The Taste of Victory

Never has Victory tasted so sweet!

BREAKING NEWS

IT'S ALL OVER FOLKS!

JOSH ZEALAND WINS THE 2008 DISTANCE RUNNER'S DECATHLON THE NEXT 5 EVENTS ARE SKIPPED AND THE COMPETITORS HEAD TO OLIVE GARDEN FOR THE 11TH EVENT - BREADSTICK COMPETITION

In an unprecedented move the DRD Planning Commission & the event officials convened a meeting to discuss potential options for coping with the inclement weather. It was initially suggested that the final 5 events be moved indoor to the Tolsma Indoor Track & Field Facility at Campus North or delayed until the rains held up.

Both of these options were weighed and eventually ruled out due to "certain reasons" that they are not sharing with the press at this time.

After a short consultation with the legal department & the remaining athletes it was decided that the event should be done after the 5th event and be renamed the:

Distance Runner's Pentathlon

By virtue of the fact that he led in the overall standings following the 5th event.

Joshua Zealand walked off the track a world champion tonight.
More to come...

BREAKING NEWS

400 meter run leaves little doubt that Zealand is a contender for the "Cup"

As the rain and winds pick-up the Commission and Event Officials convene to determine if the DRD should go on. Drenched athletes and media take cover in nearby buildings...

The Commission's decision will be posted as soon as it is available.

BREAKING NEWS

THREE FLYING "J's" DUKE IT OUT IN THE HIGH-JUMP
Khan and Mini Zealand pull DiCarlo back down to Earth

As the rains grow heavier & the wind picks up here at the Matthes Hopkins Track, it is becoming more & more obvious that Joey DiCarlo (ITA), the current DRD high-jump record holder's form may not be up to Chalice standards this year. The odds on favourite in the high-jump, the man they call "Juggernaut" has just left the door wide open with a mediocre 5 ft. 2 inch jump - a full 5 inches lower than his PR.

On the flip side of this coin, Josh Zealand (CAN) & John Khan (MOR) (PAK) were able to match DiCarlo jump for jump & both came out of the High Jump pit smelling like roses. The younger Zealand now has the momentum in his favor. A good 400 for the diminutive Canadian could make him the clear leader.

Josh Zealand (above) clears his own height at the 2008 DRD "bar exam"

It was rumored that DiCarlo ( pictured above), a native Italian speaker, misread the 4th event on the event list to be the "high water" instead of the "high jump."
Apparently this is a common Italian-English mistranslation.

John Khan (pictured above) clears the high-jump bar while calling out the Carolina Panthers for a face mask penalty and bringing them back 15 yards.

BREAKING NEWS

JOHN KAHN...I mean KHAN GIVES MASTERCLASS IN SHOTPUTTING
DICARLO LEADS AFTER 3rd EVENT

Lynchburg, VA - With a decisive win in shot-put, 1999 Chalice Winner John Khan (MOR) (PAK) showed that he's still a force to be reckoned with. His impressive performances in the long jump & a field best 36 foot, 4 inch shotput throw Khan in the thick of a contentious fight for first place at this year's Distance Runner's Decathlon. The athletes are now preparing for the high-jump. We will post the lastest results as they become available...

BREAKING NEWS

Frosh Zealand Wins the 100 meter run in photo-finish


Lynchburg, VA - Matthew "Frosh" Zealand (CAN) won the opening event - 100 meter run on a soaked track at the 2008 Distance Runner's Decathlon. Zealand's time of 14.72 seconds was just good enough to best Italy's Guiseppe DiCarlo & his fellow countryman Joshua Zealand. The athletes are now preparing for the long jump. More news to come as it becomes available...

The Athletes

LIVE: From Lynchburg

Day 2: Game Day AM

After attending campus Convocation this morning, some of the athletes were spotted at the local burrito joint Moe's having lunch. It was reported that DiCarlo had the 'Art Vandelay' burrito (vegetarian & loaded with beans) so the other athletes have been warned to not ride the elevator at the Wingate with him until at least 9 pm this evening.

The event will kick off at 4 pm sharp with the 100 meters being the first competitive event.

LIVE: From Lynchburg

DAY 1:

The 2008 DRD athletes have almost all arrived.

