It's the end of the year which means it's time for another round of The Best of the Best of RunnerSpace.com. We had a fantastic 2012 at RunnerSpace with thousands of new videos and photos while new features created a better user experience and more events than ever were covered!
And now we'd like to share The Best of the Best of RunnerSpace.com for 2012!
Allyson Felix-Jeneba Tarmoh Finish Olympic Trials 100m Final in Dead Heat by Adam Schmenk - @TheSchmenk
The Olympic Trials are always filled with drama but who would have ever guessed that a race would finish in a dead heat? Thanks to Adamn Schmenk & his Twitter account the world got to see exactly what the timers were looking at. After a week long drama we finally had a full team for the women's 100m and thanks to the House of Run podcast we had a new term: Tarmohgeddon.
Aston Eaton Breaks Decathlon WR by Kirby Lee - Image of Sport
Squirrel Joins Arcadia Boys on NXN Podium by ian Terpin - RunnerSpace
The Arcadia boys shocked everyone by winning the team title at Nike Cross Nationals but bringing their team pet on the podium was even more shocking.
Kim Conley Makes Olympic Team by Ross Dettman - Ross Dettman Photography
It was the Miracle on the Track moment of the Olympic Trials. Conley came out of nowhere to grab the last spot on the Olympic team at 5000m.
Carrot Top at New Balance Outdoor Nationals by Victah Sailer - Photo Run
Iana Amsterdam had a hairdo that stuck out like no other in Greensboro at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Her 5th place finish in the long jump championship wasn't too shabby, either.
Kathrin Klaas Tumbles at Pre Classic by Phil Johnson - Tracktown Photo
Kathrin Klaas didn't have a good day at the Pre Classic. We really do hope she wasn't injured too badly but this photo is like a car wreck, you just can't look away.
Mo Farah Wins 5000m at Pre Classic, Does Mobot by Phil Johnson - Tracktown Photo
Admit it, you've done The Mobot in the mirror while whistling to the tune of "The Hustle". Distance runners finally had an answer to Usain Bolt's "To Di World" pose.
Long Jump at New Balance Outdoor Nationals by Chris Nickinson - RunnerSpace
Who knew you could capture ridiculously cool phtos with a cell phone before Instagram came along? We joined the party in June. If you're not following us, you should!
Sarah Baxter Breaks Mt. SAC XC Course Record by Donal Pearce - RunnerSpace
Sarah Baxter is the most unassuming character on the high school scene. You wouldn't know she was on her way to running faster on the famous course than any other girl by her cool demeanor.
Tarmohgeddon - Dead Heat at the Trials
Our photo of the year wasn't the only part of this story. The women's 100m final ended with a dead heat for third. After a week of pundits speculating, officials meeting, and athletes keeping quiet we were going to have a run-off on live tv...and then we didn't.
Cancelation of the New York City Marathon
Hurricane Sandy packed a strong punch to the New York metro area in late October. After a long week of 'Yes, it's on' the race was finally canceled to the dismay of thousands who were ready to run.
Symmonds Lives Fast Lfe On and Off the Track
For the last half-decade Nick Symmonds has been America's top 800m runner. This year he decided to go mainstream by courting America's...ummm...sweetheart, Paris Hilton. He also auctioned off ad space on his shoulder and set a beer mile record. Oh ya, he also ran 1:42 in the Olympic final. We say that Nick can do as he pleases.
ESPN Shuts Down Dyestat; RunnerSpace Buys DyeStat
Word spread like wildfire in June that ESPN was shuttering it's high school division which included the popular track site DyeStat. By September the site was dead but good news came in December when we announced the purchase of DyeStat and its archives. Stay tuned for more to come soon!
Mo Farah's Lost Twin Brother
What a year it was for Mo Farah! Win a gold medal - check. Win another gold medal - check. Create an international body motion - check. Reveal to the world that you actually have a twin brother...wait what?
(Note - had the story about Mo being held by US Immigration officials as a terrorist suspect been revealed before we decided on these stories that one would have made the cut.)
Record Setting Summer for Americans - World & US records Fall From HS to Pros, Medals Won In Mass
It was a banner year for Americans on the track. Americans shattered records on the world and national stage under the rooves of the indoor season straight through the end of the outdoor season. Records fell on all levels from seniors to juniors to high school to masters. Along the way we medaled across all events at all levels of world competition. Thanks to drug testing we even gained a gold medal from 2004 (Cheers to you, Adam Nelson!).
Bolt First Ever to Repeat 100m, 200m Double at Olympics
The title says it all. Re-watch the 100m and 200m finals.
Fayetteville-Manlius Girls' 7th NXN Title
Another year, another Nike Cross Nationals title for the FM girls. Ho-hum. This year's squad managed to keep the streak alive despite top returner Jillian Fanning having a tough xc season due to injury. The Stotans roll on.
