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2011 NCAAs *Live Results *Live Video *TV Friday: CBS College Sports 7:30 - 9:30 EST *TV Saturday: 1 - 3pm Regular CBS (Note: No Streaming During TV Broadcasts) *Men's 10,000 Final is 5 PM EST/4 PM Des Moines Time

LRC Day 2 2011 NCAA Champs: Reid and Hasay Lay Low as Wallace Struggles In Women's 1500, Favorites Minus Foster Shine In Men's 1,500 and Lightning Delays Men's 10,000 In the 1,500 semis, Lucy van Dalen got knocked down but got up as Jordan Hasay and Sheila Reid decided not to battle until Friday (5k) and Saturday (1500) but it looks like the expected 3-way battle might only be a 2-person affair as Lea Wallace struggled. An epic men's 1,500 final might also be in store on Saturday as the LetsRun.com favorites impressed as the collegiate career of 2010 NCAA runner-up AJ Acosta and his fans (the AJ Nation) came to an end. All of that plus a Penn State mid-d runner once again showed great emotion in the media zone. The women's steeple prelims also took place but not the men's 10,000 final which was delayed until Friday due to a late thunderstorm.
LRC Preview Of Day 3 Of 2011 NCAA Champs: An Epic Men's 800 Final (Plus 10k Thanks To The Rain) & Hasay vs. Reird Round in The Women's 5,000 Thanks to a lightning delay, Friday could be one of the greatest mid-d/distance days in NCAA history as the greatest 10,000 in collegiate history will be run as will an 800 men's final that is simply one for the ages. All of that plus, Hasay vs. Reid Round 1 in the women's 5000, the women's 800 final and the men's steeple final.

• More Day 2 Coverage:
• AP Full Recap:Ngonidzashe Makusha Leaps World Leadig 27 feet, 6¾ inches As LSU's Kimberly Duncan Runs World #2 22.39
• AP Recaps Talk About Van Dalen Getting Up From Fall And Dorian Ulrey
• Oregon's Women Team Title Hopes Stay on Track As AJ's Nation Comes To An End On Rain-Shortened Day Lananna on Acostsa, "He closed great. He just got caught in a bad spot. I feel bad for him, to end his Oregon career in that fashion.”
• RR: Wisco 10k Stud Wants Out of His Comfort Zone & Will Race 5k Not 10k at NCAAs Ahmed: "I've got to get out of this comfort zone or I'm always going to be branded this 10K guy."
• Iowa State's Edward Kemboi Is Stunned By His 1:46
  
• Track Coaches Raving About Des Moines Hospitality

LRC Day 1 2011 NCAA Champs: LetsRun.com Dark Horse Bottorff Wins 10k, Hot Men's 800m Semis, And Jeff Demps Out Of 100 The women's 10,000 featured an exciting finish with 8 women battling it out for the win over the final 1k before the LetsRun.com dark horse obliterated the field with a stunning last lap that was a thing of beauty. The men's 800 was simply amazing, as 22 guys broke 1:49 and 7 guys ran 1:47 but didn't advance. We recap it as best we can and get great insight from Elijah Greer, great class from Fred Samoei, and lots and lots of passion from a PSU 800-meter runner (maybe too much, malmo?)
LRCPreview Of Day 2 Of 2011 NCAA Champs: Stellar Men's 10k Final, Great 1,500s Start Two great 1,500s get underway, as does the women's steeple, before the day concludes with the greatest 10,000 ever run in collegiate history, as 3 of the 4 collegians to ever have broken 27:30 will square off against each other. Who will win the women's 1,500? Jordan Hasay or Sheila Reid? What about the men? Centro, Ulrey, Batty or someone else?

• Sad News: Nebraska's Assistant Mark Colligan Dies At NCAAs
• More Day 1 Coverage: AP Recap Of Day 1: 100-Meter Favorites Semoy Hackett And Jeff Demps Both Fail To Make Finals Many distance fans think the sprints are a sure thing, but that didn't prove to be the case at NCAAs, as Demps ran poorly and was done in by the wind and Hackett mistakenly let up at the wrong line, as the two favorites for the 100m title failed to advance.
• Des Moines Register Recap Day 1: Women's Team Title Contenders Take Some Hits Duke sophomore is stunned she won the women's 10,000, but LetsRun.com once again was right on the money in picking her as a dark horse in our preview. "I don't think anyone was expecting that. I know I wasn't."
• Sad News 47-Year-Old Nebraska Throws Coach Mark Colligan Found Dead In Hotel Room At NCAAs The coach of five national champs died way too young.
• Steve Finley Calls His Steeple Performance Embarrassing Better lucky than good. The man who was the national leader until NCAAs began barely advanced with an 8:50.00.
• Freshmen Oregon Sprinters English Gardner And Mike Berry Shine On Day 1
   
