2016 NCAA XC is Saturday (11 am ET Women – Noon ET Men) *Results, Splits, Streaming *D2 & 3 Coverage

Men:Patrick Tiernan Turns Back King Ches as NAU Wins First Crown(results only) Edward Cheserek won NCAAs as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, but not as a senior.

LRC Oregon Women and Karissa Schweizer Pull Huge Upsets to Win 2016 NCAA Cross Country Titles
*Full 2016 NCAA Cross Country Women’s Results (team results fixed)

MB:Official 2016 NCAA D1 Cross Country Live Discussion Thread 

Pre-Race
Press Conference News and Notes LRC The Stars Discuss How to Beat Edward Cheserek, Erin Finn Says Bring on the Bad Weather And 5 More Takeaways from Terre Haute

LRC Fan Predictions The Fans Have Spoken – NCAA Cross Country Predictions from the LRC $200,016 Running Warehouse Contest

Full Coverage In Our NCAA Special Section.

The Latest Non NCAA News

Corruption?Le Monde has receipts showing Qatar paid Papa Diack $3.5 million before 2017 Worlds were awarded‘

‘I’m ready to face this’: Cathy Freeman opens up about her family’s deepest scars Freeman is still coming to terms with the gross injustices borne by her Aboriginal family at the hands of Australian authorities.

Distance News

• Eliud Kipchoge Leads Field For Sunday’s Delhi Half Marathon Kipchoge says he wants to break his PR and go under 59 minutes.
  *Aussie Olympian David McNeill Shares Funny/Awkward Massage Story He Had With Kipchoge In Delhi
• The Oregonian:Grief-Stricken Jordan Hasay Will Continue To Run To Honor Her Mother Hasay’s mother died very unexpectedly earlier this month at the age of 56. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. Hasay: “I’m determined to live in the present, and live for her legacy. The best way to do that is to move forward. I know that is what she would want me to do.”
• Penny Wise, Pound Foolish: Competitor Group Fires “Mr. Marathon” Tracy Sundlun In an effort to save money, CGI let go of Sundlun and is reportedly cutting their elite athlete budget as well. A huge loss for the sport.
  *MB: “Mr. Marathon” Tracy Sundlun fired by Competitor Group Inc. One MB poster made the analogy, “This is akin to Apple ousting Steve Jobs.”
• Good Podcast With Nick Symmonds Talking About USATF, Drugs, Retirement And More
• Geoffrey Kamworor Focused On Defending His World XC Title This March

Doping News: More Bans, IOC-WADA Tension Grows

• Qatar’s Asian 1,500 Champ Mohammed Al-Garni Gets 4-Year Doping Ban For Refusing To Submit A Sample
• Sixteen More Athletes Sanctioned After Beijing 2008 Positive Retests Includes 4 track athletes: 2 Russian HJers, PV bronze medalist Denys Yurchenko and Greek TJer Chrysopigi Devetzi, who had already been stripped of her bronze for testing positive in 2007 retests.
  *Doping Retests Could Mean Bronze Medals For US Jumpers Derek Miles And Chaunte Lowe Ridiculously, Lowe was 6th, but doper Anna Chicherova and the other 2 Russians were 3rd-5th.
• IOC Members Attack Craig Reedie And WADA Calling For A “Neutral” President While we called called for Reedie to resign, it seems some of this backlash is coming from those upset at WADA imposing sanctions and recommending Russia be banned from Rio.
• BBC:WADA President Craig Reedie Fights On Despite Criticism Some want WADA strengthened, but the IOC is reluctant to give them more authority and have spoke of a new separate organization.
• InsideTheGames:Reedie Fighting For Future As President Of WADA After Unprecedented Attack
• David Owen Calls Anti-Doping Movement A “Bleak Soap Opera” As He Defends Craig Reedie Who Was “Publicly Executed” At ANOC Meeting Owen wonders if Thomas Bach is trying to get more control of the anti-doping process and complains about politics getting in the way of protecting clean athletes.
• WADA Proposes New System Of Sanctioning Non-Compliant Organizations, Risking More Conflict With The IOC Currently WADA can make recommendations, but doesn’t have sanctioning power.

Speaking of Going Pro – Devon Allen Goes Pro

Devon Allen Goes ProThe Oregon Duck is no longer a Duck anymore in terms of athletics. The Olympic Trials champ is going to be a pro hurdler (and later possibly try to make it in the NFL) and says rehab from knee surgery #2 is going well.
Discuss:DEVON ALLEN GOES PRO

Marathon News

• Free Training Advice:Former US Champ Esther Atkins Blogs About How To Recover From The Marathon After Her 11th Place Finish In NYC Atkins writes, “The truth is that recovery is as much a part of our training and success as any other workout, weight session, diet plan, or mileage formula.”
• Watch Trailer For “Patriots Day” Movie About Boston Marathon Bobmbing The movie starring Mark Wahlberg is due out in select cities on Dec. 21 and everywhere Jan. 13.
• Haile Gebrselassie Reflects On Athens Marathon, Life As A Fun Runner And His New Role As Ethiopian Athletics President Geb also shares what he thinks is the greatest and worst races of his life and his opinion on the potential for a sub-2 hour marathon.
• Marathon Route Revealed For 2017 London World ChampionshipsSeb Coe called the course, comprised of four 10K loops) “utterly unique.”
• Meb Keflezighi Shares Some Of The “Secrets” To Competing Well Through 41 Probably nothing you haven’t heard. Changing his diet and listening to his body in training have been key factors for Meb.
• Former Marathon Great Robert de Castella Trained A Group Of Indigenous Australians For The NYC Marathon; They Ran To Raise Money And Create Awareness For Problems At Home

