2014 USATF Outdoor Open Track & Field Championships

SLO Tribune staff report

Olympic gold medalist and U.S. champion Stephanie Brown Trafton won the discus at the World Championship Preview at the Concordia Throw Center on Saturday.
Brown Trafton, an Arroyo Grande High and Cal Poly graduate, had a throw of 208 feet, easily defeating Aretha Thrumond, who finished second at 200 feet, 7 inches.
Next up for Brown Trafton is the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August.

Brian Pilcher (Tamalpa) was the 50-54 age group champion at last
Saturday’s (Feb. 7, 2009) U.S. Cross Country Championships in Maryland.
Among others, he beat 1984 U.S. Olympic marathoner John Tuttle.
Links to details are below.—————- Begin Forwarded Message —————-
Date: 2/10/09 8:34 AM
Received: 2/10/09 9:14 AM
From: [email protected]

We had a successful championships this past weekend hosted by the
Montgomery County Road Runners at Agricultural History Farm in Derwood,
Maryland (a Washington DC suburb); we had well over 600 entries and 534
total finishers (3rd all time behind San Diego [651] and New York [588;
note: NYC was still two day format and we additionally had short course
races for both men and women, which accounted for 140 of the
finishers]).  The 168 finishers in the senior men’s 12k is a record.

The course itself was a challenging dirt [MUD!] and grass euro-style “2k”
loop with virtually no flat sections and an over 400-meter long rolling
uphill each lap.  Did I mention there was some mud?

We’ve heard good things from the athletes about the course and the event.

Results

Photos

USATF Story

Michael Scott
Chair, USATF Cross Country Council

Registration Link

Event Flyer(pdf)

ANA Corporate Ekiden Relay March 7, GG Park

• 20K in randomly-selected tickets to Tokyo for 4 person Corporate teams,  men, women, co-ed divisions
• Each runner runs one loop of PA XC course
• One PA runner and three really slow friends from work can win $5K in tickets!  (Odds: about 1-20).
• Beer, BBQ,  and taiko drums–and maybe a vacation to Tokyo for running only two miles…
• Call Tim Wason at 415-647-2276 for additional info. 

More Details:

Event is a unique relay race for teams of four runners from one corporate entity, in three divisions: Men, Women, and Co-ed (2 men, 2 women). Eadh runner runs with a “satori” –a colorful cloth sash — and passes it to the next relay runner within an exchange zone. Each runner runs a two mile cross country loop in Golden Gate Park. Over $20,000 in random and other prizes!

Rescheduled event is the same as previously annunced, except the start time is one hour later.

Fabulous prizes–economy round trip tickets from SF to Tokyo are drawn from each team category: Male, Female, and Co-ed (6 total tickets, 2 each division). Team decides on their own who gets the tickets. Probably a good idea to decide how chooses ahead of time…

Random individual prize: Two economy RT tickets on ANA Airlines from SF to Tokyo to one participant and companion who put their business card in the proverbial “fish bowl” for random drawing (done at event, must be present to win). Value of tickets is approximately $2,500 each so total random ticket prices, team and individual, total approximately $20,000!

Tickets are subject to restrictions. A member of winning team may transfer their tickets to the spouse/family member of one of their immediate team members.

Secondary prizes for team categories: Fastest team in each category gets a $100 American Express Certificate and reservations for two at a Hilton Hotel in SF for one night. Team decides on their own who gets prizes.

You will be running on the nationally famous course in GG Park near the Polo Fields.

Questions? Contact Tim Wason, President, SF Running & Walking at 415-647-2276 or email: [email protected].

Benefits Girls on the Run, www.gotrbayarea.org/, and other charities to be decided.

Start building your corporate team now!

Payton Jordan was Stanford’s head coach from 1957-79.

