Kitwara takes World's Best 10k

IAAF reports
Kenya’s Sammy Kitwara beat a top class field and Ethiopia’s Sentayehu Ejigu made a successful debut over 10Km to take the top honours of the 14th World’s Best 10K, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (27) afternoon on the Teodoro Moscoso bridge in the Puerto Rican capital.

Kitwara ran solo after the eighth kilometre to regain his title win in 2009. The runner-up last year, Kitwara won comfortably in 27:35, ahead of Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel (27:45) and Lelisa Desisa (28:02).

Kenya’s World record holder Daniel Komon (28:05) and 2010 World Cross Country champion Joseph Ebuya (28:07) had to settle for fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of countryman and defending champion Moses Masai (28:28).

In the women’s race, Ejigu, the 2010 World indoor 3000m bronze medallist, led an Ethiopian sweep with a 31:50 win, followed by compatriots Dire Tune (31:51) and Atsede Habtamu (31:54). Kenya’s Grace Momanyi finished fourth in 32:06.

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Pittsburgh Marathon offers incentive for Olympic trials qualifiers

Athletes interested in participating in the Olympic Trials Qualifying Incentive Program must be a U.S. citizen who is eligible to compete in the Olympic Trials if the time standard is achieved. To participate, contact Kelsey Jackson of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and be prepared to complete an application form and submit official times from USATF-certified races which demonstrate you have the reasonable potential to qualify for the 2012 USA Olympic Trials, subject to review by race staff.

Race Benefits:

“Rabbit” to pace men towards a 2:19 “A” qualifying time, through Mile 18 – Pacer for women for a 2:39 “A” qualifying time
Friday night VIP Reception
Saturday night Pasta Party dinner
Prizes and Incentives
All Sub 2:19 male Olympic Trial-qualifying time and Sub 2:39:00 Female Olympic Trial-qualifying time will receive:

Reimbursement for travel and hotel for all “A” qualifying times
Eligibility for overall race prize purse
Olympic Trial Qualifying Time Prizes
1st Place $1500 in cash, $500 gift certficate for Dick's Sporting Goods and $250 gift certificate for GNC
2nd Place $1000 in cash, $500 gift certificate for Dick's Sporting Goods and $250 gift certificate for GNC
3rd Place $100 in cash, $500 gift certificate for Dick's Sporting Goods and $250 gift certificate for GNC

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Kilimarathon

Kenyan runners proved their supremacy in athletics to claim all top titles in the 9th edition of Kilimanjaro Marathon that took place here yesterday.

Kenyan runners won both men and women titles in the 42km full marathon and went on to claim both women and men titles in the 21km half marathon.

The best placed runner from Tanzania was Banuelia Brighton who claimed the overall runner up position in the full marathon followed by Mary Naali who finished third in the half marathon.

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Roma-Ostia

IAAF reports
Tujuba Beyu of Ethiopia and Italy's Anna Incerti captured victories at the 37th edition of the Roma Ostia Half Marathon on Sunday (27).

Beyu broke the one-hour mark, reaching the finish in 59:58 while Incerti stopped the clock in 1:09:06, a personal best.

The men’s race went out at a quick tempo, with the 10 kilometre marker reached in 28:19. Over the final kilometre, Beyu took command winning from Kenyans Joel Kimurer (1:00:05) and Abraham Chebii (1:00:07).

“We kept a steady pace immediately, alternating in the lead since we wanted to achieve a new record,” Beyu said. “I felt good from the start, and even though the temperature was quite frigid, I was in optimal shape. I am thrilled to have won the Roma Ostia, Rome is a fantastic city.”

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Meanwhile in Mammoth...

...Craig, Bauhs, Smyth etc. of Mammoth TC get a long run done.

Mekonnen takes Tokyo Marathon

Ken Marantz / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

Haile couldn't make it, but Hailu picked up the slack for Ethiopia.

Hailu Mekonnen, who made a late career move to the marathon, captured his first title in four tries, winning Sunday's Tokyo Marathon in a personal-best 2 hours 7 minutes 35 seconds.

Mekonnen broke open a two-man race around 33 kilometers to finish well ahead of Kenya's Paul Biwott, who clocked 2:08:17 in placing second for the third time in 15 career marathons.

"The Tokyo Marathon is a really big marathon and to win such a big race, I'm really happy," said the 30-year-old Mekonnen, who competed in Japan in 2008-09 for Honda.

