In a sport not known for break ups over money, Jeremy Wariner and long-time Coach Clyde Hart are no longer working together. The end of the relationship comes as the two parties are unable to settle on contract terms only seven months before the Olympics.

Labor disputes about compensation are commonplace in other sports, but these kinds of disputes are rarely heard about in track & field. While specifics were not released, Coach Hart reportedly was offered a less lucrative contract than in years past.

A coaching change may be a blow to some runners but Prerace Jitters believes that Jeremy’s passion to run and access to coaching guidance will probably not alter his Olympic year performance and overall career.

Meanwhile, Coach Hart undoubtly will have his hands full preparing Sanya Richards for her highly anticipated solo run at 400 meter gold in Beijing.

Disputes like this show the world how much money is at stake at the most elite levels of track & field. In this case, however, Prerace Jitters thinks that all involved parties will land on their feet.

The Reebook Boston Indoor meet is the second meet on USA Track & Field’s Visa Championships Series and arguably one of the best indoor meets.

The Reebook Boston Indoor meet is legendary for stellar distance races, in part because of the array of talent the meet attracts, and also because of the 200 meter Mondo indoor track at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Bitter Ethopian rivals Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar, two of the world’s best will take the track in Boston – unfortunately, not in the same race. Defar is slated to run the Two Mile, in which she is currently the world record holder. Dibaba, the 5,000 meter indoor record holder, is stepping down to run 3,000 meters.

Up and coming sprint star, Shalonda Solomon, the 2006 NCAA Champion at 200 meters is debuting her first professional indoor meet.

In the field events, Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson are competing in the men’s shot put. Jenn Stuczynski, the new pole vault queen, is competing in the Nutrilite Women’s Pole Vault.

The men’s 800 meters is certain to be a fireworks show. The U.S. national champion Khadevis Robinson and #2 nationally ranked 800 meter runner, Nick Symmonds, will go head to head on Saturday.

The men’s 3,000 meters looks to be hotter than fish grease. The line up includes defending champion Craig Mott of Australia, New Zealand’s Nick Willis, Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele and American phenom Galen Rupp, who has not run against these elite athletes. This race is certain to have implications for later in this Olympic year track season.

The Reebok Boston Indoor meet, the second stop on USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series, can be seen Sunday on ESPN 2 at 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST. Check your local listings.

This year’s inaugural USA Track & Field’s 2008 Visa Championship Series meet brought out runners that typically do not compete indoors, such as Allen Johnson. This was the first team-scored meet in series history. Athletes from 12 nations created a global team, which took on a team of American athletes. Both squads included former Olympians.

The meet, held at Fresno State’s Save Mart Center in California, is the brainchild of Fresno State track coach Bob Fraley and is held in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It is the second running of the meet, which last year was held on the wooden track used at the L.A. Invitational. The meet was cancelled for 2007.

The meet did have its’ share of highlights.

Carmelita Jeter, a preseason selection of Prerace Jitters “6 Runners You Oughta Know By Season’s End,”
narrowly edged out hometown favorite and 2005 Visa Indoor champion Angela Daigle-Bowen in the women’s 55m dash, crossing the line in 6.84 to Daigle-Bowen’s 6.85. A win is a win, no matter how slim the margin.

One false start and one call back was not enough to throw off the game of hurdler, Allen Johnson. The permanent fixture on the track scene easily won the 55 meter hurdles in 7.21 over 2001 NCAA Indoor Champion Aubrey Herring who finished in 7.27.

Two lap U.S. outdoor champ, Khadevis Robinson, proved he is in top shape to start the season and took the lead with one and one half laps to go and never looked back, winning the 600 yards, in 1: 09.97. Jamaican Olympian, Michael Blackwood narrowly edged out Bernard Jackson for second place running 1:10.58 and 1:10.61 respectively.

The world’s top shot putter, Reese Hoffa, put on a show heaving 21.06 meters or 69 feet, 1.25 inches to defeat Dan Taylor’s second place throw of 19.99 meters or 65 feet, 7 inches.

Team USA ran men’s and women’s 4×400 meter relay, winning both events.

Visa Athlete of the Week went to veteran high jumper Amy Acuff. The three-time Olympian jumped 1.95 meters or 6 feet, 4.75 inches after three near misses at the Indoor American record.

“I wanted to put the bar up for Fred Arnold, and for this track to have a record,” Acuff said of the longtime track and field patron who donated $1 million for the Fresno track. “It’s a really world-class facility. My goal for the season is to be steady and consistent and not jump myself to death.”

