Episode 11: Ohio Northern (1-6 + Preview)

Here it is. Our most in-depth interview yet.

Enjoy.

Episode 11 Preview: ONU Senior Quintet

As most OAC teams gear up to report back to campus on Monday we hyped the occasion by picking the brains of five Ohio Northern seniors. Can the Polar Bears fight for a spot on the podium this November? Will they battle Calvin for a Great Lakes Championship? How do they feel about their recent head coaching hire?

After nearly an hour and thirty minutes of recorded interview time you can expect to see quite the ONU jukebox grace the front page sometime next week. Until then, we'll leave you with a little preview.

Episode 11 Preview: ONU Senior Quintet
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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
Uploaded by OAC_Distance

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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Episode 2: Mike Siringer

Marietta Junior Mike Siringer lets us in on the Marietta/Muskingum rivalry, his feelings on MC's big year to come (hosting not only the 2008 OAC Cross Country Championships, but the NCAA DIII 2009 Outdoor National Championships), thoughts concerning a certain 20th year anniversary, the team's pack mentality in practice and much, much more.

Episode 2: Mike Siringer HD
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2 for 1 Opening Day/Gingerific Poll Challenge

Just wanted to let everyone know we're going to open up the site with two new interviews on the 1st. We picked the brains of OAC Juniors Mike "Saucey" Siringer of Marietta and Ian "the Ginger Warrior" Hankins of Muskingum and will spotlight their mindset going into the 2008 cross country season.

Also, since 'opening day' just so happens to be right smack in the middle of the Olympic Trials in Eugene (where two of our first three interviewees--Castrillo and Hankins--as well as contributor

JD Walters, will be) we thought we'd propose little challenge:

During our interview with Ian, the topic of Eugene naturally came up. We eventually began discussing the 1500 and he told us who he expects to qualify and represent the USofA this summer. We've created a new poll (bottom of page) that includes Ian's predictions. We'll take the poll down when the site debuts next Tuesday. Until then, your job is to guess which three runners he guessed--not your own personal predictions (make sense?). The correct answer will obviously be unveiled

when you watch (listen?) to his interview.

Happy trails (and roads, meadows, fields, et al.).

Episode 1: Jimmy Castrillo

What I had originally planned to be about a 10-minute interview turned into over a half-hour of raw footage. Yes, even this "full" version is somewhat condensed, as I spared you all the typical "hi's and hello's" that generally start typical conversation (though, now that I think about it, it would be humorous if I skipped that part entirely and just started asking questions...maybe I'll go that route in the future).

Episode 1: Jimmy Castrillo HD
Uploaded by OAC_Distance

Jim was a great first choice to interview. I wrote a few notes before calling him in attempt to steer things a little but the entire thing basically just turned into a casual conversation. He was hitting a lot of the stuff I was hoping to know all on his own--there was no need to prompt--and as you'll find or perhaps already have, his answers were in-depth and honest.

While the site won't open until the 1st of July (basically a week from now) I've decided to go ahead and make this connecting page (Cellular Talk Shows) public for two reasons:

First, because I'd like to give you an idea of the format for these interviews and second because within the next few days I'm going to post a short list of our upcoming interviewees so that you can post questions you'd like us to ask the future guests. When I blog the list, just leave questions in the comment box following the post and make sure to let us know who the question is directed to (maybe you'd like to direct it to all of them). Be creative. I'm not naive enough to think that I'm going to ask these guys everything you'd like to know, so help me out. Again, I promise to ask every proposed question as long as it's not out of line.

Thanks again to Jim for being the first ever OAC Distance.com Cellular Talk Show.

PS: I'll try not to breath into the mic so loudly next time. That was kind of embarassing. Bare with me.

PPS: If anyone has any ideas on how we might be able to improve the quality of the interviews (especially the sound quality) or would like to see us try something different in terms of the look of the interviews, etc., by all means let us know.

After all, this is our site.

Get to Know 'Em!

As I'm sure most of you remember, not so long ago Flotrack stamped the slogan "a new video everyday" all over the front of their site. Now that it's grown from cult/grassroots status to arguably THE premiere running site on the internet, (well, Let's Run might have something to say about that) the motto goes without saying. So many registered members now download their own personal videos, Mark Floreani and the gang have morphed into the McDonald's of distance running sites: billions and billions served (videos that is, not ground beef).

Allow me to digress...

Growing up I went through a bit of a rap phase. Nas was one of my favorite MC's at the time and taught this young distance runner several life lessons. An example of Nassir Jones' teachings? Certainly:

no idea's original
there's nothin' new under the sun,
it's not what you do, but how it's done.

Now I never agreed with the profanity, violence or profligate use of Cristal ("one for me, one for my homies"), but these words of wisdom make plenty of sense to yours truly. It's for this reason I have no problem stealing Flotrack's innovative idea to share at least one video per day for the first week.

What better way to keep people coming back right?

Now, we don't have the resources, manpower or budget at this time to go traveling around the grand state of Ohio interviewing OAC athletes daily, but we do have cell phones. Therefore friends, family and OAC running fans, we will be posting low-quality phone interviews! Don't fret, the plan is to put all of these interviews in a format that is also viewable, kind of like the teaser videos we created to open the site. We'll provide still photos as eye-candy, and maybe even a little transition music between questions. If it shall so please some of you I don't see why it wouldn't also be an option to transfer these interviews to text in case some of you aren't auditory learners.

We hope you enjoy these interviews. Please send feedback via blog comments if there's anything you'd like to let us know. Any ideas, questions, criticism, proposals, etc. All comments are welcome.

The plan is to eventually post a lineup of the interviews that are to take place in the future. When we do this we'll simply title a post with the interviewee's name a couple of days in advance with hopes that readers can post the questions they'd like us to ask that person on the comment section of the blog. We'll try our best to ask each and every question you, the reader propose--barring only the unreasonable.

Recap:

1) Beginning the launch date of the site--July 1st--until the first gun goes off to start the 2008 NCAA Division III Cross Country season, we promise to post at the very least a phone interview (don't worry, there will be live interviews as well) every week to this, the interview page of OAC Distance dot com. Again, the first week (Tuesday July 1st - Monday July 7th) we'll post at least one video a day. If there is a positive response we'll most likely just continue the at least one video per week trend right on throughout the season, meaning you'll come close to meeting about half the conference before things are all said and done.

2) When the site gets rolling we plan to post a schedule of the upcoming interviewee's on this blog in advance so that you might leave any specific questions you'd like us to ask them. Unless there is just an absurd amount of questions (we doubt this) we guarantee to ask your question when we interview that person.

3) Feel free to keep this blog interactive. Tell us how good or bad you think the interviews are. Let us know what you'd like to see more of, less of, etc.

Thanks for your support! Let's have an awesome cross country season!