Kep and Jenny B

The best runner to ever come from Webster City, IA (Coach Kep's hometown)...Jenny Barringer (2008 Olympian, American Record Holder, multiple NCAA record holder, and multiple time NCAA champion) with Coach Kepler after winning the inaugural Bowerman Award as the best female collegiate track athlete for the 2009 season.

Track/XC Coaches Convention Update

I was in Orlando, FL over the last five days attending the National Track/Cross Country Coaches Association Convention. It was held at an amazing resort (JW Marriott) not far from Disney World. The weather was great most of the time, but our meetings, symposiums, clinics, and meals limited our free time. It was great to reconnect with several of my colleagues, including my college track/xc coach, Chris Bucknam, who is now the head men's track/xc coach at the U of Arkansas.

The clinics and symposiums were all very informative. As usual the Hall of Fame banquet was excellent and the honorees were very deserving individuals. A new event was held this year to honor the top female and top male collegiate track & field performer from the previous spring season. It is our sports version of the "Heisman Trophy" called "The Bowerman". It is named...of course, for the late Bill Bowerman who was the architect of the great Oregon programs of the 60's and 70's, the coach of legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine, and one of the original founders of Nike.

*I actually visited the home where Bowerman and his Nike Co-founder (current CEO) Phil Knight signed the first contract that started Nike. I visited this home during the 2008 US Olympic Trials. The home is owned by the Jaqua Family. John Jacqua (like Knight) was a former athlete of Bowerman's who they hired as an attorney for their partnership. The Jaqua's residence is the neighboring ranch next to Bowerman's along the McKenzie River just north of Eugene, OR.

I've included a video...sorry if the quality is poor...of Jenny Barringer as she is announced as the initial female winner of the Bowerman at this years convention. Barringer competed for the US in the '08 Olympics and holds the American Record in the 3K Steeplechase. She has also won several NCAA individual championships and various other awards. However, maybe the most interesting fact for me personally is that she was born and lived in my hometown until she was seven years old. (So much for any argument about the best distance runner from Webster City, Iowa:) Enjoy. I will also post a picture from that ceremony in the coming days. She is such a fantastic and gracious person. Congrats to Jenny!

My Break

Yes, even coaches get Christmas Break! Mine actually starts with another week of work, but that week includes time in San Diego and Orlando :) Of course, the forecast in SD and Orlando is for rain :( At least the temps look decent (60's in SD and 70/80 in FL). From there it is off to home (Iowa) for the Christmas holiday to see the family. I haven't been home since July so it will be nice (other than the cold temps and snow) to get back. Hopefully, the weather will be much nicer than the below zero wind chill and blizzard conditions they have had this week.

Our team will be in final exams next week which I don't like to miss, but the National Track Coaches Convention in Florida is a major event within our sport. Good luck to all of our hardworking student athletes and congrats to the freshmen for surviving their first semester of college. Best wishes and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Get Up!

A small taste of jumps practice (with the throwers in the background) in our sweet "gym" of a practice facility. My uncle Wendell would be proud that play on words :) Have a great day!

Training Room

Tough workout on the track; a great long run on the trails; a tempo run at Liberty Park....how do we recover and stay healthy after these great workouts? Play todays video to find out.

Chili Night

I hosted the annual post xc season Chili Dinner this past Thursday night. My dabble into the cooking world for bachelor's has included learning my grandma's chili recipe. I make enough for the whole team and serve it with cornbread as a way for our team to come together and put closure on the season that has just completed. Unfortunately, we had the dinner a littler earlier this year because we didn't get anyone to the NCAA Championship meet. However, that is the only negative as the chili was excellent again (thanks grandman), the team trivia game was hilarious, we had a chance to discuss the season in a meaningful way, we got to say 'goodbye' to our volunteer coach (Carol Eckerly), and finally...it was a chance to come together as a family in a great social environment.

This is another chance for me to say thanks to all of our women for their efforts and growth throughout the season. I think we all learned a lot about each other and what a privilege it is to run at this level and for this program. I know this group will continue to improve by leaps and bounds because they are all so committed to each other and the sport.

