One for ze Germans: Dieter Hogen interview

Larissa Kleinmann fuer Leichtathletik.de
Dieter Hogen erlangte als Trainer der mehrfachen Boston- und Berlin Marathon-Siegerin Uta Pippig in den Neunziger Jahren internationale Anerkennung. Er selbst wuchs als Mittelstreckentalent in der ehemaligen DDR heran, bis er im Alter von nur 20 Jahren aus gesundheitlichen Gründen den Leistungssport aufgeben musste. Seit Mitte der Neunziger trainiert der heute 57-Jährige Weltklasse-Läufer aus Afrika.

Herr Hogen, wie kamen Sie dazu Langstreckenläufer aus Afrika zu trainieren? Wer sind Ihre erfolgreichsten Schützlinge?

Dieter Hogen:
Ein befreundeter Manager brachte mich vor etwa 15 Jahren mit einigen seiner kenianischen Athleten in Verbindung. Seitdem trainiere ich vornehmlich Straßenläufer aus Kenia und auch Tansania. Bis vor wenigen Jahren hatte ich auch 5.000- und 10000 Meter-Läufer in meiner Trainingsgruppe, die allesamt unter 13 bzw. 27 Minuten liefen. Mittlerweile konzentriere ich meine Trainertätigkeit aber vollkommen auf den Marathon. Chicago- und London-Marathon-Sieger Evans Rutto, Boston-Marathon-Sieger Timothy Cherigat sowie Stephen Kiogora und Ben Maiyo gehören zu meinen bekanntesten Schützlingen.

Wie läuft die Betreuung Ihrer afrikanischen Läufer ab? Verbringen Sie viel Zeit in Kenia?

HIER GIBT'S DAS GANZE INTERVIEW

Wanjiru charged over threat to wife's life

By JAMES KARIUKI for Daily Nation
Olympic marathon gold medallist Samuel Wanjiru was on Thursday charged with threatening to kill his wife, Tereza Njeri, with an illegal firearm.

The marathon champion was also charged with threatening to kill their househelp, Nancy Njoki, and wounding a security guard, Mr William Masinde.

Wanjiru denied the charges in a Nyahururu court and was released on a bond of Sh300,000, with a similar surety.

He is said to have committed the offences on Wednesday at his Muthaiga Estate home in Nyahururu Town.

Prosecutor John Ruto told the court that the renowned athlete hit Mr Masinde with a rifle butt on the cheek and on the right hand. The court heard that investigations were complete and five witnesses would testify.

READ ON HERE

Blog Roll: Sage Canaday

by Sage Canaday on Flotrack
As runners we are minorities. As competitive athletes training together in order to actually race fast and/or improve our team we sometimes alienate ourselves from the masses that just can’t relate: “What! You’re already skinny and you run 10-20 miles a day?” “You aren’t just running to lose weight or ‘finish’ a marathon?” The average non-runner prods in disbelief. Facing opposition, our resistance to conform to the “average” sedentary lifestyle is an attribute that bands us together. We overcome our labels of being “crazy” and obsessive because at least we have each other to share in celebrating and promoting our sport! But this blog isn’t just about overcoming the simple challenges of convincing non-runners that what we do isn’t just a fruitless pastime; rather I wanted to write about how running builds character because it demands that one progresses and overcomes adversity that threatens to limit their competitive and personal goals (whether it be in running or in life or both). In the spirit of the holiday season, I also wanted to reflect on things that I am thankful for and usually take for granted.

READ ON HERE

Get your kicks: New Balance

Blog Roll: Jeff Hunt

"When I look back on 2010, overall, I see a successful year. It is a year that could have been much better, but it still wasn’t too bad. Through some ups and downs, I have learnt a few lessons that will put me in good stead for what 2011 will bring."
READ ON HERE at Runner's Tribe

Blog Roll: Craig Huffer

Hello Australia

I thought I would give everyone an update seeing though it’s been a while since Australia has seen or heard from me. Believe it or not I have turned into a grizzly... an Adams State Grizzly. Adams State College is in Alamosa, Colorado, USA. Most people are probably thinking like where, what, why would you go there? In this blog I will try and answer a few of the questions that I have been asked.

