| Friday, May 30 2008 - Gillis and Watson Headline A Busy Week Ahead |
Eric Gillis fresh of his Canadian Title at the MDS Nordion 10k in Ottawa last weekend, will look to defend his Canadian 10000 meter title this coming Wednesday night in Toronto. Scheduled to compete against Gillis will be Canada’s top ranked marathoner Dylan Wykes and five-time Canadian cross country champion Simon Bairu. This season, Gillis has recorded the two fastest times among Canadians, including his Olympic B standard performance at last month’s Payton Jordan meet in Palo Alto, California. If Gillis is able to win Wednesday evening and no other athlete achieves the Olympic A standard, he will likely be selected to represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics in August.
Also on the schedule Wednesday night will be a high performance 1500 meter race. Taylor Milne and Kyle Boorsma will look this past week’s University of Toronto High Performance meet. Milne won that race in an impressive fashion running 3:43.18, while Boorsma was close behind in a life time best of 3:46.61. Also expected to compete will be Scott Arnald, Cleve Thorson, Tim Konoval and Allan Brett. In the women’s race, Lindsay Carson will be looking to build on her solid season opening performance from this week where she recorded a 4:33.45 clocking to place second.
Across the ocean Rob Watson will be looking to join Gillis, Reid Coolsaet and Hilary Stellingweff as Speed River athletes with at least one Olympic qualifying standard. Watson will face a loaded field Saturday night at the Night of the Euregio in Neerpelt, Belgium. Watson will be running the 3000 meter steeplechase and will be aiming for the Olympic A standard of 8:24.60 or the B standard of 8:32.00. One can find links to all of Speed River’s upcoming races and results in our schedule and results section.
Finally, Sunday will mark the second race in the Guelph Athletics Society race series. The newly named Guelph Lake Conservation Run will be held Sunday morning at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area. The run will offer both a 5 and 10k races, more information available in our upcoming events section. |
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| Thursday, May 29 2008 - Stellingwerff Fifth At Belgrade International Athletics Meeting |
Hilary Stellingwerff placed fifth overall in the 1500 meters at today's Belgrade International Athletics Meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. Stellingwerff’s time of 4:14.34 was off of her target the Olympic B standard of 4:08. Despite being frustrated with her result, Stellingwerff managed to find the silver lining, she commented “the best thing to come out of a disappointing race is that I'm hungrier for success!”
Full Results |
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| Tuesday, May 27 2008 - Milne Leads Speed River At Toronto High Performance Meet |
Taylor Milne continued his strong start to his season with an outstanding 3:43.18 clocking under cold and windy conditions at tonight’s University of Toronto High Performance 1500 meter meet. Milne led a Speed River sweep of the top five spots in the men's race as he was followed across the line by teammates Kyle Boormsa, who recorded a life time best performance of 3:46.61 and Tim Konoval who finished third in a time of 3:50.22.
In the women’s race Lindsay Carson placed second overall in her seasonal debut with a time of 4:33.45, teammate Courtney Laurie recorded a lifetime time of 4:42.48 to place fifth.
Full Results |
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| Monday, May 26 2008 - Gillis Captures Canadian Title At MDS Nordion 10k |
Eric Gillis captured the Canadian title at one of the country's most prestigious 10km road race the MDS Nordion 10k Saturday evening in Ottawa, Ontario. Gillis, the 2007 Canadian Champion over 10000 meters was battling an elite field which included Canada’s top ranked marathoner Dylan Wykes and Canadian national team members Alex Hutchinson and Spencer Morrison. Gillis time of 29:33 was good enough to score him a $2,400 payday.  He will now turn his attention to defend his Canadian 10000 meter title June 4th in Toronto, if Gillis is able to secure the win at that race he will be in excellent position to represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics.
Meanwhile, at the Canadian Marathon Olympic Trials also this weekend in Ottawa, Taylor Murphy made his long awaited debut at the distance. Murphy had set a target for himself of 2:18 which is the standard needed to represent Canada at the 2009 World Cup in Berlin, Germany. Right on pace at the halfway point, Murphy suffered from severe quad cramping which at times reduced him to a walk over the last 10 km and faded off pace to finish in 2:25:00. As anyone who has run a marathon can attest the distance is an extreme challenge as marathon great Bill Rodgers put it “the marathon can humble you.” Murphy will now take a well deserved break to recover and begin preparations for a fall marathon where he will hope to reach his 2:18 target.