A special thanks to Carol. Her parting shot to the team was a message that spoke to the very heart of being on a team, trusting each other and the coaches, and following your dreams. it was one of the best messages I've read from any of the runners or coaches I've been associated with. We wish her the best as she moves on.

Throws Practice

With cross country season over indoor track practice will now take center stage. Today I filmed a short snipet from our the throws and jumps facility here on campus. It is a very functionable facility for all of those events and it's just down the hall from our locker room. Enjoy!

Tough Day for Utes at Regionals

Today was a humbling day for our young and under-maned team at the NCAA Mountain Region meet. Illness and injury left us at less than full strength (five runners) and that combined with our inexperience at a meet of this caliber was a recipe for poor results. However, I give the gals who made the trip and ran credit for running hard and believing in each other. As we sit at the airport awaiting our flight home I watch them sit together and live through a tough moment together. In their moment of humility they communicate with family, do homework, and read in an attempt to move on and look forward to their next race as a Ute. For some this race will stick with them until they race again during the indoor track season. Others will be able to move forward quicker and learn from this moment in shorter time. Ultimately, you can only control so many things. I will take some time and have meetings next week to find out if we did our part to have a successful season or if we need to make changes to have more control of our own fate. The untimely illnesses and injuries we will have to live with and do our best to avoid them in the future. Most of the time it's never one or two glaring issues that lead to poor performance. It's usually a bunch of little things which for a team as young as ours can be difficult to understand. It is my job to evaluate and help them understand what we must do better to achieve our goals as we move forward. I know we (and that includes me as the coach) have some things we need to change, do better and continue to help this team learn and grow towards the success we all know is possible.

The greatest part of being on a team is being able to lean on each other, especially when times are tough or races don't go particularly well. We have all been at the top and know how good that feels. Todays results only reinforce how special those days are and how hard we work to reach them. I know this group. I know they will bounce back. We will back off a bit next week and let everyone catch their breath physically and mentally and then get back to work...teaching, molding, improving, learning, and caring even more with and for each other.

Indoor track officially begins when we land back in SLC this evening. We will be ready! Go Utes!

Finally...An American Wins!

Congrats to American Meb Keflezighi for winning the NYC Marathon yesterday. What an awesome race! First American to win since 1982. Meb was injured last year so this victory is another in a great year for American distance running. I was fortunate to meet and hang out with Meb prior to his race at last years Olympic Trials in Eugene. Nike helped set up a pre race family/friends gathering at the house where the original Nike Company contract was signed by Phil Knight, Bill Bowerman, and others. It was actually next door to Bowerman's ranch on the McKenzie River north of Eugene. A good friend, Chris Rogers, knew Meb from his days working at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego and even ran with him on his recovery days for a while. Meb called him and invited us. You couldn't imagine a more humble, nice, and better representative of the US. Meb was born in Eritrea, but became a naturalized American citizen at a very young age. Congrats again!

Survival Mode

We all thought we could do better, but ultimately we were fortunate to take sixth place at the conference championships. Fighting the flu, some nagging injuries, and inexperience I have to give my team a ton of credit for fighting and doing just enough to grab sixth. The fact is we were seventh or eighth with 800 meters to go and we fought our guts out to regain a position in the middle tier of our conference. Amanda overcame a side stitch. Jenny was consistent, but is still looking for her big breakthrough. Megan's foot continues to nag her. Lucy had a tremendous finish despite straining a calf. Our lone senior, Sydney fought a back and kidney issue, Alexis was in bed for the last three days with illness. Chantel is battling IT band issues. Hillary ran the race of her life and will go to the Regional meet with our team because of an effort that was this coach's silver lining in a less than perfect day.

We will be back. This group will mature and learn. This group will persevere and be better for putting up a great fight instead of doing what many teams do when it's not their day which is to throw in the towel. The dark clouds lingering above the Utes today will be soon be replaced by the smiles and joy from the success which awaits this young group. Patience will be learned and it will serve in time.

