December 12, 2008
Eighty of the top runners from four different regions arrived Thursday at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. They wondered the hotel, got acquainted with each other, got their gear and roommate assignments and headed to dinner.
On Friday after breakfast the runners boarded buses and headed to the course at Balboa Park.
At an Alumni breakfast Friday morning, Reuben Reina, Todd Williams, Matt Giusto, Melody Fairchild, Sara Hall, Ryan Hall, Carrie Tollefson, Ian Dobson, Jorge Torres, Edwardo Torres and Molly Hurdle talked about their Footlocker Memories.
Todd Williams talked about his second place finish to Marc Davis in 1986. "I still have night sweats when I think of Marc holding up his hand during the last 150 meters of the race," he joked. Williams also talked about the time he spent with the athletes the day before and how special it was.
"I am a runner first," said Carrie Tollefson, as she talked about her job in the media. She asked many of the runners what they want to be doing in ten years and all of them said, "Running."
Ian Dobson never got in trouble when he was in High School. He wanted to make it to Foot Locker. "Looking back on it (Foot Locker), it was the highlight of my career."
Melanie Fairchild, who holds the course record, remembered back to when she ran. It was called "Kinney" then and they only took eight runners per region. For Fairchild, Foot Locker elevates a runners thinking. "The State Meets are great but they are a stop along the road. Foot Locker raises expectations."
They all had favorite memories of their time at Foot Locker:
Reuben Reina (course record holder): "To be able to come to Foot Locker and put a face to the runners you've been reading about. You cannot ask for a better place to run."
Carrie Tollefson: "Lasting relationships......we are all still friends."
Sara Hall: "It was all about the little things. The box with all the gear and how it all matched. The trophy.....it was so huge! The end of the year video."
And my favorite!
Ryan Hall: "It's a great place to meet a wife if your looking for one." Foot Locker is where Ryan met his wife Sara (Bei) Hall.
After the breakfast the Alumni all headed over to Balboa Park to great the buses of high school runners.
Course record holder Reuben Reina (14:36, 1985) stopped by to chat with the Milesplit group.
From left, Coach Bob Cook, Don Rich (Milesplit Pennsylvania), Adam Cook, Reuben Reina, Jason Byrne (Milesplit Founder) and Fran McLaughlin (Milesplit National Editor)
The athletes ran the course and went through their introductions.
THE WEST GIRLS
From left: Jordan Hasay, Alex Dunne, Danielle Menlove, Jessica Tonn, Megan Morgan, Jennifer Bergman, Shalaya Kipp, Sheree Shea, Taylor Wallace and Jacque Taylor.
THE WEST BOYS
From left: Chris Schwartz, Brian Shrader, Trevor Dunbar, Shane Moskowitz, James Cameron, Wyatt Landrum (in back), Cody Helbling, Tyre Johnson, Zachary Torres and Steve Magnuson
Later in the evening, after dinner, Reuben Reina and Melody Fairchild were inducted into the Foot Locker Hall of Fame. Melanie Thompson from New Jersey and Kathy Kroeger from Tennessee were also honored for being two of twelve finalists for the Wendy's High School Heisman Trophy Award. The Heisman award was being announced in New York this very evening so a representative from Wendy's came to the banquet to announce Kathy Kroeger as the winner for the girls!
The alumni panel from the breakfast was introduced and they were joined by Chris Solinsky and Suzy Favor Hamilton. The panel was asked questions from the athletes and Chris Schwartz received a hug and a kiss from Suzy Favor Hamilton!
Thomas Porter from Virgina will never forget his 18th birthday! Everyone sang as Gabby presented him with his own cake! Happy 18th Birthday Thomas!
Sara Hall is right............it is all about the little things!
Good luck to all the runners! See you on the course! And don't forget to watch the race live! Live Feed