Florence Marathon this weekend

Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF, Florence, Italy - The 26th edition of the Florence Marathon has reached a great goal this year by breaking the record figure of 10,000 entries, as announced by the organisers of the popular Tuscan race scheduled for this Sunday 29 November.

“It’s a remarkable achievement if we consider that 850 runners took part in the first edition,” said Florence Marathon Organizer Giancarlo Romiti.

The Florence Marathon is an IAAF Label Race.

The most prominent name in the men’s field will be Reuben Kosgei, 2000 Olympic and 2001 World champion in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase. After a distinguished career in that gruelling race over the barriers, Kosgei will make his first serious attempt over the 42 km distance since a test run in last April’s Vienna Marathon in which he dropped out at 25 km.

Kosgei will take on his experienced compatriots Paul Ngeny Kipkemboi, who set his PB of 2:12:50 when he won in Florence in 2007, and finished third here last year, and Ben Kipruto Chebet, who dipped under the 2:10 barrier to win this year’s Padua Marathon with 2:09:42.

Another sub-2:10 runner to line-up in Florence will be 23-year-old Ethiopian Girma Assefa who clocked 2:09:58 in Berlin last September. Twenty-six year-old Russian Valentin Orare, who ran his half-marathon PB of 1:01:33 in Philadelphia, will make his debut over the marathon distance.

The Italian challenge will be led by a trio of experienced runners led by Daniele Caimmi, Danilo Goffi and Denis Curzi.

37-year-old Caimmi will make his serious comeback over the distance after two years. Caimmi, fourth at the 2002 European Championships in Munich and sixth at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, paced his wife Rosaria Console in last September’s Berlin Marathon where she finished fourth in her lifetime best of 2:26:45. For Caimmi, a 2:08:59 performer in 2002 in Milan, it’s a return to Florence where he finished third in 2007.

Denis Curzi, who ran his career best of 2:11:37 in Treviso 2006, ran twice in Florence in 2003 and 2007.

Danilo Goffi, a former European Marathon silver medallist in 1998 behind Stefano Baldini in Budapest 1998 and a 2:08:33 in Rotterdam 1998, will pursue his goal to clock a good time and book a berth for next summer’s European Championships in Barcelona 2010.

The Italian interest in the women’s race will be focused on Italian marathon specialist Ivana Iozzia, two-time national marathon champion (2005 and 2007), who ran her PB of 2:34:32 in Padova last April and her half marathon PB of 1:12:15 in Garda Half Marathon last October.

The women’s race will be a battle between Europe led by Sweden’s Lena Gavelin (PB 2:30:39 in 2003), Austria’s Eva Maria Gradwohl (winner in Linz 2008 in her PB 2:30:51) and African runners like Ethiopian Girma Desta (PB 2:33:11 Seville 2009) and Kenyan Emily Chepkorir (PB 2:43:03 set in Xiamen 2007).

Why Jenny Failed

by Matt Fitzgerald

In his 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships preview, my colleague Sean McKeon wrote, “Why don’t we just give Jenny Barringer the trophy, spare the field the embarrassment and let the other women race for the lesser positions? All right, that may be an exaggeration, but in my mind it’s not a matter of if the Colorado senior is going to win, it’s by how much… If she doesn’t win it will be the biggest upset in NCAA history, bar none.”

Barringer finished 163rd in Monday’s race in Terre Haute, Ind. In his preview, McKeon intimated that only an “epic collapse” by Barringer would open the door for another woman to win, and an epic collapse is exactly what we saw.
As expected, Barringer, the 3000m steeplechase American record holder and a 2008 Olympian in that event, made her way to the front of the field quickly after the starting gun fired. Also not surprisingly, Florida State’s Susan Kuijken marked her closely. Roughly half a mile into the 6K race, the two women began to separate themselves from the rest, and thereafter their margin steadily expanded.
Barringer seemed determined to shake Kuijken, knowing that the latter is a middle-distance specialist with a fierce kick, but she held on gamely. Then, not long after they had passed the two-mile mark, Barringer suddenly pulled up as though she had just been shot by a sniper. She staggered a bit and then fell into a slow jogging rhythm as Kuijken raced away ahead of her.
Before long Barringer was being passed by dozens of other runners. Eventually she slowed to a walk that lasted all of three paces before she collapsed to the ground in a heap. Just as abruptly, however, she rose and resumed running. Bizarrely, she looked totally fine as she ran the closing stretch in stride with the inferior runners surrounding her.
Most observers were totally mystified by Barringer’s performance. Others were all too quick to pronounce that she had simply choked. To understand what really happened to Barringer, you must first understand a little about how the brain functions during intense running.
Traditionally, the body’s performance limits have been defined strictly in terms of physiological limits within the muscles themselves or within other systems such as the cardiovascular system. But within the past 15 years or so, sports scientists have learned that exercise performance is really governed by the brain. When fatigue occurs, it is not because the muscles or cardiovascular system has run up against a hard functional limit. Instead, it is because the brain has essentially voluntarily shut down the muscles before they hit a limit in order to prevent the body from suffering serious harm.
In stressful exercise events such as running races, the brain must balance the desire to complete the task as fast as possible with the need to protect the body from overexertion. In other words, it must pace the runner, and it manages this job through a mechanism that South African exercise physiologist Ross Tucker has labeled “anticipatory regulation.”
Here’s how anticipatory regulation works: Continuously throughout running races the brain subconsciously calculates the fastest pace that the runner can sustain over the remaining distance without causing serious self-harm and enforces its conclusion by controlling the amount of muscle activation it allows and by producing feelings of comfort and discomfort. The inputs for these calculations are explicit knowledge of the endpoint (that is, the finish line), feedback signals received from the body that tell the brain how the body is doing, and past training and racing experience, which gives the runner a good sense of how hard running should feel at any given point.
Every runner knows that racing is hard, but few ever think about why it entails such intense suffering. The brain produces these feelings to enforce sensible pacing. Suffering is not some disembodied epiphenomenon of intense exercise without practical utility; it is instead the key regulator of pacing and the primary cause of fatigue. Research has shown that there is no single physiological predictor of fatigue: blood lactate levels, muscle glycogen levels, heart rates, muscle pH levels, and so forth are all over the place at the point of exhaustion in different runners and even within the same runner in different situations. But in trained runners, the level of suffering almost always rises linearly throughout races and reaches the maximal tolerable level at the end of the race—or somewhat before the end in cases of bad pacing.
It’s not quite that simple, however. First, the maximal tolerable limit of suffering is variable, and can increase or decrease a bit from race to race depending on the runner’s level of motivation and other factors. Also, research by Carl Foster at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse has shown that the degree of suffering an athlete experiences at any given moment is a function of how he actually feels in relation to how he expected to feel. Hence, when you are halfway through a race and find yourself feeling a little better than expected, this very fact will make you feel even better. But the inverse is also true—and this brings us back to Jenny Barringer.
Sean McKeon is not the only person who predicted that Barringer would win the national cross-country championship easily. Everyone said it. And Barringer heard everyone saying it and undoubtedly started to believe it. So she very likely went into the race anticipating that she would not have to suffer quite as much as she had to win previous races in her career. This expectation set her up for disaster.
I am certain that Barringer was physically capable of winning the race. She just wasn’t capable of winning it easily. When she got a couple of kilometers into it, pressing the pace hard and unable to shake Susan Kuijkan, she discovered that she was suffering more than expected, and this made her feel worse—so much worse that her brain protectively shut down her muscles, causing the epic collapse that we all witnessed.
Barringer’s comments after the race are perfectly consistent with this explanation. “I definitely remember … all of a sudden going lightheaded and thinking, ‘I don’t know how to run anymore,’” she said. “I just lost my head and didn’t feel good.”
If Barringer had simply gone into the race expecting it to be extremely painful, and expecting her victory to come with great difficulty, she would have won. As her rebound at the end of the race demonstrated, there was nothing physically wrong with her. Yet her meltdown was not “all mental,” either. The subconscious brain is in the driver’s seat during races. When it decides to make you bonk, you bonk. A runner can no more overcome fatigue caused by the subconscious brain through “mind over matter” than a person could jump off a building a fly by overcoming gravity through mind over matter.
In my own career as a runner and triathlete I have set myself up for disaster many times in the same way Barringer did, although thankfully not on such a prominent stage. While I am ready to suffer as much as necessary whenever necessary, I occasionally make the mistake of expecting a certain performance to come more easily than is realistic. Once immersed in it I discover that it’s harder than expected, which makes it even harder and ensures that I have a very bad workout or race.
I’m sure you have had such experiences too. Now you know why. Let Jenny Barringer’s failure be a cautionary example to you: If a given run is probably going to really hurt, expect it to really hurt!

Phys Ed: How Necessary Is Stretching?

GRETCHEN REYNOLDS writes

For research published earlier this year, physiologists at Nebraska Wesleyan University had distance-running members of the school’s track and field team sit on the ground, legs stretched before them, feet pressed firmly up against a box; then the runners, both men and women, bent forward, reaching as far as they could past their toes. This is the classic sit-and-reach test, a well-established measurement of hamstring flexibility. The runners, as a group, didn’t have exceptional elasticity, although this varied from person to person.


Overall, the women were more supple, as might have been expected. Far more telling was the correlation between the various runners’ tight or loose hamstring muscles and their running economy, a measure of how much oxygen they used while striding. Economy is often cited as one of the factors that divide great runners from merely fast ones. Kenyan distance runners, for instance, have been found to be significantly more economical in their running than comparable Western elites.

When the Nebraska Wesleyan researchers compared the runners’ sit-and-reach scores to the measurements of their economy, which had been garnered from a treadmill test, they found that, across the board, the tightest runners were the most economical. This was true throughout the groups and within the genders. The inflexible men were more economical than the women, and for both men and women, those with the tightest hamstrings had the best running economy. They also typically had the fastest 10-kilometer race times. Probably, the researchers concluded, tighter muscles allow “for greater elastic energy storage and use” during each stride. Inflexibility, in other words, seems to make running easier.

For years, flexibility has been widely considered a cornerstone of health and fitness. Many of us stretch before or after every workout and fret if we can’t lean over and touch our toes. We gape enviously at yogis wrapping their legs around their ears. “It’s been drummed into people that they should stretch, stretch, stretch — that they have to be flexible,” says Dr. Duane Knudson, professor of biomechanics at Texas State University in San Marcos, who has extensively studied flexibility and muscle response. “But there’s not much scientific support for that.”

In fact, the latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway. “To a large degree, flexibility is genetic,” says Dr. Malachy McHugh, the director of research for the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and an expert on flexibility. You’re born stretchy or not. “Some small portion” of each person’s flexibility “is adaptable,” McHugh adds, “but it takes a long time and a lot of work to get even that small adaptation. It’s a bit depressing, really.”

What happens to our muscles and tendons, then, when we dutifully stretch before a run or other workout? Doesn’t this lengthen our muscles, increasing our flexibility and range of motion?

According to the science, the answer appears to be no. “There are two elements” involved in stretching a muscle, Dr. McHugh says. One is the muscle itself. The other is the mind, which sends various messages to the muscles and tendons telling them how to respond to your stretching when the discomfort of the stretching becomes too much. What changes as you stretch a muscle is primarily the message, not the physical structure of the muscle. “You’ll start to develop a tolerance” for the discomfort of the stretch, Dr. McHugh says. Your brain will allow you to hold the stretch longer. But the muscles and tendons themselves will not have changed much. You will feel less tight. But even this sensation of elasticity is short-lived, Dr. McHugh says. In a new review article of the effects of stretching that he co-wrote and that will be published soon in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, he looked at the measurable impacts of a number of different stretching regimens. What he found was that when people performed four 90-second stretches of their hamstrings, their “passive resistance” to the stretching decreased by about 18 percent — they felt much looser — but the effect had passed in less than an hour. To achieve a longer-lasting impact, and to stretch all of the muscles involved in running or other sports, he says, would probably require as much as an hour of concerted stretching. “And the effects still wouldn’t be permanent,” he says. “You only see changes” in the actual, physical structure of the muscles “after months of stretching, for hours at a time. Most people aren’t going to do that.”

And most of us don’t need to. “Flexibility is a functional thing,” Dr. Knudson says. “You only need enough range of motion in your joints to avoid injury. More is not necessarily better.” For runners, extremely tight hamstrings and joints have been found in some studies (but not all studies) to contribute to overuse injuries. But somewhat tight hamstrings, as the Nebraska Wesleyan study showed, can make you more economical. Some degree of inflexibility may make you a better runner.

How then to judge your own flexibility? “The sit-and-reach test is pretty good” for at-home evaluations, Dr. Knudson says, at least of your back and hamstring muscles. Using a staircase, sit and straighten your legs so that your feet push against the bottom step, toes upright. Stretch forward. “Try to lay your chest onto your thighs,” he says. If you can reach past your toes, you’re more than flexible enough. (No one yet has devised a way to reduce flexibility, by the way, although some Olympic-level coaches in other countries are rumored to be trying.)

If, on the other hand, “you can’t get anywhere near your toes, and the lower part of your back is practically pointing backward” as you reach, then you might need to try to increase your hamstring flexibility, Dr. Knudson says, to avoid injuring yourself while running, cycling or otherwise exercising. You can find multiple hamstring stretches on YouTube, although you should consult with a physical therapist before replicating them at home; proper technique is important to avoid injury. “You won’t get a lot of change,” Dr. Knudson says, ” but a little may be all you need.”

Manchester Road Race: Who's coming

By Lori Rile

In the tradition of Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillvray, who runs every Boston Marathon after he is finished directing the race, I ran the Manchester Road Race course Wednesday, the day before I have to cover the 73rd annual Thanksgiving Day race.
When people ask me if I've ever run the actual race, I always say that I will some day. It looks like a lot of fun.

But at least I have a little bit of feel of how long the Highland Street hill is (pretty long) and how the homestretch dips and then deceptively goes up again toward the finish.
I couldn't help but think Wednesday as I was turning the corner onto Porter Street (maybe halfway through the course) that the elite runners would be finishing right around that same time.
And who will they be?

Here's a list:

Martin Fagan, Ireland: Last year's defending champ and 2007 runnerup is back. Fagan, a Providence graduate, ran PRs in the 10,000 (27:58.48) and the half-marathon (1:00:57) this year.

Haron Lagat, Kenya: Last year's runner-up, a Texas Tech graduate. Ran a 3:58.48 mile last year.

Boaz Cheboiywo, Kenya: 2001 NCAA cross country champion and 2002 10,000 meter champ at Eastern Michigan. Has a 27:46.47 10,000 meter PR.

Aaron Aguayo, U.S.: Steeplechaser from Arizona, All-American at Arizona State

Russell Brown, U.S.: Ranked seventh in the U.S. in the 1,500 meters this year and has a 3:37.32 PR, All-American at Stanford.

Dave Jankowski, U.S.: All-American at Oklahoma State, member of Peter Rea's ZAP Fitness team in North Carolina.

David Nightingale, U.S.: Former West Hartford resident and Loomis Chaffee graduate, three-time All-American at Princeton. Finished 14th last year at the MRR. Ran a 13:42 5,000 this year.

Andrew Lemoncello, Scotland: Fifth last year at the MRR. Has a 27:57.23 best in the 10,000 meters and a 3:45.68 1,500 best.

Matt Gabrielson, U.S.: Second last year at the U.S. Marathon Championships. PRs: 13:30.68 in the 5,000 and 7:54.22 in the 3000.

Stephen Furst, U.S.: All-American at North Carolina State, won the Penn Relays 5,000 last year. Has a 13:36.42 PR in the 5,000.

Patrick Smyth, U.S.: Seventh in the USATF 10,000 championships and fifth in the Peachtree 10K this year. Had PRs of 13:39 in the 5,000 and 28:25 in the 10,000 this year.

Kyle Heath, U.S.: Steeplechaser from Syracuse, finalist in last year's Olympic trials.

Jonathon Riley, U.S.: 2004 Olympian in the 5,000. PRs: 3:38.54 (1,500), 13:19.92 (5000).



The women's field

Amy Rudolph, U.S.: Five-time champ and two-time Olympian is back for her last crack at elite racing, where it all started for her, in Manchester. Rudolph plans to retire from competitive running after tomorrow and will move to Alabama, where her husband Mark Carroll is coaching at Auburn.

Teyba Naser, Bahrain: Last year's winner (25:00). Won a half-marathon in Pittsburgh (1:10:21) and was third at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler (53:53).

Diane Nukuri Johnson, Burundi: Last year's third-place finisher, 2000 Olympian, won the Big 10 5,000 championship last year.

Hirut Mandefro, Ethiopia: Finished 12th last year at the MRR (27:02).

Katerina Stetsenko, Ukraine: Won the Dublin Marathon (2:32:45) and has a 34:15 10K PR.

Jessica Minty, U.S.: 11th place finisher at Manchester last year. Has run 15:56 in the 5,000 this year. ZAP Fitness team member.

Alissa McKaig, U.S.: Has a 33:48 PR (10,000) and a 1:14 half-marathon PR, another ZAP Fitness team member.

Kassi Anderson: BYU All-American who was fifth last year at Manchester (25:18).

Lindsey Scherf, U.S.: Harvard All-American, has a 15:42.81 5,000 PR.

Marisa Ryan, U.S.: Former Farmington resident who ran at Boston University and is now attending medical school there. Finished ninth at the USATF 10,000 meter championships (33:36) this year.

IRELAND: Cragg in line for shock Euro call-up

Cliona Foley writes

ALISTAIR CRAGG could yet be a surprise inclusion on the Irish team for the upcoming European Cross-Countries in Santry Demesne next month.

The rest of the team was announced yesterday but a vacancy has been left to see if Cragg -- who has requested to be considered -- can prove his fitness in a high-quality 5km road race in San Jose tomorrow.

If not, the final slot on the senior men's team will go to Raheny's Mick Clohisey, who was fourth at the national inter-counties last weekend.

Cragg, like Martin Fagan, did not come home from America to compete in the inter-counties but Irish team manager, Ann Keenan-Buckley, said: "It would be very difficult to leave an athlete of his (Cragg's) calibre out if he is fit enough."

There were no other major surprises in yesterday's team announcement, although one obvious loss for the men's U-23 team will be David McCarthy.

His under-par performance at Monday's NCAA's Division 1 cross-countries -- where Raheny's David Rooney (McNeese) was Ireland's best performer in 58th and McCarthy was only 84th -- demonstrated that the West Waterford star has not recovered full fitness after a recent illness and, after consultations with his Providence college coach Ray Treacy, he was ruled out.

Two more of Treacy's ex-Providence stars -- Mary Cullen (North Sligo) and Martin Fagan (Mullingar Harriers) -- will lead the senior teams.

The first six senior women in Kilbeggan -- Cullen, Deirdre Byrne, Linda Byrne, Fionnuala Britton, Ava Hutchinson and Orla O'Mahony -- have been selected.

Like Fagan, Mark Christie's recent form was good enough to clinch selection, followed by the three on the senior men's podium last Sunday: Andrew Ledwith (Fr Murphys), Tallaght's Sean Connolly and Clonliffe's Mark Kenneally.

Sarah-Louise Treacy (Moynalvey/ Kilcloon AC), who took the U-23 title last weekend, leads the women's U-23 team that includes a quartet from Dundrum South Dublin -- Bryony Treston, Maria Walsh, Breffni Twohig and Laura Huet -- and Newbridge's Roseanne Galligan.

Michael Mulhare, the new county U-23 champion, leads the equivalent men's team, and another memeber of the talented North Laois family, his sister Mary, has also made the junior women's team to be led by rising star Ciara Mageean of Lisburn.

Blog Roll: Vinny Mulvey

As many of you may know, I am based out of DCU Sport in Glasnevin, Dublin 9. In the last 2 weeks, DCU Sport has a lot to be cheerful about. On November 6th, DCU Sport won the prestigious National Quality Award for Sport/Leisure Centres from EIQA - Excellent Ireland Quality Association.

DCU SPORT

The award was presented at an gala dinner in the Burlington Hotel by Minister Mary Hanafin and Irene Collins CEO of EIQA. Over 2500 companies from manufacturing & service industries throughout Ireland applied for and received the Quality mark. However those with the highest scores were short listed as a national finalist. This award for best sports/leisure centre of the year celebrates the drive, commitment and achievements of the DCU Sport team. This Award puts DCU Sport at the forefront of the industry as a leading sporting facility in Ireland. Congratulations and well done to all the staff!!!

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Uganda: MTN Marathon - Run for It

Sande Bashaija reports

Finally it's D-day as the MTN Marathon takes center stage this morning starting at the Kololo Airstrip. After two months of high-altitude residential training in Bukwo, Joseph Nsubuga should have few or no excuses going into today's race.

The UPDF officer, winner of the 2004 inaugural marathon, skipped the 2005 and 2006 editions but was beaten to silver by Kenyan Tuwei Kiprop in 2007. There is a substantial Kenyan legion in the 42.195km race today and Nsubuga is keen to get his revenge over the neighbours and take home the Shs5m winner's cash prize.

"When you have trained enough, marathon running is fun. I will come into the race to have fun and possibly win the money," Nsubuga told Sunday Monitor. The 2005, 2006 and 2007 editions were dominated by Kenyans but Francis Musani, another UPDF officer, broke their stranglehold last year and will combine with Nsubuga to give the Kenyans, Tazanians and Rwandans a tough time.

Jane Suuto is vying for her third title in the women's race after victories in 2006 and last year but won't go into today's race as favourite considering her injury troubles. Over 19,000 entries have been received for the marathon and its subsidiary races (10km open, 12km and 10km corporate challenge) set to start and end at Kololo Airstrip.

The 10km open races for both men and women have attracted star runners like Moses Kipsiro and Dorcus Inzikuru but focus will surely be on the grueling full marathon. The 42.195km distance is not only horrendous for many a runner but the fact that there are foreign competitors gives it more colour. The 10km races are reserved for Ugandans only.

The half marathon (21km) will feature some foreigners but Isaac Kiprop looks certain to keep home the gold and Shs3m cash prize, which eluded him last year. Adero Nyakisi is the favourite in the women's 21km as long as she makes an appearance today.

Monitor Publications Limited (MPL) is among the 200 teams fighting for the Shs1.5m corporate challenge cash prize. Winners will have to donate the prize to charity.

Relay puts Buster back in business

herald sun reports

DISTANCE star Craig Mottram has made a stunning return to competition after 12 months on the sidelines, dominating an international field in the opening leg of the Chiba Ekiden Relay in Japan.

Mottram, who was forced to take a year off because of a serious achilles injury, led out the Australian team in the six-stage race, clocking an impressive 13min 23sec that was just one second outside the 5km course record.

While Nikki Chappel did a good job to stay in second place in her 5km leg - she ran 15min 27sec - the rest of the inexperienced Australian team struggled to hold the position, finishing seventh out of 15 behind winner Japan.

For Mottram, his comeback could not have gone better as he took over with 1.5km remaining and sprinted clear to win by nine seconds from Japan's Yuichiro Ueno.

Athletics Australia's national distance co-ordinator Tim O'Shaughnessy was excited by Mottram's performance.

"It was good to see him back and it was a very positive step for the future," he said.

"The impressive thing was the way he did it as he just dominated the end of the race.

"He took over at 3.5km and finished just outside the course record. More importantly, he was very happy with the run."

After the disappointment of the Beijing Olympics where he was run out in the heats of the 5000m, Mottram split with long-time coach Nic Bideau and was then forced to the sidelines with the achilles problem that he had carried for a couple of years.

The 29-year-old, now coached by Chris Wardlaw, is confident he can get back to being one of the best distance runners in the world.

Monday night's performance in Japan suggests he is on track.

Mottram will be in action at Sunday's Great Australian Run, but he will be only jogging the 15km road race as part of his ambassadorial role.

The world's best female marathoner, German Irina Mikitenko, has been forced to withdraw because of illness, while 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, American Deena Kastor, is not making the trip because of family issues.

Article by Pat Butcher

The idea of the Japanese coach as some sort of Zen Master probably began with Kiyoshi Nakamura, the legendary advisor to 1980’s marathon superstar, Toshihiko Seko. That image, nurtured by Nakamura, and promoted both by Seko and another devotee, Japan-based Kenyan Douglas Wakiihuri, has become so implanted in the western mind that when Mari Hirata turned up, first at the New York Marathon last month, then at the Athens Classic Marathon a week later, the notion of a female Japanese coach seemed nothing short of novelty.

But that is not the only novelty about Hirata and the Second Wind club of which she is a member. Second Wind AC is a revolution in Japanese athletics.

Most athletes across the world will have discovered their talent in school, during junior or secondary education, ie up to age 16. But after that the system varies wildly from country to country. In Britain and Germany, the athletics club was born in the second part of the 19th century, when the increase in leisure time for the masses gave rise to the creation of a multitude of ‘voluntary’ associations or clubs.

The US on the other hand owes much if not most of its success to the college sports system, and the scholarships for the gifted. Like in many other countries, Japan had another variety, the corporate club, or jitsugyodan.

These appear to be less like the civil service clubs, Armed Forces, Prisons, Post Office, etc, which are still the focus of athletics in emerging nations like Kenya, but more of a recruited elite, to represent the company.

There are scores of such jitsugyodan in Japan, and their creation is linked to the almost century-long tradition of ekiden relays, the first of which were run over huge distances, eg from the former capital of Kyoto to the current one of Tokyo, a distance of close to 500 kilometres.

But Second Wind AC has broken the mould. Yet it was born out of one of the jitsugyodan, that of the Shiseido cosmetics company. When the economic recession began to bite a couple of years ago, Shiseido decided to cut back on its non-core activities, and their athletics club was the first to be threatened.



Head coach Manabu Kawagoe didn’t wait to be pushed. Having coached Team Shiseido for a lengthy period, culminating with victory in the national women’s ekiden in December 2006, he left the corporate umbrella at the end of the fiscal year three months later.

According to Brett Larner, a Canadian born musician and long distance runner, who lives in Tokyo, “Kawagoe announced that he was leaving Shiseido to try a new, more runner-oriented approach. With him went four of Shiseido’s best runners, Kiyoko Shimahara, Yuri Kano, Akemi Ozaki and Kaori Yoshida.

“Assistant coach Shigeto Osamu studied the business model developed a year earlier by his Waseda University acquaintance Taro Agui, founder of the Harriers athlete club, in which amateur runners pay to receive regular coaching from experienced professionals 2-3 times a week in a group setting. Where Harriers’ coaching staff consisted primarily of retired pros and the national duathlon champion, Osamu and Kawagoe took the model and moved it one step beyond, using his elite women as coaching staff”.

Mari Hirata also went with Kawagoe to Second Wind. Hirata, a former 2.14 schoolgirl 800 metres runner had long decided that she was going to be better as a coach. Now 30, and one of Kawagoe’s assistants, she went to New York with Kano who had a bad fall, but still managed to finish in ninth place. Hirata’s trip to Athens was far more fruitful, since another Second Wind elite, Ozaki won the Classic Marathon.



