LetsRun.com's The Week That Was In Running This week we put an end to the Rupp-Solinsky controversy, analyze the continual decline of Jeremy Wariner, announce the return of Walter Dix, tell you why Usain Bolt is clean, fall in love with the 25 kilometer distance, and amazingly discover that hGH actually helps performance. All that plus Haile Gebrselassie puts an end to the barefoot running craze and a great race video from Australia.

Pros Start To Get Rolling

Go USATF: Anna Pierce, Christin Wurth-Thomas, Lopez Lomong Among Thursday's USA 1 Mile Road Champs Entrants A very solid field of US milers will convene Thursday in Minneapolis at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships.

Diamond League Doha Coming Friday Mid-Day For US Viewers BBC will show the Doha Diamond League meet this Friday to UK viewers. We'll have more details for US fans soon (will Universal be charging a fee?).

LetsRun.com In Washington Post

Washington Post: "Track's Popularity Soars Despite Lack Of US Star Power" LetsRun's co-founder Wejo is quoted and Rojo is mentioned as Amy Shipley of the Washington Post examines the positive state of track in America. We like the article but (despite our rapidly rising numbers) aren't sure the sport is soaring in popularity, considering the average person on the street couldn't name a single US track star. We're glad however to see the sport in a positive light (but never thought the sport was down in the dumps) and think the article is proof the sport's execs need to get the sport on network television or ESPN more often.

Random News

Merlene Ottey - Now 50 - Plans To Compete For Slovenia At Euros California-based former world-leading sprinter (with a checkered drug history) will compete into her 6th decade of existence in Barcelona this summer.

Video: James Mbugua Wins Mombasa Marathon In 2:08, Lowers Record By 6 Minutes 2:08 in Mombasa sounds amazing to us.

Jeremy Wariner - The Star Who Got Hosed?

IAAF Golden League Neville Breaks Wariner's 5-Year 400m Win Streak! Well, not technically, but look at these stats: Before Olympic bronze medalist David Neville beat him in Puerto Rico this weekend, and taking out confirmed drug cheat LaShawn Merritt, who beat him 6 times, Jeremy Wariner had not lost a 400m since September of 2005 (he did DNF twice, but other than that, 51 consecutive wins). We give a shout out to Wariner, who - since his senior year at Baylor in 2004 - raced the 400m 91 times and, ignoring Merritt, won 82 times, including 2 Olympics and 3 World Championships (plus 5 relay golds).

California Teens Find Javelin, Throw It, Impale Innocent Bystander

German Hurdle Olympian Busted For Roids

7 Americans Begin Appeal To Reclaim 2000 Oly Relay Medals Stripped Because Of Marion Jones

NY Times Mother's Day Special

Kara Goucher 4 Months Pregnant And Training With Pregnant Paula Radcliffe Things are going well when your pregnancy is announced in the NY Times. Radcliffe and Goucher are due on the same day.

Conference Champs - The HEPS *Results, Recaps

Cornell v Kentucky Cornell Men Nab Record 8th Straight Outdoor Heps Underdogs heading to Princeton's home track, the Big Red men took home another title to keep the streak alive. The Cornell women also got back on the winning track after their streak was broken in 2009. Props to Hepstrack.com and Brett Hoover, who provided phenomenal coverage of the meet, and the Princeton students at Fauxtrack, who streamed it live via ustream.tv. They proved everything (except World Cross-Country), including our beloved Heps, can be streamed online these days for free.

Walter Dix Is Back

Walter Dix Is Back: Runs 9.98 And 19.89 And apparently the whole meet was run in 90 minutes. If anyone knows anything about this, let us know, but a big Thumbs Up to FSU for trying to make an entertaining track meet for fans.
On The Boards: Dix @ FSU Twilight

US 25k Champs *Top Results

Andrew Carlson, Katie McGregor Win US Titles Carlson was the US 15k champ in 2008 and is back running well again, although the 25k champs is an easier championship to win.
*More Coverage
*Message Board Thread

Gebrselassie To Run Berlin Marathon Again? That's what a national German daily is reporting (we hope it's wrong). If Geb runs Berlin again, it dashes hopes for a Geb v Kibet v Hall matchup in Chicago or Geb in the streets of NYC (ING NYC Marathon CEO Mary W and NYC Marathon guru Richard Finn both went to Ethiopia this past weekend for Geb's hotel opening and presumably to try to recruit him to NY). Maybe Geb just loves the German beer.

Oregon Twilight Results

Matt Centrowitz Goes Sub-4, Ben Bruce 13:31 5k To Highlight Oregon Twilight Meet The meet had a 60m race between football players as well. Face it America (and the world), football is king everywhere - even in Track Town. Video of mile on right of homepage or here.
Super Hot Last Night On The Boards: Centrowitz...he just wins... Twilight Mile RESULTS

PAC-10 Multis *Sat/Sun Results
*Comfortable Wins By Eaton And Thiesen For The Ducks Ryann Krais, former PA star, gets 2nd for UCLA in heptathlon.

Recommended Read: A House Divided: HepsTrack.com Runs Multi-Part Series On 1970 Heps 40 years ago, outdoor Heps was held at Yale. It was no ordinary event, as the League was divided. Divisions formed within teams and within schools as Americans learned of new bombing campaigns in Cambodia and students were shot and killed at Kent St. The multi-part series uses the Heps (a league of Ivy schools plus Army and Navy at the time), the competitors and coaches to relive an interesting time in American history.

