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Sunday - Stanley Biwott Wins RNR Philly Half

• Stanley Biwott Repeats At Rock 'N' Roll Philadelphia With The Fastest Half Marathon In The US This Year (On Record-Eligible Course) With 59:36 Cybrian Kotut was 2nd in 59:59 as Fernando Cabada was the top American in 8th (1:03:53). Ukraine's Lyudmyka Kovalenko won a close women's race in 1:08:59 over Konjit Biruk (1:09:00). Susanna Sullivan was the top American (1:16:19) in 11th as Julie Culley was 2nd American one spot back (1:16:28).
  
  Other Weekend Action:
  
• Philemon Limo Wins Mattoni Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon In CR 1:00:38 In Close Race Over Abebe Negewo (1:00:40) Kenyan Josephine Chepkoech broke the women's CR winning in 1:09:08.
• With Ashton Eaton Out With Injury, Canada's Damian Warner Wins Decastar Multi-Event Meet In Talence, France World heptathlon champ Hanna Melnychecnko won the women's meet and the overall IAAF Combined Events Challenge series. Moscow silver medallist Brianne Theisen-Eaton was third. Olympic pole vault champ Renaud Lavillenie failed in his attempt to get the 5.72m decathlon pole vault WR. (The record is 5.76m and he cleared 5.47m.)
• Rabbit For The 2013 Berlin Marathon Bernard Kitur Wins Ndakaini Half Marathon In 1:04:47 In Sprint Finish Over Leonard Koech (1:04:48) Sarah Chepchirchir won the women's race in 1:14:45.Elroy Gelant Is South African Double XC Champion As He Won Both The 4k And 12k Titles Over The Weekend
• Recap Of Day 2 Of Sainsbury's School Games In UK - Lots Of Records Fall

Other Pro Track News

• Good Read: Lopez Lomong Talks About His Childhood Story As One Of The Lost Boys Of Sudan
• Suspended Jamaican 400 Runner Dominique Blake Loses Her Appeal To Have Her 6-Year Ban For A Second Doping Violation Overturned She's still debating taking her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
  
• Usain Bolt Talks About Home Life In Jamaica Away From Track And About His Future "Dream House" For When He Retires He said his dream house will have a basketball court, inside and outside pool, soccer field with lights, and dirt bike course, but no track.
• Good Question: What Will Happen To Professional Track And Field When Bolt Retires?Writer states the obvious when he says it will be hard to fill his shoes with regards to level of performances and entertainment.
  
• Kenyan Government Calls For Meeting With Athletics Kenya

Saturday - Great North CityGames - Results

• 2013 Bupa Great North Road Mile:
  LRC Morgan Uceny's Comeback Gets A Big Boost; Garrett Heath Surprises In Men's Side Over Asbel Kiprop Morgan Uceny looked better in a 1k last week and now she has officially has turned the corner as she took down two of the top 4 from Moscow as well steeplechase World champ Milcah Chemos. Garrett Heath surprisingly won the men's race, as Leo Manzano got a much needed runner-up finish while Asbel Kiprop struggled.
•  IAAF Recap: Sally Pearson Wins 100 Hurdles And Flat 150 At Great North CityGames David Oliver over Wilson and Merritt in 110H.
• Athletics Weekly Recap

Jack Bolas Runs First-Ever Sub-4 Mile On Alaskan Soil On an indoor 413-meter track.
MB: Jack Bolas will attempt the first Sub 4 minute mile in Alaska

Incredible Lance Documentary - The Armstrong Lie - Comes Out Nov. 8, 2013 *Movie Clip #1 *Movie Clip #2

A Great Read: Awesome Q&A With Documentarian Alex Gibney On His New Film And Being Lied To By Lance Armstrong Gibney thinks Lance is still lying about being clean in 2009.
*Former Lance Armstrong Author Bill Strickland Screens The New Documentary "The Armstrong Lie" He says it's a great watch for non-cycling and cycling fans alike.
*Rave Reviews On Rotten Tomatoes

Darnit: A Federal Judge Rules That Lance Armstrong Was Allowed To Lie In His Memoirs "A federal judge has ruled that Lance Armstrong, the disgraced cyclist who admitted to doping earlier this year, is allowed to lie in his memoirs."

The Fight Back Against Competitor Begins ... Boycott Rock N Roll Events

Competitor Is Dropping Elite Support, But Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc., A Non-Profit, Is Upping Support To $150,000 The non-profit group's goal is "promoting the love of running," not profits.

Boycott Competitor Events
LRC Editorial No, Thank You: We Don't Need Competitor Running The Vast Majority Of Big Running Events In This Country The Competitor Group (Rock N Roll Races) has decided it does not want to give back to the sport of running despite receiving millions in public subsidies. It's time to boycott their events and support groups that give back to the sport. It would be WAY better if a non-profit, not a private equity fund, ran the big road races in the USA, but nothing will change unless YOU get involved and vote with your feet. Don't run their events and question their expansion into your city.

