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News & Notes
Katie Mackey‘s father, Kevin, officially met his lifetime goal of logging 100,000 miles. From the 2015 feature Keeping it in the Family, his journey to the mark began in 1977. “while still in high school, Kevin Follett decided he would run 100,000 miles by the time he turned 50. The discipline and meticulous focus he applied to this goal would carry him through the next three and half decades. He is now 54 years old, and just 5,040 miles away from breaking a barrier most of us will only see on a car odometer.” On December 23, just 2 and a half years after the publishing of that story, he finally did it. Check out his full journey, along with stats, places, times, and everything else you may have wanted to know about this epic feat, chronicled on his site Running with Follett
Today is a BIG day, an 100,000 mile one- @kevinfollett hits his lifetime goal of running 100,000 miles! WOOHOO #proudofpops pic.twitter.com/Qcguct6WSU
— Katie Follett Mackey (@KatiefMackey) December 23, 2017
Sara Hall and Carrie Tollefson sat down for a conversation following Sara’s huge 2017, which included bringing home the hardware at the US 10 Mile Championship, Frankfurt Marathon, and the US Marathon Championship at the California International Marathon. They also discuss, “juggling a busy schedule as a mom to four girls and the possibility of her family moving to Ethiopia.” Listen to the full feature, Sara Hall: In It for the Long Run, on C Tolle Run
Reid Buchanan and Molly Seidel win the 2017 NYRR Midnight Run, clocking 19:08 and 21:24, respectively, “for the hilly four-mile course. The temperature at midnight when the race went off was a frosty 10°F (-12°C) which made fast running difficult.” Check out the full recap by David Monti on LetsRun. Reid, however, was not quite finished with making an early mark on 2018, by following this up with a win at the Millennium Mile…maybe there was something to those 4 bottles of Christmas Cheer at coach
Deena Kastor‘s party on Christmas
Congrats to @skechersGO athletes @reidbuchanan22 (3:56.6) & @EleanorFulton (4:32.3) on their wins at the Millennium Mile!
— Josh Cox (@JoshCox) January 1, 2018
With Reid’s win at last night’s NYRR #MidnightRun (I think) he’s a 2x world leader in 2018. At this rate he’ll have 730 race wins in 2018. Seems reasonable. pic.twitter.com/UMph9io9AC
20 years ago in December, Pre’s Rock was officially dedicated as the Prefontaine Memorial Park by the City of Eugene. The site marks the spot on Skyline Drive where Pre passed away on May 30, 1975 just hours after his final race.

Read: My Letter from Pre, penned by AthleteBiz founder Jack Wickens on the 40th anniversary of Pre’s passing
New Year, New Gear
Shannon Osika partners with Nike. Having previously been sponsored by Saucony, Shannon announced on her Instagram, “Looks like I’m a Nike girl now!!”
Jarryd Wallace adds Toyota to his team, posting, “I can’t think of a better way to end the 2017 year than signing with the best automotive brand in the world,” on Instagram
Nick Symmonds, for just the second time in over a decade, is without a shoe sponsor. On Twitter, he posted, “A massive THANK YOU to this great company [Brooks Running] for allowing an old bison to rumble down the track one last time.” Now looking for some recommendations for his spring marathon, tweet your reply to him below as to what you think he should be lacing up with:
For only the second time in 12 years I am without a shoe sponsor. This means I can wear WHATEVER I WANT in my spring marathon! Looking for a great lightweight trainer. What shoe would you wear? pic.twitter.com/yplbp0VTAk
— Nick Symmonds (@NickSymmonds) January 2, 2018
Celebrations & Birthdays
The end of 2017 brought lots of things to be thankful and thoughtful for. Here are some athletes who ended their year creating lifelong memories
Carolina Carmichael (now Carolina Moll) wed to Sam Moll on December 29. “I could not stop smiling all day! From the beauty of all the decorations, to all the snow outside, to our crazy fun bridal party!” from Carolina on Instagram. Tweet congratulations to @caro_carmichael
Hyleas Fountain engaged to Timothy Vaught on December 24. “I’ve been so patiently waiting for this day and my dream has finally come true. Can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I know it will be a blast.” from Hyleas on Facebook. Tweet congratulations to @Hept_Chic
Michelle Carter “said yes” to Courtney Elder on December 24. “So, this happened last night! I still can’t believe it!” from Michelle on Instagram. Tweet congratulations to @ShotDiva
Michael Stigler engaged to Meredith Mitsch on December 31. “Forever with you sounds just right, which is why I asked you to be my wife!” Tweet congratulations to @MySwag_Spiffy
Raven Clay‘s birthday is on January 5. Tweet her well wishes @Ray_Bay1
Alana Hadley‘s birthday is on January 8. Tweet her a happy birthday @AlanaHadley
By the Hammer of Thor
“It’s Ryan Crouser, a 20lb sledgehammer, and a lot of cheesy video editing.” – for more great video content, make sure to give Sean Donnelly’s YouTube channel a follow
Congrats to AB’ers that earned a top ten in USA ranking for ’17 from Track & Field News
18 Men:
- Erik Sowinski
- Shaquille Walker
- Johnny Gregorek
- Kyle Merber
- Ryan Hill
- Biya Simbassa
- Michael Stigler
- Johnny Dutch
- Michael Mannozzi
- Jeff Henderson
- Donald Scott
- Sam Mattis
- Alex Young
- Kibwé Johnson
- Sean Donnelly
- Andy Fryman
- Riley Dolezal
- Tim VanLiew
34 Women:
- Tori Bowie
- Charlene Lipsey
- Brenda Martinez
- Sara Vaughn
- Amanda Eccelston
- Stephanie Garcia
- Sarah Pease
- Lauren Paquette
- Christina Manning
- Jasmin Stowers
- Queen Harrison
- Kori Carter
- Cassandra Tate
- Turquoise Thompson
- Sara Hall
- Maria Michta-Coffey
- Miranda Melville
- Erin Taylor-Talcott
- Brigetta Barrett
- Chaunte Lowe
- Sandi Morris
- Mary Saxer
- Andrea Geubelle
- Blessing Ufodiama
- Dani Hill
- Brittany Smith
- Whitney Ashley
- Liz Podominick
- Gwen Berry
- Amber Campbell
- Amanda Bingson
- Alina Duran
- Kara Winger
- Sharon Day-Monroe
That’s all for today! If you liked what you read today, please keep checking back in and we’ll keep supplying the Buzz!