Conference Banquet

Tonight we attended the conference championships banquet. All the conference teams gather for a meal, some awards, honor the seniors, and a video montage of the season. It gives our gals a chance to dress up and enjoy the company of the other teams before we all compete against one another in the morning. As usual it was a nice event. Our only senior is Sydney Osmun. She actually came to Utah and competed on the swim team. However, after a coaching change she asked for a chance to compete on our team. She had a lot to learn, but she was patient and is reaping the rewards of her hard work by getting to run at the conference meet. She has stepped up for us all season and we expect her to do the same tomorrow. While I was at the podium and in my attempt to keep things short (as I am not exactly known for that) I didn't mention how endebted I am to my two great volunteer assistants. Shayla Houlihan (who has been with me as an athlete and now a coach) and first year ass't, Carol Eckerly have done a great job of helping me with our very youthful team. They always seem to know what to say and have provided outstanding ideas all season. They are a huge part of our growth and the success we all share. It's time to get a good nights rest and be ready to run with our hearts in stride as one.

The Calm Before the Storm

With about 40 hours before the Mountain West Conference championships all the work has been done. I feel confident that my young team will perform at a very high level. If they do that then the end result will take care of itself. Like everyone we have one gal fighting the flu and a few others dealing with the usual aches and pains that come with our sport. However, everyone is in good spirits and anxious to race in a championship meet that is only 45 minutes from our campus.

I have to admit that I have always preferred being on the athletes side of these meets. I knew that I had complete control of the situation and because I prepared the same every time I knew what I could expect from myself physically and mentally. As a coach you have to constantly battle being a great provider of knowledge vs giving too much information that overwhelms your team...especially one as young as we are. My two great assistants have really done an outstanding job with our team in this area. Maybe that's why I'm not as anxious or nervous as I have been in the past. Our group knows what they need to know. They just need to focus on staying in the moment, giving a great effort, and running for each other. I know they will!

Student Athlete Halloween Party

The annual student athlete Halloween party was held last night at the Student Union bowling alley/game room. This event features team costumes, a team bowling tournament, and pumpkin painting. Our team costume this year was a positive spin on the most recent health epidemic...swine flu. Our team did a great job and as the pictures above show...had a great time. The event is headed by our Associate Athletics Director for student support, Mary Bowman. She works with our Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to put this event together. They provide pizza and beverages. The event also helps the Utah Food Bank as every athlete is asked to bring canned goods as their "entry fee" for the event.

Tailgate Party

With the cross country team off this weekend and the first of three consecutive home football games it was time to have a little fun as a team. My two outstanding assistants, Burke Bockman and Tapio Kuusela (with some help from our sport administrator, Zack Lassiter) organized a team tailgate party prior to our FB game vs Air Force. We had a great spot next to "Utah Village" (games, food, general students, and pre game radio show). Check out a few pics from the event above.

The top picture is freshman Angie Kaplar show off her prize from an outstanding performance at the FB skills booth. The third picture is the track staff with U of U Legend, Manny Hendricks. Manny works in our student athlete support/services office. He played basketball for Utah and then went on to play several years for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL before returning to his beloved alma mater.

Mudville Invite

After eight inches of rain during the week parts of the University of Arkansas cross country course looked more suitable for mud volleyball than running. A large section just beyond the start line as well as another 50 meter path just after the two mile mark made for some interesting running technique. However, the meet was outstanding as usual with several nationally ranked teams in attendance. A total of 37 teams and 267 runners toed the starting line. Our young group was very focused all week and knew this was their last opportunity to build some momentum and confidence before the conference championships in two weeks.

They got out well, ran very well in the middle of the race, and finished the best we have all year. It took less than ideal conditions and a mud bath for me to really find out how tough this team can be. This race is part of a town festival, but that only seemed to heighten our focus and fuel our mission which as a coach is all you can ask...especially with such a young group.

Freshman Amanda Mergaert finished 37th overall in 22:07 which is one of the fastest times we've ever had a first year runner achieve. It was especially impressive considering she was ill and in bed all day Tuesday and Wednesday. The rest of our team all stepped up and ran their best races of the season as well. We finished a respectable 13th and will now focus our whole energy on the conference championships in two weeks!!