In other action Maxime Paquette ran his win streak to two at the Niagara Olympic Twilight Meet in St. Catharines. Paquette ran a life time best over the 2000 meter steeplechase distance breaking the tape in 6:02.85 to finish just ahead of teammate Matt Brunsting who recorded a time of 6:04.07.
Photo Courtesy Photorun.net |
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| Saturday, May 24 2008 - Jackson Commits To The University of Guelph |
Speed River's Rob Jackson has commited to attend the University of Guelph, his decision was chronicled in a Guelph Mercury article by Tony Saxon.
 In an age where almost every elite high school athlete wants an NCAA scholarship, Centennial Spartans middle distance runner Rob Jackson is a breath of fresh air.
Jackson, who would have little trouble attracting American universities given his considerable talents in track and cross country running, will attend the University of Guelph next year.
“I’m staying home. I was kind of wary about going to the States and Guelph is a perfect fit,” said the affable Jackson, who runs with the Speed River Track and Field Club.
Yesterday, Jackson won the senior boys’ 800 metre event at the CWOSSA track and field championships at St. James high school, edging Waterloo CI’s Sohaib Ikram by 2/10ths of a second in a thrilling finish. Thursday Jackson won the 1,500m, his best event.
I didn’t really see the need of going south. I don’t like the implications of a full scholarship,” he said. “You don’t have much choice. If I wanted to come back and run in the Canadian nationals, they might not like that.”
Jackson said he values his independence too much. Plus, “I love Guelph.”
With a club the quality of Speed River in his backyard, his running certainly won’t suffer by staying home.
Jackson made it to OFSAA in the 800m and 1,500m last year, finishing sixth and fifth respectively. “I’m feeling pretty good. We haven’t had too many races this season . . . but my times in the 1,500m have been decent and hopefully will drop a bit next week.”
Jackson moves on to the Western Regional championships in London next week.
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| Friday, May 23 2008 - Marathon Time |
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A busy week lies ahead for the Speed River group as the season kicks into high gear. Leading the charge will be Taylor Murphy’s long anticipated debut at the marathon distance Sunday morning at the Canadian Marathon Olympic Trials which are part of the ING Ottawa Marathon. Murphy who was recently third at the Canadian Half-Marathon championships will face an extremely strong field which includes 2007 Canadian Marathon Champion Matt McInnes and 2008 Canadian Half-Marathon champion Andrew Smith. Also at the Ottawa race weekend 2007 Canadian 10000 meter champion Eric Gillis will take on a loaded field in the MDS Nordion 10k. With a prize purse of over $40,000 the Nordion 10k is one of the richest races in Canada.
Link for Ottawa Races http://www.ncm.ca/
Follow Murphy's progress at http://liveresults.sportstats.ca/lm.php
Tuesday night Taylor Milne and Lindsay Carson will headline stellar fields at the University of Toronto High Performance 1500m in Toronto. Milne who recently set the club record over 800 meters will lead a group of 12 Speed River men and while Carson will lead six women at the meet.
Link for Toronto Races http://www.torontotrack.com/
Finally, Hilary Stellingwerff will take her Olympic standard pursuit to Belgrade, Serbia to compete at Belgrade International Meeting on May 29th. Stellingwerff is still in pursuit of an Olympic “A” and “B” standard to qualify her for the Beijing.
Link for Belgrade http://www.beomeeting.com/index_en.php |
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| Tuesday, May 20 2008 - Gamble Second In London |
Dustin Gamble continued his strong early season start by placing second overall at the London Distance Track Classic in London, Ontario. Gamble clocked a time of 1:54.47 for the 800 meter distance to finish just ahead of teammates John Corbitt who placed fifth in 1:57.39 and Angus Macaulay who finished sixth with a time of 1:57.58.
