Run-Down Forums

[Paul]

Victor,

Thanks for the heads-up. I live two blocks away from
the Orange Coast College.

Is there going to be fee for those that want to observe the race?
Do you need any onsite help!

Dr. Paul Ward
Costa Mesa, CA

=============================================================

Victor Conte wrote:

Published on Flexonline.com 12/04/02

PUT UP OR SHUT UP! 2002

LEVRONE ON TRACK TO RACE CHAMBERS!

He asked for it. He got it. Months ago, Kevin Levrone claimed to be
the fastest men alive and challenged world-class sprinters around the
globe to take him on. Now, one has. In an event titled "Put Up or Shut
Up," Dwain Chambers, ranked as the second best sprinter in the entire
world, will take on the Mr. Olympia runner-up Levrone on December 11
at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California.

This meet will pit the second best athletes in their respective
sports in a mano-a-mano grudge match that will finally either
confirm Levrone's boasting as a world-class speedster or send him
back to Baltimore as master of only one domain. The mercurial
bodybuilder, who will compete next in the 2003 Arnold Schwarzenegger
Classic on March 1, is confident he'll blow some minds in Orange
County on December 11.

The British-born Chambers won a gold medal in the 100 meters at the
2002 European Championship and is ranked second in the world behind
Tim Montgomery and one spot ahead of third-ranked Maurice Greene.

The race is being arranged with the invaluable help of Victor Conte of
Balco Labs. Conte, the creator of the supplement ZMA, has organized
the ZMA Track Club, a group of world-class track and field athletes
that he advises on nutritional and training issues. Chambers is a
member of the ZMA team. Also, Milos "The Mind" Sarcev, who a couple of
years ago developed a weight training program for Montgomery, now the
world's fastest man, is currenlty performing the same services for
Chambers at the invitation of Conte. Sarcev will also be present at
the race.

The race is scheduled for 2 PM on December 11. Please do not contact
the college regarding this event. We'll report the outcome online the
following day.

[Dan]

Oh man, couldn't we have chosen a less injury prone sprinter? I'd hate to see Dwain tweak a hammy and have to hear from the bodybuilder crowd how much runners are weenies...

Dan

[Conway]

More importantly I'd hate to see Dwain get injured and ruin his World Championships season ... As this past season showed no one can afford any lost time with todays sprinters being at the levels they are at ...
_________________
Conway
Speed Thrills

[Dan]

Speaking of today's sprinters ... there's a rumor that Capel is headed back to T&F this year.

Dan

[Paul]

Jeff,

12-11-02

I was an observer at the OCC 60 m race of world class body
builder Kevin Levrone and World number 2 ranked 100 m runner
Dwain Chambers from England. With very little publicity there
were between 50 and 100 people. This event could have drawn
in the thousands of people had it been publicized.

My guess is that they did not want a large crowd because
Orange Coast College could not accommodate more than 1000
people at its track facility. By the way the OCC track
facility may be one of the best in Southern California.

It is two blocks from my house.

The race was interesting and developed as I expected. I did
my doctoral dissertation on sprinting and compared two methods
of sprint starting and the acceleration/velocity curves over
100 yards using excellent sprinters. The foregoing and my
many years of coaching are the basis for the following
evaluation of the race ran today.

The idea borders on genius. This judgment was confirmed
after talking to Victor Conte of Balco Labs, originator of
the idea of the race between these two men. He said that
he had innumerable emails and phone calls after he sent just
a few emails to a few selected people. The news spread like
wildfire. According to Conte, track people as well as body
builders were highly interested in the event.

Coach John Knox at OCC and his staff did a great job of
hosting the event.

As for the race, may I present the following evaluation.

Dwain was not likely to have been in his best shape but he
ran OK. After talking with Kevin, he did very well for not
knowing what he was doing.

He had no idea of how to start, but did as I expected he
would do, i.e., he would run the 40 m well and thereafter get
burnt by Dwain. This is what happened after 40 meters, but
Kevin still had an impressive performance.

Too bad we did not get Kevin's 60 time. However, the 40
time is probably more indicative of his power at his level
of experience, run training level (probably little or none)
and knowledge.

The performances were:


40 m 60 m

Levrone 4.80 No Time

Chambers 4.52 6.64

They should have a rematch. I think that Kevin with some
training of his starting technique could run .2 to .3 seconds
faster.

Also, he has good running style but could improve a little.

With good publicity it could draw a large crowd and maybe
a TV showing.

Bottom Line Kevin and Dwain put on a great show. Moreover,
there were at least 10 world class body builders in attendance.


Paul

[Dan]

Three-tenths of a second through 40m is a very significant gap, which anyone with "many years of coaching" should be well aware of... This is probably the furthest from peak shape that Chambers will be at any time during the year (right between coming down from the summer peak and building back up for the next one), so he stands to improve at least as much as the bodybuilder for a potential rematch.

Dan

[Paul]

I agree, and I'm sure Paul Ward would agree also. I'll bet Dwain was already shutting down 20 m into the race when he saw the kind of lead he had. He probably just used this as excuse to get away to sunny California for a period of time. Weather in GB must be like ours in Oregon, only worse!!

Paul

[Dan]

Chambers trained in Cali last winter, so I was assuming he is there again this year and that made for a convenient match race.

Dan