The day before the race, Hirata explained the philosophy behind Second Wind. “It is a sort of running school. We have a handful of elite runners, currently seven, and around 700 ‘student’ runners, We train in Yoyogi Park, and around the Emperor’s Palace (two popular central Tokyo training grounds). The elite runners contribute 30% of their prize money to the club, and the other members pay 6000 yen ($65) per month, in order to train with the elites, and benefit from their experience”.
Larner underlines the novel approach. “From a pro standpoint Second Wind became something very new in Japan, a group of successful pros who existed outside the jitsugyodan system and, without a single corporate sponsor like other teams, no obligation to spend time in the ekiden circuit. Another factor also made Second Wind different, its agent, American Brendan Reilly. The presence of a foreign agent and the absence of corporate pressure to stay in the Japanese race circuit and generate TV exposure for the sponsor’s logo meant that Second Wind’s women could race overseas whenever the opportunity arose. Although Shimahara and later Kano ran in major marathons such as Boston, Chicago and London, the group also took the unusual approach (for Japanese) of frequently racing second-tier races, which they could win. Shimahara, Yoshida and Ozaki all recorded overseas marathon wins this way, and the group became the most common Japanese faces overseas.

READ ON...

Meb: "I really think I can do it (win Boston)."

By BARI WEISS for WSJ

When Meb Keflezighi finished the New York City Marathon in two hours, nine minutes and 15 seconds the morning after Halloween, he became the first American to win the race in 27 years. But some spectators apparently missed the three red letters on his chest as he burst through the tape. Keflezighi is only "technically American," argued CNBC sports writer Darren Rovell. He's "like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league."

Though Mr. Rovell has since backtracked, nobody recalls similar comments about Alberto Salazar, the Cuban-born American who won in 1982. And if Meb's name was Joe Smith and he was born in England rather than Eritrea, few would have questioned his national identity.

When I meet Meb the morning after his appearance on the David Letterman show—almost as great as winning the race, he quips—he is unbothered by the debate raging on the Web about his American-ness. "What's the list of things you need to be an American?" he asks rhetorically. "You live here, you pay taxes, you live by the American way. I've been here for 22 years. I'm as American as you can get."

As for wearing the USA tank top: "What a beautiful day to wear it on. In New York, to win my first marathon in that jersey—it just gave me great pride."

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Zina Saunders
Talking to the 5-foot-6-inch athlete as he is massaged, iced, stretched and bent by his physical therapist on the Upper West Side, I could easily forget that he is one of the fastest men in the world. Unlike so many other professional athletes—huge in ego and stature—Meb is modest in both.

Which is not to say the 34-year-old isn't thrilled about winning his first marathon. "My email is full, my texting is full, my voicemail is full," he tells me with an incredulous smile. "I was kind of late coming here because for the first time since I got to New York I went to the breakfast place at the Hilton. And it was nonstop: 'You're not leaving 'til I get this picture,' or 'I need your autograph.'"

Yet he's quick to add: "It's a big honor. With fame and with winning comes responsibility." Meb doesn't see the need to be a role model as a choice: "You have to. People are following you whether you like it or not."

It's almost too convenient to chalk up Meb's character to his upbringing. Nevertheless, like so many other immigrant success stories, understanding Meb's parents and their values is essential to understanding who he is. He puts it simply: "They molded me."

Born in 1975, Mebrahtom (his full name means "let there be light") grew up in an Eritrean village with no electricity and no running water. Besides poverty, Meb's parents, Russom and Awetash, feared for their family's safety because of Russom's involvement with the Eritrean Liberation Movement and because of the ongoing war with Ethiopia. Meb's father decided to flee. "He walked all the way"—60 miles—to Sudan, Meb says. Russom eventually made his way to Milan, Italy, where he worked to raise the money to bring his family out of East Africa.

On Oct. 21, 1987, a date that rolls off Meb's tongue, the family immigrated to San Diego as refugees with the help of the Red Cross and the sponsorship of Meb's half-sister, Ruth. "Dad used to wake up at 4 a.m. so we could learn English," Meb says. "He worked as a taxi driver and worked in restaurants to be able to feed the family."

Meb adds, "You start on the bottom, work hard, and your dreams will come true—and that's what happened. We have a very successful family because my parents always emphasized using the opportunity you have to the maximum: 'There are a lot of people that don't have this opportunity, so make sure you use it.' That stuck in our head."

They stressed school to their 11 children. "Sports was not in our blood or in our family," Meb says. "So it was 'Do what you can and work hard. Your teachers are your parents when you are at school. They want the best for you, so make sure you listen to them."

Meb's oldest brother, Fitsum, was the trailblazer. He started ninth grade not knowing a word of English. By the end of the year, he won the top academic prize. The Keflezighis still have the tiny trophy 22 years later.

That ethic was key to Meb's success. "When I started running for the first time—seventh grade—I wanted to get that A, just like my parents taught me."

Meb had never run in his native country and had no concept of running as a sport. But his family's San Diego apartment was down the road from Morley Field where the national Foot Locker high school championship is held. "When I saw them running, the high school champions, I was like 'What are these crazy people running for?' They're not chasing a soccer ball or anything else."

Meb's two older brothers decided to take up the sport, he says, and "I just followed in their footsteps." At 12, he ran his first mile. He clocked in at five minutes and 20 seconds—with no training. Dick Lord, the PE teacher at Roosevelt Junior High, called up the high school coach on the spot: "Hey, we got an Olympian here."

Ron Tabb, who ran the marathon in 2:09 in 1983, saw similar potential in the young runner. Meb recalls Mr. Tabb seeing him practice in 1992. "He said: 'You're going to be a great marathoner and make the Olympic team in 2000 and be a medalist in 2004,'" Meb remembers. "So a lot of people did read my future."

By his senior year in high school, he says, "I ended up being one of those crazy guys running in the national championships." From San Diego High School, he went off to UCLA. Bob Larsen, who has remained his coach until today, offered the straight-A state champion a full ride. There he became a four time NCAA champion. And in 1998, the year he graduated, he became a citizen. Meb traces his success back to those years. "It goes back to high school—you try to be the best high schooler there is, and then to be the best collegiate runner you can be." Unlike team sports, "with running, it's just you and what you decide to get out of it."

If Meb sounds old school, that's because he is. His message for young people is simple: "Life is precious. Do something that is optimistic—that is good for society. Don't sit on the couch." His heroes, other than the list of American long-distance runners he rattles off (Jim Ryun, Steve Prefontaine, Steve Scott, Eamonn Coghlan, Paul Tergat), are Jackie Robinson and his parents. About himself, he says: "My God-given talent was discovering when I could run 5:20. Not everyone can run 5:20 . . . I was definitely gifted, but I have to work hard."

His determined training has helped him defy people's expectations. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Meb was ranked 39th out of 101 runners. He walked away with the silver medal with high hopes for the Beijing Olympics.

The Olympic trials in 2007 brought no such victory. Not only did Meb not make the Beijing team—he finished eighth—he fractured his hip during the race. Then there was the terrible tragedy of Ryan Shay's death. The rising marathon star and Meb's close friend suffered a massive heart attack during the race. During this year's marathon, Meb crossed himself in the spot where Shay went down.

"The darkest part of my running career was last year," he says. "I could have easily hung it up." Was he tempted to retire, I ask? "Oh yea. I'm not going to say I wasn't. I couldn't walk—I was crawling like a 10-month-old baby," Meb says about his hip fracture.

Recovering from the injury took a year and a half of intensive therapy and "hard work." But "hard prayer" was also crucial for Meb, who, like his parents, is a deeply religious Christian. Though his training schedule doesn't always allow him to make it to church every Sunday, he makes time for prayer "every day before I go to sleep and every day before I get up." He also uses the 15 minutes he spends in the ice bath for reflection: "Every day in the ice bath is my God time," he says.

As he healed from his injury "I really got to know who my friends are—who's got my back." One of them is Bob Larsen, his coach for 18 years. "It's like a marriage," Meb says about their relationship. He's "a great mentor."

Meb lives and trains in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., a hub for distance runners because of the high altitude. Though the distance varies from day to day, there is no escaping the reality that marathon training is every day, approximately 130 miles a week. Sundays, Meb runs at least 20 miles, sometimes up to 27 or 28 miles. Thursday is a recovery day, "which means you run just 10 miles in the morning and then a few in the afternoon." Fridays are a "simulation of what the marathon will be like: He runs "race pace or faster anywhere from eight to 15 miles." He also bikes and lifts weights, though he has to be careful not to build up too much muscle. "For 26.2 miles, you want to be a lean, mean machine."

"During practice," he says, "probably 90% is physical and 10% is mental. When it comes to race day, it switches because you know your body is ready and then you have to use your head to be able to perform."

To pump him up for this year's race, Mr. Larsen encouraged Meb to pretend he was "going on a long run with his buddies. Relax for the first hour and get to work after that." Marathons, Meb says, "are about patience and even pace."

He followed that strategy on Nov. 1, sticking with the elite pack, even allowing himself to drift a few feet behind the front runner. The wind, he says, was the hardest part of the race. But Meb realized he was in a fantastic spot as he ran up Fifth Avenue. "With two miles to go, I knew I had it in the bank," he says. As he entered Central Park at 90th Street, he saw his opening and pulled ahead of four-time Boston Marathon champ Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya.

British marathon champion Paula Radcliffe has said that she sometimes counts her steps during marathons—300 steps in a mile. "I do not count my steps at all," says Meb. "I take in what the crowd is doing—screaming Go USA, or Go Meb! The crowd is always going to get you through the good and the bad." And the New York crowd, he says, is simply "the best that there is."

As Meb ran through the finish line to screaming crowds, he crossed himself and kissed the ground. Seeing his wife, Yordanos, put him over the edge.

"When she saw me—I can't put it into words," he says. "Here's a guy that couldn't walk, that couldn't turn in bed because of my hip fracture . . . so when we saw each other we just broke down in tears." Meb credits his wife, who is also a native of Eritrea, as critical to his ability to perform. "She is seven months pregnant, we have two kids, and I'm the one who's taking a nap. She's very unselfish. She's been a big part of this success." When he met her, right before the 2004 Olympic trials, "we just clicked about God and family and perseverance."

As he allows his body to recover—with ice baths, eating the right protein, and physical therapy—he is focused on his next races. The 2012 Olympics are a clear goal. Many are speculating that he might go for a win in Boston this April. "I really think I can do it. I've done it once and I finished third. Now I know the course and I'm healthy." How much time can he shave off? "The body can do amazing things. I still believe my best times are ahead of me."

Meanwhile, he's savoring his win. And next week, he'll be back to New York, this time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Meb will be riding with Miss America—on the Statue of Liberty float.

mzungo.org friend Asbel Kiprop finally gets Gold - but is only kind of happy

By Martin Telewa, ELDORET, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenya's new Olympic 1,500 metres champion Asbel Kipruto Kiprop says his pleasure and pride at being awarded the gold medal retrospectively has been tainted by the circumstances of his victory.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped Bahrain's Moroccan-born runner Rashid Ramzi of the gold for doping at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Kiprop, 20, who was upgraded from silver to gold, said on Thursday he was not filled with joy.

"I don't feel happy in the way I should have felt," Kiprop told Reuters Television in an interview. "We cannot go back to Beijing again and recite the national anthem."

Kiprop urged the IOC and the International Association of Athletics Federations to conduct tests more quickly in future to avoid similar situations.

He also urged his fellow athletes not to take performance-enhancing drugs. "Let them run natural," he said.

Ramzi, 29, a former world champion over 800 and 1,500 metres, was one of five athletes disqualifed from the Beijing Games after frozen samples were re-tested and found positive for the banned blood-booster CERA last April.

"I was surprised to get silver. Having got this, it is something extra," Kiprop said.
The Kenyan is in training for 2010 and is also looking ahead to the 2012 Olympic Games, where he hopes to repeat his success and improve his time.

"I still have a long way to go," he said.

Chiba Ekiden pics

Chiba Ekiden: Japan taking 1st and 2nd, Kenya left with 3rd

IAAF reports

In the absence of the defending champion Ethiopia, Japan won the 2009 International Chiba Ekiden on Monday, a national holiday. Taking the lead in the second stage thanks to a near record run by Yuriko Kobayashi, the Japanese never relinquished their advantage.

In fact, the host team extended their lead in each of the subsequent stages, except for the final one. Team members recorded stage bests in four out of six stages, but the winning time, 2:05:58, was still 31 seconds behind the record Ethiopia set in 2008, when they too recorded stage bests in four out of six stages.

The Japanese Collegiate team finished second in 2:07:47, a minute and 49 seconds behind, while the pre-race favorites Kenya finished third in 2:08:34, despite the run by two World Marathon champions – Abel Kirui and Catherine Ndereba. Kirui won the Marathon at this year’s World Championships in Berlin, while Ndereba won the world title in 2003 and 2007.

The Beijing Olympic Marathon champion Constantina Dita ran the 5Km second stage for Romania, but her time, 16:07, was only the sixth fastest. The Athens Olympic Marathon champion Stefano Baldini of Italy fared even worse. His 10Km (stage 5) time was only 30:28.

How the race unfolded:

Stage 1 – 5Km (men):
Ryuji Kashiwabara of the Japanese Collegiate team took off from the start and covered the first 800m in blazing 2:10. Yuichiro Ueno of Japan tried to stay close, but a gap of more than 30m opened up by the time the runners left the stadium for the streets of Chiba. Ueno, Australian Craig Mottram and Nicholas Kamakya of Kenya worked together to close the gap on Kashiwabara and caught him 1.5Km into the race. The leader, Kamakya passed 2.5Km in 6:35, followed by Mottram and Ueno. At 3.5Km into the first stage, Mottram took the lead and passed 4Km in 10:40. He was the fastest in the end of the 5Km stage covering the distance in 13:23, 9 seconds ahead of Ueno, who in turn was one second ahead of Kamakya of Kenya.

“It was my slowest run in the Chiba Ekiden, but since I was only several seconds behind the leader, I think I did my job,” Ueno said. “I knew Kashiwabara was going out fast, but I was bit surprised, because he ran faster than my expectations.”

Stage 2 – 5Km (women):
Three Km into the 5Km second stage, Japanese Yuriko Kobayashi caught and passed Nikki Chappel of Australia to take the lead. Kobayashi covered the 5Km stage in 15:09, one second short of her record set last year. At the end of the stage JPN led AUS by 9 seconds. “I was in better shape than last year, so I was disappointed that I could not run faster,” said Kobayashi, a medallist at both World Youth and World Junior Championships.

Stage 3 – 10Km (men):
The JPN Collegiate team passed AUS to move into second place 8.7Km into the stage, while with the fastest stage by Kensuke Takezawa, JPN extended their lead over the second place JPN Collegiate team to a minute and 10 seconds. “I felt bit sluggish but I was able to run as planned – start fast and then hold on to the pace,” said Takezawa.

Stage 4 – 5Km (women):
Japan further increased their lead over second place with a record tying run by Yukiko Akaba. Akaba covered the first Km in 3:05, second in 3:05 and third in 3:03 before covering the 5Km stage in 15:34. In this stage, KEN finally started to make their move. With the second fastest stage by Iness Chenonge, 2002 Commonwealth Games’ bronze medallist, KEN moved up from sixth to third, but they were still a minute and 58 seconds behind the leader JPN at the end of the stage. “I was able to push the pace from the start, so I felt very good,” Akaba said.

Stage 5 – 10Km (men):
Kenya was expected to close the gap with Abel Kirui, the World Marathon champion. However, although Kurui passed JPN Collegiate team 5Km into the stage, Atsushi Sato of JPN, who was sixth in the marathon in Berlin recorded the faster time, 28:57 to Kirui’s 29:10i, and KEN fell further behind JPN in the penultimate stage. With the final stage of 7.195Km left in the race, JPN lead KEN by two minutes and 11 seconds. The race was essentially over. “Since my teammates ran well, I was able to run comfortably,” said Sato, who covered the first 5Km in 14:17.

Stage 6 - 7.195Km (women):
Catherine Ndereba ran for KEN, but not only did she fall further behind JPN, but Hikari Yoshimoto of the JPN Collegiate team passed Ndereba 1.9Km into the race to move into second. Japan won by a minute and 49 seconds. The winning margin was larger than last year. “I like to thank my teammates, because it was the first time I crossed the finish line first (in Ekiden),” said Yurika Nakamura of the JPN team.

Ken Nakamura assisted by Akihiro Onishi for the IAAF

Weather: Sunny; temperature: 12C; humidity: 50%; wind: 0.1m/s NNE
Results:
1) JPN 2:05:58
2) JPN Collegiate 2:07:47
3) KEN 2:08:34
4) Chiba 2:09:26
5) USA 2:09:42
6) RUS 2:11:19
7) AUS 2:11:35
8) CAN 2:12:24
9) ITA 21:31l13

Best Stage -
Stage Distance Time Name
1 5Km 13:23 Craig Mottram (AUS)
13:32 Yuichiro Ueno (JPN)
2 5Km 15:09 Yuriko Kobayashi (JPN)
15:27 Nikki Chapple (AUS)
15:48 Kazue Kobayashi (JPN Collegiate)
15:54 Mizuho Nasukawa (Chiba)
16:07 Constantina Dita (ROU)
3 10Km 29:07 Kensuke Takezawa (JPN)
29:14 Ian Burrell (USA)
4 5Km 15:34 Yukiko Akaba (JPN)
15:46 Iness Chenonge (KEN)
5 10Km 28:57 Atsushi Sato (JPN)
29:10 Abel Kirui (KEN)
..
30:28 Stefano Baldini (ITA)
6 23:12 Hikari Yoshimoto (JPN Collegiate)
23:39 Yurika Nakamura (JPN)
23:41 Hitomi Niiya (Chiba)
24:04 Catherine Ndereba (KEN)

Philadelphia Marathon controversy - just a jogger event??

Here's what some letsrun.com posters had to say:
"Why any race finishes a half and a full, that start at the same time, in the same direction and on the same path, is beyond me (and Philly adds in lap traffic for the slowest marathoners). Time and again we see that doesn't work out well for the faster runners. I can tell you from feedback I read from slower runners they don't like it either.

But the public votes with their checkbook that Philly is a "good race" by increasing registration numbers every year and selling out earlier. Until runners start bypassing Philly for one of the many other races out there that have their act together you won't see any changes that matter. And watch the feedback from runners at marathonguide.com. 90% of those who post on there will give Philly high marks as a result of the post-race high they have.

As I understand it, Philly is one of the few marathons in the country organized by a city department. There has been talk of selling the race to a private company. I say they can't make that happen soon enough. This should be the #2 choice for a fall east coast marathon behind NYC but the way they currently do things is not good enough."

____________
"This race is a complete embarrassment to the city of philadelphia! Literally a complete cluster F at the half way point(had to read index card size signs telling you where to go) and then f'd up beyond belief in the last 1/4 mile, top runners in the marathon were barely even noticed and had to negotiate all kind of obstacles, because we had to cross over the course where the half was finishing and 5-6 hour marathon runners were getting to the half way point(so had to run through about 1000 runners running 9min pace and then having to share the same finish line as these people. So i was trying to kick down the final stretch and had to weave between people who looked like jared before he found subway! Through some elbows as well sorry, but I was going for a PR and people were already doing there I finished a half in under 230 dance 400 meters out! Redicuous, and complete idiots organized this race! What a dissapointment! And current results are completly screwed up so dont even try!"

___________________

"[…]I saw an interview with the race director afterwards and it truly showed how little she knows about running. On the philly news she was raving how great of a race day it was and how fast all 3 races were and the fact that the half was won in an hour and um , um 30 mins and the 8k was like just under an hour! Seriously? come on now, if you are a race director at least know the sport a little and at least have the ability to run several blocks. this director has neither. I am sorry she probably is a great person and dont mean to pick on her, but when you direct such a large event, and charge the amount of money you charge, know something. Also I know of many good runners that were turned away from the marathon, mostly due to the fact that the race was closed for so long cause of the amount of people in the other events.
This truly could be a great marathon, and sadly they self proclaim as one of the top marathons in the us. wow how little they know!!!!"

___________________

"I was watching my cousin run the full marathon. […]
My cousin (the runner) and I (the spectator) let it be and figured that at least they are aware of it and hopefully it won't be as bad as we make out these details to be sometimes

......fast forward to Sunday's race.....

I never thought it would be as bad as it was.

1) The announcers had NO CLUE what was going on. The half marathon winners were never announced - even though it was a really exciting finish - if you happened to be paying attention - unlike the announcers ... they were too busy cheering on the people running 8:00/mile in a 5 mile race than bringing home guys running 5:10/mile in a 13.1 mile race.

2) Same thing for the marathon winners. Just imagine this ..... You've trained day in and day out for a sport you LOVE to do. You wouldn't be out there if you didn't love it because there is next to nothing when it comes to appreciative, respectful, and well-educated fans of distance running. All of your stars align and you are having your best day - a day that will be over before you know it - you are going to win todays marathon against thousands that have also put in their fair share of work. You are turning the corner in front of the art museum finally able to sniff the finish line - anticipating your seconds of well deserved recognition that will cap off the grueling hours you just spent punishing your body and trashing your legs to be the best you can that day. NO!! NOT DONE YET!!!!!! YOU ARE RUNNING ~5:20ish/mile AND HAVE TO FOLLOW A BIKE THROUGH A SEA OF RUNNERS RUNNING ~8-9min/mile - HALF OF WHICH ARE CROSSING YOUR PATH TURNING LEFT AND HALF OF WHICH ARE FINISHING THE SAME COURSE YOU ARE!!!! AND THE ANNOUNCER AND THE CROWD HAS NO F**KING CLUE WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!!

3) This same lack of respect and recognition was dished out to all the front runners. My cousin was 2:3x:xx and he was told to follow a BICYCLE through the crowd!!!! Their solution for a criss-crossing course was adding huge signs that got knocked over and bicycles!!!! It just got worse for the 2:40-3:00 finishers too. Half the people running 8-9min/mile have ipods on and are doing nothing, but I don't even fault them - it's the idiots who set up this finish area - everybody shouldn't have to worry about others running on a different area (13 miles difference) of the course.

This race is an absolute slap in the face to those that take the marathon as a serious racing event. It's not a parade or something to check off of a list before you die. It is obvious that the organization of this race is for and by people with minimal running experience and is an absolute shame that a city with as much potential and beauty as Philadelphia will drive away members of the competative running community.

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA - PLEASE SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE AND ALLOW PROFESSIONALS IN THE RUNNING COMMUNITY TO ORGANIZE YOUR RACE - YOU WILL GAIN MORE MONEY, CREDABILITY, AND RESPECT FROM EVERYBODY IN THE RUNNING COMMUNITY, BOTH COMPETATIVE AND RECREATIONAL."

Great Ethiopian Run: Tilahun Regassa 28:36

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Thousands of people have participated in the 9th annual Great Ethiopian Run that was held Sunday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe and Ethiopian long distance star Derartu Tulu launched the race as guests of honor.

Today's overall winner was Tilahun Regassa, while Koreni Jelila won the women's race. Each received $2,100 award.

The Great Ethiopian Run, which was started by Haile GebreSelassie in collaboration with Toyota Motor Company, is the biggest road race in Africa attracting tens of thousands of runners.

Today's run was broadcast live for the first time by major international sport channels, according to event organizer Haile GebreSelassie.

Since 2006, the Great Ethiopian Run has been used by Addis Ababa residents to voice their anger and frustration at the Woyanne regime, as they have no other outlet. Public meetings and opposition rallies are prohibited by the U.S.-backed brutal regime of Meles Zenawi.

Today's event was a little different. The Woyanne regime was not the only target. The 76-year-old opposition party leader Hailu Shawel was the focus of protest. He was condemned by the runners for signing an agreement with Meles Zenawi on the upcoming general election without any tangible change on the part of the Woyanne regime, such as the release of political prisoners, including Birtukan Mideksa, leader of one of the main opposition parties.

Men
1. Tilahun Regassa, 28.36
2. Abera Kuma, 28.37
3. Feyisa Lelisa, 28,41

Women
1. Koreni Jelila, 33.03
2. Amane Godane, 33.18
3. Belaynesh Oljira, 33.38

Meanwhile in the US of A...

Thanks Chris and flotrack

More Spanish action: Zaragoza Marathon won by Ambaye in interesting shoes...

III MARATON INTERNACIONAL
ZARAGOZA
22 de Noviembre 2009
RESULTADOS GENERALES Distancia:MARATON
Puesto Dorsal ATLETA CLUB PAIS Tiempo

1 6 ZERIHUM AMBAYE ETIOPIA 02:17:38
2 9 BELACHEW KIFLE ETIOPIA 02:18:18
3 15 J.CARLOS CIPRIAN ESP 02:25:37
4 66 JOSE MARÍA CÁMARA SANJUAN FONDISTAS DEL OLIVAR DE COLMENAR VIEJO ESP 02:27:16
5 24 VICTOR GONZALO GUIRAO 02:33:40
6 1370 JUAN JOSE ROYO ROYO ZENIT OLIMPO ESP 02:34:45
7 81 JOSE ANTONIO DE LA FUENTE ROMERO CANGAS DE ONIS ESP 02:35:42
8 216 JOAQUIN SALVADOR SANCHEZ RUNNING ZARAGOZA ESP 02:36:09
9 196 MIGUEL ANGEL RABANAL SAN ROMAN FONDO Y TRIATLON LA BAÑEZA ESP 02:36:12
10 226 VICENTE SELLARES OLIVERAS CALIFORNIA SPORTS ESP 02:36:20

mzungo.org says: The course is fairly flat from what I could see on the race website. Therefore, while nothing to sneeze at, a 2:17 doesn't turn too may heads. But Zerihum's shoes certainly turned mine. Anyone in the know?
Your shoebitch
mzungo Uli

Geoffrey Mutai 59:30 at Valencia Half

1 MUTAI, GEOFFREY KIPRONO INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 1 0:59:30 0:20:49 0:34:39
2 KIPSANG KIPROTICH, WILSON INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 2 0:59:33 0:20:49 0:34:39
3 ETICHA, SHUMI GERBAB INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 3 1:00:43 0:20:49 0:34:39
4 KIPTOO, BIRECH JOSEPH INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 4 1:01:11 0:20:50 0:34:42
5 ISMAEEL, KHAMIS AADAM INDEPENDIENTE PROMESA MASCULI 1 1:01:35 0:20:49 0:34:43
6 KIRUI, BONIFACE INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 5 1:03:08 0:20:49 0:34:59
7 FEITERIA, LUIS MARATONA VETERANO A 1 1:03:45 0:22:18 0:37:05
8 KIPYUEGO, LEONARD KPKOECH INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 6 1:03:46 0:21:45 0:36:44
9 CHEROP, SAMSOM INDEPENDIENTE SENIOR MASCULIN 7 1:03:59 0:21:51 0:36:54
10 AHOUCHAR, HASSANE C.A. CARNICAS SERRANO SENIOR MASCULIN 8 1:04:15 0:22:18 0:37:05

Watch the international Ekiden live online

Fuji TV will broadcast the 2009 International Chiba Ekiden live from 1:00 p.m. to 3:25 p.m. Japan time on Monday, Nov. 23. International viewers should be able to watch online for free using the Keyhole TV software available here.

For JRN's Chiba Ekiden preview with links to team rosters and course maps click here. An updated start list with each team's running order is available here. JRN will provide live English commentary during the race. Check back just before the race for more info.

