Boston, Boulder (Col), Torrance / Los Angeles / San Diego (Calif), Orlando / Cleremont (FL), Mombasa, Kenya (YES, the one in Africa!), Charlotte (NC), Osceola / Kansas City / Sedalia (MO), Sacramento / Martinez (Calif), Indianapolis / Cincinnati, NYC, Westchester Co.(NY), West Point (NY), Long Island (NY), Terre Haute (Ind), Honolulu / Waikiki (Hawaii), Columbus / West Chester / Dayton (Ohio), Osceola / Nevada / Springfield / Branson (MO)

Once again, 2007 saw me traveling to many exotic -- and not so exotic -- parts of the U.S. and the world.

(Above) Me posing in Honolulu in Dec. with Diamond Head in the background. (Right) Jim Estes and I observing the start of the USA XC Champs in Boulder in Feb.

2007 started with a move -- my colleagues and I in the U.C. Academic Enhancement Office were relocated from our 4 year old spot in the Mackal Field House overlooking the indoor track to a recently vacated suite in Tootell Gym.  Our new digs are at least 3x as large as our previous suite and features tutoring rooms as well as offices for professional staff.

I continue to serve as an academic advisor for student-athletes at University of Rhode working with the Football, Gymnastics, and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country teams.

2007 NACAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 3, Cleremont, FL

After the USA Champs in Boulder, I traveled to Florida for the third annual  North America, Central America, and Caribbean Cross Country Championships.  We hosted 16 countries and 125 athletes.

Team USA swept the top four places in the senior men's race to run away with the team gold medal.  (Below left) Celedonio Rodrigues leads gold medalist Fasil Bizuneh.  (Below right) IAAF V.P. Amadeo Francis congratulates Team USA: Steve Spence, Rodriguez, Bizuneh, and Ryan Shay. (Right) Stephanie Bylander and Desiraye Osburn lead the field, including gold medalist Malindi Elmore.

(Above right) Juniors Keri Bland and Kinsey Farren pose with me after the races. (Left) Bylander, Christa Benton, Bland, Osborn, Farren, and Emily McCabe.  (Right) Elliott Heath (1961) and Josh Edmonds (1959) lead the pack in the junior men's race.

2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

March 24, Mombasa, Kenya

This year's World Cross Country Championships were a very unique experience -- great challenges of travel, immunization, and security -- yet amazing competition, huge enthusiasm, and many new things!

After 36 hours of travel from Newport to Boston to Frankfurt to Zurich to Nairobi I finally arrived in Mombasa, Kenya .

Mombasa sits on the Indian Ocean not far from Kenya's border with Tanzania.

Two of our athletes, Cack Ferrell and Renee Metivier, collected running shoes to share with disadvantaged children and families in Kenya as part of the One World Running Project.

Team USA visited St. Peters the Rock Junior School to distribute the shoes and experience a local village.

The school had 96 students, some of whom boarded at the school.  The headmistress showed us through the facilities while the students sang.

We spent quite a bit of time on buses in Kenya -- accompanied by US Diplomatic Security, Kenyan Police, and Kenyan Army personnel.  The heavy security was in response to terrorism warnings issued by the US Embassy in Kenya.

The World Cross Country Championships were conducted at a golf course located on the shore of the Indian Ocean.  The course consisted of 2-kilometer loops over rolling terrain and ran through a dozen sand bunkers each lap!!

Despite temperatures around 95-degrees, near-perfect saturated humidity, and radiant heat reflecting off the nearby ocean -- over 30,000 spectators arrived over six hours prior to the competition to cheer on their countrymen and women to victory.

The crowds were unbelievable.  I still get shivers to this day when I recall the the intense atmosphere. 

Princeton alums Cack Ferrell (right, wearing #546) and Michael Spence (rbelow a couple rows on the right wearing #301) were the top female and male finishers for Team USA.  Kenny Klotz (above right, wearing number #295) was the top US junior male.

The crowds were unbelievable!  The spectators above me were sitting on a collapsed barbed-wire fence.  In other places, they were packed onto hillsides like grandstands.

2007 URI Women's Track & Field

I continued assisting the URI Women's team in Spring 2007.  The team finished third at both the Atlantic 10 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, although at the latter meet, a dozen of our key athletes were competing while sick with food poisoning -- I spent all of the second day of the meet at the emergency room with seven of the sickest athletes (don't worry -- no pics to share from that experience!!) -- and we missed second place by a mere 1/2 point!!

(above) The team following a third place at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships. (left) Senior middle distance star Emily Anderson races an 800 at Brown Invite. (below) Senior Laurel Bickford. (below left) The javelin crew at Brown Invite.

(above left, clockwise) Liz Long, Cait Hurley, Kathy Young, Khabria Hundley at ECACs. (above right) the seniors being honored during the indoor season.  (right) baton exchange from Hurley to Destiny Woodbury. (below) Coach M films more exciting action.

