The University of Akron announced big changes Wednesday, revealing that it would cut around 80 degree programs while placing higher emphasis on programs such as polymer science that the university is best known for.

The plan, which calls for the hiring of new faculty members in several departments without laying off any current staff, will be phased in over a period of a few years so current students can complete their degrees.

Dr. John Green, interim president of The University of Akron, joined The Jasen Sokol Show to explain the changes and how the university plans to keep up with the changing landscape in higher education.

“You can’t change the weather. You can change your attitude.”

I found myself repeating that phrase over and over again Monday as I ran the Goodyear 10K course.

Over the last six months, the vast majority of my runs have either been in cool weather or in the shade. Monday, it was in the mid 70s and high humidity. Not exactly the ideal running conditions. But there’s nothing you can do about the weather, and it was pretty similar to the weather for some of the previous August races in the Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon Race Series. So I got ready to run my first ever 10K in what felt like a swamp.

You could argue the weather was payback for June. Because I’m the Akron Marathon’s race announcer, I have to run my races on different days. This paid off at the National Interstate 8K as it was significantly cooler and more overcast for my run than the actual run. No such luck this time around.

To be honest, I was just happy that I made it to the start line. Right after I ran the 8K, I developed some pretty severe pain in my foot that knocked me out of commission for several weeks. I tried foam rolling, exercises, ice, and rest, but nothing seemed to make the pain stay away while I was running. It took changing from the support shoes I usually wear to more neutral shoes for the pain to finally go away.

New Challenges

The sticky weather wasn’t the only thing different about this run. Because the Goodyear Proving Grounds weren’t available for the Blue Line Beginners test run a few weeks ago, I ran the first mile of the actual course for the first time on race day. The proving grounds portion of the course resembles a NASCAR track. It’s fast and flat, so it’s a great way to start a race. It was great seeing several members of the Blue Line Beginners waiting for us when we exited the proving ground and headed for the street (sidewalk in my case) portion of the course.

I was hoping to match my pace from the 8K in the 10K, but I figured by the time we left the proving grounds that wasn’t going to happen. My running pace was slower than it was in June and I needed a walk break by the 1.5 mile mark, a bit earlier than I was anticipating. I was lucky to have Akron Marathon Race Director Brian Polen and Social Media Manager Lauren Toole running with me to keep me going.

The course itself helps too. It’s a fairly fast course that gives you a good tour of Goodyear’s facilities and the new East End development on E. Market St. before running uphill toward Akron Executive Airport. You get a good look at the Air Dock before the half marathon course heads for Ellet and the 10K course turns back toward the finish.

The Last Mile

After the turnaround, the course heads downhill for most of the last mile. Still, I was spent. I had also developed a blister on my foot. I knew I could still put in a decent result, though, so I pressed on.

As we entered the final half mile, Brian reminded me how far I’d come in the last five months and how few people actually finish a 10K. It was exactly what I needed to finish strong. I crossed the line in 1:11:48, only 13 seconds per mile slower than the 8K. I was happy with the result given the humid conditions and the amount of time off I had to take between the 8K and 10K.

What’s Next?

Now that I have one 10K under my belt, Brian suggested I run another before the half marathon to get some more experience under my belt. I’ll be running the Amish Country 10K in Berlin on September 8. The hillier course will be a challenge, but one that should help me get ready for the hills in the Akron Half Marathon. I’ll be announcing the Akron Marathon this year, so I’ll run my half marathon on Monday, September 24.

I’m also excited to be on the mic for the actual running of the sold out Goodyear Half Marathon and 10K this weekend. I get to spend a lot more time announcing the names of runners as they cross the finish line in this race than the others in the series. If you’re running, make sure to reach out to me or stop by the start line stage before the race so I know to be looking for you!

Follow Jasen's journey on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Strava. For more information or to register for the races, go to www.akronmarathon.org.

The race for governor is heating up, as both major party candidates have begun to unveil their policy proposals.

Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine recently unveiled the children's services planks in their platforms. They both joined The Jasen Sokol Show on Thursday to talk about their ideas and answer questions submitted by listeners on how to improve education and the economy in smaller cities.

If you would have told me a year ago that I’d be at the start line of an 8K, I would have called you crazy. Yet that’s where I was on Monday morning.

As the race announcer for the Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon Race Series, I can’t race the National Interstate 8K on race day. Instead, the Akron Marathon staff set up a “race” for me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I pulled into the Infocision Stadium parking lot, but I arrived to see not just the Marathon staff waiting for me, but a contingent of Blue Line Beginners who would serve as our cheering section and water stop crew throughout the run. There was even pump up music and an introduction like we’ll do for the runners on Saturday!

At 7:00 a.m., it was time. Akron Marathon Race Director Brian Polen, Social Media Manager Lauren Toole, and George McFly from 94.9 WQMX took off from the start line with me to start the 4.9 mile trek around the University of Akron campus and Downtown Akron.

I knew the first 1.5 miles would be important. In the Blue Line Beginners test run a few weeks ago, I walked the first half mile before running the next mile. I ended that run with gas in the tank, so I decided to try running the entire first 1.5 miles this time around. This challenge was compounded by the fact that there was still some lingering soreness from when I tweaked my leg a few weeks ago. Much to my surprise, the pain went away and we flew through it faster than I thought I could. Our cheering section was set up right where we were going to start walking, so we decided to keep running a bit longer.

After walking to the two mile mark, it was time to run down the hill to Main and Market and start the trip down King James Way. It was here where the advantages of run/walking came into play. My watch had been showing a sub-10:00/mile pace for much of our running, but there was no way I could keep that up for nearly five full miles. Instead, we walked a bit near Canal Park and again on the three major uphills on the back half of the course: Broadway near The Depot Apartments, the bridge on Exchange St., and the hill leading to the UA Student Union. It was around a half mile of walking in all, but it made all the difference in getting me through.