The Reebok Boston Indoor meet is the next stop on Visa Championship Series and can be seen on ESPN 2 at 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST. Check your local listing.

Wesley Ngetich is dead. He was killed with an arrow during fighting in his home region of Trans Mara in western Kenya, a region of the country embroiled in the post-election violence plaguing this country.

The 31-year-old champion marathoner made his mark in races around the world, including winning Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, in 2005 and 2007 – a world away from his African hometown.

Most recently, Ngetich was planning on running the PF Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon, but withdrew from the race with about a dozen other Kenyan runners because of the strife in his home country.

Scott Keenan, executive director of Grandma’s Marathon expressed shock upon learning of Ngetich’s death. “The city of Duluth kind of adopted him, and he kind of adopted the city of Duluth, and we were expecting him to return and defend his title.”

This story reminds us of how small the world can be and how the politics of distant nations can hit home. Ngetich’s death is a somber reminder that no matter how fast you are, sometimes the outside world catches up.

The Prerace Jitters staff sends our heart felt condolences to the family of Wesley Ngetich.

It’s Official: Masback Leaving USA Track & Field

Former Track & Field CEO Craig Masback

After 10 years at the helm, Craig Masback has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of USA Track & Field. He leaves his post to become Director of Business Affairs for Nike’s Global Sports Marketing Division. This move is not particularly surprising to people who have been watching – there reportedly has been friction between Masback and his board of directors.

The timing of Masback’s departure is interesting. January marks the beginning of the USA Track & Field indoor track season, and it is not clear who will lead the organization past the Marion Jones doping scandal.

Masback, a former world-class miler, leaves the organization in better shape that he found it. Craig increased revenues, incorporated a no-tolerance drug policy, attracted more corporate sponsorships and boosted attendance.

With all that he did achieve for the sport, Masback’s biggest downfall may have been failing to address the doping scandal squarely. Fans and critics wanted to hear directly from him, and it seemed awkward that the man responsible for the sport’s no-tolerance policy stood silent as one of the sport’s most recognizable names admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.

The specter of the doping scandal will always hang over the Masback era for U.S. Track & Field. But, it’s important when considering his legacy to remember that he set a sound financial stage and built an internal infrastructure that will help the sport achieve a wider audience and greater prominence on the world’s athletic stage – and for that we thank him.

Jay Hicks

6 Track Runners You Oughta Know By Season’s End

Bahamian Donald Thomas

Every season, thousands of enthusiastic fans watch track meets, guessing which elite runners will separate themselves from the pack.

The difficulty for fans is separating pretenders from contenders. New talent is always coming out of the college ranks, and some existing professional runners may have break-out seasons.

Prerace Jitters has the list of the hottest new and upcoming track runners that will pop their collars in this year’s season. Check out these unsung runners now, or run the risk of being left in the dust when they blow up.

1. Natasha Hastings - 400 M

Some runners are born great, others just have to work harder. Hastings, a University of South Carolina alum, proved by winning indoor and outdoor NCAA Champions and placing second at U.S. Nationals that she is an elite quarter-miler. The only question is whether Natasha is prepared to take on the challenge of facing 400-meter sensation Sanya Richards. We’ll find out this season if she’s a natural – or a talented hard worker.

2. Donald Thomas - High jumper

Donald “No Spikes” Thomas has accomplished more in under two years since picking up high jumping than other folks dream of doing in an entire career. This Bahamian native, who trains at Auburn by way of Lindenwood College, near St. Louis, has come a long way in a short period of time. This 2007 World Champion cleared 7 feet-8 ½ inches during a fairy tale season that left us imagining what he might do when he gets out of pole vault shoes and starts jumping in high jump shoes with spikes in the heel.

3. Carmelita Jeter - 100 M

Jeter’s debut on the international circuit made two things clear: First, she has played it cool and fought through a chronic problem with her right hamstring. Next, female sprinters have been put on notice. As good as she ran last season, it is now clear that a sub-11-second race is around the corner. Her 2007 bronze medal at Worlds may be the prelude to much greater things.

4. Jaysuma Saidy Ndure - 200 M

Who says Norway has no chance to medal in Beijing? Well, whoever it is, they obviously have never heard of Jaysuma Saidy Ndure. The Gambian-turned-Norwegian national may keep the 200-meters in Beijing from being a U.S. vs. Jamaica duel.

Jaysuma smashed the Norwegian 200-meter record running a blistering 19.89 seconds in Stuttgart to win the World Athletics Final. He did not get cleared to run for Norway until after the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. With that matter now settled, he may be the sprint medalist in Beijing whom you’ve never heard of . . . until now.