Chile Pepper Pre Meet

We just returned from our premeet run and course viewing. This is the first time at this meet for all of our current runners. This course hosted the NCAA Championships back in the late '90's. It is located on the University of Arkansas's Agricultural Center grounds and is a cross country only facility. We will run our first 6K race of the season tomorrow against 39 other teams. There are approximately 300 total runners in our race. The course has a few wet spots due to eight inches of rain that fell earlier in the week. Check back tomorrow for what could be some very interesting/fun pictures and video!!! :)

Community Involvement

Since we were on Fall Break this week our team decided to take advantage of some extra free time by going to a local elementary school and spending time with some of the local kids. We had two different groups--one on Tuesday and another on Wednesday. They enjoyed some recess time as well as spoke to the youngsters about the importance of doing well in school and being involved in many activities. Our athletes have always been very generous with their time especially when it comes to aspiring young Ute fans. The kids really enjoying listening and interacting with our athletes and I know our athletes feel the same. Competing in Division I athletics is a privilege that our women take very seriously. They enjoy sharing their stories about how they were able to get to this level and hope it helps the next generation be successful in their lives. Most importantly we encourage them to dream big and be positive.

Mergaert Leads Utes at Nevada

On an ideal morning to race our team competed against Sacramento State and Nevada-Reno in Reno on a windy course full of rolling hills. Times were very slow due to the tight turns and four trips up the 600 meter hill on this loop style course. I thought we did a much better job of being patient early in the race. However, we failed to respond to some moves mid race and it really cost us in the team race. I was very please with freshman Amanda Mergaert who finished third overall and only 12 seconds behind the winner who was a Regional qualifier in the steeplechase and 5K during the outdoor track season. Jenny McCune was aggressive early in the race and was able to hang on for a top ten finish. Our 3-7 group had a good spread, but they have to get closer to our front two if we hope to meet our team goals in the coming weeks. Like everyone else we have some illness and injuries to overcome and I think we can. Ultimately, we have to run with more confidence and respond to any and all moves that the competition makes in the middle of the race.

Picture: Megan Combe and Amanda Mergaert stretch during their warmup for this mornings 5K race.

Scavenger Hunt Practice

I wanted to mix it up at practice today. I thought we had an excellent practice as a whole on Wednesday and with a long run tomorrow I still wanted to get one more quality workout in without completely beating up our young team.

So I put together a scavenger hunt on campus for the team. We divided into four teams of 2-3 athletes. Everyone had to go to the same places, but in a different order. The sixth and final requirement had them all finishing at the pool and doing three lengths in the water any way they chose. They had to go to the athletics administration offices and take a picture with a specified person. The went to the office of our NCAA athletics/faculty rep. A trip to the compliance office and to the University President's office were also on the list. Finally, they had to go find out what time a particular TRAX (light rail) train left the Ft Douglas Station. It was fun and it was a great workout...particularly when you consider I had them go for a 25 minute run beforehand. All four teams finished within four minutes of each other which also created a great competitive atmosphere.

The top picture is Chantel, Brooke, and Amanda with a picture of our mascot, Swoop, in the ticket office. The other picture features Adrienne, our travel agent--Mary, and Lucy.

We're off to watch the opening swim meet this evening. Have a great weekend. We're off to Park City to do our long run in the morning!!! Sa---weeeeetttt!!!

Firman Invite

This past weekend we competed in Boise, ID at the Bob Firman Invitational. The individual results were really mixed. I thought we had a few gals run their best races of the year, but we definitely had others who struggled. It was a long tough week of practice and I think one our recovery runs was harder than it needed to be. That can't happen with a group as young as ours. They are not strong enough yet to run too hard on a recovery day. I have addressed that issue and adjusted the training this week to allow for an extra day of rest.

The best thing about a little adversity is that it provides a chance to learn and move forward...for everyone including me. I asked a little too much of my young team and now I have to understand those limits and adjust a few things so that we can improve and prepare for our championship meet run in late October and November. Coaching this group has been a lot of fun because you see them help each other. You see them cheer for each other. You see the freshmen rely on the veterans for knowledge. We just need more time to grow and gain some experience and we'll end up where we want to be.

Our next meet is in 12 days at the University of Nevada-Reno.