Meanwhile in Loughborough, England, Hilary Stellingwerff placed fifth at the Loughborough International Athletics meeting. Her time of 4:16.51, was off of her season debut last weekend in Doha, Qatar. Stellingwerff found herself well position with the leaders at 1200 meters of the 1500 meter race; however, she faded over the final stretch. Despite the setback, Stellingwerff’s training is progressing extremely well and she is optimistic that she can put herself in a position to take a run at the Olympic standard in the coming weeks. Full results our available in our results section. |
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| Saturday, May 17 2008 - Carson Awarded Ottawa Race Weekend Scholarship |
Organizers of the Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada’s premiere racing festival, have announced that Lindsay Carson, a first-year Biological Engineering student from Guelph University, is the recipient of its 5th annual National Athletic Scholarship. Launched in 2003, the program provides promising young Canadian track athletes a $4,000 bursary.
“Supporting dedicated athletes like Lindsay Carson is a key ingredient of the event as well as our continued commitment to invest in our Canadian athletes”, says Manuel Rodrigues, Elite Athlete Coordinator for the Ottawa Race Weekend. “With Lindsay’s background, an Olympic team is certainly a realistic goal for her. And if our scholarship can help her to get to that podium, even better.”
"The Ottawa Race Weekend Scholarship will support my efforts to stay in Canada to focus on my athletic and academic goals. Each year, Canada loses many of their best athletes to the American NCAA system, and so I feel blessed that I can stay close to home (family, friends & coaches) to pursue my Olympic dreams," said Carson, who qualified to represent Canada at the FISU XC champs in France this past March. Earlier this season, Carson won the Gryphon Open at the Guelph Open Invitational, is a multiple national team member who competed Pan-Am juniors and the world cross-country champs and was named the CIS MVP and Rookie of the Year.
The national scholarship, valued at $4,000, is intended to encourage rising stars in the Canadian running field. To be eligible, athletes must complete an application in which they will be required to submit their running resume as well as their monetary needs for the upcoming academic year. They must be a Canadian citizen and a full-time student at a Canadian post-secondary institution. A jury will decide based on athletic potential, athletic ability, financial need, volunteerism and scholastic grades.
Carson is the third University of Guelph athlete to receive the award in its five year history following in the footsteps of inagural receipient Taylor Murphy in 2003 and Laura Moulton in 2006.
Applications the 2009 national scholarship will be available online at www.runottawa.ca in September.
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| Sunday, May 11 2008 - Stellingwerff opens with a 4:12 1500m and Milne sets Speed River Record |
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Speed River Track and Field Club’s Hilary Stellingwerff opened her 2008 Olympic campaign with a 10th place finish as the first World Athletics Tour event of the year in Doha, Qatar. A strong field that boasted five athletes ranked in the top 10 in the world toed the line in the first major 1500 meter race of the 2008 season. Stellingwerff’s time of 4:12.02 is her faster seasonal debut of her career and bodes well for what will hopefully be the biggest year of her career. The 2007 Canadian Champion achieved the Olympic "A+" (4:05.70) standard last year. This year she will need to achieve an Olympic "A" (4:07) and an Olympic "B" (4:08) standard to realize her Olympic dream.