Unheralded Yuki Kawauchi finished third in 2:08:37, which knocked nearly four minutes off his career best and more importantly earned him a spot on Japan's team to this summer's world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

The Tokyo Marathon is the second of three domestic races serving as a men's qualifier for Daegu, with the top Japanese finishing under 2:09:30 automatically securing a ticket.

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Criscione, Whaley take honors in Gasparilla 15K

By BILL WARD

After graduating from the University of Florida with All-American honors following an outstanding collegiate career, Jeremy Criscione found himself asking the same question so many good distance runners have posed before.

What now?

Almost invariably, the answer is reaching the Olympic trials, either in a track event or the marathon. But the road to get there — without the support system of college — is almost always the issue for American runners.

Fortunately, occasional success at road races like the Publix Super Markets Gasparilla Distance Classic is just enough to reaffirm the talent of an athlete like Criscione and his belief that the Olympic trials aren't unrealistic.

Saturday, Criscione got a boost in confidence by winning Gasparilla's 15-kilometer race against some solid competition. No, the 23-year-old's winning time of 46 minutes, 22 seconds probably won't garner much attention around the country. You need to record a mark closer to the winner from two years ago — Olympic marathon runner Ryan Hall, who went 43:26 — to turn heads.

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Records at Gasparilla Half Marathon

By BILL WARD

Course records fell in Sunday morning's Gasparilla Half Marathon as Tampa's Elias Gonzalez and Jessica Crate of Satellite Beach captured the overall titles of the 13.1-mile race through Tampa.

Gonzalez, a two-time winner of the Gasparilla 15k, led wire-to-wire in the men's race to cross the finish line in 1 hour, 11 minutes and 9 seconds. That eclipsed the previous event record by 31 seconds. Gonzalez is a member of the U.S. Army National Guard and has served overseas in Iraq, where he continued to train.

Taking second in the men's race was a masters runner, 40-year-old Hector Rivera, who stayed within striking distance of Gonzalez much of the race before fading in the final two miles to finish in 1:12:13. Jon Noland, 36, of Tampa, was third 1:13:03.

Crate, a former standout for Florida State University now working for a non-profit organization that donates shoes and clothing for the needy, was also unchallenged for the women's crown. She pushed the pace from the outset, dropping defending champion Terri Rejimbal of Tampa early and cruising to victory in a personal best of 1:20:06.

Crate lowered the women's event record by 28 seconds. Third in the women's division was former University of Tampa runner Laura Woznicki (1:21:55).

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In Pictures - Pre Tokyo Marathon

Withdrawals leave Fujiwara as Japan's hope in Tokyo

Ken Marantz / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

As if losing Haile Gebrselassie wasn't bad enough, the Tokyo Marathon now has to deal with the breakup of the Fujiwara act.

Defending champion Masakazu Fujiwara withdrew Friday from Sunday's race, leaving unrelated two-time runnerup Arata Fujiwara to lead Japan's hopes in the men's race.

An organizing committee official said Masakazu Fujiwara was suffering from a fever, quoting his coach as saying, "He wasn't able to achieve what he wanted to in his final preparations and decided to withdraw."

The announcement came a day after the shocking news that world record-holder Gebrselassie had pulled out due to a knee injury suffered in training.

For Arata Fujiwara, second to Masakazu last year, the loss of his namesake means a change in how he has imagined the race, that is also a domestic qualifier for this summer's world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

"In my image training, I pictured running next to Masakazu," Fujiwara said at a prerace press conference Friday. "I really wanted to battle it out with him. It's disappointing, but it doesn't lessen my desire [to win]."