MSU Invite

The trip as a whole went very good. This was our first overnight trip of the year with all of our new freshmen. I thought the handled it well and were prepared to run. Our team is currently fighting a bout of illness and a few injuries which kept us from being full strength. However, this gave some of our developing athletes a chance to step up and be counting runners for the team. I thought several of them stepped up and competed well.

It was a very fast race because the weather was ideal and the course was primarily flat and dry. We didn't finish where we hoped to in the team standings, but in our sport we all recognize that September doesn't count for a whole lot. We know our team will score much better when it counts and everyone is healthy.

On our trip home we stopped in Yellowstone National Park and explored the Gallatin River for a few minutes....wow, that water was cold, but it felt great. Nobody fell in so that was good too.

MS Dinner of Champions

This past Wednesday evening I had the privilege of attending the Multiple Sclerosis Dinner of Champions presented by the McCarthey Family. (If the McCarthey name sounds familiar it is because they provided the lead gift for our new outdoor track and field facility that is currently being built). The McCarthey Family Foundation has a long history of providing support and generous gifts to many organizations and community projects that we are extremely proud to be a part of.

This dinner was amazing in so many ways. The evening honorees included community leaders, athletes, and people currently living with M.S. who continue to move everyday and help provide the answers that will one day unlock the mystery of this disease.

I sat with our Athletic Director, Dr. Chris Hill; Football coach, Kyle Whittingham; and a few members of last years 13-0, Sugar Bowl winning, Conference Champion team. Whittingham was being honored as the Sportsperson of the Year while the Football team was named the Team of the Year. It was a pleasure to be there to help honor them and all of the evenings award winners who come from all walks of life and provide a different perspective on M.S. Their stories and courage are all very inspirational.

My thanks to the Athletics Department and Dr. Hill for inviting me as well as Phil McCarthey for all of his support to our program, the University of Utah, and our great State of Utah.

Team Pre Meet Dinner

We had a great team meal this evening after our pre meet workout at the course here in Bozeman. As usual, we had some good Italian food and shared some good stories. The trip up through Yellowstone National Park was amazing as usual. The last 90 minutes of the trip from West Yellowstone to Bozeman are right out of "Field and Stream" magazine. After a tough week of practice we get another chance to see where we are at this point of the season tomorrow against a very tough field. Wish us luck!

Newspaper Article

The Salt Lake Tribune printed a nice article about our team in this mornings edition. It focuses on two of our freshmen and their different paths to Utah. Check it out!

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_13345570

Utes Shine in Community Events

This past weekend our teams (track and cross country) participated in two community events.

The Avenues Street Fair is an annual event in the historic "Avenues" neighborhood north of campus and downtown Salt Lake City. Vendors, organizations, and other community groups set up tents and stands promoting their items or organizations during this fun weekend event. Utah Athletic teams take turns manning the both throughout the morning and afternoon promoting their programs and speaking with the people and families who stop by the booth to meet them. We split the track team (non cross country runners) in two and had each group cover an hour time slot. They had a lot of fun and enjoyed speaking with all the different people who attended and asked questions. They also handed out stickers, balloons and signed autographs for the kids.

University Health Systems also had a Health Fair on our campus. Lots of vendors and organizations participated in this event that focused on good health. Our women's cross country team covered this event for our program. Like the Avenues Street Fair, they helped promote Utah athletics and our program by speaking with attendees, signing autographs, and being enthusiastic.

These community events are great ways to reach out to the community and our fans who support us. Everyone is positive and wants to know how we are doing and what our expectations for the upcoming year are. They are also excellent networking opportunities for our upperclassmen who are looking for jobs after they graduate. In both cases we had lots of help. This meant that we could always keep a few student athletes at the both and let the others wander around the Fairs meeting and greeting people and checking out the individual tents and stands.

Overall, it was another positive experience for all of our athletes and the time commitment was very minimal (one hour) for everyone. It also served as a team bonding event for our groups outside of practice or an athletics event.

Kep's Korner

Today marked the start of a new era in our program. I officially have 15 minute segment on our campus radio station (KUTE) during the Redzone Sports Talk Show. My segment is on Wednesdays from 12:15-12:30. You listen via live streaming from the internet or download the podcast. The download is usually available by the next day.

http://www.kute.utah.edu/wb/pages/podcasts.php

This the link to the show. Tune in to find out more about our program, Utah Athletics, and my knowledge of other sports....ha ha.

