The "Next Chapter" of Justin Gatlin - as seen in TrackSide magazine

And finally, the cover story. The highlighted piece in our second issue of TrackSide was the interview with world class sprinter Justin Gatlin (conducted twice..LOL).

The timing was certainly right on this one. In spite of being 31, (considered a wee bit old for a sprinter), Gatlin won his first five races this year, beat Usain Bolt, and then placed runner-up in the 100 meters at last weekend's US Track and Field Championships, thus earning a spot on the American team heading to the World Championships in Moscow in early July.

But, as you can read in the article, Gatlin's rebirth as a runner shadows the gains he has made as an overall athlete, father, and to a degree, ambassador of his sport. And away we go.....

For Justin Gatlin, the 2013 outdoor season is not the next step of a “comeback.”

Questioned about a working title for his professional career since 2010, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter dash was quick to reply, “I like to think of it more as my next chapter.”

Gatlin’s recent upward spiral has been astonishing, and some aspects are unknown to many track fans. Three years ago, he was competing at meets in smaller countries, but harbors positive feelings about the beginning of his current journey.  “I like that I started in places like Estonia and Morocco. It was a way of giving back. We, as track athletes, have diehard fans everywhere, but there are a lot of people who don’t get to see us run during a season.” Fast forwarding to the present, he added, “even now, I like to start the season by running in some smaller meets.”

The new chapter reached a lofty plateau in early 2012 when he stunned the track world by winning the 60-meter dash at the World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Commenting on his feeling that day, Gatlin said,

“Up to that point, it seemed like people had written me off. When I crossed the line, it was the first time (since returning) that I felt like I had arrived.”

Gatlin’s reintroduction to track has been fast and furious. He won the 100 meters at the 2012 Olympic trials, with a time of 9.80, a then-personal best. It was also the fastest time ever run by someone 30 years or older.

Following the race, Gatlin’s three year son Jace joined his father for a victory lap around the Hayward Field track. The picture of young Jace holding the American flag while cradled in his dad’s right arm was worthy of coverage in the New York Times and other news outlets.

Becoming a father has Gatlin viewing his career from a new perspective.

To read the rest of this article, please click here:

Northwood University (FL) to Begin Track Program

With colleges dropping track programs across the country due to budget cuts or Title IX realignment, it is memorable for the track community when a new program emerges as the result of school and community interest.

In the first TrackSide issue (www.trackside1.tracknation.com), Greg Foster spoke of his newly formed team at Lindenwood (MO) University, and their expectations of beginning their first season of NAIA competition with 75 athletes.

On the east coast, another program is in the formative stages, this one at Northwood University in West Palm Beach, FL. The Seahawks will compete in the Sun Conference of the NAIA.

Ironically, their new head coach, Kent Baker, found his way to Florida only after 14 years as the head coach of the University of Toledo, a Division I program which fell due to budget cuts.

Having to leave his old position, one which he was successful at, was tough.

“After 14 years, a program becomes a part of you, from working with the alumni and administration. When it’s lost, it’s like someone cuts out part of your heart…that’s what is devastating.”

Baker coached five Division I All-Americans and four Olympic trial qualifiers while at Toledo. Most recently, he was Director of Track and Cross Country at American Heritage School in Florida from 2008-2011, where he won two Florida 2A High School State Championships in Women's Track and Field. He was named 2011 Girls Track "Coach of the Year" by Florida High School Class 2A, 2010 and 2011 Miami Herald Girls Track "Coach of the Year", and the 2010 and 2011 Sun-Sentinel News Girls Track "Coach of the Year."

He looks forward to continuing his run of success at Northwood.

“Florida is rich with talent, but sometimes these men and women get overlooked. The best ones always find somewhere to go. We are interested in providing an opportunity for the others who have interest and talent.”

Northwood is best known as a business school, but Baker quickly points out, “we offer many specialized programs.” He aims to work with high school coaches to draw the kids “who are not highly recruited.” His method appears to be working so far as Baker anticipates fielding a roster of 40-50 athletes for the first year.

Baker will draw strength from two quality assistant coaches. Thomas Johnson, who was recently elected into the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame for his accomplishments has an All-American 400-600 meter sprinter at Florida State, will coach the sprinters, while Maryellen Powers, best known for her work with triathletes and System 3 coaching, was also recently added to the staff.

Olympian Dee Dee Trotter Says, "Test Me I'm Clean!" : Foundation Educates Young Athletes

Interviewing Dee Dee Trotter was fun. She is incredibly passionate about her sport and her foundation and it shows. I actually had to cut off our first conversation because the power in my cell phone ran out. For the record, I had started with three of five bars. Never mind that I had already broken a pen from writing so fast!

The graphics department of TrackSide magazine did a fantastic job with this article, putting the opening line in place as if it were on "Batman." Dee Dee was quite happy with the superhero theme, but you know, some people can get away with being compared to a superhero. She is certainly one of them. Oh yeah, AND I was happy to hear that she was tweeting the article link :)

POW!! BAM!! KABOOM!!