Australians have probably never heard of Adams State College yet in the American running community it is one of the most talked about running programs. Adams State indisputably is the most successful running collegiate program across all divisions. It has won over 50 national cross countries, indoor and outdoor national titles in the NAIA and NCAA Division 2. This is staggering considering it is only a small state liberal arts college in the middle of the San Luis Valley in south east Colorado. The program was founded by world famous coach, Dr. Joe Vigil who was later the coach of Deena Kastor (Current American Women’s Marathon Record Holder and Olympic Bronze Medalists) and Meb Keflezighi (Olympic Silver Marathon Medalist). Vigil also coached Pat Porter who attended Adams State College. Porter is arguably America’s best cross country runner winning 8 consecutive US cross country titles in the 80’s and five top 10 finishes in the World Cross Country with a best placing of 4th. Probably the most well known feat of ASC is the 1992 Men's cross country team that became the first and only team in collegiate cross country history to record a perfect score at the NCAA D2 National Championships.

READ ON HERE at Runner's Tribe

Sky racing 2011

The second European Skyrunning Championships will feature a SkyRace® in Switzerland and a Vertical Kilometer® in Spain with individual, combined and team titles at stake. ISF European member nations eligible for ranking are: Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Switzerland.

The first event on June 12 welcomes back an all-time favourite with top skyrunners, the Swiss International SkyRace®, site of the first European Championships in 2007 before the formation of the ISF in 2008.

© www.international-skyrace.org
The Puig Campana Vertical Kilometer® in Valencia will host the second European event on November 5 and the final for the combined individual and team titles.

Puig Campana Vertical KilometerThe European Skyrunning Championships, held every two years, were celebrated in 2009 in the Italian Dolomites at the Dolomites SkyRace® where the team gold medal went to Italy, the silver to Spain and Great Britain took the bronze.

Race details:
International SkyRace® – Poschiavo, Switzerland June 12
The fast, demanding 30 km International SkyRace® runs along an ancient smugglers’ route, starting in Lanzada, Val Malenco, Italy. The course ascends 1,850m to the Campagneda Pass at 2,627m, the highest point of the race, before descending to the charming town of Poschiavo in Switzerland. The men’s record stands at 2h46’24” and the women’s 3h33’19”. www.international-skyrace.org

Vertical Kilometer® del Puig Campana -Valencia, Spain, November 5
One thousand metres elevation gain over 3.650 km distance – that’s the explosive Vertical Kilometer® in Valencia, Spain. With inclines up to 35.5%, it represents a real challenge. The timed race section starts at 380m to the summit of the Puig Campana at 1,408m, although the full course which starts and finishes in Finestrat, is an 8.2 km loop with the descent at the runners’ own pace. www.puigcampana.com

It's hot down under: Mt. Maunganui uphill race

Kelly Exelby of BayOfPlentyTimes reports
"A year older, a year wiser" was the battle cry as Mt Maunganui's King and Queen of the Mountain threw up two new winners on Boxing Day.

For Galatea dairy farmer Sjors Corporaal the judicious consumption of food and beverage on Christmas Day paid dividends as he trumped four-time champion Iain MacDonald in the grind to the summit of Mauao, missing the race record by a solitary second.

Rookie women's winner, 19-year-old Coromandel athlete Ruby Muir, ditched the running shoes and took on the summit barefoot, downing defending champion Helen Rountree (Hamilton), who had been pushing for her fourth win in six years, by more than a minute.

A record 163 runners lined up in the Vitasport-sponsored race, which dates back to 1946, eclipsing the previous best of 154 in 2007.

They rolled down on to the soft sand start in all states of dress. Several runners sported plaster casts on broken limbs and many (males) were bare-chested, some with straw hats and others adorned with bandanas.

There were denim shorts, running shorts and board shorts, with a sprinkling of well-known faces among the crowd, although it was mostly weekend warriors.

All had paid $22.50 for the pleasure of shaking off the over-indulgence of the previous day and getting to the summit of Mauao, an altitude of 231m.

The event doubled as the Waikato-Bay of Plenty mountain race championship.

Corporaal, fresh from winning The Goat trail run at Tongariro, where he broke his own record by more than 3min, took the race more seriously this year after being beaten into second by MacDonald last Boxing Day.

"After winning The Goat I kept up the training and tried not to let festivities get in the way.

"I ate more sensibly and had a quieter Christmas than it has been in the past.

"It wasn't easy to leave the bloody beers alone but I'll celebrate with a few tonight!"

It was a family day out for Corporaal, with 10-year-old son Kaya second in the boys' under-12 junior race and daughter Alie fourth in the 12-15 years girls' event.

Corporaal, who will tackle his first marathon next year in Rotorua, sat back and let MacDonald win a year ago, but this year he attacked on the ascent and cleared out on the way back down, winning by 32sec, a second outside Angus Bell's 2007 record of 18min and 45sec.