  Pre-Race Features
• Despite Lananna's Objections, Jordan Hasay Is Going For 1,500/5,000 Double
• Centrowitz Is Focused On Earning His 1st NCAA Title In 1,500
• America's Fastest 800-Meter Man In 2011, Cory Primm, Is Seeking His First NCAA Title
• Colorado's Emma Coburn Is Seeking 1st Steeple Title And she'll get it barring a fall.
• Determined Jordan Hasay Will Factor Large For The Oregon Ducks At The NCAA Track & Field Championships Head man Vin Lananna says she cherishes big moments.
• After Winning NCAA Titles During His First Two Years, Jeshua Anderson Wants To End His Career With A 3rd After Finishing 2nd Last Year In 400H
• Texas A&M Coach Pat Henry Trying To Get A&M A World-Class Outdoor Track They certainly deserve it.
• LRC Preview Of Day 1 Of 2011 NCAA Champs Day 1 features the start (and/or finish) of four wide-open mid-d and distance events, led by the incredible men's 800, which may be the event of the meet for LRC visitors. The women's 800 also gets underway, as does the men's steeple before the day concludes with the women's 10,000. We try to overcome our Ivy League bias and tell you who will win each of the four events, but it's hard to overlook two Ivy contenders.

International News

"17 Year Old" Run 1:45.8 in Kenya Sadly age cheatig is so rampant in Kenya we no longer give the youngsters the credit they deserve if they are of the proper age.

Donovan Bailey Praises Jamaican Sprinters Says Sub 10 is No Long an Exclusive Club It is Sub 9.80

Olympics

NBC Outbids ESPN For 2014-2020 Olympics And Will Show Events Live NBC bid $600 million more than ESPN for 2014 and 2016 and $1 billion more for all 4 Olympics than Fox. More money and live events is a good combination.
*USATF Still Hoping To Get 30 Medals At London Olympics

Wanjiru News

• Sammy Wanjiru's Mom Wants To Stop Saturday's Funeral To Let Murder Investigation Continue
• Officially 100% Crazy Sammy Wanjiru's Mom Allegedly Stabbed His Wife's Driver Over The Weekend She did spend the night in jail but wasn't arraigned on Monday as expected.
• In Case You Missed It: Doctor Says That Sammy Wanjiru Did Not Die From Balcony Fall But From A "Fatal Hit To The Back Of The Head"

Two Japanese World Championships Team Members Head To Boulder For Altitude Training - One Is Hoping To Run 496 Miles In A Month

Meet The Newest HS Star - Edward Cheserek Profile - Kenyan Is Thriving In US "I feel comfortable when I'm here and life is safe."

Jamaican Junior Champs Are This Weekend Carifta Games champ Jahzeel Murphy (10.27 for 100) won't be running, as he's hurt - but he should be ready for World Youth.

Was Wanjiru Murdered? Case Still A Mystery

*Doctor Says That Sammy Wanjiru Did Not Die From Balcony Fall But From A "Fatal Hit To The Back Of The Head" "Medical experts have zeroed in on two possible scenarios that could have led to the death of Olympics champion Samuel Wanjiru three weeks ago - and they both point to murder." That's one doctor's opinion, but this thing is far from settled.
*In Pictures: Life Of Sammy Wanjiru Sammy looks so young wearing his Olympic gold. We guess that makes sense since he won at age 21.

If You Want To Get Into Barefoot Running Or Are Constantly Injured, Read This
The Barefoot Running Debate: Born To Run, Shoes & Injury: The Latest Thinking The Science Of The Sport guys look at everything you'd ever want to know about barefoot running: the arguments for and against, why your shoes might increase chances for injury, who should/how to make the transition to barefoot, and more.

2011 Pre Classic *Results *Friday Photos *Saturday Photos *Post-Race LRC Interviews *LRC Recaps: *Saturday *Friday 30k WR *Friday 10k/5k

LRC Prefontaine Saturday Distance Scoop: Lagat, Kaki And Sinclair Impress, Lukas Verzbicas Gets High School Record The distance races at Prefontaine were stellar as always. Bernard Lagat won the men's 2 mile with his patented kick, Lukas Verzbicas smashed the high school 2 mile record, 5 guys went sub-3:50 in the mile, Kenia Sinclair ran a world leader to win the 800m over Caster Semenya, and Abubaker Kaki ran the first 1:43 in the history of Hayward Field. Plus, the Oregon 800m crew disappointed, and more. We have analysis, video, post-race reaction and results.

