Issue #181: Dec 30, 2024

CONTENTS

• Threats to collegiate running programs mount
• Capital Challenge: one-of-a-kind event in Washington, DC
• Beloved Houston runner killed in hit-and-run
• Online badgering provokes race director to quit
• Parker Valby, Leo Neugebauer receive Bowerman Awards
• Pro runners axe their agents
• Financial losses plague LA2028, USATF
• WADA study finds single test deters future doping
• Unprecedented levels of out-of-competition testing preceded Paris Olympics
• Longest-Serving Race Directors notifications coming by January 6

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Threats to Collegiate Running Programs:

"Real and Immediate"

Sam Seemes delivers an uncomfortable message to the USTFCCCA

The CEO of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), addressing the organization's convention, had some dire warnings for the collegiate and high school running community. "Let me be blunt," Sam Seemes said, "Our sports are under siege. . . . The threats are real and immediate."

The threats come mainly from college athletic departments prioritizing football and basketball over other sports. According to Seemes, what's driving these priorities are media rights revenue, donor engagement, social media impressions, attendance figures, and corporate sponsorship.

Seemes went further than just describing the threats. He emphasized, "The path forward demands transformation." He called for fundamental, not merely incremental change, and immediate change. "Not planning to change. Actually changing NOW."

40 Years of The Capital Challenge:

a Different Kind of Race for Washington VIPs and Staff

Political humor is part of what draws runners to the Capital Challenge. Above on left, dog on car parodies Mitt Romney's tale of driving around with his dog in a carrier on top of the car; in center, Race Director Jeff Darman has a mockup of NJ governor Chris Christie at his side; on right, political pecking order is reflected in markings on porta-potties--don't use the boss's toilet!

Every May, runners from all branches of the federal government and media gather to engage in one of the last nonpartisan public events remaining in Washington, DC: a three mile race known as the ACLI Capital Challenge. It's a mixed-gender team race with teams drawn from the Legislative, Executive, Judicial, and Media divisions. Team awards range from "Fittest Team in Washington" to "Worst Named Teams." There are also individual awards in 16 divisions.

Founder, driving force, and now-retiring director Jeff Darman admits to being scared in the first year that no one would come. Three hundred showed up. The event has grown to 600-700 participants, among whom this year were Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Beloved Houston Runner Victim of Hit-and-Run

Alison Wade of Fast Women captured this photo of Lilia Vazquez in this year's Boston Marathon, where the 61-year-old Vazquez finished in 4:29:35

While on a training run in Houston early on December 13, Lilia Vazquez was hit and killed by a driver who fled the scene and has not been identified. She was described by a friend as a mini-celebrity in the pages of the Houston Chronicle. She had many friends in the Houston-area running community. As an outstanding age group competitor, Vazquez had been invited to compete in next month's Houston Marathon.

Vazquez's life story was one of grit and determination. She immigrated from Mexico City 30 years ago, and when her first husband died, she raised her two young daughters on her own. After working various jobs to make a living, she found steady work at the physical therapy department at Baylor College of Medicine. She became a U.S. citizen and remarried. In her workouts, she sought out parking garages and highway embankments to simulate hills.

A training partner on long runs noted that if Vazquez got too far ahead, she would turn around to make sure her partner was OK. "She was an encourager," her friend said.

A GoFundMe page to support Vazquez's family can be found here, and an obituary here.

Welsh Race Director, Sick of Online Nagging, Calls It Quits

Fell racing in the UK is akin to trail racing but lacks the requirement of running on an actual trail. Runners are given checkpoints and it's up to them to find the best route between them. Most routes include a lot of climbing on rugged terrain. The word "fell" comes from Old Norse fell/fjal meaning mountain. For more read https://runningforthehills.com/trail-running-and-fell-running-differences

Alan Stone, director of the Sugar Loaf Winter Fell Race near Abergavenny, Wales, has had enough "years of online criticism and unhelpful suggestions for 'improvement'" for a lifetime. After the November 2nd, 2024 race, he posted his crusty resignation on the Welsh Fell Runners Association Facebook page (for curious readers, there is a Fell Runners Association with a wide range of activities, all in the UK). Stone offered to provide a successor with "all the contact details for the permissions, insurance, payments, and risk assessments, etc."