Thanks to the legendary Brett Larner, your go-to guy for anything Japanese road racing!

Dozen athletes tabbed for new USADA program

BRIAN GOMEZ reports

When DeeDee Trotter explodes from the starting blocks, hands off the baton or stretches across the finish line, she doesn’t want anyone wondering if she’s doping.

“Test me, I’m clean,” Trotter said. “Test me any day of the week, any time you want.”

The 2004 Olympic gold medalist sprinter will deliver that message through the “Athlete Ambassador” program, a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency initiative announced Friday, in which 12 elite athletes were tabbed to preach the danger of performance-enhancing drugs.

Athletes in the program – Colorado Springs synchronized swimmer Nathalie Bartleson is participating, and the biggest names are cyclist Kristin Armstrong, luger Erin Hamlin and sprinter Lauryn Williams – will speak to kids about the importance of playing clean, and they’ll write articles for USADA’s Web site, www.usantidoping.org.

It’s an extension of “Project Believe,” a USADA program that gathered 12 athletes, most notably sprinter Tyson Gay and swimmer Michael Phelps, for a combined 355 voluntary tests last year. Trotter was part of the group, giving 31 blood and urine samples. USADA has tested her 59 times the past six years.

Trotter said she’s vocal in support of anti-doping measures “to prevent myself from going down in the flames” after track and field’s drug scandals. “We have to do something,” she said. “Otherwise, it will continue to go down this path, and it won’t stop.”

Analysis: The German marathon scene in 2009

The text is translated from LAUFREPORT.de by Google Translator

X-marathon grows heavily," "event a huge success," "Marathon in the Y long been an established institution," "over the records" or even "Z marathon with as many participants as never before." There are still no such or similar headlines, haunted by the one run by the media. And almost more often is ahead of so many interested parties as never before read at this time "and" new Melderekorden "too.

Often these are just launched by the press offices of the events. The local press, of course, it shall then be happy and they continue to spread. Why are you doing everything well, questioning why you should investigate a little, if with ready-made reports of the organizers but can save a lot of work.

The readers believe it - even in the absence of comparison - then only too happy. Finally, yes it is in the newspaper. And besides, it's already something special when held in their city so fantastic sports event. Like many other similar events can be found in Germany, most did not clear. For the leap into the national headlines provide only the four or five biggest races of the German marathon scene.

But take all these as positive-sounding messages at all? Or is it the alleged successes of records and not so far away? If they are placed at the end only by the advertising people in the world to make it appear the event in as positive light?

At least a little information about it can give sober facts. And not by the organizers in advance to the world changed later trumpeted but the entries that are then later in the results list. There you can find facts that are relatively hard to fine. At least, is as yet no organizer come under suspicion, supplement no existente runners to improve its record.

For several years running report released at the end of the season on the basis of these values for quite a debriefing with the German marathon. Also in 2009, the course will be. Over time, has an extensive number of materials come together, the now quite long-term observations allowed.

The main focus here is to continue to really always eponymous 42,195 kilometers. Even if offer virtually all other long distance events and competitions. An additional half-marathon is the most common variant, and therefore certainly also statistically evaluated.

But even race, or even less than ten kilometers, squadrons of various forms, children's and youth runs aplenty exist in the programs. And sometimes there is even a full range of all possible variants, which hardly leads to a more manageable amount of valuations. "Diversification" We call it comfortable in the economy. Purists see this but also a trend towards the complete dilution.

The total number of participants do such Nebenwettbewerbe - actually it is a completely wrong word, because almost everywhere they have the long distance in terms of popularity far outstripped the place - of course upwards. That in order to finance the organization through additional entry fee revenue, which there is no really significant additional work is backed up, is beyond question.

But the fact that you can shine even with the sponsors with a much higher house numbers, is certainly more than a pleasant side effect. The donors is what it is mainly to maximize attention. Whether a runner while managed 42 or 4.2 kilometers, most of them would not care to be.

On the other hand, however, only opens the magic word "marathon" their doors. With runs on other distances - be it ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five or thirty kilometers - can shine as an organizer because not really. Only half marathon - but there also is inside the magic word - is now and as eligible through. And so the competition is offering, despite a significant increase in events during the last two decades in its breadth has become rather less Zwischendistanzen increasingly fall through the cracks.

However, it can also ask whether a run without the marathon over the shorter distances at all would have the same popularity. For on the subscriber side, the word also draws like a magnet. Indeed, especially if you do not even really on the road distance is responsible for its use.

READ ON...

Catherine Ndereba: Yokohama

Stefani Weis reports

The internet never stops amazing me! Here I was, sitting in my Pennsylvania home, watching the Yokohama Women's Marathon LIVE online via a player called Keyholetv that allowed me to watch the Japanese TV Asahi, while chatting on Facebook with a friend from Chile and talking on the phone to a friend in PA and watching the Pittsburgh Panthers football game on the tv :) The resolution on the marathon online was not great, and I couldn't understand a word of the commentating, but what was important was that I could actually WATCH Catherine run a race on the other side of the world!

[check Stefani's blog for some blurry but cool screenshots.]

I spoke with Lisa, Catherine's manager, last night. Ahhh, the wonders of the internet! We chatted briefly via facebook before she had to leave for the airport to fly back to Philadelphia. She has been traveling with all of her athletes on and off for the past six weeks and is very anxious to get back home! Catherine will remain in Japan with her coach, Mostafa and travel to Chiba for next weekend's Ekiden. Catherine's husband, Anthony, left Tuesday night (they are 14 hours ahead of where I am in Philadelphia, PA)

Since Catherine had not seen Anthony is many months, I did not want to call her and take up time she could be spending with hubby so I asked Lisa how Catherine was feeling and how she felt the race went. She said Catherine was extremely pleased with her run in Yokohama, especially since she had not been able to conduct her speed workouts in the weeks leading up to the race due to a nagging hip flexor problem. She was being treated for it by her amazing chiropractor (Dr. Johnny King-Marino) and through massage therapy but had to back off of the speed work. I am happy to report, however, that she was pain free throughout the race and feels great afterwards! Many people wonder, and many also ask if she is disappointed if she does not take first place in a marathon, but those who know her know that she is never disappointed as long as she runs well and is healthy. She is always happy for whoever wins and is content to know that whatever happens was Gods plan for that day. This is what attracted me to Catherine's story in the first place. She doesn't just "say" those words; she BELIEVES them and you can tell it is completely genuine! She also never uses excuses and has never dropped out of a race; she listens to her body and adjusts. Rather than look at her hip problem as the reason she did not take first place, she is pleased that she has recovered from a common problem among runners, was able to run well and pain free and still take third place. Not too shabby in my book! (notice I did not say she didn't "win", I said she did not "take first place" because first, second, third or 100th, she is still a winner in that same book of mine!)

Face the book: Patrick Rizzo

First workout (after Chicago Marathon) back and Morgan destroyed me. I did 2x3 of his 2x6. I could not go any faster than 5 flat to save my life.

Additional Info

Date of Birth: July 25, 1983
Hansons-Brooks Distance Project start: June 20, 2006

Hometown: Schaumburg, IL

College: North Central College (Division III in Illinois)

Personal records: Marathon: 2:20:12; 10,000m: 29:38; 5,000m: 14:29

Events currently training for: 11.03.07

Miles run/week: 100-130

Why do you run? This is something I love to do. It's never a burden to wake up and "go to work." I'll stop running the day I stop loving it. Then I'll pick up something new that's addicting.

The best thing about being a Hansons-Brooks athlete? I get to answer the question of "could I get better?" I don't have to live with the regret of wondering if there was something more I could have done with my running. While I'm at it I get to learn some very valuable lessons from people older, wiser, and better than myself.

How have you improved since joining the Hansons-Brooks ODP?

When did you start running? I started running in junior high to stay in shape for wrestling. I had no intentions at the time of becoming a "runner." I thought I was destined to be a wrestler and the cardio would only help in the later periods. Then, I started taking it more seriously sophomore year of high school when my coach "lovingly" pinned me against a wall and basically told me that if I went out for wrestling again, I’d be blowing a good running career. I respected him enough to take that as a hint that he thought I could be a better runner than wrestler and took a year off to run for the winter--that started the addiction.

What challenges do you face as an athlete? I guess balancing being an athlete with being a son, uncle, brother, and friend. Never to let one aspect of my life overrun the others. A big challenge I have from a purely athletic standpoint is that I am ridiculously inflexible and regardless how much or little I stretch, it doesn't get any better. I can hardly touch my knees after a workout when I try to touch my toes.

What do you like to do when you're not running? I love to be around my family any opportunity I have. Around Rochester though, I like to play MLB The Show for PS2 and work on everybody on the team's vehicles.

Favorite event: Cross country! It may not be my strongest thing, but it's so much fun.

Favorite workout: I live for Sheldon Estates cut downs. They're a riot to run and you get a lot out of them too. There are no splits, just laps and you have to figure out how fast to pick it up based on feel. (For those who don’t know, Sheldon Estates loop is a grass loop in the Stoney Creek Metro Park that is about 3k around. The workout is to do as many laps as you can while still cutting 30 seconds off per lap. The first time you’re 29 or less seconds, you're out.)

Favorite pre- and post-race foods: Pasta and pizza. I like to make my own pasta sauce (or eat my mom's). Well pizza is number two. It's always available, so if you can make that work with your stomach before workouts, it takes out the question of what's available to eat before a race. There's always a good pizza joint within reach.

Role models: In running, my brother and my high school coach (both coincidentally North Central alums as well). They've set PRs that I'm still chasing. In life, my parents are very much what I look up to. Through thick and thin, they're at 30 years together and happy. I just hope I can be everything they have been for me and my siblings.

Blog Roll - Viktor Rothlin

the blog is translated using google translator

Since last Sunday VIKMOTION is every Sunday evening from 18:15 clock watch on TV. For Thomas and I are in the order of Helsana THE movement coaches in the new docu-soap "Easy Life" on SF1! There have been various protagonists decided zuwollen easier life.

In the areas of nutrition, stress and movement they are now supervised by competent coaches. Thomas and I ask all the protagonists together a personal exercise plan. We show them how to bring more movement into their daily life and wave every now and then once with the Mahnfinger if it be done as is often claimed too many cheap excuses.

With regular visits, we show them to new forms of movement or try to optimize the already popular Bewegungselementeim everyday life. The field of nutrition and Mental is maintained by other coaches.

The protagonists include the entrepreneur and bon vivant Hausi Leutenegger, a typical Swiss family with a few pounds too many, a badly stressed Italo-Swiss and restaurant operators, a nochmehr stressed-out mother of quadruplets, and the single from Stephen Strub Oberägeri.

Stephen Strub has set itself the goal to stay under beimnächsten Ägeriseelauf to 2h. This is really nothing special. Stephan is currently only weighs 172kg! From physiotherapy perspective, it would therefore prefer to me, he would be the Swiss Walking Event set a target of Solothurn. But we try our best to give him even with his ambitious valuable inputs. And who knows, maybe he even then it tumbles in Solothurn and can stand all! So strictly reinschauen, every Sunday evening from 18:15 to SF1 Clock.

Previously, incidentally, is still the VIKFEST 2009. Next Sunday will meet the members of my fan club to Bauernbrunch in my home village nucleus in Canton Obwalden. I look forward to welcoming the gathering. Unfortunately, the season review will be very short. But especially in difficult times, shows how valuable a good environment. This includes my fan club, not only in Erfolgunterstützt me.

Viktor Rothlin

Irish athletes looking to seal European places

athletics ireland reports

After Course Inspection Inter Counties Going Ahead as Planned - Please travel safely

Many of Ireland’s top cross country runners will be in action on Sunday at the Woodie’s DIY Inter County Cross Country Championships looking to secure their place on the Irish team for the European Cross Country Championships.

Irish team hopefuls will take to the course on Kilbeggan Race Course in Westmeath knowing that a top three position will guarantee them a place on the Irish squad for the European Cross Country, which takes place in Santry Park, Dublin on December 13th.

The Irish management will be in attendance at Kilbeggan on Sunday and Team Manager, Anne Keenan-Buckley, is looking forward to the races on Sunday. “This weekend we will get an opportunity to see how our runners perform in a pressure situation. With some of the age groups we will have a good idea who will be in the squad but in something like the Junior Men’s race there are 9 or 10 athletes who could make the team,” Keenan-Buckley said.

The weather conditions in Westmeath could also have a big impact on Sunday’s races but Keenan Buckley believes that should not affect the athletes too much. “Good athletes should be able to compete on any course and run well. This is the first time we have held a championship here but it will be the same for everyone and I would imagine the course will be quite heavy considering the amount of rain that has fallen.”

The Team Manager thinks it could be a good indicator of the Santry Park course. “Santry, if dry can be a very fast course, but if it is as wet as it has been then it could be a mudbath, so we may see something similar on Sunday.”

Several of Ireland’s top athletes, such as Martin Fagan, Mark Christie and Alistair Cragg won’t be in action in Kilbeggan for different reasons but may still be a key part of the Irish team for Santry.
However one athlete that will be in action on Sunday and will carry Irish hopes in Santry is Mary Cullen. The North Sligo AC athlete has been in excellent form and will hope to continue this at Kilbeggan.

“Mary has been very impressive recently and been showing some great form. The fact that she has stayed at home instead of returning to the US has been of great benefit to her. She was in Spain recently in what was a world class field where she finished fourth and was the second European. Even her road race times have been excellent and I think she even be in better shape than she was last year so everyone will be watching Mary on Sunday,” Keenan-Buckley said.

The Woodie’s DIY Inter County Cross Country Championships will take place in Kilbeggan Race Course, Westmeath on Sunday 22nd November.

The SPAR European Cross Country Championships will take place in Ireland for the first time on the 13th December in Santry Demesne, Dublin. For more information and regular updates on the event and to sign up to the mailing list for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships then log on to www.Dublin2009.ie.

Dublin 2009 has teamed up with racepix.com/euroxc , to keep a photo diary of the events leading up to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships. All the photos of events leading to Santry can be viewed on the new page including this weekend’s European Cross Country trials at the Woodie’s DIY Inter County Cross Country Championships in Kilbeggan.

Athletics Ireland is supported nationally in running this event by the Irish Sports Council, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, RTÉ, Failte Ireland and Clonliffe Harriers.

Don’t forget to avail of the special rate available for all members of Athletics Ireland. There is a half price adult rate available of €10 (full price is €20) and all Juvenile members go FREE! Please note the adult special offer ends Monday the 7th of December If you would like to avail of this adult special price please log onto:
Ticketmaster

Woodie’s DIY Inter County Cross Country Championship – Kilbeggan Race Course, Westmeath

Timetable -

Senior & U-23 Women: 13:45

Junior Women: 14:30

Junior Men: 14:50

Senior & U-23: 15:1

Jack Daniels: Altitude & East Africans, Thirsty Thursday

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Stretch First To Run Slower

by Matt Fitzgerald

A marathon gives you plenty of time to warm up during the race. Photo: ASI
A new study finds that static stretching before running reduces running economy and performance.
Whether, when, and how runners should stretch are hotly debated questions lately. A new study by researchers at Florida State University may settle the specific question of whether runners should engage in static stretching (held passive stretches such as toe touches) before running. Ten trained male runners participated in the study. On separate occasions, they ran for one hour on a treadmill, beginning with 30 minutes at a moderate pace and ending with a 30-minute performance test wherein the runners were instructed to cover as much distance as possible. The runners performed 16 minutes of static stretch for the major muscle groups of the lower body before one of the runs and just sat around for 16 minutes before the other.
On average, the runners ran 3.4 percent farther in the non-stretching performance test than they ran in the post-stretching performance test. Yet while they ran farther after not stretching, they burned 5 percent fewer calories, indicating that pre-run static stretching sabotaged running performance by reducing running economy. These results were published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
Why would a static stretching warm-up make you run less efficiently? The authors of previous studies have speculated that static stretching warm-ups temporarily reduce musculoskeletal stiffness. While the word “stiffness” generally has negative associations with respect to athletic performance, a certain type of stiffness is beneficial to running performance. When you run, your legs function as springs that repeatedly bouncing off the ground, capturing “free” energy (i.e. energy that the body does not have to generate for itself) from each impact and using it to for forward thrust. Just as a loose mechanical spring (think of a worn automobile shock absorber) is less effective than a stiffer one, a less stiff leg (resulting from laxity at key muscle-tendon junctions) bounces less effectively off the ground during running. Consequently, the leg captures less “free” energy from the round and running economy is reduced.

Alberto Salazar Keynote Speech - NAIA XC Nationals Banquet 2009

Melissa Dunstan pictures the McMillian Bunch

mzungo.org needs your help!

Who can get us these babies to receive a goodie in return (and of course we pay for the shoes)?

NIKE AIR ZOOM SPEED SPIDER R

The tricky part: US size 11.5 and 13 (yes, we're big wazungu).

askmzungo@gmail.com

THANKS!

Kebede to Face Cheruiyot and Mogusu in Fukuoka

translated and edited by Brett Larner for japan running news

On Nov. 19 the organizing committee for the 63rd annual Fukuoka International Marathon, a domestic selection race for next November's Asian Games in China, announced the elite field for this year's Dec. 6 race. The seven overseas invited elites are led by last year's winner, Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia). In Fukuoka last year Kebede set the course and Japanese all-comers' record of 2:06:10. In April he went on to finish 2nd in the London Marathon in a PB of 2:05:20, ranking him at #9 on the all-time list.

Among those facing Kebede are 2008 Chicago Marathon winner Evans Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2005 Fukuoka winner Dmytro Baranovskyy (Ukraine) and top Eritrean runner Yonas Kifle. Japan-based Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem), a popular Hakone Ekiden star while at Yamanashi Gakuin University, will be making his marathon debut off his 59:48 half marathon best.

Alongside Mogusu in the domestic category, 2005 Helsinki World Championships marathon bronze medalist, 2004 Fukuoka winner and Beijing Olympian Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and last year's 4th place finisher and 2007 Osaka World Champioinships marathon team member Tomoyuki Sato (Team Asahi Kasei). The general division also includes standout runners such as Takayuki Ota (Team Fujitsu) in his marathon debut and Hakone Ekiden downhill specialist Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't). A total of 767 runners are entered in this year's race.

TV Asahi will broadcast the Fukuoka International Marathon live from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 6. Check their Fukuoka website for more details. Overseas viewers should be able to watch live online for free using the Keyhole TV software available here.

2009 Fukuoka International Marathon - Elite Field

1. Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) - 2:05:20 (London 2009)
2. Evans Cheruiyot (Kenya) - 2:06:25 (Chicago 2008)
3. Dmytro Baranovskyy (Ukraine) - 2:07:15 (Fukuoka 2006)
4. Yonas Kifle (Eritrea) - 2:07:34 (Amsterdam 2007)
21. Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:08:37 (Fukuoka 2003)
5. Jon Brown (Canada) - 2:09:31 (London 2005)
22. Tomoyuki Sato (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:43 (Tokyo Int'l 2004)
6. Kebede Tekeste (Ethiopia) - 2:09:49 (Boston 2009)
7. Oleg Kulkov (Russia) - 2:10:13 (Zurich 2009)
23. Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem) - debut - 59:48 (Marugame Half 2007)

Guy Morse: Boston Comes to Closure

By Peter Vigneron

On Nov. 13, the Boston Athletic Association announced that registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon had closed. It is only the second time in the marathon's history that registration has closed early (the first was last January), which BAA executive director Guy Morse believes is both the result of an increasing trend in marathon participation nationwide and an effort by the organization to alert potential runners that the race could fill up sooner than expected. "We encouraged people to register early," Morse says. "And they did."

Running Times: What are the underlying demographic reasons for increased participation?

Guy Morse: We encouraged them to register early, because there does seem to be renewed interest in the marathon. Both across the board―but I can only speak to Boston, and there seems to be more interest in the Boston Marathon than ever. And there are more qualifiers than ever. That's driving the need to register early, and we have a finite number of spaces. We're actually taking more qualifiers than ever before this year.

Have you given any thought to lowering the qualifying standard?

GM: We've looked at two ways, not that we're near making a decision, but we have looked at either trying to allow more runners to enter, which means greater capacity, although we're more interested in quality runners, versus quantity. That remains important to us―the quality of the run, not just the number of people running. So that's one way to go―to allow more participation. And another way, of course, is too look at the qualifying times and adjust them that way. We have looked at them, but we're in no position at this point to make any changes. But we have looked at it, and that is one option for the future.

People get excited about the number of charity runners, or the number of runners with spots that have been given away. But I keep hearing that it's important to have them in the race.

GM: I understand the mindset of the runner who has qualified or is trying to qualify, but at the same time, we are living in a much different world than we did 15, 20 years ago, and it's very important to these events, Boston included, to be more of an event that the community also benefits from. Therefore, the charity program is also very important to the Boston Marathon, and marathons in general.

Unlike all other marathons, however, we keep charity runner programs to a minimum. In many races, the large majority might be charity runners, but not in the case of Boston. For example, our ratio of qualifiers to non-qualifiers, 80 percent of the total are qualified runners, and 20 percent approximately, perhaps a little less, are mostly charity runners. Or invitational runners for sponsors or other community commitments. And that's a fact of life, that's just good business, in terms of hosting the event in this community. The charity act is a necessity of the world we live in.

Have you heard from any race directors for races that bill themselves as Boston qualifiers?

GM: We've heard from a few, and we certainly try to reach out to those races in advance to let them know that there might be an issue if we do close out. We weren't sure when we would close out, and we wanted to remind them that if that did happen, such as in Philadelphia, that the runner would be qualified for next year―the following year's Boston Marathon―already. But that is a concern, something that we try to deal with as best we can. It's a new reality that we have to live with.

What do you think is driving the increasing number of competitive performances in marathons?

GM: I see a renewed interest in fitness, generally. Even though the statistics right now might not bear this out, I see a renewed interest at the elementary and high school level for fitness. I think the pendulum is finally beginning to swing the other way. There's a realization that fitness, physical fitness, is important at all ages. I think that is driving the movement here. In my mind, it cuts across all these groups, not just the younger generation, but the older generation as well. Our qualifiers across the board are aging and they're still making it to Boston.

And you can't let in―even if it's a bunch of 2:50 men or 3:20 women―you can't just let another 10,000 or 15,000 people into the race? That wouldn't work?

GM: That's the struggle we have because certainly that would be an easy answer, to do that. However, we don't want to create an event that's too big for the venue. If you recall, back for the 100th marathon in 1996, we did create an event that had 38,000 runners, 25,000 of whom qualified. For that celebration we did expand, but there were many risks that were taken with an event that size in a venue that, for the Boston Marathon, is a 114-year-old course. We want this to remain a quality event, more than the size of the event. So the simple answer may be to expand the field, but we don't want to dilute the effective quality of it.

Have you heard from many runners that have qualifiers but can't register?

GM: We expected and have received several dozen emails, or in some cases phone calls, people wondering if it's really closed, or what happened, or “How did I miss it?” or “What can I do to get in?” and we're anticipating that, as was the case last year in January. It's just happening sooner. But I must say, not to a much larger amount than last year because I think a majority of runners who qualified were made aware that they need to apply early, so they did. It's the person who just recently qualified, or who wasn't aware for some reason that marathons are closing out, or that Boston was closing out early. That uninformed person didn't get their app in and we are hearing from them. So it's been several dozen, probably. But it's been almost a week now, and it seems to have leveled off. It wasn't anything that we didn't expect.

As I said earlier, we really are trying to strike a delicate balance between what is best for the event as a whole, but also what's best for all of our constituencies. That's certainly the qualifiers, number one, but also the charity programs, our sponsor obligations, and the other obligations to the running clubs and the communities that support us. We believe we have a balance that works quite well, though we're always looking for ways to improve it.

Do you think people may be entering defensively, where they're not sure if they want to run or not, but they're worried that it's going to close out so they enter anyway?

GM: There could be some of that. There's always a number of no-shows or medical deferments as you get closer. That could be the case but I'm not sure it is at the moment, though it's too early to tell.

You haven't seen an increase in the number of no-shows on race day recently?

GM: No, the percentage, whatever it is, has not really changed. But that is something that happens―the sooner the event closes out, the further away from the actual date, the worse that percentage actually is.

Running Man

By BARI WEISS

When Meb Keflezighi finished the New York City Marathon in two hours, nine minutes and 15 seconds the morning after Halloween, he became the first American to win the race in 27 years. But some spectators apparently missed the three red letters on his chest as he burst through the tape. Keflezighi is only "technically American," argued CNBC sports writer Darren Rovell. He's "like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league."

Though Mr. Rovell has since backtracked, nobody recalls similar comments about Alberto Salazar, the Cuban-born American who won in 1982. And if Meb's name was Joe Smith and he was born in England rather than Eritrea, few would have questioned his national identity.

When I meet Meb the morning after his appearance on the David Letterman show—almost as great as winning the race, he quips—he is unbothered by the debate raging on the Web about his American-ness. "What's the list of things you need to be an American?" he asks rhetorically. "You live here, you pay taxes, you live by the American way. I've been here for 22 years. I'm as American as you can get."

As for wearing the USA tank top: "What a beautiful day to wear it on. In New York, to win my first marathon in that jersey—it just gave me great pride."

View Full Image

Zina Saunders
Talking to the 5-foot-6-inch athlete as he is massaged, iced, stretched and bent by his physical therapist on the Upper West Side, I could easily forget that he is one of the fastest men in the world. Unlike so many other professional athletes—huge in ego and stature—Meb is modest in both.

Which is not to say the 34-year-old isn't thrilled about winning his first marathon. "My email is full, my texting is full, my voicemail is full," he tells me with an incredulous smile. "I was kind of late coming here because for the first time since I got to New York I went to the breakfast place at the Hilton. And it was nonstop: 'You're not leaving 'til I get this picture,' or 'I need your autograph.'"

Yet he's quick to add: "It's a big honor. With fame and with winning comes responsibility." Meb doesn't see the need to be a role model as a choice: "You have to. People are following you whether you like it or not."

It's almost too convenient to chalk up Meb's character to his upbringing. Nevertheless, like so many other immigrant success stories, understanding Meb's parents and their values is essential to understanding who he is. He puts it simply: "They molded me."

Born in 1975, Mebrahtom (his full name means "let there be light") grew up in an Eritrean village with no electricity and no running water. Besides poverty, Meb's parents, Russom and Awetash, feared for their family's safety because of Russom's involvement with the Eritrean Liberation Movement and because of the ongoing war with Ethiopia. Meb's father decided to flee. "He walked all the way"—60 miles—to Sudan, Meb says. Russom eventually made his way to Milan, Italy, where he worked to raise the money to bring his family out of East Africa.

On Oct. 21, 1987, a date that rolls off Meb's tongue, the family immigrated to San Diego as refugees with the help of the Red Cross and the sponsorship of Meb's half-sister, Ruth. "Dad used to wake up at 4 a.m. so we could learn English," Meb says. "He worked as a taxi driver and worked in restaurants to be able to feed the family."

Meb adds, "You start on the bottom, work hard, and your dreams will come true—and that's what happened. We have a very successful family because my parents always emphasized using the opportunity you have to the maximum: 'There are a lot of people that don't have this opportunity, so make sure you use it.' That stuck in our head."

