PRJ Podcast: Molly Beckwith battles injuries to Get to Top

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You may not know her name; chances are after the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship - you will know the name Molly Beckwith. She already owns a 2:02.51 outdoor personal best at 800m and is dead set on being the best.

A handful of knee surgeries. New Sport. New Coach. None of the aforementioned obstacles were enough to derail the Indiana’s Molly Beckwith mission to get to top the of 800m rankings.

Were it not for a career ending knee injury, Beckwith may have played out her career as a soccer player. Yet because she would not quit, bend or break, she may stand as a testament to perseverance.

The Worthington, Ohio native is leading a top-ranked Indiana squad into the Big 10 indoor conference and NCAA Championships with high hopes of coming out on top.

Beckwith shares with PreRaceJitters how she fought her way at Indiana University to become one of college track and field’s elite collegiate runner and one of the best in school history.

Special thanks to Indiana University. Song Bye Bye Bye courtesy of echoed.

PRJ Podcast: For Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence, Peaking at Nationals Is the Plan

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2010 Indoor Season’s Best

• 200 meters: 20.80, Virginia Tech Elite, 2/5/10
• 300 meters: 32.32, Hokie Invitational, Collegiate Record, 1/23/10
• 400 meters: 45.03, Tyson Invite, World Leader, 2/11/10

If you aren’t familiar with him, you had better ask somebody about the pure-talent 200 / 400m runner.

For all accounts, Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence is having an historic season, running at pace that can’t be ignored. Earlier this season, the sophomore rattled off a new indoor 300m collegiate record and currently lays claim to the fastest 400 meter time in the world.

But he is not satisfied. Lawrence is focused and determined to deliver his best 400m performance to win his first NCAA title at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas and bringing up the Bulldogs program in the process.

In this exclusive interview, Lawrence discusses gunning for an NCAA Champion and how good this Georgia Bulldog squad can be this season.

Special thanks to the University of Georgia. Song Bye Bye Bye courtesy of echoed.

Top Elite Track Athlete of the Year: The Next Challenge

For the next couple weeks everyone will be talking about who had the biggest season. And for good reason. Usain Bolt had a mind boggling season that shocked even his most ardent critics. Yes, Sanya Richards sealed her legacy in the sport and Kenenisa Bekele added another chapter to an already hall of fame career.

But this debate is officially closed.

This year Usain Bolt’s answered the one of the last questions for the Jamaican superstar. The Jamaican megastar proved that he can win great competition in the 100 meter race and also shattered his own 100 and 200 meter world records. It’s the litmus test of greatness. Carl did it. Michael did it. At the World Champions in August, Bolt bettered a Tyson Gay who said before the meet that he was in the best of his life by a comfortable margin.

That’s what the great ones do.

The other pressing issue is whether Bolt is big enough to save the sport. Sure it’s a lot of pressure for any athlete and especially in track and field. Legend Michael Johnson remarked this summer that he believes the sport is in decline. Rather than another article bemoaning the sport’s ills, we should focus on the man who can do something about changing the tide.

Sure Usain Bolt astonishes every time he gets in the blocks. But can the three-time world record holder put butts in the seats, sell overpriced hot dogs, and give the average sports fan a single reason to care even a morsel about the goings on in elite track and field?

That’s what the great ones do.

Bolt puts on a show and that is good for the sport. He is not afraid to pull up before the finish line or strike a pose after a win. He is quickly becoming a global superstar on the track. The next challenge is to do so off the track.

Considering his track record, you would be a fool to beat against him. Stay tuned and you may want to get your popcorn ready.

PreRaceJitters Podcast #41: Danielle Tauro is Michigan’s unquestioned leader

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Is this her year to shine? The leadership torch has been passed to her and Michigan’s Danielle Tauro is embracing her role as a team leader after the school has graduated a number of seniors from last years squad.

The 2009 Michigan women’s cross country team is fifty percent freshman and the squad is also battling some minor injuries.

