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"Shin Splints"
A Blog by Doug Logan

Dateline: Dalian

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

When I was first hired I committed to spending a period of time listening to and absorbing from athletes, coaches, officials, sponsors, meet directors, fans, the media and just about anyone who has an opinion, gripe, idea, anecdote or anything else they want to share with me. I have always felt the two most important tools I have as a leader are my eyes and ears. So, off I have gone in getting my feet wet, enrolled in Track & Field 101.

The past few days I have taken an intensive dose of input. I spent several days visiting "the troops" in our training camp in Dalian, China, and being inspired by the stories associated with our extended family. One of the reasons I have such a great love for sports is the amazing narratives that accompany elite performers in athletic competition. They make great fodder for sports journalists who frequently branch out into other areas after honing their craft in this field.

Camp Dalian had a most captivating setting: the Golden Pebble Beach Club, a resort hotel overlooking both beach and a golf course. The facilities were five-star, and this was the tightest level of security I have ever witnessed. I have traveled with the U.S. National Soccer squads through some pretty dicey places in Central and South America, and never have I seen protection like this.

The night I arrived I was honored to meet and chat with my fellow Cuban-American, Alberto Salazar. I followed his career with a greater level of interest since we share the same heritage. It seemed more than a bit surreal to have two sons of Jose Marti [Cuban patriot, poet and author of the words to Guantanamera] on beta-blockers, discussing the world's ills, in Spanish, in China.

On Monday morning, I went out with the distance runners and race walkers to a one mile horseracing track for morning workouts. How bizarre it was for me to have the guile to jog my 30 minutes on the same track as these superbly conditioned athletes. I felt like a broken down VW Beetle on a Ferrari test track. Our teammate, Jorge Torres, originally from Wheeling Ill., now from Boulder Colo., was the last to leave the track after a 90-minute run in a summer shower. All gave him around of applause when he finished so we could return to the hotel for a shower. I later had the opportunity to talk to him and wish him luck in the grueling 10,000.

In the afternoon I accompanied the group that went to the "Throwing Area", a sports complex composed of an indoor and outdoor track and a weight room and throwing, vaulting and jumping facilities. I had a chance to meet John Cook, a "lifer" coach, who lives just blocks from Crescent Beach on Siesta Key, Fla., an area I am more than a bit familiar with. John grew up in Munich, Germany, and played soccer professionally for Bayern Munich as well as several NASL teams here in the States. I spent time with Lopez Lomong, a young man so full of energy and love of life that he leaves everyone he meets smiling. After telling him how proud I was of him for being the team flag bearer in the Opening Ceremonies, I then asked him the question that had been gnawing at me for awhile. How did he get the name Lopez? He explained that his original name was Lopepe; that when he arrived in the refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing the violence in the Sudan, they gave him this more westernized name of Lopez. Today, a pretty American name!

I also had the opportunity to meet and talk to an amazing woman, Margaret Ottley, one of our team's sports psychologists. Wise and dignified, Margaret, who is from Trinidad, has a serene "aura" about her. A protégé of Maya Angelou, she reminds me of "healers" I have met in my lifetime. I am sure that she has made many athletes look and reach to the depths of themselves to achieve their maximum performance.

Tuesday morning it was time to go to Beijing. I thanked Melissa Beasley of USATF and her colleagues who did such a tremendous job of managing the camp. I had an inspiring half-hour discussion with Bernard Lagat at the airport where we talked about the state of the sport. He expressed enthusiastic support for my stance on PEDs and gave me his perspective on testing procedures. What an incredible gentleman! I shared with him that he was competing in my favorite spectator event, the 1,500m, and I wished him luck. On the plane I sat next to Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, a charming marathoner who also coaches at Cal-Berkeley. Born and raised in Poland, she and I talked about friends in common we had at Cal. She alternatively dozed and read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. After we landed, I told her I would stake out a viewing position on the marathon route on Sunday and cheer her on.

I could not have had better guides for my introduction to this sport. All are smart, outspoken and passionate about this great sport. All expressed a real desire to see it grow in a healthy way. As I was talking to them, I can to realize the rich and diverse origins of these athletes and their support systems. This sport is composed of the fabric of America; people from all parts of the globe that have come here to pursue excellence. It is our responsibility to work tirelessly to help them to succeed. Their talent and determination deserves no less.

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Doug Logan is the CEO of USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the organization has more than 90,000 members throughout the country.