"Sjors is an animal on the downhill, and once you give him that sort of head start to the top it's game over," MacDonald said.

Muir also attacked on the uphill, with the well-performed junior putting almost 1min into Rountree by the time they had returned to the start-finish line near Moturiki Island.

She trains barefoot when the terrain is suitable and is coming off a bumper tail season in which she took second in the Toi's Challenge and won The Goat.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to run this but saw my name in the paper being talked about as a possible contender so I felt obliged to turn up and have a go," she said.

Get your kicks: Nike Lunar Spider LT 2011 colorway

Blog Roll: Chris Chavez

By Chris Chavez for Bay Area Track Club

In October of this year I competed in the Chicago marathon. Chicago is one of the most competitive marathons in the world and I chose it as my first because of the deep field, incredible history, and fast course. I went to Chicago with the goal of running a 2:15 marathon and finishing in the top 20 in one of the world’s premier running races. I did not meet my goals in Chicago, and as I prepare to ramp up my training for a Spring marathon I believe it is important to properly reflect on what happened the first time out and what I learned in my first bout with the 26.2 mile distance. As always, many of the best lessons from distance running span much further than the roads.

READ ON HERE

Boilermaker will cap at 13,000

The Boilermaker Road Race just got a little smaller. Utica OD reports.

The 15-kilometer Boilermaker, the Mohawk Valley's signature athletic and social event, has imposed a cap on registrations, and will accept 13,000 entrants when it is run for the 34th time Sunday, July 10.
This year, the Boilermaker hit all-time highs in entrants, with 13,108, as well as finishers, with 11,525. But those numbers raised concerns among event officials about the quality of the race.

“I want people finishing this race to say, 'I just ran the best race in the country,' not necessarily the biggest 15K in the country,” Boilermaker Executive Director Tim Reed said.

Reed cited safety and a constrained starting line as the reasons for the move.

“The problems I hear about are the rather confining start and the inability to break through the pack,” Reed said. “I feel if registration is left unchecked, we could have more than 14,000 runners.”

The Boilermaker also will cap its 5-kilometer run, which is being restructured as a race with a slightly earlier start, at 4,000. It drew 2,991 entrants last year, but will continue to allow an unlimited entry for its walk that is conducted the day before the big race.

The Boilermaker has limited the number of entrants in the past. In 2003, for example, there was a cap of 10,000, although 386 additional registrations were accepted.

READ ON HERE

Blog Roll - Justin Marcus

Misunderstanding Quitting

In a recently written article in the Sacramento Bee, Gina Kim writes: “…recreational runners are different. They’ve pulled on their shoes, donned anti-chafing balm and pounded on road after road over and over again for months, carving out time away from work, family and friends. Quitting is simply not an option.”

The article is heralding the statistic that the majority of runners in the Cal International Marathon (or any marathon) who drop out or quit are elite runners. For the masses of non-professional runners, quitting is not an option. These masses of non-professional runners have sacrificed, they have pounded the road for months! It is the elite runner, according to Mrs. Kim, that quits. The non-professional, family sacrificing, anti-chafing balm wearing, road pounding non-professional runner has no capacity for quitting – they have dedicated and sacrificed too much!

Complete and utter nonsense.

What Mrs. Kim fails to acknowledge is the fundamental difference between the elite, professional and non-professional, recreational runner. The latter doesn’t depend or rely on their performance to eat, to pay rent, to travel to their next competition. The difference is that if an elite runner pulls out of a race midway, they have a damn good reason for doing so. They’re either hurt, or they’re concerned for their next race. It may not be understood that if a professional marathoner records a poor time, they may not be invited to their next race. A lot rides on their performances. Running is not just about being “tough”. It’s about being professional. It’s not an opportunity to wear a “I finished medal” or having bragging rights over your co-workers.

The idea that professional runners don’t make sacrifices similar to the non-professional is abundantly absurd. The entire life of a professional runner is dedicated to running! It’s not a hobby or weekend getaway. It’s not a chance to get fresh air and clear their minds. It’s not an opportunity to meet up with friends or family or raise money for a local charity (though, that’s an option!). It’s two runs a day. Every day. It’s careful control of your diet. It’s no partying on weekends. It’s no late nights. It’s constantly focusing on how to be a better runner – day in and day out. It’s sacrifice and commitment through all aspects of life, down to naps in the afternoon to 30 intervals on the track in sub-freezing temperatures.

