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Dave Hunter

Dave HunterDave Hunter is a track & field journalist, announcer, and broadcaster.  Dave reports on the premier track & field gatherings around the globe, frequently serves as an arena or stadium announcer for championship events, and has undertaken foreign and domestic broadcast assignments in the sport.

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Category: Event Coverage

 

Ducks Survive Scare, Taylor Upset 10,000m Victor

June 8th, 2017

Eugene, Oregon

After yesterday's invigorating opening day of men's track & field competition, it was the women's turn on Thursday to show what they could do under overcast, cool, and breezy conditions at Hayward Field.

Action kicked off with the hammer throw. And it didn't take long for the ladies to get their first day of competition off with a bang. Coming to Eugene with an impressive collegiate leader of 72.81m//238'10," Arizona State junior Maggie Ewen - an imposing athlete - stepped into the ring as the strong favorite. After a shaky start on her opening throw, the Sun Devil got it rolling with a beautifully rhythmic heave on her third attempt; a high arching shot that splashed down at 73.32m/240'7" to set a new NCAA championship and collegiate record. "I had been feeling really comfortable about my entry and my coach told me when I get that feeling to really go after it," the champion shared afterwards. Later in the day, Ewen would score 3 more points for the Sun Devils by finishing 6th in the shot put. 6th round scrambling is often the case in these championship field contests and today's hammer was no different. With exceptional final attempts, Northern Arizona's Brooke Andersen [68.62m/225'1"] and Georgia frosh Beatrice Llano [67.42m/221'2"] clawed their way past several competitors to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively.

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Category: Event Coverage

HaywardFieldFE-USOlyTr16.jpgHayward Field, July 2016, photo by PhotoRun.net

Tennessee's Coleman Sprints Scintillating 9.82 Century

June 7th, 2017

Eugene, Oregon

As dusk began to fall over Hayward Field, 24 competitors bounced in anticipation behind the start line just before commencement of the only running event final of the day: the men's 10,000 meters. It was a nervous moment. But all 24 knew one thing: this night they would not be beaten by 17-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek. When the Oregon star sustained a pesky injury in winning the PAC-12 10,000 which precluded the defense of his 10K national title, speculation was rampant as to how the 10,000 meter final would unfold and who would step up and grab the crown.

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Category: Track

Lananna_Vin-USind17.jpgVin Lananna, photo by PhotoRun.net

TrackTown USA's Lananna Upbeat About Domestic Track & Field

June 6th, 2017

Eugene, Oregon

On the eve of the 2017 NCAA Div. I outdoor track & field championships, Vin Lananna - President of TrackTown USA and Associate Athletic Director at the University of Oregon - was relaxed and smiling as he watched scores of hopeful athletes get their final warmups in at Hayward Field. Fueling his upbeat spirits is Lananna's optimism about the present state and likely trajectory of American track & field.

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Category: Track

Clement_KerronFL1-Rio16.jpgKerron Clement, Rio 2016 Olympic champion, photo by PhotoRun.net

Reigning Olympic Hurdle Champion Unafraid of Candor

April 9th, 2017

As is the case in virtually every undertaking in life, goal-setting is an essential ingredient for track & field success. The better athletes in our sport reflect upon past accomplishments, assess their fitness level, target their goals, and map out a strategy to achieve them. Yet without the athlete's commitment, the prospects for goal achievement are slim indeed. Studies show that when an athlete does commit, but then also verbalizes and shares the targeted goals with others, it serves to strengthen the resolve of the athlete who has gone public with the dream. Some athletes - who see risk in sharing their goals with others - are coy about their annual or long-range objectives and are reluctant to share their goals with others. Other bolder and more confident track & field performers do not fear publication of what they hope to accomplish and see it as technique to inspire them to employ their best efforts to succeed. Kerron Clement is one such athlete.

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Category: Event Coverage

 

April 29th, 2017

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 2000, Penn mastermind Dave Johnson concocted a novel plan to incorporate track & field professionals into the Penn Relay Carnival. The idea was grounded upon the concept of a global team relay competition. The United States - the "home country" - would take on teams assembled by other nations comprised of pros looking for an appropriate season opener for their extended outdoor seasons. When the approach was embraced by both USATF and NBC, the threads of both professional track & field and international team competition were weaved into the Penn Relays tapestry.

18 years later, USA vs. The World is a beloved fixture and a critical element of Penn's concluding day. Yellow, black, and green are predominant throughout Franklin Field as roving throngs of Jamaican fans - armed with air horns - help fill Franklin Field on Day Three. With a new pact recently inked among USATF, NBC, and Penn, the USA vs. The World concept - borne at the turn of the century - will march on for at least another 4 years.

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Category: Event Coverage

 

'Nova's Piccirillo Now Penn's Most Decorated

April 28th, 2017

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

As Day Two dawned, Penn Relays athletes, coaches, officials, and fans were greeted by another gorgeous spring day in the City of Brotherly Love. While some may have complained that the temperature was a little warmish for the longer running events, no one could quarrel with the dominating sun, blue skies, and only an occasional light zephyr out of the south.

Penn is more than a superb track & field carnival. It is an exercise in multi-tasking - as one attempts to absorb the results from events just completed, watch progression in the high jump, check out form in the long jump warmups, record times in the shuttle hurdles, and appreciate the athleticism in the series of age-group 100 meter finals. Amid the constant swirl of activity, here are some of the more notable track moments from Day Two of the Penn Relays:

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Category: Event Coverage

Granddaddy Of All Relays Is Like No Other!

