Kara Goucher Says She's Not Ready To Talk About Bolt From Alberto "Alberto and I came to this conclusion a couple of weeks ago. I'm not ready to talk about it right now."
A Recommended Read And A Recommended Not Read
- Don't Read This Unless You Want To Go Irate Hal Higdon Says Chicago Has Grown Past The Point "Where It Needs Large Numbers Of Elite Runners" The 8-time Olympic Trials competitor should be ashamed. If Hal's quote doesn't scare you that ultimately races will determine it's an inefficient use of resources to have elites, how about this quote from the author of the article: "The Chicago Marathon has grown beyond world-record chases." *Tons Of People In Masses Follow Higdon's Training Advice In Chicago - Even Race Director's Wife
- Recommended Read An Inside Look At Iten, Kenya & What Makes The Kenyans Special - Running As Fast As They Can For A Future The article includes great quotes form a Belgium steeplechaser who wishes at times he was born 40 years ago, from World Half Marathon champ Wilson Kiprop and Renato Canova, who calls the marathon world record soft: "There are seven people who can run faster."
Marathon & Ultra Marathon Related News
- Tadesse Tola Hoping For 2:05 Or 2:04 And Ethiopian Olymipc Birth In Eindhoven This Sunday
- Paula Radcliffe & Team GB To Go To Kenya To Train At Lornah Kiplagat's Camp Next Month In the past, she followed LetsRun.com to Flagstaff after we first went there. Now she's going to Kenya just after we went there.
- Can Alistair Cragg Revive European Men's Marathon Running? The Irishman will apparently run a marathon in Asia later this year (Fukuoka?) where he'll want to go sub-2:10.
- No Wonder Their Countrys Currency Is Worthless
President Mugabe Gives 3-Times Comrade Champ And Big Brother Africa Champ $50,000 US - An Inside Look At The Appeal Of The 100 Mile North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Marathon
IAAF Gives London 2017 Bid Some Praise
USA Profiles
- USATF Spotlight On Ben True The Dartmouth grad had a big year and whacked 19 seconds of his 5,000 PR and is dreaming of making the Olympics in 2012. It's gonna be tough, as it's hard to believe that the PR of the guy who was 10th at USAs is slower than what Galen Rupp splits in a 10,000.
- Cancer Survivor And Former Nova Star Francis Koons Wants To Be An Olympian
The Week That Was Returns
LRC Weeks In Review: Catch-Up: 2011 Worlds, Makau's World Record, And A Look Ahead To London 2012 Our post-Daegu time change fatigue is a thing of the past and after 6+ weeks away, the famed LetsRun.com Week in Review makes a comeback as we provide some insight on the key action from the 2011 World Champs as well as the new men's marathon world record. Plus we tell US Olympic hopefuls to be thankful they don't live in Kenya and then we look ahead towards London 2012.
Merritt Wins Case And The UK Media Explodes *Rundown Of Merritt's Career/Suspension
- British Olympians Slam Drugs Reprieve For LaShawn Merritt www.telegraph.co.uk
- "I'll train hard, harder than I've ever trained" Says LeShawn Merritt He'll probably have to in order to make up for the fact that he will no longer be "unintentionally" taking drugs.
- Video: Minister Hugh Robertson And BOA's Lord Moynihan Defend Olympic Ban *Article
- UK Drug Cheats Set For Olympics Reprieve? Good analysis of the legal side of things and what arguments might play out.
- "Why Drug Cheats Should Not Get A Second Chance At The Olympics" www.guardian.co.uk
- Dwain Chambers Taking Time To "Digest And Consider" Olympic Ban
News From Jamaica:
*Who Is The Best 100m Sprinter Of 2011? Jamaican Site Says It's Yohan Blake
*World Champs 4 X 4 Bronze Medallist Jermaine Gonzales Wants Usain Bolt He says he thinks they could win Olympic gold if Bolt ran a leg. Bolt ran 45.28 in 2007, but problem is he says he doesn't like the 400.
*IAAF Evaluation Commission Visits Doha Apparently they played down the heat concerns.
*Runner's Tribe: The Best Places To Run In The World For this author, the best place is the Wildwood Trail in Portland, Oregon.
Gary Cohen Interviews 4-Time Olympic Gold Medallist Sprinter/Hurdler Harrison Dillard
Don't Doubt The Power Of LetsRun
It's Official: Kara Goucher Leaving Portland And Alberto Salazar This move, first rumored here, is true. We must say it surprised us at LRC, as we thought Kara had had a fairly decent year after childbirth, but it shows she still has the fire.
On The Boards: I don't
think it was Kara's decision to leave.
*Kara Goucher Leaves Salazar
LaShawn Merritt Wins Court Case
- Reigning Champ LaShawn Merritt Can Compete In 2012 Olympics The CAS throws out IOC's Olympic Charter Rule 45, which made an athlete ineligible for the next Olympics after getting a doping ban of six months or more. *MB: LaShawn Merritt Wins Appeal
- LaShawn Merritt's Victory In Drugs Ban test Case Gives Hope To Banned Britons
- Dwain Chambers Given Olympic Hope By Merritt Ruling *2nd Article
- UK Profile LaShawn Merritt: "A Natural Champion Who Felt The Need For Some Enhancement"
US News
- 4 Americans Ran 64:15 Or Faster At Woodrow Wilson Half Marathon To Qualify For Olympic Trials Jordan Horn (63:53) led the American contingent that included Danny Mercado (1:04:03), Bobby Mack, Raleigh (1:04:13) and Ricky Flynn (64:15).
- NYRR's Sponsoring
First-Ever Women's WanamkerA Metric Mile At The Millrose GamesA Meet At The Armory Jenny Simpson has already announced she will be running it. - A Brief Chat With Julie Culley, Who Was Runner-Up At US 10-Mile Champs
- Podcast With Nick Symmonds Talking About His Blog Post On How IAAF/USATF Are "Crippling Our Sport"
IAAF Impressed By Doha But Raise Concerns Over Heat Qatar is promising an air-conditioned stadium, night marathons and a September starting date while trying to convince track and field's ruling body that the country is not too hot to host the 2017 World Championships.