Saturday Recap From Eugene Register-Guard Eugene is not known for its sprinting, but the top marks were in the men's and women's 100m. The results made us scratch our heads (13 of the 16 ran seasonal bests, which we attributed to the legal tailwinds) and apparently even Usain Bolt, who tweeted "Listen to me ppl that's the same track last US trial was kept and everybody ran fast and them they couldn't repeat."

• Oregonian: With All The Jobs Vin Lananna Juggles, He Still Finds Time To Coach He is Oregon's associate athletic director, UO director of track and field/head coach, head coach of the U.S. men's team for the 2011 WCs, co-chair of the local organizing committee for the Olympic Trials, and coaches Russell Brown and Andrew Wheating.
• Andrew Wheating's, Nick Symmonds' Kicks Never Come In Pre 800
• Reese Hoffa Wins Pre Shot Put With Bloody/Injured Foot "Sometimes you have to embrace the pain and just throw through it."
• Steve Mullings Credits Advice From Tyson Gay For His Recent Success
• South African World Long Jump Silver Medallist Khotso Mokoena Is Tired Of Being 2nd Best
• Sprinters Blaze Way To Meet Records At Pre Classic
• Nadzeya Ostaphuck Sets Wins Pre Shot Put With World-Leading 20.59m
• Lukas Verzbicas Breaks High School National 2 Mile Record 8:29.46.
• RRW Recap Of Mid-D Races: Lagat Wins 2 Mile, Nick Symmonds & Andrew Wheating Disappointed In 800, Russell Brown PRs Big In Mile Haron Keitany won the mile in 3:49.09 over Silas Kiplagat in 2nd (3:49.39) and Asbel Kiprop in 3rd (3:49.55). Russell Brown ran a huge PR, finishing 9th in 3:51.45, just ahead of Nick Willis (3:51.95).
• IAAF Recap Of Pre Classic: Jeter Wins 100 In 10.70, Oliver Wins 110 Hurdles In World-Leading 12.94 Russia's Ivan Ukhov was supposed to defend his unbeaten streak, but finished 6th place with a jump nowhere near his best. We're not sure if there was an injury or any other factors involved.
• Caster Semenya Not Dissapointed With Her 2nd-Place Finish As She Was Happy With The Time On the other hand, Allyson Felix wasn't happy with her 3rd-place finish, and neither was Oscar "Blade Runner" Pistorius, who failed to hit the WCs "A" standard of 45.5, running 46.33 for last place.
• David Oliver Avenged His Defeat By Liu Xiang, Winning Pre 110 Hurdles
• Steve Mullings Clocks 9.80 To Win 100 At Pre Classic; .01 Slower Than Tyson Gay's WL
• Returning Cheat Justin Gatlin Finishes 6th At Pre, But Breaks 10-Second Barrier
• Ashton Eaton Gets A PR By .2 Seconds In 110 Hurdles, Running 13.35 *Eaton Says Lining Up Next To David Oliver And Liu Xiang Is "Like taking Jennifer Lopez to the prom."
  
  Post-Race Interviews

Friday Night At Pre

LRC Moses Mosop Smashes 30k World Record And He And Renato Canova Say He Can Run 2:02 For The Marathon Moses Mosop put on an exhibition to smash the world record at the Prefontaine 30,000m. Not only did he run a 63-second lap on his 45th lap of the race, but he aferwards talked of a 2:02 marathon in Chicago and his coach Renato Canova said a 2:02 is possible next year.

LRC Pre 5,000m And 10,000m: Rupp Doesn't Start, Solinsky Stops, Mo Farah Shocks, Vivian Cheruiyot Wins Again The men's 10,000m was the most shocking race of the night. The much-hyped American showdown between Chris Solinsky and Galen Rupp did not take place, as Galen Rupp did not toe the line despite warming up. Chris Solinsky then dropped out before two miles and before it was all done, Mo Farah, who had had been near last place early on, pulled a huge upset and defeated the strongest 10,000m field since the World Champs. Interesting post-race comments from Solinsky, Alberto, and Mo. In the women's 5,000m, Vivian Cheruiyot showed she's the top female track distance runner on the planet. *Chris Solinsky, Mo Farah, Shalane Flanagan And Alberto Salazar Reaction At 2011 Pre Classic Distance Night In Eugene

• UK Coach Charles van Commenee Optimistic About Mo Farah's World/Olympic Medal Chances After Pre 10k
• Telegraph Article On Mo Farah And His UK 10k Record
• Mo Farah: "What I run, (Rupp) would have run."
• Bernard Lagat Intrigued By What 25k-30k WR Attempts Say About Limits Of Human Potential
• Bernard Lagat Talks About Racing In Eugene And His Thoughts Leading Up To The Pre Classic 2 Mile He says that even with the stellar field, he doesn't think anyone will come close to the WR, as it's a morning race and just a really impressive time to hit.