A Match Made In Oregon :)

Great North Run Good Read: Brief Chat With Paula Radcliffe's New BFF Kara Goucher Kara talks about training with her new mentor Paula, using the Alter-G to train with a growing baby, Alberto's searching for expert advice on health effects of training while pregnant, and her plans next year that include the Boston Marathon and Oly Trials.

Pregnant Paula And Kara To Run NYC Mini Together The high-profile duo are working with Mary Wittenberg to make an appearance at the Mini 10k as runners (i.e., not racers).

Not A Joke Headline: "Goucher and Radcliffe to give birth on the same day"

IAAF, USADA, ASA News

IAAF President Lamine Diack visits London 2012 Olympic ParkFor Better Or Worse, Lamine Diack Elects To Run Again Joe Battaglia says that new blood in the form of IAAF VP's Sergey Bubka or Lord Seb Coe might be better for cash-strapped IAAF rather than 78-year-old Senegalese Diack, who struggles to speak the English language.

*USADA Loses Case, Depressed American Hammer Thrower Gets Drug Ban Reduced Judge decides illegal substances taken while very depressed are pardonable.

*Embattled ASA Getting Back On Its Feet Athletics South Africa's stock is rising with some new corporate investments after a disastrous '09.

*IAAF Obituary:
Longtime Japanese Track And Field Contributor Teruji Kogake Passes Away

Zürich Weltklasse Begins Announcing Big Name Star Entrants Translated: "Bolt (200m) and some other people will run Zürich."

The Next 2:04 Marathoner And The Only Woman On Earth Capable Of Challenging Paula's 2:15 WR

Recommended Read: The Story Of New Teenage Marathoning Star Eliud Kiptanui Documents say he's not even 20 years old. He was supposed to run his marathon 3 weeks ago. Prague's marathon course is tough and parts of it go over cobblestones. His family is so poor he had to drop out of school ... but he just won 75,000 Euros, ran 2:05 and crushed the WC 4th-placer and now hopes to fund his siblings' schooling after just his 2nd marathon.

Keitany And Coach Talk About Finally Running The Marathon Near the WR at the half marathon and now the 25k WR holder, Mary Keitany is the only woman road racer out there who seems to be within light years of Paula Radcliffe in her prime.

*Boards:
MARY KEITANY: can she take down Paula's Legendary 2:15:25 WR

Another Article Worth Reading
Excellent Profile Of Jamaican Sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser Fraser has come up big on the biggest stages (Olympics and Worlds) in the women's 100. So big that people like to throw drug accusations her way. Check out her story in this recommended Times piece that unfortunately doesn't get into drugs.

Our Governing Bodies

Lamine Diack To Run For IAAF President Again 78-year-old Senegalese leader is well-respected.

UK Athletics Head Says Budget Cuts Will Mean Medal Losses In London He might be right, so now people have to decide if investing in their country's athletes is worth it.

Kosgei And Keitany: New 25k WRs In BIG Berlin

WRs For Sammy Kosgei And Mary Keitany At BIG Berlin 25 According to the McMillan Calculator, Keitany's time of 1:19:53 is equivalent to a sub-2:20 marathon and a half marathon of 1:06:22, which would be a WR.

LRC
Photos Of World Records Set At BIG Berlin 25k

On The Boards:
MARY KEITANY: can she take down Paula's Legendary 2:15:25 WR

International Results And Photos

Wow: 20-Year-Old Eliud Kiptanui Shocks With 2:05 Marathon In Prague The 20th man under 2:06 is a 20-year-old Kenyan, Eliud Kiptanui, whose only previous marathon was a 2:12 at altitude in Kenya. He was supposed to run Vienna before ash changed his plans.

LRC
Osaka Grand Prix Photos *Event Recaps World junior XC champ Caleb Ndigu got his first senior win in a 3:39 1,500 win over a low-key field.

Linet Masai Defends Glasgow 10k Over Top Kenyans With 31:08 CR

Heart & Sole Elite Mile Won By GBR Tim Bayley In 4:02 Great picture in the article.

Pamela Jelimo Defeated Over 400m In Mombassa Meet Girl who beat her won 4 events.

Irish Writer Ian O'Riordan On "The Unforgiving Minute" Literature junkies get your Rudyard Kipling/track & field fix.

Diamond League Notes

Move Over Usain (?) 12-Year-Old Runs 11.90 In Jamaica

Bad News: Fortis Bank Gives Up On Rotterdam Half Marathon - Event Is Cancelled Rotterdam annually produces some of the fastest HM times.

Former NCAA Standouts Starting Marathoning Careers

Kenya News

Recommended Read: Stephen Mayaka - The First Kenyan HS Runner In Japan JapanRunningNews.com's Brett Larner has released an extensive interview with Kenyan Stephen Mayaka, the first Kenyan runner to come to Japan to train in the Japanese high school system. Now a mentor to Sammy Wanjiru and many other top Kenyans, the entire interview with Mayaka is available if you sign up to purchase the "jrnpremium" subscription.

Oregon Twilight Mile