They stressed school to their 11 children. "Sports was not in our blood or in our family," Meb says. "So it was 'Do what you can and work hard. Your teachers are your parents when you are at school. They want the best for you, so make sure you listen to them."

Meb's oldest brother, Fitsum, was the trailblazer. He started ninth grade not knowing a word of English. By the end of the year, he won the top academic prize. The Keflezighis still have the tiny trophy 22 years later.

That ethic was key to Meb's success. "When I started running for the first time—seventh grade—I wanted to get that A, just like my parents taught me."

Meb had never run in his native country and had no concept of running as a sport. But his family's San Diego apartment was down the road from Morley Field where the national Foot Locker high school championship is held. "When I saw them running, the high school champions, I was like 'What are these crazy people running for?' They're not chasing a soccer ball or anything else."

Meb's two older brothers decided to take up the sport, he says, and "I just followed in their footsteps." At 12, he ran his first mile. He clocked in at five minutes and 20 seconds—with no training. Dick Lord, the PE teacher at Roosevelt Junior High, called up the high school coach on the spot: "Hey, we got an Olympian here."

Ron Tabb, who ran the marathon in 2:09 in 1983, saw similar potential in the young runner. Meb recalls Mr. Tabb seeing him practice in 1992. "He said: 'You're going to be a great marathoner and make the Olympic team in 2000 and be a medalist in 2004,'" Meb remembers. "So a lot of people did read my future."

By his senior year in high school, he says, "I ended up being one of those crazy guys running in the national championships." From San Diego High School, he went off to UCLA. Bob Larsen, who has remained his coach until today, offered the straight-A state champion a full ride. There he became a four time NCAA champion. And in 1998, the year he graduated, he became a citizen. Meb traces his success back to those years. "It goes back to high school—you try to be the best high schooler there is, and then to be the best collegiate runner you can be." Unlike team sports, "with running, it's just you and what you decide to get out of it."

If Meb sounds old school, that's because he is. His message for young people is simple: "Life is precious. Do something that is optimistic—that is good for society. Don't sit on the couch." His heroes, other than the list of American long-distance runners he rattles off (Jim Ryun, Steve Prefontaine, Steve Scott, Eamonn Coghlan, Paul Tergat), are Jackie Robinson and his parents. About himself, he says: "My God-given talent was discovering when I could run 5:20. Not everyone can run 5:20 . . . I was definitely gifted, but I have to work hard."

His determined training has helped him defy people's expectations. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Meb was ranked 39th out of 101 runners. He walked away with the silver medal with high hopes for the Beijing Olympics.

The Olympic trials in 2007 brought no such victory. Not only did Meb not make the Beijing team—he finished eighth—he fractured his hip during the race. Then there was the terrible tragedy of Ryan Shay's death. The rising marathon star and Meb's close friend suffered a massive heart attack during the race. During this year's marathon, Meb crossed himself in the spot where Shay went down.

"The darkest part of my running career was last year," he says. "I could have easily hung it up." Was he tempted to retire, I ask? "Oh yea. I'm not going to say I wasn't. I couldn't walk—I was crawling like a 10-month-old baby," Meb says about his hip fracture.

Recovering from the injury took a year and a half of intensive therapy and "hard work." But "hard prayer" was also crucial for Meb, who, like his parents, is a deeply religious Christian. Though his training schedule doesn't always allow him to make it to church every Sunday, he makes time for prayer "every day before I go to sleep and every day before I get up." He also uses the 15 minutes he spends in the ice bath for reflection: "Every day in the ice bath is my God time," he says.

As he healed from his injury "I really got to know who my friends are—who's got my back." One of them is Bob Larsen, his coach for 18 years. "It's like a marriage," Meb says about their relationship. He's "a great mentor."

Meb lives and trains in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., a hub for distance runners because of the high altitude. Though the distance varies from day to day, there is no escaping the reality that marathon training is every day, approximately 130 miles a week. Sundays, Meb runs at least 20 miles, sometimes up to 27 or 28 miles. Thursday is a recovery day, "which means you run just 10 miles in the morning and then a few in the afternoon." Fridays are a "simulation of what the marathon will be like: He runs "race pace or faster anywhere from eight to 15 miles." He also bikes and lifts weights, though he has to be careful not to build up too much muscle. "For 26.2 miles, you want to be a lean, mean machine."

"During practice," he says, "probably 90% is physical and 10% is mental. When it comes to race day, it switches because you know your body is ready and then you have to use your head to be able to perform."

To pump him up for this year's race, Mr. Larsen encouraged Meb to pretend he was "going on a long run with his buddies. Relax for the first hour and get to work after that." Marathons, Meb says, "are about patience and even pace."

He followed that strategy on Nov. 1, sticking with the elite pack, even allowing himself to drift a few feet behind the front runner. The wind, he says, was the hardest part of the race. But Meb realized he was in a fantastic spot as he ran up Fifth Avenue. "With two miles to go, I knew I had it in the bank," he says. As he entered Central Park at 90th Street, he saw his opening and pulled ahead of four-time Boston Marathon champ Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya.

British marathon champion Paula Radcliffe has said that she sometimes counts her steps during marathons—300 steps in a mile. "I do not count my steps at all," says Meb. "I take in what the crowd is doing—screaming Go USA, or Go Meb! The crowd is always going to get you through the good and the bad." And the New York crowd, he says, is simply "the best that there is."

As Meb ran through the finish line to screaming crowds, he crossed himself and kissed the ground. Seeing his wife, Yordanos, put him over the edge.

"When she saw me—I can't put it into words," he says. "Here's a guy that couldn't walk, that couldn't turn in bed because of my hip fracture . . . so when we saw each other we just broke down in tears." Meb credits his wife, who is also a native of Eritrea, as critical to his ability to perform. "She is seven months pregnant, we have two kids, and I'm the one who's taking a nap. She's very unselfish. She's been a big part of this success." When he met her, right before the 2004 Olympic trials, "we just clicked about God and family and perseverance."

As he allows his body to recover—with ice baths, eating the right protein, and physical therapy—he is focused on his next races. The 2012 Olympics are a clear goal. Many are speculating that he might go for a win in Boston this April. "I really think I can do it. I've done it once and I finished third. Now I know the course and I'm healthy." How much time can he shave off? "The body can do amazing things. I still believe my best times are ahead of me."

Meanwhile, he's savoring his win. And next week, he'll be back to New York, this time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Meb will be riding with Miss America—on the Statue of Liberty float.

Pay day at the ‘House on the Hill’

by Mutwiri Mutuota

Kenya’s foremost residence State House Nairobi hosted another payday parade for sporting top performers drawn from various disciplines.

However, as highfliers at regional, continental and international events in recent time walked Sh10.390m richer from lush lawns of the ‘House on the Hill’ on Friday, journalists were turned away from the ceremony presided by President Kibaki.

The media were denied access for the first time since prize reward was launched.

State House officials asked journalists to leave claiming they had not been invited despite the Ministry of Sports requesting media outlets to send news crew for the function a day earlier.

Sporting nation

"I am greatly delighted to share in the joy and celebration of your success in various international sports events in the last few months.

"Indeed your exemplary performance at the Commonwealth Junior Games, regional Paralympics Games and the Deaflympics Games is another great chapter in Kenya’s history as a great sporting nation," President Kibaki told the gathered in his speech.

Nevertheless, woes of the Fourth Estate did not dampen the occasion for stars of World Youth Championships in Bresanonne, Italy and August Berlin World Championships who took the lion share of the prize kitty as athletics dominated the honours parade.

For topping the sixth World Youth event (six gold, seven silvers and a bronze) in July, Bresanonne medallists divided Sh3.12m among podium finishers with gold fetching Sh300,000, Sh200,000 for silver and Sh100,000 for bronze. Seven officials who accompanied the team were given Sh10,000 apiece.

Their senior counterparts for the 11th Worlds in Berlin that came third overall with four gold, five silver and two bronze medals split Sh2.65m among medallists and finalists as 13 technical officials shared Sh150,020.

Podium finishers took home the same amount as World Youth as finalists pocketed Sh10,000 each.

Africa junior

The Africa Junior Athletics Championships in Mauritius (July 30 to August 2) squad who were third (four gold, nine silver and five bronze) were awarded Sh150,000 for the top medal, Sh75,000 (silver) and Sh50,000 (bronze) as seven officials received Sh10,000 each for a total package of Sh1.71m.

Members of last month’s 21st Summer Deaflympics in Taipei that finished 15th overall with four gold, two silvers and a bronze were awarded Sh1.35m for medallists and a further Sh60,000 for six finalists.

Nike porn

It's Fukuoka time: Japanese shoe porn

Get your kicks: Mizuno Wave Universe 3

Not new but a hottie nonetheless...

Nick Arciniaga: "Just get into the park and you will be home free."

New York City, Novemeber 1, 2009, Queens, 10:56am – All I can hear is my steady breathing and Pat Tarpy’s footsteps. Its quiet up here, almost eerie. *beep* I hit the split on my watch at the 15 mile mark; 5:11, slow, but not bad considering we’re heading up the Queensboro Bridge. I can feel a strong crosswind pushing us from right to left. I’m not looking forward to this inevitable headwind heading up 1st Ave. into the Bronx. Doubt starts to creep in. My legs start to feel sluggish. I need to regroup. I look up ahead I can see Pete Gilmore just cresting the top of the bridge. –New Goal– Catch Gilmore as soon as possible.

11:06am – Now I can hardly hear myself think. People are everywhere. Gilmore and Tarpy are right with me. The crowds on each side of 1st Ave. are at least 3 people deep as far as I can see. Up ahead I can see little dots of red, orange, and blue. Those have to be the leaders. What place am I in right now? How many more am I going to be able to catch? *beep* 17 mile split, 5:00, going to have to pick it up if I want to get away from these guys. Maybe its too windy, I’ll just tuck in behind Tarpy and Gilmore for a minute, let them take a little bit of the wind.

11:16am – I’m all alone now, I can’t hear or feel anyone near me anymore it about time to start grinding it out to the finish. *beep* 5:06 for the 19th mile. I smile at myself. Just like in practice every time I take a fluid bottle I accelerate and pull away from Brian. Now I did the same thing, pulled away from those guys and passing Bolota at the same time. Bolota didn’t look too good. He started walking right at the fluid station. I’m glad I didn’t collide with him or anything. Time to get going.

11:36am – Pain. Excruciating pain. Why does this 23rd mile have so much uphill? Each block seems like forever. Focus on orange. Focus on Lehmkuhle’s Jersey. Bring him back to you. *beep* Mile 23, 5:04, still the toughest 3 miles to run. Just get into the park and you will be home free. I can hear Kevin. What is he saying? It sounds like German, I’ll try to decipher it later. It was something about 10 and 11. Is that what place I’m in? Or is that what the guys I can see about a minute ahead of me are? Almost to the top. Focus, Focus, Focus.

11:58am – Here it is! Finally, The Finish! I just passed Abdi, and I feel kinda bad snaking him with only a 1/4 mile to go. Was that Torres that just finished? I forgot that he was still up there. Doesn’t matter now, look at the clock! 2:13:40….41…42…43! Whoo! Finally I’m going to get out of the 2:16s! 2:13:46. And I’m done! Stumble a little ways past the finish line. A cloud has come over me and I am in a dream. Mary Wittenburg comes over to congratulate me. I see Jorge and Ryan with flag draped around them. I don’t get a flag….does that mean I’m 4th? Sam Grotewald says something to me and I throw my hands up! Whooo! What did he say? Something about a pr. That’s right. Now I hear that Meb won! All this information is just blowing my mind. I’m Ecstatic! We should do that again!

Nick posts on Flotrack

But there is more: Rock 'n' Roll series to expand with Half in L.A.

Baxter Holmes for LA Times

The Competitor Group, which owns the series of marathons held around the country, announced today that it will open a new half-marathon in L.A. Scheduled for Oct. 24, 2010, the run will replace the City of Angels Half Marathon, which has been held since 2006 on the first weekend in December. Peter Englehart, president and chief executive officer of the Competitor Group, said an agreement had been reached with the nonprofit group Grove of Hope to replace the City of Angels event, but he did not disclose the terms of the deal.

“We’ve been blessed with several other good markets on the West Coast, but L.A. was the missing piece to the puzzle,” Englehart said. “As we grow our company, it’s important to have a presence in L.A., so this was an opportunity we were looking for.”


Officials expect 15,000 to 20,000 runners to sign up for the inaugural 13.1-mile race. Englehart said there are no immediate plans for a full 26.2-mile marathon, but he sees the event as a warm-up to the L.A. Marathon, which is held in March.

Russ Pillar, president of the L.A. Marathon, which recently announced its new “Stadium to the Sea” route, said he welcomed the half marathon to L.A.

“We at the L.A. Marathon are excited about anything that improves the health and wellness of everyone in our great city,” Pillar said.

The Rock 'n' Roll series races are known for their entertaining routes, and the L.A. version will feature live bands, themed water stations and cheerleaders along the course. The series began in 1998 in San Diego, and there are now 14 events.

“They’ve found a niche,” said John Bingham, a columnist for Runner’s World magazine who will be an announcer at the race. “The idea of competing is not as important as the social experience, and I think they’ve captured that.”

The 2010 race will utilize the existing point-to-point course that takes runners from Griffith Park near the Los Angeles Zoo, along the L.A. River, down Sunset Boulevard, near the edge of Echo Park Lake and finishes at the Los Angeles Civic Center.

Meanwhile in Toronto: one Marathon better than two?

Bob Ramsay for TheStar

November marks the end of the season for Toronto's tens of thousands of runners and thousands of marathoners. But the debate over which of the city's two marathons should "win" has tipped this year from an unfriendly rivalry to a civic issue that must be solved quickly.

Why? Because Toronto motorists will no longer tolerate having their main roads tied up for one Sunday in September and another in October.

But there's a more important reason: having two small marathons instead of one big one squanders all kinds of economic and reputational opportunity for the city. So, because marathons take a year of planning to organize well, the time to solve Toronto's "two marathon" impasse is now.

The standoff is long and more like a siege – both races are deeply entrenched, each unable to grow and neither willing to give in.

In 1995, sports entrepreneur Jay Glassman started the Toronto International Marathon. Like all marathons, it was 42.2 kilometres. In 1990, Alan Brookes started the Toronto Half-Marathon (21.1 kilometres). It soon grew and in 2000 he decided to expand his half-marathon and start a full marathon as well.

Glassman's marathon is run in mid-October and Brookes' in late September. Over the years, both marathons have grown, largely because the sport itself has grown.

But not by much.

This year, Glassman's marathon had 1,899 finishers, while Brookes' had 2,846. While these numbers seem large, they're only big enough to put Toronto into the third tier of North American marathons. The Ottawa Marathon this year had 3,578 finishers and the Vancouver Marathon had 2,964 runners.

But even these numbers pale compared to the giant U.S. marathons that bring tens of millions of tourist dollars to their cities: Chicago attracted 33,475 finishers this year; Boston, 22,843; and New York, "the largest marathon in the world," drew 43,250 runners this month.

Because numbers are important to sponsors and participants who both like to take part in big, winning events, Toronto's organizers tend to shy away from their marathon numbers, focusing instead on "the weekend," i.e., the number of people who take part in their combined half-marathon, marathon and 5K races. Here, Brookes claims bragging rights to "about 20,000 participants," although the number of actual marathoners was much smaller.

But Toronto's marathons are also puny compared to much smaller cities. The Disneyworld Marathon in Orlando, Fla., drew 14,927 finishers; San Antonio, Texas, drew 7,623 last year; and Long Beach, Calif., drew 3,348 runners.

What sets all of these cities apart from Toronto is that they have just one marathon (or at least one signature marathon). So if one of Toronto's marathons withdrew and made way for the other, at least we could start on the long road to creating a world-calibre marathon. We'd annoy our motorists only half as much as we do now, and we'd attract many more visitors to the city. (For this year's New York City Marathon, you couldn't get a hotel room in Manhattan, and race organizers estimate the economic benefit to the city was $150 million – for just the weekend.)

But both Toronto marathons are for-profit and privately owned, and neither Brookes nor Glassman intends to give in. Each claims a different argument for not budging. Glassman was here first. Brookes has bigger corporate sponsorship and faster winners. Both have powerful allies at city hall. Both have been the subject of repeated attempts by sponsors and politicians to reach a compromise.

Then last month, the issue went public, sparked by angry complaints from Toronto motorists about road closures on two Sundays within three weeks. The Star reported that city council "asked the city manager to review the issue and work with organizers and sponsors in hopes of developing and promoting a single event."

One suggestion has been to have one race move to the spring. However, aside from attracting fewer runners in the spring (most runners train six months and more for a marathon, and few are inclined to start training in the dead of winter), this would not solve the "two marathons in one city" issue; both races would likely continue to grow only haltingly, each hobbled by the other.

The race organizers met in May with city officials who brought in a facilitator to get the two parties working toward a solution. Basically, the city's message was: "The door's open if you'd like to walk through it. But if you two can't figure it out, we're going to have to do something." Over the summer, there's been little more than radio silence between the two races.

So the city has asked its transportation staff (who issue the permits to close roads for races) to prepare a report for city council's transportation committee to be tabled in January. Council can then decide whether to keep the two fall marathons as they are, or to move one to the spring, or to allow only one of them to carry on.

Whatever the decision, everyone needs to move quickly if next year is going to be the first year in Toronto's renewal as a marathon city.

The city needs to stop thinking that getting one race to move to the spring and one to stay in the fall is going to solve anything in the long run. Also, it's much better to settle on the courthouse steps. So maybe the race organizers can come up with their own solution before the city decides for them.

I do know that once Toronto has one marathon everyone can get behind, that race has every chance of growing to be one of the biggest and most prestigious in North America. And with that growth will come more visitors, more economic benefits and more prestige – all running up to the 2015 Pan Am Games.

2010 run races in San Francisco

San Francisco hosts nearly a dozen organized marathons, half-marathons, triathlons and walk/run events per year. It's only logical - if one is going to pound the pavement for 26.2 miles, why not do it in one of the most beautiful cities on Earth? Runner's World magazine wrote, "San Francisco's big-bridge bookends, eclectic high-rise skyline, sailboat-filled bay, and sweeping Pacific Ocean backdrop make this city arguably the most stunning of all."

Many of San Francisco's running events also welcome walkers. San Francisco was named one the 10 Best Walking Cities in America in 2008 by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association

Typical of San Franciscans' generous nature, many of these events support worthwhile charities while providing a great workout for all involved.

The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has compiled a list of some of the Bay Area's largest annual running (plus biking, swimming and walking) events.

February

Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half-Marathon & 5K
Golden Gate Park
xnet.kp.org/
More than 10,000 runners raise funds for the Koret Family House, Support For Families With Disabilities, and others. Media contact: Kathy Henning, kathy@rhodyco.com

March

Emerald Across the Bay 12K
Sausalito to San Francisco - across the Golden Gate Bridge
www.rhodyco.com
Nearly 5,000 will run the 12K championship for the Pacific Association of USA's $4,500 prize money. The run benefits the Edgewood Center for Children & Families.

May

ING Bay to Breakers
The Embarcadero to the Great Highway.
www.ingbaytobreakers.com
Since 1912 tens of thousands of people have gathered in San Francisco to see the world's largest footrace unfold as more than 70,000 costume-clad runners and walkers push off at 8 am. Media contact: Eva Wong, ingbaytobreakers@edelman.com, 415-486-3235.

Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon
Marina Green, 424-653-1900
www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com
The 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz, 18-mile bike ride and eight-mile run through the Golden Gate National Recreation Area with a finish at Marina Green draws some 2,000 triathletes/relay teams annually. Media contact: DeeDee Taft/Shelbi Okumura, deedee@spinpr.com, 415-380-8390

July

San Francisco Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K Run/Walk
Ferry Building, The Embarcadero
www.runsfm.com
Enjoy the amazing city of San Francisco by taking part in one of the world's great marathons. The USAT&F Certified course is a "best of San Francisco" tour and includes a loop over the Golden Gate Bridge. Choose from running the marathon, half marathon, progressive marathon or 5K run/walk races. Media contact: press@RunSFM.com, 415-284-9653.

October

Glide Floss Bridge to Bridge 12K & 7K
Embarcadero to the Marina
www.bridgetobridge.com
Since 1972, 6,000 runners and walkers have enjoyed a route that Sports Illustrated dubbed "America's Most Beautiful." The run benefits the Northern California Special Olympics.

Nike Women's Marathon
Union Square to the Great Highway
inside.nike.com
The Nike Women's Marathon recognizes and awards the top three female runners to cross the finish line in both the full and half marathons. Media contact: 212-367-4447 or 503-671-4235.

November

Turkey Trail Trot
Golden Gate Park
www.turkeytrailtrot.com
This invigorating fun run or walk has become a popular Thanksgiving Day tradition.

Run Wild for a Child 5K & 10K
Golden Gate Park
www.rhodyco.com
During the end of November, 6,000 runners and walkers walk off Thanksgiving calories to benefit the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program.

The craziness spread: "13.1 Marathon" Fort Lauderdale

found on RunnersWeb

A perfect South Florida morning presided over the 13.1 Marathon Ft. Lauderdale November 15 and Pedro Gonzalez and Julie Mallon responded by shattering course records on their way to top finishes in the men's and women's divisions.

Gonzalez, a track coach at Coral Glades High School in Coral Springs , FL , crossed the finish line in 1:12:40 while Miami 's Mallon -- 10 months removed from giving birth -- finished in 1:21:12.

What started as a two-man race with Gonzalez and 2008 champion Cobi Morales lasted until mile eight where the 30-year-old Gonzalez surged ahead. "I heard him (Morales) struggling and he was breathing hard so I kicked," Gonzalez said.

Morales, still recovering from a dislocated shoulder after being hit by a taxi on a training run in September, finished in 1:13:55. The 35-year-old Bay Harbor resident also broke his year-old course record by a few seconds. Third place went to Jupiter's John Reback, 39, who finished in 1:16:30.

The 31-year-old Mallon lopped more than six minutes off the course record and was never challenged as Tami James, 35, of Davie, was a distant second in 1:27:52. Caterina Lancia, 44, of Miami was third in 1:32:23.

Mallon, who was running her third race since her daughter was born, was also the seventh overall participant to cross the finish line.

"It felt great to be out there and get my racing legs back under me," said Mallon, a former Stanford All-American. "It's been surprisingly easy to get back in shape."

The half marathon wound through downtown Fort Lauderdale and its signature Las Olas Boulevard before heading to AIA along the beach and finishing at picturesque South Beach Park . With temperatures at a comfortable 66 degrees at race time, 2,543 runners ranging in age from 13 to 81 years old participated, including several in a handicapped division. There were more female runners in the race (53%) than men and 35 states were represented.

The 13.1 Marathon Series is in its second year after its inaugural race a year ago in Ft. Lauderdale . Miami Beach , Chicago and Atlanta also held 13.1 events, and the series has now expanded to eight cities as Los Angeles , New York , Boston and Minneapolis will also stage 13.1 marathons over the next 11 months.

The 13.1 Fort Lauderdale is also a part of the nine-race Blue Cross Blue Shield Race Series, which includes the ING Miami Marathon coming up on January 31, 2010.

"This has turned out to be a really great event for the running community in South Florida," said Dave Scott, Race Director for US Road Sports & Entertainment of Florida . "The Fort Lauderdale setting provides a unique course that we know runners appreciate based on the growth in participation in the second year. Our post-race party had all the themes representative of the special community we live in -- the sun, the water, great weather, beach music. We had it all."

mzungo.org says: We like half marathons, we really do. But why call them 13.1 Marathon? It's the same craziness as with the 70.3 Marathon. Personally, I prefer 5k Marathons. They will be my main focus next year.

Kebede set to defend title at Fukuoka marathon

KYODO, FUKUOKA reports

Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede is set to defend his title at the Fukuoka International Marathon after being named among 10 invitees by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations on Thursday.

Additional Info on the Fukuoka International Marathon

Date : Sunday, December 6, 2009
Start time : 12:10 noon
Course : Fukuoka Asahi International Marathon Course sanctioned by JAAF.
42.195km
Organized by : Japan Association of Athletics Federations
The Asahi Shimbun
TV Asahi Corporation
Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
Permitted by : International Association of Athletics Federations
Supervised by : Fukuoka Amateur Athletic Association
Sponsored by : Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
Information : Awarding ceremony and farewell party are scheduled. The top 8 athletes will be awarded.

Entry Standard Records
[Group A]
1.Marathon: under 2 hours 27 minutes.
2.30km: under 1 hour 35 minutes.
3.Half Marathon: under 1 hour 7 minutes.

[Group B]
1.Marathon: under 2 hours 45 minutes

Fukuoka Marathon 2009: Invited Runners

Tsegaye Kebede (ETH)

2:05:20 2009 London
Evans Cheruiyot (KEN)

2:06:25 2008 Chicago
Dmytro Baranovsky (UKR)

2:07:15 2006 Fukuoka
Yonas Kifle (ERI)

2:07:34 2007 Amsterdam
Jon Brown (CAN)

2:09:31 2005 London
Tekeste Kebede (ETH)

2:09:49 2009 Boston
Oleg Kulkov (RUS)

2:10:13 2009 Zurich
Mekubo Mogusu (KEN)

debut 59:48 half marathon best

Japanese
Tsuyoshi Ogata

2:08:37 2003 Fukuoka
Tomoyuki Sato

2:09:43 2004 Tokyo

Pace maker
Yu Mitsuya (JPN)

1:29:55 (30Km)
Samson Ramadhani (TAN)

2:08:01 2003 London
John Kales (KEN)

1:00:47 (half) 2007

Other notable runners:
Harun Njoroge (KEN)

1:01:04 2008 Sapporo Half Marathon
Joseph Gitau (KEN)

1:01:19 2008 Sapporo Half Marathon
Dereje Tesfaye Gebrehiwot (ETH)

2:11:10 2006 Hamburg
Luis Feiteira (POR)

2:11:57 2009 Praha
Vitaliy Shafar (UKR)

2:12:07 2007 Eindhoven
Koji Ueoka (JPN)

2:15:03 2009 Tokyo

Thanks to K. Ken Nakamura

KEFLEZIGHI TO BE HONORED IN MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

By David Monti for Race Results Weekly

Move over, Kermit the Frog.

Next Thursday's 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City will not only feature the famous Sesame Street balloon of the precocious frog, but the first American to win the ING New York City Marathon in 27 years, Meb Keflezighi. The New York Road Runners announced today that Keflzighi will ride on the Stature of Liberty Float alongside 2009 Miss America, Katie Stam.

The parade, one of New York's great street parties which is sponsored by the department store bearing the same name, will be broadcast live on NBC television from 9:00 a.m. to noon in each time zone in the country (check local listings).

FINALLY - Olympics Committee hands Kiprop 1,500m medal

The Standard reports

Bahrain’s Olympic 1,500m champion, Rashid Ramzi, has been stripped of his gold medal for doping at the Beijing 2008 Games, a source within the Olympic movement said.

"Ramzi has been stripped of his gold medal," the source told Reuters.

