Lou Snelling was a standout runner for Seminole High School and the University of Central Florida.  This Q&A goes back to his running roots, to elementary school field day, running in middle school, and then joining Coach Bruce Calhoun's program at Seminole High. Snelling has been a college coach for more than 20 years, and just last weekend, his Bowling Green women's indoor track team won the school's first conference title in more than 25 years.Thanks for coming along for the run. This is one of three episodes posting today, all with a focus on Seminole.  

  Come along for the run! This episode, one of three being released today, includes Q&As with several Seminole High runners and the words of their coach, Bruce Calhoun. Calhoun built the boys and girls cross country teams into Pinellas County's best in the second half of his tenure. No matter how well the teams did, the runners treasured their time under Calhoun's tutelage. Learn why Calhoun says "I marvel at myself" -- a rare comment by the coach who never sought praise.  

      At last, the story of the 1994 Largo Invitational. The Largo boys and Lakewood girls won the races, but that's not what people recall about the day, Oct. 12, at Taylor Park.   "About as bad as it gets," one coach said. Another coach told meet officials that his own team should be disqualified. Come along for the run with the retelling of events from multiple eyewitnesses and participants.

The Boston Marathon is a big deal. It's this weekend. And we found Leto and Largo runners who competed in the prestigious spring race (they aren't the only ones). So, the alternate title could be ATMM Goes to Boston. Hear the words (occasionally of the four-letter variety) from John Brennan (Largo Class of 84) and Matt Heiser (Leto Class of 85). Thanks for coming along for the run!Music credits: "Out on my Skateboard", Mini Vandals; "Is This Really Happening," TrackTribe

In early 1979, Mark Altimari didn't know much about Largo cross country. His family had moved recently from suburban Philadelphia to Tampa, and he was a confessed "wrestling dummy" at his new school, Leto High. Then, he met Leto coach Bobby Ennis, "the first adult to truly believe in me," Altimari said. He soon learned more about the rival Packers and more about cross country, and then more about the work it would take to take down Largo. The events of fall 1980 on cross country courses in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties didn't end Altimari's interaction with Largo. Instead, a letter created a lifelong bond. This episode of All The Miles Mattered goes in-depth on the mail sent to Altimari after the state meet in 1980, which in 4A boys competition was decided by 3 points.  

Belen Jesuit in Miami has won more FHSAA boys cross country state championships than any program. This weekend, Belen goes for the 15th title in program history. Coach Frankie Ruiz's team has its sights on other championships, as it will run at least one other race after the 3A state meet on Friday, Nov. 17 in Tallahassee. In this episode of All The Miles Mattered, Ruiz talks history, his call to Coach Brent Haley in 2019, his runners' quest for 15, and more.   Music: Mini Vandals, Out On My Skateboard

This episode of All The Miles Mattered, the third of Season 2 and the 22nd if you count the trailer, has a lot of familiar voices in the story of Largo, Leto and the challengers to those programs’ dominance in cross country. It also has a new one, from a challenger the dominant 1983 Largo team never saw. It’s a voice from 2,000 miles away, a coach who expected maximum effort from his runners.The episode also takes a deeper look at just how good the Packers were, how that famous five-across photo came about, and how the returning Largo runners dealt with a new teammate.Come along for the run!Music: Mini Vandals (Out On My Skateboard, Inconsciousness), Bob Bedell (acoustic version of Video Killed The Radio Star)

Chris Palmer, a 1984 Largo graduate, was part of three cross country state titles for the Packers in the early 1980s. This episode features Palmer's talk at the start of the Sept. 15 reunion of Largo runners, which came one night after the track at Largo was named for Coach Brent Haley.  Special thanks to Largo's Mike Fowler for the audio. Music: Is This Really Happening (Track Tribe)

Welcome to the start of Season 2 of All The Miles Mattered. This is as close to a news episode as you’re going to get for a story 50 years in the making. Last month, at halftime of a Largo High School football game, the track at the stadium got a new name and also a familiar name.It was the first of two nights honoring Coach Brent Haley. Come along for the run! Sound:Turn3 ProductionsLargo High School PAMusic:Mini Vandals (Out On My Skateboard)BK Productions

