A Lightning Bolt struck twice in the same place!
Usain Bolt of Jamaica struck twice in Beijing, China, surpassing the prior world records in both the 100m and 200m races. Even though the great Michael Phelps had won eight medals in swimming at the pool, the sheer physical grace, speed and power was masked by the water. Not so at the track. Bolt’s powerful but lithe physique was displayed for all to see, 91,000 at the Bird’s Nest Stadium and billions around the world. Even a four year old could imagine being that fast because running is something we do soon after we learn to walk. Bolt’s times were faster than anyone has ever run before and at age 22, he is young enough to run even faster. The world waits with bated breath for what he will run next. Stay tuned!
Shortcuts
Most of us have heard that the “shortest distance between two points is a straight line” and have applied this principle in the classroom and as athletes, on the track and field as well. Encouraging words like “Champions are made at practice” would ring in our ears as we strove to become better at the task before us. Now, as the Olympics get underway in Beijing, China, the current climate is filled with negative words like ”drug-cheat” and “performance enhanced” as many athletes pursue their dreams of being an Olympic Champion or the best in the world and may be faced with the decision to take the shortest (and possibly quickest) route to stardom. However, many thousands of today’s athletes have found that the best shortcut to stardom is just plain old………. hard work.
Let the Games Begin!
Codrington Enterprises’ athletes jet into Eugene for the US Olympic Trials
Adam Shunk and Kate Conwell came in for the high jump and pole vault respectively and Linnie Yarbrough will arrive tonight for the 110m hurdles race. Everyone is upbeat and confident in their talent and preparation and looking forward to the start of competition. 100m hurdler Ashlee Williams is still waiting to get cleared for entry into the Trials and has about 6 hours left before she knows if she is in. Thursday will see them all in action along with Debbie Dunn in the finals of the women’s 400m race. Go Debbie!
Track Town USA-Eugene, Oregon
This is my first time in Eugene and I can safely say, this is what track and field should look like in the USA. Boisterous crowds, knowledgeable crowds, enthusiastic crowds. The stadium is filled to capacity every day with an overflow area for those who cannot get a seat in the stands and a large video screen so they can see all the action as well. Performances are off the chain and highlights abound. This is more than just a track geek’s best moment, but a best moment for families, sport lovers in general, sport writers and any individual looking for a good time, with wonderful weather, hot and sunny but shaded by the cover over the stands and all the track action a person could crave. This model should be copied and carried on for years to come and track and field would have surpassed the glory days of the seventies. At Codrington Enterprises, there is an air of expectancy as we wait for one of our athletes, 400m runner Debbie Dunn, to conclude the final of the women’s 400m race with a great chance to represent the USA at the Beijing Olympics. Let the Games begin!
Debbie runs her best time in Belem!
Debbie is seen here in the 200m as she comes off the turn behind the 2006 Commonwealth Games 100m Champion, Sherri Ann Brooks and Laverne Jones. She was able to keep her composure and turn on the jets to finsh 2nd in a personal best time of 22.76 secs. All systems are a go for Debbie to continue at this level and for her to make the US Olympic team to Beijing.
Hot competition in the Caribbean and Brazil
CE athletes have been able to blend the excellent weather, wonderful scenes and great competition into a successful series of meets. Adam Shunk was the high jump winner in Fortaleza and Debbie was the 400m winner as well as being victorious in Rio de Janiero over the 200m distance. Come back to this site for more photos as we continue competitions in Sao Paulo and Belem. Here is a sample of some of the action and scenes from Guadeloupe to Brazil.
Barbados- Island in the Sun!
BACK FROM BARBADOS & WE ARE FREEZING!!
Our trip to Barbados was simply wonderful! We started with a 7 hour layover in Miami so took the opportunity to go to the beach-South Beach! It was a cold 32 degrees in Michigan and 80 in Miami so we were ready for Barbados. Our party was a robust group of 16 people with 13 runners from the Running Fit customer base, all looking forward to running the Run Barbados series of races and to soak up some sunshine afterwards.
The first 2 days were dedicated to running the 10k, 1/2 marathon and the marathon and all the runners enjoyed the experience, especially the cool dip in the Atlantic Ocean right after the run. For those who were running the 1/2 and full marathon, the day began at 4:00am (not for Lauretta and Eddie though) as we had to be up to get the bus to the start line. Although I was not running I was responsible for making sure that the bus did not leave the Running Fit Group and ended up having to do a sprint at 4:15am to catch the bus. Fortunately, I still have a little speed left in the limbs! We also had one of our Elite Runners(Philip Lagat) doing the 10k and the half marathon and he had traveled some 20hrs from Kenya to be there for the Run Barbados Event. Philip ended up winning the 10k in the fastest time ran in the past 5 years and broke the record in the half marathon!! It was a splendid display of long distance running with what appeared to be an effortless pace.
