Where Your Dreams Become Reality

Wejo recaps an incredible world xc
The atmosphere:
"The atmosphere was crazy. A party, a sporting event, a carnival, a once in a lifetime event with tremendous national pride associated with it all rolled into one.... Tens and tens of thousands of people, many of them packed body to body between a barbwire fence, others hanging out of trees, many not able to see any of the racing at all except for a torso here and there, packed the Mombasa golf course in excruciating heat and humidity to witness "cross country come home" to its birthplace of Kenya. 

This was an epic, crazy event to begin with, but it got wilder throughout the day. Throw in heat and humidity never seen before for a world cross country championships and people would have been talking about this championship even without the crowd (scores of athletes left the race course on stretchers, especially in the first race of the day the junior girls race, which was held when the sun was still blazing down)."

And the race:
 "The 10 time straight champion (Bekele) had quit. A Kenyan had not been able to defeat him, but the Kenyan elements sure had. As Bekele ducked under the tape, the Kenyan crowd broke out in a fevered scream. People started dancing. It was unbelievable. I have never witnessed so much joy with the demise of a person in our sport. Clearly, this was not fun and games for the Kenyan crowd. Bekele was enemy #1 in Mombasa, and if a Kenyan was not going to win, then Bekele leaving the course a beaten man was the next best thing."h

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Book Review: Running Within
Want to improve your mental outlook on running? Then Running Within is the book for you. Read our review of this excellent book.
Recommended Reads
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We interview one of our own:
LetsRun.com's Rojo talks about coaching at Cornell

Heard On The Boards: Talk about African Dominance: 1st Non-African Born Finisher Was 44th on Men's Side On the women's side it was 14th but that she more than 2 minutes back.  The best non-african finish appears to have come in the Jr. girls race as Japan's Tomoeda Misato was only :59 back.

Editorial: World XCs Are Kenya's Chance To Showcase The Best It Has To Offer

Kenyans Proud To Be Hosting Event Tergat: "We should all of us be proud of the championships as they are an opportunity to showcase our great country" Ethiopians are happy to be in Africa as well. Bekele: "The fact that I'm here is a demonstration of my respect for the Kenyan people. I'm not here to destroy Kenyans in their backyard."

Wilson Kipketer Is At World XCs Leading Anti-Doping Fight

Warning If the Site Goes to Crap Over the Next 6 Days, You Have 1 Guy to Blame: Rojo LetsRun.com Wejo is off to Mombasa. If you have tips or stuff Rojo missed, email him.

Will Kenenisa Bekele Win His 11th Straight World XC title Saturday? Yes 82.3% No 17.7%   Total Votes: 2810

Leonard Mucheru Still Lacking Passport Likely Will Miss London Marathon

BorderChallenge Championships Announces Largest Regional XC Qualifying Good luck competing with this and Nike, as you'll probably need it

NCAA Clarifies That NCAA Bracket Pools are OK for Athletes (And Hence the LetsRun.com Pools)  We've said that for years but the compliance officers of a few schools wouldn't listen to us. Meanwhile they get nice checks and we beg you buy stuff from our sponsors.

Chasing Kimbia's Laban Kipkemboi 3rd in Seoul Marathon

UK News: UK Athletics Not to Take All A Qualifiers to Worlds Guardian
*Liz Yelling Wins Silverstone Half Marathon 1:14:34 BBC

Nike Team Nationals Goes to Regional Format The Border Clash people seemed to bring this about.

Russians First Team to Arrive in Mombasa IAAF

Nick Willis Running 30 miles a Week as He Comes Back from Injury

Less Than a Month Till Deena Runs at Boston

5600 Turn Out for Oregon outdoor Meet

Saif Saeed Shaheen Skipping World Cross

Mo Greene to Run in Osaka May 5th

LetsRun.com Poll

Will Mo Greene Ever Go Sub 10 in the 100m again?    Yes    No View Results

Chasing Kimbia:
Every time we read this site wer'e impressed. There is a lengthy series on the homes of the athletes
*Part I: Richard Kiplagat's home. They meet his sister Rose, whose life some of you helped save. Plus his daughter is freaked out the white people are out of the television.
*Part I Video
*Part II: Bows and Arrows for Security, Human Bottle Openers

On the boards: Post Nuptial Shutoff, Post Valentines Day Addendum

Road Scholar Deadline March 31

Boston Announces Elite Field: Deena and Boston and Chicago Champ Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Headline IAAF

*Ryan Hall Writes About His Run at Gate Rvier Run

Connie Price-Smith and Stanley Redwine Named USA Pan Am Games Coaches for this Year

1st Ever Kip Keino Mile
May 13 Elite Athletes Wanted.  Certified Track Mile. Or Come to the Kip Keino Dinner Open to the Public

This essentially human part of him is what he brings to the starting line every time. It's part of the struggle that defines sport. You may be battling superior opponents or you may be battling yourself, but there is an internal and an external component to each race, and without that, where would the fun be?"
-message board poster T. Rex with an incredibly insightful post on Ryan Hall

New Running Fiction: Irish Night First 2 Chapters Available Online from a Letsrun.com Viewer.