Dee Dee Trotter is a high energy woman, and when she speaks of her charity, “Test Me I’m Clean,” the narrative is fast and furious, like something out of the final fight sequence from the old Batman TV show.

Everything about Trotter is done in double time. Her personality belies her surname; in fact, there is nothing about the 2004 and 2012 Olympic relay gold medalist and 400-meter bronze medalist that resembles a slow gallop. So when she speaks about her involvement with TMIC, it is an advisement to listen, and if one is reporting, to bring extra pens and a cell phone charger.

It was the underlying perception of track and field athletes as cheaters that got Trotter interested in the movement. But it took an airplane ride to put her at the front and center of the movement.

Prefacing the story, she goes back to 2006.

“There was a lot of negativity going on. You had BALCO and the Barry Bonds situation. It put a bad taste in everybody’s mouth and created a stigma that in athletics, everyone was cheating in general, and that was not the case.”

“So I’m on an airplane, and the guy behind me was reading the sports section, and clearly seeing something about BALCO.”

It was his next line that sent Trotter into action.

To read the rest of this article, click here and turn to page 50.

Meeting Billy Mills: The 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist Speaks

Two things stand out about spending an hour on the phone with Billy Mills. First, I wanted to write down everything he said, because he doesn't spend a lot of time with "chit-chat." Every sentence has thought and meaning behind it, and I didn't want to miss a word. After the 40-minute formal interview, we simply talked about track for another 20, during which time he made my entire year.

Billy Mills today - looking quite youthful
for a man in his 70's

Speaking of the marathon he ran at the Rome Olympics soon after his historic win in the 10,000 meters, he talked about the dehydration which got the better of him and how he faltered from 3rd to "about 14th" in the final three miles. I mentioned that one of my former track runners, actually Donchelle Florence from Denbigh H.S. here in Newport News, VA, was getting ready to run the Los Angeles marathon, and I had told her that she needed to stop at every water station, whether she felt thirsty or not. Mills reflected for a moment, and came back with a line I'll never forget. "I should have taken your advice Jim. If  I had, I would have won that day."

Here's an excerpt from our interview from Trackside Magazine. To see the second half, please click the link below for direct access to the magazine.

TIME STANDS STILL - BILLY MILLS

By every definition of the words, Billy Mills is an American legend and hero. In 1964, Mills stunned the sporting world by dramatically coming from behind on the final lap to win the Olympic 10,000 meter run in Tokyo with a world record time of 28:24. His life and Olympic triumph were the inspiration for the 1983 movie “Running Brave,” starring Robby Benson. To date, he is the only American in history to win the event.

Now 75, Mills has used his Olympic fame to help countless others. An American Indian, and member of the Lakota tribe, Mills has advanced the causes of Native Americans and citizens worldwide. Currently, he serves as the spokesperson for Running Strong for American Indian Youth, an organization which supports projects that enhance Indian causes. Running Strong serves as a project of Christian Relief Services Charities. For his work as an advocate, speaker and author, President Barack Obama awarded Mills with the Presidential Citizens Medal in February 2013.

Mills is a member of several athletic Hall of Fames, including those of the U.S. Olympics, National Track, Distance Running, Kansas, San Diego and his birthplace, South Dakota. He is based in the Sacramento, CA area, but continues to travel the country, meeting with youth groups and sponsoring events on behalf of Running Strong.

He has been married to wife Patricia for 51 years. She is an accomplished artist whose work can be found on her website at www.studiotupos.com.

TrackNation: Did you realize the type of cultural impact that you would have after winning the gold medal in 1964?

Mills: I didn’t realize the type of impact it would have. At the time, I was just trying to find my place in the world. Society was going through multitudes of changes. We had grown up with Plessy v. Ferguson (1896 Supreme Court decision which upheld segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal”) and it wasn’t repealed until Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). This had an effect on the existing treaty rights for Indians and the government was trying to take away a lot of the sovereignty we had. I just didn’t feel like I belonged. In fact, I tried to commit suicide as a junior in college (at Kansas) and didn’t tell anyone for many years. Really, I was just trying to find out how I fit in this complex world.

TrackNation: How does one make the transition?

Mills: Through bravery and fortitude. Also, there are two separate virtues and you have to decide how to use those virtues. First, there is wisdom which will empower you. Then there is generosity which will allow you to empower others. That’s what I had to have to step on that track in Tokyo on October 14^th, 1964 at 4:30 in the afternoon. I felt like that moment was a gift.

Years before that, my Dad and I were fishing and he told me something that was a great surprise at the time. He said, “Son, you have broken wings. But I’ll share these words with you and you’ll have the wings of an eagle. He said, look beyond the hurt and the hate. You have hate because people have hurt us. But you don’t see the good in people. It is the pursuit of a dream that will heal you.”

TrackNation: Now the eagle has become a tremendous symbol of your story. Could you share some thoughts on this?


To read the rest of the Billy Mills "Time Stands Still" article, please click here and turn to page 40:

TrackSide Magazine