The official home of the USA Running Circuit. Our partnership with USA Track & Field has allowed road racing fans to follow America's top distance runners' battle for the prize of top US road racer for the third year running.
10 days of non-stop track and field action. Nearly a thousand interviews, daily recaps with the RunnerSpace Live guys and tons of great story lines made the Olympic Trials our top event of the year!
The official home of Nike Cross Nationals was the place to be to watch the meet if you couldn't be in Portland and it was THE place to go for all the post-race action plus race replays.
We covered the top pro meet in America from all angles for the official meet website. The event was once again not just the top event in the US but one of the top events on the IAAF Diamond League circuit.
The USA's best high schoolers competed for national bragging rights at the indoor and outdoor nationals and we brought you live coverage of both events.
The country's top regular season high school track meet once again produced numerous US #1's from the sprints to the distnace events and as usual, meet director Rich Gonzalez put together stunning 2 mile fields.
We brought the heat for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Three live feeds to cover the event from the steps of the Washington Monument as 15,000 runners filled the streets of our nation's capital.
It's not the biggest meet in size but it might be the coolest. Nike brings together the best high school xc runners in Oregon and Washington to see who is best of the best of this border rivalry.
Some say "Size matters." In the case of the Mt. SAC Relays nothing is more true. The largest track meet in the world just can't be ignored so we brought you live coverage of the event once again!
Another event that we partner with USA Track and Field on is the USA Indoor Championships. We had live coverage of the non-television events and the best archive of post-race material on the internet.
Dr. Bob's DistancePreps.com crew spent a weekend in Tallahassee covering the mid-season track meet. DistancePreps's live coverage of the weekend's events as well as archives of every race on the track and thousands of photos showcased the power of the RunnerSpace network that's available for all to use.
800m Final at the London Olympics
Simply put - it was the greatest race ever. David Rudisha took the bull by the horns from the gun and never looked back as he became the first human to run 800m under 1:41. Even Andrew Osagie from Great Britain can't complain about finishing in 8th place. His time of 1:43.77 is the fastest ever 8th place and every other finisher ran the fastest time ever for their finishing place.
Our friends at Letsrun.com did a great job breaking down the race. Read it here and watch the race above.
Pl. Athlete Team Birth Result Score
1. David RUDISHA KEN 88 1:40.91 1296 WR, AR
2. Nijel AMOS BOT 94 1:41.73 1270 PB
3. Timothy KITUM KEN 94 1:42.53 1246 PB
4. Duane SOLOMON USA 84 1:42.82 1237 PB
5. Nick SYMMONDS USA 83 1:42.95 1233 PB
6. Mohammed AMAN ETH 94 1:43.20 1225 PB
7. Abubaker KAKI SUD 89 1:43.32 1222 SB
8. Andrew OSAGIE GBR 88 1:43.77 1208 PB
Aries Merritt Smashes the 110m Hurdles World Record
With the season that Aries Merrit was having you knew the world record was going to come down. It was only a matter of time but what he did was other worldly. Had it not been for the depth of the Olympic 800m final this would have been our race video of the year!
Jessica Cosby American Record Hammer Throw at the Prefontaine Classic
The hammer throw doesn't get much love from the mainstream so it's a good thing RunnerSpace had a camera trained on the ring at the PreClassic as Jessica Cosby unleashed a throw of 74.19m to take the American Record.
Epic Relay Anchor in Australia
Just watch the video. You'll see why this kid is being hailed as the next Usain Bolt.
Justin Gatlin Post-Race Interview with a Clown Afro
America's fastest man was definitely enjoying his return to elite racing this winter when he did an entire interview while wearing a clown afro.
Sh!t Runners Say
Runners tend to have a lot of time on their hands. Sage Canaday is no different since he trains for marathons and ultras. He made the best of his free time by creating this instant classic parody of one of 2012's hottest video memes.
Usain Bolt on SNL
Just trust us on this one.
PARTY RUN ANTHEM - 2012 Olympic Trials Recap - by Matt Barnhart/RunnerSpace
If you are a RunnerSpace regular you'll be very familiar with Matt's work on RunnerSpace Live. He and his RSL partner in crime, Ian Terpin, teamed up at the trials to create the summer's hottest running music video to capture all the moments at the trials.
Nike BorderClash 14 Highlight Reel
RunnerSpace's Ian Terpin strikes again with his annual BorderClash highlight video.
Friday Highlights - New Balance Outdoor Nationals 2012
There's actually a whole set of highlight videos from both New Balance Indoor and Outdoor Nationals. We couldn't share them all. This is our favorite. We think you'll like it, too.