A sympathetic poster said, "The poison of social media strikes again! Sorry to hear this, Alan. You can survive a snakebite, but the venom of so called commentators has pulled you down."

Parker Valby and Leo Neugebauer

Win 2024 Bowerman Awards

Parker Valby and Leo Neugebauer were honored with the highly prestigious Bowerman Awards on December 20th. Valby set NCAA records at the 10,000m and 5000m while going 4-for-4 in the NCAA track finals indoors and out, and qualified for the Olympics in the 10,000m. Neugebauer, a native of Germany, topped the NCAA standings at the decathlon while competing for the University of Texas. Neugebauer set an NCAA and German decathlon record. Neugebauer also won a silver medal for Germany in the Paris Olympics. Below, Neugebauer gives an enthusiastic account of coming to the U.S. and selecting U. Texas at Austin to support his record-setting exploits.

An interview with Valby at the Bowerman presentation be viewed here; Neugebauer's long acceptance speech at the Bowerman Award ceremony, where he thanks about two dozen people, can be found here.

Below, Leo Neugebauer relates his journey from "random German kid" to NCAA and German decathlon record-holder via the University of Texas at Austin. Neugebauer is nearly as fluent in English as he is talented at athletics.

Pro Runners Cutting the Agent

Out of Negotiations

In Runner's World, Sarah Lorge Butler looks into how pro middle- and long-distance runners are negotiating their own contracts. Some get help from family members: Parker Valby's father Kyle stepped in to get her a lucrative deal with New Balance, and Olivia Markezich's dad Ron negotiated a shoe contract for her and then hired registered agent Hawi Keflezighi to represent her going forward. Two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden shed her agent in 2024, as did Clayton Young, who made his decision after finishing ninth in the Paris Olympic marathon.

Butler notes that the vast majority of pro runners still rely on agents to make deals with shoe companies. Only a few agents--10 by Butler's count--negotiate the vast majority of the deals in American distance running.

IN OTHER RUNNING (AND SPORTS) NEWS

Both LA2028 and USATF show losses in fiscal 2023. Filings of 2023 IRS Form 990s show losses by both the LA2028 Organizing Committee ($66M) and USATF ($5.6M). In The Sports Examiner, Rich Perelman notes that the $66M loss by LA2028 is relatively good news by comparison with 2022 (minus $87M). Perelman explains that a "hidden bright spot" for LA2028 was that deferred revenue increased by $100M between 2022 and 2023.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) shares results of study on deterrent effect of testing: first test has a strong impact. The study focused specifically on how the controls and use of the Athlete Biological Transport affects the rate of Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs) for Erythropoietin (EPO) Receptor Agonists. It found that the majority of AAFs occur on the first sample ever collected for an athlete and continue to decrease as athletes are further tested. Tristan Equey, a co-author of the study, says the findings suggest that the act of being tested even once has a deterrent effect on doping.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) reports unprecedented level of testing in athletics in lead-up to Olympic Games. Cooperation between the AIU, World Athletics Member Federations, and National Anti-Doping Organizations resulted in 7,102 Out-of-Competition (OOC) tests between September 27, 2023, and July 26, 2024. Close cooperation resulted in fewer athletes competing in Paris without any OOC tests.

Ultimately, only 11 percent of athletics competitors in Paris had no OOC tests, compared to 27 percent in 2023 (World Athletics Championships in Budapest) and 33 per cent in 2022 (World Athletics Championships in Eugene). "These are unprecedented levels of testing in athletics," declared AIU Chair David Howman.

For the latest-breaking news on road, track, and trail every day, check out Road Race Management's home page at https://www.rrm.com/

Road Race Management's Longest Serving Race Director List

If you have directed your race for 5 or more years, you can join the club.

In conjunction with the celebration of 40 years of publishing Road Race Management Newsletter, the company launched a newly-reconfigured version of its Longest Serving Race Director Rankings. The listing, which debuted in 2019, allows any race director who has directed the same race for five years or more to be included by completing this easy-to-use form. The listings are searchable by a number of different criteria including race distance, country, state, and gender. Biographical data and photos of the directors will be listed if supplied.

If you were previously listed but do not receive a new request for the 2024 calendar year by January 6, 2025, please email longestservingrd@rrm.com.

Happy New Year to all readers

of the Road Race Management E-News!