Posted: January 28, 2005

Athletics: Fred Finke, New USATF LDR Division Chair, Interview

At the 2004 USA Track & Field Annual Meeting in Portland, long-time USATF volunteer and committee member Fred

FINKE from Longwood, Fla. was elected Chair of the Long Distance Running Division of USATF. Running USA wire's Charlie

MAHLER interviewed

FINKE recently to see what the new Chair's priorities are for distance running in the USA.

MAHLER, Running USA wire: Have the responsibilities of the new position hit you yet? If so, what brought it home to you?

FINKE: The realities of the position have hit me like a ton of bricks. Jerry Crockett, my predecessor, did a great job with everything with the exception of one thing. He forgot to tell me what I was getting myself into! This was especially evident within the first 45 days of the election. The governance manual defines the chair position responsibilities as Chair of the LDR division, "coordinate the championships," and as the vice chair of the Joint Development Group. It is a lot more than that. I guess it first hit me when I had to find the time for responsibilities that I had previous to the position coupled with my new responsibilities. Over the last 45 days, I have had to select my executive committee, attend a distance summit for 3 days, 7 conference calls and continue my responsibility as coordinator of the international NACAC event on March 6. On top of that board meetings, vetting releases, etc. I think you get the idea.

RUSA: I would think after a pair of medals in the Olympic Marathon, it's not a bad time to be responsible for distance running in the USA?

FINKE: I wish that were so. True, we have been given a great opportunity, but the time window that Deena and Meb have given us is small and LDR needs to move quickly to take advantage of the time frame, especially for the up-and-coming runners. We have a great group of athletes (and people) at the top right now such as Meb, Deena, Shayne Culpepper, Alan Culpepper, Abdi Abdirahman and Dan Browne. They have laid the groundwork and set the standard. Now LDR needs to focus on making sure they get what they need to continue while at the same time ensuring support for the new and quickly developing world class runners like Dathan Ritzenhein, Shalane Flanagan, Tim Broe, Ryan Shay and Carrie Tollefson. One of the things I especially support are the groups like Team Running USA, Team USA Minnesota, The Hansons, ZAP Fitness and others that are giving many of these athletes a base and support. This is the time.

RUSA: The Chair of the LDR Division is still a new concept to folks, I think, what exactly are your principal responsibilities as opposed to those of the Men's, Women's, Masters LDR Chairs?

FINKE: The short version is that I coordinate the three committees (Women's, Men's and Masters LDR) and the three councils (Cross Country, Mountain Ultra Trail and Road Running Technical Council), whereas they are responsible for their individual areas. Most of my work will deal with championships, promotion of LDR and budget responsibilities. I am also vice chair of the Joint Development Group and that is also a big area of responsibilities.

RUSA: What is the Joint Development Group responsible for?

FINKE: The Joint Development group is responsible for the overseeing of Coaching Education, the Men's and Women's Development and Sport Medicine and Science. They report to the divisional chairs of High performance and Long Distance Running. The Divisional chairs and the Chair of the Athletes Advisory Committee appoint the group coordinator. Many of the budget issues are hammered out within the Joint Development Group.

RUSA: Wrangling with the other USATF event areas for developmental monies seems to be a constant concern for the LDR Division. Is the Division better positioned now for funding after the success of Meb and Deena at the Olympics?

FINKE: You would think so. However, a lot of what happens is dependant on what the USOC says and where they say the money will go. Rumor has it that there are going to be several new mandates from the USOC, so we will have to wait to see what happens over the next month. As for better positioned? No question about it.

RUSA: You've been involved in USATF a long time, what prompted you to want this particular role? What had you done in the organization and sport before?

FINKE: I started looking at the role about a year and a half ago. I spent the last year going to many events and three USATF board meetings to get the feel for the position and to decide if I wanted to tackle the responsibilities and if I did, could I be effective. I have been in USATF since the days of the AAU so I was familiar with much of the politics involved, both good and bad. I felt like I could make a positive difference and that is why I chose to run. As for previous involvement in the organization, I have been involved in a lot of areas: Director of several National Championships, in charge of international staff selections, on the Men's LDR executive committee, Cross Country Council executive committee, liaison at the Pan Am Juniors, among other things. I have also been a team leader/coach for Olympic Festival, Chiba Ekiden and senior men's coach for the World XC Championships. All of this has allowed me to develop some relationships that hopefully will develop in a positive for USATF.

