Let me start off by saying that I am not etrain11. He was a great blogger and he developed a lot of hype around PA distance running. I know that some of you may be upset at the start of a new blog, but let me assure you I do not intend to replace etrain because I know he could never be replaced. I instead I plan on fostering a healthy discussion on PA track and cross country. When I heard the news of etrain retiring I was as devastated as the next person. I know that the running scene will never be the same without him. I do however hope that I can serve you the viewer as best as I can with this blog.
First off let me tell you the things that will be the same about this blog. I plan doing a full recap for all of the distance races at states and my thoughts on each. I also plan on doing a preview and my predictions for the Henderson distance festival once I know who will be entered in each race. Also, during the summer I will release my top 50 XC rankings and several other staples of etrain's blog.
Some things that will be different about this blog is I want to make it a lot more interactive. I plan on having at least two other writers on here besides myself and possibly more. I hope that together we can make this blog as great as it can be. I also plan on talking about girls distance running as well and possibly even other events in track. Lastly I plan on interacting with more of the runners possibly featuring different runners each week giving everyone some of the recognition they deserve.
So for my first post I would like to ask you what you would like to see. I know everyone loved how etrain's blog worked, but if you were like me you probably had some things that you wish he would have done or talked about.
Lastly, I and my crew will remain anonymous. I feel that I will be able to write with a more unbiased pen if you do not know who is behind all this. All you need to know is that my powers of prediction are strong and that I know PA distance running inside and out. Do not worry I am no longer competing so this is not a way to promote my own running. I hope you can trust me and my ability to blog about PA running and remember PA don't play.
We all love the PA track and XC scene and I thank you for your excitement. HOWEVER, I understand that RTJ, Forest CRN, and POSSIBLY RJJL are going to be discussing (not for a little bit due to undisclosed reasons) the possibility of continuing on a blog of their own that would also cover the same things. That said, I think you are clearly someone who is passionate and knowledgable about the sport. If you could, PLEASE see if you and your "crew" contact either RTJ, ForestCRN or RJJL about the possibility of your team and those 3 getting together to create an awesome blog. They are the ones that led the discussions on the comment boards on etrain and they are the ones who we know who they are rather than someone being unanimous. So please see if you can reach them and team up with them. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteP.S.- Put the commenting on here to unanimous. You'll get a lot more opinions that way
I feel very stupid....*Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThank you for your input! I have fixed the commenting so that you can now post anonymously. Also, if either ForrestCRN, RTJ or RJJL would like to contact me my email is PAtrackdontplay@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteNice to see a new blog up already it'll definitely be appreciated. I second those who are saying to get together with those other 3. I would hate to see the conversation getting split up between a bunch of different places so see what you can do there. Otherwise keep at it.
ReplyDeleteLike:
-always had major coverage of states races
-the rankings
-interviews were nice but I never really watched them
-those stories after XC states were great
-obviously the comments
Would like to see:
-More race footage. The East and West guys rarely see each other race outside of states. Some logistical issues but a way to capture race footage here and there would be incredible.
-District 1 is the deepest no doubt but I feel that the runners/teams out west got little analysis in his posts; more like "Oh, looks like Kennedy pulled out a close win over Jaskowak and E. Martin and the NA guys dropped a nice time." So if it's possible I'd like to see more statewide coverage, even those small districts that I hear almost nothing about till districts itself
-Runner of the week sounds awesome
-Something having do to with workouts or running philosophy or non-competition analysis out of season to keep us going.
On girls distance: I'm not against it and am good friends with runners that are/have been among the top in the state so I can appreciate it. At the same time, the competitive nature seems to drop off depth-wise much quicker than guys. So for girls distance maybe I'd like to see a quicker summary and leave it more open for discussion?
On other track events: I like the idea but I'd say A. stick to the track events unless we have a truly outstanding field guy (Billy Stanley last year, Zaza this year, etc.) and B. keep to it a minimum because, as we all know, just the distance events can be a handful
Let's see more input cuz I'm sure I missed stuff but once again I like to see us back up and running (no pun intended) so soon
loving the runner of the week idea as well as the race footage if that's possible. And rankings are a must that's what kept me on etrain everyday during xc. And don't get girl stuff involved, just an opinion.
ReplyDeleteOnly crucial things that I believe are the most important...
ReplyDelete1) I don't really like the other track events either. Lets keep it to distance. Wanna give a quick blurb is great but lets not do all other events. Just distance.
2) TEAM UP. Yeah please don't seperate with the other guys. I think those 3 that RunFaster mentioned are perfect to be involved in this blog
3) KEEP RANKINGS. Not just individual but team as well.
4) I don't mind the girls. I don't know about a full scale all about them, but if we can get Shetrain Sundays back (and keep the name because its awesome and in honor of etrain) that'd be great.
Overall good to see the blogging will still go on....hopefully!!!!
One thing I liked about Etrain is I felt he knew a fair amount of the athletes making for much more intimate coverage you can allow for this pretty easily through things like race stories.
ReplyDeleteVery true. You always felt like he was genuine in what he said. As the first guy above said, it helps that you maybe bring in the other guys like RTJ and Forrest because we know who they are and it's easier to feel more comfortable with someone we know rather than someone who is staying anonymous.
DeleteHey so thank you for all of the feedback! I would also like to include the other three mentioned before and whenever they would be ready would be great. I know they have some prior obligations so until they return it will be just me. Also, the runner of the week thing I think could be very successful featuring new runners and possible old runners highlighting their careers and maybe interviewing them. Also I would live to include more things about training and different philosophies. I may include something along the line of a workout Wednesday or something similar in the near future. Let me clear this up right away. I have 0 district 1 bias as well. I will try to talk about all the runners regardless of district. I know that in the past runners from outside district 1 were not as well talked about and I will do my best to talk about all districts. That being said if the fast times come from runners there I will obviously talk about them. Lastly, I do not plan on revealing my identity initially. I have made a lot of friendships in this sport and I would not like to upset anyone by talking about or not talking about them. So for the time being I will remain anonymous. If you would like to call me anything you can call me PA because that actually was my nickname at one point.
ReplyDeleteYou probably should include Ethan Martin in your poll.
ReplyDelete