Where Your Dreams Become Reality

Quote of the Day:

“I decided I never wanted to do another marathon again,”
-American Kate O'Neil (an identical twin and Yale graduate), who is one of the favorites to make the US Olympic Team on Sunday, saying what she felt after finishing 3rd in her first marathon in Chicago last Fall.  No worries, Kate, running a marathon in 90+ heat is a lot different than what you'll experience on Sunday. Kate also got a big profile in the Boston Globe and an article in USA Today. Besides having to overcome the discouragement from running a marathon in 90+ temps, Kate on a daily basis has to overcome comparing her form to Ryan Hall's. “I don’t have smooth form. When I get tired, my right arm still swings a lot. It’s something I’ve been working on over the years to improve. I see the way Ryan Hall runs and his form is perfect, and then I think what I look like.”

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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
Looking for a good running book ? Read our mini-reviews and suggestions

Ryan Shay
1979-2007

*Official Ryan Shay Remembrance Thread.
*Ryan Shay Photo Gallery

We interview one of our own:
LetsRun.com's Rojo talks about coaching at Cornell

Get Ready For Another Great Weekend of Marathoning
US Women's Olympic Marathon Trials Are Sunday-

(They've got a pretty slick website, but need to take Colleen de Reuck off the homepage)
*Deena Kastor Out To Win She admits she wasn't as serious about the Trials last time out and it almost cost her an Olympic spot.
*
Runnersworld Asks: Should Deena Kastor Be Given A Bye On The Olympic Team? We can see why people would ask the question but the answer is NO as it opens up a huge slippery slope and nothing is more American than the US trials. Is it really too hard to ask her to do a tempo run to make it? She literally could spot the field a mile and still make it.
*Magdalena Lewy Who Became A Citizen On 9/11/01 Looking To Make Olympic Team
*Nice Boston Globe Profile On Hometown Favorite Kate O'Neil The identical twin and Yale graduate is almost a lock to make the team in our minds. Wejo says: Twin/Yale power!!!

*NY Times Profile of O'Neil
*Kate O'Neill Q&A in USA Today

*Faces Of The Trials
Everyone who qualifies has a good story. From the Iraqi war vet to the woman who put on her own marathon a week before the deadline to qualify
Great Read: Emily LeVan Will Be Running Trials To Raise Money For Cancer Research
She isn't your standard charity runner. How about trying to train or the Trials while your 4 year old is battling leukemia? So far, LeVan has raised $64k+.

*Dallas Dentist Melisa Christian Started Running in 2002 With Galloway Run/Walk Program
*Ryan Hall to Be In Boston This Weekend
USA Today He told us he's going to the Red Sox game. We told him he should be throwing out the first pitch.
Boston Monday
(the Race will be live on tv (Versus) and the internet (WCSN)

*Michael Wardian Gets a Profile in the Boston Globe He's the guy who has already run 13 marathons this year and sometimes does 2 in one weekend (and fast)
Previous:
A Must Read 50 Yr. Old Joan Benoit Running Her Last Trials -Major props to The Boston Globe for doing an extensive profile of the inspirational 50-year-old former Olympic champ. Can anyone imagine a 50-year-old man making the Trials? *Maine Paper's Profile Of Their Hero*NY Times Profile Of Benoit
*
Samuelson To Be Inducted Into US Olympic Hall of Fame

Runnerville Podcast Matt Taylor is the only guy good enough to make it as a letsrun consultant, so you should listen to the show. Amby Burfoot talks about winning Boston in 1968, plus Toni Reavis has audio interviews from the 70s with some Boston legends.

Boston Is Monday
Great News: Boston Marathon To Put Sponsors Ads At Start & Finish and Increase Prize Money By 38%
Giving the sponsors more exposure has enabled Boston to increase its prize money from $575,000 to $796,000 - making it the 'richest' of the world marathon majors. The fact that Boston has finally become PR-savvy enough to brag about it being the richest of the world marathon majors (when in reality it's one of the poorest) may finally show that Boston has joined the modern era of professional marathons. All we can say is, it's about time.

*Boston Race Director Guy Morse Still Calling The Shots Despite Rupturing Both Quadriceps and Having Prostrate Cancer
*A Look Back At Last Year's Race - Just How Close Was it To Being Cancelled?

London More Than Lived Up To Its Hype
*
Ryan Hall Wins USA Today Weekly Olympic Athlete Of The Week Award We sure hope a 2:06 would win it.
*
Wejo Points Out Lel May Have Not Been Youngest To Win 5 Majors Frank Shorter
won 5 majors by the age of 27, assuming you count Fukuoka as a major (which it certainly was in the 1970s), as well as the Olympics. Really it's a moot point as it's a totally different era.
Post-Race Recap : After Sunday's Win, Martin Lel is Now Convinced he Can Get World Record
In the day after the press conference for the men's and women's champions, Lel says he thought midway through the race on Sunday that they were going to run under 2:04 before the conditions turned bad. He is now convinced he can get the world record and get it in London (which prior to yesterday he thought was impossible).
*Lel and Wanjiru Will Have To Wait Until After Boston To See If They Make Olympics
*An Interesting Look at What Wanjiru Was Saying To The Kenyan Press Prior to London He said he was fit and wanted to run 2:05. He did that - and lost.
*101 Year Old Buster Martin May Only Be 94
*A Look At How Record Holders Prove Their Age
This Guy Has Totally Won Back Our Respect

Maasai Warriors Finish Marathon link fixed One of them went back to the course and finished the race a day after being forced to go the hospital after a ceremonial wrap cut off his circulation. He said, "It was very important for me to do this. This is what I came to England for."