Many Speed River athletes competed Saturday night at the Niagara Olympic Club Twilight meet #1. Max Paquette won the 2000m S/C, Jenni Vanos and Dustin Gamble won the Women's and Men's 400m and Taylor Milne set a club record in the 800m with a second place finish, leading a large group of Speed River men to life time bests. Results below:
Event 2 Men 2000 Meter Steeplechase
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Name Year Team Finals
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1 Paquette, Max 84 Speed River 6:08.14
2 Lavigne, Colin 90 Niagara Olympic 6:21.09
3 Arango, David 90 Foot Tools 6:21.54
4 Thomas, Ryan 91 Niagara Olympic 6:25.49
5 Kit, Michael 90 Niagara Olympic 6:39.46
6 Moore, Jacob 91 Unattached 6:53.54
7 MacKinnon, Patrick 90 Niagara Olympic 7:00.38
Event 3 Women 800 Meter Run
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Name Year Team Finals H#
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1 Vermeer, Esther 90 Niagara Olympic 2:12.92 1
2 Vanos, Jenni 86 Speed River 2:16.19 1
3 Rempel, Karley 93 Niagara Olympic 2:17.88 1
4 Wyman, Jillian 89 Hamilton Olympic 2:21.47 1
5 Furtado, Lindsay 89 Speed River 2:23.96 1
6 Kurpe, Heather 90 Niagara Olympic 2:24.43 1
7 Rempel, Megan 96 Niagara Olympic 2:24.90 2
8 Adams, Paris 91 Niagara Olympic 2:25.54 2
9 Leask, Jenna 93 Unattached 2:26.85 2
10 Falardeau, Courtney 95 Niagara Olympic 2:30.26 2
11 MacDonald, Alannah 94 Niagara Olympic 2:35.62 2
12 Korsmit, Laura 96 Niagara Olympic 2:37.05 2
-- Giles, Alex 91 Niagara Olympic DNF 1
Event 4 Men 800 Meter Run
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Name Year Team Finals
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1 Heaney, Andrew 88 Phoenix 1:50.91
2 Milne, Taylor 81 Speed River 1:51.07
3 West, Richard 90 Phoenix 1:51.59
4 Finn, Ryan 87 Phoenix 1:52.28
5 Boorsma, Kyle 88 Speed River 1:52.29
6 Emberley, Scott 87 Toronto Olympic 1:53.98
7 Romaniw, Anthony 91 Niagara Olympic 1:54.08
8 Gamble, Dustin 85 Speed River 1:54.12
9 Brett, Allan 88 Speed River 1:54.38
10 Sayers, Trent 91 Phoenix 1:54.58
11 Thorson, Cleve 81 Speed River 1:55.61
12 Charlton, Ryan 90 Phoenix 1:55.72
13 Roundell, Josh 86 Speed River 1:56.09
14 Seleshi, Merid 92 Phoenix 1:56.56
15 Corbit, John 85 Speed River 1:56.77
16 Hall, Justin 83 Unattached 1:56.84
17 Reiter, Nate 83 Habour Track 1:56.97
18 Flemming, Noah 87 Habour Track 1:57.63
19 Anderson, Travis 76 Brantford 1:57.64
20 Snider, Derek 85 Speed River 1:57.74
21 Mings, Malcolm 91 Niagara Olympic 1:57.88
22 Macaulay, Angus 84 Speed River 1:58.16
23 Nakluski, Derek 82 Toronto Olympic 1:58.27
24 McCarron, Lee 88 Speed River 1:58.92
25 Easterbrook, Doug 91 Niagara Olympic 1:58.98
26 Douglas, Andrew 89 Port Sea 1:59.31
27 Rousseau, Julien 91 Niagara Olympic 1:59.40
28 Heckman, Jordan 89 Niagara Olympic 1:59.42
29 Faulkner, Thomas 90 Foot Tools 2:00.19
30 Venne, Marco 91 Unattached 2:01.03
31 Parrott, John 86 Brantford 2:01.78
32 Slowik, Jay 79 Unattached 2:03.68
33 Grochocinski, Paul 92 Unattached 2:12.44
34 Janssen, Trevor 93 Niagara Olympic 2:15.86
35 Godin, Zack 95 Niagara Olympic 2:21.63
Event 7 Women 400 Meter Dash
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Name Year Team Finals
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1 Vanos, Jenni 86 Speed River 1:00.99
2 Despres, Tina 91 Niagara Olympic 1:05.23
3 Adams, Carli 92 Niagara Olympic 1:07.31
4 StCyr, Brianna Unattached 1:08.97
5 Wielink, Shaniah 96 Niagara Olympic 1:12.54
6 Cheliak, Katie 95 Niagara Olympic 1:13.39
7 Meskis, Jade 96 Niagara Olympic 1:13.67
Event 8 Men 400 Meter Dash
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Name Year Team Finals H#
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1 Gamble, Dustin 85 Speed River 50.22 1
2 Weir, Lincoln 81 Mississauga Trac 51.52 1
3 MacDonald, Matt 90 Niagara Olympic 52.57 1
4 Macaulay, Angus 84 Speed River 52.82 1
5 Boorsma, Kyle 88 Speed River 53.67 1
6 Brett, Allan 88 Speed River 54.22 1
7 Snider, Derek 85 Speed River 54.98 1
8 St.Cyr, Edwin 69 Unattached 57.15 1
9 Pessoa, Ian 96 Niagara Olympic 1:08.18 2
10 Cheliak, Billy 97 Niagara Olympic 1:32.87 2
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| Friday, May 9 2008 - Scott-Thomas Named OUA Coach of the Year |
Huntsville, Ont. - University of Guelph and Speed River Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach, Dave Scott-Thomas garnered another prestigious award as he was presented the FOX 40 OUA Male Coach of the Year Award for 2007-2008 at the Annual OUA General Meeting Thursday night at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario.