April 27th, 2017

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

OK, so you consider yourself to be a track & field aficionado - a connoisseur of athletics. But let's be honest: if you have not personally experienced the majesty, the cultural immersion, the electricity of The Penn Relay Carnival, your résumé is incomplete. Over the next three days of perfect springtime weather, the University of Pennsylvania will host approximately 20,000 athletes from more than 1,000 high schools, 200 colleges from 32 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 11 countries, and a professional gathering featuring some of the most accomplished track & field athletes in the world who will compete in 302 events to the delight of over 100,000 frenetic fans.

And the excitement is not limited to inside the ivy-covered walls of Franklin Field. After all, this Relay is billed as a carnival - and it is. A festival-like atmosphere surrounds this historic landmark: nervous athletes stretching and completing their warm-ups, fans relaxing and enjoying a bite to eat, others trying their hand at sideshow games, food stands offering standard fare and exotic cuisine, and the ever-present, irrepressible green-black-and-yellow clad Jamaican fans - all amid the blare of party music and the unusual blended aroma of sizzling Philly cheesesteaks and analgesic balm.

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Category: Event Coverage

 

Stefandini_Ekaterini-OlyGame16.jpgEkaterina Stefanidi, photo by PhotoRun.net

 

A successful track & field athlete needs several critical traits: natural talent; a disciplined work ethic; a reliable support system; knowledgeable coaching; an unflappable demeanor; an unshakeable focus; and - among the most important - an engrained sense of motivation which inspires the athlete to employ all of those other characteristics in the quest to achieve the targeted track & field goal. A survey of the current marquee track & field athletes suggests that Ekaterina Stefanidi, reigning Olympic and Diamond League pole vault champion, is among those few athletes who receive high marks in virtually all of these categories - especially motivation.

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Category: Event Coverage

 

Kiplagat_EdnaA-Boston17.JPgEdna Kiplagat, photo by PhotoRun.net

One Cruel Move In The Newton Hills Seals Boston Win

Boston, Massachusetts

Patriots' Day

Monday, April 17th, 2017

On a sun-drenched Patriots' Day morning, Boston Marathon legend Kathrine Switzer - who would celebrate the 50th anniversary of her historic 1967 participation in this race by running 121st Boston Marathon in a later wave - fired the starting pistol to send an elite group of world-class women storming out of Hopkinton to begin their 26 mile 385 yard odyssey to Boston's Back Bay. The 70 degree temperature at the race's start promoted conservatism early as a pack of about 15 pacesetters - led by defending champion Alsede Baysa of Ethiopia and her country woman Buzunesh Deba - split the first downhill mile in a guarded 5:55. The lead pack - which included hopeful Americans Desi Linden and marathon debutante Jordan Hasay - was in warm-up mode as it glided by 2 miles in 11:31. The 5K split - 17:45 - projected a finishing time of around 2:29. Everyone in the lead pack knew faster racing was ahead.

 

Kiplagat_EdnaA-Boston17.JPgEdna Kiplagat, photo by PhotoRun.net

One Cruel Move In The Newton Hills Seals Boston Win

Boston, Massachusetts

Patriots' Day

Monday, April 17th, 2017

On a sun-drenched Patriots' Day morning, Boston Marathon legend Kathrine Switzer - who would celebrate the 50th anniversary of her historic 1967 participation in this race by running 121st Boston Marathon in a later wave - fired the starting pistol to send an elite group of world-class women storming out of Hopkinton to begin their 26 mile 385 yard odyssey to Boston's Back Bay. The 70 degree temperature at the race's start promoted conservatism early as a pack of about 15 pacesetters - led by defending champion Alsede Baysa of Ethiopia and her country woman Buzunesh Deba - split the first downhill mile in a guarded 5:55. The lead pack - which included hopeful Americans Desi Linden and marathon debutante Jordan Hasay - was in warm-up mode as it glided by 2 miles in 11:31. The 5K split - 17:45 - projected a finishing time of around 2:29. Everyone in the lead pack knew faster racing was ahead.

Details
Category: Event Coverage

 

Kirui-RuppH-Boston17.JPgGeoffrey Kirui and Galen Rupp, in the heat of the battle, photo by PhotoRun.net

 

Boston, Massachusetts

Patriots' Day

Monday, April 17th, 2017

The elite men danced nervously just behind the starting line as they waited for the first wave start of the 121st B.A.A. Marathon. As the men's favorites were introduced, the largest ovation was saved for American Meb Keflezighi - the 2014 champion and the first American to win this Patriots' Day race since 1983. As the crowd favorite joined other elite Americans Galen Rupp, Luke Puskedra, Jared Ward, Abdi Abdirahman, Shadrack Biwott, and newbie Augustus Maiyo at the starting line, there was pervasive speculation as to how the Yanks might fare in the 42 kilometer battle against a field that included the defending champion Lemi Hayle of Ethiopia, Kenya's Geoffrey Kirui, Emmanuel Mutai, Wilson Chebet, and 2012 Boston winner Wesley Korir.

RunBlogRun Some photographs on this site have been reproduced with permission from runblogrun.com.