READ FULL STORY HERE

Tokyo Marathon All Time list - Men

1 2:07:23 1 Viktor Röthlin SUI 1 17 Feb 2008

2 2:08:40 2 Arata Fujiwara JPN 2 17 Feb 2008

3 2:08:57 3 Julius Gitahi KEN 3 17 Feb 2008

4 2:09:16 4 Toshinari Suwa JPN 4 17 Feb 2008

5 2:09:40 5 Satoshi Irifune JPN 5 17 Feb 2008

6 2:09:45 6 Daniel Njenga KEN 1 18 Feb 2007

7 2:10:27 7 Salim Kipsang KEN 1 22 Mar 2009

8 2:11:00 8 Kurao Umeki JPN 6 17 Feb 2008

9 2:11:01 9 Kazuhiro Maeda JPN 2 22 Mar 2009

10 2:11:02 10 Seiji Kobayashi JPN 7 17 Feb 2008

11 2:11:15 11 Kazutoshi Takatsuka JPN 8 17 Feb 2008

12 2:11:22 12 Tomoyuki Sato JPN 2 18 Feb 2007

13 2:11:25 13 Kensuke Takahashi JPN 3 22 Mar 2009

14 2:11:47 14 Hiroyuki Horibata JPN 9 17 Feb 2008

15 2:11:57 15 Sammy Korir KEN 4 22 Mar 2009

16 2:12:10 16 Takashi Ota JPN 10 17 Feb 2008

17 2:12:19 17 Masakazu Fujiwara JPN 1 28 Feb 2010

18 2:12:34 Arata Fujiwara 2 28 Feb 2010

19 2:12:35 18 Atsushi Sato JPN 3 28 Feb 2010

20 2:12:36 19 Yuki Kawauchi JPN 4 28 Feb 2010

JRN Tokyo Marathon Men's Preview

by Brett Larner for japan running news

It's Tokyo Marathon week. This is the second of JRN's two-part preview of this year's fifth edition, to be held this Sunday, Feb. 27. Click here for part one, our women's preview, and look for additional articles and info as the week goes along. This year's race will be broadcast live on Fuji TV beginning at 9 a.m. Japan time. Overseas viewers should be able to watch online via Keyhole TV. Some viewers experienced trouble with Keyhole for last week's Yokohama International Women's Marathon but it appears to be working fine as of this writing, so make sure you have downloaded the current version of the player to increase your chances. In any case, JRN will be doing live race commentary via Twitter. Click here to follow.

READ ON FULL STORY HERE

ATHLETICS ON SNOW - Boit set on swansong after decade as lone ranger

By CHRIS MUSUMBA for DAILY NATION

Never say never. This must be Philip Boit’s motto every time he lines up for a skiing challenge with the world’s best.

For all the years he has participated in international tournaments - be it the Winter Olympics or the World Championships - he’s never won anything.

Yet, Boit somehow still finds the energy and courage to continue with the fight.

This year, Boit - who began skiing in 1996 - has set his sights on the World Nordic Skiing championships in Oslo, Norway.

On Wednesday, it wasn’t surprising when he returned in position 42 out of the 48 skiers who competed in the 10km Classic race.

“As I came through into the stadium, I could not believe it. I was widely cheered by the fans.

Most of them have been following my story in skiing. I was really touched. When I reached the finish line, I saw my son smiling, it felt nice,” said the 40-year-old, who hails from Eldoret.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Tokyo cancelled: Haile G

AP reports

Haile Gebrselassie fell and injured both knees while training in the rugged countryside of Ethiopia, sidelining the long-distance running great for up to six weeks.

The world-record holder withdrew from Sunday's Tokyo Marathon and it's unclear if he can run the half marathon in Vienna on April 17.

"I am really disappointed as I felt great in training, and I was ready to show something special again," Gebrselassie said Thursday in a statement.

Gebrselassie trains in barren land outside Addis Ababa. After he fell his knee hit a rock, causing bruising. He kept running and, to compensate for the pain, put too much pressure on his other leg. That caused an injury to the other knee, said Marleen Rennings, a spokeswoman from his management company.

Gebrselassie pulled out of the New York City Marathon in November with a knee injury and immediately said he would retire. He changed his mind eight days later. He has since been focusing on the London Olympic marathon.

Rennings said it's uncertain if he will be able to run in Vienna.

"We have to wait and see how quickly he recovers," Rennings said. "It is going to be tight. The injury takes four to six weeks."

Gebrselassie is widely regarded as one of the greatest distance runners. He has won two Olympic gold medals and four world titles in the 10,000 meters. He set the marathon world record of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 59 seconds in Berlin two years ago.

The Tokyo Marathon was expected to be the 37-year-old runner's first major race in his return. He won a tough 10,000-meter race in a year-end race in Angola. Despite missing the spring marathons, Gebrselassie is to compete in an undetermined race in the fall.

Gebrselassie skipped the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, fearing pollution would affect his running. He ran the 10,000 instead and finished sixth.

