I want to comment on an indoor season just about done that I've been observing, mostly on TV, on the Web and from email notes from friends and fellow track geeks.

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Reebok Boston Indoor - Jan.27
How far this meet has come! In 1996, the meet had less than a thousand fans, and now, sold out and with one strong competitive event after another. The presentation of the meet, from the banners showing Reebok stars, to the track side banners showing sponsors the VISA series and theRBIG, showed a sport in control of its presentation.

The planned race of the evening, the world record assault on the women's 5K by Tirunesh Dibaba, was, in my mind, playing second fiddle to the excellent run by Shalane Flanagan in challenging Meseret Defar at the 3K. The crowd liked the races and the event is the de facto opening of the US elite season. Alan Webb's seminar on how to run a fast mile was also well received.

Millrose Games - Feb.2
The 100th anniversary of the meet was done in style. The most tickets sold in total at the meet--15,000--in two decades. The Hall of Fame dinner was, I was told, unforgettable. The photographs I will cherish are the shots of some of the young runners with greats Ryun and company, who took time to give these young athletes lifetime memories.

The meet lived up to its hype with Gail Devers in the hurdles, and Bernard Lagat and Craig Mottram in the Wanamaker Mile. Hats off to Bernard, but don't forget that Buster gave no quarter in that race! And a special thanks to Global Athletics team for managing two meets in one week in spectacular fashion!

And remember, two years ago, without USA Track & Field, Global and adidas, and the hard work of many volunteers, the 100th would not have happened at all!

Tyson Invitational - Feb.9
Alyson Felix infrequently races indoors, but her 300-meter world record of 36.33 opened some eyes. Canadian Kevin Sullivan and U.S.'s MattTegankamp ran to the finish, 7:40.17 to 7:40.25. Jenny Stuczynski vaulted a personal best of 4.72 meters (15-5.75), continuing to add sparkle and height to the newest U.S. pole vault ace. LaShawn Merritt ran 45.51, the fastest 400 meters in the world for 2007, with Milt Campbell at 46.03.

Donetsk, Ukraine - Feb. 11
The night of pole vault stars gave Yelena Isinbayeva her first world record in 12 months, with her 4.93-meter clearance. Her agent, Daniel Wessfeldt, noted that her clearance was by a large margin. The rock star of the vault was relieved to be vaulting records again. This only a week after her 4.82m win atMillrose (note, she's our Global Merit '07 cover from that meet).

Norwich International, Birmingham - Feb. 17
Fast Track meet director Ian Stewart produced a meet of amazing heights. There was Kenenisa Bekele's 4:44.79 2000-meter world record, with an amazing 26-second last 200 meters! Isinbayeva attempted 4.94m here, but didn't add a new WR height. Bernard Lagat did add an amazing AR to his name, with the 3000-meter run in 7:32.43. Nicola Sanders did a 50.60 400 meters, after a pedestrian start. And Robert Tobin's 46.01 marks him as a European Indoor medal prospect. KellySotherton, UK's best heptathlete and bridesmaid to Carolina Kluft, long jumps 6.48m, only 4 cm short of Ms. Klufts' seasonal best.

AT&T USA Indoor Championships - Feb. 23-24
The Reggie Lewis Center is one of the most important bastions of indoor track in the world. It hosts over 60 high school events each season, with perhaps 40,000 young athletes running the 200-meterMondo track. It also hosts two major indoor elite events. While the Reebok Boston Indoor Games has found its stride, the U.S. champs, while having great performances, a much-improved look to the meet and the best TV coverage in years, has not become the showcase that it should be.

The real story of the meet is the amazing development of so many of our young athletes. Shalane Flanagan showed her absolute star quality. Jenny Stuczynski added another U.S. title to her vault mantle. Shayne Culpepper, only months after having a child, won the indoor mile. Alan Webb ran what may have been his most mature and seasoned race, going out in 2:06 and a second half in 1:55, with self control and guts. MattTegankamp ran Jonathan Riley out over the last two laps of the 3K, and Christian Cantwell threw 21.72 to join Shalane Flanagan on the winner's circle, with both getting $25k VISA checks. There was actually some nice buildup on the ESPN 2 coverage to the VISA performance bonus! Nice job!

The sadness of the meet is that the track stands are not full on TV. That is inexcusable. Until the local organizing committee gets financial support and real time to plan and promote the meet, the U.S. Indoor championship will only be a third cousin of a championship meet.

European Indoor Champs, Birmingham, UK - March 2-4
Sell-out crowds for both heats and finals. Carolina Kluft pushed to the wall by Kelly Sotherton in the heps. Jason Gardener and Craig Pickering go 1-2 in the 60m in front of a home crowd! This gave Gardener his fourth Euro indoor title! Svetlana Feofanova winning an international title (well, Isinbayeva was not competing) again! The absolute dominance of Spain at 1,500 meters, where Juan Carlos Higuero (3:44.41), Sergio Gallarado (3:44.51) and Arturo Casada (3:44.73) went 1, 2 and 3--unprecedented in this event.