Moroccan-born Ramzi’s positive test for the banned blood-booster Cera was announced in April after frozen samples from the Beijing Olympics were re-tested for that specific substance.

The athletes who finished in second, third and fourth place now stand to be upgraded, with the decision resting on the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Italy’s road race silver medallist Davide Rebellin was also stripped of his medal, the source said. Rebellin was ordered to return the silver by Italy’s Olympic Committee on Tuesday.
A total of six athletes had initially tested positive for doping after blood sample retests from Beijing were conducted months after the Games.

The athletes all had tested positive for Cera, the new generation of erythropoietin (EPO).

The IOC retested a total of 948 athletes’ samples, focusing mainly on endurance events in cycling, rowing, swimming and athletics.

Apart from Ramzi and Rebellin, German Stefan Schumacher, already banned for doping, was also confirmed positive as were Greece’s 2004 Athens Games 20km walk champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka and Croatian 800m runner Vanja Perisic.

Dominican Republic weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras initially tested positive but was cleared after her B sample came back negative.

Nine other athletes tested positive in tests conducted during the Games as well as six horses in the equestrian events.

Doping operation

The IOC conducted the largest ever doping operation with about 5,000 blood and urine tests during the Beijing Games.

Athletics Kenya (AK) general secretary, David Okeyo, welcomed the impending elevation of Asbel Kiprop to 1500m gold medal, adds Mutwiri Mutuota.

"We are yet to get communication, but we expect IOC to follow procedure and inform IAAF of the development. IAAF then will officially inform us as an affiliate," Okeyo told FeverPitch.

"Once this happens, we can arrange for a formal reception for Asbel. The news fills us with joy since we believe in fair competition and as AK, we are pleased with the news," the general secretary added.

Americans run off the recession in record numbers

By Carlos Haman

Obesity begone! Americans are lacing up athletic shoes and signing up to run in 5Ks, 10-milers and even marathons in record numbers.
In a country often lampooned as populated with obese soda-swilling TV junkies, some 9.2 million people completed a certified foot race in the United States in 2008, up from 3.7 million in 1987.
Of those, 425,000 completed a marathon -- 26.2 miles, or 42.2 kilometers -- and 715,000 ran a half-marathon, according to Running USA, a non-profit group that promotes running. That's up from 143,000 marathon runners in 1980.
The numbers are expected to be even higher this year, said Ryan Lamppa with Running USA. "There is still a pent-up demand for races in the country," Lamppa told AFP.
Marathons across the country are filling up so quickly that race organizers are adding half-marathons (13.1 miles, or 21 kilometers) along with shorter races on event day, Lamppa said.
Some 40,000 people ran the New York marathon in early November. In late October some 32,000 people ran the Marine Corps marathon in Washington DC, and some 45,000 ran earlier in Chicago.
In Atlanta, 55,000 people signed up for the November 26 marathon -- the bulk of the tickets sold online in seven hours -- and some 45,000 are expected at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend on January 10 in Florida.
Why the growth? Running is the cheapest, fastest way to lose weight, and along with walking, the easiest way to exercise.
But that's only part of the answer.
We live in a financially uncertain, violence-scarred world, and running "gives you something to control -- you can't control the stock market or the economy, but you can control your health," said Lamppa.
Michael Giordana, a sports sociologist at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, believes there are three aspects fueling the running boom: people inspired by the 2008 Olympics, increased social networking -- for example runners opening Facebook pages to collect money for charity -- and a reaction to what he called "the obesity epidemic."
According to the US Centers for Disease Control, about one-third of American adults are obese, while another third is overweight.
As more people run and enjoy the experience, good word-of-mouth attracts new runners. "The stories that come out motivate people to get off the couch and be more active," said Giordana.
Race days have also become city-wide carnivals, complete with live music, free food, street vendors, and crowds cheering on the athletes.
Big sponsors have jumped into the act. While schools and local stores focus on neighborhood 5K runs, marquee names like Bank of America, ING, McDonalds and Continental Airlines have sponsored major races this year.
Training is also widely available, Giordana said. Aside from scores of books on running, there are software programs and training programs held at health clubs, some catering to specific interests like religion or single runners looking for a partner.
Runner's World magazine, the sport's bible, held a virtual training program through its website that culminated in the November 14 Richmond, Virginia marathon.
Need in-person support? Bridget Bowers heads a training program run by Pacers, a northern Virginia running shoe chain store.
"It's a very social thing to do," said Bowers, who also coaches the American University cross-country team.
Training programs usually attract more women, especially ages 30 and above, than men, said Bowers. Women also tend to be more committed to the training, she said.
Women have been fueling the growth in the number of runners: while in 1987 21 percent of those running were women, by 2008 it was 50 percent. Looking at marathons alone, the numbers have jumped from 10 to 41 percent over the same period, according to Running USA.
With all the knowledge available "it has become more realistic -- women can do more marathons, and are good at it," said Bowers.
Running is also an especially democratic sport, as almost anyone, of any age, can participate with a small investment in running shoes and clothing. As more people run and enjoy the experience the sport "has reached mainstream America," said Lamppa.
But unlike the wiry racers of the 1980s, most of today's runners are interested in completing a marathon, not competing in it, Lamppa said.
Marathon winners usually clock in around the 2:20 mark, some runners aiming to just finish the race plod across the finishing line after six hours or more. Many races have buses that pick up the extra-slow runners, as keeping a road closed can be expensive.
Bowers has mixed feelings about the trend. "At that point you're not really running a marathon, you're walking it," she said.
But if people "are moving, that's great -- our country needs exercise," she said.

Exclusive Kara Goucher Interview

by Matt Fitzgerald for Competitor.com

Kara Goucher at the 2009 World Championship Marathon. Photo: PhotoRun.net
The American running superstar talks with Matt Fitzgerald about running by feel.
Kara Goucher is one of the most exciting personalities in American running today. The 31-year-old member of the Portland, Oregon-based Nike Oregon project has run the fastest half marathon in American history (1:06:57), won a World Championships bronze medal at 10,000 meters, in finished third in the New York and Boston marathons.
A few days before Goucher, who is married to fellow elite runner Adam Goucher, ran the World Marathon Championship in Berlin last summer, the Wall Street Journal published an article about her under the title, “Run More, Think Less.” It discussed Goucher and her coach Alberto Salazar’s “run by feel” approach to training and racing. Now, it so happens that I am currently writing a book entitled, RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel. So I thought it would be fun to interview Goucher on the topic of running by feel. And it was.

Matt Fitzgerald: How far in advance do you and Alberto Salazar plan your training, and in how much detail?
Kara Goucher: Honestly, I usually find out the night before that I’m having a track session and then I show up to the track session and I usually find out t

hen what the workout is. In my old situation, when I was training under coach [Mark] Wetmore, we had our workouts laid out about a month ahead of time. But now it’s done on the fly based on how I’m feeling and how I’m responding and things like that.

Does Alberto have more extensive plans that he keeps to himself until the last minute, or does he truly make it up as he goes along?
I think he has a few key, crucial workouts that need to be accomplished before you’re ready to go, but he doesn’t have a concrete day of when it needs to happen, or a specific pace that it has to be. I think he has a few workouts in his head that he thinks you need to do next, and then he waits a day and sees how you feel and then decides, “Okay, tomorrow we’re going to do a [particular] session.”
It’s not that he’s trying to keep it from me; he still doesn’t even really know which workout he’s going to give me until the next morning. And sometimes we’ll adjust it at that point as well based on how I’ve warmed up.

Are any of your workouts truly unscripted?
I do like to look at my mileage. If I’m trying to hit 105 [for a week], I like to make sure I hit 105 or 115 or whatever. But that’s just something I like to see by the end of the week. On a day-to-day basis, a lot of times I get out there and I’m just dragging, and I’ll say, “You know what? Today’s going to be a shorter day. But if I really feel like I need to get those 10 miles in, I might run eight-minute pace, which I think a lot of other elite runners would laugh at. But that’s just how I am; I really take my recovery days to recover.
Sometimes I feel great and a recovery day may be 6:30 pace, but other days it may be literally eight-minute pace.

How often do you modify planned workouts based on how your body feels right before, or even after, starting them?We’re definitely open to making adjustments. I would say that two-thirds of the time everything goes as planned. But as often as one out of every three workouts won’t go as planned. So a couple things will happen. Like when I was getting ready for Berlin I was supposed to do a set of eight by one mile and three-quarters of the way through the first one Alberto said, “Stop. Go jog six miles, take a good long nap, and jog another six miles. We’re going to try again tomorrow.” We just completely stopped it and I did it the next day and had great success.
Sometimes you’re getting close to race time so you need those days of rest on the other end of the workout [so pushing it back is not an option]. When I was getting ready for Boston I was doing a very similar workout—nine by one mile—and I really needed to get that in, but I was really struggling. [Nike Oregon Project coach] Jerry Schumacher was actually monitoring my workout that day, and what we started doing was, first we went down to 1200s to keep the pace, because it was important that I keep the pace. So first we went to 1200s, and then we even went down to 800s. But it was important that day that I ran a certain volume at a certain pace, so I just had to push through it, but we still made these little adjustments along the way so that I could still succeed in the workout even though I was having a tough day.
When it was all said and done, I did get the distance I needed at the pace I needed; it just wasn’t what we thought it was going to be at the beginning.

What feelings do you pay attention to in deciding on the appropriate workout to do on a given day? Is it mostly fatigue and soreness?A lot of it is fatigue—the way I’ll feel when I’m warming up. I don’t mind warming up slow, but there are times when I’m already struggling a little bit. I can get a lot of feedback from my warm-up drills—high knees and stuff like that. If I can’t be snappy at all doing high knees and butt kicks—if I’m just plodding, it’s probably not the best idea to try and do something hard.

Do you also pay attention to how your body responds to different types of training and use what you learn to customize your training to fit your needs?
Yeah, I actually train a bit differently than my training partners, just because of the fact that I am more of a workhorse. Some people need to feel fresh and rested. But I handle a heavier load better than some of my teammates. I wasn’t always like that, and it’s something that we have gone to more. I actually feel better after I come off sessions like nine by one mile or a 15-mile tempo run than I do after running quarters [i.e. 400m repeats] and stuff like that. Sure, maybe it’s not as hard physically, but I don’t come off of it well. I feel sore, I get beat up, I don’t feel good. I’d rather go hammer out the miles. So we’ve adjusted to that. And I think it indicates that, although I don’t feel I’ve proven it yet, the marathon is my best event.

Does your training in fact evolve as you learn more about your body, and as you develop as a runner?
It’s totally evolved. When I first got here I did kind of what the other guys were doing. Everything was quite a bit shorter: shorter tempo runs, a lot of 600m breakdowns, and stuff like that. There are still days when we do the same workouts, but it’s become a lot mo

re individualized. I tend to be out there a lot longer than everybody else.

Does your coach act as a check against your temptation to ignore your body’s warning signals?
Absolutely. To reach a certain level it takes a certain amount of hard-headedness. I’ve seen that with my husband as well. Sometimes he will look at me and say, “You should probably take the afternoon off.” And I’ll say, “Are you crazy? I have to get these five miles it!” But at the same time I can look at him and do the same thing. Both of us need that person who can look at us objectively.
Alberto wants me to train as hard as I can possibly train. But he knows there is that threshold [of overtraining]. But I just want to be good so bad, and I don’t ever want to feel that I am slacking, so I will keep hitting my head against the wall. So for me it’s essential that I have these people in Alberto and Adam that I trust to tell me, “No, you’re being crazy. You need to back off today.”

Do you also use emotions such as motivation, confidence, and enjoyment to guide your training decisions?
When I’m struggling physically, my confidence is going down. It’s all interrelated for me. When I’m feeling fatigued, then I start to doubt myself, then I start to struggle in workouts—it’s like this spiral effect. I think keeping track of your mood and your appetite—all these things are very important.
Your body is so amazing, the way it works. There are so many different areas to pull information from. It’s not just, “I couldn’t hit this pace today.” It’s also, “I’ve been feeling

kind of funky lately. My head’s been in the clouds.” Well, that’s probably an indication that you’re worn out.

What is the role of objective performance feedback in your training?
All those things are still very important. I can’t just say, “Oh, I felt tired, so I just skipped this chunk of training,” and then all of a sudden I look at my logbook and I only ran 80 miles a week for the last three weeks. You have to do a certain amount of work to compete with the best people in the world. So I think it’s more about little changes that you make throughout the week—maybe pushing a workout back a day or modifying a workout.
One of my goals leading into Berlin was to run 120 miles a week for three or four weeks. That was important, because even though I was tired a lot, that was that extra step that needed to happen. There is a dose of reality in everything. If you can’t do workouts that predict that you can run a certain time, then you’re probably not going to run that time. So those things do matter; it’s just a matter of being sane about it and letting them fall in when it’s appropriate.
Alberto is known for embracing innovations such as antigravity treadmills. But on the other hand, there are some very “old-school” elements of the way he trains his runners.

Does he have an overarching philosophy that encompasses both new and old ways of doing things? Is it just about doing what works whether it’s futuristic or ancient?
Yeah, that was one funny thing about that Wall Street Journal article. They said that we don’t have technology; we just throw it away. We were laughing about that because we have the Alter-G, we have everything. Whenever anything new comes along we get a bunch of them and we try it out. We are not opposed to technology, but we do believe the bottom line is that you have to work hard.
We have tried so many things, and we will continue to try things. It’s just the way we are. The bottom line is that 90 percent of it is running. It’s just old-school mileage and running hard. But there is that other part: the cooling vests and the Alter-G and all that. What if that gave you a half a percent? In a marathon, who knows?

The capacity to tolerate suffering is such a big part of running. How do you develop that capacity?
I think it’s important to just be honest about it. I think denial just sets you up to fail. It’s unrealistic to think, “Oh, well, I’m in such good shape and I’ve tapered, It’s going to feel awesome.” No, it’s not. It’s going to hurt. You have to accept, “Okay, it’s going to come.” The pain is going to set in. Then you’re more prepared. And then you think, “Well, what am I going to do when that happens?” You have to make a choice: is it worth it? I think it’s worth it.
Even if you’re running a PR, it’s going to be hard, because you’re pushing your body further than you ever have before. It’s just accepting that there are going to be those times when it hurts. I think it’s just important to be aware that those doubts are going to come and be ready to tell yourself, “No, I’m okay, I’ve been here before.” I’ll think back to all of the things that I have done in my training that have prepared me for this moment, and I look for all those small glimmers of hope that keep me going. “It hurts, but I am running a great pace.” “Maybe I am tired, but I still have control over my body.”

You work with a sports psychologist. Does that work include efforts to develop your mind-body connection?
That’s a big part of it: just being able to really listen to yourself. For me it’s about being able to focus on all the positive things. When I’m running a marathon or another race or even a hard training session and I’m hurting, I pick out all the good things. When you’re running, there are a million things telling you you can’t do it. Your foot hurts, it’s windy, someone else looks great. I try to find those few positive things that tell me I really can and focus on those. And it takes knowing yourself and knowing your body and being comfortable with that.
And of course it’s not as though you’re trying to fool yourself with happy talk. You’re looking for real, valid information that you can do it.
Yeah, right. You think back on workouts that you’ve really done, not workouts you hoped to have done. “I’ve been in this place before. Even though I’m tired, I still have good knee lift.” Little things like that, that are real and that you know about yourself.

Your main competition comes from East Africa, where a run-by-feel approach is predominant. Do you use their approach as an example to emulate in any way?
My favorite races are the big races with international fields, because they race purely on the way they’re feeling. Sure, there’s some strategy involved. It’s not like they’re running mindlessly. But for the most part they’re running by feel. I just enjoy that so much. It’s always important to do what works for you and to know what your strengths are, but I think that sometimes we obsess too much about running a certain time, or making a qualification or setting a record that it can hurt us.
But you know what’s really important? I would much rather win the Boston Marathon and run 2:32 or 2:33 than run 2:20 and be fifth. Sometimes it’s about the actual race, and competition. And I admire that about [the African runners]. Yes, sometimes [Tirunesh] Dibaba and [Meseret] Defar go after records, but in the championship races you don’t see them race like that. They’re racing strictly to win.
When I was in the Olympic final in the 5K, where we ran 15:40, they didn’t care, because it was about winning that medal. I really appreciate that, and I think that’s maybe why I’ve been able to do well in championship races—because I feel like I can appreciate that.

Luke Kibet Returns To A Hot Reception In Singagpore

Tracks and Field News reports

Singapore may be one of the world’s smallest countries, as evidenced by the ‘city-state’ designation, but the organisers of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon put on an event which bears comparison with the biggest on the planet. This year’s marathon on Sunday, December 6 also has an elite entry to match the numbers which make this the biggest event in Asia.

World champion 2007, Luke Kibet of Kenya returns to defend the title he won last year in record time, and he is joined by several illustrious compatriots. Vincent Kipsos, Evans Ruto and David Langat, along with Tanzanian neighbour John Saya have all run under 2.09; while John Kelai, winner in 2004, Leonard Mucheru, and Ethiopian Ashebier Demissie have gone sub-2.10.

The women’s race also features the best in-depth entry, with eight sub-2.30 marathoners, headed by Russian Lyubov Murgonova, with a best of 2.25.12.

Achieving those sorts of times, however is unlikely. One thing that Singapore will never be is a world record course, for despite being flat and scenic, with a long stretch beside the coast, the temperatures rarely drop below 24C, with high humidity. Hence Kibet’s course record last year, of 2.13.02, and his compatriot Salina Kosgei’s superlative women’s record from 2007, 2.31.55, over two minutes faster than next best, the 2.34.18 that her colleague Edith Masai ran to win last year.

Where the event does score highly is in it’s superb organisation, scenic course, taking in the East Coast Parkway, its superb food and open-air dining, and its exotic finish on the famous Padang, the park in front of City Hall, with its old-style ‘village’ church and cricket pavilion.

All of that attracted the limit of 50,000 entrants in the three events, marathon, ‘half’ and 10k, in a record six weeks, with over 80% of those numbers in the first fortnight of entries being opened.

Mikitenko joins star cast in Melbourne

Michelle Cook (organisers) for the IAAF

Germany’s Irina Mikitenko has been added to the stellar line up to contest the women’s division of 15km race around the streets of Melbourne on 29 November. The past two Olympic marathon champions – Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru (Beijing) and Italian Stefano Baldini (Athens) – had already been declared for the men’s field.

Both Mikitenko and Wanjiru were recently crowned World Marathon Majors champions in New York, after their sensational performances on the prestigious international marathon circuit.

Becoming the first non-African runner to win the World Marathon Major series in 2007/2008, Mikitenko stamped her dominance again this year, securing the title and the US$500,000 cheque.

Taking out the 2008 and 2009 London Marathons, the 37-year-old became the fourth fastest female marathon runner in history when she clocked 2:19:19 to win the Berlin Marathon in 2008.

Placing second at the 2009 Chicago Marathon last month, the former Kazakhstan athlete will arrive in Melbourne in top form, ready to battle Olympic bronze medallist Deena Kastor of the USA and Australia’s best including our No 1 distance runner Benita Willis (formerly Johnson), the 2004 world cross country champion.

“I will not be thinking of times but rather concentrating on a great competition with the other girls. I have great respect for both my competitors who have impressive achievements in running. It will be an exciting race,” said Mikitenko.

The Great Australian Run will mark Mikitenko’s second visit to our shores, her first being in Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games, where she finished fifth in the final of the 5000 metres.

“Out of my three Olympic Games, the best was the one in Sydney. I am looking forward to returning to Australia and hoping for a similar atmosphere at the Great Australian Run.”

THANKS - Ramzi stripped of Olympic title

BBC reports

Bahrain's Olympic 1500m champion Rashid Ramzi has been stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for doping at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Ramzi, who was his country's first Olympic champion, was one of five athletes who tested positive in April for new blood-booster Cera.
The 29-year-old faces a two-year ban but is expected to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kenya's Asbel Kipruto Kiprop, who came second, is set to be upgraded to gold.
Nicolas Willis of New Zealand could go from bronze to silver with France's fourth-place finisher Mehdi Baala getting the bronze.
Britain's double Olympic 1500m champion Sebastian Coe, who is chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee and an International Association of Athletics Federations vice president, praised the decision to strip Ramzi of his medal.
He said: "That was the right decision. Cheats cannot prosper in our sport and people will realise that sooner or later.
"Unfortunately, that was high profile and we can do without it, but it also shows the quality of our testing procedures now."
The IOC stores Olympic doping samples for eight years with the option of reanalyzing them once new testing methods are developed.
On Tuesday, Italy's Davide Rebellin had his Olympic cycling road race silver taken away after a positive dope test.
Three non-medal winners, German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, Croatian 800m runner Vanja Perisic and Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka also tested positive for Cera, an advanced version of endurance-enhancing hormone EPO, in retesting of Beijing samples.
A sixth athlete, women's weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras, was initially found positive in the retesting process, but she was cleared by the Dominican Olympic Committee after her B sample came back negative.
IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said Wednesday's decision shows the Olympic anti-doping effort is working.
"It is a very good message," he said. "We do have this type of possibility to go back and make use of the eight-year statute of limitation.
"This sends a very serious warning to people. Even though you may not be caught at the competition today you may be identified tomorrow. That is a deterrent, for sure."
The International Olympic Committee had already disqualified nine other athletes for doping at the Beijing Games, including Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska who was stripped of her silver medal, and North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su, who had his silver and bronze medals taken away.

Uganda: Security Tight at MTN Kampala Maratho

Norman Katende writes

THE Police Anti Terrorism Unit will be on guard against terrorism threats at the MTN Kampala International marathon on Sunday.

Over 17,000 runners are expected to converge at Kololo Airstrip where the marathon will start and end. The event will start with the full marathon at 6.30am.

Action will continue with the half marathon 30 minutes later while the 10km event is set for 7.15am.

Aggrey Kagonyera, the organising committee chairman, yesterday said they were not taking anything for granted by involving security agencies to boost the Police personnel.

"What is paramount in this marathon is security for everyone competing and their property," Kagonyera explained.

"We want to make sure that by the end of the day, no one is hurt as it is with other international events."

At the same time, Red Cross will provide 15 ambulances and manpower to be stationed a different points throughout the route for first aid.

The race will also be shown on giant screens to be mounted at various points.

Slow but steady wins the race

The Sydney Morning Herald reports

Craig Mottram didn't have to look far for inspiration when injury threatened his career.

One of Australia's most decorated distance runners has been sitting on the sidelines for almost a year, his career threatened by a serious Achilles injury. But as he prepares to make his return in the Chiba Ekiden relay in Japan next week, Mottram revealed that he drew on the perseverance of his brother, professional basketballer Neil, during a frustrating recovery.

''My brother had a serious injury when he was younger, before he played international basketball,'' Mottram told The Sun-Herald.

''He dislocated his knee. He landed and did a lot of damage to it, and had major reconstruction surgery on it over a number of years.

''He got back to playing international basketball. He's won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, he's played in Italy, he's won an [NBL] championship ring with the Melbourne Tigers.

''I don't need to look further than that to realise that it does happen, and you need to do what you have to to get through it.

''At the end of the day, if you are patient and focus on your goals, you can achieve them.''

The last international event Mottram competed in was the Beijing Olympics. By his admission, it was a disaster. The man African runners call ''Big Mazungo'' - big white man - was a big disappointment. He placed fifth in his heat and missed the finals.

Mottram has had a long time to reflect on the race. And he takes a long time to answer the following question: What have you learned from that experience?

After a long pause, the 29-year-old replies: ''I learned to bite my tongue.''

Another pause.

''It was disappointing. I don't know how to answer that question. I was disappointed with the way I ran.

''I didn't run up to my ability that I'd shown in my training and the races leading in. Tactics let me down.

''I went in with the wrong approach and I paid the price for it.''

That result ultimately led to a split with long-time coach Nic Bideau. It was not an amicable parting. Bideau reportedly claimed Mottram owed him $150,000 in a property deal, and the matter ended up in court. Mottram subsequently appointed a new coach, Chris Wardlaw. In praising his new mentor, Mottram appears to take a veiled swipe at his old one.

'''Rad' [Wardlaw] is good, he's playing a bit of a mentor role,'' Mottram says.

''Chris and I discuss a lot of the training that I'm doing. We get my ideas and his ideas and mix them all together and come out with what, I think, is the best thing for me.

''It's a good relationship and it's very different to what I was used to.''

So much for biting his tongue. This is, after all, from a runner who told a live American television audience, just moments after winning the prestigious Prefontaine Classic in 2007, that distance running was all about ''the size of your balls''. Having completed a bachelor of arts - majoring in public relations - Mottram is less prone to making ballsy predictions. However, he still has lofty goals.

''I haven't won a gold medal in a major championship yet. I've got a bronze [at the Helsinki World Champs in 2005] but I'm still to get a gold medal.

''First things first, the Commonwealth Games next year is the priority, as it is for all Australian track and field athletes.

''London 2012 is a long-term goal.''

Mottram says his injury-enforced lay-off has prolonged his career.

''When you miss a year in the middle of your career, it hopefully extends your career. That's the way I'm looking at it,'' he said.

''This will extend my career another one or two years down the track than it possibly would have been. I'm hopeful of having another five years of top-end international athletics in me.''

The Melburnian is a middle-distance specialist. He runs the 1500 metres, 5000m and the 10,000m races. However, he wants to switch to the marathon after the 2012 Games.

''The marathon, I'd like to try but later. After London,'' he says.

''I think every runner wants to run the marathon. I've never run it. But not for another three or four years.''

For now, however, the important goal is the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next year.

Mottram will take the first steps in his recovery at the Chiba Ekiden, a relatively low-key event. The aim is to regain the respect of the great African runners who marvelled at the pace of the 1.88m white man.

''I hope so. I've been out for 10 months. I haven't been out for five years,'' he says.

''Probably when I get back, there will be a new group of African athletes.

''I've seen a little bit of track and field this year but not much. I'll take the same approach that I've always had - when you race, you take them all on, it doesn't matter where they come from. It's irrelevant, really. If you're fit and ready, you should be able to compete.''

"what speed does paula radcliffe run 10k in"

There are couple of ways to enter this blog. Certainly the above google search request was leading one user from the UK to mzungo.org.

to get the answer short dude, it´s 30:21! Thats 3 minutes and 2 seconds per kilometer.

Meanwhile in heaven...

Warhurst on what's common in the best athletes

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

This is a piece from an interview we did a while back with Ron Warhurst that I thought would be good for people to think about going in to Championship Race season. The ability to race and be mentally ready to perform is an important piece to success, especially at the end of a season. People may be fatigued, more mentally than physically, but you have to trust your body and believe you can compete to the best of your ability. Michigan coach Ron Warhurst talks about this ability that is found in some of the most successful athletes.

Running Better, From Head to Toe

Head Tilt: How you hold your head is key to overall posture, which determines how efficiently you run. Let your gaze guide you. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Don't allow your chin to jut out.

Shoulders: Shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is critical to maintaining efficient running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don't let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain level and shouldn't dip from side to side with each stride.

