Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
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The Week That Was August 10-16, 2009 August 17, 2009 Last week was primarily a lull week as everyone got ready for the 2009 World Track and Field Championships. We're not going to cover the World Championships here (see the links below for exclusive LRC Berlin coverage) but will talk about a few other things that happened in the world of track and field last week.
NYC Half - Ryan Hall's Hair Dilemma And Hendrick Ramaala's Great Quote The biggest action not taking place in Berlin was the NYC Half Marathon in New York City. The New York road runners put on an an unreal show once again and LRC was there to cover the action for you. Rojo did a good job of covering the race, as well as the pre-race press conference, which you can see at the links above. No reason to recreate the wheel here, but there is one thing that Rojo saved for the Week That Was. If one needs proof that Ryan Hall is officially a big star now, the video on the left should eliminate anyone's doubts. Hall talks about the biggest problem he's currently facing - his hair. He wanted to keep it long and then buzz it for the ING NYC Marathon. Only problem - it might not look so hot for some upcoming photo shoots. Pretty funny stuff. As for the race itself, obvously Tadesse Tola and Paula Radcliffe dominated. We really hope Mary Wittenburg and crew get Tola on the NYC starting line in November. The guy has clearly shown with 3 straight victories that he likes to run in NYC and we'd love to see his brazen frontrunning style tried on New York's famously difficult course. So would 2005 New York champ Hendrick Ramaala, who seemed shocked that the brash 21-year-old would even run a marathon. Our quote of the week goes to Mr. Ramaala. Track and field and distance running needs more rivalries and head-to-head competition, so bringing some of the top guys back form the NYC Half would be great, as people could debate who did the smartest job of training and what not. There was one other thing of note that was talked about in NYC that we failed to put into print in either our pre-race or post-race coverage. Paula Radcliffe said she's planning on trying to have a second baby prior to the Olympics. No More False Starts Allowed The rule will make the sprints even more dramatic, as there will be the anticipation every race that someone might get thrown out. Plus it also will be good as it will give guys racing Usain Bolt a chance. The man who says he never false starts actualy did false start at Worlds. *97-55 Vote ... False Start Rule Changed! Starting in 2010, the IAAF false start rule will match the NCAA rule. Email Of The Week - The Newest Drug Of Choice In Sports Is ... The journalist, Mike Hurst of Australia's The Daily Telegraph, has written a piece that mentions SARMS that is very well written. You can read it here. Are there any nerdy science guys out there that can explain to us what he is talking about? If so, shoot us an email. Email #2 of The Week - Wow. The greatest 100 meters ever run. Usain Bolt cleaved a hefty 0.11 off of his world record ... Tyson Gay ran a time that only a year ago would have been a world record (faster than Bolt's WR of 9.72 from May of 2008) ... Asafa Powell ran a time that was faster than Carl Lewis (9.86) ever ran in his entire career ... and the non-medalists in 4th & 5th (Bailey and Thompson) ran a time that was a new world record when Carl Lewis ran it at the 1987 World Championships. Men's 100 Meter Results/Reaction Time
Running Book Goes On The Daily Show Back in a Week That Was in May, we tolld you how Chris McDougal's book "Born To Run," cracked the NY Times Best Seller list. Well, we have an update. The book has been entrenched on the Best Seller list for 2 months now, climbing as high as #13 (it's currently #17). And the kicker: According to McDougal, it hasn't received a word of press in a running publication. We guess they are scared of mentioning McDougal's book because his book is pretty critical of the shoe companies and advocates a minimalist/barefoot approach. Maybe it shows the power of LetsRun.com. Well, the book very well may climb higher soon, as McDougal will be on Jon Stewart's Daily Show on Comedy Central on Tuesday, August 18th at 11 pm EST. Recommended Reads From Last Week LRC: Greg Brock Explains The Logic Behind Maggie Vessey's 1:57.84 LetsRun.com caught up with Greg Brock, the coach behind the #1 story in US distance running in 2009, Maggie Vessey.
Brock, a former 5th placer at the US Olympic Marathon Trials and
longtime HS coach, didn't hold anything back as he shares all including
key workouts and even the last workout Vessey will do prior to Berlin.
Brock may be the one man in America not totally stunned by Vessey's
season as in his mind, it's long overdue in some ways as he always
expected Vessey to be an 800 meter star. What Brock said may surprise
you but his insight is very educational and this is an absolute must
read for coaches and/or true students of the sport. Remembering The Last Week With The Quotes of the Day - Day By Day: Monday: "There are no
words to describe him (Usain Bolt). He's like a created game person.
He's like a cheat code. That's how good he is ..." "If I win, there will be a new dance, if I win, you will see it." Thursday: "I
watched her run a 400 in 56. And it was 28 - 28. Dead even. And I was
like, 'Now there is your ideal 800 meter runner.' (Later
that summer), I had a talk with Maggie and her mom. And I told her if
you stick with running, someday you'll be an 800 meter runner. And
if you are really dedicated, you just might end up on the cover of
Runner's World magazine." Tuesday: "I'm tired of silver, silver, silver at World Championships! It is the only gold I do not have in my house."
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Runner's World &
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There was one thing that will be remembered from last week for a long, long time. By a 97 to 55 vote, the IAAF has voted to get rid of allowing there to be one false start. In our minds, this is a great development for track and field. Doomsayers who say it will ruin the sport don't know what they are talking about. The rule already exists at the NCAA level and you don't see tons of sprinters getting DQed. You seemingly see a
false start in every pro sprint race right now for a very simple reason - the runners
know they can get away with it.
Each week, LRC gets a ton of emails. Some of them are full of some very useful info. Who knows if the following email will turn out to be true but a journalist 
