photo by DyeStat at Arcadia 2002
Allyson Felix knew she could be a good runner when
she finished 7th in the 200 meters in the California State Meet
as a freshman. The 200 became her specialty.
On March 2 in Boston, she stunned Olympic runners
when she placed second in the 200 at the USA Indoor National Championships
with a new high school record of 23.14. What surprised some observors
even more than her time was the fact that she passed defending
champion Kelli White in the last strides. They would not have
been surprised if they had seen her close ground on the great
Monique Henderson in California races as a sophomore.
Actually, Allyson overcomes poor starts in many
of her races. She is working on that as she tackles her last high
school goal before going on to the University of Southern California
-- the US high school 200 meter outdoor record (22.58) held by
none other than Olympic and world champion Marion Jones. Felix
flirted with the record at last year's state meet, hitting 22.69
with a tail wind (+2.6 mps) in the prelim and 22.83 into a headwind
(-1.3 mps) in the finals. The record could come at the Arcadia
Invitational April 12 or at other high octane races in Southern
California on the way to the California State Meet in June.
Allyson
Felix past performances
Event Mark Meet
2003 Indoor
G-200 23.14 USR 3/2/2003, USA Nationals MA, # 2
G-200 23.57 2/15/2003, Simplot Games ID, # 2
G-60 7.42 2/15/2003, Simplot Games ID, # 3
2002 Outdoor
G-200 23.48 -0.2 7/21/2002, World Juniors , # 5
G-200 23.34 -3.5 6/21/2002, USA Jr Nationals CA, # 2
G-200 22.83 -1.3 6/1/2002, State Meet CA, # 1
G-100 11.4 p +0.9 6/1/2002, State Meet CA, # 1
G-200 22.95 +0.4 5/24/2002, SS Masters CA, # 1
G-100 11.48 -0.8 5/24/2002, SS Masters CA, # 1
G-200 22.99 +1.3 5/18/2002, SS Division 4 CA, # 1
G-100 11.7 +0.0 5/18/2002, SS Division 4 CA, # 1
G-200 23.05 -0.4 4/20/2002, Mt. SAC Relays CA, # 1
G-200 23.08 -0.1 4/13/2002, Arcadia Inv Div CA, # 1
G-100 11.54 +0.2 4/13/2002, Arcadia Inv Div CA, # 1
G-400 55.01 4/6/2002, Oakland Inv CA, # 1
G-100 11.71 +0.7 4/6/2002, Oakland Inv CA, # 1
G-200 23.62 +2.0 3/30/2002, Pasadena Games CA, # 1
G-100 11.56 -2.8 3/30/2002, Pasadena Games CA, # 1.
2002 Indoor
G-200 23.68 3/10/2002, Armory-NSI NY, # 2
G-60 7.44 3/10/2002, Armory-NSI NY, # 1
G-200 24.11 2/16/2002, Simplot Games ID, # 1
G-60 7.45 2/16/2002, Simplot Games ID, # 1
G-200 23.98 2/9/2002, Midwest Indoor NE, # 2
G-60 7.46 2/9/2002, Midwest Indoor NE, # 2.
Q&A
with Allyson Felix
1. Briefly
describe Simplot and Boston -- your expectations going in, the
flow of the races from your perspective, and your feelings after.
At Simplot, I just wanted to open up my indoor season
strong and see where I was at. At Boston, my main goal was to
get a race in before NSIC and also to run a good time. Afterwards,
I was excited with the time I ran and about making the US team.
2. At Arcadia last year, a local reporter
was pressing you for a description of the pressures you were facing.
I said, and you agreed, that you just seemed to be having fun.
Are you still having fun, now that you are a senior and expectations
are sky high?
Yes, I am still enjoying every moment of my running.
I know that there are high expectations, but I just take one race
at a time, have fun with it, and try not to let the pressure affect
me.
3. Are you training any differently
this year? Are your starts still a problem?
My training continues to be the same, maybe a little
more intensive in the weight room. My starts are still a problem.
I'm working on them and am starting to see improvement.
4. What is your proudest accomplishment
to date?
Placing 7th as a freshman in the 200m race of the
2000 California State meet. This is when I really recognized the
gift God blessed me with and made the decision to seriously pursue
running.
5. What person or thing has had the most impact on
your life? Explain briefly.
The Lord Jesus Christ has had the most impact on
my life. He is the reason I live and the reason I run is to glorify
God. Without Him, I have nothing and I realize my running is a
blessing from God.
6. How do you prepare yourself mentally
for a big race? Do you have a favorite song?
Each time I go into a race, I always focus on what
I have to do technically. I attempt to put aside any distractions
and make sure I run my same race. With regards to a favorite song,
I don't really have a favorite song.
7 . What do you like to do when you have spare time
(if any) from school work and running?
I rarely find any free time, but when I do, I enjoy
being with friends and family.
8. How important in your college choice
was a desire to stay close to home in SoCal?
Being close to home was important to be me because
we have a very close family and the weather here is perfect. But
I was very open to going away to school, but USC turned out to
be the best situation for me.
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photo by Mike Boucher
Russell Brown was a little disappointed with his junior
year in high school, but he is making up for it big time in his
senior year.
