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Flagstaff – August 29, 2008 - McMillanElite, the Flagstaff-based post-collegiate running team, has added nine new athletes to its roster.
Women:
Lindsay Allen – A recent graduate of Stanford University, Allen is an All-American, the school record-holder, and 2008 US Olympic Trials competitor in the 3,000m steeplechase. A native of California, Allen was US Junior National Champion and Junior Pan Am Games Bronze medalist in the steeplechase.
Becky Guyette – A former Boise State University standout, Guyette is a three-time Western Athletic Conference Champion (5,000m indoors, 5,000m outdoors, 10,000m) and school record holder in the 5,000m indoors.
Paige Higgins – A Colorado native, Higgins is the reigning US 25K Champion and was 7th in the 2007 Chicago Marathon. She is a past champion of the Gary Bjorklund Half-Marathon and the Walt Disney World Marathon.
Men:
Ian Burrell – A recent graduate of the University of Georgia, Burrell is a three-time NCAA All-American at 5,000m, holds three school records, won two SEC titles and represented the USA at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships. Burrell was recently honored as a 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American.
Andrew Carlson – A North Dakota native, Carlson is the reigning US 15K Champion and represented the USA at the World Road Running Championships and at the Chiba Ekiden. While at the University of Minnesota, Carlson was a three-time NCAA All-American.
Matt Clark – A recent graduate of Clemson University, Clark is an NCAA All-American, ACC Champion and school record-holder at 10,000m.
Giliat Ghebray – A 2007 graduate of the University of California – Berkeley, Ghebray is an NCAA All-American and NACAC U23 Silver medalist at 5,000m.
Celedonio Rodriguez - A California native, Rodriguez is a 14-time All-American and three-time National Champion while at Adams State University. Since graduating, Rodriguez has won the BAA Half-Marathon, the Napa to Sonoma Half-Marathon, the Avenue of the Giants Half-Marathon and represented the USA in the World Cross Country Championships in 2007.
Charlie Serrano – A 2007 graduate of Chico State University, Serrano is a seven-time All-American and was the 2007 National Champion at 5,000m.
These nine athletes join current athletes Brett Gotcher, Jordan Horn, Andrew Lemoncello, Andrew Middleton and Brianna Torres on the McMillanElite roster.
About McMillanElite
McMillanElite is a non-profit, post-collegiate running team based in Flagstaff, Arizona and under the direction of Coach Greg McMillan. The team offers emerging elite runners an ideal training environment combined with the necessary support to achieve success in long distance running. McMillanElite is sponsored by adidas, McMillan Running Company, New York Road Runners, NAU Center for High Altitude Training, Wharton Health Experience, and the Ring Family of Flagstaff. For more information visit the website at www.mcmillanelite.com.
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Posted by Alison Wade at 6:33 a.m. | Tags: Elite Development | Comments (0)
Being in Kenya, I have been pretty cut off from the running world for the past five plus weeks. We'd hear some news here and there--like that Saif Saaeed Shaheen is injured (we saw him standing by the road one day during a drive to Eldoret), the Russian 800 runners running fast and then getting busted, Jenny Barringer's American record, Shannon Rowbury's new 1,500 PR, and the fact that Paula Radcliffe is indeed running the marathon. However, for the most part, not much running news made its way to Iten.
We flew to Nairobi last night, where we are staying in a luxury apartment which has, most importantly, satellite TV. I got to watch the women's steeplechase prelims uninterrupted, as well as tonight's women's 10,000 meter final. I know that my Olympic Trials women's 10,000 coverage focused on Amy Yoder-Begley, but that's because it was a big deal for her to make the team, and not such a big deal for Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher (if making an Olympic team can ever not be a big deal...). If any Americans were expected to contend in this event, it would have been Flanagan and Goucher.
After staying at Lornah Kiplagat's High Altitude Training Center for the past five weeks, it was thrilling to see her leading during the early stages of the 10,000 meter final. It was unfortunate that she couldn't hold on at the end, but I couldn't help but wonder how all of our new friends at the HATC were reacting, or if they were even able to watch it on TV. Earlier in the week, Lornah's sister Monica said that they didn't have the channel which was showing the Olympics, but they were hoping to have their cable fixed by today.
After spending this summer in Kenya, I can't help but cheer for the Kenyans. I am very unimpressed with Athletics Kenya and all of the obstacles they put in front of the athletes who compete on their Olympic teams. I also understand how much more life-changing an Olympic medal is for a Kenyan than runners from most other countries. However, I am a Massachusetts native and I have followed Shalane Flanagan's career since her high school days. I watched her struggle a bit early on in her NCAA career, and wondered at one time if she would ever win an NCAA title. I watched her make her first Olympic team, then I saw her struggle with injury for a long time, before showing up in Boston in the winter of 2007 and surprising the heck out of everyone with her 8:33 3,000 indoors. Though I am sure there have been bumps along the way, she has been pretty unstoppable since then, and while it's certainly a pleasant surprise to see her win an Olympic medal, it's not at all shocking.
Though I am still out of the running loop, I got email earlier tonight from occasional eliterunning.com contributor Parker Morse, who is in Beijing. He mentioned that Flanagan had a food poisoning incident recently (which may be widely reported elsewhere, as I said, I'm out of the loop), and if she wasn't feeling okay, she was planning to drop out of the race at 6k or 7k.
We are flying home from Nairobi tonight, and I expect that regular updates to eliterunning.com will resume on Monday, 8/18. Congratulations to Shalane Flanagan for kicking things off on an excellent note for Team USA. Let's hope there's more good stuff to come!
Posted by Alison Wade at 12:02 p.m. | Tags: 2008 Olympic Games | Comments (0)