It's Time We Revisit The Yuppie Vs. Blue Collar Runner Debate - Blue Collar People Rejoice, You Have A New Leader

LRC 34-Year-Old "Regular Guy," Working Dad Khadevis Robinson Talks To LetsRun.com About Beating The World's Best In Rome KD has always been one of the best interviews in the sport, and now we feature him when he's on top of the world after his shock win in Rome. Robinson, who went to Rome in part last week as he wasn't sure he could even get a lane at the upcoming two US Golden League meets, has almost always worked in addition to running.

• A Brief Chat With NCAA D2 10k Champ Sarah Porter, Who Has Run Up To 135 Miles In A Week And Definitely Gets The Unofficial LetsRun.com Stamp As "Blue Collar" The NCAA in its brilliance almost kept Porter out of the NCAA champs because she donated money she won at a road race to a charity of her choice and not the race's. Porter is someone blue collar runners can appreciate, as she's run up to 135 miles in a week.
• Blue Collar 100% (But With Yuppie Gadgets & Resources) Before Figuring Out She Was Injured, Paula Radcliffe Was Worried She Might Not Have It Anymore The article also reveals Radcliffe may run the Berlin marathon.

2011 Bolder Boulder *Elite Results With Mile Splits

US Women Use Slow-Start Strategy To Finish Surprising 2nd As Ryan Hall Runs 30:29 Amy Hastings (34:19) led the US women with a 4th-place showing individually in a race that was dominated by Lineth Chepkurui (32:29). James Carney (30:16) was the #1 American man over Ryan Hall (30:29), as Crescent City winner Belete Assefa won in 29:22. For comparison's sake, in 2008, Hall ran 30:07 at Bolder Boulder. MBoard: Bolder Boulder Race Coverage
*Pre-Race: US Women Were Actually Strategizing For A Win *Ryan Hall Back At Bolder Boulder, But With More Reasonable Expectations
*Recommended Read Q&A With Bolder Boulder Founder Frank Shorter Shorter talks about his most courageous race and says he still runs an hour every day.

Doping News

• Swiss Lab Director Says Lance Armstrong Didn't Test Positive But Admits There Were 4 Suspicious Tests And He Has No Idea If Those Belonged To Armstrong Or If The UCI Followed Up On Them Correctly (Although He Assumes They Did) He also admits he did meet with Armstrong to talk about EPO testing in 2002.
  *Swiss Lab Director Agrees To Help Investigators
• US Hammer Thrower Fails Second Marijuana Test - Gets Banned For Year
• Bolota Asmerom Calls For Tougher Doping Rules We like his suggestions: 1) Lifetime bans 2) Forced payback of all prize money. 3) Erasure of all performances for whole career. 4) A Dopers Wall of Shame. But we have no idea why marijuana is banned.

LRC John Kellogg Explains How He "Predicted" The Unpredictable - A Sub-2:03:59 In Boston LetsRun.com's coaching guru explains the rationale behind his non-prediction that is making waves around the globe. Years of timed out-and-back and straight-shot tempos with the wind in Waco, Texas (and other windy Texas venues) proved invaluable to his understanding the effects of the wind. JK took a stab at converting the Boston performances by Mutai and Hall to London and Berlin and even reveals what would happen if the Boston Mutai raced the London Mutai.

The Sport Loses A Legend *Grete Waitz's NYC Marathon Results

Grete Waitz Loses Battle With Cancer Waitz is best known for being a 9-time New York City Marathon champion, a class act, and a pioneer in the sport, but she also was a 4:00 1,500m runner and an 8:31 3,000m runner. As a kid, watching her on ABC win NYC every year was one of the site founders' earliest running memories. She will be missed. Thanks to Leo Kulinski for the photo. Another one here.
*Pay Your Respects In This Thread

Virgin London Marathon *Watch Full Race On Demand *Photos

LRC Emmanuel Mutai Runs The Best 10km Ever In A Marathon To Destroy The Field & Arrive As One Of The World's Best A lead pack that was a who's who of marathoning went through 30km together, but soon the race would be nothing but a coronation for Emmanuel Mutai, who destroyed the field with a 28:44 4th 10k and ended up with a 2:04:40 course record. Almost as big of a story as Mutai's incredible run was the fact that the 2nd placer ended up being one of the all-time greats - Martin Lel - who shocked even himself in his first marathon since Beijing 2008. American Jason Lehmkuhle was the only elite American finisher as the three rookie American marathoners went out too fast and blew up - none worse than Mo Trafeh, who ran with the lead pack for 15 km.