We Can Make A Difference: Boulder Running Company Company Cancels Rock 'N' Roll Registration Party At Their Store "That's not right (them eliminating prize money), and we wouldn't support that. This is a community-based store, and this community is involved in the elite side of the sport."

2000 Olympic 4th Placer, 2008 Ironman 70.3 Champion Joanna Zeiger: Do Professional Runners/Triathletes Matter? Zeigler emailed us a link to her well-written column.

People In Philly Irate By Competitor Group's Decision: "I don't think it's fair to the legacy of the people who built the event."

News From Europe

• US's Diane Nukuri-Johnson Wins Women's 10,000m Title In A Championship Record 32:29.14 On 4th Day Of Francophone Games
• Jessica Ennis-Hill Will Do Commonwealths Next Year - Urges Fans To Buy Tix Now As Track Is Going To Sell Out
• 9.91 Man James Dasaolu Hopes To Break European Record Of 9.86 Before Rio

Big Names In The News

King Carl Is Moving Back To Houston And Is Named Volunteer Coach For University Of Houston People 30 and under, Carl Lewis was once the equivalent of Usain Bolt - the face of track and field and a total stud.

Lance Armstrong Has Returned His 2000 Olympic Medal

Administrative News

• New IOC Head Talks About Russia's Anti-Gay Laws The first call he took as IOC president was from Vladimir Putin, who seems to be involved in everything these days, but they didn't talk about the law.
• We'll Believe It When We See It: After Fielding Two Overage Athletes At African Junior Champs, Kenyan Says It Will Ban Individuals And Federations Found Guilty Of It In The Future
• Controversial Eight-Year Tenure Of Eddie McGuire On The Athletics Australia Board Is Finally Over Following His Resignation People were irate about the conflicts of interest. He's the head of Collingwood Football Club and allowed track and field to be evicted from the Olympic park so his football club could train there.
• Nigerian Govt. Rewards Blessing Okagbare For Her Two WChamps Medals (Silver LJ, Bronze 200) With $21,000 - Coach Gets $18,000 Don't third world countries have better things to spend their money on?
• Kenyans Happy That Paul Tergat Was Named To IOC Board
• Athletics Kenya Bosses Act Like All Is Fine, Less Than 48 Hours Before Deadline For Federation President Isaiah Kiplagat To Convene A New Head
• Soweto Marathon Which Was Cancelled Is Now Back On A Day Later

Sunday - Great North Run *Starts Lists And Course Map *LRC Vault: Last Year's Race

• LRC Kenenisa Bekele Holds Off Mo Farah In One Of The Most Thrilling Road Races In History Bekele is back!!! In one the great moves in road racing history, he faked getting dropped in the first 10k so Farah and Geb would increase the pace and then came back and slammed it home from a mile out, somehow holding off Farah, who closed in 58-flat!!!
  
  
• LRC Priscah Jeptoo Uses Mid-Race 4:34 Mile And 30:03 10k To Show She's Queen Of The Roads And Defeats Defar And Dibaba Defar and Dibaba monoplized the pre-race publicity, but the London Marathon champ was truly phenomenal during the second half in this one and nearly got the Worlds Best time.
• IAAF Recap: Jeptoo Almost Beats Radcliffe's Record - Beats Defar And Dibaba
• Bekele's Manager Jos Hermens Says He Could Make His Marathon Debut Next Year In London Against Mo Farah Hermens: "We'll be doing everything to try to get the race on in London. In London, if he is fit, he could break the world record in his first marathon. That's how talented he is."
• Farah: "I thought I had it. If he had come to the front with us, he thought we might have slowed the pace down. So [his plan] definitely did work." "I was telling Haile: 'the gap's not enough.'"
• Brett Larner: Best-Ever Japanese Results at Great North Run Arata Fujiwara was 4th in 1:02:44 as Yuki Kawauchi was 8th in 1:04:08. On the women's side Misaki Kato was 6th in 1:10:44 in her debut.
• Athletics Weekly Reacp
• MB: Official 2013 Great North Run - Bekele, Geb and Mo, Meseret and Tirunesh - Race Thread

Pre-Great North Run News

• Two Incredible Half Marathon Races: IAAF Preview: Kenny B Vs. Haile & Mo And Dibaba Vs. Defar At 13.1 If the 40-year-old Haile wins, Mo and Kenenisa should be embarrassed.
• Stormy Weather - Rain And Strong Winds - Expected
• Haile G Tells Mo Farah Don't Listen To Alberto And Go For 5,000, 10,000, Marathon Triple In 2016 "In sport, everything is possible. ... Maybe he could win two of them and take another medal or something unique and historical."
  After Great North Run, Mo Is Going On Two-Week Vacation To Necker Island And Caribbean W/ Wife (No Kids) And Not Running
• Guardian: Mo Farah Honoured To Line Up With His Hero Haile Gebrselassie
• Indpendendent: Mo Farah's Greatness On The Line Against Ethiopian Marvels Haile Gebrselassie And Kenenisa Bekele
• "I am better than Mo Farah," Says Kenenisa Bekele "He is a great athlete, but when I am fit, I think I am the best."
• Haile G Urges Mo Farah Not To Move To Marathon Yet "If I run 3.28 for 1,500 metres why do I need to move to the marathon? I stay at 5,000 and 10,000 because there is a chance to break world records."
• In 1981, Brendan Foster Created The Great North Run And Now They Are About To Become The First Event In History With 1 Million Finishers Memo to the Brits: The Bolder Boulder has already done it.
• Mo Farah Ready, Promises A "Great Show" On Sunday: "The most important thing is not about time, it's putting on a great show."
• Video: Mo Farah "Confident" As He Takes On Kenenisa Bekele And Haile Gebrselassie This Weekend
• Athletics: Mo Farah Has Reached A Crossroad In His Career - Stay On Track Or Go To The Roads (Marathon)
• Fujiwara And Kawauchi Lead Seven-Strong Japanese Contingent At Great North Run
  