Finally, when an elite “quits”, it brings into question their entire professional/non-professional structure. It forces a total reexamination of their training, which is their life. If a non-professional quits, they still go back to their professional careers – financially unaffected. A lot more is on the line for the elite – their entire livelihood.

Mrs. Kim should learn the difference before writing an article with the headline: “Elite Runners More Likely to Quit”.

IAAF Re-View

VIA iaaf.org

By the end of December, 124 athletes covered the distance in under 2:10. In 2009 there were 103 runners under that barrier, 86 in 2008 and only 70 in 2007, so the growth in the event has been phenomenal lately. One fair point in this event is that thanks for this rise in the standard goes to two countries. In 2010 the top 18 in this event come only from Kenya (10) and Ethiopia (8). The top four this season are Kenyans with the fastest marathon in 2010 being the Rotterdam race. Patrick Makau won with a world leading 2:04:48 there just edging Geoffrey Mutai who clocked 2:04:55. Two-time World Half Marathon championships silver medallist Makau later went on to win in another fast 2:05:08 capping a fine season for the 25-year-old.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Shoe4Africa to help feed Turkana poor

By NATION Correspondent

After organising the annual Shoe4Africa women’s road race in Iten last Friday, Toby Tanser, founder of the sports charity Shoe4Africa, leads his team to Turkana on another charity mission on Tuesday.

The team will hand out food and other supplies to underprivileged families in Turkana.

On Monday, Tanser also said plans are underway for Shoe4Africa to be part of the official opening of the Martin Lel School that they helped marathon great Martin Lel build.

Former world cross-country junior champion Rose Kosgei and 2010 Amsterdam Marathon winner Alice Timbilil dominated last Friday’s Shoe4Africa five-kilometre race in Iten.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Meanwhile in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland...

 

...Kevin English executing this "natural running" thing at the Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield!

Team Minnesota at NYC's New Year's Eve Midnight Run

Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle and Kristen Nicolini will be among the professional field at the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in New York City on New Year's Eve. The 4-mile run, which has been held since 1978 in Central Park, starts at midnight on Dec. 31 to welcome in the new year. A 17-minute fireworks show will be part of the festivities.

The husband and wife duo will be participating in the Midnight Run for the first time. Lehmkuhle is no stranger to New York or Central Park, having competed in two ING New York City Marathons (2008 and 2009) and finishing in the top 10 both times. He also was fifth in 2:12:54 at the 2007 U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trials, which was held in Central Park. Nicolini, who was third in the 2009 USA Women's Marathon Championship held at Twin Cities with a debut time of 2:35:06, will be racing for the first time in New York.

Both athletes, who have been with Team USA Minnesota since 2001, are using the race as a kick-off for the 2011 racing season. After the Midnight Run, their next major race will be the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston on Jan. 29.

The Emerald Nuts Midnight Run is hosted by the New York Road Runners. Some 4,500 runners participate in the annual event.

Blog Roll: Lauren Fleshman

My resume outside of sport wouldn’t prepare me much for the real world (In-N-Out burger was my last corporate job back in high school). And after seven+ years of running professionally, there are a lot of specific business skills I’ve missed out on. If I were to try to get a job right now, (thanks to Nike, I don’t,) I’d probably have to start out sticking nutrition labels on energy bars or something.

Oh wait, that’s exactly what I spent my afternoon doing.
Pull off a label, stick it on a bar, turn it over, stick another label on. Line it up just right. Make it look good. The outside should reflect whats on the inside. The first impression is in my hands.

I joke a bit. I am sticking labels on bars, after creating and bagging them, but since they are my bars, its much more than just a manual task. I’ve always enjoyed repetitive tasks that take minimal skill: knit and purl, clean under the fingernails, etc. Basically I’m happy if I can hold a conversation while working with my hands for at least an hour a day. But when I’m done with that, I get to work with Jesse designing our logo, and with Steph on streamlining the production process. We get to talk about strategies for development, and meeting customer demand. I get to train new employees so that as the season gets going, I can do less stickering and more stretching.

But the most valuable skills I’ve acquired have been those I’ve been forced to learn against my will. Excel spreadsheets and gmail filters (I know, I was pathetic) and analytics and all sorts of other crap. We don’t have the luxury of staying in our job-skill comfort zones because its all up to us.
I have to laugh thinking about how my pro-running simultaneously stunts me and prepares me for the “real world.” On the one hand, the more years an athlete competes professionally, the more hazy their education becomes and the more awkward the job interview process will be. But on the other hand, we’ve been in this unique position to experience sports business from the inside, being exposed to literally hundreds of different roles and having the opportunity to see how it all connects. Depending on how tuned in you are, this can be a huge asset.

