9:30 AM / Downtown Grand Forks
The sun warmed my cheeks, a slight breeze felt good on my ears. A tailwind, perfect for pole vaulting. I’m surprised because we had set up the pole vault pits and runway without a hitch.
Simon, you are an absolute beauty, I thought to myself. Hiring professional movers for the morning lift ended up being a great idea. My friends said they set the pace, motivating everyone else to haul everything faster. We started unpacking the U-Haul trucks at 6:00am and gave ourselves a 5-hour budget. We ended up needing just three. By 9:30, everything was laid out marvelously, and I found myself waiting for the first session with little to do.
I am so glad I called Simon, who runs Pole Vault Plaza in Naples, and asked for any and all technical advice he could give me.
10:45 AM / Downtown Grand Forks
The Bronze section is nearly done warming up. I’m coaching four of the athletes: Toby Kubat, Caleb Wilde, Cal Schneider, and Ethan Mason. All of them had great warmups.
How lucky I am to have motivated athletes. Coaching pole vault is quite easy when the vaulters genuinely want to jump. I think back to my easy 3-step coaching guide for competitions. Simple. Straightforward. Stress-free.
All of my athletes did great, the highlight being Toby Kubat hitting a surprise 10’8 personal best.
That’s 4 inches from the Central High freshman record of 11’ that I set myself in 2017.
Toby even got an interview in the paper afterwards. I thought it was funny because I was right there, and I didn’t think the reporter noticed or recognized me.
A spectator then leaned over to me,
“Say, when is the silver-haired gentleman over there going to jump? Everyone is getting out and meanwhile he hasn’t even entered the competition!”
I looked down at the results. He was right. The bar was at 3.55m / 11’8, and the last competitors in were Alex Mutch, Ethan Mason, and Kannon Kainz. But Steve White hadn’t even taken his first jump.
Bold, I thought; his season’s best was 12’7 and he was coming in just six inches lower!
Well, we’ll see how it turns out. I hope he makes a bar.
Steve was previously a collegiate vaulter at North Central College and jumped 5.30m / 17’4 in his prime. But that was decades ago, and the best masters vaulters in the world struggle to jump 13 feet now. Pole vault is undeniably violent on the body, and even more so for those age 55+.
But Steve is outfitted like a pro. He brought his own specialized shoe covers made of rubber so that he could walk across concrete in spikes. He knows what he’s doing, I thought. He’ll make it.
And he did, easily. Steve White cleared 12’1 on his first attempt and raised the bar to 12’7.
The spectator said, “Wow, now that is amazing! Hah, he’s as old as me!” He turned to his wife, “Say, Millie, imagine if I were out there right now I’d be…”
A thought sprang into my head. I have these HOKAs to give away courtesy of See Dick Run, and this would be the perfect time, I thought.
I looked around, and spotted Brecken Swanson, a 7th-grade pole vaulter who cleared an amazing 10 feet. Perfect, I know just what to do, I thought. But now is not the right time. He needs to make the next bar.
12’7 was no trouble as Steve went clear on his second attempt.
And now the bar was raised to 4m / 13’1. Two years ago, Steve had placed 2nd at Worlds in the masters section. This bar would be impressive on the world stage for his age group.
I sensed the tension in the air. Now — aaaah but he might make this easily as well, I thought. I needed to time my HOKA challenge perfectly so that he struggles to make his last bar and wins the young lad a free pair of nice shoes. I decided to wait until after his first attempt.
Steve went up and just barely scraped the bar. It wobbled, stayed up for a brief half-second, then fell down. The crowd gasped.
Now is the time. I decided to seize the moment. “Follow me! Quick!” I barked at Brecken. The two of us leapt onto the runway. I raised the microphone. “Could I have your attention please,” Heads whipped around towards me. This was my first time jumping on the mic, and I was a bit nervous. “I have a HOKA giveaway announcement to make. If Steve White makes this bar, 13’1 and one-half inch, Brecken here will win a free pair of HOKAs! So let’s cheer on Steve and get him over this bar!”
Applause, and excitement. Perfect.
Steve chalked up and got ready for his second attempt. And now let’s see. I knew he was capable of clearing it from the height he got on his previous attempt, but it would be close, and pole vault is an event where close calls end in misses more often than makes.
I saw a real big grin appear across Steve’s face. The old dog was about to do something he hadn’t done in years. He raised his hands, and brought them together over his head.
The slow clap. Awesome.
“YUP! Let’s help him out!” I yelled.
Almost 150 people in a narrow downtown street joined in, right on beat.
Steve raised his pole and charged down the runway. The clapping got faster and louder, climaxing when he leapt into the air.
I held my breath. This would be perfect.
Bang! Not even a touch on the bar!
I leapt onto the runway.
“Steve White, LET’S GOOOOO! Steve White clears 13’1 and wins the HOKA giveaway challenge. And it’s thanks to all of you for cheering him on! Brecken Swanson, enjoy your new pair of HOKAs presented by See Dick Run! That was awesome!”
I glanced over at Steve, as if to say, “Going for more?” He signaled next to his neck, “No, I’m done.” I figured, I knew he had a slight hamstring flare-up after that last attempt.
Back to the mic. “Now let’s keep that same energy going into the Silver section next!”
Applause.
Awesome, truly awesome, I thought to myself.
Now that’s how you MC an event. Four HOKA challenges left.