London bound: Sammy W

“I have been having a hard time since January, but now I can breath a sigh of relief after she withdrew the case. [My wife and I] are now together, and she is really supporting me in my training."

World's Best 10k: Komon vs Masai vs Kitwara

IAAF reports
World record holder Leonard Komon, Sammy Kitwara and Moses Masai are set for a showdown at the 14th World’s Best 10K, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, this Sunday (27) on the Teodoro Moscoso bridge.

The battle among the Kenyan trio at the most prestigious 10km race could produce a new course record and throated the 27-minute barrier. With the absence of two-time champion Vivian Cheruiyot, the Puerto Rican race will crown a new women’s champion.

Komon, 23, became the first man to dip under the 27-minute mark on the road when he ran 26:44 in Utrecht last September. Kitwara, the 2009 champion and 2010 runner-up, followed with 27:11 in the Dutch city, better than his winning 27:26 in San Juan two years ago. Masai, 24, arrives here as the defending champion after breaking Kitwara’s course record with 27:19.

READ ON...

Tokyo preview

IAAF reports
With some late hour withdrawals, Ethiopians Yemane Tsegay and Hailu Mekonnen will be the men to watch at Sunday’s (27) Tokyo Marathon, one of the three IAAF Gold Label Road Races in Japan.

For Japanese men, Sunday’s contest is one of the qualifying races for the upcoming World Championships in Daegu, and thus the race to be the first Japanese will be fierce. It should be noted however that the race is not a Daegu qualifier for Japanese women.

Knee injury sidelines Gebrselassie

The race originally featured current World record holder Haile Gebrselassie. It was hoped that Gebrselassie would dramatically improve the the 2:07:23 course record which is more than two minutes slower than the course record (2:05:18) of another Gold Label race in Japan, the Fukuoka Marathon. Unfortunately, Gebrselassie was forced to pull out of the race on Thursday after sustaining a knee injury after a fall and hitting a rock. His withdrawal left the race wide open, perhaps now making it more intriguing as it’s left totally unpredictable.

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Get your kix: PUMA Faas

Should children run marathons?

NYT reports

With temperatures warming and the snows of 2011 finally dissolving into oatmeal slush, many people are feeling an insistent urge to get outside and run, perhaps even to start training for a spring marathon or other distance race. But for some of us, particularly those with young families, this laudatory goal can pose a problem. Should we take our kids with us? Can and should children, at any age, be runners?

This question, though commonly voiced by athletic parents (I hear it all the time), has received surprisingly little scientific scrutiny. Injury patterns and other issues in youth football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer have been extensively studied, but not in youth running. Two new studies, however, have looked squarely at what happens when young people run. Unfortunately they seem to have produced, on first reading, incompatible results.

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Wired and weird:

Marathon man hooks himself up to four iPhones and two smartphones to broadcast every painful step of Tokyo race on web

Mail online reports
An inventive marathon runner has created a curious contraption to help him share every step of his race experience with thousands of online supporters.

Joseph Tame, 33, plans to run the Tokyo marathon on Sunday hooked-up to his 'iRun', a homemade gadget which will stream the entire 26.2 miles live to social networking sites.
Media producer Joseph said: 'I really love mobile technology and wanted to create a citizen's broadcast of a major sporting event, such as the marathon.

'Watching it on television doesn't give a true impression to the viewer whereas this will make the experience much more real.'

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Nick Willis launches fundraising event to assist Christchurch earthquake victims

Athletics New Zealand and the New Zealand Olympic Committee express their deepest sympathy for those affected by the Christchurch earthquake and, in particular, Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes and others from the Athletics community in the Canterbury region.

Following the indefinite postponement of the International Track Meet in Wellington, Beijing Olympic 1500m medallist Nick Willis can confirm plans are underway to stage a fundraising track meet in Wellington for the people of Christchurch. The fundraising event will feature a number of top international athletes and will take place at Newtown Park on this Saturday, 26 February. The meet is being organised in conjunction with members of the Wellington Olympic and Athletics communities.

Willis will also be presented with his Olympic silver medal at the fundraising meet. Members of the Wellington public will be encouraged to attend this unique event and make donations to those affected by the earthquake via the Salvation Army’s earthquake appeal.

It is expected the medal presentation will take place at approximately 5.00pm followed by the fundraising races. The timing, programme and start lists are yet to be confirmed. Additional details will be forthcoming.