Injury Forces Defending Champion Edna Kiplagat Out Of ING New York City Marathon The fall at the World Championships didn't cost Kiplagat in Daegu, as she got up and won the world title, but it did cost her the chance to defend her NY title as he knee is still bothering her. *MB Talk: Kiplagat Out Of 2011 ING NYC
US News
- Sports Illustrated: "US Unlikely To Host Track & Field Worlds Anytime Soon" The big problems: lack of public interest and lack of a stadium to host it as most big stadiums in large cities have removed their tracks.
- Dear Nick Symmonds Toni Reavis writes a blog post in response to Nick Symmonds' open letter about how he feels the IAAF and USATF are "crippling our sport."
- 20th Anniversary Of LJ WR: Carl Lewis Vs. Mike Powell
- Allyson Felix's Post-World Champs Online Diary She says she's glad she did the 200/400 double.
- Villanova Makes Move To Women's No. 1 In National DI Coaches Poll Oklahoma State still #1 on men's side.
Did You Know That An Ironman Marathon Isn't Really A Marathon? According to triathlon rules, it can be up to 10% short, 38k instead of 42.2k. That's a big difference.
Husband Of The Year: Edna Kiplagat's Husband Gave Up His Own Career In Running To Help Her Pursue Hers He is her coach, training partner, and takes care of their children so that his wife can train.
New Test For HGH Could Be Good For Up To 21 Days This would be a huge breakthrough on the anti-doping front as current tests can identify HGH use going back only 12 to 72 hours. The new test can go back "anywhere from 10 days to 21 days."
Recommended Read A Brief (But Great) Chat With Carey Pinkowski The BOA Chicago Marathon director reflects on the IAAF's new women's marathon record rule, the great but late Sammy Wanjiru and losing the state title as a senior even though he was one of three sub-9 guys on the team.
Sprint News From Jamaica *More Yohan Blake Photos *2011 WC Photos
*Yohan Blake's Coach Issues Forewarning To Rest Of World As Blake Is Now A Beast
Mills had ominous words for the rest of the world's sprinters: "Now he is thinking like a champion. It's one thing to aspire to, but it's another thing to achieve. Some say he's fortunate, but it doesn't matter how you achieve, once you do it legally. He got the opportunity and he made use of it, and he is running like he is a new person. He says he is a beast. Now he is not afraid to go out there and do his stuff. Now he is ready go."
*Jamaican Hurdler Talks Business & Encourages Athletes To Pay Attention To Details Of Contracts & Avoid Shady Agents Maurice Wignall says some agents hide the bonus sheets from the athletes.
Recommended Read: Star Ledger: Edward Cheserek Breaks Holmdel Course Record By Running 14:53 In Performance They Call A "Masterpiece" The article includes comments from former
record holder Joe Rosa, who is a class act and calls Cheserek the greatest XC runner in NJ history.
*MB: Edward Cheserek Breaks Holmdel Course Record By Running 14:53 *Elite HS XC Recap *Photo Of Cheserek (thanks
to LRC visitor Ron Crocker).
Injured British Ladies In The News
- Paula Radcliffe Has Bone Removed From Foot - Expects To Start Training Within Two Weeks The surgery was described as "minor." Anything relating to the health of the great Paula R isn't minor in our minds.
- Steph Twell Successfully Returns To Competition For 1st Time Since Breaking Ankle
Random But Interesting
- An Inside Look At Geoffrey Mutai's Training Camp In Kenya The piece is done by the NYRR. Can we repeat it again? The NYRR is incredible.
- Tension Between Stephen Francis' And Glen Mills' Track Clubs Is Getting Bigger Each Day A lot of Francis' athletes have defected to Mills in recent months and Francis claims its due to money but others say it's cause the athletes can't stand Francis.
- 63-Year-Old Masters Shot Putter Banned For Roids
- TFN Looks At USATF's Look For A Superhero CEO Note to track fans worldwide - a superhero CEO won't suddenly make the sport like the NFL. Mary W is incredible, but tons of $$$ certainly help her out.
Marathon News *LRC Berlin WR Photo Gallery
It's Official: Geoffrey Mutai And Mary Keitany Added To 2011 ING NYC Marathon Field This is big, big news (but not new news if you've been paying attention on LRC), as NYC got the 2 biggest names in marathoning in 2011 (outside of Patrick Makau) in Mutai (2:03:02 in Boston) and Keitany (2:19:19 destruction versus the best field in the World in London), plus 2011 Boston champ Caroline Kilel.
- Geb Complains That The Olympic Marathon Start Time Is Not Early Enough The 2012 marathon goes off at 11AM, but he feels that it should be closer to 9AM since that's a more typical marathon start time.
- Good Read Haile G And His Thoughts On Berlin And 2012 He thinks he's in good shape, but was too ambitious at Berlin going out on WR pace. Talks about how he may retire from competing after 2012, but not from running, and mentions that one of heroes growing up was Muhammad Ali.
*Video Interview With Haile - Patrick Makau Says He's Satisfied With Breaking The WR If he also wins the World Marathon Majors title and the half a million dollars that goes along with it that "will just be a bonus." Right now he is in the lead, but Emmanuel Mutai is only 5 points back with NY and Chicago still to come.
More Marathon Stuff
- New Marathon Record Holder Patrick Makau Returns Home, Dodges Huge Press Reception At Airport - But They Catch Him At The Mall Makau's wife is pregnant and if it's a boy, she'll name him Berlin.
- Apolo Ohno And Michael Phelps Go For A Run In NYC ... Part of a Subway media event as Ohno trains for the NY Marathon.