LetsRun.com London Men: Lel Leads 3 Under 2:05:30!!!, Ryan Hall 2:06:17

Ryan Hall Goes Through Halfway on World Record Pace
The 2008 Flora London Marathon will be remembered for a long time. The lead pack of 9 went through 5k at 14:21 (2:01 pace). They continued together (yes, all 9) through halfway on world record pace (1:02:13). Ryan Hall then went to the front soon after and asked the pacemakers to go FASTER. Soon Hall was off the back, but he would catch the leaders briefly again and go on to run 2:06:17. (Until Sunday, only 7 guys had ever run under 2:06:15, now 11 have.). Up front, it came down to a 3-man battle over the final mile before Martin Lel got his 3rd straight World Marathon Major win over the final quarter mile as he led 6 guys under 2:07 and to $50,000 bonuses each. Recap, photos, video above

LetsRun.com Ryan Hall Reflects On his Incredible Run
We tell you (and let you watch) what Ryan, his dad, his grand-dad, his coach and even Martin Lel had to say about Ryan. Lel was full of praise for the American and shocked by Ryan's attempt to get the pacemakers to go even faster. If Hall didn't already have your respect, he does after reading this article as he pays homage to a throwback type of guy - Steve Jones. Text and Video.
LetsRun.com Video: R
yan Hall Talks About His 2:06:17 at the 2008 Flora London Marathon
*More LRC London Videos Here
*
Photo Gallery

LetsRun.com Ryan Hall's Coach Terrence Mahon Assesses Ryan's Chances "I would not be surprised if he won the race on Sunday" We sat down and talked to Mahon about Ryan Hall's meteoric rise in the marathon, expectations for Sunday, the pressure Mahon feels in coaching Ryan and Deena, the mental side of coaching, the 1:02:30 half way pace, and much more. Text and video above.
LetsRun.com!
Wejo Speaks: Friday in London (With Ryan Hall)
Wejo goes behind the scenes and tries to give you a little glimpse what's it's like marathon week in London. Ryan tried to keep himself entertained by watching a match race over 800m between his wife Sara and his coach, Terrence Mahon.
LetsRun.com! London Tidbits Bank of America Chicago Marathon inks with Nike, Paul Tergat's military commitment, Kenyan athletics taxes, Kenny B and of course Alan Webb.

Previous:
LetsRun.com
2008 Flora London Marathon Women's Press Conference: The $250,000 and $500,000 Ethiopians Adere and Wami Set to Battle Huge paydays don't seem to have killed the desire of the two Ethiopian stars. They'll have a slew of challengers including Kenyan Salina Kosgei who was unable to leave her house for three weeks due to the violence.
*Friday: Ryan Hall Update: 34:25 Video Interview. We'll have more on Ryan, and our 2008 Flora London Marathon Predictions by Saturday but are putting this up now.
Thursday:
*London Times Profile Of Ryan Hall
We missed this one yesterday.
LetsRun.com
Ryan Hall:"The Future"(And Present?)
Western Civilization's great hope received the compliment of a lifetime at Wednesday's press conference when reigning Olympic champ Stefano Baldini called him "the future" and said he could win "a lot of medals." Hall himself seemed full of optimism and certainly didn't try to downplay expectations for Sunday. "Last year I proved I can do it through 23 miles (37 kilometers). This year, my expectations have grown from that."
*Video Highlight of Press Conference at link above.
LetsRun.com Flora London Marathon Men's Press Conference The greatest marathon of the year is Sunday and we're there to bring you the action. Only in London is the field so loaded that the 2nd fastest marathoner from the year before (Emmanual Mutai) is not invited to the press conference. How can that be? Because London has Ryan Hall, Martin Lel, Luke Kibet, Stefano Baldini, Sammy Wanjiru, Abderrahim Goumri, Felix Limo, Hendrick Ramaala and others. The piece includes video from Lel and Wanjiru.
LRC:
Photo Gallery from Wednesday

*Stefano Baldini's Marathon Show Rolls On
The 36-year-old doesn't think he can win in London but he's hoping to defend in Beijing.
*Paula Radcliffe Offers Training Tips and Gives Insight On Her Rebound From Injury Radcliffe missed 8 weeks due to her toe injury but has been back running for two weeks now and is feeling good.
*Nice IAAF Profile of America's Great Hope Ryan Hall The author points out that in less than a year, Hall has gone from a marathon virgin to being annointed as "the future" by the defending Olympic champ. Remarkable. Hall: "I certainly believe I can win."