LRC Women's Marathoning Has A New Star Named Mary Keitany Keitany knocked nearly 10 minutes off her personal best and knocked Liliya Shobukhova off her pedestal as the best in the world, as Keitany ran the first sub-2:20 since 2008 and made mincemeat of "undoubtedly" of the strongest women's field in London history. All together, a record 22 women broke 2:30 - but that didn't include US Olympian Magdalena Lewy-Boulet.

April Fools News

LetsRun's 2011 April Fools Edition

Tokyo Marathon: A Legend Is Born *Photos

Hailu Mekonnen Wins, Japanese Amateur Yuki Kawauchi Runs Amazing 2:08:37 For 3rd And Faints At Finish Yuki Kawauchi's story is amazing. A 13:59 5ker and 29:02 10ker, he has a full-time job and has stayed away from the Japanese collegiate and professional system, yet he stunned all of Japan with a 2:08:37 run. Dreams do become reality.
*On The Boards: 13:59 5k, 29:02 10k Japanese AMATEUR Runs 2:08:37 at Tokyo Marathon and Passes Out

The 10 Best High School XC Runners Ever

LRC Week That Was: The 10 Best High School XC Runners Of All Time, Verzbicas, Tribute To Gary Reed, The NY Times & The NE Patriots And More We've got the entire running world covered from San Diego to Japan, from the high school ranks to the pros, and even talk about the NE Patriots and the NY Times.

Oslo Diamond League Thursday *Results *Photos Via Yahoo

Usain Bolt Blasts 19.86 In Rain, Asbel Kiprop Shows He's The Top Miler In The World, And Caster Semenya Beaten Again This is how our sport works - wherever Usain Bolt goes, he is the story. Bolt did not disappoint on Thursday in Oslo, as he ran 19.87, beating second place by .57. In the Dream Mile, Asbel Kiprop showed he's the top miler in the world, as he got revenge on Prefontaine winner Haron Keitany. Kiprop had horrible tactics at Pre, but here he was near the front and got the win on the homestretch. On the women's side, Halima Hachlaf, who burst on the season with an early season 1:58 last year, did it again this year to win the 800 over Caster Semenya. Meseret Defar won the women's 5,000m with another stellar kick, showing her speed is still there.
*Usain Bolt Storms To 200m Victory In Oslo
*Athletics Weekly Recap
*Video Highlights: US Visitors Watch The 200, 800 And Dream Mile

Two Great Events This Weekend in NYC

40th New York Mini a Tribute to Grete Waitz Nice article in the New York Times that talks about the history of the New York Mini (they had playboy bunnies at the first running, no doubt some LRC visitors wish the marketing dept could turn back the clock) and how important Grete Waitz was to the sport of running.
*Professional Field for 2011 New York Mini 10k  World 10k champ Linet Masai vs Marathon stud Liliya Shobukhova and many, many more including Edna Kiplagat, Kim Smith.
*After Birth of Daughter Piper, Deena Kastor is Back Racing And She Still Wants Olympic Gold  Deena's pregnancy was not running friendly but she's back competing.

adidas Grand Prix We hope to have some distance previews later in the day as Bernard Lagat is taking on the top 5k runner in the world and world xc champ, Imane Merga.
*Tyson Gay Says His 9.79 Last Weekend Was about 75% of Training for Him This week Gay will have his hands full as the 2011 #1 Gay will take on 2011 #2 Steve Mullings (9.80 last weekend).
*Tyson Gay Unlikely to Run 200m at US Trials or Worlds

Tyson Gay, Blanka Vlašic, Jeremy Wariner, Jessica Ennis Go to Top of Empire State Building in advance of adidas GP This is from an advertorial we're showing to people in NYC hoping they'll scoop up some of the last tickets remaining for Saturday's meet. But some of you know doubt will want to see Blanka (and Tyson and Jessica) atop the the Empire State Building. Plus comments from each of the 4 stars.

Tuesday's Action

Yohan Blake's 9.95 Defeats Christophe Lemaitre's 9.96 French Record Lemaitre, the Great White Hope, was running on French soil. *Results

adidas NY Grand Prix Saturday

adidas:
Preview Of Top Races At 2011 adidas Grand Prix: Tyson Gay Vs. Steve Mullings In 100m, Stellar Triple Jump, Men's 5,000m (Lagat Vs. Merga), Women's 1,500m And More
More adidas: Rosa Twins Running Last NJ High School Races Thursday Then they'll be running the mile at adidas on Saturday versus Lukas V.