- Moses Kigen (3rd In NYC Last Year) Wins Eldoret Peace Race, Says He's Ready For NYC 2011
- Five Years Later, Doping Case Of S. African Marathon Record Holder Gert Thys Not Resolved
College XC News
#6 Oregon Men Taking On #2 Wisconsin At Home This Weekend
Post-Berlin News *Race Video *LRC Photo Gallery
Mr. World Record: *Patrick Makau Had Worked On His Tactics On His Way To World Record IAAF.org
*Paul Tergat Congratulates Patrick Makau On Bringing World Marathon Record Back To Kenya
*Despite Death Of Sammy Wanjiru, Kenyan Olympic Team To Be Stacked
BMW Berlin Marathon *Race Video *LRC Photo Gallery *Yahoo Photos
Patrick Makau Smashes Marathon World Record, 2:03:38!!! Florence Kiplagat got the win on the women's side, Haile Geb dropped out when Makau took off, and Paula ran 2:23 in 3rd to book her ticket to London.
*IAAF: Patrick Makau Talks About His "Zig-Zag" Tactics Which Knocked Geb Out Of The Race "It is one of my tactics. I did some zig-zags, to confuse him. I had a lot of energy, and wanted to tire him. He was trying to use me, to maintain the pace, and I wanted to run alone, either behind him or to the side."
*The Science Of Sport Analyzes Patrick Makau's WR And Compares It To Geb's In 2008
*Geb's Agent: "This is not the end of Haile, but this is the end of an era."
*Paula Radcliffe Says She Swallowed Her Pride At Berlin Thinking Long-Term On 2012
*UK's Scott Overall Runs 2:10:55 In Debut Marathon
*Haile Will Not Retire, Will Likely Run Dubai In January He was originally going to run Tokyo, but now won't since that isn't a fast course and he needs
a time to make the Ethiopian team
for 2012.
On The Boards: 2:03:38
! ! ! Patrick Makau Shatters Marathon WR
*BERLIN MARATHON ANALYSIS
*Canova was right Fools! 2:03:02 Should be WR!!
*American Performances at Berlin
*MAKAU IS A HEEL STRIKER!
Edward Cheserek Sets CR At Passaic Coaches Invitational In 14:53
*MB: Edward
Cheserek (NJ/KEN) opens his season and runs 14:53 to break Bob Keino's (NJ/KEN)
record at Garrett Mountain!
30 Track Stars And Their Major Sports Doppelgangers Usain Bolt is Shaquille O'Neal.
David Rudisha Loses *Race Video
In Rainy & Windy Conditions, David Rudisha Loses For 1st Time Since 2009 Worlds The weather
was similar the last time Rudisha lost in Berlin in 2009 and Rudisha said he had trouble warming up. Ethiopian teen sensation Mohamed Aman got the win 1:43.50 to Rudisha's 1:43.57.
*AW: Rudisha's 34-meet winning streak is broken by a 17-year-old
*Milan Results
*LRC MB: Aman has beaten Rudisha
Course Record Falls At BUPA Great North Run *Cool Photos
Martin Mathathi Sets New Course Record (58:56) As Lucy Kabuu Wins Women's Title In 67:06 Jonathan Maiyo was 2nd in 59:27 while London champ Emmanuel Mutai was third in 59:52. *BBC Recap *IAAF Recap
*Kabuu And Mathathi Were Former Teammates On Japanese Suzuki Team
Post-Brussels News *Rupp 10k Video
Recommended Read: Rupp & Salazar Reflect On Galen's Historic Run Galen's mindset and focus on improvement is 100% spot on. The article is a great read and full of interesting quotes, including this one from Salazar, who
thinks the heat hurt Galen in Daegu: "Galen is not a big guy, he's still big compared to a Kenyan or an Ethiopian. It's a disadvantage if you are a Caucasian running in the heat versus an African, you just have more body mass and it's going to be harder."
*LRC MB: Discussion Of Rupp Article
*Writer Admits He Mistakenly Doubted Bekele: "Never again will I doubt Bekele's ability to do amazing things on the track."
2011 Diamond League Is Over *Results
LRC 2011 Brussels Recap: Usain Bolt Runs World Leader But Gets Overshadowed By His Training Partner Yohan Blake's 19.26!! (link fixed) In terms of sprint action, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt may have done the fans a disservice by ducking each other, but at least they put on quite a show as Usain Bolt put up
a world leader in the men's 100
before Yohan Blake stole the show by running 19.26. *IAAF Recap: Blake Upstages The World
LRC Morgan Uceny Emphatically Shows She's The Best In The World The American who suffered a heartbreaking fall at the World Championships destroyed
the field over the final 400 to win the Diamond League title in a world-leading 4:00.06 as she got her third DL victory on the year. World champ Jenny Barringer Simpson was way back in 13th.
*LRC MB Chatter: Pic of the Day, Uceny, really?
*Uceny just proved
LRC Galen Rupp Shatters The American 10,000 Record By Running 26:48.00 Galen Rupp crushed the American record and became the 16th-fastest man in
history, as Kenenisa Bekele won in a world-leading 26:43.16.
*LRC MB Chatter: CALLING IT RIGHT NOW, RUPP WILL RUN A 2:03 MARATHON
*Dear Galen Rupp: Time to Move up to the Marathon
*Remember when 13:26.6 and 13:23.4 would have ranked you in the top 5 in the US? Now they're 10k splits
*Galen Rupp's
10000m
Is Not Superior To Chris Solinsky's
*Official Brussels 10k live update thread
2012 US Olympic Trials Standards Released The standards include "approximate" field sizes. However, we are almost certain that John Chaplin will find a way to ruin several people's dreams. LRC Rule #1 - Please put 32 people exactly in the men's and women's 800s. 30 makes zero sense. LRC Rule #2. Please share rule #1 with Mr. Chaplin.