(above left) The crew at ECACs: Jess Lehmann, Khabria Hundley, Liz Long, Sarah Thornton, Amber Price, Destiny Woodbury, Kristen McGill [back row], Ashley Robinson, Cait Hurley [front]; (above right) Ashley and Kathy hide from the sun at Holy Cross.  (right) Khabria, Kathy, and Destiny scorch the track in a 200 at Holy Cross. (below) The steeplers Kathy Guilfoyle, Andrea Newton, Christina DeLeon strike a calendar pose.

(above left) Jav crew at A-10s: Dana Hoffman, Kristen Calamita, Jess Pagano. (above right) 4x100 relay squad warms up at Brown. (left) Senior Courtney Klenk poses with her fan club, I mean the frosh: Kat A., Erica P., Katrina H., and Jen G. (below) Court's dad, my good friend Paul Klenk, prepares to take more shots.

(above left) Sarah Thornton poses with her parents after winning the bronze at ECACs. (above right) the team starts their pre-meet warmup at Charlotte for the A-10 champs (the "before" picture...BEFORE the pre-meet meal and food poisoning!). (left) the senior distance crew: Courtney Klenk, Emily Anderson, Andrea Newton, Kathy Guilfoyle,  (below left) Amy Krajewski paid me to take this one to convince her 'rents that she occasionally studies...j/k. (below right) the school record holders in the 4x100 relay: Kathy Young, Destiny Woodbury, Cait Hurley, Khabria Hundley.

(left) Emily Anderson accepts the Winifred Keaney award as the top graduating female student-athlete. (right) Sarah T, Dom Lee, Dana, and Kathy G. grit their teeth and pose for yet another picture at Brown. (below) the seniors at the Athletic Awards Banquet

(right) me posing with former URI head football coach Tim Stowers , the male Holmes award winner Kyle Edwards, and Associate Athletic Director John Vanner at the Athletic Awards Banquet. (below) Courtney Klenk accepts the women's Elizabeth Holmes award.

(left) Liz Lyons and Destiny Woodbury were honored at the Diversity Awards banquet for their many accomplishments while at URI.  Destiny was a two-time SAAC president and two-time track team captain (among her many accolades), while Liz successfully organized the "Pink Out" event at the URI-UMass Men's Basketball Game that raised money and awareness for Breast Cancer. (below) Liz at the Pink Out check presentation to the Gloria Gemma Cancer Research Foundation.

My grandmother, Angel Reynolds, passed away in May.  She was 96.  The family gathered in Missouri to celebrate her life and the impact she had upon each and all of us.

NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

June 6-9, Sacramento, CA

USATF Outdoor Championships

Indianapolis, IN

OK....I turned 40 this past fall. 

Yep...I'm now officially middle aged!!

How long before a mid-life crisis follows?

URI Athletics -- Fall 2007

In addition to serving as an academic advisor for student-athletes, I also serve as the advisor for URI's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and pitch in with URI's Life Skills Program.

Our 2007-08 academic year kicked off with Rhody Skills Day -- a welcome day for our student-athletes.  Training for the student-athlete orientation leaders is on Labor Day Monday, followed the next day by the real thing.

Gina Sperry (on the right) has organized an outstanding program for our athletes!!

2007 Rhody Relays

URI SAAC hosted the annual Rhody Relays to welcome all student-athletes back to school and promote unity and school spirit.

The event kicked off with a BBQ, followed by fun competition among "color teams" using games recommended by the Student Leadership Office. 

URI SAAC, student-athletes, and staff participated in URI's Walk to D'Feet ALS on Oct 17.  The walk was in honor of Professor Yngve Ramstad, who until recently had served as URI's Faculty Athletics Representive and one of URI's strongest athletic supporters. The event raised about $10,000 for ALS -- vastly exceeding the pre-event goals!

URI SAAC collected food baskets for the Jonnycake Center of Peacedale so that underprivileged families could enjoy a holiday dinner.

2007 Date-A-Jock Charity Auction

URI SAAC hosted the inaugural event on Dec 10 at Edwards Auditorium and raised $1400, portions of which benefited the Jonnycake Center of Peacedale.

More photos

2007 NCAA Cross Country

The collegiate harrier championships where exciting, with Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego (#660 in all red uni) running away to her second consectutive win, while Liberty's Josh McDougal (#337) and Oregon's Galen Rupp (#527) waged a duel from start to finish, with McDougal edging away in the final steps.

2007 USATF Club Cross Country Championships

December 8

Voice of America Park, Ohio

The nation's top clubs gathered in Ohio to vie for the national team title.

More photos

Zap Fitness' Ryan Warrenburg (above, #1060) ran away to the men's individual title, while Delilah DiCrecenzo (right, #638) sprinted away at the end to win the women's title.

