Comments for HepsTrack.com

Comment on Five Years And A Cloud of Dust by Brett

Brett — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:48:16 +0000

Yes Jay, I know about your father and his work on behalf of Fritz Pollard. There have been a lot of people lobbying for Fritz throughout the years and the momentum built with the the Carroll book, the Fritz Pollard Alliance and Dave Roach’s Fritz Pollard Award all at the same time. I was thrilled to be able to jump in the middle of that and watch the Hall become complete!

Comment on Five Years And A Cloud of Dust by Jay Barry

Jay Barry — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:11:12 +0000

Brett, I would like to thank you so much for the great effort that lead to Mr. Pollard
s induction to the HOF. You see, my dad was Jay Barry, class of ’50 at Brown. He had started to work on a book about Fritz a few years before his death from cancer in 1985. He was so busy with other Brown projects in his position of Dir. of Special Editorial Projects that he was not able to finish his own book effort. We did meet with Fritz in his New Rochelle home in 1965, and a subsequent meeting a few years later did lead to a nice article in Ebony magazine. But alas, he was not able to complete his idea of a book about Fritz.

My mom did, however, provide Mr. Caroll with all my dad’s notes about Mr. Pollard, which contributed greatly to his book you show above.

Again, thanks very much for your efforts, as I too shed a few tears of joy when Fritz Pollard entered into the HOF.

Comment on Woke Up In a Soho Doorway* by Brett

Brett — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:08:55 +0000

Mary… I cannot necessary put this in English, but from Wikipedia…

Instead participating websites voluntarily insert Quantcast HTML code inside Web pages they wish to have included in statistics. This code allows Quantcast to keep track of the traffic directed towards those Web sites.[4] Using this mechanism Quantcast can provide thorough details about Web pages created by participating publishers. Some of this information includes, for example, whether the Web page viewer is a male or female, whether the average viewer makes $30,000 USD annually or $100,000 USD annually, the age group of the viewer and the amount of U.S. homes the Web site reaches. This information is provided by inference: comparing and correlating the information received from one participating publisher with another. The inferences are possible because the Quantcast code causes the user’s browser to access Quantcast’s servers, at which time they can log the user’s IP address and information Quantcast places in cookies that are stored in the user’s browser. The cookies significantly aid in making inferences.

Comment on Woke Up In a Soho Doorway* by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:30:30 +0000

How does this tabulating website determine the details of the viewer (i.e. age and income)?

Comment on Can The Track Come Back? by Mike Owens

Mike Owens — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:51:25 +0000

There are very large restroom facilities and locker rooms under the grandstand– no lines and a great place to stretch when it’s cold during late season XC

Comment on Can The Track Come Back? by Brett

Brett — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 02:16:38 +0000

Heps was held at Wien Stadium, which is the Columbia football stadium. Different stadium. Heps has never been held at the VCP stadium, although Dave Johnson of the Penn Relays tells me that cross country used to either begin or end on the track.

Comment on Can The Track Come Back? by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:47:02 +0000

I know Columbia hosted outdoor Heps in 2005… which track was that (I was injured in the 2005 season so I didn’t compete so I don’t know if this was the same stadium or not)?

Comment on This Is Harder Than The Vault? by Peter

Peter — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:39:00 +0000

C’mon everyone knows how tough it is to drive a car! You even have to hoist yourself up into a sitting position for goodness sales! Most weight loss programs recommend 2 things: eat less and DRIVE YOUR CAR MORE! Of course the avid driver has to beware the many over use injuries that come from car driving: Calluses (on the butt) eye strain from watching the road, tendinitis from moving the steering wheel. Get with the program you lazy T&F slackers!

Comment on Paying It Forward by Greg Page

Greg Page — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:11:38 +0000

Brett, much thanks for keeping up the site during the (alleged) off-season. I appreciate being kept informed of Heps-related events and people.

Comment on This Is Harder Than The Vault? by Brett

Brett — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:10:40 +0000

I suspect it would be different if we convened a panel here on Heps Track!

Comment on This Is Harder Than The Vault? by Mary B

Mary B — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:25:10 +0000

It just goes to show how little interest or understanding the US has in track and field. I bet it would be a different ranking if Europeans or Africians were asked this question.