Tuesday Practice

On Tuesday we did some 3 minute bouts with 2 minutes rest at current race pace. Overall, I was pleased. However, it is still early and this young team has to do a better job of closing gaps and responding to moves. We still have 10 days before our next race to continue improving.

Today we had a team meeting with the track & field team to go over our team handbook, schedule, and provide necessary information on a variety of topics that will be required if we are to have a successful season. We have a great group who were attentive and added information to fill in a few of my gaps.

Overall, I am really excited with both the cross country and track & field teams. They are genuinely great women who are excited to continue moving our program forward.

The Season is Underway

Finally...we opened the race schedule on Saturday morning at Utah State. Overall, I was pleased with the effort. With such a young team I knew we might not score as well as we would have liked. However, we will close the gap on USU and Weber as the season progresses. They both beat us at this meet a year ago, but at the Regional meet in November we peaked and ran by them. The only thing I care about in September is that we give a great effort and learn how to run smart. We took some good steps in that direction with this meet.

The only negative is that we were too conservative in the first mile. I will take the blame for that because I warned our eight newcomers about not charging out like high schoolers typically do and to be patient. They followed my instructions, but it put us too far back after the first mile and we just ran out of race as I thought most of our gals finished well. We will address this in practice the next two weeks and start doing some more race specific training before we go to Montana State.

Our top two runners, freshmen Jenny McCune (11th) and Amanda Mergaert (13th) ran within five seconds of last years winning time put up by our own Chelsea DiGrazia. So it was a fast race and the weather was ideal.

Hangin' with Darius (aka Hootie)

We've had some really amazing concerts pass through SLC this year (Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, The Fray, Def Lepard, Toby Keith, Nickelback, and just to name a few). Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley will be coming later in September.

However, last night I went to a concert at a small amphitheater in Sandy (suburb of SLC). It maybe held 1000 people. It was a perfect night to be outside under the moon and stars. And the show was spectacular. Darius Rucker has gone country. (Most people remember him as the lead singer of the POP group "Hootie & the Blowfish" back in the 90's). He played all three of his number one hit singles from his debut country album and also mixed in some of the old Hootie favorites along with covers from Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson, and closed the night with Prince's huge hit "Purple Rain". A lot of great songs, a great band, Darius in rare form and our fifth row, dead center seats didn't hurt either :)

Kenyan Wednesday

Today we did a Kenyan Run at Liberty Park in downtown SLC. It's a pretty flat park with a 1.5 mile woodchip and/or grass trail that is perfect for this workout. After of good warm up we ran four miles starting at a pace slightly faster than a steady run and decreased 20 seconds per mile. Just about everyone hit their goal paces and looked good. All three groups looked relaxed the first half and then had to work over the second half of the run which simulates a race very well, but without a race like effort. I thought it went very well overall, especially when you consider how many newcomers we have who have never done a run quite like this.

Construction and Practice

September has officially begun. It still feels a lot like July here in SLC, but Fall will officially be here before we know it. Our first week of classes and practices has gone well, but we still have a lot of work to do with so many newcomers on the team this year.

The major news for us is that the construction of our new $2.6 million outdoor track & field facility has begun. I will continue to provide new pictures as the site changes. Completion is scheduled for around Thanksgiving time. This is slightly later than we hoped for and we need everyone to pray for good weather in October and November. However, we are all excited about this project.

We've had a few athletes that have been slowed down by some nagging injuries, but they seem to be getting better with each practice. Today we had a recovery run after a tough practice yesterday. We also did a little power work on a short steep hill at the end as you can see in the pictures.

The first football game of the '09 season is Thursday night. How will the Utes respond after a perfect 13-0 season last year? We will start to find out against in-state rival Utah State.

Scholarship Dinner

Last night five of our athletes and myself attended one of the premier athletic events of the school year at the President's house. The President and his wife host a dinner in their backyard for athletes representing each sport, head coaches, and our scholarship donors. It gives the donors an opportunity to interact with the athletes and coaches whom they support on an annual basis. It is a great event that also provides an opportunity for our athletes to speak with very successful supporters of our university and the community as a whole. You never know when this might lead to a job opportunity after graduation.