Run for the Hills:
Man Punches 101 Year Old Women in the Face 3 Times, Throws Her and Her Walker to the Grown to Steal $33 from her Purse Some are advocating hanging him if he's caught. Video above. Article here

Doping News: Remi Korchemny Becomes First Coach to Accept Doping Sanction from USADA
*WADA Applauds US Going after Doping Product Peddlers The US may
*Cycling Doping Probe Operation Puerto Dismissed in Spanish Courts But It May Not be Over

Ask Tegenkamp Round 2 Posted

LetsRun.com Proud to Announce:
*Kip Keino Mile Elite athletes wanted. We're in charge of getting athletes for the professional track miles. It should be a great weekend. VIP dinner with the legendary Kip Keino. Plus open, master's miles, and relays if you're interested.

Jim Estes, USATF Long Distance Program Manager, Clarifies Why USATF is Not Sending a Full Men's Team to World Cross Country

Help Yourself:
*Olympian Mark Coogan With a Ton of Core Strength, Light Weight Vides for Runners
Help Others:
*Navajo Elite Runners Started: Help the Careers of Brandon Leslie and Alvina Begay and Others
*Help Prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest From Killing Kids

And You Thought It was Hard to Represent the US:
*Represent the US In a World Championship: USA Looking for Runners for 100k World Champs in Winschoten, Netherlands in September
* US Mountain, Ultra, and Trail Championships Looking for More Runners in 2007

Outdoor Action: Australian Champs Day 2 Joshua Ross Runs 10.08, Mark Fountain Wins 1500, So Does Lisa Corrigan
*Australian Champs Day 1 Recap IAAF
S. Africa: Morne Nagel 20.32 in S. Africa

Stanford's 6 Time National Coach of the Year at Swimming Suspended for Getting Pissed at Some Swimmers and Removing them from Record Books

Devine Racing Not Paying Its Bills Finally Hits Mainstream Press They say they'll pay an extra 4% if they don't pay within 90 days. Well they can start by giving Joseph Kahugu an extra $2600 as they are 90 days behind on him unless they pay today for his Vegas win. Chris Devine acts like they have been upfront with agents as to when people will get paid. If that's the case why were so many people asking us when they were going to get their checks?
*AP Picks Up on LA Marathon Not Paying the Bills

France's Hind Dehiba's B Sample is Positive

Update on Guy Swimming Amazon River We can't believe a croc doesn't eat him. Seriously.

Jordan Hasay Pulls Out of World Cross She's 15 and her parents are worried about the threat of terrorism or a street protest. When USATF issued guidelines to carry $10 or $20 to give to muggers, Jordan's dad decided she shouldn't go. Wejo (the hypocrite) still hasn't bought his ticket.
*Message board thread

Gov't Minister in Kenya Says World XCs Will be Safe

Cycling Continues Crackdown on Doping With Random Urine, Blood Tests and Teams Being Forced to Cough Up Thousands for Tests Times of London

The Pro Sports Continue to Take Billions of Tax Payer Subsidies While Abusing the Public Trust:
"Another factor contributing to HGH's popularity: Leagues that ban it don't test for it. There is only one effective test for HGH detection, and it involves a blood sample."
-Sports Illustrated article looking at the drug raid last week that should shake up the sports world some more but probably won't. Also check out the Albany Times Union special section on this.

European Athletics Bans Drug Cheats for 4 Years from Its Championships

Wacky News Items of Yesterday:
Unbelievable.
*Man Ran Half Marathon Barefoot in His Shorts Above Arctic Circle With it 35 Below (-31F) The guy is slightly tougher than Max King. He's going to climb Mt. Everest now with his shirt off.
Interesting:
*Emily Field: Unheralded Runner of the Week, 3rd at USATF Indoors, She Ran a Marathon 50 Straight Days on Her Own Last Summer Yep, she pulled her own Dean Karnazes just to prove a point. Got to admire the determination. She's from Texas though, what do you expect.
Not Going to Happen:
Some Guy in Britain Wants 75k so he Can Train for the Olympics (And He's a 1:15 Half Marathoner) You've got to give him credit though. He quit his job and is making a DVD.