Arms: Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms aren't just along for the ride. Your hands control the tension in your upper body, while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. Keep your hands in an unclenched fist, with your fingers lightly touching your palms. Imagine yourself trying to carry a potato chip in each hand without crushing it. Your arms should swing mostly forward and back, not across your body,between waist and lower-chest level. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. When you feel your fists clenching or your forearms tensing, drop your arms to your sides and shake them out for a few seconds to release the tension.

Torso: The position of your torso while running is affected by the position of your head and shoulders. With your head up and looking ahead and your shoulders low and loose, your torso and back naturally straighten to allow you to run in an efficient, upright position that promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. Many track coaches describe this ideal torso position as "running tall" and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. If you start to slouch during a run take a deep breath and feel yourself naturally straighten. As you exhale simply maintain that upright position.

Hips: Your hips are your center of gravity, so they're key to good running posture. The proper position of your torso while running helps to ensure your hips will also be in the ideal position. With your torso and back comfortably upright and straight, your hips naturally fall into proper alignment--pointing you straight ahead. If you allow your torso to hunch over or lean too far forward during a run, your pelvis will tilt forward as well, which can put pressure on your lower back and throw the rest of your lower body out of alignment. When trying to gauge the position of your hips, think of your pelvis as a bowl filled with marbles, then try not to spill the marbles by tilting the bowl.

Legs/Stride: While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

Ankles/Feet: To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly--landing between your heel and midfoot--then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is springy and quiet.

Mesquite Marathon receives Boston Marathon certification

The first annual Mesquite Marathon, scheduled to be run in three states Nov. 21, has been certified by the Boston Marathon to meet guidelines which enable participants to qualify for the legendary East Coast event each year.

The certification was announced recently by Mammoth Marathons organizer Cory Haddock of Centerville, Utah. Officials rode the course to make certain the layout covered the 26.2-mile route before granting the certification.

Runners from as far away as Kenya are expected to participate in the Mesquite Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K.

Among the competitors is Justin Nelson, who is the head of IT for Black Gaming in Mesquite.

“I have been running seriously for about three years,” said the 32 year-old Nelson. “There is nothing that a good run won’t cure. You never regret a run or a workout. I am definitely hooked. The sport clears your head and helps you focus and it helps me tackle the day.”

Nelson said his goal is to run 100 marathons. He has now run ten of them and the Mesquite Marathon definitely will provide its own set of challenges.

“I don’t know any other marathon that covers three states,” said Nelson, who is considered the hometown favorite. About 10 Mesquite residents are expected to compete.

Nelson, who is originally from Salt Lake City, likes living in Mesquite.

“I especially like the small-town atmosphere,” he said. “I love not having to fight the traffic when I’m running. Then, too, we’re actually close to quite a few good mountain trails here.”

Nelson said the event covering a tri-state region is especially interesting.

“I don’t know any other marathon that is run in three states,” Nelson added. “The layout definitely makes this unique, that’s for sure.”

The race route will begin near Beaver Dam, Arizona and start just over the Utah border before running along the Virgin River and making its way on U.S. 91 to Littlefield, Ariz. From there, the race will be concluded after following the frontage road to Mesquite.

Supported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the City of Mesquite and the CasaBlanca Resort Hotel, the event features an impressive payday for the top finishers.

Austria to bring in 10-year prison term for doping

By ERIC WILLEMSEN

Athletes in Austria caught doping could be charged with serious fraud and face prison terms of up to 10 years, according to an amendment to the national fraud act which is expected to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010.
Under Austria's current anti-doping laws, possessing and selling banned substances are already a criminal offence, but not the actual use of the drugs.

Austria sports minister Nobert Darabos and justice minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner on Monday announced the amendment, which awaits ratification by parliament later this year.

"There is no place for doping in Austrian sport anymore," Darabos said.

The legislation was introduced after a doping scandal rocked the Austrian biathlon and cross country teams at the 2006 Turin Olympics, and cyclist Bernhard Kohl admitted using an illegal blood-booster after finishing third in last year's Tour de France.

"Who dopes, cheats," Darabos said. "The athlete not only gains an illegal competitive advantage, he also earns bonuses, sponsor money and prize money."

Under the altered fraud law, an athlete who is found guilty of doping could face imprisonment of up to three years, or even up to 10 years if his illegal earnings have exceeded ⁈ ($69,000).

Bandion-Ortner added that "doping is no trivial offense. We have to protect the honest athletes against those who use illegal methods."

Austria toughened its anti-doping laws before the 2008 Beijing Games, making it a criminal offense to possess and sell banned substances. Manipulating blood or generic material also became a crime, with harsher penalties for those who help athletes dope.

The Austrian anti-doping agency welcomed the efforts of national politicians in the fight against illegal drugs.

"I appreciate these measures ... From now on, athletes will think twice before they dope," NADA chief Andreas Schwab said.

Kami Semick talks!

by Peter Gambaccini

Kami Semick, 43 of Bend, Oregon recently won the IAU World Trophy 50K in Gibraltar to go with the IAU World Cup 100K she won in June in Torhout, Belgium; she led the USA to the team gold in Belgium (The IAU is the International Association of Ultra Runners). Semick also became the 2009 USATF 50-Mile Trail champion at the White River 50 Mile in Crystal Mountain, Washington and the USATF 50K Trail champ at the Caumsett Park 50K on Long Island. She's won the Miwok 100K Trail race in Marin County, California four times. In 2008, she was the silver medalist in the IAU World Cup 100K in Tarquinia, Italy and set an American masters 100k record of 7:33:58. Her 2008 victories also included the North Face Endurance Championship 50 Mile in San Francisco, the S.O.B. 50K on trails in Ashland, Oregon, the Peterson Ridge Rumble 60K on trails in Sisters, Oregon, and the Silver State 50K on trails in Reno, Nevada. Semick, who has a seven-year-old daughter named Baronie, has been victorious in "conventional" marathons, too, in Portland in 2008 (in 2:45:24), Silicon Valley (San Jose) in 2007, and Seattle in 2004. Originally from Idaho, she was a cross-country All-American at the University of Alabama.

Quite a few times, we've heard top marathoners say "I could have gone two more miles," which would bring them up to 28. A lot of marathoners think they could handle a 50k. Is there really an appreciable difference between a marathon and a 50k, which is just over 31 miles?
Kami Semick: I think there is, and I definitely feel it when I'm running a 50k. In order to be successful at the 50k, you can't think "marathon." A lot of these courses are loops, like five 10k loops, and you really have to set that marathon distance aside, because that additional five miles can be torturous. And there seems to be something about going beyond those 26.2 miles that makes that extra amount out of you. It's more a five-mile effort once you've passed the marathon distance; that's what it feels like.

You ran the IAU 50K in Gibraltar, one fascinating place that most of us haven't visited. I can picture those little Barbary Apes running after you (they're popularly referred to as apes, but they are actually macacques). What was the race like there? It's not really a place with wide thoroughfares, is it?
KS: What was interesting was I arrived in Gibraltar couple of days before the race and attempted to go on some training runs. All of the athletes were stationed at a retreat center that was probably 500 feet in elevation above the port area. I would work down to the port area and then try and break into a stride, which proved to be impossible. The roads are so narrow. There are so many automobiles and motorcycles and mopeds, and no sidewalks, a ton of construction. And I thought "how in the world are they going to hold a successful 50k here? I just don't understand how they're going to find the space." All of the streets that are relatively flat are major thoroughfares, but then you get up onto the Rock itself, obviously you've got less traffic up there. But then you're climbing 500 feet at one go.

My fears turned into reality when, the night before the race, they had the technical meeting and went over the rules and the course. What we learned is that they had to change the course at the last minute because there was construction on the original course. And so instead of doing a 10k loop, it turned out to be a 4k out and back, and in a section of 4k I counted seven 90-degree turns, plus one run around a cone. And at the other end, instead of a cone, they expanded a circle to be ten-feet wide (radius), so we ran around that. So we were running through a shipping port, and so there were corners that were blind corners and you'd think "oh God, I hope the men (runners) aren't coming back, because I'm just going to be mowed down by these guys." You'd stop, you'd peer around the corner, see everything's clear, and then you'd go around the corner.

And we ran through three different tunnels, and each lap had three hills. One was a significant climb of about 150 feet in half of a kilometer. And there was an extra 2k (to go with the six out and back 4ks that made up 48k) which was straight downhill for 1k and back up the hill for another k. It was a brutal course. And in addition to that, I guess they were having unusually warm weather. We started at 2:30 in the afternoon, and it was 78 degrees and almost 90 percent humidity. So Gibraltar was an interesting choice for this kind of a race, because anytime you put together a World Championships or a World Trophy (for ultras), you're thinking "fast, flat course." And they advertised the course as flat and fast. and then we got to the out and back with significant hills. So it was an interesting experience. I don't know if those who chose to have this race in Gibraltar had visited Gibraltar before.

I ask because this is what Gibraltar is known for - did you have the little Barbary Apes watching you as you ran?
KS: I have a funny story about the apes. The apes are primarily towards the top of the Rock itself, and it's kind of a nature preserve up there. My husband and my daughter, who's seven, went with me, and we're driving through the nature preserve and there's a spot to stop and view the apes. So we stopped and looked at the apes and thought "boy, that's super cool, we got all these pictures." It's interesting to see they're just there and they're present and they're just doing their thing right there.

So we're getting back in the car and my husband's saying "boy, that's the closest we'll ever be to apes." And we start driving off, and there's an ape in a tree about 20 feet away. He ambushes our car. He jumps onto our windshield and then swings into the car. He's at least 40 pounds, and he sits on my husband's lap. My husband stops the car and is looking like a deer in the headlights. And so I'm thinking he's just going to throw the ape out the window, just get rid of the thing. I'm like "honey, what are you going to do?" And he's like "I'm not doing anything." So I said "well, I'm out of the here then." I got out and my daughter got out of the car. And then the ape proceeded to open our glove box. He took everything out; he was just looking for food. We had water bottles in the car. He opened one up and drank out of it. It wasn't Coca-Cola, so he threw it back down. He turned over my daughter's car seat and looked under it for food.

They really know the drill, don't they?
KS: They do. I was so surprised. He had planned. He knew that people stopped to watch the apes, and they rolled down their windows as they drove away, so it was the perfect ambush stop. But no, we didn't see any on the (50k) course, which was a pleasure.

Part of the IAU 100K you won in June was on cobblestones, wasn't it? That must have been rough on your feet by the end of it.
KS: What was the interesting about the race was that it started at 8:00 at night and it ran between two small towns. It's the longest night of the year, it's the night of Flanders, and it's just this huge party. They have bands and stages set up and people discoing all night long. You're running between the two towns. You run through one town and see all the craziness, and then you're out in the country for probably 8k and then through another town and see all the partying, and then complete your loop. But the hardest part of that race was that the course was dark. By midnight, it was pitch black. We didn't have any head lamps because we were told the course would be lit. They had these giant lights out in the middle of fields being run by generators, and the generators would burn out. You would have no light. For me, the hardest part was running by myself in the dark. That was just very mentally challenging because I had nobody around me and nobody really pushing me. And then I'd be out at 2:00 a.m. running through the pastureland. In the towns, even through it was winding with a lot of turns, and cobblestones, at least you'd get the energy from these parties. That were going on. And that was pretty cool.

Would it be accurate to refer to the IAU 50k and 100k you won as World Championships?
KS: The 100k is definitely the World Championship for ultra running. That's where every country makes an effort to send their best people. The 50k, they call it a World Trophy. I think there were only seven countries represented, maybe eight. I don't know. It's hard to say.

How much different is your training from a traditional marathoner racing 26. 2 miles?
KS: There are probably two main differences. One is the length of the long runs. My average long run is probably around four hours. And ultra runners - well, at least myself, I get a lot of my long training runs done through racing. They're called races, but for me, they're often training events. I don't think marathoners will jump into a marathon to train for a marathon, whereas I will jump into a marathon to train for a 50k, or I'll jump into a 50k to train for a 50-miler.

One thing we did read about you was how much yoga and cross-training you do and that that was done, among other things, to reduce normal recovery time to permit you to race as often as you do. Is that still the case?
KS: In the last couple of years, to be honest, I have lessened the amount that I cross-train and I run more, and I think that that has actually led to some performance increases. I do do a lot of cross-training from a strength perspective, like Pilates, but I don't do as much cardiovascular cross-training. I try and stick in the running realm and stay very specific to that.

Earlier on, you were a "traditional" runner of sorts who went to college and ran on the cross country team, right?
KS: I walked on to the Alabama team because I heard they only had five people and they needed six to run their races, or something like that. I was a sprinter in high school, and I just walked onto this cross country team and that's what introduced me to distance running.

How could did you get to be at Alabama?
KS: In our first cross country race - because I really hadn't run distances before - I finished dead last. And then I scored for the team in the national meet (NCAA Cross Country) and we finished sixth or seventh and I was top 20. And in the SEC (Southeastern Conference Championships), I was fourth in the 5000 in my senior year. I graduated in '89.

After graduating, didn't you get into some adventurous endeavors before a segue back into running? Weren't you doing mountaineering?
KS: Out of college, I did triathlons for awhile. I did pretty well in those. But I was more focused in the work world. I was working for a consulting company which is known for being brutal on its work force. Then I got into mountaineering after that and just loved it. But at the point that I started having a family, you can't be gone for three weeks when you have a two-year-old. Actually I WAS gone for three weeks when I had a two-year-old, and it was very difficult on my husband. I think a huge part of why I enjoy competing in ultras is that the family can come along. I think it's really important to stick together, especially with Baronie being as young as she is.

From our research, it seems like there are mental challenges to the sport of ultrarunning that appeal to you.
KS: I'm attracted to the sport because it does take you to the edge and you learn a lot about yourself when you're 40 miles into a race, you've got 22 more miles to go and you just feel terrible. One of the reasons why people stay in the sport, and why they get better, is because they're more able to handle the valleys that happen. I remember when I was in the World Cup (100K) last year in Italy, I felt just fabulous through 50 miles and then it was like I dropped off a cliff. I didn't know how I was going to take another step. I'd been there before in ultra races and I know that it is possible to survive it if you just kind of figure out what's going on, probably increase your calories, increase your electrolytes, increase everything, and just keep moving forward. Eventually, you'll come out of that really bad spell, or you'll cross the finish line.

You've been doing ultras for six or seven years. You mentioning doing more running and less cross-training now, but do you think that really accounts for your breakthroughs of the last couple of years? Or are you still maturing physically as an ultra runner still?
KS: I think so. And the other thing is that since college, I hadn't done any speedwork. As ultra runners, we kind of get into this mentality that it's all about quantity and not quality. I actually cut back on the quantity and I went from zero quality to two workouts a week of quality, and that's where I started to see big improvements in my speed and my leg turnover - things that I had in the past that I hadn't tapped into running ultras,

What would be an example of a quality workout?
KS: There are two different kinds of things I do, One is longer strength endurance things, more like tempo runs. My tempos are 40 to 60 minutes long, usually at marathon pace. The second thing I do is I get on the track and do anything from 10,000 to 12,000 meters of sub-marathon pace work. I mix it up quite a bit. Sometimes it's three-mile repeats, and the shortest distance I do are 800s.

One race you've done often and seem to enjoy is the Miwok 100K.
KS: That takes place outside of the San Francisco area in the Marin Headlands. It's Golden Gate National Park land. It's just phenomenal views and nice climbing. .

You're in the same hometown - Bend, Oregon - as Max King, who is now a national trail marathon champion. We used to know him for other kinds of running. He's made the U.S. Team at World Cross Country. Do you have anything to do with his conversion to trail running?
KS: Well, I think a lot of the running community here is definitely more trail-based, and there have been a lot of us working on Max to convert him over to trails. And he's so talented, he could do anything. Anything Max puts his mind to, he's going to be good at. I think that he's one of these guys who's just really attracted to the grueling aspect of the really long distance trail stuff, and I think he really wants to test himself on it. And we're all like "yeah, you'll do really, really well." I'm excited to see him more and more on the trail scene.

For those of us who are more familiar with Portland and Eugene and even Vancouver, Washington just over the Oregon border, can you explain if the topography of Bend makes it a perfect place for people who want to be trail runners?
KS: You know, I actually get that question quite a bit. And I always say I don't think it's the topography, I think it's the people. The people are just more interested in trails. To be honest, it's not really the greatest place to train for trail running because it's relatively flat. Eight months out of the year, the higher country is covered in snow, and that's the area where thew trail running is just spectacular, where you can have 3000-foot climbs and some crazy descents and more technical terrain. But during those eight months when you can't run in the high country, you're left with a relatively flat terrain unless you head out for about a 45-minute drive away and train out there, which is usually where I do most of my small-winter spring training.

And that high country you speak of is just on the edge of the town of Bend?
KS: It's 20 minutes from town. The base is about 6000 feet and then you can go up to 9000, peaking out at Mount Bachelor and then the three "Sisters," South Sister, Middle Sister, and North Sister. And of those three, South Sister is the most runnable. It's beautiful country. There's a break-up in the terrain. You can climb, you can descend. It's just fun to run up there.

Looking ahead, what are some of the goals for you in this sport?
KS: For 2010, I'm going to be focusing on Comrade's, the race down in South Africa. I'm doing that with a charitable aspect, through Starfish. We're trying to raise $50,000 for a community that's been impacted by AIDS. Generations of adults have been wiped out and left these children to care for themselves. So Comrade's is a big emphasis for me. And my true passion really is the trails, and they are starting a world championships for trail racing. I think the distance is going to somewhere between 40 and 60 miles. I'd like to do that - and then maybe Western States (the 100-miler in California) if that fits into my schedule. Even though I'm 43, I still feel like I've got a couple more years of solid improvement.

The long road back—Q&A with Meb Keflezighi

BY LANDON BRIGHT

After his New York City Marathon win, Meb Keflezighi was thrown into the spotlight again. The 34-year-old San Diego resident was the first American male to win the race in 27 years. But only a year ago he was a forgotten figure in distance running. The silver medal winner from the 2004 Olympic marathon finished a disappointing 8th in the 2007 Olympic marathon trials. Worse, he left the race with a stress fracture in his hip that cost him a year of his career. The race was also marked by the tragic death of close friend, Ryan Shay. SDNR talked to the San Diego High and UCLA grad and asked what life has been like since the NYC win and where he is going from here.

Did any aspects of your training change in preparation for NYC Marathon?

The training was great. Just to be able to focus on the marathon was new. Before, I perhaps did a 10k or so in early September, but for this one we decided to skip that and focus on the big goal in New York. I was healthy and it was consistent training. Without God’s work in my life I would not be able to walk or turn from one side of the bed to the other. To be able to say ‘I won the New York City Marathon’ is a miracle in itself. God gave me a second chance; it was a tough route back. Everything just clicked together on that day on Nov. 1.

How many miles a week were you doing?

The most I did was 136, which is the most ever for me. I peaked at 136, but I consistently did over 100 miles a week. I’ve hit 130 before, but I had more weeks of hitting that. I did probably four weeks of 130 to 136 miles leading up to New York.

What was the hardest workout you did for your NYC Marathon training?

It’s been good training. I did a 12-mile tempo at altitude in 59 minutes flat (4:55 mile pace). That was early, way before San Jose, but that’s probably the fastest I ever went. Running is not too big of a secret; you just have to be healthy and have consistent training and put everything together.

How much of your training was done in San Diego?

This year, I did a little bit less in San Diego. The summer was all in Mammoth Lakes. We wanted to experiment with staying longer at altitude and coming down last minute from altitude. In that past, I’ve come down 10 days before the marathon, I’ll stay in San Diego four or five days then travel to wherever I’m going. This time we went straight from Mammoth to Reno, which was a little bit of a shorter drive.


After your injury and the Olympic Trials, did the thought of retiring ever cross your mind?

The day of the Olympic trials was a very tragic and disappointing day for me, in terms of running and my good friend Ryan Shay. Yes, retirement was in my mind. Only because the way I finished. I was ready to win the trials and things were going really well. Unfortunately, the most tragic was losing a friend. For me not making the team, it was OK. I’ve been there, done that and I was a medalist. I was hoping to go back and get on the podium, which was my goal. But, I didn’t make it that far.

After the race, I wasn’t able to walk; I was crawling to restroom, which took me five or seven minutes to move 20 meters. I couldn’t put any weight on my legs. When my wife found me this way, she said ‘Hey, that’s not a good sign.’ I had my UCLA degree and could make something else happen. But she understood if I wanted to continue running, I needed to get medical attention and move forward. I knew from the previous workouts I could run a personal best and run well again, but it’s hard to admit it when you’re just crawling.


Did the death of your friend, Ryan Shay, change your perspective on running or affect your training in any way?

It gave me a new outlook on life. Running is just running. I love to run and would like to do it as long as I can. Unfortunately he didn’t get the chance to do that and was taken at a young age. The air we breathe in, we just take it for granted sometimes. It just gave me a different perspective on running and life in general. Obviously, he was fit and strong, but anything can happen.


With a mile to go in the race, what was going through your head?

I thought ‘even if I fall, I have still have enough energy to win.’ So, I was just counting my blessings and how I dreamed of this race. There was a lot of emotion about how I wasn’t able to walk and now this is happening. A lot of praises to God. I was at the bottom of the bottom a year-and-a-half ago and here I am winning the New York City Marathon. You dream it and visualize it, but to actually do it is a huge accomplishment for me, my family and the USA. For the other guys who finished really well, six out of the top 10 is a tremendous accomplishment for U.S. distance running. We are seeing a resurgence going on right now.

Was the push-up at the finish line spontaneous or did you have that planned?

You just let the emotion out. I was pointing the U.S. jersey out and had a lot excitement and pride. Whenever someone wins a race it’s really emotional. None of it was planned; you just let the emotion ride you. I just had tears of joy.

You’ve been with your coach Bob Larsen for awhile, what makes him a good coach?

We’ve been together for a really long time—15 years. He’s been like a father figure. I was 18 or 19 when he got a hold of me and we’ve been together ever since. He’s a great mentor. I’ve dealt with a lot of downside that last year-and-a-half and he’s been dealing with a lot of it with me. He’s also been bearing a lot. He sacrificed on his side to be able come to Mammoth. The final conclusion was that it was worth it for both of us; we take a lot of pride over what we do.

Tell me about the San Diego running community?

San Diego is a beautiful place to train and live year round. I got a very good welcome when I came back from the 2004 Olympics. Everyone has been very supportive and they have always believed in me. I grew up here since I was 12 and there have been a lot of people who encouraged me to be the best I could be and be the best athlete I could be.

You’ve received a lot of publicity since you won, were you expecting all this attention? What has it been like?

The attention I have gotten since winning the New York City marathon has been great. To be on Letterman was huge and it was a lot of fun. Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) was astonished with what I’ve done. He said ‘How could you do that? How do you have the energy to do that push-up? I just need to have your kind of stamina for 45 minutes.’ He was just excited for me as a lot of people have been. The attention has been great; I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and appearances. Right after I finished the race, they asked me to join the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and I’m happy I get to do that. It’s just a lot of fun. I’m going to represent the country as best as I can.

What are your future racing plans?

I probably won’t race until the Houston half marathon, and that’s just an idea. Probably Boston or London is what we are looking at marathon-wise. Right now, we’re just enjoying this ride for awhile and we’re happy to be in San Diego. A marathon in April is what we’re hoping for.

Will you give the 2012 Olympics a go?

Yes, 2012 is my goal and 2013 is also the World Championships, when I’ll be 37. Carlos Lopes won the 1984 Olympics (marathon) at the age of 37, so it can happen. I hope to be on the podium, that’s my ultimate goal. But first things first, I got to make the team. Just like 2008, a lot of things can happen.

What is your favorite run in San Diego?

I like the Rancho Sante Fe, there’s some good trails out there. But, it’s hard to beat Mission Bay Park running next to the water. Those are the two spots. But there are plenty of beautiful areas. I ran by the beach a lot when I was rehabbing in early January and February. I have lots of choices.

Sileshi Sihine talks after winning the 15k at Zevenheuvelenloop Nijmegen (Interview & race footage)

Interview with Tirunesh Dibaba after her WR in Nijmegen

Elite stars to grace Safaricom race

By CHRIS MUSUMBA

The third edition of the Safaricom Imenti South 10km road race has attracted top elites, including Hong Kong marathon champion Cyprian Kiogora, veteran Sally Barsosio, Emma Muthoni Kiruki and John Yego.

Joseph Kinyua, the Eastern branch Athletics Kenya chairman, said the race, whose objective is to discover and nurture talent, will be held on December 12.

It will start at Igoji and end at Nkubu Stadium in Meru. Kinyua said the race had attracted over 300 athletes with a special category for the elderly. Safaricom on Tuesday handed in a Sh500,000 cheque in support of the event, which has grown in leaps and bounds over years.

“Such local races provide a platform to develop our athletes,” said Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph in a speech read on his behalf by marketing and communications manager Chris Muthama.

Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi, in whose area the race will be held, came out in support and chipped in another Sh100,000 through his Kiraitu Murungi Foundation, which was launched a fortnight ago.

Chairman of the race organising committee, Eric Mutuerandu, said winners in both men’s and women’s categories will take home Sh40,000, first runners-up will pocket Sh20,000 while the finisher in third place will go home with Sh15,000. The prizes will trickle down to the 10th finisher.

The elderly will be paid in kind or given farm machinery and inputs that are relevant to their local situation.

Kimtai, 19, stars at Loroupe Peace Run

By Oscar Pilipili

A visitor to Kapenguria would be forgiven for developing cold feet over reports the presence of over 2,000 warriors was about to be felt in the mountainous town.

The fear would have been compounded by the presence of heavily armed military personnel, mainly from the Administration Police, who appeared ready to stop (sic) the warriors’ trek.

But the warriors were here to denounce cattle rustling and join the rest of the world, including US and Russia Ambassadors, in promoting peace that has been a major challenge.

The tool of peace was the annual Tegla Loroupe Peace Run, now seven years old. The purpose of the event is to promote peace among the Pokot and their neighbours from Uganda and Southern Sudan.

The meeting featured six categories — men and women warriors, elite men and women, boys and girls.

First to win

And when Kenneth Kimtai, 19, crossed the finish line first to win elite men’s 10km race he was excited his dream to be part of peacemakers has been accomplished.

"My win was a surprise since I had not prepared for the race. But all the same I’m happy to have participated in a peace promoting event," said the runner from Mount Elgon.

Elias Kemboi from Marakwet was second and followed by David Plimo from Central Pokot.

Chemtai Rionotukei, 23, won the elite women’s race followed by Ruth Chemsto and Roseline David.

"Tegla Loroupe Peace Run has helped to expose talent from this region that would have gone to waste," Rionotukei said.

Rionotukei proposed the venue be moved closer to the border to increase the number of runners from Uganda and Southern Sudan.

Tanzania: Government Vows to Support Kilimanjaro Marathon

allafrica reports

THE Government in Kilimanjaro region said it would continue to support the Kilimanjaro International Marathon, because of its importance as one of the region and country's main tourist attractions.

The promise was made by the Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner, Monica Mbega, during the launching of the Kilimanjaro region's version of the 2010 Kilimanjaro International Marathon held in Moshi Kilimanjaro region, over the weekend.


"For us in the region apart from making our region known worldwide, the annual event does promote and improve our regional economy and that of its people", she noted.

She said during the event which started in 2003, the region ahs been subject to many visitors form inside and outside the country who come to take part in the race.