World XC
Men *
Results *Race Reports
Bekele Amazes Again

Wins 6th Long Course Title Despite Losing His Shoe

Bekele tried to give the rest of the runners in the world a chance. He lost a shoe 2km in to the race, stopped, and put it back on (losing 15 seconds or so). He then wasted no time and zoomed back to the front, pretended to be tired for a little while, then crushed the field over the final loop. Unheralded Leonard Patrick Komon (4th last year in juniors) was 2nd and Tadese 3rd. As we predicted Jorge Torres finished 19th place and no non-African finished in the top 10 as Craig Mottram finished 31st. *Men's Results

*Message board blow by blow here
*Leonard Patrick Komon Barely Made Kenyan Team for Worlds, But Leaves Worlds With Silver Medal At the Kenyan Trials, he got a stitch, faded back to the 40s, and then battled back to finish 7th.
*Race Results Weekly Recap of 2008 World Cross Country Champs

On the boards:
What would the US have finished in World CC team results w/ best lineup racing?
*Photo of Bekele Looking Like a 70 Year Old Scottish Man
*Bekele's Wife Almost Feinted When His Shoe Fell Off Times of London
*Recap of World XCs from the Scotsman
*Photos
*
More World XC Photos
Junior Boys: Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jeilan Wins Junior Race at World XCs IAAF
*On the boards:
GERMAN FERNANDEZ #1 US finisher!! Take that all you non believers!! -

2008 NCAA Indoors: Complete Results
D2 & D3 Info Here

*Kyle Who?
Arizona State Wins Men's & Women's Team Titles as Kyle Alcorn Shocks Field & Wins 3k To Lead Sun Devils To Team Title Over FSU
On Friday, Alcorn led ASU to a surprise 2nd in the DMR. On Saturday, he shocked everyone once again and blew away the 3k field with a big kick in the next to last event to put his team into a tie with FSU. It came down to the 4 x 400 and ASU edged FSU by a second to win. Alcorn's never been a real big collegiate name before today, but he apparently had a gnarly 55 second last lap in HS in the 3200.
*3k Thread Here
In other action, Texas' Leonel Manzano completed the DMR/Mile sweep as was expected by winning the mile with the big surprise being that his teammate Jake Morse was 2nd. The other big surprise was how average the field looked considering you had to run 4:00 to get in. In the ladies' distance races, it was all FSU as Hannah England won the mile and Susan Kuikjen won the 3k.
*Baylor Wins 3rd Straight 4*400

2008 World Indoors : *Results
*Event by Event Recaps

Yelena SobolevaSunday: Recap Soboleva 3:57.71 WR in 1500, 18 Year Old Kaki Wire to Wire 1:44.81 in 800, Bekele JR Wins 3k, Bryan Clay Wins Heptathlon

*Race Results Weekly Distance Recap Here

The performers at worlds saved the best for last. Most impressive was the women's 1500 where Yelena Soboleva broke her own wold record and picked up $90,000 as she led 4 women under the 4 minute barrier as the top 5 all set PBs.
18 year old Abubaker Kaki was almost as impresive in the men's 800, as the 18 year old led wire to wire to win in a 1:44.81 personal best as the entire field set personal bests including Nick Symmonds who finished last (6th). Tariku Bekele was nearly as impressive as his older brother as he went 3:56 the last 1600 to get the win in the 3000m as Craig Mottram finished out of the medals. Lastly, Australia's Tasmyn Lewis shocked the field to win the women's 800
Video: *Tamsyn Lewis Wins 800 at Worlds
Video: *Defar Wins 3k at Worlds
Video: *Liu Xiang Gets Gold over Allen Johnson in Hurdles
*On the boards:
*Kaki=Awesome (Nick Symmonds= Runnersworld Model)

*Soboloeva wins $90k
*Women's 1500 WR, 4 Sub 4:00, 5 PBs
*
T Bekele averages 29.1 sec's for the last 7 laps of World Ind. 3k! (3:56 last 1600, 3:54 pace last 1400)
Saturday: Is there anything left for the Kenyans? Deresse Mekonnen Dan Komen Deresse Mekonnen Wins 1500 Mekonnen originally won the race but was DQd along with Nick Willis (for stepping on the infield.). In other action Meseret Defar blew away the field in the women's 3000m with a 28.8 last lap. Nick Symmonds looked incredible in his 800m semifinal. Liu Xiang got his first indoor gold and all that is left is gold in Beijing. American veteran Allen Johnson got the silver.
High Jump: Stefan Holm Wins 4th World Indor High Jump Title
Hurdles:*Lolo Jones Gets World Indoor Gold
*
Liu Xiang Gets His First World Indoor Gold

Long Jump: Britain's Chris Tomlinson Gets Silver in World Long Jump
Photos:
*Saturday PM *Saturday AM (Qualifying)
*Friday
Video on Demand and Highlights:
Entire meet on demand on WCSN
*
Day 2 Highlight Video: 2 Minutes
*
Dayron Robles Thinks There is a False Start and Stops in 60m Hurdles
*
Cantwell Wins Shot
*
Fasuba Wins Men's 60
*
Angela Williams Wins 60
*Photos
*Friday Recap: Christian Cantwell Wins Shot, Angela Williams and Olusoji Fasuba Win 60
Olusoji Fasuba got Africa's first gold in the indoor 60 as Britain's Dwain Chambers ran a pb to get silver in what may be his final race as everyone is trying to blackball the ex drug cheat from the sport.
*
Day 1 Evening Distance Recap: Maria Mutola Takes First Step Towards Eighth World Indoor Title
Shot: Cantwell Wins Shot Gold, Says Critics Can Kiss His Ass IAAF
60: *Dwain Chambers Gets Silver at World Indoors
Guardian

