Marcus Dickson breaks the tape in the Mile by Angela Collins) Marcus Dickson  put the finishing touches on a great day of racing at Brooks with his dramatic victory in the Boys Mile in the last race of the day.

Loads of great performances at the Brooks PR Invite!  Check them all out inside! (Photo by Leo Collins)

If you want to know what Coach Z and Coach Infa were like in high school, here you go. The best part about this week's Take 3 with Z is that Maggie Vessey turns the tables and makes them blush for once.

In the third episode of The Fit Runner our host is Dr. Giddeon J. Lewis, foot and ankle specialist, and Chairman of the MileSplit Medical Advisory Board. Joining Dr. Lewis to talk about "Heel Pain" are professional triathletes Jarrod Shoemaker and Alicia Kaye, along with University of Central Florida athletic trainer Jennifer Perez. The group will discuss causes of heel pain as well as preventative tips. This is the latest episode in our series on being a fit runner.

The 2012 edition of the Brooks PR Invitational at the Dempsey in WA looks to be a barn-burner.  Final entries inside!

At the age of 19, University of Washington sophomore Katie Flood leads the NCAA lists in the indoor 3000-meter run and mile with bests of 8:55.31 and 4:28.48, respectively. Her mile time ranks her as the fourth-fastest collegian ever, and is also the second-fastest time in the world this year. Flood was seventh at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2011, which was a 71-place jump from the previous year, when she was 78th.

Last fall, about the time when the nation’s top high school distance runners were reaching peak fitness for state cross country meets, New Yorker Za’von Watkins, last Saturday night’s Millrose Games boys mile champion, was fighting for inches on the goal line in a championship football game. (via Running Times)

Chariho Regional put a halt to 17 straight years of dominance by Bishop Hendricken on Saturday by taking the boys’ team title at the  R.I. Interscholastic League Indoor Track and Field Championships with a 68-63 win over the runner-up Hawks.

Precious Holmes (above) set meet records over 300m and 600m in CT.  Trinity Wilson won the 60 Hurdles with a US#2 All-Time performance of 8.23! (Photo Courtesy of MileSplit CT)

We haven't played one-on-one basketball against each other in a while,"says Mark Derrick, a senior at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill. "I used to lose to him all the time just because he was bigger than me, but now that I've grown, it should be a pretty even game."  (via Running Times)

Cayla Hatton will never win a Massachusetts State Championship.  Not because she lacks talent, to the contrary, an argument can be made that she is one of the most gifted distance runner in the state.  The reason she will never get the opportunity to compete for a state title is because her school, Phillips Academy in Andover, competes as an independent and is not a member of the MIAA.  The technicality has helped her remain a mystery to casual track fans in New England, but it has not deterred her from making a national impact.

Coach Z breaks all the rules in this installment of Take 3-with-Z featuring professional runner Anna Pierce.  For once, he actually asks serious questions, and then he sneaks in a fourth question that clearly jinxed the Patriots and should be blamed for their demise.

Ed Cheserek 13:57 NR 5000 meters, Ajee Wilson 2:04.13 800 meters, Watkins/Nadel take HS miles! Bernard Lagat highlights the Elite action with an American Record 13:07.15 for 5000 meters! (Photo by Kyle Brazeil)

The Irish will be out in force at the Millrose Games at the Armory in Manhattan this coming Saturday, Feb. 11, and none among the Irish contingent will have a greater right to be trackside than Cork’s Marcus O’Sullivan. (via Irish Echo)

On Nov. 27, 2010, a rainy, unseasonably cold Saturday in Fresno, Calif., Holland Reynolds pulsed through the 3.1-mile course upright, trailing only the race’s leader. (via NY Daily News)

The Millrose Games, held for the first time at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory, is one of the most prestigious meets of the Winter season.  It regularly compiles some of the East Coast's best high school middle distance talent to compete in the iconic Millrose Mile.   In anticipation of the event, Milesplit NY decided to ask each qualifier two specific questions:  What does qualifying for this event mean to you, and what are you doing to prepare?

Prince Harry hopes to line up on the starting blocks next to sprinter Usain Bolt during his diamond jubilee tour of the Caribbean and Central America, it was announced today. (via mirror.co.uk)

Geoff Hollister, one of the "Men of Oregon" while running for University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and one of Nike's first employees, died today.

The energy was palpable Saturday night at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts as a handpicked field of elite athletes from all levels of the sport thrilled the capacity crowd with photo finishes and mid-race drama.  But, you are bound to get some amazing races when you take a group of high school athletes, put them in a room with their idols, pack a building full of over 4,000 fans, and then turn on the TV cameras.

Quick recovery as CBA goes 10:08.8 in the DMR just two days after a 7:41.52 4x8! Baird and Baisden US#7/9 All-Time for 300 meters! North Shore 9:04.99 4x800! Fri: Malone, Cain win fast 1000's. Boys & Girls, Wakefield take fast 4x400 titles! 

On a recent trip to Texas for the Olympic Marathon Trials, our friend at FloTrack asked me to stop by their headquarters in Austin for a couple of days. In addition to just getting to know them better and seeing their place, they were excited to show me the new project they are working on called Flocoach. I was so impressed with the idea that we signed a partnership right then and there.

Runners usually don’t develop into sprinters. Speed is often a gift that comes unwrapped at a young age.  Aldrich Bailey, a senior at Mansfield Timberview in Arlington, Texas, has that gift. He made that known the summer after finishing the fifth grade when the young speedster blazed through 200 meters in about 25 seconds.

  Today is February 1st, national signing day! Athletes around the country (and world) can now make their college commitments official. Many of the top stars around the country will have official signing ceremonies today, while others may do so in the coming days in weeks. We want to applaud all of our college-bound seniors and celebrate their decisions of where they will spend the next four years.