The Short Track Stanford Of Europe? Rieti *Results
Rieti Saturday: Rudisha 1:41.33!!!, Kiprop 3:30.46 PR Rudisha returned to the site of his 1:41.01 world record and he came close to matching it. Asbel Kiprop, two days after not being able to finish 3rd in Zürich to win the $40,000 Diamond League title, blasted a 3:30.46 to get a PR faster than Andrew Wheating. And WORLD CHAMPION Jenny Simpson raced for the first
time since Worlds. The result? 4:06.13 for 10th place. Lagat outkicked Vincent Chepkok, Thomas Longosiwa and last year's winner Tariku Bekele. In the 100, Walter Dix won in 10.02 over Jamaica's Lerone Clarke in 2nd, and Justin Gatlin 3rd. Lashawn Merritt ran 20.13 to win the 200 beating Norway's World Champs fourth placer Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (20.41).
*Video Of Rudisha's Run
*Aussie Jeff Riseley Gets Pulled To 800 PR In Rieti With 1:44.64 For 7th
*Poland's 800m Runner Adam Kszczot Runs 1:43.30
*Jamaica's Kaliese Spencer Wins 400m Hurdles
Rieti On The Boards: *Asbel 3'30.46 *RUDISHA 1:41.33 *Jenny Simpson 4:06.13 in Rieti Today
Three Recommended Reads
- RR #1 We Remember 25 Years (And 3 Days) Ago, Mark Nenow Set The American Record Over 25 Laps (10,000) The record lasted almost 15 years until Meb broke it in 2001 by running 27:13.
- RR #2 Exhausted Allyson Felix Says 100m Isn't Out Of The Equation For 2012 Philip Hersh's column is a good one and perfect example of why he's one of the few track writers left. The points in the article make sense but we have a Memo To The World: Felix's chances for 400m gold are way better than 200m or 100m.
- RR #3 Asafa Powell's Handlers Deserve Lots Of Blame For Powell Being Vilified As Villain We 100% agree that Powell shouldn't have been talking big if he was injured.
2011 Worlds End With A Bang!
*Final Results *LRC Interviews From Daegu *LRC Photos From Daegu
LRC Men's 5,000 Gets Physical: Farah Wins But Lagat Says He Had It Deserving champ Mo Farah goes home with 5,000m gold, but were it not for a now-DQed Imane Merga getting physical with 3 top contenders in the span of 300m, including prime rival Bernard Lagat, Farah may have returned to Oregon with 2 narrow losses. We've got the story of the most controversial distance event at Worlds.
LRC Women's
800 Final: Semenya Goes Down Caster Semenya goes home with silver as Russian Mariya Savinova ran 1:55 to shock the huge favorite and herself to take home the gold, with Alysia Montano just missing out in 4th. Semenya, who was permitted to skip the press conference amid the 2009 controversy in Berlin, did a great job talking to the media in her first Worlds press conference.
*After 6th Place Finish In 800, Maggie Vessey Says She's Disappointed She concedes that having to run multiple fast 800s to make the final took a lot out of her.
Sunday AM: 2011 World Championships Marathon: Abel Kirui X 2 Kirui destroyed the field the second half to get his second world title. Despite being 2009 World Champ, Kirui switched coaches this year to LRC message board favorite Renato Canova. Kirui gave Canova a call after the race. The American men struggled.
Friday:
*LRC Day 7 Non-Distance: Dwight Phillips Gets Gold #5, US 4 X 400 Kicks By S. Africa, VCB Over Jeter And Felix, US Shotputters Shut Out The quotes, the interviews, the results ... plus the cover jinx barely survives, why Pistorius
didn't run for South Africa's medal-winning 4 x 4, and more.
Worlds Thursday
LRC Day 6 Jenny Gets Gold Jenny Simpson powered home the final 100m to stun the world Thursday night to end America's 28-year drought of distance gold. Her run was unexpected, but in retrospect not totally shocking, as the American phenom showed in 2009 she can run with the world's best when fit and healthy. And she's definitely fit and healthy now and from now on will always be Jenny Simpson ... World Champion.
Previous Worlds
800m Final LRC David Rudisha Gets The World Title He Deserves, Nick Symmonds Comes Up Short Rudisha had been undefeated in every race since the last World Championships and on Tuesday he won the one race he hadn't won in two years - the World Championships.
American Nick Symmonds was in medal contention but came home in fifth and the American medal drought continues at 800m.
More On The Boards: Mens 800 Final
*Nick Symmonds Post-Race Comments
Monday: LRC Lots Of Sprint
Intrigue: WR Holder Dayron Robles
Goes From Gold To Zilch, Allyson Felix Upended By Botswanan, Pistorius Has Chance But Fades Good thing there was no distance action Monday night, as we wouldn't have had time to recap all the sprint/field event action. A DQ in the hurdles that gave Jason Richardson the unexpected World title, Allyson Felix got a PR but lost, and Oscar P fizzled out. Plus an unexpected medal in the shot for an American, a thrilling pole vault and, oh yeah, the 100m women's final,
where HSI got
its 2nd
gold of the night.
Men's 10,000m: LRC Ibrahim Jeilan, A Guy You've Never Heard Of, Stuns The World In Men's 10,000m The men's 10,000m was a total shocker as Ibrahim Jeilan, a former World Junior champion who was passed over by the Ethiopian team on two occasions and had to go to Japan to keep his running career alive, shocked
the world's best distance runner Mo Farah in a great duel over the final 100m, as Farah apparently kicked too hard, too soon. Galen Rupp was 7th and the great Kenenisa Bekele dropped out, losing his first 10,000m ever.
LRC Kenya's Heavenly Day 1 Ends With Perfection! Vivian Cheruiyot Leads Kenyans To 1-2-3-4 Domination Of Women's 10,000 The much-anticipated battle between the undefeated Meseret Defar and Vivian Cheruiyot never materialized as Defar fell off and then dropped out, but Cheruiyot did come through as expected. The Oregon track club's Sally Kipyego got the silver as the Kenyan women's
day went from incredible to heavenly, as they followed up near perfection in the marathon with total perfection in the 10,000. The American women struggled, as Shalane Flanagan was 7th and Kara Goucher was lapped. Jen Rhines was 9th.