I don’t know what place I will find in the working world when my running career settles down in 3-6 more years, but at least our little business will put something on my resume above In-N-Out Burger.
I’m curious, would you hire an ex-pro athlete if you were making the decision for your company? If not, what would be your reservations specifically? If so, what would be the appeal? Do share, peeps.
Read Lauren's blogs here

Renowned marathoner Jones keeping pace on local trails

Jon Sinclair for The Coloradoan
Kim Jones, now in her early 50s, was one of the most dominant marathoners in U.S. history with an average place of fourth in a career of 25 professional marathons, a 2:26:40 marathon best and numerous second place finishes in Boston, New York and Chicago, she's now happily living and running in Fort Collins. We cornered Kim with some quick questions about her career and life.

READ INTERVIEW HERE

Eat this NYC: 64,332 runners expected at Xiamen Marathon

WOX News reports
64,332 runners from more than 40 countries and regions have registered to compete in the 2011 Xiamen International Marathon on Jan 2nd and the full marathon has set a record high of 13,949 runners, according to the organizing committee of the 2011 Xiamen International Marathon on Sunday.

The number of participants of the Wheel Chair Marathon and the Roller Skating Marathon was 37 and 193 respectively. In addition, 23 world-class marathon runners will be competing in the great marathon event in Xiamen.

9 runners, including the champion and the second runner-up of the 2009 Xiamen International Marathon, have registered to participate in the National Marathon Points Race which is to be held simultaneously with the 2011 Xiamen International Marathon.

The torch lighting ceremony will be held for the 2011 Xiamen International Marathon, and the champions of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, Lei Ying and Chen Hongjie, are to be torch bearers this year.

To guarantee the smoothness of the competition, 4 big medical stations will be set up at key areas and 14 smaller ones will be set along the marathon course.

The comfort zone

by Mario Fraioli for Competitor
This week I retreated to the winter wonderland of Worcester, Massachusetts for some uninterrupted training in anticipation of my much ballyhooed battle with Kara Goucher on January 16 at the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon.

So what brings me to Worcester, you might be wondering? No, I’m not here because it’s the holiday season and I’m visiting family (that’s merely a coincidence), but rather because I wanted to toss the excuses aside and put myself in the most adverse training environment possible.

READ ON HERE

MzungoMile Foehr/Germany

Mzungo Milers enjoyed beautiful winter weather coupled with gutsy North Easterlies on Germany's North Sea Island Foehr. The race director decided to change race direction to avoid a full-on headwind course that was otherwise flat but with packed snow.
The pack, crippled by tough conditions that made travelling impossible for some contenders, was lead by Sandra when the gun went off. She ran strong all the way to the finish at the beautiful lighthouse to win the women's race. Her second MzungoMile win within a week!
Mzungo Mile rookie racer Markus took the lead with 200m to go and won by five seconds.

Want to organize a MZUNGO MILE?

Just two steps: get logo from askmzungo@gmail.com, put up race!

Intervals on icy roads? Time to get creative.

Not everybody is spoiled with an indoor track.

Get your kicks: Nike Lunaracer 1 is back

I know we should be on a Christmas break but breaking news even break Christmas breaks.

We've all heard the rumors but now it's a fact: the Nike Lunaracer 1 is back!

Thank you Nike!

Krismasi Njema!

We wish all mzungo.org reader's a Happy Christmas and decent enough training during the festive season.

mzungo.org will be back in full function after a short christmas break.

Asante sana for your support.

Stay mzungo!

Donahue, Davila, Curtis, Lehmkuhle set to race through Central Park under the fireworks at midnight

In addition to the great activities that are planned throughout the night, a strong professional athlete field will race for a prize purse of $2000, including $500 apiece to the male and female winners. Defending champion and Olympian Erin Donahue will be up against Desiree Davila, the fastest female U.S. marathoner of 2010. In the men's field, Bobby Curtis and Jason Lehmkuhle will make their Emerald Nuts Midnight Run debuts.

Donahue, 27, of Haddonfield, NJ, won this event in 2009 in a time of 21:22. She competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games 1500 meters and finished third at the 2010 Fifth Avenue Mile.