Forget About Boring Q&A Surveys; adidas Grand Prix Athletes Answer Some Interesting Questions The link above is an advertorial we've been showing to people in the NYC area hoping they'll buy tickets to the meet, but found it interesting enough to show nationwide. Did you know that there's a New Zealand rap song  that includes a line about Nick Willis? That one pro wanted to be a grocery store bagger when they grew up and another wishes they could be Olympic volleyballer Misty May-Treanor?

5 Recommended Reads

• MB: Technical Analysis of 30km and 10,000m in Eugene Famed coach Renato Canova breaks down the men's 25k and 30km world record set by his pupil Moses Mosop, plus breaks down Mo Farah's 10,000.
• Track And Field - Going Nowhere Fast In The United States Olympic writer Alan Abrahamson thinks track and field needs some radical changes if it's ever going to be popular and we think everyone should read this piece.
• Richmond Spiders Matt Llano & Andrew Benford Got Mom & Dad To Pay For An Extra Year Of College So They Could Redshirt And Dream Of NCAAs Richmond doesn't have track scholarships and the 5th-year seniors' dream has been paid off in a big way as they made NCAAs as a team in XC and now as individuals in track.
• A Good Motto For Life & Running Hit A "Bad Patch" But Keep On Going - NY Times Looks At 5-Time Olympic Trials Qualifier Gordon Bakoulis' Love For Her Husband And Running
• David McNeill Has A New Coach & Training Partner ... And He's Totally Pumped And Grateful To Be With Bernard Lagat And Coach Li McNeill talks about how he was struggling on his own as a pro and needed a team and then talks about how Bernard Lagat and Coach Li have saved his career by letting him into their group. He's now training with Lagat - a guy whose autograph he got as a 14-year-old. On Lagat: "Certainly, there aren't many people I have met in my life with this man's credentials, but there are also very few I have met with as big a heart, and as helpful a hand as his."

More News From Last Weekend (Including Some Stuff We Missed)

• Something Few Have Mentioned - Fastest Marathoner In History & 2011 Boston Marathon Champ Geofrrey Mutai Was 5th In Kenyan 5k Over Weekend Mutai ran 13:52 in the Police Champs, which were won in 13:47.
• Kenyan Philemon Limo (28:01) And Ethiopian Dire Tune (33:19) Win 10k In India Micah Kogo, who ran 27:15 in April, was 14th in 29:33.
• Way Harder Than The 10,000: Some Are Hoping Mo Farah Can Add European 5,000 Record To His Resume Now That He Has 10,000 Record 12:49? We don't think so.
• David Oliver Knew From The Start He Was On Fire In Eugene "You can run all the 12s you want to if you don't take care of business at the championships."
• Brazil Dominates South American Champs As Usual Giovani dos Santos won the men's 10k. Anyone know if there is a relation to Marilson? If so, email us.

San Diego And Other Weekend Results

• Meb Dominates Half, Deba Blazes 2:23:31 At Rock 'N' Roll San Diego Meb Keflezighi won in 62:40 by a huge margin over Hanson's Drew Polley (65:38). Meb took it out from the start and dropped Kenya's Martin Lel (2nd at London 7 weeks ago) with a 4:24 4th mile. Lel ended up dropping out at 10k. Bizunesh Deba set an event record and the fastest time ever run by a woman in California (beating Joan Benoit's 2:24:52). Terfa Negari won the men's marathon in 2:11:18 and Gina Slaby won the women's half in 1:16:33. *Hometown Hero Meb Keflezighi Rocks The Field In San Diego *AP Article
• TCS India World 10K Recap: Ethiopia's Dire Tune Wins Over Fast Women's Field Dire Tune ran 33:19, barely winning over Merima Mohammed. Field also included world leader Doris Changeywo, last year’s runner-up Aselefech Mergia, and Edna Kiplagat (3rd at London Marathon). Kenya's Philemon Limo won the men's race.
• World Leads For Blanka Vlašić In The HJ And Viola Kibiwot In The 3k (8:46.84)
• Tyson Gay's 9.79 WL Came In The Prelims Of A Low Key Event In Florida While Bolt and Powell are running at major Diamond League meets, Gay is running faster than both of them in the prelims of low key events where he is unchallenged.
• Six National HS Records Fall Over Weekend Amy Weissenbach 2:02.04 in the 800 (record for high school-only race - Kim Gallagher ran 2:00.07 at the National Sports Festival in 1982).