*LRC Video Reaction From Cheruiyot, Kipyego, Flanagan And Goucher
Chicago Is This Sunday *Live Streaming At 8am EST (7am CST)
LRC Friday Update Favorite Moses Mosop Not Confident, Ryan Hall Ready To Go Mosop did not sound super-confident at Friday's press conference, as he may only be 80-85% for Sunday's race after dealing with an Achilles injury, while American Ryan Hall indicated things have gone better than his preparations for Boston. Can an 80-85%
Mosop win? We say no way, but coach Renato Canova thinks a 2:05 is still possible.
More Press Conference/Pre-Race News:
- Nomadic Ryan Hall Cherishes The Lonely Run Hall also details his training, which he says has gone way up now that he's coaching himself. Instead of doing 10 x 1k, he does 20 x 1k. *Q&A With Ryan Hall *Hall Press Conf. Video
- R. Canova Details Mosop's Key Workouts From A Month Ago 10 x 1 mile @ 4:35 with 1:20 rest - at altitude. *Moses Press Conf. Video
- Pinkowski On Mosop: "I think he's downplaying his fitness level to put a little intrigue into the competition."
- Phil Hersh: And The Winner Before The Race Even Goes Off Is .............................. Liliya Shobukhova She automatically will pick up $500,000 for winning the WMM title.
- NY Times Profiles Ryan Hall's Attempt To Win Chicago And Then Asks If Coaches Are Necesary For Elite Athletes We enjoyed the article but must admit we laughed when it stated that "there are not many examples to go by" of coach-less athletes and then talked about two great Olympic marathon champs in Joan Benoit Samuelson and Frank Shorter in the next two sentences. "At the elite level, are coaches really necessary? What does an athlete miss when he decides to go it alone?"
- Chicago Marathon Pays City $525,000 For Police/Use Of Parks If that sounds like a lot, realize Boston pays $800,000 and New York possibly more than a million.
- Chicago Weather To Hit 80 On Sunday The temp for the elites should be in the low 60s at the start, high 60s at the finish.
- Former Illinios XC/Track Runner Stephanie Baliga Is Now A Nun-To-Be & Chicago Marathon Participant
- A Detailed Look At The 8 Japanese Runners Lining Up at Chicago Marathon
- Stats To Look For In Chicago Will Boku remain as the fastest non-winner in marathon history with his 2:05:25 PR?
LRC 2011 Bank Of America Chicago Marathon Women's Preview: Shobukhova Takes On The Clock Some last-minute withdrawals have decimated the qualify of the 2011 women's field, but we break it down for you nonetheless. Updated to include our omission of Japanese star Kayoko Fukushi.
LRC 2011 Bank Of America Chicago Marathon Preview: Ryan Hall Takes On Moses Mosop An American-born man has not won since 1982, but if favorite Moses Mosop falters, Ryan Hall has a shot. We break down the field.
More Chicago:
- Moses Mosop: "I'm going to try to win, but not to break the world record. Not now, maybe next time." Mosop also mentions that he's not "interested" in the Olympics (more on getting the WR) and that he and his wife, Berlin champ Florence Kiplagat, have separated.
However, this article makes it seems like they were together post-Berlin?
*Renato Canova says they were shooting for the record, but this interview is outdated, as it mentions Geb's 2:03:59. - Ryan Hall: "There's no place I rather be than on the starting line of a marathon. Man, you feel alive."
- LA Marathon Champ Wesley Korir Wants To Win So He Can Build A Hospital For His Kenyan Village Sadly, his brother died at 10 years old from a snake bite because he couldn't get to a hospital in time. His mother watched him die while waiting at a bus stop. *Video Interview With Wesley Korir
- Fukushi Puts Faith In Coach For Chicago Marathon (link fixed) Nick Symmonds says US pros have it tough, but it's nothing compared to Japan. Fukushi's coach won't even tell her what pace she's going to run; she's just to follow her paid male pacer. Also, she was made a "generous" offer to run the NYC Marathon, but her coach never even told her. In the Japanese system, the coach is dominant and picks all her events.
- Defending Champ Liliya Shobukhova Leads Women's Field *AP Preview
- LRC Ryan Hall Appears Nude In ESPN The Magazine The marathon star's fast times and good looks are starting to get him a little mainstream publicity in the US. Discuss: Naked Ryan Hall ...
- Ryan Hall Gearing Up For Chicago And Some Words From Greg Meyer, The Last American To Win Boston
- Above Average Temperatures Forecast For Chicago Temps of 65°F before the start and up to 70°F by the finish.
- 2004 Olympic 10k Silver Medalist Ejegayehu Dibaba Making Marathon Debut Chicago has also announced 4 athletes have dropped out with injury or illness.
Upcoming:
- A Look At Geoffrey Mutai's Recent Racing And Training Ahead Of The "Battle Of The Mutais" At The NYC Marathon Talks about how having to go to the Kenyan training camp before World XC Champs really hurt his training, otherwise he "would have become world champion for sure." Article succinctly describes Boston's WR ineligibility due to course being "unidirectional."
- Preview Of Next Weekend's Toronto Marathon: Defending Champ Kenneth Mungara Up Against 2:08 Man Nixon Machichim Kipkoech
- Preview Of Marathon Eindhoven: Field Includes 8 Sub-2:10 Runners (5 Of Which Have PRs Sub-2:08) Led by 2:06:31 man Tadesse Tola, they will be looking to break Geoffrey Mutai's CR of 2:07:01.
- 2-Time World Marathon Champ Abel Kirui Headlines Bupa Great South Run On October 30th GB's Euro 10K silver medalist Chris Thompson also in field.
- Sam Chalenga To Make Half Marathon Debut At Boston Half Marathon This Weekend He's up against defending champ John Korir, who ran 1:02:21 to win last year. US's Fernando Cabada also in field.
