Episode 10: B-W's James Eberts

Don't call it a comeback, we've been here for nearly a month! Now that's staying-power.

We can't afford digital confetti, strobe lights or fancy alarms...but if we could, it'd be happening because this is the 10th OAC Distance Talk Show featuring B-W harrier James/Jim/Jimmy Eberts. We talk John Mayer, Jerry Seinfeld and so much more with this All-OAC steepler. We hope you like it.

Episode 9: John Carroll's Nick Habursky

John Carroll's Senior leader Nick Habursky discusses his past (being molded by former JCU harrier greats), present (training daily in the heat and studying for the LSAT) and future (being an elder statesman on a very young JCU team) in this, our 9th OAC Distance Cellular Talk Show.

Episode 8: Capital's Joel Eversole

If Joel Eversole continues to improve the way we think he will, soon he might just change the way you think about Capital distance running.

Episode 7: Otterbein Coach John Lintz

Listen to all four parts from this special edition OAC Distance Talk Show featuring Otterbein's newly appointed cross country coach, John Lintz. Coach Lintz covers so much in this near half-hour conversation (parts one through four). Be sure not to miss it!

We've decided to split the interview into four parts after some suggestions from our loyal viewers (thank you!) and will most likely stick with this format in the future with interviews that span much longer than the 10-minute range. None of the four parts of this interview are longer than 9 minutes (two are in the 6-minute range), so there's no need to pause and come back. Watch part one...go for a run. Watch part two...eat a bowl of your favorite cereal. Here at OAC Distance we're all about accommodating your on-the-go lifestyle.

Enjoy!

*we apologize that there were no captions used for this interview as we have been experiencing "technical difficulties"/punctuation bugs in published videos recently. we will attempt to correct the problem soon.

Episode 6: Cody Pontius

Episode 6: Cody Pontius HD
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Wilmington Sophomore Cody Pontius talks about his friendly rivalry with an ONU harrier, his belief that Wilmington should challenge Otterbein this fall, being chased by bears at the start of his summer vacation in Montana and more.

"6" tomorrow, "7" soon & barn questions

A few things:
1) Expect an interview from Wilmington's Cody Pontius (Episode 6) to be posted at some point tomorrow. Cody is currently vacationing with his family in Montanta and I was lucky enough to catch him at a time when he wasn't too busy--though it did sound as if he might be violently attacked by dogs (you'll know what I'm talking about when you listen to the interview).

2) Capital's Joel Eversole (Episode 7) is next up on the lineup. Though we have yet to do the interview, it should be done fairly soon. I hope to have his interview up by the weekend (I'm through setting specific deadlines for now, I've been very bad at meeting them).

3) I've recently contacted ONU's Paul Lewis to attempt Cellular Talk Shows' first ever group interview. For those of you who don't know; Paul, Jim O'Brien and Eric Porter are living/training together this summer in a barn in northeast Ohio...fine preparation for the final cross country season of their careers. My hope is that fellow Senior Thomas Adam will also be able to be apart of this piece of OAC Distance history (alright, I might be going a little far with the hype, I'll stop).

In preparation for the discussion with the quartet that spearhead's the Polar Bear attack I've decided to allow you, the viewers, an opportunity to post questions you'd like me to ask them in the interview. I'll do my best to ask whatever it is you're curious about. Remember, anyone can post comments to each of these blogs, you need not be a Blogger.com member. If you prefer, you can also go to this thread on the forum and post your questions there. Hurry though, we've yet to decide when this interview will take place, and it could be soon!

This leaves John Carroll and Baldwin-Wallace as the only remaining teams that have yet to be represented via the talk shows. To the JCU and B-W faithful: don't worry, your moment is just around the corner!

Thanks everyone, and remember, post those questions!

Finally! Episode 5: Justin Meeson

Apologies for the hiatus. I'll try not to make it a habit. Also, I wanted to say that I realize some of the sentences that go along with these videos have not been displayed correctly on the screens of viewers. I'll be looking into this soon and will probably change to a different font or style with the next couple of videos to see if this remedies the situation at all. Now, to the video:

Mount Union Senior Jusin Meeson takes us through the ups and downs of the past 15 months or so of his running life--from his All-OAC 10k performance in '07 to a frustrating fall and ultimately some time off from running this past track season.