Heptathlon:Tia Hellebaut Wins Heptathlon
IAAF
*Kelly Sotherton Comes Close But Settle for Silver in Heptathlon

IAAF Previews: Men *Women

RYAN HALL 2:09:02 Ryan Hall put on one of the most impressive performances ever in American marathoning history, as he destroyed the field and coasted to victory in an incredible 2:09:04 (after a 1:06:17 1st half, yes that's a 1:02:47 2nd half on the hills of Central Park) on the very difficult NYC course. Dathan Ritzenhein ran a very impressive 2:11:07 to get 2nd while Brian Sell got the 3rd Olympic spot in 2:11:40. Former World Record holder Khalid Khannouchi ran a very gutsy race to finish 4th.
Ryan Hall is the real deal in case you didn't know. Here are his 5k splits on the very difficult NY course to prove how incredible he is at the marathon: 16:44, 15:41, 15:27, 15:12, 15:05, 14:48, 14:28. Yes that's right a 14:28 from 30 to 35k. Hall pumped his fist, pointed to the heavens, and waved to the crowd the final mile savoring the incredible run and still ran a 15 minute 5k pace for the final 7.2k (14.56 from 35 to 40k)
*Results
Race Recap From RunnersWorld's Amby Burfoot Amby did an excellent job covering the lead up to the Trials so it is fitting we link to his race article.
*NBCOlympics Recap of 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials: Triumph and Tragedy
*Quotes
*Video: Watch the on Demand (For Free, Skip to Any Crucial Point Instantaneously. Thank you NBC)
*Post Race Press Conference Videos Top 3, Meb, Culpepper, Khannouchi, Lehmkuhle
*Dathan Ritz Quotes
*Brian Sell Quotes

*Khalid Khannouchi 4th at Trials A great great run for Special K. He got 4th hobbling around the park.
*Photos
Excellent ones from letsrun.com message boarders skylon

Boston Globe Looks At 20 Years of Kenyan Dominance At Boston

LetsRun.com Boston Party Update
The response to the LetsRun.com Party Hosted by Puma in Boston was overwhelming. We had hundreds of people apply for a very limited number of spots. We show you some of the lucky winners, lucky losers, and let you pick who is the most deserving person at the party and the person who got shafted the most. Plus details on the party, Harpoon beer, Sauza tequila, and models on hand to give out the gift bags.

Worth the Wait (Wejo Was Impressed When he Read it): LetsRun.com Week That Was We give our exclusive analysis of the last week in the running world and the incredible Flora London Marathon. We put London in perspective, debate where Ryan Hall's run ranks in the history of American running, point out he was on 2:05:49 pace at the 25 mile mark, and rip into the LA Times. In non-London action, we praise Lopez Lomong (and wonder if Lopez had run the 1500 last year at the US champs, if Bernard Lagat would have even made the US team (he was 3rd at the US Champs),Chris Derrick, and others. Plus, we may finally end the American love affair with Gabe Jennings.

The New York Times Examines Sara Hall's Training To Help Teach People How To Properly Train A long piece with lots of quotes from Terrence Mahon

Kenyan Trials For Next Week's African Champs Set To Begin Asbel Kiprop and others that skipped xc are expected to shine.

New Zealand Selects 8 For Olympic Team No it's not Kim Smith, Nick Willis and 6 others no one cares about. Villanova assistant coach Adrien Blincoe made the cut and New Zealand has a big-time gold medal prospect in Valerie Vili in the women's shot put.

US Boys Footlocker (HS XC) Champ Mike Fout Battling Back From Injury

We're Not Making This Up
*
Beijing Olympic Stadium Is Complete and 1st Event is A Big Race Walk
The race walk and lots of other sports shouldn't even be in the Olympics.

Olympic Marathon Champs Baldini/Noguchi Speak To The Press
*
Baldini Thinks Says He Believe He Still Can Win In What May Be His Last Marathon He also finds the pressure to speak out on Tibet to be a distraction even though he finds what is happening there to be disgrace.
*
Like Paula Radcliffe, Olympic Champ Stefano Baldini Fears Heat in Beijing More Than Pollution
*Noguchi To Return To Altitude in China To Train
She left last month after developing a mysterious rash but says she can't let something so trivial prevent her from defending her Olympic title. It sounds like her training is going great as she says, "I'm glad that my speed has returned. I almost feel like I could run track events."

Bizarre: Phillips Idowu Dumps His Coach of 10 Years This is after he won world indoors and set a GB record.

Oregon, UCLA Having a Dual Meet This Weekend

Track and Field Slowly Dying in Europe? Helsinki After Hosting 2005 World Champs No Longer Has a Major Grand Prix

Matt Tegenkamp Reflects On His 3:40 Outdoor Opener He is "satisfied" with the race and impressed with AS's crowd, which is a way bigger crowd than at Stanford.

Scott Bauhs Gets Praise for His Sub 4 We're glad to see him get praise although the article isn't very good. The sub 4 is far from his most impressive thing to date.