Davila, 27, of Rochester Hills, MI, will make her Emerald Nuts Midnight Run debut after running 2:26:20, the fastest marathon time for a U.S. woman in 2010, at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Curtis, 26, of Ardmore, PA, won the 2008 NCAA 5000 meter title. He ran 27:33.38 for 10,000 meters in 2010, the fourth-fastest time of the year by an American.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Cash galore at Shoe4Africa race

By JONATHAN KOMEN

There will be prizes for top two finishers – $500 (Sh40,000) for the first athlete who has not competed outside Kenya and $500 also for the first international athlete.

The second finisher gets $300 (Sh24,000) with the awards trickling down to the 12th place ($100 or Sh8,000).

All entrants will get T-shirts, and running shoes will be raffled after the run is complete. There is no entry fee charged for participation.

World 10,000m Linet Masai, world 21km all-time best Lorna Kiplagat, and Hilda Kibet, both Dutchwomen but formerly Kenyans, will support the competition as they also chase the $500 top prize.

READ FULL STORY HERE

No words needed - Steve Jones Style!

Blog Roll - Kara Goucher

Why? Two reasons. First, running the Boston Marathon was the most amazing and unforgettable experience I’ve ever had as a runner. And that’s really saying something, because I’ve had a lot of incredible experiences in running! I love how Boston manages to be a very big deal while maintaining an intimate feel at the same time. I love the history and tradition, and the way the whole city embraces the event.

READ FULL BLOG HERE

Kenyans arrive for Sunday marathon

via indiatimes.com

Robinson Kwemoi of Kenya lost all his belongings while running the Bangalore Marathon on December 12. He begged and reached Goa to win the marathon there on December 19 and take home the winner's purse of Rs 60,000. Now Robinson is in Ahmedabad and is eyeing the top prize of $12,000 of the Sabarmati Marathon, 2010 on Sunday.

READ FULL STORY HERE

The Saga Of Brian Sheriff – Part Two

via presmustache.com

”The entire deal was offered to me by Mazda through him. Everything I asked for came after Glenn and Mark Bossardet's input - get nothing less than 100,000 US per year, get a job in the US guaranteed for after the contract, get Mazda team to wear Reebok equipment, and you continue to be on the Reebok team (which was all agreed to on paper)”, Brian says. So, he would seemingly have some allies in the fight for his money owed under the terms of the contract. And, in the beginning he did. When he had still not received his contracted payment or his apartment after four months, the man who set up the contract, Tadaaki Hayano, came to Japan and confronted Mazda in April of ‘92.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Two-time National Champion Andrew Carlson Rejoins Team USA Minnesota

VIA teamusaminnesota.org

"Andrew is a talented runner and good teammate for our other runners," said Coach Dennis Barker. "I look forward to working with him again." The Team USA Minnesota men's team now includes Carlson, Antonio Vega, Jason Lehmkuhle, Josh Moen, Chris Rombough and Matt Gabrielson.

Carlson, who was a three-time All American at the University of Minnesota, graduated in 2005 with a major in kinesiology.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Young guns go the distance in Melbourne

“The aim of the camp was to get all our talented younger distance runners together and for them to have a good time while learning from external presenters and also our older, more experienced athletes who acted as mentors in an informal environment,” Jamieson said.

“We wanted to provide the athletes with some knowledge they possibly hadn’t heard before to help them to reach the next level in their athletics career, if they could walk away from the camp with a couple of things they’d learned to help them become better then that’s the aim.

“We pinpointed girls who were too old for our junior programs but hadn’t really cracked a senior team and people who we could see as having the potential to make a Commonwealth or Olympic team in the next four years.”

READ FULL STORY HERE

Registration for the BERLIN-MARATHON 2011 has reached 20.000

For the next wave, the registration fee is 80 Euros (up to 25,000), and thereafter it is 100 Euros.


The mark of 20.000 registrations for the BERLIN-MARATHON on September 25, 2011, has been reached by Tuesday, December 21st. At 10 a.m. 20,345 runners had registered.

This means there are less than 5.000 spots left in the second wave (until 25.000). Registration started on October 18th and is now linked to capacity slots and no longer to time slots.

Registration for the first 10,000 participants was 60 Euros (sold out since October 29).

For the next wave, the registration fee is 80 Euros (up to 25,000), and thereafter it is 100 Euros.