Feb. 6, 2009

STANFORD, Calif. – Payton Jordan, the longtime Stanford track and field coach who died Thursday at age 91, was an icon in the sport because of his roles in some of its most seminal moments.  Jordan, who died of cancer in Laguna Hills, left a lasting imprint not only as a coach, but as an administrator and athlete.
The turmoil and triumph of the 1968 Olympic Games? Jordan was there. The most successful single track and field meet in American history? It was Jordan’s idea. The masters movement that allows athletes to shine into old age. Jordan was a pioneer.
But those who knew Jordan were touched by him in ways that went far beyond his substantial influence in the sport. “Most people talk about Payton in reference to track,” said Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, Edrick Floreal. “But for the people who really know Payton, there is so much more.  “He’s a rare person. Payton had the rare ability to captivate people, to inspire people to expand their wings and expand their limits.   “You look at guys that were coached by Payton and you see how they treat their wives, treat their kids or run their businesses. Those are the examples of Payton’s influence.”
Jordan coached Stanford from 1957-79, producing seven Olympic athletes, six world-record holders and six national champions. But that’s not all. He was the mastermind behind the 1962 U.S. vs. USSR dual meet that drew 155,000 over two days to Stanford Stadium during the height of the Cold War. The friendships Jordan developed and the welcoming tone of the meet during a tense period of history softened America’s view of the Soviets, if only for a short while. “He greeted them with a great big smile and with an outstretched hand,” said longtime friend Bob Murphy. “He had a smile that would just melt the world.   “He found a vein of understanding and appreciation that did not exist in any government so-called diplomacy. He found a common ground, in track and field, where the Soviets and the U.S. could get together and compete in a friendly and very productive way.
“It certainly produced a warming spot in the Cold War. There was a numb that extended far into Moscow and Washington D.C.”
His accomplishments were many.
In his younger days, Jordan was a record-breaking sprinter. He was a member of USC’s world-record 4×440 relay team (40.5) in 1938 and ran the fastest 100 yards ever on grass, in 1941. In addition to helping the Trojans to national track championships in 1938 and 1939, he helped USC beat Duke in the 1939 Rose Bowl.
Jordan never competed in the Olympics, with the 1940 and 1944 Games canceled during World War II. Jordan joined the Navy instead and, afterward, began his coaching career at Occidental College, which he led to two NAIA titles and 10 conference championships.   Late in his coaching career and after retirement, Jordan gave rise to the masters track movement, setting six age-group world records in the sprints. In 1997 at age 80, Jordan set the last of his world marks, 14.65 in the 100 meters and 30.89 in the 200.    And though he moved to Southern California, Jordan continued to play an enthusiastic role in Stanford track and field, lending his name to the annual invitational that continues to bear his name.   When the meet formerly known as the U.S. Open was renamed in his honor in 2004, Jordan said, “I am overwhelmed and deeply grateful to be honored by my old school.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are still remembered.”
But Jordan’s supreme achievement may have been his delicate handling of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team in Mexico City.  Jordan was the head coach of the team many consider to be the greatest of all-time. It earned a record 24 medals, 12 gold, and featured Bob Beamon’s extraordinary long jump, Dick Fosbury’s revolutionary high jump technique, and world marks in the sprints by Jim Hines and Lee Evans.  Before the Games, Jordan’s tolerance and open-mindedness helped deflect a threatened boycott from the team’s African-American athletes and kept the team from falling apart. And during the Games, he dealt with the fallout of the Tommie Smith-John Carlos black-gloved civil rights protest that drew the ire of Olympic officials and politicians and forced the athletes out of the Games.   Jordan and sprint coach Stan Wright were informed of Smith’s and Carlos’s plans, but allowed them to make their own decisions. They even supplied the runners with black socks and handkerchiefs. “I always tell my kids, everybody’s born for a time in their life,” Floreal said. “That there is a special person to handle every difficult moment in life. I think Payton Jordan was bred for that time. “He was the right person at the right time to handle that situation. Nobody could have handled it any better.
“Maybe that’s his legacy. Maybe, that’s how his legacy lives in the rest of us.”

 

_____________________________________________

Track and field coach Payton Jordan dead at 91

The Associated Press
Friday, February 6, 2009; 1:43 AM
LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. — Payton Jordan, coach of the record-setting 1968 US Olympic track and field team, died Thursday. He was 91.

Jordan died of cancer at his home in Laguna Hills, daughter Cheryl Melville said.

He led the US track team to a record 24 medals, 12 of them gold, at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He served as Stanford’s track and field coach from 1957-79.

Years ago, Jordan recalled how his Olympic team excelled despite some black athletes threatening to boycott the games over a push for civil rights.