The Salvation Army’s earthquake fund details can be found at http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/earthquake-appeal/

Get your kicks: New Balance Minimus Road

Mutai confident for WXC

The Standard reports
Winning at the event rated as the toughest cross-country race on the planet brings with it excess baggage of expectation at the subsequent World Cross Country Championships.

Eliud Kipchoge (2004 and 2005), Moses Masai (2006), Gideon Ngatuny (2008), Moses Mosop (2007 and 2009) and Paul Tanui last year have all captured the imagination of the distance running world by topping the senior men 12km race of the IAAF Permit/KCB National Cross Country Championships.

They arrived at the Mombasa, Edinburgh, Amman and Poland World Cross editions with the favourite tag affixed in their luggage only to leave there without the main prize. It took Joseph Ebuya, third place at last year’s event to finally break the decade long race individual gold duck in Poland last year.

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Blog Roll: Ritz

Ritz blogs on COMPETITOR
Being an athlete, there are several key things we try to avoid–one being sickness. A cold can wreck havoc on ones race, or even season. After becoming a parent, I’ve come to terms that for the next five years, I am going to be sick 75% of the time from November to April! The main culprits are our two kids. Prior to having our son, I was rarely sick. Now with two kids, there is no escaping it. Before Jude was born, I averaged around two colds a year, but this winter I have been sick non-stop since Thanksgiving. Every week or two one of the kids gets a stuffy nose, cough, or sore throat and inevitably I have the same thing a week later. Before we had children, when a cold came around I was able to lock myself away for a few days, but now, having kids I just can’t and don’t want to do that. With two kids they play with each other and the slobber spreads through the whole house. My Mom, who is a teacher, said she was sick for the first five years from being in the classroom , and by now she has caught every mild virus out there, and rarely gets sick nowadays. Hopefully this happens to me too and in a few years I will be immune to most of the little colds. I’m discovering that for parents it is an inevitable fact that you will get sick, but kids are worth it, nevertheless. I have really been enjoying them lately as it helps me keep my mind off the setbacks I have had, even through all the snot, boogers, and constant sickness!

Lake Biwa line up

[Kipsang en route to win Frankfurt 2010 - stunning photo by clindstedt]

International Athletes (with personal best times):
Wilson Kipsang (KEN) 2:04:57 2010 Frankfurt
Deriba Merga (ETH) 2:06:38 2008 London
Mohamed El Hachimi (MAR) 2:08:17 2010 Seoul
Iaroslav Musinschi (MDA) 2:08:32 2010 Dusseldorf
Yared Asmerom (ERI) 2:08:34 2008 Lake Biwa
Moses Kangogo (KEN) 2:08:58 2010 Dublin

Japanese :
Naoto Yoneda 2:11:00 2010 Lake Biwa
Masashi Hayashi 2:11:17 2010 Beppu-Oita
Kensuke Takahashi 2:11:25 2009 Tokyo
Kentaro Nakamoto 2:11:42 2010 Beppu-Oita
Satoshi Yoshii 2:12:24 2010 Lake Biwa
Chiharu Takada 2:12:44 2010 Fukuoka

Pacemakers:
Nicholas Chelimo (KEN) 2:07:38
Patrick Nthiwa (KEN) 1:00:23 half marathon
Samuel Ndungu (KEN) 1:00:55 half marathon

Mud! Sweat! Tears...

By Matt Wards for MudSweatTearsUK

I have seen some comments online and via Twitter that the ‘National’ should not have been run on Saturday, the course just wasn’t a true test of an athletes ability, it was a silly war of attrition and so on.

Our view – although the mud did seem a little excessive, it was cross country as it should be, tough.

After our little report on the race, we have been wadding through the piles of photos and videos online and brought you our favourites from yesterday’s action at Alton Towers. Some images are pure racing, some are reportage and portray an atmosphere of good hard, (not so) clean sport.

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One Hundred Miles in Head Land

by Jason Thompson for UltraRunning

I have blisters on both forefeet. The big toe on my left foot is bruised and sore. My stomach is aching. I feel nauseous to the verge of vomiting. I am light-headed. When I bend to the ground, I almost lose my balance and fall as I stand up again. The night air is soundless but for my own groans. It is so dark under the dense fog cover that when we turn off our headlamps in an attempt to spot the lamps of other runners on the trail snaking down the hill behind us, it is hard to discern any difference in texture between the obscured hills and the obsidian sky. "You remember coming down a wide fire trail like this on one of the earlier loops?" my pacer asks, in an effort to regain our bearings. "It didn't have this many turns," I say.

