Posted: October 26, 2005

Athletics: Teams at USA Distance Running Summit Consider Steps Toward Unified Effort

Seven of the country’s elite teams will strive to coordinate racing opportunities

Funding, athlete health care, additional drug testing at U.S. events, and 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials format among strategies discussed at Boston gathering

BOSTON, Mass. (Oct. 25) – Cooperative actions and coordinating opportunities for their athletes emerged as top priorities at Saturday’s USA Distance Running Summit, hosted by the Boston Athletic Association.

Coaches and directors of seven top distance-running programs said they’ll work to coordinate and point their athletes toward selected races, especially during the outdoor track season. They also intend to communicate their cooperative efforts so that track meet directors can consider adding sections for developmental athletes. Their resulting effort would create a few additional – but well-placed and important – sections at world-class track-and-field events in the U.S. They will underscore their effort by pursuing ways to fund their athletes’ participation. They also agreed to band together in exploring health-coverage options and enhancing the opportunities to train together.

Among the topics generating the liveliest discussion at Saturday’s roundtable was the format for choosing the 2008 men’s and women’s Olympic Marathon teams. Most team representatives were vocal in their desire for a one-race Trials.

“The saying goes that there is strength in numbers, and the desire by these teams to work together more closely came through loud and clear,” said Guy Morse, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association. “We were proud to organize and sponsor the Summit. Each of these distance clubs has already distinguished itself, and it is clear that they will continue to do so. We regard all of them as among the leaders in U.S. distance running.”

Participating in the summit were ZAP Fitness of Blowing Rock, N.C.; Team USA Minnesota; the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project of Rochester Hills, Mich.; the Indiana Invaders; the Big Sur Distance Project; the new Boulder Performance Training Group; Team Running USA of Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Jim Estes, USA Track & Field’s manager of long distance running; and Glenn Latimer, USATF men’s long distance running chair. Among them, athletes in the seven clubs reflect every phase of topnotch distance running in America, from the promising-but-unknown sub-elites to 2004 Olympic marathon medalists Meb Keflezighi (silver) and Deena Kastor (bronze). In October alone, Katie McGregor of Team USA Minnesota won the national 10K title; Zika Palmer of ZAP Fitness was runner-up in the USA National Marathon Championships; Ryan Shay of Team Running USA and Jason Hartman of the Boulder Performance Training Group finished as the top two Americans at the World Half Marathon Championships; Blake Russell of the Big Sur Distance Project ran a personal best in placing sixth at the Chicago Marathon; the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project won the USATF 10K Team Challenge; and Kastor, also of Team Running USA, won the Chicago Marathon.

At the dinner to conclude the summit, keynote speaker Greg Meyer implored the developmental teams to carry on with their group mission, saying “There is no doubt this is the way to go.” Meyer was a member of the legendary Greater Boston Track Club when he won the 1983 Boston Marathon, the last American man to do so.

Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.’s Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, and its five-year-old B.A.A. Half Marathon on Oct. 9 was highlighted by American newcomer Celedonio Rodriguez’s victory over an international field. The organization also sponsors other local events, including the Mayor’s Cup Cross Country Races last Sunday won by the B.A.A.’s Jarrod Shoemaker, with Kyle King of ZAP Fitness as runner-up in the Men’s Championship Race. In addition to events, the B.A.A. supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs.