TexasTrack Blog

I know that there have been a lot of wondering about the lack of updates on the website. I've received quite a few emails and calls asking why there hasn't been an update. Of course, almost no one asked if I was all right, just when I'm going to post more results for them to access.

Last weekend I was in South American visiting my fiancé and her family. To be honest, I didn't miss working on the website much at all. It was kind of nice to be able to sleep past 4 am and have time with my fiancé, Mary Isabel. For 10 years now I've given up these things every fall and spring for athletes, coaches, and parents.

I'm pretty disillusioned with a lot of the track and field world right now. Even though I post hundreds of meets that can't be found anywhere else, most of the information comes from other sources than the meet directors. Of course, there are always LOTS of people who want me to publicize their meet, who want their camps and clinics promoted (again, for free) so they can make extra money or promote their program, or want to get their athlete's name and performance correct so the colleges will notice them. It has been several years since anyone has bothered to pay me a little for the clinics that make them money in the summer. Of course, I do it for free anyway, so what's the point, right? (Of course, it's not free -- the website costs me about $100 a month now plus dozens of hours every week. M-F does not pay for it and I rarely work on the website during work hours.)

Of course, heaven forbid that most would want to help me out a little, too. It really bothers me a lot when I hear that coaches, whom I've helped for years, have bought expensive equipment from somewhere else and often they even paid more. A lot of people do come to me when they need equipment, but most don't. Some buy direct form my company thinking I'll get the credit, but that's not the case. 

I remember a coach a few years ago telling me how he bought tens of thousands of dollars of equipment form someone else because they gave him a set of warmups and some shoes. He'd used my site daily as a resource and also to promote his events, but when it came time to purchase he went with the guy who threw in a few dollars in apparel for free. (Trust me -- NOTHING is free.) I hear that kind of stuff ALL the time.

I'll never forget when one of my closest friends told me a few years ago that there's no reason to help someone in need if your're not going to get anything out of it. We were talking about the difference between helping the people in Iraq and the people in Sudan , but the sentiment is something I hope I never accept in my life. Maybe that kind of reasoning is the way of the world these days.

For those that have given me the chance to earn their business, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I have thousands of friends in the sport who will always remain dear to me for the rest of my life whether they help me or not. I pray that I will always be a good friend to them. This has been a very difficult spring with Mary's impending move to the U.S. and her medical problems in Peru which has put her in the hospital a couple of times this spring. For my friends who have been supportive, I can never thank you enough.

I know I'll probably get plenty of emails telling me I'm whining again to get off my rear and start getting those results up again so they can see what's going on with district meets starting next week. I realize that to most, getting to see results is far more important than the person who is doing the work for you.

To those who think differently, thank you. You're the ones who know that being a good human being is the most important thing.