Got a News Story for Letsrun.com? Email us

NCAA Indoor Men's Entries
*NCAA Indoor Women's Entries

Collegiate Action:
IC4A:
*Josh McDougal Runs 13:37 5k 2:33 last 1000. Pretty damn impressive.
*Cornell Wins IC4As 1st Ivy League team to win in 35 years. 1st win for Cornell in 77 years. And LetsRun.com's Rojo got one for the thumb as Cornell won its 5th straight 4*800 title.
*UConn Wins ECACs
Previous:
*Alex Wilson Day 1 Results: Texas 9:31 DMR Thanks to Manzano's 3:57 Manzano blew away Solinsky over the final 300. Rupp faltered after going out in 1:58.
*Notre Dame Alex Wilson Last Chance Results
*UW Last Chance: AJ Nation First Collegian in 4:00 for Mile Maybe he should have anchored the DMR instead of Rupp.

NACAC XC Results It's some quasi championship. The US men swept the top spots.

Attendance Was up at Kenyan XC Trials allafrica.com

Lueyi Dovy, 4*100m Medallist for France, Get Fine for HGH Charge

Believe In Yourself
"I read lots of stories about other sports, particularly American sports stories about people overcoming obstacles, and I'm fascinated by those sorts of things. Because that's what I do, that's the heart of it. Everyone thinks it's to do with the training … you can learn about the training in four or five books — it's written everywhere. It's the other stuff. Some people, no matter how much you tell them, they'll never be able to do it."
-Australian coach Nic Bideau (Craig Mottram's coach and Cathy Freeman's ex) in an excellent profile

New Website: RunProvidence.com Ray Treacy has a nice group in Providence.. Plus read about Kim Smith passing out in the heat in Puerto Rico

Europe Getting Tough on Drugs: European Athletics Association Proposing Lifetime Bans for Drug Cheats
*UK Sport Not to Relax Missed Test Anti Doping Policy BBC

World Marathon Majors Teleconference Full Transcript The race directors reveal London will be on tv in the States (no details announced), talk about the Runner's World Running Times merger, and about the LA Marathon (not by name) not paying its bills on time.

Cure Wejo's Navicular Stress Fracture

Business School Research Project Looking for Runners to Give Feedback You can Win Free Running Gear for Filling Out 4 Surveys

Fundraiser for Amber Galvan, Daughter of Olympian Liza Galvan

Thumps Up (Or Should it Be Down): The Los Angeles Marathon Has Finally Paid Out Its Prize Money from 2006 A race of this stature should be embarassed for operating in such a fashion. The 2007 race is this weekend.

$70,000 Up for Grabs at US Women's Marathon Champs Which are a Part of Boston Marathon There is a world marathon majors press call today. Hopefully, there is some news on London being availalable to be watched in the US. Boston is on OLN.

DIII With Some Love: Lynchburg Gets Its 10th Straight Conference Title As Their Coach Gets His 60th Crown

More Weekend Action We Didn't Report Yesterday: Asafa Powell's Relay Squards Come Up Short in Jamaica IAAF
*South American XC Champs Recap IAAF

World XCs Approaching:
Ethiopia: Tadesse Tola Surprises at Ethiopian XCsI
*Moses Mosop Wants to Beat Bekele at World XCs
Kenyan XC Trials: IAAF Recap: Moses Mosop and Florence Kiplagat Win Kenyan XC Trials
*Kenyan XC Trials RecapEA Standard
*Eliud Kipchoge Named to Kenyan Team Despite Dropping Out at Trials
Photos: *Senior Men's Photos at Kenyan XC Trials
*Senior Women's Photos at Kenyan XC Trials
*Junior Race Photos at Kenyan XC Trials
Europe: Lebid and Inzikuru win at 30th Almond Blossom XC

Woman Who Had Cervical Cancer Surgery This Month Wins Cowtown Marathon

Paula Radcliffe Hopes to Return to Racing in June, She is only 2kg over Weight Isla will probably be running by then too.

Korea 2011 World Bid Could Be Hurt by Lack of Top Notch Athletes

Paris Indoor Results: Gail Devers 4th
*Paris Indoor RecapIAAF
*Isinbayeva to Skip European Indoors

China and Russia Seens As Favorites over US in Japanese Ekiden on Sunday We think the author is overlooking the extremely strong US team. If this US team doesn't win, one may never get it done.

Boston Gets Deeper: 2005 Champ, Hailu Negussie, and ChasingKimbia's (and 2006 Runner-up) Benjamin Maiyo and 2004 runner-up Robert Cheboror Join Boston Field

UK's Chris Thompson Out of World XCs With Injury BBC

Bekele May Run World Cross

Do You Want to See Kenenisa Bekele Run World Cross? Yes 83.5% No 16.5%   Total Votes: 2224

Should Dathan Ritzenhein Run World Cross? Yes 78.7% No 21.3%   Total Votes: 1872

Great Listen If You've Got 30 Minutes: Billy Mills Interview Before LetsRun.com, Billy was making his dreams become reality. He talks about still not totally belonging in America, the Marines changing his life, and much more.