Our team's attendees included: Klaudia Rokossa (pole vault), Alyssa Abbott (xc/distance), Chelsey Kaplar (long sprints/hurdles), Langley Iverson( high jump) and Sarah Grimm (throws).

Using names and events above can you guess who each athlete is?

Picture #1 is the girls "chillin" by the pool before dinner. Picture #2 is the "just finishing dinner" shot.

Morning Weights

We do our strength (weights) workouts on Monday and Wednesday mornings before classes starts. In the past we've gone in the afternoon after our running workouts. However, our upperclassmen voted to go in the morning this year to get it out of the way. So far it has been a great switch.

Student Athlete Orientation

The annual student athlete orientation BBQ was held last night on the sixth floor of the football stadium press box. Over 95% of the student athletes were able to be in attendance for games and a great meal. The athletic administration holds this event to help kick off the new school year by having athletes from all of the different sports participate in table games and other fun activities.

Our athletic director, Dr. Chris Hill, welcomed the student athletes back to campus and wished them good luck on another great year in their sports and in the classroom.

The picture above features five of our returning track & field athletes. Sophomores Bree LeRoy, Klaudia Rokossa, seniors Laryssa Simpson, Whitney Wellington, and sophomore Lucy Yates all enjoy the festivities.

Workout Tuesday

Today was our first workout of the first week of classes. I was pleased with the overall effort. I thought our groups worked well together and helped push each other. It was a little warmer than it was supposed to be, but our kids stayed hydrated and handled the work load well.

We ran on a gravel road that is in Red Butte Garden which is just above our dorms on campus. It has a little shade and there are always other locals running up there so we weren't alone. It was perfect warm up run from our locker room up to the parking lot. There is actually a concert there tonight and the band was doing sound check during our warm up. They sounded pretty good for an unknown group. Although, they have competition for fans tonight as Def Lepard, Cheap Trick, and Poison are in town playing at USANA amphitheatre for all of you hair band fans.

After the workout I think everyone felt good about the quality and quantity. A few of the gals did a longer cooldown before everyone returned for stretching and a cold whirlpool to help the legs recover.

We will lift again in the morning and go on a recovery run tomorrow afternoon. Thursday we will be at Liberty Park for some threshold running.

Long Run Saturday

After a solid week at camp up in Park City we returned to campus and SLC. This morning we got up early (7:30am) and did our long run on the Jordan River Trailway. We have several athletes who are at different levels of their training. Some are in fantastic shape after a solid summer of running while others are nursing some minor injuries. I asked everyone to add 4-5 minutes to their longest run of the summer for today's run. We all started together on our out and back run and then split up into groups as needed along the way. After our tough hill session yesterday, we made sure not to go out too hard this morning. Overall, I was pleased with the progress we made again today. We still have a ways to go, but everyone finished in good spirits and some of the injuries are slowly getting better. With full time access to our training room and PT equipment we hope to have some of these lingering, overuse issues fixed in a few weeks. The women know it is on them to get to the training room and take care of themselves as well as eat and hydrate properly per some of our discussions at camp. We have a great sport nutritionist who is also providing our team great support in that area.

Tomorrow the team will be on their own per the NCAA's mandated one day per week off from practice. I'll check in Monday after the first day of classes and let you know how we are doing. Enjoy your weekend. Go Utes!

Last Day Hill Workout

We started our final day of camp with a morning hill workout near the resort. I felt really good about everyone's effort. We still have a few injuries that we need to keep a close eye on, but overall we have better depth than we've had since I arrived here at Utah four years ago. I feel like the freshmen are all fitting in very well and trying to learn from our returners. The returners look stronger a year later so we should have a great battle for spots later in the season when the championship meets limit the number of runners we can travel.

We will finish up camp with ice baths and breakfast followed by a team and individual goal setting session before heading back to campus. The freshmen still need to take a walk around campus to get an idea of where their classes are. We will also pick our meet gear and get locker assignments from our outstanding equipment guy, Chris Anderson.