3D ATHLETICS TRACK

via architizer.com

Designing an athletic track could get you as bored as when you are runnig on it: curve, straight, curve, straight, again and again… Perfectly standardized, sport architecture has become more universal than international style.Track length of 400 m, 36.5 m radious. 1.22 m each lane….just data, without any fissure to let your imagination soar. We have added to the conventional track an alternative one, amateur and funny, raised and tree-dimensional. It goes off on a tangent, covers the changing rooms and returns to the coventional track. As new ways are available for athletes, spectators get involved in the sport activity, seated in-between this two tracks.This is our tribute to all the sport pioners that created new ways of performing that later others followed.

Eugene Goldwasser, Biochemist Behind an Anemia Drug, Dies at 88

By ANDREW POLLACK

Amgen patented the Epo gene, barely beating out another company, and through litigation has preserved its monopoly for more than 20 years.

Some companies wanting to sell their own versions of Epo have complained that by choosing to work only with Amgen, Dr. Goldwasser, whose research was financed by the National Institutes of Health, had essentially privatized public property. In his 1996 essay, Dr. Goldwasser said he had gotten permission for this from the N.I.H.

Dr. Goldwasser continued research on Epo, retiring from the university in 2002.


READ FULL STORY HERE

Study Suggests Less Fluid Intake May Improve Performance for Marathoners

By Kathleen Doheny

"Drinking either more or less than to thirst impairs exercise performance," he tells WebMD in an email. "Drinking more can be fatal, as has occurred to a number of U.S. female marathon runners and soldiers."

READ FULL STORY HERE

The Saga Of Brian Sheriff - Part One

VIA presmustache.com

"Yes sir, I am still in Hiroshima. It is impossible for me to leave - I came out here with a contract that was impossible to re-write - TAC/IAAF Trust Fund Contract for Corporate Endorsement of Athletes. The contract was the only type available for me to enter Japan."

READ FULL STORY HERE

Fallout from a Doper's Confession: Threats

By John Brant for Runner's World
Raymer told me that Shvetsov stocked EPO in the refrigerator behind the milk and orange juice, and that Shvetsov had offered to sell him EPO on several occasions.
“Leonid is a big, menacing guy,” Raymer said. “I almost wanted to buy some EPO from him just to get him off my back.”

MUST READ FULL STORY HERE

Tanser’s desire to build Eldoret hospital stays alive

By JONATHAN KOMEN for DailyNation
He stood on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean bleeding profusely as he writhed in pain after two robbers attacked him and made away with his running shoes.

Despite the grievous harm he sustained from the attack, Toby Tanser, an American writer and athlete, returned to his motherland and made a life-changing decision.

And barely 10 years later, Tanser has a soft spot for the African child as he runs the Shoe4Africa charity race in the North Rift which gives cash rewards and issues shoes to all the participants.

This year’s race will be run in Iten this Friday. Tanser, who is also the founder and chief executive officer of the Shoe4Africa organisation, has raised funds towards the construction of a children’s general public hospital in Eldoret town, which will be the largest children’s hospital in the Sub-Sahara Africa.

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Gebrselassie to run Vienna half marathon

VIA monstersandcritics.com

'We managed to convince him of our city, our event and our concept,' the APA news agency quoted organizer Wolfgang Konrad as saying.


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FARAH TO LEAD GB IN EDINBURGH

via sportinglife.com

Farah, who is currently training at the UKA/London Marathon altitude training camp in Iten, Kenya, said: "I've enjoyed a lot of success in 2010, particularly on the track, and I want to build on that next year.

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New Balance running shoes numbering system

VIA RUNRANRUN.com

New Balance does not use names (like Nike for instance) but num­bers to indi­cate their mod­els. Where the 926 used to fol­low up the 925 and this numer­i­cal struc­ture was applied to all new shoes. Nowadays the clear­ity in this sys­tem seems to be lost. For instance, the suc­ces­sor to the New Balance 1064 is the New Balance 1080.
To bring back the clear­ity New Balance comes with an update in its numer­i­cal sys­tem. The update is as fol­lows:
- All run­ning shoes end with a 0
- The num­bers will not change, the suc­ces­sors are iden­ti­fied by ver­sion num­ber (1080v1, 1080v2, 1080v3, etc)
- The higher the num­ber, the more pre­mium the shoe (860 vs 1260)
- The last two dig­its indi­cate the type of model:
-- 60: Stability (860-1260)
-- 70: mild sta­bil­ity (870)
-- 80: neu­tral (880-1080)
-- 90: light­weight, mod­ern (890)
-- 00: spikes and rac­ing flats
So the New Balance 1080 is a pre­mium neu­tral run­ning shoe.