Justin also discusses Mount's lofty, yet attainable goals coming into the fall. This team-first testimonial is a breath of fresh air.

Episode 5: Justin Meeson HD
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Thanks to Justin for a great interview!

Change in Plans

Sorry for the delay in posting the second half of Jamie Martin's video as well as Justin Meeson's video.

I will be out of town this weekend as I travel to Atlanta to run the Peachtree 10k but before I leave I am going to download Meeson's interview and post it on the site. After that happens there will be a three day dead period (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with no new videos as I will have no access to the software that puts these videos together during that time. On Monday we will be back with more updates and more videos.

Sorry about the change in plans everyone. Have a great Fourth of July weekend!

Episode 4, Part 2: Jamie Martin

In the second half of his interview Jamie expresses his belief that Heidelberg could be a top-15 team in the nation in '08, his goals to eventually be an All-American and "eventually even a national champion" by the time his collegiate career is over, his respect for the talent in the OAC top-to-bottom, his prediction that Lukezic will run the A-standard in the 1500 finals at the Trials (whether that gets him a top 3 finish and a trip to the Olympics or not is up in the air), the current state of his training/health and more.

Episode 4, Part 2: Jamie Martin
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Episode 4, Part 1: Jamie Martin

In this, the first half of a 40+ minute interview with incoming Heidelberg Freshman Jamie Martin, we discuss why Jamie had a 5-year layoff between his senior year of high school and freshman year of college, similarly, why he went runless for basically 4 of those 5 years, how he came about choosing the 'Berg, how his summer training is going through the end of June and more!

Episode 4: Jamie Martin HD Part 1
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Discuss Jamie's video and all other videos on the OAC Distance forum.

Upcoming Videos and Status of Homepage

OAC cross country, track & field fans...we have good news and bad news. First, the good:

We promise to hold our promise. OAC Distance dot com will launch today (July 1st).

The bad?

Things will be slightly delayed. Look for the site to open up in the evening as opposed to the stroke of midnight we had originally hoped for.

For the time being, enjoy the two new videos we've just made public, featuring Juniors Mike Siringer and Ian Hankins--close to 40 new minutes of insight for you to consume thanks to these team leaders.

Our upcoming Cellular Talk Show schedule will look a little something like this:

Tomorrow - Episode 4, Part 1: incoming Heidelberg Freshman Jamie Martin.

Yeah, he's the lobster...and you read things correctly, our interview lasted so long we decided to split it into two halves. We'll post part two of Jamie's interview Wednesday (July 3rd) along with a great interview from Mount Union Senior Justin Meeson (Episode 5) you'll definitely want to check out.

Wilmington Sophomore Cody Pontius looks to be our feature interview on Independence Day and we'll bring you Capital Junior Joel Eversole Saturday, July 5th. Beyond that, we're keeping things top secret.

Also, be sure to check out the first entry from YSU Junior Justin Dickman's first OAC Distance blog titled "Opinion of Penguin." Justin will be contributing to the site all fall and is currently in the nation's capital for some fancy schmancy internship/training for the summer.

I hope everyone had the opportunity to watch an awesome night of Trials action tonight, highlighted by former D3 star Nick Symmonds earning his first Olympic spot en route to winning the 800 final. Not sure when your favorite races are on this week? Check out the remaining Trials schedule here.

Goodnight everyone. We'll see you tomorrow (actually today if you want to be technical) when we open the homepage for the first time!

Episode 3: Ian Hankins

Muskingum Junior Ian Hankins confirms Mike Siringer's view that Muskingum/Marietta is a rivalry that is here to stay, he tells us who he feels will represent the USA in the 1500 at Beijing (he'll be watching the Trials live in Eugene with our first interviewee James Castrillo and OACD contributor/Muskingum alum JD Walters), shares his thoughts on MCXC's current search for a head coach after Cooper's recent resignation, discusses the transition from high school in our nation's capital to a small Ohio town (New Concord) and more!

Spoiler alert: the pollsters were right. Ian predicts Lagat, Webb and Manzano to represent the US in Beijing as you'll find out within the first minute or so of the interview. We'll all know for sure here in about a week on July 6th, the 1500 final as well as the final day of Eugene '08.

Episode 3: Ian Hankins HD
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