RUSA: What do you think the biggest challenge of the position will be?

FINKE: If this was a corporation where everyone was being paid, then, this would not be the greatest challenge. However, since USATF is a volunteer organization where almost everyone has a job outside of our sport, I feel that the greatest challenge will be to getting a streamlined system of communication within the divisions.

RUSA: What are you most excited about?

FINKE: I am especially excited about the people that are in place within the LDR division. Elizabeth Phillips (Women's LDR), Glenn Latimer (Men's LDR), Norm Green (Masters), Nancy Hobbs (Mountain, Ultra, Trail), Mike Scott (Cross Country Council) and Linda Honikman (Road Running Technical Council) are ALL doers. Add to that group having Jim Estes as the new LDR administrator in the national office and we have a group where things can get done. You don't have to be the smartest person in the world if you are surrounded by great people and doers and luckily I am surrounded by those types of people. Now the challenge is before us.

RUSA: What are your top priorities?

FINKE: 1) Establishing a working relationship within each of the committees and councils, identify specific goals within EACH of them, delete redundancy across the committees/councils and leverage the entire division to help each goal to be achieved. 2) Building up LDR programs with the associations. I think Associations are a BIG part of our organization and are sometimes forgotten. They are the masses and they are also our customers. 3) Developing a symbiotic relation with the road running community. For us to continue being successful and expand our outreach and horizons, it must be mutually beneficial for the road community and USATF.

RUSA: The centerpieces of LDR are always the Olympic Marathon Trials. Where do things stand now for selection of sites for the 2008 Trials?

FINKE: We have been going over the site selection process and the bid procedures for the 2008 Olympic trials for the last four months. It looks like it will be released over the next 30 days.

RUSA: Are the books closed on the 2004 Trials? Has USATF been paid all the money it was owed by the hosts? Didn't Birmingham dedicate a large sum to development that was instrumental to their getting the bid?

FINKE: First, the books are closed. Second, from what I remember (I heard the original bid presentation but was not involved in the process after that), the LOC in Birmingham agreed to set aside development funds. However, it was to be used primarily for athletes that wanted to come in early and acclimate to area and course. A few athletes took advantage of it (Todd Reeser, couple of Hansons' members, etc.), but from what I recall, it wasn't quite the number of athletes that were originally anticipated, so obviously there was a surplus on that budget item. I would have to see the final contract (which, as we all know is generally a LOT different that the bid proposal), but I am not aware that any surplus was owed to USATF. As I said, basically, the LOC made an offer to support up to a certain number of athletes in Birmingham for a period before the Trials and only a small number took advantage of the opportunity.

RUSA: Who do you plan to turn to for advice and counsel, if and when you need it?

FINKE: I always seek advice (and if I don't, there seems to be a lot of people willing to give it anyway). If the topic relates to any one particular committee, I generally go to the head of that committee/council and at least a couple of athletes of the particular area (Men's LDR, Women's LDR, Masters, XC, MUT, etc) aware of the situation/topic of discussion and can give the athletes perspective. I have found that if I ask at least of couple of athletes about a particular topic, they bring a different perspective to the situation. I cannot think of any situation over the last 10 years where I did not ask for input from the athletes. Other than that I feel pretty good asking the parties involved about a particular challenge.

RUSA: How should people who care about long distance running in the USA measure your success?

FINKE: This is going to be a time of change. A thin skin will destroy anyone in this position. I think that regardless of results or decisions, change is going to result in some people being unhappy and taking shots at you. We have to leave all of that behind us with a forward agenda. We have had success in the Olympics, we have young guns on the rise and we have an LDR administrator in the national office. The best answer is to ask before the next election "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?".

RUSA: Is there anything else you'd like the USA running community to know about you and what you hope to do?

FINKE: I have a wife that is a saint and I hope to stay happily married over the next four years.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.