Mo Greene - Day 3 -
*Our Favorite TV Announcer, Ato Boldon, Speaks Out: Not sure if he's talking about Mo Greene or Heredia, but either way this is a great quote. "One thing is clear, that the evidence and the facts will show someone to be a fraud and someone will be vindicated. I will make no further comment regarding this case until such time." Ato's website's Motto is "Drug Free Since 1973"

More Jump On Denial Bandwagon
43 Yr. Old Jamaican Sprinter Raymond Stewart Denies Heredia's Accusations
Stewart says he didn't do any of the things Heredia told him to do in an email.


Jo Pavey To Try To Defend Great Manchester Run Title

Namibia's Star 800/1,500 Runner Agnes Samaria Not Happy She's Told She Has To Hit Olympic Times Again This Year You'd think a 1:59 and 4:05 from last year would be god enough to guarantee a spot in tiny Namibia.

Mo Greene -Day 2
IAAF Comes In To Defend Greene - The world governing body said that before they made Greene an ambassador for the sport they did look into whether he was a doper and didn't find anything. Isn't this a tacit admission that they know the doping tests aren't effective? *IAAF: 'None of this is new"
*
Victor Conte Says Trevor Graham and John Smith Blew Lid on Balco To Get Rid of Dwain Chambers As A Threat To Their Sprint Stars
*
Sue Mott Column: Maurice Greene Is Just Latest Sprinter To React To Drug Accusations With Outrage Anyone remember Marion Jones' reaction?

Rotterdam:William Kipsang sets 2:05:49 course record in Rotterdam

You'll Be Hearing About This For a Long, Long Time
*
Maurice Greene, HSI Linked to Steroids A few HSI athletes have been caught doping in the past (Larry Wade the most notable), but this NY Times article brings to print some of the rumors some of you may have heard. And it is a sad, sad day for American sprinting if true.*Times Of London Story on Maurice Greene Being Accused Of Doping
Maurice Greene Defends Himself He says he never used drugs but did pay for teammates bills without asking what it was for. Greene: "This is a bad situation for me. My name's come up in something and it's not true."

LetsRun.com London Women: Mikitenko Wins Crazy Women's Race The women's race went totally not according to form. German Irina Mikitenko was the surprise winner. The race went out slow, then picked up, then slowed back again. Then Gete Wami wiped out at a water stop, nearly knocking her own teeth out, fell back off the back, then battled back only to get dropped again as Mikitenko threw it down the final 5k. And a perfectly sunny day turned into a cold rainstorm at times. Text, Photos, and Video
Other London Coverage:
*Yelling Makes GB Team: A great moment when she looked rival Hayley Haining in the eye at 19 miles,. Amazingly both ended up happy as both PRd.
*British Men Could Run 25 Miles, Everyone Else 26.2 Miles And They'd Still Lose in London

*World Marathon Majors Point Standing - Lel has a huge lead. Wami's is narrowed by Mikitenko
s
*Dick Patrick of USAToday Writes About Ryan Hall
*American Ryan Hall mixes it with Kenyans
*
AP Story on Ryan Hall: Hall Confident About Beijing Chances
*Quotes From The Top 3 In London

*Gas Leak Causes London Marathon to be Diverted

*Paula Radcliffe Talks About Her Beijing Preparations

*Jon Brown Blasts UK Performance Director Dave Collins The 4th placer in the marathon at the last two Olympics absolutely rips Collins - a man who somehow managed not to show up at world cross country last month when it was in Scotland..

101 Years Old, Still Smoking, Running, and Drinking: Buster Martin: "I'm not worried about the fags because I'll carry them with me. Everyone says smoking kills but it's taking a long time in my case" The 101 year old legend plans on smoking while running Sunday's London Marathon.

US 100k is Saturday - Greg Crowther To Defend Title
*Nice Profile Of Greg Crowther
The microbiologist thinks of how to cure malaria while racing

Marion Jones' 8 Relay Teammates Told To Return Medals The IAAF told Jerome Young's teammates to do the same thing but lawyers stopped the IAAF from making them do it.

The mysterious flash banner explained
LetsRun.com Party in Boston hosted by Puma

Next Saturday April 19

Free beer, tshirts, and more. If you want to come click above.

Hot Early Season 1,500 Chris Lukezic, Kevin Sullivan, Gareth Turnbull, Liam Reale To Sqaure Off At 1,500 On Friday at Sea Ray Relays

World XC Women: Tirunesh Dibaba Back on Top link fixed Ethiopia swept all the individual titles as Tirunesh Dibaba used her strong finishing kick to regain her individual crown after she battled back from being dropped by the leaders. Former Minnesota star Emily Brown led the US women to a fourth place finish.
*Benita Johnson Leads Sonia O'Sullivan Coached Australian Team to Bronze Team Medal IAAF

*Race Results Weekly Recap of 2008 World Cross Country Champs

*Women's Results
*All Results
*
Message board blow by blow here
*
Photos
*
More World XC Photos
Junior Girls: Genzebe Dibaba, Tirunesh's Little Sister, Gets World Junior XC Win The genetic lottery of life some times isn't fair. IAAF

LetsRun.com Jorge Torres, Shalane Flanagan Win in Central Park (link fixed)
Food Poisoning Does Webb In
*Recap, analysis, interviews and photos above *Results
Torres is probably the only guy in American who can say this: every time he has raced Alan Webb, he has beaten Webb. Torres, now training under the legendary Steve Jones, got the win in the final 800m over the very impressive of late Andrew Carlson. Alan Webb had some food poisoning on Thursday and despite leading at 5k faded to finish 16th. Shalane Flanagan had some stomach problems of her own on Thursday but they only seemed to limit her margin of victory as she won over Katie McGregor.
*Photos, video, analysis
*NY Times Article on US 8k Champs

