Thanksgiving links...

Now that you've stuffed yourselves with turkey and all the trimmings on Thanksgiving, here are some links to get you back on track:

First are two videos, courtesy of the Daegu 2011 Local Organizing Committee for next year's version of the IAAF World Track & Field Championships, which begin on August 27th, and run until September 4th.

This video gives an update on preparations for the world championships, including the installation of a new blue track:



The next video introduces "Sarbi", the official mascot of the Daegu 2011 organizing committee, who looks like a white rasta man.  We'll let you decide on what you think of Sarbi!



Next is a link to the list of events offered at each stop of the 2011 edition of the Samsung Diamond League.  You can read the events here.

The Nike Prefontaine Classic will be held in Eugene on June 4th, while the adidas Grand Prix will be held a week later at Icahn Stadium in New York.

Finally, here's a link to a post written by Kevin Liao of spikeduppsychedup.com on the woes of the four Pac-10 teams at Monday's NCAA cross country championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Liao touches on some points that I suspected over the last few weeks of the season--that Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, and Washington have beaten up on each other, and that the results of this season-long battle royal finally showed up at nationals.

At the NCAA West Regionals in Springfield, several observers close to both schools came up to me and said that both Oregon and Stanford were training through the meet, as they were of the opinion that the Ducks and Cardinal, who won the Pac 10s two weeks earlier, didn't necessarily have to place in the top two to ensure a trip to Terre Haute.

Those same observers also stated that they were of the opinion that the Huskies were the team that needed the automatic top-two finish at the regional meet the worst, based on their sub-par showings at the Notre Dame and Pre-Nationals races.

Washington came away with the victory in Springfield, but their strong effort may have cost them (the same seven runners who competed at regionals for the Huskies also ran at the NCAA championships) in Terre Haute.

Stanford's chances at a possible podium finish went out the window when #1 runner Kathy Kroeger failed to finish.  After Jordan Hasay's third place finish and Alex Kosinski's 19th place effort, the next Duck to cross the line was Zoe Buckman in 81st.  Arizona's five runners ran close together, but their lead runners were not close to the front to make an impact in the team race.