1 Race, 1 Champion, 1 Helluva After Party: LetsRun.com/ Reebok Afterparty Photos
The stars were out in full force for the LetsRun.com / Reebok Post-Race Party. Exclusive Photos.
More Boulder 2007 Photos: Women's Race Watch Deena Kastor dominate. Watch a slide show if you want.
Mens Race: Witness Culpepper's Come From Behind Victory
Junior Races

This Is Not a Joke: Regina Jacobs to Be Inducted Into Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame We're flabbergasted but perhaps we shouldn't be. If someone wants to attend the event on our dime, click here.

Footlocker XC Contest
Check the provisional final scores. Email us if you think there are errors. The scoring system is here. If you didn't play and want to check the scores click here.

Wejo Speaks:
"In running however, there are not bonus points for running 'hard.' The point is to run fast. There is a difference. Don't forget that."
-Letsrun.com's Wejo explaining "Why He Sucked in College" but went on to be 4th in the country in the 10k"

In Case You Forgot JK is a genius: "John (JK)is the whole inspiration [for] why my brother and I are into running,His philosophy is what we use here at Cornell."- LetsRun.com's Rojo on the legendary JK

Trails are the #1 Amenity Homeowners Would Like to See in a New Community New York Times

More on the Amazing John Woodruff from Arizona Republic: "I'm most proud that I was able to do what I did in track and field in order to bring a good name for the Woodruffs."- John Woodruff
-NY Times Article on Woodruff
*There is a Race in Woodfuff's Name in PA

On the Boards:
*College Coaching Salaries Exposed If you're in it for the money get a job teaching high school. It pays better.

So True: "Eight years ago, Yesalis and UCLA labratory chief Don Catlin were asked independently how much money it would take for research to really fight doping, and both said the figure would be in excess of $50 million. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency spends roughly $2million a year on research."-New York Daily News writer T.J. Quinn, a man who understands the charade of the 'clean' Olympics.

Arthur Lydiard Quotes:
"Train Don't Strain"
-famed distance coach Arthur Lydiard
Friday's Lydiard Quote: "Americans arrogantly want it all now, this is why they finish last. Speed must be used in proper proportions. Build and build like the Afrikans. This is the only way to realise your potential."
-famed distance coach Arthur Lydiard

'Suddenly I got to the age of 36, and one day I realized I can't ever run any quicker than I'm running at this moment"
(Coe reportedly stopped midwork and never ran another competitive step)
-SebCoe, 2 time 1500m gold medallist and former 800m world record holder, according to Frank Deford in an audio essay on the doping scandal.

Great Advice:
"I am glad that because I chose to focus on a personal goal, pursued passionately and today I bear testimony of what it can yield, even beyond my wildest expectations. I hope that this will somehow encourage someone here today as well, to pursue his dream and vision...Usually, I get quite enriched whenever I have an opportunity to positively touch the life of someone. Such opportunities to show concern enable me, and indeed all of us, to share what God has placed into our hands."
-World Record Holder in the Marathon and Humanitarian Paul Tergat in his acceptance speech for his honary degree from Bloomfield College in New Jersey.

More Great Advice for the Greatest Distance Runner Ever:
Haile Gebrselassie says work hard, be patient, and take your recovery days seriously. Good Read.

Great Read/Advice: Such a Simple Sport:
"I train twice every day except on Sundays and on Christmas Day."
-the great Haile Gebrselassie, on his training over the holidays. He says his New Year's resolution is to win the gold medal at 10k and break the 10k world record. And Gebrselassie is still young as it is only 1996 in Ethiopia (we swear).

Great Read: "...there would be days I would run 70 km (43 miles) and then there are days I would run 20 or so. I just mentioned that figure (70) to state that there are days I would actually run up to 70 or so. The fact that I can run that much gives me confidence and makes me believe I am doing a good job."
-former world record holder in the marathon Naoko Takahashi in Part I of a fascinating interview with Japan Times on her training
*Part II Here

Inspirational Running Poem

You know you're a runner if....... (our reader's fill in the blanks with some hilarious responses on the message boards)

Is it the VAAM?:
"I thought for a few minutes my legs would be sore. But my legs weren't heavy at all. I went jogging and felt as good as ever."
-Naoka Takahashi won won the Berlin marathon and reportedly went for a "long run" the day after. Takahashi credits some of her success to VAAM, the sports drink from made from stomach acid of killer hornets that she drinks.
If you want order VAAM click here

Runnersworld.com apologizes to letsrun.com