"During the 2010 Kilimanjaro International Marathon which we are launching today, we are also expecting a wide range of participants and supporters of the event whereby we are hoping to have an increase of arrivals as well as room occupancy in our hotels compared to the past", she said, adding, the would improve the economy of the region.

Mbega hailed the main sponsors of the now famous international event whom she said include the Kilimanjaro premium lager and Vodacom limited.


"We understand that there are many others who have and continue to play big roles in making the event a success but the participation of Tanga cement, DT Dobie, New Africa hotel, Good Year tyres, KK security, Keys hotel and Kilimanjaro water has been outstanding as far as the success of this event is concerned", she added, whereby she also hailed the Tanzania Tourist Board for promoting the event worldwide.

The Regional Commissioner also commended the Moshi University College of Cooperative and Business Studies, the Police force in Kilimanjaro region, the Moshi municipal council, the Kilimanjaro marathon club and the Kilimanjaro regional athletic association for their role they have been playing in making the event a success.

Speaking during the launching, the Managing Director of the Executive Solutions which are the main coordinators of the event, Aggrey Marealle, said the launching of the event almost four months before schedule was meant to pave way for better preparations which would make it, (marathon), become successful.

He said since its inception almost seven years ago, the event has been attracting more participants every year.

"We started with 750 participants when the Kilimanjaro marathon was established in 2003 and the number rose to more than 4,000 this year, it is our hope the number will raise in the 2010 marathon we are launching today", he said.

Marealle cited the motives of the event as those of identifying new talents, promoting Mount Kilimanjaro which is Africa's highest peak and also promoting Tanzania to make it the main tourist destination

Blog Roll: Jason Pyles

Training Log 11/9-11/15 2009
Base Week 2
71miles on 8 runs in 7 days:

M: 8miles
T: 10miles (hilly)
W: 8miles (hilly)
T: 10miles
F: 8miles
S: 7miles/ 5miles
S: 15miles starting at SA track and running to Ridenour Lake with the group

Recap: Another step in getting back into shape. I have put on roughly 6 pounds since Columbus so this week was the end of the post marathon blues. Boston Build will slowly pick up, miles will quickly rise. I want to get back into high mileage and let the mileage do it's magic. This upcoming week miles will go up to 90 range and hill burst and stride workouts will come into the format. 22 weeks to go....

Strands: Updates daily like status, quotes, notes, and garmin uploaded training runs. Check it out: http://www.strands.com/RunPyles

Blog Roll - Nate Jenkins

As always thanks to Nate for sharing his training.

Monday AM rd. 20, hilly great pond loop, 2:07:29. Actually used a measured loop this week and it confirmed what I figured that I have been running a good bit under 7min pace for these runs, so my monday sessions have been longer than I noted them as the last month or so. total 20

PM road 5 shakeout with Melissa-who was pretty sick, found out the next day is was pneumonia. 45:32, skipped exercises for strength because achilles was like 95% and wanted to get it 100%. tot. 5

XT stretching, 100m walking lunge focus on glutes

Tuesday AM 1 mile warm up, 7:53, 18k basic aerobic paced tempo, 1:02:41(5:36 mile/3:29 per K pace)- around 6k loop. the 6k loop is a bit tougher then the 5k loop also it is 40m long, though over similar area, I stopped because I had to go to the bathroom, wanted to go 24K. splits 6k-21:01, 12k-41:48.2(20:47.3), 18K-1:02:41(20:53.6), 1 mile cool down, 7:08, tot. 13+

PM 41:08 easy to fields, about 5.5 miles, exercises for running technique 3×100y each with jog back rests-29:05, mile plus cool down 7:29 tot. 7++

XT stretching, exercises for running technique 3×100y each with jog back rests of springing, high knees, butt kicks, bounding, skipping with high knees. 100m lunge walk focus on glutes. Butts routine (3×15 each leg of prayer hammy, straight leg quad lift, abductor with apposing leg knee drive, mika butts, adductor with opposing knee up, 3×20 calf raises with stretching between sets, 35 straight leg core, 20 back crunches) sorry I don’t know the real names to all that stuff. the routine took 20:56- no rests-

Wednesday AM very hilly rattlesnake hill 9 mile loop- 58:56- again a measured loop confirming I have been underestimating my trail run lengths tot. 9

PM 40:05 easy around phillips and the sanctuary, then 10×50 second hills (roughly 250m) with jog down rests in sanctuary, then jog back to house bit under a mile 6:45- total running time-1:11:42- tot.9+

XT stretching, lunge walk for glutes, Butts routine(21mins)

Thursday AM 3+ warm up, 23:38, strides, 20min tempo on track, windy-bit worse then last week but not crazy- passing 4 miles in 19:49.8- splits- 1k-3:04.1, 2k-6:07.5(3:03.4), 3k-9:16.0(3:08.5), 4k-12:22.5(3:06.6), 5k-15:28.7(3:06.3), 6k-18:36.1(3:07.4). 3+ cool down, 22:39 tot. 11

PM rd.6 solo easy. No time, I forgot the watch. tot. 6

XT stretching, 50m lunge walk focusing on glutes in am, 100m lunge walk focusing on glutes in PM, mika warm up stuff

Friday AM 1 mile warm up-7:55, 26K basic aerobic pace tempo around 6k loop- 1:30:19- longest yet- 5:35 mile/3:28 per k pace. splits- 6k-21:08.3, 12k-41:53.0(20:44.8), 18k-1:02:42(20:49.9), 24k-1:23:20(20:38.1)- last 2k-6:58. Fighting to hold form last 2k other than that one bad patch at around 20 to 22k. 9:46 cool down, tot. 18++

Noon treatment and chiro adjustment from Mika

PM 40:00 easy to fields, 5.5ish, 10mins diagonals on football field- 16 sprints 15 jogs, bit over a mile back to the house, 8:46 tot.8++

XT stretching, mika warm up, 100m lunge walk focus on glutes, butts routine-see above- 22mins

Saturday AM 3 mile warm up, 22:20, 18k of 3′ hard 3′ recovery structured fartlek around phillips fields during a driving rain. 1:02:04 for 18k- 5:33 mile/3:28K pace, windy but that wasn’t the issue it was the mud. My legs were completely shot by the end of this and I was running almost 20 seconds per mile slower than last week around the same loop. My legs were so thrashed I thought I might fall on the cool down, which was 3 miles-22:38 tot. 17+

PM holt hill 5 solo easy 40:50- leg muscles still completely thrashed so I opted not to try the circuit for running technique. tot. 5

XT stretching

Sunday AM 30:37 warm up, 4×1200m hills with jog down rest, Legs very tired!, 4:11.2(5:04), 4:13.8(4:46), 4:09.2(4:49), 4:04.6(4:43), 12:11 cool down. Not as good as last week, but considering how shot my legs were I was pretty thrilled with it. tot. 12+

PM 5.5 or so with Melissa around and over on roads including all of the feaster 5 mile course- 45:09 tot. 5++

XT stretching, butts routine-24mins

Summary 145 miles, 6 workouts- 3 tempo runs 2 long, 1 short, 2 hill sessions- 1 long, 1 short, 1 fartlek/interval session- over 78 kilometers under 3:30 per K pace- that is more then 48 miles under 5:37 or so for the week. This was not a week of breakthroughs. But still the best week yet. The fartlek looks awful compared to last week, but I can’t tell you how much the mud killed me. I can tell you I was shocked to get those times on the hill today with how I felt after running in the mud yesterday. It was my second best hill session during this cycle and I was Hurting! (caps on purpose there) The 20min tempo was the best I have had and the the 26k was the longest session I have had and the first bad patch came much later than in the 25K I did early last week. Also with Melissa being this sick I can’t imagine my immune system has had an easy go this week to get its job done either.

Quote of the week “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” Atticus in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

2010 Boston Marathon Entrance Closes Earlier--11/13/2009 Why?

by Dane Rauschenberg

The title of this post should have a question mark at the end as I have not fully decided if there really is a need or not. However, one thing is certain: one must be quick on the registration trigger to be one of the 20,000+ runners traversing the storied road from Hopkinton to Boston.

When I first qualified for Boston in 2005, it was the middle of January. Hoping to get a slightly better time, I waited another until the middle of March when I lowered my time to a 3:07 at the Little Rock Marathon. I immediately came home and registered. However, even though that was just five weeks before Boston that year, I don't think I was the last one in.

That is not the case anymore.

In 2008, I was just about the last one registered as I waited for a career change and a move across the country to get settled in before I finally submitted my registration. As I was planning a Boston double that day (running the real marathon and then heading back out to the start to do it again with the race director, Dave McGillivray) I had a few things that needed to be planned in order to do so. That planning almost kept me from registering which chocked me as it was only near the beginning of February and I had almost missed my window. Fortunately, I had a wonderful day.

Not too many chaps make me look short. Thanks, Chris!

For this year's Boston, registration closed even earlier. Sometime in mid-January the gates closed and hundreds of runners who were shooting for a late January race as their final BQ were shut out.

Now, on November 13th, 2009, Boston closed its doors for the 2010 race, a full two months faster than it ever had before. What exactly is going on?

There is no doubting that the average times for marathon finishers has gotten decidedly slower in the past 20 years. In 1980 the average marathon time was about three and a half hours for men and about four hours for women. Today, the averages are 4:16 for men and 4:43 for women. This increase in the average time is obviously because so many more marathoners are simply out there running marathons. However, this rise in marathon runners (first timers and multiple marathoners) has been steadily increasing for over a decade. Why has Boston been filling up so fast in just the past four or five years?

Boston has always been a destination marathons. A goal race. When the numbers were getting too "large" a few decades ago, time limits were placed to try and stem the tide of runners. It had the opposite effect as runners now wanted to be part of an exclusive club and numbers soared.

Over time the qualifying standards have gotten a little softer to where they are now presently. So, have they gotten so soft that the race can close almost as soon as it opens when just a few years ago it took months and months to hit that plateau? If so, should the qualifying standards be changed? Should they reflect the changing times and be made more challenging?

A great deal of work and thought have gone into the current standards. Revisions have been proposed often and in many differing ways including age-graded tables created by the World Masters Association (WMA), which use world-record times and "age factors" to calculate "equivalent" times for all race distances for every age between 8 and 100. Regardless, it seems the time has come that something should be done.

If Boston is to remain the race that we all aspire to participate in as runners, shouldn't it be a little more difficult to get into then it currently is? Perhaps, after all the talk of the death of American long-distance running because of "walk-runners" and charity runners, Americans are once again getting faster. We have seen the rise of Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein (and to a lesser extent Brian Sell, which is in no way meant to put Sell down) who, while not having won any major races outright, have become good enough that they have to be entered into serious discussions as potential winners.

And maybe the rest of America is following suit. The numbers, especially the most recent ones involving the quick filling of the Boston marathon, seem to be pointing that way. If that is the case, why not make it just that much more difficult to make it to the place where it all starts?

The Big Sur Half Marathon: Blue Ribbon Course, Green Race

by Beth Pratt for the examiner

Runners in the seventh annual Big Sur Half Marathon yesterday enjoyed perfect weather while completing the course that follows the scenic coastline from Monterey to Asilomar. The spectacular ocean views, along with an eclectic mix of musical entertainment (Taiko drummers and bagpipes) at almost every mile, kept the spirits of runners high even in the final stretch. Almost 4,800 crossed the finish line in Monterey Bay Park, led by winner Stephen Muange from New Mexico.
Although the scenery of the Big Sur Half Marathon is a prime attraction for participants, the race has another distinction—an extensive greening program. Given the event’s location-one of the most pristine coastlines in the country-attention to environmentally sound practices is especially important in a race of this size in order to protect the surrounding natural resources.
The race organizers set a goal of diverting 50% of the waste from the event, and placed recycling and composting stations in a variety of locations that were staffed with volunteers to ensure compliance. Participants also received a first ever “virtual goody bag” via email (which eliminated the printing of thousands of physical bags) and over 98% of registration was completed online. For food service, all plates, cups and utensils were compostable, and nearby Earthbound Farm distributed organic fresh fruit at the finish line. Runners were also encouraged to utilize the BYOB (“Bring Your Own Bottle) option to reduce the use of paper cups at water stations.
The Big Sur International Marathon Committee is seeking certification for the half marathon from the Council for Responsible Sport with the assistance of Athletes for a Fit Planet.
For half marathoners, this event is one not to miss given the spectacular course scenery and the extensive greening efforts. Registration for the eight presentation of the race on November 14, 2010 opens on April 1, 2010.

Show me the money: Gulf states secure place on world stage

Kevin Eason for the Times

The room key they handed Robinho, Manchester City’s £32 million striker, as he checked into Abu Dhabi’s lavish Emirates Palace hotel probably summed up why he was there. Not so much a key as currency to move around the extraordinary seven-star hotel.

The key came in the form of a plastic replica of a gold coin that tripped the electronic door of the Brazilian’s palatial room, complete with 50-inch plasma television and gold taps in the bathroom.

Money doesn’t just talk in the Gulf, it opens doors. And the doors being pushed open by the most ambitious Gulf states, such as Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai, lead to the offices of the world’s biggest sports, who just love the colour of Arab money. Even footballers such as Robinho, with his diamond-studded earrings and mega-salary, and England’s footballers looked on in awe as they toured Qatar and Abu Dhabi last week.

Almost alone in a world shattered by a banking crisis, there is still plenty of cash in the Middle East and the leading Gulf nations want to spend it on sports events that will raise their profile and help wean their economies off the petrodollar. From digging for oil, they are digging for sporting gold.

A snapshot from the Gulf from the past few weeks underlines just how the region is influencing some of the world’s biggest sports. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the Formula One season played out on the world’s most opulent and expensive track, has been followed by a match between Robinho’s Manchester City — Abu Dhabi’s adopted home team since it was bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the dollar trillionaire — and a United Arab Emirates side. Then came England on Saturday night playing a friendly against Brazil — a dream fixture played out in the heat of Qatar’s Khalifa International Stadium, thanks to a £5 million match fee.

Sounds like sporting paradise? There is so much more: tennis, volleyball, the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai, a $250,000 (about £150,000) triathlon and more international cricket are on their way to the Gulf while next weekend, the finest golfers on the European Tour play for their biggest prize.

The title says it all: the winner of the European Tour is actually the winner of the Race to Dubai, the end of a yellow brick road of gold and a bonus pot of $7.5 million — with $1.5 million to the victor, who will be decided by the Dubai World Championship. For tiny countries the size of large cities, with no sporting heritage, the Gulf states punch way above their weight in the global sports market.

They paved the way in Britain with massive sponsorship deals, led by the Dubai-based Emirates Airline, which has its name over Arsenal’s stadium and shirts in a deal worth £100 million. The naming rights have been so successful that the airline has increased its sports’ sponsorship budget tenfold in a decade, putting its brand on motor racing and even the England sevens rugby union team. Golf has followed with Rory McIlroy, Europe’s most promising young golfer, sponsored by Dubai’s Jumeirah hotels and resorts group, while a succession of Gulf-based consortiums seem to have queued up to acquire Premier League clubs, culminating in the sale of Manchester City.

But those sponsorship deals and acquisitions are only a prologue. The leaders of the Gulf states are becoming more ambitious: Qatar will be in the running to host the 2022 World Cup, while Dubai is running the rule over bidding for the 2020 Olympic Games. They are bids that would once have been laughed out of boardrooms of Fifa and the IOC. Not now.

These key Gulf states not only want sport to transform their oil-based economies, they want it to affirm their status in the world. And when they want something they have the money to build it or buy it. “They see sport as a way of putting themselves on the map,” said Dr Sean Ennis, an expert in sports marketing who splits his time between Strathclyde University and the Middle East. “You cannot underestimate what they are doing. They are vastly wealthy and very determined. They want the hallmark events in sport to make a global impact.”

Dan Jones, head of the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said: “They have wealth but they also want national pride. As the oil runs out, they also need to find ways of changing their economies and tourism is one way to do that. Dubai led the way but the rest are following pretty quickly and events such as a Formula One race are seen as ways to attract people in.” The Gulf’s relationship with Formula One was tenuous, to say the least. Now it boasts two grands prix, in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, at a time when Britain is in danger of not having a race at all.

Inevitably, both states built showpiece tracks, with Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina reputed to have cost as much as £800 million. But more than that, companies from the Emirates are now shareholders in Formula One’s best teams: the Mubadala Development Company holds a 5 per cent stake in Ferrari, and Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holdings has 30 per cent of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren team.

Jenson Button’s world championship-winning Brawn GP squad could be next — with Abu Dhabi’s Aabar group rumoured to be ready to become a leading stakeholder. How long before a Formula One car is made in a Gulf state, particularly after the Williams team set up a centre in Qatar to pioneer new car technologies?

Football, though, is the obsession. But the question now is whether the leaders of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar have the patience as well as the money. “In their culture, the leadership is used to getting what it wants,” Ennis said. “If they buy something, they expect it to work and they often do not understand the nuances of the West, in particular. When they buy a football team like Manchester City, they feel they have spent the cash so the team should win, when we all know it isn’t that easy.

“They believe they can spend money and win an Olympics or a World Cup because they want to host these massive events to create a tourist industry, and they cannot understand why the world has doubts about their ability to stage these big set-piece occasions.”

But the leaders of these fabulously wealthy Gulf states know it is only a matter of time. Individually, a Middle East sheikh can buy a football club and splash £32 million on a Brazilian striker. Collectively, the Middle East states of Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have the biggest buying power in sport. And it shows.

Splashing the cash

£800 million Estimated cost of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Formula One circuit
£170m Transfer spending in 2009 by Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City
$60m Race fee paid by Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit to Bernie Ecclestone
$20m Tiger Woods paid to design his first golf course, The Tiger Woods Dubai
$1.25m Winner’s prize at golf’s Dubai World Championship next weekend
$6m Prize for the Dubai World Cup, world’s richest horse race
30 per cent Holding in McLaren team held by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat

Centres of excellence

Dubai

What’s on Dubai World Cup golf: the culmination of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai this weekend. Dubai Desert Classic: the Gulf’s $2.5 million (about £1.5million) golf tournament. Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens: 16 top teams watched by more than 130,000 people; also staged the World Cup Sevens. Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships: important tour event in February. Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup. Dubai World Cup: richest horse race meeting in the world, worth $10 million. Cricket: regular fixtures featuring countries from around the globe.

What’s big Dubai Sports City, the world’s biggest and most lavish sports destination with a 60,000-seat stadium, 25,000-seat cricket ground, 10,000-seat indoor arena and a 5,000-seat hockey stadium. The city has 70,000 inhabitants, while Dubai is also the headquarters of the International Cricket Council. Also has massive winter sports centre — so good they have mulled over bidding to host a Winter Olympics. The new Meydan racecourse, which hosts the Dubai World Cup in March, has a 1,000-metre long grandstand and has cost almost £1 billion.

What’s new Most ambitious and innovative nation in the Gulf wants to host an Olympics, with a bid likely for the 2020 Games.

Bahrain

What’s on Bahrain Grand Prix: first race in the Formula One calendar next year.

What’s big Bahrain International Circuit, the first Formula One circuit to host a grand prix in the Gulf and now the region’s busiest track, hosting dozens of races annually.

What’s new More motor racing. More conservative than its neighbours.

Qatar

What’s on England versus Brazil international friendly football, a money-spinning showcase for Qatar. Sony Ericsson WTA Championships: one of the biggest tournaments in women’s tennis. FIVB Club World Volleyball Championships: the biggest club tournament in the sport. Commercial Bank Qatar Masters: another lavish stop on golf’s European Tour. ExxonMobil Qatar Open Tennis Championships: the season opener for the men’s tour in January. The World Indoor Athletics Championships.

What’s big Aspire — Qatar’s dedicated sports academy with sophisticated training centres and stadiums. Has the world’s biggest indoor venue. Used as centre for the Asian Games in 2006, the biggest single sports event outside the Olympics with 13,000 athletes.

Seen by many as a rehearsal for an Olympics.

What’s new Big aspirations from a small country with Qatar bidding to host the 2022 World Cup.

Abu Dhabi

What’s on Manchester City versus the UAE national team: Abu Dhabi’s adopted Premier League outfit puts on a show for the locals. Abu Dhabi Golf Championship: season opener in January, won twice by Britain’s Paul Casey. International Powerboat Racing: Abu Dhabi is a leading centre for the Formula One racing of the sea. Abu Dhabi $250,000 International Triathlon. Capitala World Tennis Championships: six of the world’s top ten men compete for $250,000 prize next month; Andy Murray won last year’s tournament. Fifa Club World Cup: Barcelona head the list of international clubs next month. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Formula One on the most expensive track in history; won rights to host the season-finisher earlier this month.

What’s good The Yas Marina Formula One circuit. Estimates range between £250 million and more than £800 million for the construction of this jewel in Formula One’s crown. Set a benchmark for standards that will probably never be surpassed. Still produced a dull grand prix, though. Also has an international-standard ice rink.

What’s new Has got the Fifa Club World Cup and wants to host cricket World Cup matches. No word on anything grander.

PODCAST: Bob Babbitt takes on Mighty Meb

Fresh off his New York City Marathon victory, Meb Keflezighi came in studio to chat about coming to America at the age of 12, discovering running, his Olympic Silver in 2004, and the whirlwind his life has become since winning New York.

CLICK HERE

In Pictures: 2009 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & Half Marathon

Get more picture HERE. Thanks to competitor!

Kenyan Men, Russian Women Dominate Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

Dan Cruz for Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

29-year-old Gilbert Koech led a five-man Kenyan sweep of the second annual Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon today, notching his first marathon victory since the 2005 Las Vegas Marathon. In testing, humid conditions, Koech broke from the five-man lead pack shortly after the 19-mile mark, and was headed on his way to victory in a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 39 seconds.
The race began under overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, but humidity hovered at over 90 percent. Notwithstanding, American half-marathon winner Westly Keating and runner-up Shadrack Songok, both from Texas and running in their debut half-marathons, led the accompanying six marathon runners through a fast first 10 miles and reached the 10-mile mark in an aggressive time of 49:25, sub-2:10 marathon pace.
“I wasn’t concerned by the early pace because I felt comfortable,” said Koech, whose $17,500 first place prize equates to 1.26 million Kenyan schillings. “I’m looking forward to coming back next year to defend my title at this race.”
After reaching the 10.7-mile-mark where the half-marathon and marathon courses split off from one another, the six marathon runners increasingly slowed their pace reaching the half-marathon point in 1:05:39. The pack stayed together until just after the 19 miles when Koech made his move running a 4:56 2oth mile to gain an initial six second advantage over eventual third place finisher James Boit, which surprised his better credentialed compatriots.
He remained on course record pace through 25 miles, but he began to suffer the effects of the fast early miles and rising temperatures. It was a difficult second half as Koech ran a split of 69:00 with a 5:45 final mile, falling just three seconds shy of the course record. However, none of his challengers had the firepower to close the gap that Koech had built.
“I didn’t care about the time; winning was awesome. It’s been a struggle living in America with little money,” said Koech, whose injuries over the last two years had been misdiagnosed and eventually cost him his sponsorship contracts.
He is married to two-time Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Champion Edna Kiplagat, who was planning to run in San Antonio but was unable to due to visa difficulties.
Washington’s Drew Polley was the top American, coming in eighth with a time of 2:20:59 in his debut marathon.

Pushkareva also won the Country Music Marathon in April. Credit: Victah Sailor
In the women’s race, Tatiana Pushkareva of Russia won in a time of 2:30:30, over four minutes ahead of countrywoman Svetlana Ponomorenko, who finished second in 2:34:57. It was the second Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series victory of the year for Pushkareva, who also won the Country Music Marathon in April.
“After we hit the half marathon I was confident; I was running my pace,” said Pushkareva, who finished fourth last year in San Antonio. “I love the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.”
Polish Olympian Dorota Gruca finished third in 2:36:07, while Russia’s Albina Gallymova was fourth in 2:40:38. Kenya’s Evelyn Lagat rounded out the top five finishers with a time of 2:42:28.
“I felt I ran well today,” said Gruca, who represented Poland in the marathon at last year’s Beijing Olympics. “I’m looking forward to running faster in my next marathon. It was a little lonely with no one really in front or behind me during the race. Finishing on the podium was my goal and I achieved it.”
Becca Prichard of Charleston, SC was the top American woman, finishing in seventh place with a time of 2:52:51.
The race had nearly 26,500 starters from all 50 states and 23 countries. Temperatures were in the mid-60s at the start line, a stark contrast from the extreme cold that greeted runners in 2008, the event’s inaugural year. The first hour and 50 minutes of the race were held under cloudy skies, with the sun only coming as the elite winners crossed the finish.
The third annual Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & ½ Marathon is set for Sunday, November 14, 2010.

2009 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon Results

Men
Gilbert Koech, 29, Kenya, 2:14:39, $17,500
Laban Moiben, 26, Kenya, 2:15:21, $,8,000
James Boit, 30, Kenya, 2:15:43, $4,000
Joseph Mutinda, 31, Kenya, 2:16:00, $2,000
Noah Talam, 26, Kenya, 2:17:43, $1,500

Women
Tatiana Pushkareva, 24, Russia, 2:30:30, $17,500
Svetlana Ponomorenko, 40, Russia, 2:34:57, $,8,500
Dorota Gruca, 39, Poland, 2:36:07, $4,000
Albina Gallymova, 45, Russia, 2:40:38, $2,250
Evelyne Lagat, 29, Kenya, 2:42:28, $1,500

PRE Sevenhills Nijmegen: Tirunesh Dibaba

VIDEO: Tirunesh Dibaba smashes 15K World Record, husband Sileshi wins Men's race in Nijmegen, the Netherlands

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Back once again - Stefano Baldini

Simone Grassi for mzungo.org

Stefano Baldini is about to decide to give it another go with Marathon, to run the European Championship, next summer in Barcelona, Spain.

After retiring from Marathon to run only in shorter race, Baldini is thinking again about running a Marathon as professional.

"I miss the tension of a Marathon prepared at best. So it may be that I will come back to Marathon". After Benjin he reduced the distance, to train for shorter road races, but now he sais: "I discovered that I don't enjoy it ... so I'm going to make an important decision ... I will run a leg in the Chiba relay Marathon and then a classic 15km in Melbourne ... but the important event are two, once happened few days ago, one will be at the beginning of December. A set of tests to evaluate my condition, how the 180.000km I ran during my career affected my engine, a little bit like what happens with cars". So the results will help Baldini make a decision, it looks like the choices are two. The definitive retirement from running or the start of another season of training to "debut" again in Marathon, at the European Marathon Championship in Barcelona, next summer.

By the way all the italian fans, with the current lack of Marathon runner able to compete at the highest level, and due the incredible popularity of Stefano Baldini, all hope to see the man again racing on the Marathon next Summer.

ZEVENHEUVELENLOOP: World Record for Tirunesh Dibaba (46.28")

by Barbara Cemetery and Erik van Leeuwen (Pictures) for atletiek.nl

The article is translated using Google Translator

She earned her first road race once a world record: Tirunesh Dibaba in Nijmegen Sunday showed what she is worth. The double Olympic champion from Beijing (5000 and 10,000 meters) was to loud cheers in a time of 46.28 on the finish. She improved the world record in the 15 kilometer by almost a half minutes.