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Ethiopian XC trials

IAAF reports
Three-time World Cross Country bronze medallist Meselech Melkamu and upcoming runner Hunegnaw Mesfin were the winners of the senior races at the 28th Jan Meda Cross Country International on Sunday (20), the Ethiopian qualifying trials for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain (20th March 2011).

On a day of dominant performances and few surprises, Ethiopian athletes took the first steps in a bid to recover from a relatively-humiliating performance in last year's world cross where the team returned home with a solitary individual medal.

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Just how many age groupers are doping for the weekend?

The Tribune reports

Frank Shorter bit his tongue for 20 years after the 1976 Olympic marathon, when he suspected the only man who could beat him was doping.

Shorter later did accuse Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany of cheating and called for his medal to be stripped after details about the East German doping efforts came to light when the Berlin Wall came down. But now he’s a happy guy and a perfect fit for the guy who not only sparked the running craze after his gold-medal win in the 1972 Olympic marathon but continues to be an ambassador for it partly because he believes he found a better way to express his frustration.

In 2000, he co-founded the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, an organization that carries out the world anti-doping code in the U.S. The world code lists which behaviors and drugs are prohibited in sports. Of course, having that background comes with the hard knowledge that doping is still out there, and not only is it still among the professionals, it’s reached the amateurs, as well.

Affectionately called “age-groupers,” amateurs make up the vast majority of endurance events, which include running races such as marathons and the Bolder Boulder, triathlons such as those run by the Ironman brand and cycling. The age-groupers, in fact, are the main reason why those events even exist, as they would surely fail without the amateurs’ interest, support and money.

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Lehmkuhle wins Ohme 30k

TEAM USA MINNESSOTA reports

Jason Lehmkuhle was the winner of the Ohme 30 km Road Race in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 20. His time in the international race was 1:32:08 with second place coming across the line in 1:32:09. This was the first time an American has won the Ohme 30 km since 1983. Some 15,000 runners ran in the 30 km and another 5,000 participated in the accompanying 10 km.

"The course was definitely difficult, more so than I had expected," said Lehmkuhle. "It's an out-and-back that rises about 250 feet from the start to the turnaround point, and there are a couple of big hills through the middle. It was a very nice day for running, about 50 degrees, and cloudy with a little breeze. The crowd was tremendous and lined the street the whole way.

"I was with the lead pack from the beginning, occasionally leading. I was wary of the course though, and I didn't want to press early on. I made a little move at the turnaround, then another at around 22 km up a big hill that broke up the remaining pack of five. I had a little gap by 23 or 24 km, but Toyoyuki Abe (second place finisher) caught me at the 25 km and we ran the rest of the way in together. I had just enough left to get him by a second at the line.

"I was very excited to get to race in Ohme and they treated me incredibly well during my first trip to Japan. I think the race displayed that the London preparations are going well." Next up for Lehmkuhle will be the New York City Half Marathon on March 20 followed by the London Marathon on April 17. [photo: organizer]

Desiree Ficker wins Austin Marathon

via statesman.com

Each of the roughly 18,000 runners who participated in the Livestrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon wore a racing bib displaying an identification number .

But one runner, the overall women's champion in the marathon, wore an extra bib attached to the back of her shirt that read "Ma Ficker."

Desiree Ficker took the opportunity Sunday to honor her late mother, Annette, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007 and died July 31, 2009. Her mom, she said, was her biggest fan and could always be found on the sidelines at her various athletic events.

"Athletics can be so self-focused, it can be so intrinsic. I think it shouldn't be all about you," said Ficker, a 34-year-old pro triathlete from Austin who finished in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 35 seconds. "As a professional athlete, you have an opportunity to inspire a lot of people, and people need inspiration. I know I was thinking about my mom today.

"There was a period (of the race) where I could have taken it easy, but you have to look for other inspiration outside of yourself."

Ficker's goal Sunday was a time of 2:46:00, which would have met the women's qualifying standard for the 2012 U.S. Olympic marathon trials. She said that much of her recent training had been triathlon-oriented, and she wasn't in her best running shape.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Blog Roll - Jan Fitschen

Harte Zeiten...