 This award is presented annually to the top male and female coach in the OUA for all sports. Lisa Patterson, Nordic Skiing Head Coach at Lakehead won the female award.
This is Scott Thomas’ second FOX 40 OUA Male Coach of the Year award, after his first in 2002-2003.
This season was an outstanding year for Scott-Thomas who saw his men’s and women’s Cross Country teams win both the OUA and CIS titles and become the first school ever to successfully defend both the men’s and women’s CIS titles. He was named the OUA and CIS coach of the year and now has six Fred Foot Awards as the CIS men’s coach of the year.
In Track and Field, Scott-Thomas led the Gryphon men’s and women’s team to their first-ever CIS Championship title. The Championship was the sixth time in CIS history that one institution swept both banners in the season and Scott-Thomas was named the men’s and women’s CIS coach of the year.
Since it’s inception in 1996-97, the Gryphons have garnered a total four OUA FOX 40 award winners including Scott Thomas (2007-08, 2002-3), Angela Orton (2004-05; women’s basketball) and Linda Melnick (2002-03; women’s volleyball).
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| Thursday, May 8 2008 - Stellingwerff to open outdoor season in Doha, Qatar |
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Hilary Stellingwerff will be running the 1500m at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in Doha on Friday night. This is the first stop of the Super Grand Prix of the year and will host a slew of the very best athletes in the world. You can catch the results here: http://www.iaaf.org/GP08/results/index.html
While not always available for viewing in Canada, WSCN.com will be airing the Doha meet live at http://web.wcsn.com/index.jsp
Recently, the new online running magazine, iRun, had a little write up on Hilary with words from Dave Scott-Thomas as well, see article from iRun below. (The whole article, including Megan Metcalfe and Gary Reed, can be see here: http://www.irunnation.com/june-2008/the-fast-lane.php).
Canada's Middle-Distance Depth
In the late eighties and nineties Canada was known internationally as a sprinting power with names like Bailey, Surin, Gilbert, McKoy and Esmie. Canada's current depth now lies in middle-distance events with names like Nate Brannen, Reid Coolsaet, Kevin Sullivan, Gary Reed, Diane Cummins, Carmen Douma-Hussar, Hilary Stellingwerff and Megan Metcalfe.
Martin Goulet, Athletics Canada Chief High Performance Officer, feels the depth is representative of strong middle-distance coaching and expertise in Canada, "Our middle-distance strength is a reflection of the quality and expertise of our coaches and the training groups they have been able to institute." Goulet mentions, "Strong training groups, such as the ones established in Victoria and Guelph, and the newly formed group in Toronto, play a large factor in bringing together our athletic talent with equally talented coaches who can bring these athletes to the next level. For example, the University of Toronto project is bringing together a group of coaches and athletes under the mentorship of coach Hugh Cameron, a world-renowned distance running expert. These coaches used to be working in separate groups - the synergy of working as one larger group and sharing knowledge and ideas is already making a difference. We caught up with a few of these athletes and their coaches as they prepare for Beijing.