International Track News

• Good Read:IAAF Profile On Olympic 400H Champ Kerron Clement, Who Completed An Amazing 7-Year Comeback To Win Olympic Gold In Rio Clement won World gold in 2009, but through multiple injuries and surgeries didn’t make another podium again until he was on top in Rio.
• Man Charged In Murder Of Tyson Gay’s Daughter Waives Right To A Preliminary Hearing And Moves Right To A Grand Jury
• Better Late Than Never:Trinidad And Tobago’s 2013 400H World Champ Jehue Gordon Gets Keys To His New Home, Three Years After It Was Promised To Him By The Government
• Wayde Van Niekerk Wins Association Of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Award As The Best Male Athlete Of Rio 2016Tegla Loroupe‘s Refugee Olympic team got an award for inspiring hope through sport and Team GB got the award for most successful NOC. *2nd Article
• A Closer Look At IAAF’s AOY Finalists: Men The award will go to either Usain Bolt, Mo Farah or Wayde van Niekerk.
• A Closer Look At IAAF’s AOY Finalists: Women The three finalists are Almaz Ayana, Elaine Thompson and Anita Wlodarczyk.
• Oscar Pistorius Moved To A Different Prison To “Aid Rehabilitation” The prison he was previously in was for defendants still fighting their case in court and “assumed innocent.”

NCAA News

• Sydney McLaughlin Won’t Go Pro, Commits To The University Of Kentucky McLaughlin says she was influenced in part by having WR holder Keni Harrison there as a volunteer assistant coach.
  *MB:Sydney McLaughlin to Kentucky
• Updated Rankings:Northern Arizona Men Enter NCAA DI Championships As Favorites Colorado, Stanford, BYU and Syracuse make up the rest of the top 5.
• Colorado Women Remain Ranked #1 With NC State And Providence 2-3 Stanford made a jump in the rankings to go from 7th to 4th.

Sport Admin: Haile G Speaks

• As New Ethiopian Federation President Halie Gebrselassie Plans On Breaking Pattern Of Centralising Athletes In Addis Ababa Geb says he wants athletes to be able to train in places besides Addis Ababa and still receive support.
• David Rudisha Appointed President Of African Athletics Confederation Athletes’ Commission Nigeria’s Olympic bronze medalist sprinter Mary Onyali-Omagbemi will be his vice president.
• Haile Gebrselassie’s Election As Ethiopian Federation President Gets High Praise From Former WR Holder Paul Tergat Tergat says it is a wake-up call for retired athletes to fight for leadership positions in their sport.
• Los Angeles 2024 Predict Good Relationship With “Enthusiastic Olympic Supporter” Donald Trump While several have predicted the election won’t have an effect on the bid, we still think LA bid chairman Casey Wasemann was going a little far when he said, “A bid is not about politics.”
• LA 2024 Bid Backed As “Low Risk” And “Fiscally Responsible” By The California Legislative Analysis Office They warned, however, that taxpayers might still need to pick up part of the bill.

International Weekend Action

• Bahrain’s Aweke Ayalew Ends Imane Merga’s Historic Streak At Five At The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca In Spain Ayalew won in a sprint finish with Timothy Toroitich while Merga, Muktar Edris and Jarius Birech were 3-5. The women’s race saw World 5,000 silver medalist Senbere Teferi win over World XC champ Agnes Tirop and Rio 10K 4th placer Alice Aprot.
• Kenya’s Flomena Cheyech Daniel Wins Saitama International Marathon In 2:23:18 In the race for selection to Japan’s 2017 World team, Mizuho Nasukawa was first across the line in 2:33:16.
  *Japan Running News Says Nasukawa Will Have “Close To No Chance” For Worlds Selection As She Was 10 Minutes Back From The Winner (And Nowhere Near The 2:22:30 Auto Time)
• Edwin Kibet Kiptoo (2:13:19) And Tigist Girma (2:32:48) Win Hot And Humid Beirut Marathon
• Kenya’s Elisha Kipchirchir (2:10:45) And Ethiopia’s Konjit Tilahun (2:37:56) Win Marathon Des Alpes Maritimes Nice-Cannes
• Japan Running News Recaps Weekend Ekiden Action

Track Stuff

• Recommended Read:The Guardian Spends Some Time Getting To Know Usain Bolt As He Talks About Being The Best, Doping, Justin Gatlin, Sex, His Greatest Insecurity And More A lot of interesting insights on Bolt like that he wants to have children, The Last Samurai is the only movie that makes him cry, and his views on oral sex.
  *Video Clip From New Bolt Documentary Bolt says he’s always “nervous before [his] first race” and wonders “Am I still the fastest man in the world?”
• Did You Know Q&A With Sandi Morris Morris shares some inside info on her rock collection, lifetime journal and lucky socks.