June 26, 2014 Homepage Archive

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Archived Homepage For June 26, 2014

Quote Of The Day

“I’m excited about (being an Oregon-based pro) I’m never one to shy away from competition or working hard. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun when you get cheers for being a little kid. But if I wanted to be babied, I would not have gone pro. I’m welcoming the idea that people will be thinking of me as Mary Cain the professional, not Mary Cain the high schooler.”

– Mary Cain talking to Marc Bloom about her new life as a real pro, not a high schooler who is pro. Cain’s first race as a high school grad will be this week at the 2014 USA Champs where she’ll take on the now undisputed high school sensation Alexa Efraimson.

LRC ExclusiveMo Trafeh - American Record Holder At 25k - Caught With EPO, Is Retiring From The Sport

The 2-time Foot Locker finalist, 8-time US road champion, and the US 25k American Record holder was recently caught with EPO in his possession, which he admits to purchasing for intended use but never actually using. *Discuss

2014 USA Champs Results/Starts ListsScheduleTV/Streaming Info TFN Picks LRC Previews:M800 W800 M1500 W1500 Steeples M5K W5K M10k W10k*All Coverage

LetsRun.com’s Mid-D And Distance Previews

LRC Men’s 10,000: Rupp Goes For Sixth Straight Title The only person who can stop Rupp from winning the 10,000 is his wife, Keara, who is pregnant with twins. When Keara delivers could determine whether Rupp runs USAs or the Paris DL meet on July 5 instead.

LRCMen’s 5,000: Rupp Looks To End Bernard Lagat’s Reign Once And For All Rupp is just 1-19 against Lagat in races they’ve both finished, but the 39-year-old Lagat has started to show his age outdoors. Rupp beat Lagat to win the Olympic Trials in 2012; can he do it again in Sacramento?

LRC Women’s 5,000: Molly Huddle, Then Who? There Are Lots Of Worthy ChallengersHuddle, the American Record holder, is running great in 2014, but the next few spots are up for grabs. Shannon Rowbury is the best bet for second, but there are plenty of women who will challenge her, such as Katie Mackey, Laura Thweatt, Chelsea Reilly and the collegiate big three of Marielle Hall, Aisling Cuffe and Abbey D’Agostino. Has US women’s 5,000 running ever been this deep?

LRC Women’s 10,000: Shalane Flanagan Back On The Track; Can Jordan Hasay Or Kim Conley Challenge Her? Hasay and Conley are both in the shape of their lives, but Flanagan has been running great in 2014 as well, chopping 3:36 off her marathon PR with a 2:22:02 at Boston in April.

LRC Steeplechases: Expect Easy Wins For Evan Jager And Emma Coburn We know who is winning both races. The question is who else gets on the podium.

Day 1 In The Books: Michelle Carter And Joe Kovacs When US Shot Put Titles At California State Capitol Olympic bronze medalist Reese Hoffa was only 3rd.
Pat Casey Is Hoping For Top-3 Finish But Going For The Win Casey says he got a ton of confidence from the World Relay Champs where he helped the US 4 x 1,500 team get silver.
Ryan Vail’s Pre-USAs Blog
Allyson Felix Will Only Run 100m She says her coach Bob Kersee is trying to “hold her back” this year and also work on foot speed.
Which Of Your Favorite Collegians Are Competing At USAs And How Are They Expected To Do? Emma Bates (10K) and Shalaya Kipp (steeple) are the only athletes seeded in the top 5 of their events.
Sacramento Hoping For Huge Economic Impact From Hosting USAs They expect $4.6 million to come in throughout the weekend.
NBC’s Top Athletes To Watch At US Champs
HMMR Media Preview Of Men’s Throws

