So while I was watching the USATF men's and women's 10,000m I was thinking about coaching choices.  I said to a friend that Brad Hudson wasn't working for Ritz and that I didn't see why he didn't go to the Oregon Project to work with Salazar (and Schumacher).  I don't know that the marathon is the best event for Ritz but that is another issue and a tangent that I will not currently pursue.  I was excited the next day to see that Ritz came to that same conclusion.  He's a talented runner still in his prime and I hope that this change revitalizes his running.

So then with all the success of the Salazar and Schumacher athletes in the national championships this year I was wondering if Flanagan might be thinking of a similar switch.  Apparently I was way behind on this.  My excuse is that I'm working on my PhD and miss things at times.  While her USATF performance was definitely subpar, the transistion might take some time.  Hopefully she can be ready for World's.  Like Ritz though, I'm not sure that the marathon would be her best event, but again I'll avoid that tangent for now.

So with these all these top-level Americans running for Salazar and Schumacher I got thinking about who the top coaches are and who else can get athletes to that top level and truly reach their maximum potential.  Clearly John Cook has to be in there but I think his personality prevents him from working with some athletes.  Clyde Hart has certainly proven his metal with 400m runners, but who else in the distance scene?  I think the Hanson brothers have a great program but I would argue that they haven't maximized the potential of many of their athletes.  It seems like the athletes under their tutelage run to hard on their easy days and race their workouts, which is probably not the ideal strategy.  Warhurst has had a number of milers make it at the top level (Sullivan, Willis, and Brennen most recently).  I'm not sure how much input he has with Willis or Brennen post-college but they've been quite successful.  John Kellogg did a fantastic job with Weldon Johnson and I agree with his training philosophy so it would be interesting to see him as a professional coach working with some of the most talented athletes.  Joe Vigil and now Terrence Mahon have produced top runners.  Who else?  If you won the genetic lottery who would you pick as your coach?  If I was a marathoner I'd go to Japan and learn how to do it right.  But other than that what do you think?