Gall to run at USATF indoor finals
March 09, 2016 | Women's Track & Field
Corvallis, Ore. – Oregon State director of operations Geena Gall (pictured) will compete in the 800 meters at the 2016 USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend.
The meet will be held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. It will determine the Team USA roster for the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, set for March 18-20 at the Oregon Convention Center.
The first round of the 800 is set for 3:55 p.m. Friday. The finals are scheduled for 5:24 p.m. Saturday.
“My training has been going really well the last couple months,” Gall said Tuesday. “I haven't raced since Feb. 14, so this weekend will definitely be a good showing for me.
“I'm ready to run fast. It's a loaded field. My goal is to get to the finals, and then PR.”
Gall runs for Brooks/Team Run Eugene. Her PR for 200 meters on an indoor track is 2:03.37.
The races won't be for the cautious, or the skittish. She expects a very fast opening lap, and some jostling due to the close quarters.
“It's a lot different from running outdoors,” where runners often use the first lap to settle into a comfortable pace, she said. “On a 200-meter banked track there is no room for error.
“You have to get out really hard in the first 200 to get position, and then just stay there. There is a lot of bumping and elbowing,” because of the tight turns.
“If I get into a good position early in the race I think I have a great shot at running really fast and winning my heat.”
She has a season-best time of 2:04.99, on an oversized track at the Husky Classic in Seattle on Feb. 13. She ran a 2:05.56 at the House of Track High Performance Meet at Portland on Feb. 4; that same, tighter track will be used for this weekend's meet, albeit at a different venue.
“I've run on that track twice and ran well on it,” Gall said. “Having run on it before definitely does help; 200-meter banked tracks are a different beast, they are not great for middle-distance races as they are more geared toward sprinters.
“Having experience in racing on this track is to my advantage. I'm just excited to get out there and go after the title.”
Gall was a two-time NCAA champion and 10-time All-American at the University of Michigan from 2005-09, and ran for the United States in the 2012 Olympics in London. She joined the OSU coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in March, 2014, and was promoted to Director of Operations for the track and cross country programs in 2015.
For more information on the Oregon State track and field program, follow the Beavers on Facebook at Facebook.com/OSUTrackCrossCountry, or on Twitter at twitter.com/@beavers_track.
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