Currently registered are:

-Joshua Zealand

-Matthew Zealand

-Bruce Kite

-John Khan

-Brent Neiter

- Joey DiCarlo

The event official, Brian Ballard arrived in town this afternoon and is preparing the ground rules of the competition. Some measures were discussed at an informal meeting that would do away with times, heights, distances etc. & instead base the competition on a points system that is determined by placement in each event. (ie the lowest score wins)

It is rumored that many of the competitors carbo-loaded this evening at the local Cracker Barrell & after some hot-tubbing they finished the job with some 1/4 pints of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

Tomorrows agenda is fairly open, but it has already been determined that the event will kick off with the 100 meter run at 4 pm sharp (following the singing of the US & Canadian national anthems)

Stay tuned for more details & photographs as they become available.

Weather Update

Lynchburg weather forecast for Friday, 17 October

BREAKING NEWS

I received this message via text last night:

Rumor has it that i may be willing to make the 550 mile trek to the burg.
I've been thinking about it all day long, and will see ya'll down there.

8:49 PM Tue, 14 Oct
From: John Khan


Reply:

'atta boy...can't wait to see ya!

9:26 PM Tue, 14 Oct
From: Joey DiCarlo
CC: Ballard, Kite, Nieter, Zealand

to go or not to go...

Gentlemen,

There are rumors bouncing about the internets & via text messages that "certain" very important individuals may or may NOT be participating in this year's festivities. If you know of such a person who is sitting on the fence, (and I'm not naming any names here - because I want to respect that or those person(s) decisions, and not make light of what could potentially be a life altering decision (bad decision if you ask me) Anyway, if you know of such a person then I ask that you use every ounce of persuasion & all the conniving that you can muster to persuade said individual(s) to attend the bash.

Sincerely,

The Commish

The Final Countdown

The Shot-Put by Sven Goran Dikarlosson

An unfiltered cigarette is an instrumental garnish when practicing the shot-put.

The bar exam...

Men of Destiny

With
courage,

fortitude,
endurance,
physical & mental strength,
faith,
love
knowledge,
and...

a grill?


These were truly 'Men of Destiny.'

The 100 Meter Run by John Khan

100 Meters:
The Definition of an Athlete
by 1999 Chalice of Victory Winner - John Khan

This year the majority of the world was gathered to either watch the activities in Beijing or actually visiting a stones throw away from Pyanghopa. Just months ago the world witnessed a man doggie paddle himself to 8 gold medals. On the hardwood they watched countless alley-oops get thrown down. They witnessed 4 bikini clad women on the sand digging, diving, bumping, and spiking…yet we all kept wondering, - what is the tape on her shoulder? And none can forget the great form and synchronicity of the men's 10m synchronized platform dive, and those showers they take when they come out of the pool. We've seen electricity strike on the track surface, resulting in a world record.

Some would read the headline of this article and ask if there are two zeros and a comma missing.

"The definition of a man is 100m, what about the other 9900m?"

Don't get me wrong, I say 'some' would read this and come to this conclusion. The DRD athlete, whom stands apart from the rest of the world, realizes that to be a true athlete you must be versatile. There are moments of greatness that are displayed at various distances in the DRD athletes lifetime. In order to successfully excel at the rigorous demands of all ten events, you must excel at the first.

100m down the track with your fellow competitors. Some men feel that wearing speed suits will help them succeed. Other men feel that wearing necklaces will guarantee a sub 15s time. And there are some men that wear shoes three sizes too small so they can really stay up on their toes.

100m might seem like a drop in the bucket to a DRD competitor, but with the whole world watching such a prestigious event...this event will set the tone for future athletes and years and years of DRD's to come.

Training is required, with various shoes, various wild animals, and various hot girls with big buff boyfriends. You see, these are the ways that a DRD athlete must train…survival of the fittest.

1) Strength shoes might look funny when you stop in to McDonald's for a Big Mac extra value meal, but you are a DRD athlete…so much of the world could never understand your training regimen.

2) Other athletes rely solely on heading into the woods and stirring up a bee's nest, or taunting a bear cub while the mother is nearby. This my friend, is how true adrenaline is generated in the body of a DRD athlete.

3) And which one of us DRD competitors hasn't been caught on a trip down to Florida State University over spring break? Head out to Panama Beach over the break, slide on your fastest / lightest racing flats, and offer to put some suntan lotion on those feminanas sitting on the beach (with musclehead boyfriends nearby playing Frisbee or doing push ups).

Training for this one event, the infamous 100m, requires a lot of courage and suntan lotion.This one event and training techniques may not apply to the other 9 events, so please be careful in your preparations. Good luck to everyone in their training, as you're more than welcome to utilize these tips. I may just take myself up on that offer as a couple of (eh-oh) feminanas are setting their towels down, but you really ought to see the triceps on their boyfriends.

Let's grab that spf-30 and let's keep training.