Former 100m Olympic Champ Donovan Bailey Wants Lifetime Bans for Drug Cheats

High School Indoors: Puskedra 8:49 2 mile/ Lowe 8:50
*Photos More coverage here and here

On the boards: *Why did Kastor pull out of Lisbon?
*
Fallujah, Iraq Holds Its First 5K Road Race
*How good was Shalane Flanagan in high school?
And only on LetsRun:
Is NY Gov David Paterson a Marathon Cheater?
The guy is blind and likely ran without a chip or before they were turned on but nonetheless clearly the sleuths on the message boards do not discriminate on physical disability. In other news, Eliot Spitzer went for a long run in the Park once he knew the news of his prostitution ring was going to break.
*
LetsRun.com NCAA Basketball Pool

Pre-Race Coverage Of New York City 8ks
LetsRun.com Alan Webb, Carrie Tollefson, Shalane Flanagan on the Road to Beijing America's finest addressed the media and letsrun.com was on hand to cover it. From, Shalane Flanagan's praise of Mary W. "What Phil Knight (chairman of the board of Nike) is to Nike, Mary (Wittenberg) is to distance running.", to our 50 minute audio/video interview with Alan Webb on page 2, we've got it all. Text, photos, and video and even and mp3 you can download.

Page 2: More Relaxed, Confident Zen-Like Webb Ready for 2008 We sat and talked to Webb for 50 minutes and have a recap plus video and audio. Webb talks about his 2007 season, his goals for 2008, his desire to win races and how in high school he "did not know what he was doing".
*Shalane Flanagan in NYTimes
*Race Website

Above photos courtesy of Steve Starr.

Ryan Shay Run in Bermuda a Huge Success
Organizers Ashley Couper Estwanik and Chris Estwanik were expecting a handful of people, but instead hundreds showed up.

LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Women
Unbelievable
Adriana Pirtea Blows It

Just watch the video above. Shorter video here if you're impatient

*
Chicago Tribune Recap of Ivuti's Narrow Win
Adriana Pirtrea, a runner basically no one has heard of (including ourselves) (she did finish 2nd at an NCAA indoors once), was on her way to winning the Chicago Marathon. She had been clear of Berhane Adere for miles. Pirtrea, as she took the final turn, was high fiving the crowd. She had a 15 second lead with 58 seconds of runing left. Little did she know that Adere had overcome whatever problems she had had and was quickly making up ground. Pirtrea never looked back and was strolling into the finish thinking about her career changing win. Meanwhile, Adere was in an all out sprint on the other side of the road. She flew by Pirtrea and Pirtrea had no chance to respond. A truly incredible turn of events as Adere made up a 15 second deficent in 47 seconds. Watch it to believe it.
*Former Yalie Kate O'Neill 3rd in Her Debut

*Wheelchair Race Decided by 1 Second All the races in Chicago were close.

LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Men
Unvelievable:
Invuti Wins Unbelievable Finish in Chicago
Words don't do it justice just watch the video above.
*Chicago Tribune Recap of Ivuti's Narrow Win

It's hard for words to describe the greatest finish in (Chicago) marathon history. It came down to two time world champ
Jaouad Gharib and former track/xc star Patrick Ivuti, fresh off his 59:27 half marathon. Gharib surged ahead going up a slight incline down the finishing straight. Ivuti then battled back and took the lead on the downhill. Gharib dug back and retoook the lead as they barreled towards the finish and the two guys still standing there with the finish tape which is only about 5 feet wide. Ivuti surged back right at the finish and it was too close to tell but Ivuti got the win. Hot weather took its toll on everyone.
*Video: Patrick Ivuti Talks About His Narrow Win In Chicago

Millrose
*Results

LetsRun.com! 2008 Millrose Games Recap: Lagat Gets #6, Nelson Entertains, and Goucher Gets It Done Track and field's biggest indoor event saw Bernard Lagat capture his 6th Wanamaker mile, Kara Goucher get an exciting woen's mile win, and our hero Adam Nelson throws some bombs and entertains the crowd. Plus, upsets in the women's pole vault, women's hurdles and more.
*NY Times: Lagat Outduels Mottram
*LetsRun.com! Recap of 2008 Millrose Games High School Miles The boys mile is always the loudest event at Millrose.
*On the boards: Congrats to LetsRun.com Poster Crazystreaker on Winning the Boys' High School Mile
*Distance Photos

LetsRun.com 2007 World's Coverage:
*Sunday Homepage
Ndereba marathon
*Saturday Homepage
*Friday Homepage Tyson Gay
*Thursday Homepage Lagat
*
Wednesday's Homepage Lagat
*
Tuesday's Homepage Bekele 10k
*
Monday's Homepage Tyson Gay
*
Sunday's Homepage Dibaba/Goucher 10k
*Saturday's Homepage
Kibet Marathon

Mt. Sac Relays Underway
*Schedule
*
Live Results
*
Live Video
You know it's gonna be a good meet when the slow heat of the 10k is won in 28:36 and Khadevis Robinson is in a slow heat of the 1,500. The men's 5k (12:45 am Eastern) appears to be the highlight.