After all the running was done, we had a long walk into the city for some shopping and eating. We walked the narrow streets, barely escaping the cars that were whizzing past as we got closer to the town (Bridgetown). This was the first trip for all to Barbados and they were loving it. Some even tried the local “ZR” transportation, which are small vans authorized to carry passengers to and from their destinations. The cool part is that they have like a 12 person capacity but always tried to carry about 20 people for the $0.75 fare. Sitting with one cheek on a seat and the other on someone’s knee is not unheard of! This was an adventure for some of the group when they took one going the wrong direction and had no clue where they were when they got there! Some of the group had a blast doing the Rum Refinery Tour and a taste test was the order of the day.
Others took the local bus to the end of the island and visited with locals as they traveled along the way while some others stayed at the hotel and lounged by the pool, dozed off in the hammocks and saved their energies for the nightlife in St Lawrence Gap.
One restaurant we visited in “the Gap” was a place called Josef’s with an excellent location right on the water, and we enjoyed a sumptuos meal to the sound of the waves gently breaking on the shore at our feet.
The hotels we stayed at were The Bougainvillea Beach Resort, Dover Beach Hotel and Turtle Beach Hotel. All were excellent, with very clean rooms, right on the beach, good food and nightly entertainment during dinner.
The next day was dedicated to 5 hrs on the catamaran! We got our safety instructions from Captain Ron and we were underway. It was a beautiful day with a small breeze, blue skies and a deep azure color to the water. This adventure was quite a test for Lauretta and Eddie as they had never been on a catamaran and certainly had never done any snorkeling in 12 feet of water! It was all worth it though as the water was so clear that we were able to swim with the turtles, pilot fish, one large puffer fish and a host of other beautiful angel fish. We then went to a sunken ship site in 20 feet of water and watch the fish that have made this a reef like home. Lunch on the catamaran followed and then a sail back to our starting point.
Please sign up now and join us next year for more fun in the sun in Barbados!!
Joseph “Codgie” Codrington
Codrington Enterprises, LLC
To cheat or not to cheat
The current plight of Marion Jones as she stood before the microphones and admitted that she deceived the public, her fans and her family when she lied about taking performance enhancing drugs, underscores a truth that is found in the Bible in Ecclesiastes 7:1 “A good name is better than precious oil” and Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
The use of performance-enhancing drugs is a strong temptation facing today’s youth as they participate in various sports. The glory gained from a stellar performance is so heady that some youths are choosing to go this route, not realizing that there are consequences for such actions — not to mention the health risks that are the side effects of taking drugs.
Marion Jones became a household name, admired by many young girls around the world and was emphatic in her stance against taking performance enhancing drugs. Now, she faces the prospect of having her name sullied and dragged through the mud for many years, forever linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
This, then, is the decision facing today’s youth as they continue to enjoy the benefits of being involved in a sport. To cheat or not to cheat. Should anyone choose to take a performance enhancing drug, they should be aware that they are consequences to those actions and be ready to live with the consequences of their choices.
The great sprinter Marion Jones is now faced with the consequences of her decisions and demonstrated tremendous courage in coming forward to confess and to ask for forgiveness. Again taking a truth from that great book, the Bible, we should forgive Marion Jones as she has asked for us to find it in our hearts to forgive her and direct our energies to helping today’s youth make sound decisions and not be tempted by a decision to cheat or not to cheat.
Improving your performance through better nutrition
There is an old saying that “you are what you eat” and that is certainly true for young athletes in training. The average everyday diet of young people in the USA does not include all the minerals and vitamins that are required for optimal training and competition programs in various sports. Proper nutrition and supplements are needed to help with athletic performance.
Current lifestyles and eating habits are fostering the bulge around the middle of very young kids and young athletes often share the same eating trends as the general populace. Increasing the body’s use of complex carbohydrates like fresh vegetables, beans and whole grains would help to significantly improve athletic performance.
Adding amino acids from fresh sources will also help to improve the efficiency of the body under the rigors of hard training and a reduction of animal protein will help the digestive system with a quicker breakdown of the nutrients needed for energy. Supplements of amino acids should add strength, endurance and stamina as well as to help reduce the risk of injuries.
Vegetarian sources of protein like the ones mentioned above, beans, whole grains and vegetables, coupled with limited amounts of animal protein should be easier to digest as well.
A good recommendation then would be to check out your local vitamin store for your daily nutrients. There is Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12. There is Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc. Check the labels on each container for the International Units (IU) listed so you will know what amounts you are ingesting. Then get started on your way to improved athletic performance!