More:2014 USAs Special Section – Full Coverage

Get Educated, Learn Some Great T&F History

Great Track Journalism: Sacramento Has Been A Special Place For Michelle Carter And Her Father Michael Michelle won a NCAA title in Sacramento in 2006 but dad Michael much more famously produced arguably the greatest single performance by a HS track and field athlete in history in Sacramento in 1979 – a heave of 81-3.5. “What Carter did at the GWI, I consider the greatest high school performance ever. It’s not even close.”
*2014 US Championships Men’s Throws Guide
RR #2:30 Years Ago At USAs, Dwight Stones Regained The American Record In HJ At 7-8 (2.34) And Ended Up On Cover Of Sports Illustrated Stones called that jump, not his two WR jumps, the “single greatest moment in my very long career.”
1968 Olympic Champion Jim Hines Remembers “Night Of Speed” When He Became World’s First Sub-10 Man In Sacramento In 1968In the span of 7 hours, three men broke the world record and 7 tied it. “There will never be another night like it” and, “That was the greatest ever.”
Two-Time Olympian And Former NCAA 1,500 Champ Graham Hood Getting Inducted In Arkansas Razorback Hall Of Fame

Follow-Up On Yesterday's Article On The Money Side Of The Sport

Ken Goe On Whether Fans Dislike Shoe Companies: “I think Siegel misinterprets the anger. I think it’s more directed at USATF’s leadership, which many athletes seem to believe – rightly or wrongly – is mostly concerned with cozying up to the shoe companies.”

College News

It’s Offiical: Penn State Director Beth Alford-Sullivan Leaves To Take Over At Tennessee
*Alford-Sullivan: “My 15 years at Penn State have been outstanding.”

Distance News

Rita Jeptoo Will Defend Her Title At Chicago Marathon
David Rudisha Wants To Double At CGs – Wants 4 X 400 Medal Like His Father His father got Olympic silver in 1968 in the 4 x 400.
Podcast With 2:13 Marathoner Craig Leon
Jessie Squire: 5 Things Track Can Learn From The World Cup Making qualifying competitions the focus, not time, is a no-brainer.
Blogger Who Went Crazy After TV Commentator Said Sofia Assefa Was “Carrying A Bit Of Weight” On NY DL Broadcast Has Calmed Down “So why is it not acceptable for an athletics commentator to talk about a female distance runner’s weight, when it’s fine for a horse racing pundit to talk about the weight of a horse, or a football commentator to say a male player is overweight?”

News From The Commonwealth

Former Butler Runner Stephen Lisgo Has Gone From Being A Self-Confessed “Fatty” To Being On Scotland’s Commonwealth Games Team In Less Than A Year
Canada’s 1:59 Performer Melissa Bishop Is Ready For Canadian Nationals And Commonwealth Games
With No Blake And Bolt, This Weekend’s Jamaican 100m Title Is Wide Open But Jamaica Gleaner Thinks Nesta Carter Is Man To Beat
Yohan Blake Declares Himself Unavailable For Commonwealth Games … Despite The Fact He’ll Compete In Glasgow A Few Days Earlier Coming back from injury, he’s going to “pick and choose his races this year, which means focusing on the big money of the Diamond League.”
Commonwealth Games Will Have Plenty Of Star Power With Farah, Rudisha And Ezekiel Kemboi
Antoine Adams Runs 10.01 And 20.08 At St. Kitts & Nevis Champs
Asafa To Run At Paris Diamond League On July 5
Phillips Idowu Is Happy With Status Of His Comeback, Thinks Gold At Commonwealths Is Coming