When you reach the UA Commons portion of the course around mile 4.3, you can see Infocision Stadium and you know the finish line is close. I was pretty spent by this point but I knew I had to keep pushing.

I thought back to the first training session I did in February when I found myself huffing and puffing after a mile of walking, a mile that happened to be the first mile of the 8K course. I thought back to a month ago when I suffered my first major setback when I tweaked my leg so badly that it hurt to walk. After coming all this way, I couldn’t stop now. With Brian, George, and Lauren cheering me on, we made it around the stadium and to the field.

Turning the corner onto the field at Infocision Stadium was a moment I’ll never forget. Seeing the Akron Marathon staff and the Blue Line Beginners crew waiting for us, getting my very first race medal, and downing some postrace Chick-Fil-A and root beer was awesome. We finished the 8K in 55:41, more than six minutes faster than the time I put up during the test run.

But the work is far from over. I’ll be back on the road later in the week getting ready for the Goodyear 10K and the Akron Half Marathon. I’ll also be on the mic this weekend, encouraging the runners at the National Interstate 8K and 1 Mile. It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I can’t wait for what’s to come!

Follow Jasen's journey on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Strava. For more information or to register for the races, go to www.akronmarathon.org.

Ohio's richest thoroughbred horse race is at JACK Thistledown Racino in North Randall Saturday.

The 84th running of the Ohio Derby features a $500,000 purse, several horses that ran in Triple Crown races earlier this year, and one Akron area native looking to score in a race that he says would mean more for him to win than the Kentucky Derby.

Jasen caught up with Loooch Racing Stables owner and St. Vincent-St. Mary alum Ron Paolucci, JACK Thistledown Racino handicapper Rich Ruda, and track announcer Matt Hook to preview the big race during a live broadcast of the Jasen Sokol Show at Thistledown.

It seems like just yesterday that I started this journey toward the Akron Half Marathon, yet in less than three weeks I’ll take to the National Interstate 8k course to complete the first race of Akron’s summer trilogy.

With coaching from Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon Race Series Race Director Brian Polen, I’ve gone from walking a mile to run/walking six miles. Earlier today, I put in a 5k workout in honor of Global Running Day.

Until today, I hadn’t run on two consecutive days, and my legs didn’t let me forget about it. The first half of the 3.1 mile workout went well, but I could tell that doing the whole thing without walking any of it was going to be a challenge. I wound up having to walk about a half mile in all.

While the workout didn’t quite go as I planned, I couldn’t help but think back to February when I did that very first mile walk. At that time, I would have called you crazy if you said I would be doing anything close to a 5k. It’s amazing how far you can come with a little time and a little effort.

Stick and Ball Sport

Yes, you read that right. Sticks and balls do have a place in running.

A few weeks ago after putting in my first six mile run, I noticed a sharp pain in my right lower leg that wouldn’t go away. When I was sitting or standing it didn’t hurt, but anytime I tried to walk it was painful. The issue didn’t go away as the days went on, so I wound up not running for nearly a week.

Eventually I met with Brian to talk through what was going on. He told me the pain in my shin was likely because the rest of my leg was tight. He suggested two pieces of recovery equipment that got me back running the very next day.

The Stick is exactly what the name suggests: A long, flexible stick with handles on each end. Eight plastic rings surround the stick and act as massagers. It's basically a rolling pin for tight, sore muscles. Along with a foam massaging ball called The Orb (apparently they don’t spend much time coming up with names for these things) and a plan to rotate shoes between the support shoes I was wearing with a more neutral pair, I was able to get back to my training program.

Three Weeks To Go

It seems like it has come up fast, but the National Interstate 8k and 1 Mile is three weeks from Saturday on June 30. Because I serve as the race announcer for that race, I’ll be running the course on Monday, June 25. For anyone looking to get a taste of the course before race day, the Blue Line Beginners are planning a test run on Saturday, June 16.

The organizer of the effort to place a crocheted mural of Sojourner Truth in Lock 3 is speaking out on the controversy over its unveiling.

Cindy Michael of Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium worked to secure matching funds from the Knight Foundation for the mural and recruit people to crochet individual pieces of the mural. She says the unveiling held Monday, which was criticized for a lack of diversity, was to be for the people who helped make the mural and was not intended to be an event for the community at large. Michael says she reached out to African American groups to include them in the project, but was not able to reveal that the mural was to be of Sojourner Truth due to her agreement with the designer. A community event was held Wednesday evening at Lock 3.

Michael joined The Jasen Sokol Show on Wednesday to talk about the situation.

Two Akron City Councilwomen say not only were they not invited to the unveiling of a new crocheted mural of Sojourner Truth at Lock 3, but that few in Akron's African American community knew it was even happening.

The controversy erupted after pictures of the unveiling posted to social media appeared to have very few people of color in them. Truth, an African American woman, gave her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech in Akron on May 29, 1851.

Another event will be held at Lock 3 Wednesday from 5:15-6:15 to allow more people to take pictures with the new mural.

Samples and Sims joined the Jasen Sokol Show to talk about the situation.

The addition of girls to Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts was controversial when it was announced, and the controversy erupted again when it was announced last week that the Boy Scouting program for middle and high-school aged children would change its name to "Scouts BSA" starting in 2019.

The Great Trail Council, which oversees Boy Scout programs in Greater Akron and Greater Youngstown, will begin accepting girls into the Cub Scout program on June 1. Girls will be allowed into what is now known as the Boy Scouts next year. Scout Executive/CEO Pat Scherer joined The Jasen Sokol Show to talk about how they plan to keep boys and girls separate in the program and discuss whether the council is ready to have girls join the ranks.