June was a great month for track & field. The Ohio High School Athletic Association 113th annual Boys and the 46th annual Girls Track & Field Championship were held after the 2020 Championship was cancelled because of COVID 19. However, I was only able to go to the Division II Championship as each Championship was held at different venues. A number of outstanding performances were turned in at each Championship.
Congratulations to all of the athletes and coaches who participated in the OHSAA Track & Field Championship. http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/184-ohsaa-state-track-field-championships-june-4-5-by-matt-mcgowan A number of photos and results are in this issue.
http://runohio.com/index.php/photos/2021
After attending the last six U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials and seven of the past eight Trials with media credentials I was not able to attend this year’s Trails. A month before the Trials they announced there would be no fans due to COVID. Less than two week before the Trails it was announced there would be limited seating. By this time I had already cancelled my plans. Also, my friend Victor Sailor was not able to go to the Trials to take pictures and share them with RUNOHIO as he has in the past. Congratulations to all of the athletes who competed in the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials and good luck to those athletes including a number of Ohio athletes competing in the July 23 - August 8 Tokyo Olympics. http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/191-runohio-july-2021-newsletter
Olympic info - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/193-2021-tokyo-olympic-games
There will be six new sports at the Tokyo Olympics, four of which will be making their Olympic debut: Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. The other two sports, baseball and softball, are returning to the Olympic program after previously being cut. There will also be several new events in existing sports, such as 3-on-3 basketball and mixed-gender relays in swimming and track & field. Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of Eastern time, which means many events held in the evening in Tokyo will be in the early morning hours for US viewers.
With a couple of more months of hot weather running many athletes are looking forward to the fall with cooler temperatures. Don't forget to drink plenty of water before and after your runs. This is especially important during the hot and humid summer days. There are a number of excellent races to test your fitness in the next few months. However, if on race day it is hot and humid take it a little easier and keep your PR efforts for a cooler day. http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/113-athlete-s-kitchen-hot-weather-hydration-tips-by-nancy-clark-ms-rd-cssd
Next month many junior high, high school and college athletes will be gearing up for another cross country season. Many consider cross country one of the purest sports. If not racing yourself, hopefully you will be able to watch an upcoming cross country race and cheer on these athletes. While in graduate school I started the Miami University Women’s cross country club and coached the team for four years and each year the club team finished fourth in the All Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships, behind varsity teams from Bowling Green, Ohio State and Ohio University. In 2007 RUNOHIO helped to sponsor a women’s post collegiate cross country team which won the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at the Voice of America Park in West Chester and a year later (missing one of our top runners) finished fifth in Spokane. Good luck to everyone running cross country this fall.
RUNOHIO will be holding a few cross country races in Granville in July. Andy Harris of the Columbus Running Company will be directing the Jeff McGowan Memorial 5K August 1st to be held at the Columbus Scioto Audubon Metro Park on August 1st. http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/144-jeff-mcgowan-memorial-5k-in-memory-of-jeff-mcgowan-and-mark-dempsey The October 24th Circleville Classic 5 Mile Run in Memory of Jeff & Jean McGowan will be timed by the guys from the Columbus Running Company. http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/179-the-34th-annual-circleville-classic-5-mile-run-in-memory-of-jeff-jean-mcgowan-has-an-in-person-race-and-a-number-of-virtual-events Hopefully, you will be able to run one or more of these events. As with all races we could use a number of volunteers if you are unable to run.
If you are directing a race please send RUNOHIO – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. your race information and/or an entry form as soon as you have the information available.
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I hope to see you at a road race or cross country meet.
Good luck with your training and racing.
Matt McGowan
www.runohio.com