Upcoming

• Fast Times Expected In Women's 800 At Oslo Diamond League Thursday Field includes world leader Mariya Savinova (1:57.56), Caster Semenya coming off a 1:58.88 at Pre, UK's Jenny Meadows (1:57.93), former World champ Janeth Jepkosgei, and Russians Sevetlana Klyuka & Ekaterina Kostetskaya - both with PRs in the 1:56 range.
• Northern Arizona's Diego Estrada Passes Up A Trip To World Champs And Opts For U.S. Citizenship

Freihofer's & Other Results

• DASKA TAKES FREIHOFER'S RUN FOR WOMEN Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska dominated from start to finish, winning by 4 seconds in 15:19 over defending champ/CR holder Emily Chebet. It was a close race for top American, with World XC runner Alissa McKaig (15:53) finishing just ahead of local favorite Megan Hogan (15:55). *IAAF Article
• European Cup 10k Recap: Portugal's Youssef El Kalai And Sara Moreira Win Men's And Women's Races In 28:20 & 31:39 UK's veteran Helen Clitheroe ran well in her debut 10k with 32:11.29 for 4th place. *IAAF Recap

Three Recommended Reads Because All Three Articles Are Very Entertaining And Are About More Than Running

1) Molly Huddle And Kim Smith To Both Race In New York The Weekend Of 2011 ING New York City Marathon Huddle will race a new 5k the day before the 2011 ING New York City marathon, whereas Smith will run the marathon (as well as an upcoming 10k, which is good news, as she's almost healed after being injured in Boston). We were hoping that Huddle was going to run the marathon as well - many Americans will be skipping fall and spring marathons to get ready or recover for the Trials. Please click on this article to see who won the Tug of War Contest - Huddle or Smith.

2) As AJ Acosta's College Career Comes To An End; He And The AJ Nation Will Be Leaving Behind A Huge Legacy At Oregon This article is a fantastic recap of AJ's impact at the U of O. The writer clearly understands AJ as well as LetsRun.com, as he called AJ "perhaps the most quotable individual in any Oregon sport." That certainly has to be true. However, our favorite line of the story was this: "The denizens of the forums at LetsRun.com - the country's premier track and field website, covering professionals and amateurs alike - took to their keyboards." To read more about the AJ Nation, click here or here.

3) AP: Wallace Spearmon Wants In On Tyson Gay/Usain Bolt Rivalry At 200m Spearmon, who currently is hurt and swimming as an Achilles injury heals, wants in on the biggest rivalry in track and field. Spearmon: "When we first started off, there was Bolt, Tyson and myself. I beat them, they beat me." The article also talks about his Twitter fight with NFL star Chris Johnson, who responded to Spearmon with the classic line of: "Beat bolt then holla at me."

Ostrava & Usain Bolt On Tuesday *Results *Photos

Ostrava: Bolt Wins Again With 9.91, Veronica Campbell Brown Blasts 10.76 PR Usain Bolt got the attention like he always does and ran 9.91 for the second time in a week, but this time into a headwind. Veronica Campbell Brown (VCB), however, had the performance of the night. She blasted a 10.76 100m. Last year, she had the top 100 and 200 times in the year despite racing infrequently.

Bolt's 9.91:

Sammy Wanjiru Will Probably Be Buried On Wednesday According To His Wishes - Wanjiru Loved Wednesday, As He Supposedly Won Several Marathons On A Wednesday The only problem is Wanjiru never ran a marathon on a Wednesday from what we can tell. Meanwhile, the article also says his Mom has asked for a lawyer to be removed as the head of his burial committee, as she represented Sammy and his wife in matters and is biased.

Recommended Read/Free Coaching Advice
Struggling AJ Acosta Tells How He Was Able To Qualify For NCAAs In 1,500 After Finishing 7th At PAC-10s - "I treated (regionals) as the NCAA final." We like this article, as it provides great advice to up-and-coming mid-d runners. AJ apparently share some of our same beliefs about mid-d racing. Remember: 1) It always opens up and 2) Don't kick too early. "I didn't want to make the same mistake I made at PAC-10s, which was all-out with 300 meters to go. I kind of closed my eyes a little bit and was telling myself to be patient, something will open up, because I didn't want to swing out to lane three. I told myself just be patient, it will open up, it will open up, it will open up."