Da ich aus den Diskussionen bei facebook geschlossen habe, dass Läufer einfach ein Faible für Fakte, Fakten, Fakten sprich Kilometerumfang, Puls, Lactat und natürlich Geschwindigkeit haben, gibt es jetzt hier eine komplette Woche.
Diese letzte Woche war sicher eine der härtesten, die ich je gemacht habe und ab Montag wird es nun auch erstmal sehr gemütlich. Das ist aber auch verdammt gut so, denn ich brauche jetzt ein paar ruhige Tage. Bin mega, mega platt…
Hier also das Gesamtpaket:
Montag: Vormittag 9km 4:18, platt im Anschluss 45 min Rad-Ergo,
Nachmittag: 17 km gesteigert, Schnitt 3:41, gut
Dienstag: VM: 12km 4:10 NM: 6x2000m 6:07min, 400m Trab-Pause
Mittwoch: VM: 20km 3:57, Puls 145 NM: 10km 4:25,i.A. 30 min Stabilisation/Kraft
Donnerstag: NM: 4x5km, 1 min Pause Schnitt: 3:30, 3:20, 3:10, 3:04 Lactat: 0,8; 1,1; 2,6; 6,0mmol
Freitag: VM: 30km 4:05 Puls 140, gut!
Samstag: VM: 21km 4:10 müde NM: 60 min Stabilisation/Kraft
Sonntag: VM: 8km 4:04, 15km 3:18, 6km 3:42, 2km 3:10, 4km 3:54 (alles in einer Einheit)
Gesamtwochenumfang:200km
Nun kommen nur noch einmal pro Tag lockere und kürzere Dauerläufe und dann am Samstag ein kleiner 15km Testwettkampf beim Nike-Winterlauf in Duisburg. Und dann: wieder Ruhe, bis am Dienstag der Flieger nach Flagstaff geht ;-)
Beste Grüße, euer Jan

100k for half marathon world record at any 13.1 half

Runners World reports that US Road Sports & Entertainment Group (USRS) announced the largest single half marathon prize in U.S. history. USRS will award $100,000 to the winner of any 13.1 Marathon® Series race whose time breaks the world half marathon record. Additionally, USRS will award $50,000 to any U.S. citizen who wins any 13.1 Marathon® Series race and whose time breaks the U.S. half marathon record.

Farah wins Birmingham over Rupp

Mo Farah edged out training partner Galen Rupp to smash the old British indoor 5,000m record and set a new European time in 13 minutes 10.60 seconds.

Get your kicks: Li-Ning Liede

Ozaki takes Yokohama victory in 2:23:56

IAAF reports
Making a decisive surge in the 39th kilometre, 2009 World Championships silver medallist Yoshimi Ozaki left Marisa Barros and Remi Nakazato in her wake to decisively win the second annual Yokohama International Women’s Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on Sunday (20) in 2:23:56.

After Ozaki was left behind by Bai Xue’s decisive move in Berlin two years ago, she was determined to work on her surge in the final stage of the race. Ozaki covered the final 2.195Km in 7:15 which showed that she was able to execute her plan quite well. By recording a sub-2:26 clocking, Ozaki automatically qualified for the World Championships team automatically.

“I was only thinking about winning the race. I only started to think about time late in the race, but as it turned out, I was able to run a fast time,” Ozaki said.

READ ON...

Mutai and Masai take Kenyan CC Worlds trials

IAAF reports
Those who will head to the the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain on 20 March will not witness any reigning champion in all four races.

This was after aspirations the of Joseph Ebuya (senior men), Emily Chebet (senior women), Caleb Mwangangi (junior men) and Mercy Cherono (junior women) were collectively buried in the scrap heap of the forcefully competed 19th IAAF Permit/KCB National Cross Country Championships on Saturday (19).

In their stead, Geoffrey Mutai (senior men), Linet Masai (senior women), teen sensation, Isaiah Kiplagat Koech (junior men) and unheralded Janet Kisia (junior women) scaled the limelight.

If there was any other further proof needed that the Kenyan selection event for the World Cross is tougher than the event itself, what transpired at Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens in three hours rests that argument - for good.

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Get your kicks: Li-Ning Woohoo

Get your kicks: K-Swiss K-ruuz 1.5

picture courtesy of competitor.com

Yokohama preview

IAAF reports
The second edition of the Yokohama Women’s Marathon, the second of three qualifying races for the Japanese World Championships marathon team, will be held on Sunday 20 February. The date of this IAAF Silver Label Road Race, which usually takes place in November, was moved because the APEC International Conference, required heightened security, was held in Yokohama last November.