Comment on Bearing The Red, White and Blue by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:18:16 +0000

Is there anyone out at the meet site who can provide updates or pictures?

Comment on Another Junior At Worlds by Brett

Brett — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:15:40 +0000

Done… In text in story… http://www.athletics.ca/monctonjrs2010/main.asp?id=486

Comment on Another Junior At Worlds by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:03:25 +0000

Could you post a link to the Canadian Junior Nationals results?

Comment on One Young Tiger Wins, Another Leads by Another Junior At Worlds « Heptagonals Track & Field

Another Junior At Worlds « Heptagonals Track & Field — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:51:04 +0000

[...] third qualifier is Princeton star hammer thrower Conor McCullough, who broke the American junior record in the event at the USATF Junior [...]

Comment on A Female Bannister? by Pete Ippel

Pete Ippel — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:55:44 +0000

Big smiles from California.

:-D

Comment on A Female Bannister? by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:49:54 +0000

LOL. Awesome photo.

Comment on Kinsley Takes National Title by Rick Marshall

Rick Marshall — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:15:24 +0000

Craig is actually the first Brown athlete to win an outdoor NCAA title since Gil Borjeson’s hammer title in 1952 (176-4 3/8). In 1989 Greg Whiteley won the NCAA indoor 3000 (7:55.49.)

Comment on Tin Soldiers & Nixon Coming… by Peter Billia

Peter Billia — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 19:41:10 +0000

I heard about your articles on the 1970 Outdoor Heps Track Championship from Barney Forsythe. Barney and I are 1970 Army classmates and track teammates. I was a member of two of Army’s winning 2-mile relay teams at Heps Championships and took 3d place honors in the 1000 yard run at the 1969 Indoor Championships at Cornell behind Keith Colburn and Steve Bittner.
Thank you for taking the time to reflect back on those times. I loved being associated with the Heps and wish to this day that the academies were still part of that league. The late sixties were difficult times for all of us who experienced it as part of our college years. Those of us from the academies were deeply affected by events around us. We had to listen to the names of former graduates announced in our dining halls who were not coming back from Southeast Asia time after time. As the war continued, our time to serve was inevitable.
Track and our association with the Ivy Schools was a wonderful diversion for us. I always cherished the times we had the opportunity to visit Ivy campuses and experience lives and establish lasting friendships and respect for the student athletes we competed against. The quiet bus ride home from Yale in 1970 was difficult for us. As seniors, we knew our track careers were drawing to a close and this would be our last opportunity to compete against our Hep friends. We had hoped politics would not interfere with our sport, but it did. I harbor no regrets for the Academies decision to quit the meet. For us, it was the correct one. Likewise, I’ve always respected the need for those in our generation to express their frustration with the state of affairs at the time.
My graduating class of 1970′s motto is “Serve With Integrity”. None of us are serving in a military capacity anymore, but I am proud of what many have accomplished with their lives. As an example, we have a standing Govenor in Nevada, College President, MTV International President, professional doctors, lawyers, and many other careers which benefit the lives of others. I chose to become a Dentist and have had a successful private practice for the past 29 years. As a gift to West Point, my class created and permanently endowed a National Conference on Ethics in the Workplace which is attended by hundreds of college students and corporate leaders annually. We continue to serve the public and private sectors to make lives better for society as a whole.
In 1982 I established my practice in a Massachusetts town that just happened to be the residence of Harvard’s legendary track coach, Bill McCurdy. Over the years, I was privileged to treat he and his family as we became genuine friends. We shared old photos and stories relating to our competetive rivalry in the late sixties. He confided in how much he respected the Army athletes as competitors and the feeling was mutual. As a testament to him, many of his former runners would come by from time to time to check on “coach” and he would invite me to come to his home to share those moments when there was possibly someone I would remember. We’d sit in his kitchen, drink beers, and talk about old times. Can’t remember all the former Harvard guys who came by, but Keith Colburn and Tim McLoone were there multiple times. The 1970 Heps was a topic that came up, but only briefly. There was regret expressed, but we had moved on and focused on better memories. Nothing more need be said. I’ll always cherish those meetings.
I’ll never forget those years in the late sixties and our affiliation with the Heps. Except for that crazy and emotional day at Yale, they contain many of the best memories of my life. Keith’s decision, as Harvard’s Captain, to not accept the winning trophy in 1970 was a gesture I’ll never forget. The Academy athletes may have been absent from competition, but we were not forgotten….

