a little history, a little humor

The tight T-shirt company goes aggressive

New shoes to hit the trail / pavement… Under Armour, known too many young consumers as the “tight T-shirt company” is about to explode onto the running shoe market. The 13-year-old company will go toe-to-toe with Nike, Addidas, etc. on January 1.  They will use MTV and ESPN to push four road and two trail shoes.  Runner’s World  is very positive after test runs in the new shoes.  The company is healthy-projected $750 million revenue for ’08-and they will take a multi-faceted approach with sporting goods and running stores supplying shoes to the public. Let the shoe battle begin!

-“The Biz” by Joe Lemire, Sports Illustrated, December 22, 2008

THE INDOOR SEASON FOR MOST OF THE COUNTRY IS ALMOST HERE

    Odd events in the first championships… New York City’s Madison Square Garden hosted the first American indoor championships in 1906 with the following unusual events conducted: 75 and 150 yard dashes, the 5-mile run and standing broad and high jumps. In addition, there was a pole vault for distance and three standing jump events.  The shot put had two different competitions: the eight pound and 24 pound throwing events. -“A History of Indoor Track & Field” by Wally Donovan, Edward Jules Co., 1976

    Our Zimbabwe Olympian… There is daily negative news coming from the small country of Zimbabwe-political unrest and a cholera outbreak. In 1991 Riverside’s head coach, Ted Banks, recruited Zimbabwe’s Melford Homela to RCC. He left his mark at both the SoCal Finals and the state meet. He also competed in two Olympics for his country. His profile follows:

Melford Homela…800-1500… Zimbabwe / Riverside

Zimbabwe-1988: Seoul Olympics 800 quarter-finals 8^th 1:49.62, heat-3^rd 1:47.36 PR;

1500 heat-11^th 3:47.38 PR

Riverside CC-1991: So Cal 800-1^st 1:51.30; SoCal 1500-1^st 3:48.59;

State: 1500-1^st 3:52.77, 800-1^st 1:50.61

Zimbabwe-1992: Barcelona Olympics 800 heat-6^th 1:50.50

Riverside CC-1992: SoCal Finals 800-1^st 1:50.71; State 800-1^st 1:50.39

RCC won the state team title in 1992.

Our NCAA Heroes… The Monday of Thanksgiving week the  NCAA XC Championships were held in Indiana with the Oregon men and the Washington women taking top honors. In 1963 four California community college products played a major role in San Jose State winning their second consecutive NCAA XC title. Jeff Fishback (San Mateo), Gene Gurule (Cerritos), Dick Fernandez (El Camino), and Tom Tuite (San Mateo) were members of that trophy winning seven. San Jose was the first college/university in California to win the title. Fishback went on to make the 1964 USA Olympic team in the steeplechase while Gurule placed third in the 1964 NCAA 10,000.

Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard “The runner”… “I ran because boxers were known to run. Muhammad Ali told me, “Build up those legs, those muscles, that strength. I always said I had this hidden reservoir of strength and power, and it came from running. It worked, I tell you that.”                       –Sugar Ray Leonard by Charles Butler, Runner’s World, September 2008

 Who is Barbara Miller? … Barbara Miller, at age 47, joined the Modesto CC cross country team in the mid-1980s and lettered on a winning conference championship team.

“That experience made me a lot tougher mentally and physically,” she said.

   Miller went on to set her mark nationally in master’s road racing and currently holds six USA road records in the 65-69 age group, three in the 60-64 division, and one in the

55-59 division.Since 1990 she has finished the year as the top runner in her age group seven times. Last year she was inducted into the USATF Master’s Hall of Fame.

   Miller says, “I train hard and race hard and I supplement my training with yoga and water running.” 

–“Age Group Ace” by Mike Tymn, Running Times, October 2008