IAAF Asks Maurice Greene For Written Explanation They want him to explain his quotes in a Daily Telegraph article when he said he may have paid Heredia.

Austrian's 3k, 5k and 10k Record Holder Susanne Pumper Suspended For Doping She's not allowed to compete until her B sample is tested.

Katrina Krabbe Denies She Ever Doped: "I did not use a doping product but a banned medicine, and that is a fact." Krabbe ultimately won in court but she never resumed her athletic career.

Comrades Record Holder Leonid Shvetsov Suing Comrades for $67,000+ As He Never Received Gold Statue For Breaking Course Record You break a 21-year old course record, you deserve to get paid.

Allen Johnson Says Cuba's Daryn Robles Not World Record-Holder and Defending Champ Liu Xiang Is Olympic Favorite Johnson is correct in pointing out the Robles is way faster (.09) over 60 hurdles than Xiang. Johnson's analysis is dead on but we're sure the press will over-hype it and misinterpret it.

Lance Armstrong Just Wants a 3 Hour Marathon in Boston
*Message Board Thread on Lance

Drug news: Victor Conte Says HSI's John Smith Met With Him in 2001 to Try and Figure Out What He Was Supplying His Athletes

Good Drug News: Allyson Felix, Brian Clay Voluntarily Join Testing Program with USADA to Show They're Clean
The program shouldn't be voluntary

Former E. German Sprinter Katrin Krabbe Insists She Was Clean  Sadly the "E" before the German doesn't give her much leeway with us.

Mr. Mom
With Daddy Dathan Taking Care of Child, Kalin Ritzenhein Wins 10 Mile in 1 Hr

Liu Xiang To Run in Reebok Grand Prix in NYC
- 1,500 extra seats are being brought in to meet extra demand expected for the May 31st meet.


New Humorous Audio Running Interviews: Mike & Ira Show

*
Kim Smith Reveals All The New Zealand star talks at length about running, beer, and her fortuitous move from McNeese St to New Zealand. She says despite being NCAA champ in xc, she doesn't think she's a very good cross country runner and despite running a 4:24 indoor mile, she'll never have a good kick. She ends the interview with 6 off topic questions including whether she deep down wants Nick Willis to trip and fall. She concludes by saying "you can make Americans believe some pretty interesting things."
*Bruce Hyde Interview - The former Cornell star talks about the keys (poker/beer) to his breakthrough "3:55 mile," plus he picks his 1,500 Olympic team and talks about Abdi's sweet rims and what it's like to live with a living legend in JK.

Arcadia: In Search Of The Next Ryan Hall
Chris Derrick Runs Solo 13:55 At Arcadia To Smash HS Only National Record - A remarkable negative split. Fueled on by the crowd he ran 8:49 for his last 3200. The performance totally overshadowed Puksedra's 8:46 win in the 3,200 as well as Hasay's 10:03 in the girls 3200. Video of Chris Derrick's Historic 5k
*IAAF: Hasay/Derrick Win MVP

US Track Action
*Lopez Lomong Smokes Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky and Jonathon Riley in 1,500 Lomong is the real deal. Scary to think that either Lomong, Manzano, Webb or Lagat will not be on the Olympic team.
*Josh McDougal Opens Season With 19 Second Win in 1,500 - He ran 3:45.60 in windy conditions
Stanford Sweeps Big Meet With Cal For 2nd Straight Year*Full Results

On the boards: *Luke Puksedra/Chris Derrick Talk

Maasai Quickly Adapt To Britain: *Donate Here (£13,331.00 Raised so far: )
Maasai Mania Comes To America: *Great NPR Interview of Greenforce Director About Maasai's 1st Few Days In Britian
Snow was a huge shock to them.
*
Maasai Learn To Quickly Love Tea With 10 Spoonfuls of Sugar Imagine how great sugar would be if you never had it before. They also are obsessed with Coco-Pops. They aren't worried about the marathon at all.
*
Maasai Impressed By Flatscreens & Shrek They like the donkey in Shrek, as they have donkeys at home.
Maasai Told to Not Kill Livestock They See, Not Urinate in Public
Maybe the Brits need to go to Eugene for diversity training.
says Mania: Britain

A Must Read: Profile of Ultramarathoning Legend Bruce Fordyce
Good Read:
Norris Frederi
ck II, 2nd Placer at NCAA Long Jump, is a High Jump Threat as Well and Has Matured Since His Father's Murder

April Fools Day - See Our April Fools Day Home Page Here For all of you guys that have always thought that an Ivy League degree is way overrated based on the amount of typos we have on this site, we have to say, "You are right." We can report that Bruce Hyde got congratulatory emails for his "3:55 mile" from several idiotic Ivy Leaguers who lack common sense.
April Fools Archives:

Apparently, our 2004 April Fools edition was the best as a woman wrote us saying she "should not be forced to read an entire article" without knowing it was true and we would be
lucky to escape a lawsuit.
*2007 *2006
*2005 (we didn't have one)
*2004 *2003
*2002 *2001

Blue Collar Running: Camp Phoenix Marathon Kabul, Afghanistan

Video of Asafa Powell's 9.74 WR

On the boards: Have the Japanese Perfected Lydiard Training?