“We just sat down and talked about how hard everyone worked for so long to get ready for this lifetime opportunity,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1989. “It was like the high altitude in Mexico City _ something we weren’t used to _ or like an injury. It was just something we had to work through and overcome.”

Before his coaching career, Jordan broke world records with Southern California _ in the 440-yard relay in 1938 and the 100-yard dash on grass in 1941. His records stood for decades. He also played football for USC and played in the 1939 Rose Bowl.

Instead of competing in the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, which were canceled due to World War II, Jordan joined the Navy.

He started his coaching career at Occidental College, and later produced seven Olympic athletes at Stanford.

After retirement, he laced up his running shoes to compete in masters races. He set his last masters world record in the 100-yard dash at the Penn Relays in 1998 _ at age 80. He set his last world record in the 100-meter dash in 1997.

He was married to his wife Marge for 66 years before she died in 2006.

#  #  #

Courtesy of Mark Winitz

Update: 3/17/09

There’s some good news to report on Jack. Dee said that he was coming
home this weekend and has shown some improvement in cognitive ability,
which apparently is a sign that the tumor is decreasing. The plan is
that he will be home for a week and then go back to the hospital for the
next series of chemo. The chemo treatment takes about 4 hours. The
doctors told Dee that the tumor is quite large at 5 by 7 centimeters and
is a fast-growing variety. Dee indicated that after Jack’s testicular
cancer was treated, he had 6 full body scans (MRIs), which unfortunately
excluded his head.

Since Jack will be home on alternate weeks, it’s suggested that you mail
cards or notes to Jack at his home address (see below), but Dee said he
is still not up to having visitors. You can also send notes to Jack at
their email address ([email protected]) and Dee will get them to Jack.
FYI, we mailed Jack a copy of Lance Armstrong’s book: “It’s not about the
bike” as Lance’s story has to give all cancer patients some hope.

Let’s all pray that the tumor continues to shrink.

Jack and Dee’s home address:
345 Elm St. Unit B
San Mateo, Ca. 94401

---

3/14/09

Jack Leydig was hospitalized last Friday for tests due to some memory issues.
The tests revealed an inoperable tumor in the frontal lobe of his brain and
radiation cannot be used. So this week, Jack is starting 2 to 4 months of
chemotherapy. Jack cannot have visitors at this time but his wife Dee
has asked that friends send notes or cards to Jack at the Kaiser Hosptial
in Redwood City. Please use his full name : William Jack Leydig at this
address:

Kaiser Foundation Hospital
7th Floor, Room 782
1150 Veterans Blvd
Redwood City, Ca 94063

By the way, Jack’s partner in the shirt business, John Gabeny at Pacific
Impressions is trying to keep the business going. So please get the word
out to anyone you know who will be ordering shirts for a race. John’s
business phone is 408-727-4200.

Please keep Jack and his family in your prayers.

 

From: “Tom Lyons (SF State)” <[email protected]>
Date: March 12, 2009 9:00:22 AM PDT
Subject: Track Meet on 3/27/09 at SF State

Hello all,

We are having a track meet at SF State on March 27th. It is primarily a Distance Carnival, however, we do have all the track events except the 4×100 (if interest, I would add that). We also have the LJ and TJ. We do not have all the events at a typical track & field meet as the meet sprang up from a need for distance runners to run a meet because they do not meet Stanford’s entry standards. We expanded it to have 14 events which allows for marks to count toward nationals/regionals qualifying purposes.

The distance races will be as fast as any distance races ever at SF State. Incredible fields forming.
The meet will run on time.
The meet will have sufficient officials from USATF.
The meet will have auto-timing and wind readings.
The meet will run on  time!

If you’d like to come out and compete, we’d love to have you.

More info and entry here – http://www.directathletics.com/meets/track/11118.html <http://www.directathletics.com/meets/track/11118.html>

Feel free to email/call if you have questions.

Tom Lyons

San Francisco State University
Head Coach Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
Assistant Coach Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field
(415) 338-2219 On Campus – Room 201 Gym
(415) 717-6103 Cell Phone

http://www.sfstategators.com/
Host of the 2009 NCAA DII West Region Cross Country Championships