The frail Ethiopian wild Friday during the press conference is not to say much about a time faster than that of the Japanese Kayako Kukushi, 46.55. That time is officially in the books as the world. Meanwhile, the Kenyan Mary Jepkosgei Keitany have walked faster, at the World Half Marathon in Birmingham she came through in 46.51. But that time is not recognized by the IAAF, and therefore the time of Kukushi still officially the fastest.

Phenomenon

And now there is the phenomenon Dibaba, who 23 seconds from the time of Keitany afsnoept in her first serious race on the asphalt. She went smoothly, but not too hard, start. On 10 kilometer she came through in 31.23. "I was always near the world record schedule, but 10 kilometer, I realized that I actually went too slow," she says after laconically. "I wanted the last five kilometers to make up." And she did, the last five kilometers, mostly downhill, but she laid-off in 15.03 minutes. That last part gave her the quick record and associated bonus of 50,000 euros.

Trip

She enjoyed the race, the trail was challenging, but beautiful. She prepared herself and her husband Sileshi Sihine for the autumn race in Nijmegen. But how wonderful it was, its action on the road remains a preliminary trip. The next time Dibaba will still continue to focus on the track and cross, but in the distant future is certainly an option Wegatletiek.

The six fastest women in the 15 kilometer (all time):

1 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) - Nijmegen, November 15 2009 46.28

2 Mary Keitany Jepkosgei (KEN)-Birmingham, October 11, 2009 46.51

3 Kayoko Fukushi (JAP)-Marugame, February 5, 2006 46.55

4 Elana Meyer (RSA) Cape Town, November 2 1991 46.57

5 Mestewat Tufa (ETH), Nijmegen, November 16 2008 46.57

6 Lornah Kiplagat (NL)-Udine, October 14, 2007 46.59

Source: IAAF

Double celebration

It was double celebration in the house Dibaba / Sihine, Sileshi won the race for the men. Long time, from four kilometers, it already seemed certain, but from ten kilometers, he suddenly joined by his rival Nicholas Kiprono of Uganda. Side by side they fought through the hills Gelderland, the race until the test was decided in favor of Sihine (42.14).

Dutch

First Dutchman in the Seven Hills race was Patrick Stitzinger, relaxing things easy after the marathon of Amsterdam, where he recently made debut at the 42 kilometer. He came fresh on the finish line after 45.51 minutes (11th place). "Half of Egmond is now my first peak moment, until that time I walk in Montferland (15 km) and a cross in Brussels", he sure knows so much. Less clear is his plan for 2010. The 28-year-old athlete in doubt, in view of the European Championships in Barcelona, between the 10,000 meters and marathon. "I will in the coming weeks to think hard about a possible spring marathon. I will do soon and plans to start training. "

Personal Record

Ilse Pol went off smoothly from the start and gave all unsecured Merel de Knegt soon had it. Pol, in good shape, ran a half minutes off her personal best in the Nijmegen course (she was fourth in 51.14). They also think of Barcelona. "I want to qualify for the 10,000 meters. Then I one time under 32 minutes to walk. To achieve this I start two months training in Mexico in 2010 and then a run 10,000 meters in the U.S.. " The personal record of Pol state since June this year at 32.47.

Tailwind

After the game was the organization announced that it has teamed with tailwind, a company that invests in wind farms at sea. The organization, thus the first major event in itself that generates renewable energy to offset their own CO2 emissions, participates in an amount of 50,000 euros. The money comes from the supplement of the course participants pay if they opt to take the car to come to Nijmegen on the day of the race. Before they pay 5 euro entry fee more than runners who come by train. The sum of 50,000 euros in 2008 and 2009 (together with Marike Loop) together.

This year has had 30,000 runners registered for the 26th edition of the Seven Hills Run, which for the first time under the leadership of director Ronald Veerbeek organized. Henk Stevens, from whom he took over the baton, this year participant himself.

Report: Barbara Cemetery / Photography: Erik van Leeuwen

www.zevenheuvelenloop.nl

BREAKING NEWS: Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen

the IAAF reports from nijmegen

Tirunesh Dibaba broke the World record* for 15 kilometres at the Zevenheuvelenloop 15Km in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, today.

The 24-year-old Ethiopian, who is the reigning 5000m and 10,000m Olympic champion, clocked 46:29* to shatter the previous mark of 46:55 set by Kayoko Fukushi of Japan in 2006.

The Zevenheuvelenloop, or Seven Hills Run, is an IAAF Label Road Race.

Details to follow later from our correspondent in Nijmegen.

Marathon man: Fanselow wins inaugural Rim Rock Marathon

by ALLEN GEMAEHLICH for The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Bill Fanselow has a lot to celebrate.

The Golden man, who turns 43 today, was the first runner to cross the finish line Saturday in the inaugural Rim Rock Marathon over the Colorado National Monument. He finished the course in 2 hours, 43 minutes, 2 seconds, a pace of 6 minutes, 14 seconds per mile.

“The first 13 miles were no problem,” Fanselow said. “I’ve done many, many runs of that distance and felt fine. It was so cold and the footing was bad. The descent was a lot harder. It was cold and the legs weren’t absorbing the shock.

“I was hoping I would go faster. My goal was 2:35, but with the weather I guess that’s not bad.”

Fanselow won not only the men’s overall, but the men’s masters division (age 40-older) and took home a $100 cash prize for being the first runner to Cold Shivers Point and finish the race.

Rim Rock Run veteran and past winner Bernie Boettcher, 47, of Silt took second overall and in the masters division in 2:52:53.

The Rim Rock Run was 22.6 miles, but this year the race was extended to a full 26.2-mile marathon and drew 230 runners.

“That hurts,” Boettcher laughed. “I really like winning the masters at least. To come in second and not win the masters is frustrating. Hats off to Bill, he really earned it. The last three years, he’s beaten me in the shorter races. He’s come on strong. I’m proud of him.”

Fanselow and Boettcher have a friendly rivalry.

“(Boettcher) didn’t like it when I turned 40,” Fanselow said. “He has a lot of experience, but I beat him in the shorter races in Vail.”

Keri Nelson, a three-time Rim Rock Run champion, won the women’s overall title in 3:10:52.

The Gunnison 28-year-old was the sixth person to cross the finish line at James Robb Colorado River State Park.

“It was a great race,” Nelson said. “When I reached the entrance station (on the Fruita side) I wished it was the finish line, but the extra four miles is not that big of a deal when you run that many miles.”

Jane Tunnadine was the second woman to cross the finish line and first in the women’s masters division. The 42-year-old Rim Rock Run veteran from Gunnison finished in 3:28:17.

“I felt good,” Tunnadine said. “I sprained my ankle and took the summer off. I ran 15 miles a couple weeks ago. I felt fresh, almost too rested.”

She was one of eight runners over age 40 to finish in the top 20.

Fanselow was sidelined with Achilles’ tendinitis most of the summer.

“It worked out well,” Fanselow said. “Normally, I don’t race this late in the year.”

Fanselow usually runs 10-kilometer to 12-kilometer races in the mountains, but has never run a marathon, mostly because marathon courses are flat.

“That’s what I focused on,” he said. “You couldn’t get me to do a flat marathon. I love the ups and downs. I’ve been trying to qualify for the World Marathon Championships. I don’t have the leg speed for flat marathons. The mountain runs equalize the race. It’s about strength.”

Fanselow, didn’t get into running, or much exercise for that matter, until he was 23 years old.

“I was a loser in high school and college,” he said. “I was the partying type. I did a triathlon on a challenge by a friend and was hooked.”

He gave up triathlons and focused on bicycling. It wasn’t until 2003 when Fanselow concentrated solely on running.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I probably would prefer going entrance to entrance (of the Colorado National Monument).

“The last three miles was hard. I got in a rhythm on the downhill then it was flat and that was brutal. The last three miles seemed longer than the previous eight to 10 miles.”

Marathon Expected To 'Rock' Economy

Jozannah Quintanilla for KSAT 12

A powerful partnership that is attracting tens of thousands of runners to the Alamo City for second annual Rock 'n' Roll Marathon will be a major boost to the local economy.

"The town loves the Rock 'n' Roll and the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon loves this town, because of all that San Antonio has to offer," said marathon staffer and runner David Benjes.

Richard Perez, president of the Greater Chamber of Commerce said the marathon should provide a $40 million economic impact.

"This is an opportunity for us to tell our story and then they go back from where they come from and tell that story as well," Perez said.

Local businesses are ready to serve an anticipated big crowd of tourists.

"We plan on being slammed on Sunday," said Millard Stetler, owner of Good Time Charlie's restaurant. "We are absolutely fully staffed and fully stocked with favorites. We're ready to handle them."

Basweti wins second straight Richmond Marathon

Kenya's Jynocel Basweti won the Richmond Marathon for the second straight year Saturday, while Salome Kogsei took the women's race in her first marathon.

The 22-year-old Basweti, 22, finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 28 seconds.

The 29-year-old Kogsei, from Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., had a time of 2:40:51.

Abitova takes inaugural Yokohama Women’s Marathon

Ken Nakamura Assisted by Akihiro Onishi for the IAAF

Breaking away from the lead pack at the beginning of the third and final loop, Inga Abitova of Russia won the inaugural running of the Yokohama International Women’s Marathon.

Running in warm and windy conditions Abitova, the 2006 European champion in the 10,000m, won by more than a minute-and-a-half over Kiyoko Shimahara, 2009 Hokkaido Marathon Champion, in 2:27:18.

Shimahara, 2006 Asian Game’s Marathon silver medallist, was second with 2:28:51, while two-time Olympic silver medalist Catherine Ndereba was third with 2:29:13. Ndereba was followed by Italy’s Bruna Genovese, the 2004 Tokyo Women’s Marathon champion, in fourth and Miki Ohira in fifth. Ohira, who finished fourth in her last three marathons, was hoping to finish anything but fourth. The reigning Olympic champion Constantina Dita of Romania, who lost contact soon after the mid way point, finished a disappointing 11th in 2:36:06.

“First, I would like to thank the marathon organizer and fans along the course,” said Abitova, whose break from the pack came with 13 kilometres remaining. When asked what it was like to beat the Beijing Olympic gold and silver medallists, Abitova said, “To me, it was more like winning the inner battle against myself.”

Because of the advent of the Tokyo Marathon, the first big city marathon in Japan, the Tokyo International Women’s Marathon was held for the final time last year and the sponsors moved the race to Yokohama. The course in the inaugural marathon race in Yokohama consists mostly of three 13.18Km loops. It was the first multiple loop marathon race in Japan.

How the race unfolded:

The distinct lead pack of ten including all but one invited runner (Takami Ominami) has formed from the outset. In the early stages, Dita and Shimahara pushed the pace, while Ndereba trailed the field. The pace was not very fast, passing 5Km in 17:12 and 10Km in 34:35. However, while Dita, Shimahara, Genovese, Ohira, Zivile Balciunaite, Abitova, Robe Guta, Hiromi Ominami, and debutante Hiroko Miyauchi formed the lead pack, Ndereba ran 10-15m behind them. Around 17Km Ndereba caught up with the lead pack, only to fell behind again.

After passing the half marathon in 1:14:02, when Shimaraha started to push the pace, Dita was the first to fall behind. Soon thereafter, Miyauchi also fell off the pace. Later Shimahara explained the reason for taking the lead: “I didn’t want to run slow, so I decided to run at my own pace.” Shimahra continued to push the pace with forced Hiromi Ominami and then Balciunaite to fall back.

The real racing started when Abitova, sixth in the 2008 Olympic 10,000m, went into the lead with 13Km to go in the race. The pack stretched out almost immediately. Ndereba tried to cover the move by Abitova, and she was able to stay with Abitova for a while, however, by 32Km Ndereba was eight seconds behind. Ndereba was followed by Shimahara, Ohira and then Guta. Although, Abitova was extending her lead over the next pursuer, the position was changing behind her. Soon Genovese passed Guta to move into fifth. Five Km later Shimahara passed Ndereba. Ndereba tried to stay with Shimahara, however, she slowly fell behind. Genovese also passed Ohira to move into fourth.

“Abitova is in total control of the race. She is not running all out, and can go faster anytime if she needs to,” was how Masako Chiba, the 1997 World 10,000m and 2003 World marathon bronze medalist, described Abitova’s run for a radio broadcast.

With every stride Abitova extended her lead over Shimahara. By 40Km Abitova was a minute and 16 seconds ahead of Shimahara, which was extended to a minute and 33 seconds by the finish.

Weather (at the start): Sunny; temperature: 19.8C; humidity: 38%; wind: 3.1m/s South West
Results: JPN unless otherwise noted:
1. Inga Abitova (RUS) 2:27:18 (17:13,34:36,52:10,1:10:04,1:28:06,1:45:39,2:02:51,2:19:56)
2. Kiyoko Shimahara 2:28:51
3. Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 2:29:13
4. Bruna Genovese (ITA) 2:29:57
5. Miki Ohira 2:30:22
6. Robe Guta (ETH) 2:31:49
7. Zivile Balciunaite (LTU) 2:32:09
8. Hiroko Miyauchi 2:32:30
9. Hiromi Ominami 2:33:16
10. Naoko Tsuchiya 2:35:12
11. Constantina Dita (ROU) 2:36:06

Leader’s Splits:
5Km - 17:12 - Zivile Balciunaite
10Km - 34:34 - (17:22) - Miki Ohira
15Km - 52:09 - (17:34) - Kiyoko Shimahra
20Km - 1:10:03 - (17:54) - Miki Ohira
25Km - 1:28:05 - (18:02) - Kiyoko Shimahara
30Km - 1:45:39 - (17:34) - Inga Abitova
35Km - 2:02:51 - (17:12) - Inga Abitova
40Km - 2:19:56 - (17:05) - Inga Abitova
Finish - 2:27:18 - (7:22) - Inga Abitova

Former cross country star wins Lorupe Peace Run

JONATHAN KOMEN for the Daily Nation

World Cross Country Championships sensation Chemtai Rionotukei made a successful start in the cross country season as she won the seventh edition of Tecla Lorupe Kapenguria Peace Run women’s elites on Saturday.

Rionotukei thrilled the more than 3,000 people, among them Sports Minister Hellen Sambili, Ugandan Basic Education Minister Peter Lukoris, Administration Police Commandant Kinuthia Mbugua, two envoys and three local MPs.

Rionotukei, who was in the 2003 and 2004 national cross country teams, improved her sixth-finish at last year’s race strolling to victory in 34 minutes, 51.9 seconds beating Ruth Chemisto (Trans Nzoia) and Roselyne David of West Pokot who timed at 34:46.4 and 35:22.1 respectively.

“The race was challenging as usual. The men team pushed us into posting better times, which is quite okay in my campaigns to make the cut at the World Cross Country team next year,” said the 23 year-old Rionotukei.

Ugandans swept the podium-finish in warriors’ women’s 10km race, leaving the Kenyans to settle for the fifth place. The former warriors from the rustling-prone Bukwa village of Uganda were simply itching to testify that they had discarded the sordid business of cattle rustling as they dominated the 1-4 positions.

Barefoot

Caren Cheptoek, a mother of four and who ran barefoot, produced a storming run to victory stopping the clock at 41:23.17 ahead of Valentine Mukung (42:25.4) and Scofic Cheptang’an who returned second and third respectively. Ayen Marich of Uganda’s Karamoja came in fourth place in 44:31.3.

Francisca Cherotich, Dorcas Chesang and Viola Titika were the girls’ toast in the juniors’ races as Samson Kalamasaa, Samwel Chepoiywo and Haggai Krop topped in the boys’ junior category.

Kenneth Kimtai upstaged race veterans Elias Kemboi and David Plimo to win the men’s elite category in 31:63.52. Kemboi, a winner of the event in 2005 and 2007 editions, and David Plimo, who carried the 2003 and 2004 titles, finished returned second and third in 32:07.90 and 32;19.2 respectively.

“I believe the race will help us much in promoting peace in the area. Tecla has shown most of us an alternative of making money and I have always relayed the message to my friends who used to bank on the business of rustling,” said Kimtai, 24, who finished 14th at this year’s World Cross Country national trials.

Kenyan Ndereba eyes age record at 2012 Olympics

REUTERS

Beijing silver medallist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya has vowed to become the oldest Olympic marathon winner at the 2012 London Games.

The 37-year-old, who also won silver in Athens in 2004, is bidding for a 10th career marathon victory in Yokohama on Sunday.

Romania's Olympic champion Constantina Dita, who set the record for being the oldest marathon gold medallist at 38 in China last year, is also scheduled to run.

"Winning in London is my biggest target," double world champion Ndereba said.

"A 10th race victory here would be a nice milestone," added Ndereba, who will be 40 at the 2012 Olympics. "But everything is geared towards London."

JAPAN: The Best of the Year is Still to Come

Brett Larner for japanrunningnews

With the completion of the New York City Marathon earlier this month the worldwide road racing circuit has begun to wind down for the year. Everywhere, that is, except for Japan, where the best racing of the year still lies ahead.

November 15th features two major races in the greater Tokyo area, the Ageo City Half Marathon and the first edition of the Yokohama International Women's Marathon. The coaches of the 20 Tokyo-region university men's teams which have made January's Hakone Ekiden use Ageo as a selection race to pick which members of their squads will join the aces on their 10-man Hakone teams. The result is the deepest, most cutthroat half marathon in the world, with every man gunning strictly for himself and close to 200 men breaking 66 minutes each year. Yokohama replaces the now-defunct Tokyo International Women's Marathon and features the first certified loop course for an elite marathon in Japan. The organizers have brought aging Beijing Olympics medalists Constantina Dita and Catherine Ndereba in for the inaugural race, but the best competition may be between Russia's Inga Abitova and 2009 Hokkaido Marathon course record-setter Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC).

November 21 is the date of the 71st Biwako University Ekiden, the championship event for university men in western Japan who are outside the Tokyo-centric Kanto region and thus inelligible to run in the Hakone Ekiden. Daiichi Kogyo University, consistently the best non-Kanto school in the country thanks to its pair of Kenyans, will seek to defend last year's title. 2007 winner Ritsumeikan University, which beat Daiichi Kogyo at October's Izumo Ekiden, will be the main competition along with Kyoto Sangyo University.

November 22 sees the Kobe National Women's Half Marathon, one of the oldest and biggest all-women's half marathons in the world. This year's field is alarmingly second-tier and promises Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) an easy victory. 2009 Copenhagen Marathon winner Chihiro Tanaka (Team Daitsu) is scheduled to run just a week after racing the Yokohama International Women's Marathon.

November 23, a public holiday in Japan, is the date of the International Chiba Ekiden, the last of the economic bubble-era international ekidens. As in its last victory in 2007 Japan has lined up an incredible team of the very best in the country, including Olympians Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B), Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku), Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshoki), Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) and Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren). Details on which international teams will face the all-star Japanese squad have not been released as of this writing, but a Kenyan contingent has been confirmed and is rumored to include the great Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin). Also on November 23 is the Nagoya Half Marathon, won last year by Ngatuny in his half marathon debut. Details on this year's elite field have not yet been released. The tiny but competitve Fuchu Tamagawa Half Marathon also takes place on the 23rd. Komazawa University, the most consistently dominating team in Japan, sends its best runners to Fuchu each year rather than to Ageo.

The month rounds out with the third-tier Kawaguchiko Marathon on November 29. Long one of Japan's most popular amateur-level races, this marathon near the base of Mt. Fuji has only recently began to draw reasonably competitive athletes. 2001 World Championships marathoner Takayuki Nishida will run this year's Kawaguchiko in his first marathon since retiring from the professional world in March.

December kicks off with the famous Fukuoka International Marathon on the 6th. The last three years have seen the likes of world record holder Haile Gebrselassie and Beijing Olympics top four Samuel Wanjiru, Jaouad Gharib, Tsegaye Kebede and Deriba Merga toe the line along with three of Japan's all-time four fastest men, Toshinari Takaoka, Atsushi Fujita and Atsushi Sato. This year features the highly-anticipated marathon debut of Mekubo Mogusu, the former Yamanashi Gakuin University ekiden star who clocked three sub-hour half marathons as a student. The rest of the field has not yet been announced but it is a sure bet that organizers will be looking at World Championships medalists Abel Kirui and Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya at the very least. Japan's men have this last chance to add to the year's dismal haul of sub-2:10 performances. Also on December 6th, the Kumamoto Kosa 10-Mile Road Race, the world's most competitive 10-miler, features a deep field of pro Japanese runners tuning up for the New Year Ekiden national championships.

December 13th hosts the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships, a 6-stage, 42.195 km competition featuring every well-known Japanese woman fit enough to stand. The fading titan Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo lost its crown last year to the ascendant Team Toyota Jidoshoki, and after destroying Mitsui again last week at the East Japan Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships it looks likely that Toyota will be the best again this year.

The December 20th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon is the last elite marathon of the year. A second-tier race which typically features up-and-coming pros and first-timers, Hofu has at times seen very strong performances including its course record of 2:08:16 set in 2002 by Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia. In honor of its 40th anniversary Hofu this year will extend its field to allow amateurs up to four hours to run. The 20th also sees the National High School Boys' and Girls' Ekiden Championships, highly competitive and nationally-televised events. Last year's boys' winner Saku Chosei H.S., which covered the 7-stage, 42.195 km course in 2:02:18, lost over half its squad to graduation and will be hard-pressed to fend off rival Sendai Ikuei H.S. and others. The girls' race should be a three-way battle between last year's winner Toyokawa H.S. and 2nd and 3rd placers Kojokan H.S. and Ritsumeikan Uji H.S., both of whom finished within 12 seconds of Toyokawa last year.

December 23rd is the date of the National University Women's Invitational Ekiden Championships, a relatively young championship event in only its 7th edition. Ritsumeikan University has won all 6 national titles so far, but despite running better than ever earlier this season at the Morinomiyako Ekiden Ritsumeikan lost summarily to cross-town rival Bukkyo University. Bukkyo's attempt to break Ritsumeikan's dynasty could make this year's Nationals one of the best races of the season. Also on the 23rd is the Sanyo Women's Road Race, another elite women's half marathon which includes a competitive 10 km event.

Techinically falling in 2010, the 2009 season wraps up with two major men's ekidens. The New Year Ekiden takes place logically enough on January 1st. As the National Corporate Men's Ekiden Championships, the New Year Ekiden is one of the biggest events of the year with a 7-stage, 100 km course and all of the best Japanese and foreign corporate men in the country lining up. Last year's race featured a stunning 3-way sprint battle to the finish with Team Fujitsu unexpectedly coming out the winner. This year Team Nissin Shokuhin is set for the win with the addition of 27:38 10000 m runner Yuki Sato to its lineup.

Overshadowing the New Year Ekiden on January 2-3 is the Hakone Ekiden, the university men's championships for the Kanto region. Hakone is the heart and soul of Japanese distance running, one of the world's greatest races. It goes beyond being just a race and has become a cultural institution in Japan, with viewer ratings of over 30% for the two-day broadcast and millions lining the course of the epic 10-stage, 216.4 km event, a museum, two websites, several magazines, novels, commemorative beer cans, and, this fall, a mainstream movie about a school trying to make Hakone for the first time. More than the Olympics, more than the World Championships, more than winning a major marathon, Hakone is what Japan's young men dream about from the day they first lace on their shoes.

It's been argued in recent years that the Hakone Ekiden has thus become a major part of the problems with Japanese men's marathoning, but while such criticism may have some truth we're all better for Hakone's existence. It's one of the tragedies of our sport that Hakone has been all but invisible outside Japan, but 2009 was the first year the race could be readily viewed online overseas. Those who tuned in were treated to one of the greatest runnings in Hakone's 85 editions as first-year Ryuji Kashiwabara led Toyo University to its first-ever Hakone title with a record-setting run of towering inspiration on the nearly 1 km-climb uphill 5th stage. Toyo looks to be in position for a repeat win this year as it builds momentum over the last stretch of the season. If you've never seen the Hakone Ekiden you owe it to yourself to watch at least once.

Most of the races listed above will be broadcast live nationwide and available for viewing online internationally via Keyhole TV. JRN will be offering on-site coverage and live English commentary whenever possible. Check back frequently for more details on both broadcast times and live commentary.

Busienei Back to Running

UGANDA's road running star Wilson Busienei will break the over one-year absence from competition with an appearance at the MTN Kampala International marathon on November 22.

Busienei, who has been bogged down by a nagging knee injury, has confirmed participation in the 21km event of the marathon due to start and end at Kololo Airstrip.

A wheelchair competition will set in motion activities of the marathon on Sunday.

"Busienei confirmed that he is going to compete," Uganda Athletics Federation secretary Beatrice Ayikoru explained.

Martin Toroitch and the entire team that represented the country in the World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham about two months ago has also entered the annual race.

Busienei finished fourth in the World Road Championships in Hungary in 2006 and won a triple gold medal in the World Universidad in Turkey in 2005.

The runner is up against his old old rivals including Moses Aliwa.

Dibaba and Sihine lead the fields in Nijmegen

It’ll be a family affair at Sunday’s 26th running of the Fortis Zevenheuvelenloop 15-K on Sunday with the Ethiopian couple Tirunesh Dibaba and Sileshi Sihine leading their respective fields.

The course for the Zevenheuvelenloop, or seven hills run - an IAAF Label Road Race - in this eastern Dutch city is a proven fast one. Kenyan Felix Limo clocked the world record on the 15 kilometres for men here on 11 November 2001 with a time of 41:29.

For Dibaba, the reigning double Olympic champion in the 5000m and 10,000m, it will be her first road race and the 24-year-old has made a special preparation for this race. Dibaba has already had an impressive career with several World titles in the 5000m and 10,000m on the track as well as in Cross Country. She holds the World record in the 5000m with a time of 14:11.15.

Sihine, Dibaba's husband, knows the undulating course well. He’s won the event twice already, with victories in 2004 and 2007. In 2004 he came within nine seconds of Limo’s World record, a performance which still marks him as the ninth fastest over the distance. Sihine, 27, won Olympic silver in the 10,000m in both 2004 and 2008. After a recovery from an injury, Sihine too has been targeting his race as we looks for a third victory.

Sihine’s compatriot, Ayele Abshiro, will return to defend the title he won here last year. Abshiro, the World junior Cross Country champion this year, clocked 42:17 last year. He’ll celebrate his 19th birthday on 28 December.

Strong opponents for the Ethiopians include Ugandan national record holder in the Half Marathon Nicholas Kiprono and South African Sibusiso Nzima. The leading Dutch opponents are Greg van Hest, Sander Schutgens, Patrick Stitzinger and Marco Gielen, who always runs very well in this race.

Opposition for Dibaba will come from compatriot Bezunesh Bekele, 26, who won this event in 2007 in a still personal best of 47:36. Bekele won the Dubai Marathon in January this year in 2:24:02. The Ethiopian pair will also face formidable opposition from Kenyans Louise Kangogo and Agnes Kiprotich, who finished, respectively, third in the 20Km of Alphen aan den Rijn and fourth in the Parelloop 10Km in Brunssum.

Dutch honours will be defended by Merel de Knegt and Ilse Pol.

Wim van Hemert for the IAAF