Name: Hilary Stellingwerff
Event: 1500 metres
Coach: Dave Scott-Thomas
Recent accomplishments: Member of 2007 World Championships team & 2008 World Indoor Championships team
Hilary Stellingwerff
Hilary on her Olympic plans
In terms of Olympic preparation, I plan on having strong training for the next two months using the strength I've gained from the indoor season, and then I'll start racing in May in order to obtain the (1500 metres) Olympic standard. We are aiming for a few good races in late-May and June. I plan to have fulfilled all of the Olympic criteria before the Trials in Windsor, allowing me to just focus on defending my national 1500-metre title. Hilary on how she feels.
I feel pretty fit from the hard training I've done over the past few months. We really tried to focus on good base and endurance because the long summer season means you need a good base to be fit until the end. Of course, I'm not in peak shape now (and would be worried if I was since it's five months to Beijing!). I'm confident that I'm going in the right direction. As my coach Dave Scott-Thomas said, my workouts have been great and everything indicates that I'm on my way to another good summer with personal best times and the Olympic Games as the main focus.
Hilary's coach on Hilary
Hilary's coming off the best summer season of her life. With each year she gets stronger and faster and her progress so far this season indicates that the trend will continue. Her workouts so far this year have been excellent, and we have yet to move into really specific track sessions. Her strength is good, speed is good, overall fitness and balance is good. I'm excited to get into the competitive season.
To follow Hilary's quest for Beijing
www.runhilaryrun.ca
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| Wednesday, May 7 2008 - New Balance And Speed River Announce Partnership |
New Balance Canada is pleased to announce it has signed on as the official performance footwear and apparel supplier to the Speed River Track Field Club and the National Endurance Centre. Based in Guelph, Ontario, the competitive club is one of Canada's premier distance training groups for post-collegiate athletes and has been designated by Athletics Canada as one of only two 'National Endurance Centres.'
 The Club and the Centre provide Olympic-level development to students and athletes by providing resources to train and compete both nationally and internationally. Headed by National Team Track and Field and Cross-country Coach Dave Scott-Thomas, Speed River Track Field Club counts among its members some of Canada's brightest middle distance running stars including Hilary Stellingwerff, Reid Coolsaet, Eric Gillis, Rob Watson and Taylor Milne. Speed River and NEC athletes have combined for a total of 13 individual medals at Canadian national championships in the past year.
"New Balance is thrilled to be partnering with Dave Scott-Thomas and his group. Speed River has shown tremendous leadership in Canada in its pursuit of putting Canadian athletes on the podiums of major national and international competitions" says Mark Rosenthal, Sponsorship Coordinator for New Balance Canada.
Adds Lorrie Owen-Turner, General Manager for New Balance Canada "We feel very fortunate to be able to associate our brand with such a talented group of runners and we are excited about our role in helping to support and nurture the development of world class runners."
New Balance Canada will also partner with the University of Guelph and Speed River to host the New Balance Gryphon Open, perennially one of the most competitive inter-university and inter-club cross-country races in Ontario.
Dave Scott-Thomas says "What was important to us was finding a sponsor who not only understood Canadian athletics, but also our personal training group culture. New Balance "gets it", and we couldn't be more pleased with their support and passion. The significant financial and product support they're providing is a huge injection to our resource base, but equally as important is the injection of confidence and profile. With New Balance on board, our athletes will have access to world-class apparel and footwear, and the freedom to get to world-class meets to use them. We're looking forward to continuing to push our boundaries, and are ready to welcome in new athletes who can benefit from this support."
