Author Archives: Jon Waldron

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About Jon Waldron

Running and Racing have been important parts of my life for as long as I can remember. I ran Track and Cross Country at Amherst HS, back in the day, and am proud to have been training and competing with the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU) for more than thirty years. If my bones hold out, I hope to continue for another thirty. Sixteen years ago, I began coaching, first as an Asst. Coach at Newton North HS in Newton, MA, and for the past ten years, as Head Track and Cross Country Coach at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts. I've been writing about running for almost as long as I've been running, dating back to high school, when I would write meet summaries for the Amherst Record for about $0.33 per column inch. I've been blogging about running since 2005, and began blogging at "the runner eclectic" in 2014. Until recently I also had a day job, working full-time as a Technical Product Manager for Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, MA. But I am now on what might turn out to be a permanent sabbatical. Thank you for reading my blog, and please consider leaving a comment.

‘Miracle’ Race in EC Women’s 4×400 Relay

Have you been following the European Track & Field Championships taking place in Zürich this past week? If so, you surely have already seen the final lap of the women’s 4×400 relay. If not, I’d like to recommend you watch … Continue reading

Posted in Pro Runners, Racing | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Speed in Reverse

While scanning the letsrun.com home page a couple of days ago, a link filed under “Random News” caught my eye. The link pointed to an article in Ireland’s Evening Herald newspaper, “Irishman is World Champion retro runner.” Calling him the … Continue reading

Posted in Records & Statistics | Leave a comment

This Day in History: Wilson Kipketer Shatters 800m WR

Before there was David Rudisha, there was Wilson Kipketer. On August 13, 1997 – seventeen years ago today — Kipketer lined up for the 800m at the Zurich Weltklasse meet fully intending to break the world record of 1:41.73 that … Continue reading

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Listening to Tissue

Something odd happened to me the other day. Or rather, something expected didn’t happen to me the other day. It was peculiar enough that when I tried to describe it to Jonathan, I found it hard to put into words. … Continue reading

Posted in Injuries & Health | Leave a comment

From the Archives: Is Running Complicated?

[First published September 21, 2007] Is running complicated? In spite of the fact that I seem to be writing or talking about it all the time, it strikes me that running is pretty much the simplest thing you can do … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Running… Away From Home

A few years ago, my friend Robert Chasen wrote a lovely paean to a course that he ran every summer while on vacation at his summer cottage in Nova Scotia. (You can read it and other essays on his blog, … Continue reading

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Sure, Bring THOSE Olympics to Boston

Every other day, it seems, there’s another story in the paper about Boston’s interest in hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics. The latest example: a front page story in yesterday’s Boston Sunday Globe examining the question of what happens to Olympic … Continue reading

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Five Minutes a Day

One of the most reliable ways to fill the Health/Science section of the local newspaper is to report on research that finds a link between some specific activity and a longer life span. While it’s mildly interesting to point to … Continue reading

Posted in Running Research | 3 Comments

Know Your Oval: Fun Facts About Tracks

(Image: http://www.gogeomatics.ca) I’ve always enjoyed running on tracks, and I’ve always been fascinated by them. Maybe that makes me an eccentric. After all, I have the impression that most people, if they ever think about their neighborhood running track at … Continue reading

Posted in Field Guide to Tracks, Records & Statistics, Track | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

The Dumb Guy in the Room

For the last five years my official job title at Nuance Communications has been “Research Project Manager,” which means that I manage projects and facilitate communications for a department of about 20 PhD Speech Scientists. Although all of them are … Continue reading

Posted in Coaching, High School Runners, Training | Leave a comment