The Distance Of Truth movie

via runranrun.com

The Distance of Truth is a doc­u­men­tary about the Canadian run­ner Ferg Hawke, in which we fol­low him in his preper­a­tion for the 135 miles Badwater Ultramarathon! This ultra­ma­rathon goes through the beau­ti­ful yet bru­tal Death Valley. The sub­ti­tle of the film sais it all: “You Run Long Enough … Something’s Bound To Happen”.

Chepkwony wins in Brussels

By FP REPORTER

Frankfurt Marathon course record holder, Caroline Chepkwony, continued her stellar form on the cross country circuit when she bagged the women’s title at Sunday’s Belgium XC Permit meet in Brussels.

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Another landmark for Rudisha

By EDWIN NYARANGI

David Lekuta Rudisha, crowned his glorious year by walking down the aisle with his long time girlfriend Elizabeth Naanyu in Kilgoris over the weekend.

By getting married to Liz, IAAF World Athlete of the Year Rudisha became a “total man and a champion” according to Maasai culture.

The couple tied the knot at the Trans Mara West District Commissioner’s office and later proceeded to Naanyu’s Olborsoito home where they were taken through Maasai traditional marriage rituals, known as nkaputi.

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Kenyans looking to run strong in 2011

"Breaking the world record is what I’m aiming for next season. This year, I had problems with injuries, but I thank God I was able to win in Chicago and retain my World Marathon Majors title."
Samuel Wanjiru

"I’m planning on doing one spring marathon (April), but I have not confirmed which one yet. I am praying to be in good shape for Daegu. Overall, my aim is to maintain my shape and remain as competitive as I can."
Catherine Ndereba

"This year, I was not in my best shape at Worlds XC and I only competed for the team. I’m hoping next year, I can get a gold. Afterwards, I will return to the road and attempt to add the half marathon world record and return it to Kenya and possibly, compete for the country at the World Half Marathon championships."
Leonard Patrick Komon

Osaka Announces 2011 Elite Women's Field

by Brett Larner of JRN

On Dec. 20 the organizers of the Osaka International Women's Marathon announced the field for the 2011 edition. Celebrating the event's 30th anniversary with a new, faster course eliminating the famous hilly, twisting section through Osaka Castle and with the addition of female pacemakers, the field features a competitive cross-section of current top Japanese women and several aging overseas elites.
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Basking in a Workout’s Long, Mysterious Afterglow

NYT reports
It’s a cold day and you have just finished a grueling session at the gym, sweating away on an elliptical cross-trainer. Or you had a tough workout in the swimming pool. Or in a spin class. Or you just finished a hard run or a long, fast bicycle ride.

Now you’ve showered and changed your clothes. You are no longer sweating, but you still feel warm. Your cold house, your chilly office does not feel so frigid anymore.

Exercise researchers used to say that this was an exercise bonus — that you burn more calories not just when you work out but for hours after you stop, even for the rest of the day. Exercise, they would tell people, has a significant effect on weight loss because of this so-called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.

But then the naysayers weighed in, reporting that such an exercise effect is just a myth. Metabolic rates plunge back down to normal as soon as exercise ends, investigators reported.

Still, many who exercise insist that there must be some change in their metabolism. Why else would they feel so warm? If it is not an increased metabolic rate, then what is it? READ ON HERE

Get your kicks: Nike Streak XC3?

Get your kicks: Saucony Hattori

For Fall 2011 Saucony looks to build on the success of their minimal lineup of shoes, lead by the Kinvara, with the introduction of the Hattori. The Hattori will be the most minimal shoe in the Saucony line and one that has its target squarely set on grabbing market share from various smaller shoe brands that have their own ideas on what constitutes a minimal shoe.

The new Hattori is a zero drop running shoe that sports a reported midsole height of 10 mm and weighs in at a reported 4.5 oz for a men’s size 9.0. The upper features ultralite mesh with synthetic exoskeleton lockdowns and soft suede overlays. A velcro closure replaces traditional laces and another velcro strap around the heel offers additional customized fit options. The midsole is made up of compression molded EVA that features XT-900 outsole compounds in key wear areas.

Being very light, extremely flexible and while 10mm may sound thick, the shoe is indeed quite thin, and is thus a viable option to runners seeking a more “barefoot” running experience. Additionally, the Hattori should prove a compelling offer to runners looking to transition from the 4mm heel-toe drop of the Kinvara, Mirage and new Cortana or as a different option for fans of minimalist shoes that are currently in the market. The release date for the Hattori has the shoes tentatively slated to be available at Running Warehouse on May 1, 2011. The new Hattori will have a list price of $80.