Jill Geer running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon

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"Off The Record"
A Blog by Jill M. Geer

The Relaunch

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

It is 6 a.m., and I'm at an airport. My brain is barely functioning after an attempt at a few hours of what turned out to be fitful sleep. My fingers seem to have a mind of their own as I type, and I think I'm coming down with a cold. The long line at this terminal's Dunkin Donuts kiosk leads me to believe a bootleg copy of a previously unreleased Star Wars film is being shown on the side of one of the coffee machines. (Either that, or Gisele Bundchen is manning the register.) Outside, it is raining for what must be the 34,182nd straight day here in the Northeastern section of the United States.

It is from this mise en scene that I depart for Eugene, Oregon, where the weather forecast for the next six days is reputed to be sunny and warm, where the running is always good and where one of the world's best track meets, the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, await.

What better time to re-launch my blog?

A few years ago, I was recruited to write an "insider" blog about the Visa Championship Series. It was an enjoyable exercise which allowed me an opportunity to engage in my favorite aspect of my days as a sports writer: writing what is basically a column. During my previous incarnation as a sports scribe in the mid-90s, column writing provided a nice break from the 12-16 "game stories," event previews and athlete features I was writing each week when not helping to lay out the newspaper, going to graduate school and crisis-managing what can understatedly be called a chaotic and impoverished existence. It enabled me to discuss the US. Presidents of the 20th century in the guise of a sports column, and to meditate on the nature of being a black man in a local sports culture dominated by good old white boys with money and 19th-century opinions.

Column-writing has now morphed into blogging, which as far as I can tell just means the writer needs to be even Less careful about their facts than they do when they write a column.

So, what will this revived blog be? A combination of Track Nerd Insider, Liz Smith gossip and stream-of-consciousness navel-gazing. (Much more of the first two than the last one, you'll be happy to know.) I'll attempt to give you an inside look at what goes on at meets, what our athletes are like off the track, the wrangling that goes on behind the scenes, and in the innards of USA Track & Field. Oh, and you'll also get the occasional musing on training for my first marathon. How thrilling for you, I'm sure.

Why "Off the Record"?

When not spokespersoning for USATF and generally making the world safe for track and field, a good portion of my time is spent simply chatting with members of the media. My best conversations with those media types are often those that take place "off the record," when we feel free to discuss various topics and the truth behind them. It's usually at least a 50-50 give-and-take where I learn as much from them as they do from me.

I hope the same results from this blog -- that I can give a few readers a perspective that they won't get from reading USATF's press releases or even from any of the more gossip-driven message boards out there in Webland. And by activating the feedback function of the blog, you, gentle reader, will have the opportunity to tell me shut the heck up, or to let me know what you're interested in hearing about.

While in Eugene, I'll be blogging regularly. Be sure to tune in, or out, at your leisure. If enough tune in, I may try it again in Berlin, when Team USA heads to the World Championships.

Now excuse me as I get on the plane ... and Off the Record.

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Jill M. Geer is Chief Public Affairs Officer of USATF. She recently completed her first marathon at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where she qualified for Boston. Follow her professional exploits as the USATF spokesperson and her adventures as a mid-pack marathoner -- Off The Record.