The runner with most international honours, and the fastest Marathon personal best, is Ethiopian Derartu Tulu, the 1992 and 2000 Olympic 10,000m champion. She has a best of 2:23:30 from the 2005 World championships where she finished fourth. Tulu may be almost 39, but she hasn’t slowed down much. Last year Tulu finished second at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon clocking 2:28:13. Four months earlier, she was victorious at the 2009 New York City Marathon.

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Mo Farah joins Salazar squad

BBC reports
Britain's double European champion Mo Farah will move to the United States in a bid to enhance his Olympic ambitions.

The Somalia-born 27-year-old, who won the 5,000 and 10,000m in last year's European Championships, is also parting company with coach Alan Storey.
His new location is Oregon where he will work with Alberto Salazar, who won three successive New York marathons.

"I don't want to change too much yet but I think he will introduce me to a lot of different things," said Farah.

Farah will continue to train at altitude in Kenya and Font Romeu in France - where Paula Radcliffe also trains - and insists he is not taking a major gamble with the London Olympics only 17 months away.

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Keitany sets half-marathon record

By MUTWIRI MUTUOTA

Mary Keitany's 65:50 women's half-marathon world record run at the Ras-Al-Khaimah event in Dubai was achieved as a result of meticulous pre-race planning.

An elated Gianni Demadonna, her manager, told FeverPitch the intricate strategic process that ensured the talented distance running star obliterated Kenyan born Dutch runner, Lornah Kiplagat’s 66:25 previous all time best over 21km.

"I’m so delighted with her performance. Even though we knew she could achieve it, we did not state that she was going for it before the race since we do not like putting our athletes under pressure to perform," Demadonna said.

"Our plan was to employ a male pace maker capable of completing the course in 66 minutes. She went off very quickly in the first five kilometres but she regulated her pace until the last few kilometres where she went for and got it," he added.

The Italian national continued, "Our plan is to make her a marathoner capable of winning the Olympictitle in 2012 and capable of doing 2:18. We planned for her to do one half marathon before the London Marathon in April where we are targeting a 2:25 performance and she in course for that."

Keitany, who won the World Half Marathon title in 2009 before taking third on her marathon debut in New York last year, has set sights on the national team for the Daegu World Championships in the summer.

Enroute to her victory in Dubai, Keitany also set the world best times over 10miles and 20km and Athletics Kenya (AK) were among the first to congratulate the freshly minted world record holder.

In Pictures: 2010 RAK Half Marathon - The Mary Keitany Show

All Photos by PhotoRun.net

Women Half Marathon 2011

Mark	Athlete	Nation	DOB	Pos		Venue	Date
1:05:50	Mary Jepkosgei Keitany	KEN	18/01/1982	1		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:07:36	Kimberley Smith	NZL	19/11/1981	1		New Orleans, LA	13/02/2011
1:08:52	Dire Tune	ETH	19/06/1985	2		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:08:57	Mare Dibaba	ETH	20/10/1989	3		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:09:00	Kayoko Fukushi	JPN	25/03/1982	1		Marugame	06/02/2011
1:09:04	Rose Jerotich Kosgei	KEN	22/08/1981	4		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:09:11	Agnes Kiprop	KEN	14/01/1980	5		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:09:35	Hilda Kibet	NED	27/03/1981	6		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:09:58	Belaynesh Zemedkun	ETH	23/12/1987	1		Naples, FL	16/01/2011
1:10:02	Sultan Haydar	TUR	23/05/1987	7		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:10:30	Marisa Barros	POR	25/02/1980	1		Viana do Castelo	30/01/2011
1:10:34	Desireé Davila	USA	26/07/1983	2		Naples, FL	16/01/2011
1:10:36	Karolina Jarzynska	POL	06/09/1981	2		Marugame	06/02/2011
1:10:41	Eunice Cheyech Kales	KEN	06/12/1984	8		Ras Al Khaimah	18/02/2011
1:10:47	Asmae Leghzaoui	MAR	30/08/1976	1		Marrakech	30/01/2011
1:10:50	Rei Ohara	JPN	10/08/1990	3		Marugame	06/02/2011

FULL LIST HERE