A fast 600 meters (1:20.59) on the slow University
of New Hampshire track February 8 put him 16th on Jack Shepard's
all time list, so he looked forward to the New England Championships
on the fast Reggie Lewis Center oval in Boston.
Brown was not disappointed this time as he roared
to a 1:19.41 clocking, second fastest ever by a US high school runner.
Brown is already signed to run for Stanford next year.
His goal for outdoor season is to get good times in a wider range,
from 400 meters to a mile.
Russell
Brown past performances
Event Mark Meet
2003 Indoor
B-600 1:19.41 2/28/2003, New England Ch. MA, # 1
B-600 1:20.59 2/8/2003, IMS state meet NH, # 1
B-Mile 4:21.29 1/18/2003, Yale Classic CT, # 1
B-800 1:56.35 1/11/2003, Dartmouth Relays NH, # 1.
2002 Outdoor
B-800 1:53.9 6/15/2002, AOC National NC, # 16
B-800 1:53.81 6/8/2002, New England Ch. MA, # 1
2002 Indoor
Event Mark Meet
B-800 1:55.09 3/10/2002, Armory-NSI NY, # 2
B-600 1:20.82 3/1/2002, RL-New England Ch MA, # 2
B-800 1:55.25 2/17/2002, USATF Northeast MA, #
B-600 1:22.02 1/26/2002, IMS State Meet NH, # 1
B-800 1:55.18 1/12/2002, Dartmouth Relays NH, # 1
B-600 1:23.6 12/22/2001, Winter League NH, # 1.
Q&A
with Russell Brown
1. Briefly describe last weekend and your season to
date, especially your 600 in the state meet, which was 2nd fastest
ever.
Early this season I was training for the mile in the hopes of running
at Millrose. I planned on running a qualifying time at the Yale
Invitational, but it wasn't fast enough. That was probably for the
best. Millrose was the night before my state meet where I ran 1:20.
After running that at UNH, which is not considered a very fast track,
I knew I could run really fast at New Englands. If I had qualified
for Millrose, I may not have run as fast the next day. My 600 at
New Englands was really a culmination of all the work I have put
into my training this year. It was my goal since last year to break
1:20, and reaching your goals is the best thing that can happen
in this sport.
2. What are your goals for the rest of your senior
year? for your career?
I'd like to improve my 400 and 800 times a lot, and run a strong
mile. I plan on focusing on the 800 in outdoor, but I want to make
myself into a more versatile runner before I get to college. As
far as times, I really would rather not say. I do feel that my 800
pr outdoor was not as fast as I could have gone. I didn't get a
chance to really open up until the end of the season, and I don't
think I ever ran to my potential. This year, my main goal is to
drop that time by a lot.
3. Are you training any differently this year?
I'm doing most of the same things I did last year. The thing that
has made my season successful so far is really consistency. I haven't
gotten side tracked by injuries for a while now, and that has made
the difference.
4. What is your proudest accomplishment to date?
My 600 at New Englands is definitely my proudest accomplishment
so far. I think it was the best indicator of my ability and the
shape I'm in.
5. What person or thing has had the most impact on
your life? Explain briefly.
When I was fourteen I ran at the Hershey Nationals in Pennsylvania.
When I was there I met Rafer Johnson who was there as the spokesperson
of the meet. He congratulated me at the end of my race, and gave
me a lot of good advice. He really inspired me by what he said,
and by his own accomplishments. I have thought about what he said
to me and did for me a lot throughout my track career since then.
I'm not sure that he has had the biggest impact on my entire life,
but he certainly inspired in me a real determination to succeed
in track.
6. What person (athlete or otherwise) would you most
like to meet? What would you ask them?
I would have loved to meet Marty Glickman, who died a couple of
years ago. He was a member of the US Olympic 4 x 400 team in 1936
in Berlin. On the day before he was to compete he was pulled off
the team by Avery Brundage, the head of the US team, because Glickman
was Jewish. Hitler was to attend the competition that day and after
all of Jesse Owens success the Germans asked that we not further
“embarrass” him by having Glickman run. Incredibly-and
despite the protests of the other US runners- Brundage complied.
I just can’t imagine finally reaching the climax, of a runner’s
career, the Olympics, and then being told not to run because of
a man like Hitler. I would ask him what track meant to him personally,
and if that was compromised after his experience in Berlin.
7. How do you prepare yourself mentally for a big race?
Do you have a favorite song?
I don't generally listen to one particular song, but Talvin Singh
always relaxes me and puts me in the right state of mind. I also
like to do a bit of visualization of my race beforehand. But mostly
I just try to eat right and sleep right, and not think about the
race too much. When I think about the race too much, I just get
too nervous.
8. What do you like to do when you have spare time
from school work and running?
I like to spend time with my family, and hang out with my friends.
I just like to relax when I'm not running.
9. You run for the Lynx Elite club team. Do you also
run for your high school?
The lynx club is really only a team I belong to in the summer. During
the school year I run for my high school. The DMR was a privilege
that we were given by the meet directors at The US Indoors. I do
really value the opportunities to run at high level meets I have
gotten from running with the Lynx Elite team.
10. Anything else you would like to say to DyeStat
fans?
I would like to tell them to be careful not to spend all their
time writing in to the dyestat chat rooms.
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