- Kenenisa Bekele To Run Groningen 4-Mile Race
- Hilda Kibet Leads Field For Eindhoven Marathon On Sunday Her PR is 2:24:27 and she's shooting for the Dutch record of 2:23:43.
London And The 2017 World Championships??? *Olympic Stadium Legacies In Pictures
- IAAF Evaluation Team Concludes Visit To London IAAF
- BBC: "IAAF Authorities Pleased With London Worlds Bid, Reassured By Olympic Track Guarantee"
- London 2012 Olympics: Track Guarantee "Essential" To Bid For 2017 World Champs UK Athletics chairman said the "IAAF had gone into minute detail - to the extent of asking how many hangars would be in each athlete's wardrobe." IAAF officials will now visit Doha and make decision in November.
- Seb Coe Says West Ham Vs. Tottenham Bid Debate Now Irrelevant
Ciarán Ó Lionáird Packed Two Bags, Gave Away Everything Else (Including His Car) And Hopped A Flight To Oregon O Lionaird is the latest addition to the Oregon Project, and while he gets many benefits as a Nike athlete, you might be surprised that he has to pay some of his own way. For example, he has to help pay to seal his new apartment so it can be used as a "high altitude chamber."
Sunday's Road Action *10-Mile Photos
- US 10-Mile: Mo Trafeh (46:46) Wins Men's Title, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (54:15) Takes Women's Crown At USA 10-Mile Championships It was extremely lucrative day for Trafeh, who won $22,000 by winning
a $10,000 battle of the sexes bonus.
*Local Paper For African Immigrants Calls Trafeh Moroccan "Mo Trafeh of Morocco won." They also called Cherobon-Bawcom Kenyan.
*MB: Mo Trafeh Over Ben True, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom Over Julie Culley True won the US Road Circuit title. More coverage here. - Twin Cities Marathon: Sammy Malakwen (2:13:11) And Yeshimebet Bifa (2:28:24) Win Medtronic Twin Cities Marathons As Mo Trafeh (46:46) Picks Up $22,000 By Winning The US 10-Mile Title & Battle Of The Sexes Bonus Ralph Wilson, 77, of Minneapolis, who has run all 30 Twin Cities Marathons, got the last medal by finishing in 6:06:12. "I'm spent," he said shortly after finishing. *Weldon Finishes 3rd In 2:13:31
- RNR San Jose: Meb Keflizighi Runs 62:38 And Deena Kastor Runs 1:12:23 This competitor.com article is full of some good details, but we are hesitant to promote it as it talks about Meb and Deena's earning victories in the race, when in reality the Competitor Group created a glorified practice for the two stars. Is it really a "win" when there was
next to zero competition?
*San Jose Mercury News Recap *MB: Meb 1:02:17, Deena 1:12:23 *Pre-Race Q&A With Kastor *IAAF Article - England: Martin Mathathi Needs Course Record (28:03) To Overcome Titus Mbishei To Win Bupa Great Edinburgh Run Mathahi said his goal is now the 2012 Olympic 10,000. Lucy Kabuu (32:28) won the women's title. Kubuu and Mathathi of course both won the Bupa Great North Run two weeks ago. *Charlotte Purdue Is 2nd
It's Cross-Country Season
- Oklahoma State: Cowboys Win Men's And Women's Titles In the men's race, the Cowboys put 4 ahead of Indiana's and Arkansas' #1 as German Fernandez was 5th. The #6 Indiana men were 2nd and DII Adams State beat #16 Arkansas for third. *Results *MB: 2011 Ok State Cowboy Jamboree *G. Fernandez Speaks After Race *Ron Helmer Speaks *D. Smith Speaks
- Colorado: Buffs Win Rocky Mountain Shootout As Richard Medina Runs 4th-Fastest Time On Buffs' Home Course
- Oregon: Wisco Men Put Five Ahead Of Oregon's #1 And Vinny Says He's Thrilled Lananna is a master at psychology, but we found this quote to be surprising even though the Ducks rested Verzbicas, Fleet and Puskedra. "The men’s side was very impressive; I was actually more impressed with the guys.” The Oregon women won by going 3-4-5-6. *MB: Bill
Dellinger Thread
*Results *Photos - Louisville: Purdue Upsets #27 Louisville Men As Louisville Women Finish 21st
- More College Results
- Paul Short: Oklahoma Men Crush It #3 Providence women win over #5 Villanova without Reid and #12 Syracuse and #1 G'Town without Infeld. Nova might be able to 3-peat - Big East is totally loaded. *Message Board Thread
Sub-4 Miler Kyle Merber Is Back On Track After Missing Last Year - Notre Dame: #14 BYU Men Crush It Cougars upend #10 FSU and #12 Princeton. #7 FSU easily wins women's. *Message Board Thread
- LRC: Ivy League Champs Run A Month Early? Simulated 2011 Men's Heptagonal Cross-Country Results *Discussion
International News
- Berlin Marathon Champ Florence Kiplagat Says That She Thinks She Can Break The WR Of course she is talking about Paula Radcliffe's 2:17 "WR," not
the true record of2:15. She also talks about how she thinks frontrunning is the key to marathon success and dedicates her victory to her coach Renato Canova and husband Moses Mosop. - UK's Steph Twell Returns From Broken Ankle At Aldershot And South Of England Road Relays She broke her ankle in multiple places while leading a cross-country race back in January. Has pretty ambitious goals, wanting to "compete for Britain in the 1,500m at the 2012 Olympics, followed by the 5,000m in 2016 and the marathon in 2020."
LetsRun.com National And Conference XC Polls Released
LRC Oklahoma State And Georgetown Ranked #1 In First 2011 LRC Cross-Country Polls The OSU Cowboys are going for a three-peat and the LRC faithful like their chances, although some believe Stanford can pull the upset. On the women's side, G'Town is planning on stopping Villanova from the three-peat. The first national and conference polls are out in advance of this weekend's big XC action. Error fixed and all 75 teams showing up now in rankings.