5. Asbel Kiprop - 1,500 M

Only 18, Kiprop is heir apparent to the Kenyan distance dynasty. The 1,500-meter specialist has been described as “brilliant” and “essential” by those in the know. He won the World Junior Cross Country title, the All-Africa Games 1,500 meter crown and took 4th at the 2007 World Championships, where he beat American Alan Webb. Now Kiprop has become a “senior” athlete and is ready to take over the 800 and 1,500 meters in Beijing.

6. Craig Mottram - 5,000 M

Craig Mottram is not a new face to die-hard track fans, but he is relatively unknown to the casual fan. Mottram is looking to change that. At the 2005 Helsinki World Championships, he became the first non-African to medal in the 5,000 meters since 1987. Last year, he posted some blistering times and while earning the respect of usually territorial Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, who are known to team run to cut an impudent challenger down. Earning this new found respect is a remarkable feat. But a hamstring injury slowed him to place 13th in the 5,000 meters at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

The big stage of the Olympic Games has been known to swallow athletes whole. Mottram has shown flashes of brilliance since 2004, but questions remain about whether he can have a brilliant season when it matters most.

Jay Hicks

Should Charles have Opted for the NFL?

Jamaal Charles

Texas running back Jamaal Charles

Jamaal Charles is leaving the University of Texas early for greener pastures of the NFL. He has received word that his stock is trading “good” among NFL scouts and wants to get paid for gridiron action.

The junior running back and track star racked up 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. Charles joined Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson and Earl Campbell as the only Longhorns to rush for over 1,500 yards in a single season.

Charles was just as fast on the track as on the gridiron. The four-time All-American blazed 10.23 seconds in the 100 meters and placed fifth in the NCAA Championships. Jamaal won the Texas 5A state championships in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles as a senior in high school.

This year’s draft is loaded with running back talent. Darren McFadden of Arkansas, and Steve Slaton of West Virginia have also declared for the NFL.

Darren McFadden is a lock for one of the top couple picks, but the rest of the group - though accomplished - probably won’t test out as well as Jamaal.

On-field collegiate accomplishments help you so much with NFL scouts, however. Professional football scouting is mostly a matter of subjective observation combined with raw numbers testing. How high can you jump? How fast can you run 10, 40, 100 yards? Can you deadlift a Toyota Tercel?

As well as Charles played this season, there’s a real chance that his stock is at its all-time high. Whether to return or not is primarily a business decision. When you factor in the risk of injury, leaving now is easily justifiable, if not flat out the right thing to do.

Jay Hicks

Why Track & Field Must Upgrade

Track and field is currently an old Magnavox bubble television with rabbit ears. It’s time for a track revolution that involves throwing out that old model and upgrading to a high definition 50” plasma screen. Are you with me?

Runners sign a confidentiality agreement that precludes them from disclosing shoe contracts and appearance fees. This outdated policy needs to be dumped immediately. This old school mentality goes against the grain of American culture.

Why? It’s Un-American. Talking about celebrities and athletes income is a national past time. Americans escape by dreaming of A-Rod’s $27 million a year salary.

All major sports – even Major League Soccer – release athletes’ and coaches’ salaries. Bill Gates’ compensation is readily available, and he’s the wealthiest guy in the universe.

Do you think millions would tune into Survivor if the prize was $50,000 instead of $1,000,000? Like it or not – big money attracts attention.

The casual fan thinks that track runners are earning peanuts, and this perception diminishes understanding and interest in the sport.

There is money in the sport, but fans would never know because the information is not released to the public. In reality, elite sprinters and distance runners are well compensated and have base salaries between $200,000 and $600,000 with hefty incentives for high-place finishes and fast times. Top salaries are in excess of $1 to $2 million. Not bad for four left turns, huh?

Sure, there are plenty of athletes scraping by on low paying shoe contracts, but the top runners are certainly not struggling to pay their bills.

Performances are improving, but track lags behind in popularity in comparison to the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. What has to be concerning to track officials is that traditionally smaller sports such as Extreme Sports, Pro Bass Fishing and Professional Bull Riding have sprinted past track and field in popularity.

The sport needs leadership to re-organize in the U.S. by creating a marketable product that engages and entertains the casual fan. Runners should get increased sponsor attention to replace appearance fees in order to provide guaranteed income. More people will tune-in if big prize money is on the line.

Out with the old and in with the new. Change is never easy. That’s why a track evolution is needed to give fans the product we rightfully deserve. Are you with me?

Jay Hicks