Editor's Note: Noted track writer and TV consultant Walt Murphy lives in New York and loves the New York Armory. But duty takes him to Arkansas this weekend for the Golden Spike tour stop, so he will miss the Armory Collegiate Games. He writes about his feelings.

I Left My Heart -- at the Armory

by Walt Murphy

Don't get me wrong--I love what I do. As a TV consultant, people actually pay
me to go to track meets. I get to travel, meet all of the great athletes in
our sport, and generally have a good time.

But there are times when I wish I was just a regular fan again and could go
to the meet of my choice. I'm in Fayetteville, Arkansas, right now, getting
ready for Saturday's Golden Spike meet, which will be shown on ESPN2 on
Sunday evening
(8-9pm-EST).

It will be a good meet, with Terrence Trammell once more trying to win the
sprint-hurdles double over world-class fields and Stacy Dragila trying not
just to improve her American Record in the pole vault, but to regain the
World mark that she lost last year.

But the track fan in me wants to be back home in NY, heading to my beloved
Armory on Friday and Saturday for the Collegiate Invitational, which is
presented by the NY Road Runners Club. Ah, the Armory, where I ran my first
race oh so many years (and splinters) ago, and where my love of track was
nurtured through the glory days of NY high school track in the 1960s.

Not only could this turn out to be the best collegiate meet of the indoor
season, it will also bring together many of my track buddies, much as the
Penn Relays does outdoors. Bob Hersh will be there, as will Dave Johnson, the
Director of the Penn Relays. And Mt SAC director Scott Davis and Bob Bettwy
are even coming in from California, for crying out loud, while I'm "stuck"
here in Fayetteville(not that there's anything wrong with that). I'll miss
the action on the track, but I'll also miss the post-meet gatherings at
Coogan's, the best "watering hole", bar none, on the track circuit.

Meet director Jack Pfeifer has done a great job in bringing in some of the
nation's strongest collegiate programs, including the men and women from
South Carolina, the Texas men's team, LSU, Villanova, Rice, Tennessee, and
many more. There will also be six high school relays and a handful of "open"
events.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to make it to the meet, Jack has "tortured"
me for weeks with updates on which teams and individuals were coming in. And
Ian Brooks, who puts together many of the special "elite" races at the
Armory, did the same this past week when he let me know that Alan Webb would
be returning to the scene of his 3:59.86 in 2001 to run his first mile as a
"pro".

That was the final blow--I was there when Webb made history by becoming the
first prep to break 4-minutes indoors, and I was in Eugene when he ran
3:53.43 to break Jim Ryun's 36-year old outdoor prep record. Again, the fan
in me wants to be there if he does something "special" on Saturday.

And Webb, who had less than an auspicious outing in his professional debut
last week (his first race in 8 months) in Gainesville, where he ran 1:52.84
for 800-meters, said today on a phone hookup with the media that "I'm in
incredible shape, I'm just not in race shape yet". Still, it sounds like he's
ready to run fast. (The open mile is scheduled for about 3:40 on Saturday.)

If you can make it to the Armory early on Friday, you can watch the weight
throw (women-9:30, Men-Noon) and women's shot put(12:30). The rest of the
program begins at 2:30 and runs until 9:30pm.

FRIDAY FINALS
5:00 Women's 4x800
5:15 Men's 4x800
6:00 Don Roberts Women's 5000
7:20 Fred Lebow Men's 5000
7:40 High School Boys 4x800
8:00 Women's Distance Medley
(North Carolina, w/Shalane Flanagan on the anchor, is scheduled to run,
although Flanagan said earlier in the week that she may rest for next week's
ACC Championships)
8:30 High School Girls 4x800
8:50 Men's Distance Medley
9:20 Open Men's 800

Saturday's program runs from 9:30am-6:00pm. Field events begin at 10am and
the first running final is at 11:10. Tickets are $15.00, $5.00 for students.
If you want a good seat, you'd better get there early.

Armory Collegiate Games