Remembering Hadd
John Walsh aka "Hadd" Has Died Hadd, only 56, died while on a run. John (we did not learn his real name until he died) was a huge contributor on the LRC message boards, sharing his tremendous training knowledge for years under the moniker "Hadd." His most famous thread was perhaps "2
kinds of runners. Which are you?" with Portuguese coach Antonio Cabral. Hadd also was the Malta Marathon founder, a husband and great friend to many. While Hadd avoided the limelight, his training knowledge was immense, and he influenced thousands of LRC readers. Our thoughts and prayers go to his wife and friends.
More: Heart Attack The Official Cause Of Hadd's Death Times of Malta
*Malta Marathon Director Remembers John (Hadd) Walsh
*Famous Hadd Thread: 2 kinds of runners. Which are you?
*Pay Your Respects To Hadd In This Thread
5th Avenue Mile *Full Race Video: Men & Women *Results *Video Highlights *LRC MB: 5th Avenue Mile *Photo Gallery
Bernard Lagat, Jenny Simpson Win Fifth Avenue Mile Lagat ran 3:50.5 over defending champ Amine Laalou from Morocco, with David Torrence in 3rd in a race that saw 15 runners sub-4. For the women, Jenny Simpson won in 4:22.3 over 10k World silver medallist Sally Kipyego and UK's Hanah England. Morgan Uceny was back in 6th.
*Bernard Lagat: "I didn't let up. I didn't treat this as a vacation. I wanted to win ..." Some good reactions from the elites and a look at some of the non-elite aspects of the race. Nick Symmonds finished 17th and said, "The 800 is far enough for me. The mile today felt like my own New York Marathon."
*MB: What happened Uceny at Fifth Ave?
Michael Johnson Thinks Usain Bolt Can Break 19 Seconds In The 200m
Post-Brussels Rupp Mania Continues
- Galen Rupp Reflects On How He Made Jump From Prep Stardom To World Class Stardom - One Step At A Time He even talks about the mask. "I know it looked silly. But I think it is sillier to be caught up in what people are thinking. I would rather win and do what I need to do than worry about looking good, or wearing something that somebody thinks looks stupid."
- Galen Rupp Talks About "The Best Race I Never Ran" - Pre 10,000 It's worth noting that Rupp says he didn't watch his training partner Mo Farah win the race.
26:48.00 - If You Didn't See Highlights, Click Here
LRC Galen Rupp Talks After Setting The 10,000 American Record Of 26:48.00 In the midst of enjoying a much-deserved two-week break from running, Rupp talked
about his successful 2011 season but was already focused on doing one thing for 2012 - getting better. Rupp is full of praise for Salazar and Farah, is looking forward to his marathon debut and has some bad news for prospective American Olympic 5,000 hopefuls.
More Rupp: Alan Abrahamson Looks At Galen Rupp's American 10,000m Record He even talks about LRC message boarders suggesting Rupp should move up to the marathon since he got outkicked in Brussels (and they were trying to get a rise out of everyone else).
*AP Article On Rupp's American Record
*AFP: Rupp Wants To Double At Olympics
2011 USA 5k Road Champs *Results/Video Coverage *More Video
LRC Flash Recap: Ben True, Julie Culley Win CVS Downtown 5k True outkicked Sam Chelanga (who will be joining Jerry Schumacher's group) and Aaron Braun, while Julie Culley got the win over Kim Conley and Emily Brown. Results, Wejo's quick recap, and reaction from top 3 (and news of Chelanga joining Jerry's group).
Remembrances Pour In - 10 Years Ago Almost The Entire Men's XC Team At Wyoming Was Killed By A Drunk Driver
- RR #1: Parents & Ex-Teammates Remember In Wyoming Paper Anyone who has ever lost a child will be incredibly moved by these articles, as the parents say every day is still incredibly painful.
- RR #2: Denver Post Wyoming Article
- AP Recap: Drunk Driving Laws Have Gotten Much Stricter
New York Gets Some Studs
Emmanuel Mutai And Martin Lel Rematch In NYC! Emmanuel Mutai and Martin Lel put on a marathoning clinic at this spring's Virgin London Marathon. Mutai ran 2:01 pace for the 4th 10k of the race, what we called "unofficially the greatest fourth 10km stretch ever run in the history of the marathon" to destroy the London field. Lel, once the world's greatest marathoner, came back to the sport and surprised even himself by finishing second. They'll get a rematch in NY with 2-time World Champ Jaouad Gharib, plus the previously-announced Gebre2 and Meb. Britain's Jo Pavey is joining the women's field.
Gold For Lukas *Two Photos Of Lukas
Lukas
V Gets World Junior Triathlon Gold He delivered on his promise to get gold for his friend with cancer. Now it's off to freshman year of Oregon.
On The Boards: LUKAS VERZBICAS - GOLD!
*Philip Hersh Covers LV's World Junior Triathlon Win Of going into the run with a 30-second lead, LV said, "On the run, I just kind of enjoyed the moment. It just felt nice."
3 Recommended Reads
- RR #1 Now That His Father Has Died, Olympic Champ Frank Shorter Reveals His Dad, Who Was Revered As The Town Doctor, Was A Violent & Sexual Sociopath Beatings of Frank were bad enough, but the rapes of at least two of his sisters were even worse. Sick.
- Are You Struggling In College? Read This:
RR #2 Ryan Hall Looks Back At His Stanford Career Hall admits he thought his teammates were lazy when he got there and reminds us that he really struggled in college and never made NCAAs in track until his senior year - when he won them. - RR #3 Shot Putter Adam Nelson Talks In Great Detail About How Hard It Is To Make It As A Pro Thrower In The US If he got 4th at every Diamond League meet, he'd only earn $21,000. Maybe LRC should sponsor him.