His name is Phil Zimmerman, aka Coach Z, and he developed generations of runners at Webb Junior High, sending the ”raw material” to Leto coach Bobby Ennis. This episode is mainly an interview with Coach Z, but it also teases another critical moment in the history of the Leto program, one that can be called forgettable and memorable at the same time. Come along for the run! Music: Mini Vandals (Out on My Skateboard; Fingerprint)

The formal structure of All The Miles Mattered concluded with the end of the Largo-Leto rivalry in the late 1980s. But the lessons from those programs and other runners carry on today. In the second of two bonus episodes are clips that didn’t make it into the main show. You’ll hear the voices of Tommy Hampton, Pat McDonough, Trey Culbertson, Nick Radkewich, and others.Photos mentioned are on my Instagram page or on the public All The Miles Mattered Facebook page. Music credits: Out On My Skateboard by the Mini Vandals; BK Productions

The formal structure of All The Miles Mattered concluded with the end of the Largo-Leto rivalry in the late 1980s. But the lessons from those programs and other runners carry on today. Here is the first of two bonus episodes, with clips that didn’t make it into the main show. You’ll hear the voices of Chris Palmer, John Perlette, Dan Middleman, Keir Breitenfeld and others.Photos and videos mentioned are in posts on the All The Miles Mattered Facebook page, or you can email me at neilamato@gmail.com.Music credits: Out On My Skateboard by the Mini Vandals; BK Productions

Largo and Leto were set for a showdown in the state cross country meet at Dunn Airport in 1987. The Packers had the state’s top runner; the Long Red Row had impressive depth and recent history on its side in the state meet. The day ended with a course record, a Titusville toast, and a vow never to lose again.Thanks for coming along for the run!Music credit: Good Friend, Audionautix; ATMM theme by BK Productions

On May 10, 1986, at Showalter Field in Winter Park, neither of the two favorites in the state meet 2-mile race won. The race was supposed to be another LeValle-Letchworth showdown. It’s tough to say at this point in the story that any Largo runner could be overlooked, but Pat McDonough was a sophomore running against a stacked field that evening. He ran eight just about perfect laps to secure an unforgettable victory.   YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_69-Dy-hl8   Music credits: Out On My Skateboard, Mini Vandals Slowly Until We Get There, Joey Pecoraro  

Michael LeValle didn’t run for Leto or Largo, but he’s an important part of the story in the mid-1980s. He expected to have Roger Letchworth and Pat McDonough right on his shoulder. That didn’t happen at the 1986 state cross country meet. What did happen at that meet: A familiar name comes back from injury, and the Long Red Row comes back from region-meet disappointment to take the lead for most championships in the decade. Music credit: Out On My Skateboard, Mini Vandals

Countryside’s 1986 team was loaded: It had Roger Letchworth and Chip Backus, both major Division I college prospects, along with a bevy of talented runners just behind them. This is the story of the Cougars’ unforgettable trip to an iconic course in New York, the site of a big invitational. It was, briefly, record-setting, and now it’s time to set the record straight.    

The legend of Roger Letchworth started with his second-place finish in the state cross country meet as a sophomore, and it continued with his national age-group records for 10K and 15K. Letchworth was on fire in the 1986 cross country season; the flame was extinguished rapidly.

In sports, perfection is rarely reached. The nature of competition is that it is messy: Shots are missed, interceptions thrown. In cross country, perfection is possible in team scoring: the perfect 15. That moment occurs in dual meets with some regularity; it rarely happens in championship races. For Largo in 1983, it happened two consecutive weeks. This is the story behind the show's cover image, along with stories about the results, cultural changes of the 1980s, and the 1984 Largo-Leto trip to Wet N Wild. Music credit: Bob Bedell; interview with Largo Band of Gold director Bob Cotter found on YouTube

"We try harder" wasn't just the slogan of rental car company Avis. It was adopted by the Leto cross country program as it tried to break through against Largo. In the early 1980s, the stage was set for the Long Red Row. Hear the recall of Coach Ennis and others, specifically about that November 1982 day in DeLand.Music credits: Largo Band of Gold, BK productions, UT Vol marching band  

Basil Magee ran a nation-leading time in the mile his senior year at Largo. Two years earlier, he had never even run the mile in a track meet. Magee's rapid rise, his rivalry with a future Olympian, and the birth of the Long Red Row are the focus areas of this episode. Music: Walk With Me by Track Tribe. YouTube of the Kinney race in 1979: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI87ye5pew0