Dick Beardsley’s Record Finally Goes Down At Grandma’s *Results

Kenya’s Dominic Ondoro Breaks Dick Beardsley’s 33-Year-Old Grandma’s Marathon Course Record With 2:09:06 VictoryNick Arciniaga was 9th in 2:14:31. Pasca Myers ran 2:33:45 to win over US’s Brianne Nelson (2:34:44). Julius Koskei won the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in 1:03:36 while Cynthia Limo took the women’s race in 1:09:50. *Results
Duluth News Tribune Article With Quotes From Dick Beardsley Beardsley: “As soon as I heard, I ran over here and I gave him a big hug, shook his hand, congratulated him and told him that he earned that race 100 percent.”
17-Year-Old OT Qualifier Alana Hadley WasOn Pace For Sub-2:40 At 19 Miles But Dropped Out With Hip Flexor Tightness Article talks about how the weather was perfect with high 40s to low 50s and a slight tailwind.
Pasca Myers Takes Husband’s Advice And Runs Her “Own Race” To Win Myers set her own pace and let defending champ Sarah Kiptoo and others go early, but ended up “passing a lot of ladies” later in the race to win.
Julius Koskei Won Garry Bjorklund Half After Previously Dropping Out Of Grandma’s Marathon TwiceFernando Cabada was 3rd in the half.
Pretty Amazing Story:Minnesota Man Tim Bowman Runs Grandma’s Less Than A Year After Having Brain Tumor Removed After his surgery, he had to relearn everything, including walking and talking.
Duluth News Tribune Photo Gallery

The Week That Was Returns

WTW 6/26/14Increased Depth In Women's Running, High Praise For Molly Beckwith-Ludlow, Dismissing Galen Rupp's WR Chances, And Please Don't Bring Back The World Relays (Next Year)

The WTW is back! We praise Molly Beckwith-Ludolow, praise the increased competitiveness of women's track, show you just how dominant the SEC and PAC-12 are at NCAAs and make a $10,000 guarantee that Galen Rupp won't set the 10,000 WR. Plus why it's unacceptable for commentators to talk about the weight of female track stars.

RRWGeorge Claassen, Oldest Comrades Marathon Champion, Has Died At 97

Non-USAs Results: Kenya Chooses Its World Junior Team

IAAF Recap Of Kenyan Trials For World Junior Champs: Defending Junior Gold Medalist Alfred Kipketer Wins 800 In 1:45.67 Leading Wire-To-Wire Titus Kipyego, a relative of three-time World champion Vivian Cheruiyot, won the steeple (8:22) as Rosefline Chepngetich won the women’s in 9:43. Moses Mukono took the men’s 5,000 (13:46) Elvis Cheboi the 10,000 (28:33).
Recap Of Paavo Nurmi Games In Turku, Finland: Olympic Champ Krisztian Pars Stays Keeps Winning Streak Going With 79.83 Hammer As Throws Highlight Kenya’s Elijah Manangoi won the 1,500 in 3:38.99; Finland’s Sandra Eriksson won the 3,000m in an 8:55.13.

Upcoming: Ryan/Sara Hall Racing Napa Half; Lauren Fleshman Making Debut

Ryan Hall, Sara Hall And Lauren Fleshman Will Race Napa To Sonoma Half Marathon On July 20th Hall faces 4-time defending champ and CR holder (1:02:38) Tesfaye Alemayehu. Fleshman is making her half marathon debut. Apparently Meb Keflezighi and Mary Decker Slaney will lead the races on an ElliptiGO.
Women’s 400 At Jamaican Champs Looks To Be A Battle Between Novlene Williams-Mills, Stephanie McPherson And Kaliese Spencer
Asafa Powell Will Race At Paris DL Meet On July 5th Days Before His Drug Hearing With CAS As previously announced, he and Sherone Simpson are free to compete pending the outcome of their trial.

Distance Stuff

Taoufik Makhloufi Says He’s A Big Fan Of Mo Farah And Talks About Struggling To Keep Up With Him On Long Runs In Kenya Talking about this season, Makhloufi is hoping for fast times as he wants to get under 3:30 and 1:43.
Rita Jeptoo Will Defend Her Title At The 2014 Chicago Marathon Last year she won in 2:19:57 and then won Boston in 2:18:57.
Air Force’s Juli Benson Retires From College Coaching