Rhode Island - Army Football Game

Sept 8 -- West Point, NY

URI traveled to West Point, NY to play the U.S. Military Academy.  I traveled down with other staff members to see West Point and cheer on the Rams.

Before the game, the corps of cadets passed in review.  Afterwards the precision parachute unit jumped onto the field.

The game was close and hard fought, with URI falling in the second overtime.

On the left is URI Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn posing with his wife Cyndy.

(Above) The wildly enthusiastic corps of cadet cheers on Army. (Left)  Cadets stole the head off Rhody -- URI's mascot.  

Honolulu 2007

The USATF Annual Meeting took place in Honolulu in early December, my first trip to Haiwaii,  I scheduled my travel so that I'd have one day to see the sightsee.  On the day I landed, I visited the Punchbowl (aka, the National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific) which overlooked downtown Honolulu.

USS Arizona Memorial

A little before 8:00am on Sunday Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on U.S. Military Forces in the Pacific.  The Japanese successfully caught the battle line of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor, sinking or damaging all the battleships anchored at Battleship Row that morning.

The World War I era battleship USS Arizona -- one of the most powerful ships in the world at the time she was launched in 1917 -- was struck near turret #2 by a 16-inch armor-piercing shell converted into a bomb.  The shell penetrated to the third deck before setting off the forward magazine.  The resulting explosion shattered the Arizona, which sank almost immediately to the bottom of the harbor.

While most of the rest of the battleships would be raised, repaired, and go on to fight in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Arizona remained on the bottom of Pearl Harbor with almost 1100 of her crew permanently entombed.

Visiting the Arizona Memorial is a surreal experience.  Amidst the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, the Arizona is hallowed ground similar to Gettysburg or Ground Zero in Manhattan.

USS Missouri

Anchored a few hundred yards from the Arizona -- actually on the site where the USS Oklahoma was anchored on Dec 7, 1941 -- is the USS Missouri.

Just as the USS Arizona reminds us all of the start of America's involvement in World War II, the USS Missouri -- on whose deck the Japanese surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945  while she was anchored in Tokyo Bay -- signifies the end of World War II.

The USS Missouri, one of four Iowa-class battleships, is one of the most powerful battleships ever built.

The USS Missouri was originally designed to trade salvos with opposing battleships.  While most people think of a ships bridge as a large, open, glass-enclosed area, the truth is that the Missouri was conned from inside an armored bunker with walls of foot-and-a-half thick steel.

When she was designed in the 1930s, the Missouri's primary purpose was as a platform for her massive main battery -- 9 16-inch 50-caliber gun sthat could accurately hurl a shell as heavy as a VW bug over 23 miles.  Keep in mind that this was before the age of digital computers.

I opted to take a special explorer's tour on the Missouri which lasted over two hours, was led by a retired C.P.O., and took you inside the #1 turrent, and down into the bowels of the ship to show you many fascinating design features.  For instance, when the USS Arizona was designed, her primary armor was on the outside -- once an armor piercing shell  (which is designed to penetrate a layer of armor before exploding) pierced the outer armor (as happened on Dec. 7), the ship was vulnerable.

The Iowa-class battleships had a "lightly armored" (3-4" of steel) main deck [lower left] designed to detonate an armor-piercing shell, while two decks below was a foot-and-a-half think steel armored deck  [lower right] designed to protect the ship's vitals!

The Mighty Mo was no luxury liner; -- especially if you were an enlisted man.  Above you can see WWII era enlisted bunks while on the right you can see 1980s era enlisted bunks. Below left you can see the Executive Officer's Sitting Room -- just a bit nicer!

Below right is Broadway -- the central passageway down the middle of the deck below the thickest armor.

Far below left is the plaque on the Surrender Deck denoting the spot where the Japanese surrendered to Allied Forces on September 2, 1945.

As noted above, the Missouri is docked where the USS Oklahoma was anchored on Dec. 7, 1941.  On the left, the Missouri keeps watch over the USS Arizona Memorial.  On the right, the view off the Missouri's starboard side -- the South-East Loch, down which Japanese planes launched their torpedoes.

Views of Waikiki Beach.

Views of Makapu'u Point, Makapu'u Beach, and Waimanalo Beach.

Happy Holidays!!

As usual, I spent the 2007 Holiday Season in Missouri with my family.  I was in Iconium, Osceola, Nevada, Branson, and Sedalia.

So, what's up for 2008?

At this point, I expect to travel to -- among other places --  Maryland, San Diego, Orlando, Edinburgh (Scotland), Eugene, Spokane, Terre Haute (IN), and Missouri during 2008.

Please don't hesitate to contact me:

   23 Burdick Avenue

   Newport, RI   02840

or

   miscott@att.net

Best Wishes for you and your loved ones in 2008!!