Belgium's Tia Hellebaut cleared 2.05m on her first try, giving her an indoor title to complement her win at the Euro Outdoors last summer in Gothenborg. Nicole Sanders' 50.02 victory over 400 meters gave her not only a gold medal for the UK, but also the fifth-best indoor time ever and a new Commonwealth record. "If I had not won, I would have gotten trouble from everybody!" was Sanders' comment in the mixed zone after her victory.

Sweden's Stefan Holm clears 2.38m and takes the gold. Linus Thjornblad clears 2.34m and takes the silver for Sweden in the men's high jump. Lidia Chojeka of Poland wins both the 1500 meters and 3000 meters! The story of the meet was not only the crowd, but the young UK athletes who rose to the occasion of the indoor championships.

Most exciting at the Europeans: 45 nations had teams at the Europeans' indoor, in a time when so much conflict was a just a news page away. Congratulations to Birmingham on putting on both the World Indoor Championships and European Indoor Championships.

Also of note: The European Federation has recommended that athletes who test positive during the build-up to a championship, even if they have served a 2-year ban, not be allowed to participate in the next world championships. Bravo!

Now, halfway around the world ...
Telstra Meeting, Melbourne, Australia - March 2
In the Telstra Melbourne Track Classic, held in Melbourne, the long road to Osaka and the World Outdoor Championships has begun! Some of the performances should be noted for what they say about the longevity of world class track athletes and the global power of our sport. Over the same weekend, half a world away, in Birmingham, England, where athletes from 45 countries are competing in the European Indoor Athletics Championships, athletes from the rest of the world began the 2007 outdoor athletic season.

Shawn Crawford won the 200 in 20.32, with LaShawn Merritt in 2nd in 20.38. Merrit also won the 400 meters in 45.31 to Sean Wroe's (Australia) 45.56. Craig Mottram highlighted the distance races with a fine 13:32.67 in the 5000 meters to defeat Boniface Kiprotich Songak of Kenya, who ran 13:36.77.

Pole vaulter world-ranked Numero Uno Steve Hooker won the vault in 5.81 over Brad Walker who jumped 5.71. Paul Burgess was 3rd in 5.50 and Toby Stevenson was 4th in 5.35.

Christian Cantwell of the United States won the shot in 20.79 to continue his winning ways. Christian won the VISA Men's $25k Best Performance at the U.S. Indoor last weekend in Boston. On the women's side, Michelle Perry ran 11.34 to win the 100 meters,Tasmyn Lewis of Australia won the 400 meters in 51.72, and Lisa Corrigan of Australia beat Sarah Jamieson over the mile, 4:22.66 to 4:23.40. Michelle Perry pulled off a double, with her 12.82 in the 100m hurdles.

In the women's 5,000 meters, Lauren Fleshman of the United States and Benita Johnson of Australia had a nice duel, with Fleshman getting the nod in 15:27.61 to Johnson's 15:36.45. Noted in 3rd place was Sonia O'Sullivan, who ran 16:04.39.

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This has been an extraordinary indoor season, but as we see with Telstra, the indoor season will be over next week with the NCAA Indoor Championships in the United States and the road season is about to explode. The Five Majors, year 2 is 6 weeks away with the BAA Boston and Flora London. The BAA Boston will host the USA Women's Marathon Championships, and DeenaKastor will be there, and Flora London will be just plain fast, with half-marathon revelation Ryan Hall running his first marathon.

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Athlete Promo Program
In 2006, Nike and USA Track & Field, working with the Running Network, began a series of sponsored interviews promoting some of the top elite U.S. athletes, their thoughts on competition, and their use of Nike footwear and apparel. The interviews, with BernardLagat, Daniel Lincoln, Lauryn Williams and Lauren Fleshman , appeared in 32 of the Running Network publications between September 2006 and May 2007. If you would like samples, just email us. A special version of LaurenFleshman's interview will be posted at www.american-trackandfield.com.

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They are on to something ...
The Nike marathon and half-marathon in San Francisco is a unique event. Nike has gone to great pains to make this event the hidden gem on the running circuit. Joan Benoit Samuelson has participated in all three of its years and remains its spokesperson. Last year, this writer participated in the last walk/run before the race and was taken by the changes in perception that Nike received from women who were not Nike brand fans. Well, this year's race sold out in 10 1/2 hours online!

What's ironic is that on a newly developed forum site, rrm.com , this writer participated in a discussion where race entry fees and the quality of events were being discussed. The Nike Women's marathon treats its participants in a way that many other running events could learn from. Some will scoff and say, well, a $15 billion company better do a good job, but the key to its success, like the Border Clash event held on their campus, is how many Nike employees volunteer for the event.

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Finishing on a positive note ...
The sport of athletics worldwide is off to a great start. From a superb indoor elite season to the 100,000-plus kids who participated indoor in Boston and New York alone, to theWDW Marathon and Arizona RNR Marathons, the sport is growing, growing, growing! The challenge for us all? So far, our sport has not found a way to communicate our benefits to truly global sponsors. In part, it's the fact that our sport has segmented itself that hurts us so much.

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atf newswire is published for the good of the sport. atf newswire is published by shooting star media, inc. (www.shootingstarmediainc.com. All rights reserved. Copyright 2007. Written by LarryEder. Proofing Goddess, Marg Sumner.

Shooting Star Media, Inc. is represented by the Running Network LLC.