In the initial athlete profile of PreRaceJitters’ Terre Haute or Bust series - Tauro talks about deciding to attend Michigan, pacing this young Michigan team and setting her goals high for her self-described “crucial junior season”.

That and more on this latest PreRaceJitters’ podcast.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, Episode #40

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The World Athletic Finals (WAF) provides to be a successful venture for the U.S. envoy. Is Sanya Richards latest feat good enough for her to be considered the greatest 400 meter runner ever?  Which performance was more impressive?  Kenenisa Bekele or Usain Bolt had impressive performances at the World Athletic Finals.

Send an email to comments@preracejitters.com to have your comments and questions discussed on the show.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, Episode # 39

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The world record holder at 100, 200 and 4×100 meter relays and the world record holder at 5,000 and 10,000 might get it on like Donkey Kong.  Could Bolt beat Bekele in a distance that is fair to both athletes?  That and more is discussed in this latest episode.

-Bolt about get to paid in a major way

-Richards, Bekele, and Insinbeyva share winnings

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show - Podcast #38

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After a brief break, track and field’s top internet radio show returns with two weeks until the World Championships to discuss track and field’s hottest stories. Jay Hicks and John W. Davis chop up the issues.

-Gay vs. Bolt
-Is Allyson Felix unbeatable?
-Can the U.S. 1,500m women medal in Berlin?

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Podcast #37, Lauren Centrowitz PRJ’s Collegiate Female Breakout AOY

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You wanna to get upgraded? Here’s the recipe.

At the beginning of the season Stanford’s Lauren Centrowitz had a 4:16.13 pr at 1,500 meters and ended up shaving six seconds off her time, running 4:10.4 by seasons end, along with earning All-American honors for the ninth time.

But the real story here is consistency both on and off the track.

In 2009, Lauren Centrowitz placed third in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 9 minutes, 14.35 seconds.  She also ran a leg on Stanford’s distance medley that placed fourth at nationals with a school-record time of 10:58.49.

Outdoors Centrowitz outran all predictions, finishing third in the 1,500 at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Off the track, during her collegiate career the Arnold, Maryland native was named to Pac-10 All-Academic team and is pursuing her graduate studies in the fall.

In this special podcast, Centrowitz discusses her post-collegiate plans of running with 1500m runners Lindsey Gallo and Julie Culley, who are also training with her father, Matt Centrowitz and the Pacers Racing Team.

PreRaceJitters’ Off the Track with John W. Davis Podcast # 38 featuring Joe Battaglia

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For the 5th Episode of ” PreRaceJitters’ Off The Track with John W. Davis”, I collaborated with a highly respected Track and Field Journalist.

My guest, none of than Universal Sports Senior Producer, Joe Battaglia.

You probably know Joe as the lead reporter of Universal Sports’ Track and Field section.

I know Joe as a respected colleague, who I wanted to team up with, to breakdown T&F.

So, we decided to record an audio version of Joe’s weekly Inside Track interview/recap/preview article.

Here’s our podcast rundown:

1. Bolt v. Gay
2. The American Distance Scene
3. Marathon Match ups
4. The State of the Long Jump
5. Is Jelimo Back?
6. Who’s the Best Hurdler in The World?

Off the Track with John W. Davis. My Style… Their Stories… For Your Ears Only!

Don’t forget, Off The Track with John W. Davis is a PreRaceJitters.com exclusive.

PreRaceJitters’ Podcast #37, Ahmad Rashad Men’s College Breakout Athlete of the Year

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The 5 foot, 10 inch sprinter swept through the NCAAs earning runner up honors in the 100 meters in 10.10.  The race not only culminated in a personal best for Ahmad Rashad.

The Flint, Michigan native has fought through injuries to become one of the top American collegiate sprinters. For the aforementioned reasons and more, Rashad has been selected as the first men’s PreRaceJitters’ “Breakout Athlete of the Year Award.”

The results were fantastic stuff with the Flint, Michigan - serving notice that not only Rashad can more than run with the big dawgs, but a bigger indictment of more things to come in the future.

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