Comment on Complete NCAA Men’s Championship Fields by Lucas Ostmeyer

Lucas Ostmeyer — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:26:39 +0000

GOOOOOO CRAIG!

Comment on Prelims Over; 23 Head To Eugene by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Mon, 31 May 2010 22:04:26 +0000

Congrats to all qualifiers and good luck in 2 weeks!

Comment on Nothing Like A Little Competition by Brett

Brett — Sat, 29 May 2010 14:34:47 +0000

I have gotten emails from both sides of the fence on this one. If you want to check out what some people have to say (and keep in mind that some are amazingly uninformed), visit this link [http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3550768&page=0] which discusses the criticisms levied against regionals by Oregon’s Vin Lananna, who used to coach at Dartmouth.

Comment on Heps Nation — Best Fans In The U.S.? by Jesse Squire

Jesse Squire — Sat, 29 May 2010 11:19:34 +0000

Agreed. See this:
http://track-superfan.blogspot.com/2010/03/college-track-coach-job-description.html

Comment on Heps Nation — Best Fans In The U.S.? by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:04:19 +0000

I remember a few years ago I got the number of tickets sold at the 2005 Indoor Heps at Harvard for an engineering project I was doing. Perhaps I had contacted Harvard’s Athletic Dept for the details, I don’t remember, but I was able to find out the general number of sold 1 day and 2 day tickets.

Comment on Heps Nation — Best Fans In The U.S.? by Brett

Brett — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:18:25 +0000

Greg,

For the most part, college track meets have become insular endeavors, designed only by coaches who often see a very narrow view of the sport.

They would do well to take a much larger view of the health of the sport, but that requires some risk.

Comment on At the Top (Eight) of the Class by Jesse Squire

Jesse Squire — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:43:04 +0000

Complete PDF files of NCAA men’s results are available here:
http://www.usctrackandfield.com/ncaaresults.html
Garry Hill, editor of Track & Field News, is working on re-publishing his book of complete NCAA championships results.
And results of the predecessor of women’s NCAA competition, the AIAW, are available here:
http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/archive/WCollegiateTrack.pdf

Comment on Heps Nation — Best Fans In The U.S.? by Greg Page

Greg Page — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:24:50 +0000

“I tend to avoid college meets because they’re never interesting. No team scoring, nothing on the line, and the system rewards fast times over racing for place. Give us six straight weeks of that and of course no one comes out for the one meet that matters at the end of the season.”

Bingo.

The Ivy schools, in my experience, are among the very few that still have regular-season scoring meets–sometimes even (*gasp*) duals and triangulars.

I think the Ivy schools’ scoring meets in the regular season (indoor and out), often against Ivy rivals, help to stoke interest in the Heps meets. Teams have bragging rights to confirm and/or scores to settle.

Why on earth would the general sports fan want to attend an athletic contest with no team winner, and with competitors more interested in beating a clock than in beating each other? Where’s the drama or entertainment in that?

I founded three collegiate track/x-c programs and coached The Sport for 26 years, but unless I had someone (like alma mater) competing in it, I wouldn’t walk across the street to see a college track meet. Many hours with nothing at stake, no intrinsic drama.

And yet track people genuinely wonder why college track teams are being eliminated.

Comment on Heps Nation — Best Fans In The U.S.? by Brett

Brett — Wed, 26 May 2010 11:47:25 +0000

The Ivy office does not have attendance figures and the number of competing athletes is around 550.

Comment on Heps Nation — Best Fans In The U.S.? by Mary Boggs

Mary Boggs — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:27:46 +0000

Contact the Ivy League office. They will be able to tell you how many tickets were sold each day of the meet. Also, the conference pamphlets contained the track rosters for each of the teams so it could give a good idea how many teammembers were in the stands as well (although, there is an Ivy League rule of only 36 competitors per team at Heps). That should give a better estimate of how many people showed up for the meet.

Comment on Images By Crumpton, Part III by NIC

NIC — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:17:46 +0000

Pics Posted! http://nathancrumpton.smugmug.com/Sports/Track