover from that bump and couldn’t muster another challenge to Fisher.

With that short lapse by Dressel, Fisher charged by Dressel and put 3 seconds in the last 75 meters of the race!

Grant Fisher became the 2013 Foot Locker Cross Country Champion, in a time of 15:07.

John Dressel finished 2nd in 15:10, and Matthew Maton finished 3rd in 15:19.

To further whet the appetites of cross country and track geeks around North America, those top three are juniors. We could see them next year for a reprise of this race.

“I had a plan, but this race didn’t go to plan, as all runners would find out,” noted a tired Grant Fisher. “I wanted to run well, so I’m very happy with the race. I was having a very tough time up the first hill. I don’t know how I did it,” he told Deena Kastor, who interviewed the medalists after the race.

Grant Fisher was the guy who could do no wrong today. John Dressel battled Fisher to the very end, and in the end, Fisher just got by Dressel. Dressel will replay the race over and over in his head, but today was Grant Fisher’s day.

“It was a great race and fun trip,” noted Dressel. In the understatement of the weekend, John Dressel, still exhausted from his tough duel, paid compliments to the event that the Foot Locker has become over the past 34 years.

2013 Boys FLCCC Finals 1. Grant Fisher, MW, 15:07; 2. John Dressel, West, 15.10; 3. Matthew Maton, MW, 15.19; 4. Mickey Burke, NE, 15.20; 5. Joseph Hardy, West, 15.22; 6. Elijah Armstrong, West, 15.22; 7. Connor Mantz, West, 15.23; 8. Blair Hurlock, West, 15.24; 9. Aaron Templeton, South, 15.29; 10. Josef Holt-Andrews, NE, 15:30.

2013 Boys FLCCC Team Results 1. West (2,3,5,6,7,8,12), 23 pts; 2. Northeast, (4,10,11,14,17,18,21), 56 pts; 3. Midwest (1,13,15,16,19,27,28), 64 pts; 4. South (9,20,22,23,24,25,26), 98 pts.

• Winter 2013–14 • atf-athlete.com

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PROFESSIONAL

DEBUT Cain Showcases Change and Confidence

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By Chris Lotsbom, @ChrisLotsbom, (c) 2014 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

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14

New York (Jan. 10)–After Mary Cain stepped off the track last August at the 2013 IAAF World Championships following her tenth-place finish in the 1500m final, the 17-year-old believed her season was over. For many, the end of the World Championships brings a nice break from training, a chance to relax and put the running shoes away for a few weeks. at wasn’t the case for Cain. Coached by Alberto Salazar, Cain’s next phase of training began less than 24 hours after becoming the youngest finalist in World Championships 1500m history. Her focus for the next five months: improving her form.

“I started off literally the day after I raced in Moscow. Alberto was like, ‘Oh, you know that twoweek break? at isn’t happening. Go out there and run an 800m,’” Cain recalled in an interview, her facial expression showing the initial shock.

Since that day—August 16, 2013—much has changed for Cain. She has turned professional, signing with PACE Sports Management and the Nike Oregon Project. Cain also started her senior year at Bronxville High School, just outside of New York City. And, alas, Cain has been fine-tuning her running mechanics.

“Alberto took me on because I’m a young athlete and I’m still malleable,” Cain said, speaking at e New Balance Track & Field Center at e Armory.

“It’s one of those things where we went hard with the form changes.”

In the weeks and months since the outdoor season concluded, Cain’s primary objective has been to work on her hips. Observing past race photos, one may recognize that Cain had a tendency to appear as if she was sitting. With the help of Salazar, Cain has worked to make sure her hips are now a bit farther back.

In addition, she’s slightly altered her breathing and the movement of her arms.

If her professional debut was any indication, Cain’s finely tuned focus has been beneficial. As part of a workout, Cain raced the 500m and 800m at the NYC Gotham Cup on January 10, placing second and first, respectively.

In the 500m, Cain began from the back and gradually worked her way up toward Jamaica’s Sophia Smellie. Smellie would win in 1:11.63, with Cain less than a second back in 1:12.43. Cain’s time is the seventh-fastest high school mark of all time in the discipline.

Roughly 30 minutes later, Cain returned to the track for an 800m. e race began with a bit of a misstep, as Cain’s legs got caught on a competitor. But

Cain reacted immediately, staying on her feet and cruising away to an easy win in 2:08.51.

“In that 800m, I tried to calm myself down and work on getting my hips a little farther back. When I kick I tend to be a little bit too tight and all over the place,” said Cain, sporting a small cut on her right knee from a competitor’s spike. “But the hips right now have been the most important part.”

Recently, Cain hit the 60-mile-per-week mark in training, getting close to what she routinely ran in 2013. While her specific focus may have changed more toward mechanics, Cain insists that running as a professional isn’t all that different from competing as a high schooler, which she did for the past three years. “e only thing about being a pro now is that I’m doing the same exact thing as last year except I’m getting paid for it,” she said. “at’s the thing a lot of people don’t realize ... I feel like this is just the next step.”

Cain has a busy racing schedule this indoor season: a 1000m contest at Boston University on ursday, January 16, then a mile at the BU Terrier Invitational on the weekend of January 24, followed by a 2000m race at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 8.

A week later, Cain will return to e Armory for the NYRR Millrose Games. ere she will race the 800m against friend Ajee' Wilson, Iceland’s Anita Hinriksdottir and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule.

Goule is the reigning NCAA champion.

Upon returning to her home track, Cain hopes to achieve something special.

“I’m very excited,” Cain said.

“One thing I would like to do for the sport is try to encourage people.”

• Winter 2013–14 • atf-athlete.com

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