About New Balance: New Balance, headquartered in Boston, Mass., is the leading manufacturer of technologically innovative width-sized performance footwear and athletic apparel for women, men and children. The range of product categories includes running, walking, training, basketball, tennis, cleated and kids. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. employs more than 2,800 people around the globe, and in 2006 reported worldwide sales of $1.55 billion. For more information, please visit www.newbalance.com. |
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| Monday, May 5 2008 - Gillis Achieves Olympic 'B' Standard in the 10000m |
At last year's Payton Jordan 10000 meter race at Stanford University, Eric Gillis was told that he wasn’t good enough to run in the "A" section. Meet organizers’ said his times and performances weren’t quick enough to run in the premier 10000 meter race in North America. The down to earth Gillis took it in stride and ran in the “B” section leading most of the race and eventually finishing third in a personal best of 28:42. After winning the Canadian National title last summer and his strong seasonal debut two weeks ago in Walnut, California, Gillis was granted entry into the big race and he did not disappoint.  In a lead pack that included 2006 Commonwealth games runner-up Craig Mottram and national champions from Australia, England, Mexico, Germany, Belgium and Japan, Gillis held his own battling strong to the end, “it was tough, I really tried to focus on not trying take anything for granted in the weeks leading up.” Gills was under his target pace for most of the race but found himself caught in the challenging “no man’s land” just off the lead pack but well ahead of the chase pack for the last three kilometers. As the pace started to creep north of his 67 second per lap target the nerves of his fans started to grow but Gills remained confident, “I knew I could close if I needed to”. In the end, he could close, blistering the last four hundred meters in 64 seconds and catching up to Mexican Champion Alejandro Saurez and European Champion Jan Fitchen and for his efforts Gillis was rewarded with the ninth fastest time ever by a Canadian 28:07 and more importantly the first stage of a realization of his Olympic dream, the Olympic “B” standard (28:10).
The Olympic “B” Standard means that Gillis has met one of the criteria for the somewhat complex Canadian Olympic qualifying process. The next phase will be for Gillis to defend his National title in June 4th in Toronto and hope that no one attains the Olympic “A” standard of 27:50, or attain the “A” standard himself and his ticket will be punched. Although, not entirely straightforward the bottom line is Gillis is currently in the driver’s seat when it comes to representing Canada in 10000 meters at the Beijing games.
Meanwhile at the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio, Gillis’ Speed River teammate Rob Watson battled one of the strongest fields assembled this year and equally strong winds to emerge with a bronze medal performance in the 3000 meter steeplechase. The field which included three of the top five Americans in the event was filled with talented runners all hoping to take a shot at their own Olympic standards of 8:24 for the “A” standard and 8:32 for the “B” standard. The race set off at well under goal pace and optimism ran high “at 2400 meters (of the 3000 meter race) I thought I am going to run under 8:30” commented Watson but the early pace proved to much in the razor edge world of the steeplechase and the field feel short of their collective mission. Watson, who recorded a time of 8:40.26, was just shy of his life time best. He took many positives from the race and the bronze in such an exceptional field proved that he is at a new level in his racing this year and that with patience and perseverance he can achieve his goal of joining Gillis with an Olympic Standard.
Also at the Jesse Owens Classic in the men’s 1500, Speed River newcomer Tim Konoval had a strong opener in his primary event. The Parry Sound native moved to Guelph this past January after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in December. Since his arrival he has been focusing on the longer distances, recently recording life time bests in the 3000 and 5000 meters. Friday against a strong field, Konoval recorded a time of 3:50.87 to place eight overall. The race was another step forward for the young Konoval whose focus this year is on long term development and achieving strong results on the national scene with a focus more on the 2012 Olympic Games.
Photo courtesy of Elite Running. |
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| Friday, May 2 2008 - Watson and Konoval to compete at the Jesse Owens meet, Gillis to race at Stanford |
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Rob "Destroyer" Watson will run the 3000m steeplechase tonight at the Jesse Owens Track Classic at Ohio State. The 3000m SC will feature a highly competitive field including the 2007 US champ, Josh McAdams. Tim Konoval will be running in the 1500m which is also slated to be a fast race. Results can be found here http://www.deltatiming.com/events/2008/jesseowens/
Watch the Payton Jordan live on Saturday and Sunday night here http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/coverage.php?c=256. Eric Gillis will be gunning for an Olympic standard on Sunday night in the famous Kim McDonald 10 000m. The race will, likely, once again have many finishers under the 28 minute barrier as it is the most competitive 10 000m on North American soil year in year out.
The majority of the Speed River team will be busy with the annual Compost Manure Sale this weekend. The sale involves bagging and delivering hundreds of bags of the stinky stuff across Guelph for people's gardens and lawns. This is the major fundraiser for the club. If you haven't ordered any manure and would like some come on by the Dome at the University of Guelph on Saturday May 3rd to purchase as many 40lb bags as your heart desires. |
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