• Women's Preview Dibaba Vs. Defar 2013 Round Two Dibaba says she lost in Zürich because it took her 22 hours to get there and her back was stiff. Will it be different on Sunday?

Some Track Action Is Still Going On

• Willem Coertzen And 2013 World Champion Hanna Melnychenko Lead IAAF Combined Events Challenge After Day 1 As Ashton Eaton Withdraws With An Injury Brianne Theisen-Eaton is in second.
• Derek Drouin Wins HJ On Final Day Of Francophone Games As Souleiman Wins Tactical 1,500 In 3:57.35
• Recap Of Day 1 Of Sainsbury's School Games In UK - Lots Of Records Fall

The 5th Ave Mile Is Next Weekend

World Championships Silver Medalists Nick Symmonds And Jenny Simpson Lead Fields For NYRR Fifth Avenue Mile Men's field has Bernard Lagat, Nick Willis, David Torrence, Will Leer, Leo Manzano and Evan Jager, while the women's are also includes Shannon Rowbury, Gabriele Anderson and Morgan Uceny.

Is Speedgolf The Next Olympic Sport?

• Bernard Lagat And Nick Willis Competing In The Speedgolf World Championships In Oregon On October 26th And 27th Speedgolf is exactly what it sounds like: You play a round of golf as fast as you can and lowest score (shots + time) wins. Willis' best performances is a very impressive round of 79 in only 43 minutes.
• Spikes-Magazine Q&A With Lagat About His Upcoming Speedgolf Debut Lagat's best regular golf score is 89 and he says, "As a runner, the thing that golf has allowed me to work on is my patience, which is something I don't normally have much of. I always have to be quick, quick, quick after I hit the ball. Even when I'm playing golf it's intense. I have that competitive instinct."

Other Distance News

• World-Famous Marathon Coach Renato Canova Named Head Distance Coach For Chinese Athletics Federation Canova: "It is a very exciting project. The excitement likely comes in the form of being able to mold an almost non-existent Chinese middle and long distance program." What will this mean for all the top Kenyan marathoners he coaches?
• This Would Have Been Untimely News If Madrid Had Won 2020 Bid: Spanish Distance Runners Alberto Lozano, Sergio Sanchez And Angel Mullera Test Positive Sanchez is the European indoor 3k record holder and Mullera was 11th in the steeple in Moscow.
• Two-Time World Marathon Champion Abel Kirui Competing In Eldoret Kimbilio Hospice Charity Marathon On October 13th
• SA's 1,500 World Bronze Medalist Johan Cronje Says He Fellow South African Track Athletes Are Lazy And Not Willing To Move Up In Distance "An athlete is running the 800m (when) he should be training for the 1,500m. And the 1,500m athletes should be training for the 5,000m, and the 400m athletes should be training for the 800m. It's easy for the 800m athlete to go and run 400m because he has speed, but he's too lazy to go and train and do the hard work to be a real decent 800m athlete."
• Big Three Highlight Field For October 20th Amsterdam Marathon Defending champion Wilson Chebet (2:05:27) faces 2010 winner Getu Feleke (2:04:50) and Bernard Koech (2:04:53).
• Ethiopia's 2:06 Man Seboka Dibaba Tola Hoping To Break The CR At Next Month's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon He faces Moroccan Abderrahime Bouramdane (2:07:33) and defending champ Sahle Betona Warga.
• Mandy Ortiz Named USATF Athlete Of The Week For Winning The Women's Junior Title At The World Mountain Running Champs Last Weekend

Big IOC News

• Alan Abrahamson: German Thomas Bach Elected To Succeed Jacques Rogge As IOC President Abrahamson tells you what it all means, including the relevancy of Vladimir Putin to the Olympic movement.
  *The Guardian On Bach Sergey Bubka didn't get the job.
  *NY Times Article *IAAF
• USOC Head Larry Probst Gets Elected To IOC This is big news to get the US some clout within the IOC.
• Former Marathon WR Holder Paul Tergat Elected As An IOC Committee Member
• Bach "Addresses" Russia's Anti-Gay Law More of the same, as he said, "Today we cannot enter into discussion about all the details ... You will see that we will follow our values in the Olympic charter. ... We have assurances from the highest authorities in Russia ..."