Video Race Highlights:
1500
: The Final lap of the men's 1500m
Video:
Horrendous Fall in Men's Steeplechase Warning this is not for the faint of heart
Video: Video of Tyson Gay's 200m Win

Training Advice:
Advice from the pros

Top 10 Training Tips

LetsRun.com's Weldon Johnson gives his top 10 training tips in this letsrun.com classic when the site first launched.. They helped him knock 1:22 off his 10k pr in one race and will definitely help you too.
No Shortcuts
LetsRun.Com coaching consultant John Kellogg outlines his basic coaching approach and gives the four principles to correct training for elites. LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson translates Mr. Kellogg's approach so that it is beneficial for the masses.

Wejo Speaks:
Why I Sucked in College
Perhaps Wejo's Most Popular Training Article Ever
"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"

Rojo Speaks:
*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

JK Speaks: JK Speaks: Progressing To Peak Fitness LetsRun.com coaching guru John Kellogg talks about progression runs and the art of the sport versus the science of the sport.

Learn From a Legend
Arthur Lydiard Quotes:

"
Train Don't Strain"

-famed distance coach Arthur Lydiard
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

Learn/ Be Inspired from the Stars:
Yet Again The LetsRun.com Training Philosophy Is Proven True:

"Everything has been part of a master plan. Of course we've had to re-focus and re-adjust along the way, like everyone does, but there has always been a plan. [Years] 2005 and 2006 were all about training for 2007 and 2008. The last couple of years, we were trying to build up the strength he needs to win championship medals in the 1,500.''
-Scott Raczko, coach of Alan Webb, talking about how their focus on strength the last two years is paying big dividends in a feature in America's top sports magazine, Sports Illustrated (although we are pretty sure the article appears only online).

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).

Geb:
More Great Advice for the Greatest Distance Runner Ever:

Haile Gebrselassie says work hard, be patient, and take your recovery days seriously.
Good Read.
*
Haile Gebrselassie's Addicted to Running:
"I always have a goal to do something. That way I keep running. It's an addiction to winning. But it's also an addiction to run - it is like a drug. If I'm not sweating I don't feel good."

Cheruyiot
A Must Read
Inspirational Profile of Boston Marathon Record Holder Robert Cheruiyot The life story of Cheruiyot, who is looking for his 3rd Boston title Monday, is truly remarkable
LetsRun.com
R
ojo Speaks: Inspired By a Kenyan Robert Cheruyiot Cheruyiot is a true star in the sport and a truly unbelievable rags to riches story.

Some of the Highlights From Our Archives:
You Know You're a Runner If...
(our reader's fill in the blanks with some hilarious responses on the message boards)

Kenya: LetsRun.com's Wejo went to Kenya for the World XC Championships and then he toured the country and explored the secreats of some of the Kenyan greats. See some of his insights on this incredibley country.
Controlled Chaos
Read about incredible one of kind 2007 World XC Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. Tens of thousands of people packed like sardines, hanging in trees, in opressive heat, all to see the Cross Country Championships for the first time in Kenya. There will never be a party like this one again.
Kenyan Distance Running Part I: Kenya, the Land of Opportunity
You've seen the highly praised photos, read the incredible race recap, now learn about the Kenyan distance phenomenon. In this article, Wejo looks at the motivations of Kenyan runners. "Running in Kenya is by and large about one thing: money opportunity.
Wejo's Kenya Photos:
546 Photos from His Post World XC Trip
See how the Kenyans live and train in Eldoret and Iten. Plus photos of Kip Keino's center, St. Patrick's High School, Singore Girls School, Lornah Kiplagat's, and the Kimbia house. Not to mention photos of Tergat, Tanui, Kiplagat, and many more.

Interviews With Today's Stars on Their High School Careers
A bit old, but we've got to remember our roots.

Rod Dehaven: U.S. Marathon Champ

Juli Henner: U.S. Olympian
Todd Reeser: Top Road Racer Wrestled in High School
Many more
Training Advice
Learn how LetsRun.com running guru, John Kellogg, made a tiny private school in Texas one of the best teams in the state.

And the winner is:
Best Running Movie of All-Time: Fire on the Track
After sitting on the results for months, we're proud to announce that the best running movie of all-time as selected by our viewers is a not an academy award winner, Chariots of Fire, or a highly publicized film produced by Tom Cruise (Without Limits), but rather a running documentary, Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story. Read all about the voting and see the 10 best running movies of all-time as selected by our viewers.
*
Thumbs Up Showdown DVD: Wejo watched the Showdown DVD on the 2007 USA XC Champs in Boulder and was inspired.

Married Thanks to LetsRun.com:
"I don't want to say it. It sounds crazy but it was a dream come true"

-John Stiner, on getting married to his wife, Sarah, who he met on the LetsRun.com message boards. Read about their incredible story.

More isn't always better:
"I had over-trained. I put too much pressure on myself because I wanted that gold medal too much. If I had trained 15 per cent less, I would have won. I was training like a crazy person. There was a lack of self-confidence and a lack of maturity. An athlete does not only train with his body. He trains with his mind."

-Hicham El Guerrouj on why he didn't win Olympic gold in 2000

Inspirational Running Poem