A new American men's 3000-meter steeplechase record and the naming of Robert Gary as the OSU men's track and field coach were two track items making news last month.

Daniel Lincoln's 8:08.92 clocking in the 3000-meter steeplechase in Rome eclipsed Henry Marsh's American record of 8:09.17 set in 1985. Many Ohioans remember Mark Croghan's record attempts over the nearly ten years that he was America's top steeplechaser. He ran in three Olympics with a fifth place finish in 1996. Croghan missed the American record by less than a second with his 1993 clocking of 8:09.76.

Robert Gary, who ran the steeplechase in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, was named the Men's track and field coach at The Ohio State University. Gary has been the Men's cross country head coach at Ohio State since his graduation from OSU in 1996. I have had the privilege of knowing Robert since 1996 when I was able to witness his competitive spirit during the Athens Olympic Track & Field Trials 3000-meter steeplechase as I watched him form the infield as I took pictures. Gary finished second behind training friend Croghan. I e-mailed Robert when it was announced that he was named head coach, and I asked him if he wanted to add anything to the official press release. He replied - "I am very thankful to The Ohio State University for the opportunity. I will work extremely hard to put together a staff that is as energetic and knowledgeable as the rest of our University; it's always about people."

The weather the past month has been everything runners in the Midwest have to deal with while trying to run. Many days have been great, but a number of days the heat and humidity have forced runners to adapt their training. Don't forget to not overdo it in the heat and drink plenty of water. Many runners will be taking to cross-country courses as practice starts for high schoolers this month. Don't forget to go to your local running shoe store to get a new pair of shoes. It is important to get a new pair of shoes every season. If you are not running any cross country races and want to watch some exciting racing check out your local high school or college for their home meets and go out and cheer for these young runners. Mark your calendar for the All-Ohio Collegiate Cross Country Championships to be hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University on Friday, October 6th, and the OHSAA State Cross Country Championships at Scioto Downs Saturday, November 4th.

Last month the camera that I have been using for years malfunctioned. I haven't gone digital yet and am hoping to make it through the year with my old camera. When I took it into a local camera store, which has a number of locations, I was given a repair estimate. I could have accepted the price but I was told it would be 6-8 weeks. Thus, I declined their service thinking it should not take that long. I found a place just a mile from where I teach, called Comtronics Camera & Video Repair located in the Graceland Mall, and was told I could get my camera fixed in a week for half the price I was quoted from the other store. I hope this gets me through this year and maybe I will look for a new camera in 2007.

It will not be long before the summer weather will give way to the cool of fall. Good luck with your upcoming races; whether you are training for a 5km, 10km, half marathon or marathon may you run a seasonal best.

I recently returned from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as the newly formed Association of Running Publications (ARP) held its annual meeting there. RUNOHIO is one of 27 regional publications that belong to this trade organization. The mission of the ARP is to publicize and promote excellence in the presentation and publication of running and multi- sport media. It is always good to meet with the other regional running publications and discuss how we can better serve the running community. RUNOHIO is also a member of the Running Network, which represents 33 running related publications and solicits national advertising for the various publications. For the next month I am going to offer one of the promotions another publication offered to its' subscribers. Current subscribers or new subscribers can sign up a friend for a year subscription for only $1. The name of the promotion is "Buddy for a Buck". So take a few minutes and renew your subscription or sign up for the first time and add a year's subscription for a friend for only $1. The form is at the bottom of this page...

The next issue will be a mid-September/October issue. Please forward race information, race results and advertising as soon as possible.

I hope to see you at a road race this month.

Matt McGowan

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