A Ton Of Interesting Reads

Great Read: Is Track And Field Really A Pro Sport? The Indianapolis Star‘s David Woods has written nearly 2,500 words on the money side of the sport. Guess how much Morgan Uceny made after college? For many, the money is irrelevant as the dream of an Olympic bid is enough. That’s not true for Andrew Poore, who retired after finishing 4th at USAs last year because he made $5,000 on the year: “If I’m not a professional athlete, I’m not going to waste my time trying to pretend like I’m something I’m not.”
RRW James Li & Stephen Sambu – A Winning Combination Under Li’s guidance, and relatively low mileage, Sambu has become one of the best road racers on the planet. Galen Rupp can be thankful as Sambu was instrumental in his 26:44 AR.
Great Profile Of Miss. State’s 800 Star Brandon McBride – His Mom Made His College Choice For Him And He’s Thrilled With The Results McBride is a big-time talent. 2 NCAA titles before his 20th birthday.
Good Q&A With Sally Kipyego – Her Favorite Training Partner Is …Lauren Fleshman. If she had a band, she’d want Nick Willis to be the lead singer and Ezekiel Kemboi on drums for his energy.
Whatever Happened To Daniel Komen?
Full Text Of Phil Knight’s Speech To Stanford Business School – “Ability and desire almost always trump money and power.”
Nick Willis Is In The Form Of His Life, Having Recently Set PRs At 5,000 (13:20), 3,000 (7:36 NR) And A “Bucket List” Sub-3:50 Mile Willis talks about how he’s been able to do more volume than ever.
Where Are They Now: 2011 World Championship Ultra Bronze Medalist Andy Henshaw Has Totally Walked Away From The Sport “It’s been years since I’ve read a running blog.”

US Denies Visas To 4 Cuban Jr. Athletes; Team Says That They Won’t Come Unless Everyone Gets A Visa

BAA 10k (Top 10 Results In Article)

Previous USAs Stuff

Meet Co-Director Thinks Sacramento Is A Better Track Town Than Eugene In 2000 and 2004, they drew larger crowds than Eugene did in 2008 and 2012, and he thinks the weather is better as well. Discuss: Sacramento: We’re a better track town than Eugene – we just don’t have the Nike money.
Mary Cain Is Ready For USAs And Life As A Real Pro – Not A HSer Who Is Pro She reveals her goal is sub-4 for the year.
With No Gatlin Or Gay, Might It Be Ryan Bailey Who Wins 100m At USAs? Bailey, who got the baton right next to Bolt in 2012, is on the comeback trail from injury.

Sprint/Hurdles News

Jamaican Gleaner Says Kerron Stewart Is Woman To Beat In Women’s 100 At Jamaican Champs Everyone but SAFP is competing. They pick VCB #2.
IAAF World Junior Championships – Less Than One Month To Go! The clash between Trayvon Bromell and Zharnell Hughes should be a highlight of the meet, which starts on July 22nd.
Team GB Names Its First 18 To Its World Juniors Squad The team is led by David Omoregie, who broke the European junior 110m hurdles record on Sunday with 13.17.

Meb Keflezighi To Start At Back Of Field, Try To Pass 22,500 People To Raise Money For Charity At July 4th Peachtree Road Race Meb’s hoping to raise $75,000 for the inaugural Kilometer Kids Charity Chase. *Donate Here.

Derval O’Rourke Retires

2006 World Indoor 60H Champ Derval O’Rourke Of Ireland Calls It A Career The 33-year-old’s last race earned her a bronze at European indoors. “Going to a championships just to be there, isn’t me.” *BBC
*“She inspired us to compete with the best in the world.”
*O’Rourke: “Very talented … but a cheeky brat.” She was always great at the biggest competitions.
*Twitter Tributes Pour In For “Inspiration” O’Rourke

Rabbit Stuns Wilson Kipsang In Czech Republic

RR: Pacer Geoffrey Ronoh Stuns Wilson Kipsang, Dennis Kimetto At Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon Ronoh only has one professional race to his name (a 2:15:51 marathon) and is Kipsang’s personal pacer. However, here he shocked Kipsang, beating him by 8 seconds to win in a CR 60:17. Kimetto was way back in 3rd (1:01:42) and Edna Kiplagat dominated the women’s race in 68:52.
*Highlights Video