Weekend Action *Hengelo Photos *Hengelo Results *Senegal Results

Hengelo: Maryam Jamal Runs 4:00 World Leader In 1,500m, Dayron Robles Shows It's A 3-Man Battle In 110 Hurdles With 13.07 Win This is always one of the better non DL meets, but the withdrawal of Kenenisa Bekele and David Rudisha with injuries hurt. *Results

Comrades: Stephen Muzhingi Becomes First Man To 3-Peat, Elena Nurgalieva Recovers From Fall To Beat Her Twin Sister

Hypo Götzis: World Champs Jessica Ennis And Trey Hardee Dominate Heptathlon And Decathlon At Götzis

Canada: Taylor Milne Sets Canadian 2,000m Record Of 5:01.37

Ottawa:

• Marathon: Kenya's Laban Moiben Defeats Ethiopia's Dereje Abera By 3 Seconds To Win $20,000 At Ottawa Marathon
• 10k: Deriba Merga Loses Gender Challenge To Dire Tune At Ottawa 10k

Rome Diamond League *Results *Photos *IAAF Recap

LRC: Usain Bolt Nips Powell, Khadevis Robinson Storms From Last To First To Shock The World In 800 47,000 fans and a worldwide television audience were focused on the Usain Bolt-Asafa Powell showdown and it did not disappoint, as Usain Bolt - who said he was nervous for the first time ever - overtook Asafa Powell in the final meters. The surprise of the evening was the men's 800m, where 8 time US champion, 34-year-old Khadevis Robinson put on a stunning display the final 250m, going from last to first to win (video here). Last year, KD was rabbiting Golden League races, now he's winning them. In other action, Allyson Felix went sub-50 to defeat Sanya Richards-Ross in the 400 and world XC Champ Imane Merga showed his great finish in the 5,000m, running 12:54 and throwing down the gauntlet to Bernard Lagat, whom he'll race in 25 weeks in NYC. Sara Hall had a 9-second PR to get a Worlds and Olympic qualifier in the steeple and Christin Wurth Thomas led the women's 1,500 at the bell before finishing 6th in a qualifying 4:03.72.
More Rome:

• Bolt On Rome: "I was so nervous. I got a bad start and then kind of started to panic."
• The Guardian: Five things we learned from the Rome Diamond League meeting
• On The Boards: Khadevis Robinson beats start studded Rome 800m field to win in 1:45.10
• Allyson Felix Defeats Sanya Richards Ross In 400 In Rome AP
• IAAF Recap Of Rome Golden Gala Meet

Time To Learn Some T&F History - 40 Years Ago, Jim Ryun & Marty Liquori Ran A Dream Mile In Philly & It More Than Lived Up To The Hype

• Recommended Read #1 NY Times: 40 Years Ago, Track Was At The "Front And Center" Of America's Consciousness, But Today We Are Indifferent (& Millrose's Move Proves It) 40 years ago, the US public was very much into the Dream Mile rivalry of Marty Liquori and Jim Ryun. "Forty years on, it's hard to imagine the average American giving a second thought to any track rivalry, never mind debating it on sports radio. That is probably why the move by Millrose, uptown and perhaps into obscurity, has been met with barely a shrug. It deserves better."
• Recommended Read #2 The 40th Anniversary Of The Dream Mile Between Marty Liquori & Jim Ryun Passes With Hardly A Whisper From The Media A couple of good quotes from Liquori: "I guess, as they say, things were a lot different in those days. There was no ESPN. Everyone watched the same events. It was a very focused thing for the nation to see that race. The buildup had been coming for two years ..." "Perhaps the thing that made it so unusual is sometimes big rivalries rarely live up to the buildup. They just don't pan out. But the two of us separated ourselves and literally sprinted almost all-out from 600 yards out."

"The Road Of Death"

Feature On Somali Runners Training Each Day On "Road Of Death" For London 2012 (Video) The video shows how some Somali athletes avoid gunfire each day to realize their dream of competing and winning at the 2012 Games. *LRC MB: Top Video on MSNBC Is Feature on Somali Runners Training Each Day on 'Road of Death' For London 2012

Boston Marathon *Live Boston Thread *Women's Reaction *Men's Reaction
*Video Highlights *Weather *Photos

One For The Ages In Boston: Desiree And The Fastest Marathon Ever Run "Unbelievable" is probably the best way to describe the 2011 Boston Marathon. First, American Desiree Davila, off the back of the lead pack multiple times, was gutsy as hell, battling for the win with Caroline Kilel down the final straight. There were 4 lead changes on the final straight before Kilel came out on top. In the men's race, American Ryan Hall ran 2:04:57 and lost by nearly 2 minutes. Yes, ladies and gentleman, Geoffrey Mutai and Moses Mosop ran faster than anyone else ever before the in the marathon, 2:03:02 and 2:03:06 respectively, thanks in part to 20 mph tailwinds. Mutai cemented his status as the strongest runner on the planet with the win. We give you some post-race comments below but purposely are holding off discussing the wind.