Zürich Weltklasse *Results *Recap *More Yahoo Zürich Photos
LRC Zürich Recap: Blake 9.82! Over Powell, Nixon Chepseba?! Wins Diamond League 1,500 Title, Kemboi Wins Again, Savinova Wins Stacked 800 It's called the best one day track meet in the World for a reason, it gets the stars. This year's meet had 18 events and in 17 of them it featured the recent World Champ (and in the women's 200 it had Jeter and Felix). Yohan Blake beat Asafa
Powell
in the 100, Vivian Cheruiyot faced a tough challenge from Sally Kipyego in the 5000, as Shalane Flanagan struggled. Nixon Chepseba and Jenny Meadows got surprise overall Diamond League titles and $40,000, as Dayron Robles crossed the finish line first again. LRC Recap and analysis, as we even take a look at Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter six years ago.
AFP: Blake Gets Zurich Win
Daegu 2011 ... It's Over, Folks
*Photos: Bolt *Centro
*Jenny *Semenya
*Blade Runner
*Shocking
Final Eve: Bolt, Jamaica Set 4 X 100 WR SI.com Usain Bolt saw the 37.04, crossed the line, threw the baton 100 feet in the air, danced for 30 minutes on the track, and of course unlike any HS or college kid who might do that, was celebrated rather than DQed. *Best Video Of What Happened To US Team
*US Youngsters Carry Team - Christian Taylor's 17.96 TJ Stuns Field Taylor and Will Claye took gold and bronze in the TJ to overshadow men's 4 x 100 fall. Taylor's 17.96m jump is the 2nd-longest triple jump in World Champs history.
*LRC Video: Lananna Quick Take On USA Team Performance Simply put, the US crushed the rest of the world medal-wise, winning some surprise medals from Simpson, Centro and the TJers but also missing some opportunities in men's shot, men's 400H, men's 4 x 1.
Worlds Friday - More Gold For Kenyan Women, USA *Results *Special Worlds-Only LRC Forum More Centro Photos
LRC: Matt Centrowitz Gets Bronze As Asbel Kiprop And Silas Kiplagat
Go 1-2 Only 21, Centrowitz ran like a seasoned pro and got the first American-born track medal since 1987. Another 10 meters and his medal might have been a different color. Asbel Kiprop got Kenya its first World Championships 1,500m gold and Silas Kiplagat backed him up with silver. Ladies (and gentleman for the first time), we also tell you how to get onto Centro Nation. Recap and extensive post-race reaction.
*Matt Centrowitz Says Jenny Simpson's 1,500 Win "Set The Tone" And Made Him Believe He Could Medal
Worlds Friday
LRC Vivian Cheruiyot Completes 10k/5k Double American Lauren Fleshman finished a solid 7th in a race that saw Vivian Cheruiyot run away with her 2nd gold of the champs, closing in 58.6 to lead Kenya to their 8th and 9th medals of the championships.
*LRC: Women's 5,000m Analysis And Reaction
*More Cheruiyot Photos
Rec Read: How Cheruiyot Got The Double The Daily Nation
Cheruiyot's manager Ricky Simms before the race: "If it is a slow race, Vivian will win. If it is a fast race, Vivian will win."
Worlds Thursday Action *Results *Special Worlds-Only LRC Forum *Thursday AM Post-Race Interviews
Day 6 Is In The Books *Athletics Weekly Recap *IAAF Day 6 Recap
LRC Ezekiel Kemboi Gets Gold And Does The Mini Bolt Ezekiel Kemboi absolutely crushed the field the final 200m to arguably become the greatest championship steepler ever. He was so majestic the final 200 that he had time to celebrate in lane 7 before the silver medal was determined.
*Kemboi Explains To Kenyan Media Why His Celebration Was Extra Long "My friend Usain Bolt remember was not in the finals and he would have danced well. I had to do (it) for Usain Bolt and me."
*Kemboi Left Stadium "In Stitches And Awe In Equal Measure"
*Kenyan Media Happy With "Stylish" 1-2 Finish In Steeple - Proclaims Cheruiyot Winner Of Women's 5,000 Before Race Is Even Run
*Eldoret Erupts In Joy For Most Popular Runner In Town - Kemboi
On The Boards: Ezekiel Kemboi Appreciation Thread - That was the greatest final 200 (and celebration by a distance runner) ever
2011 Worlds (Race Highlights Embedded On Right)
Day 4 Is In The Books *Athletics Weekly Recap *IAAF Day 4 Recap
LRC: Day 4: Teenage King James Nips Merritt In 400m, Zaripova Takes Steeple Going Away, Uceny And Simpson Make 1,500m Final We recap all of
Tuesday's pm action outside of the men's 800m final in this piece. We break down the 400m final, the women's steeple final (and where Jenny Simpson would have finished), look at the 1,500m semis and much more.
LRC: Day 4 Daegu Distance Previews: Men's 800 Final - Nick Symmonds Goes For A Medal, 1,500 1st Round Highlight Busy Day Great distance action, including the women's steeple final, men's 1,500m round 1 and women's 5,000m round
1 and of course
the anticipated 800m final with Symmonds, Rudisha and Kaki.
LRC Usain Bolt False Starts ... Or Did He? Video Proof That Yohan Blake Flinches And Then Usain Bolt False Starts The video shows very clearly that Yohan Blake flinches and then Usain Bolt subconsciously reacted and bolted from the blocks. According to IAAF rules, at a minimum Blake should have been warned. Under no scenario should Bolt have been given the DQ.
*Telegraph Article Here Picking Up The LRC Cause On The
Blake Flinch
LRC Bolt's DQ, Ashton Eaton's 1,500m And More
Usain Bolt DQed For FS, Yohan Blake Wins Title *Bolt: "Looking for tears? That's not going to happen."
*Dix (silver): "I couldn't believe it, it's kind of surreal. I didn't think they were going to kick him out. It's pretty hard to kick Usain out of the race."
*Bolt's Coach: "I think he would have run in the sixties (9.60s)."