The Week That Was In Running - December 20 - December 26, 2010

To read last week's LRC Week That Was, click Here.
To read any 2010 LRC Week That Was, click Here.

By LetsRun.com
December 28, 2010

The last two weeks of the year (until the New Year's Eve races) are the quietest time of the yearly running calendar. As a result, there is very little to recap in our Week in Review. That's fortunate for us, as we tried to enjoy the Christmas holiday with friends and family.

The big news in the week in our opinion was the passing of Olympic historian Bud Greenspan and USATF responding to Doug Logan's lawsuit. We've got links to that below, but first some discouraging news and encouraging news on the road-running front.

We know you read The Week That Was each week looking for stuff that you wouldn't read elsewhere on the net. As a result, we've decided to give you a nugget of information about the famed upcoming New Year's Eve San Silvestre Road Race that you won't find anywhere else in the US.

Famed San Silverstre Road Race To Hand Out Medals Before Race Even Takes Place

Below is an email we received from a LetsRun.com visitor in Brazil:

I dropped by to let you know about something in Brazil that it is really making us mad.

Of course you guys have heard of San Silvestre (15 km) race in Brazil, that takes place every December 31th.

We had winners like these guys:

1953 - Emil Zatopech (TCH)

1970 - Frank Shorter (EUA)

1979 - Herbert Lindsay (EUA)

1994 - Ronaldo da Costa (BRA)

Paul Tergat  (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000)

Robert Cheruiyot (2002, 2004, 2007)

Marilson Gomes dos Santos (2003, 2005)

James Kwambai (2008, 2009)

Marilson and Kwambai are going to run again this year.

But the thing is that the organizers (yescom - www.yescom.com.br) have decided to give the medals BEFORE the race, at the Expo.

Runners are mad at it, like you can see in our blog posts:

http://revistacontrarelogio.com.br/blogs/revista/2010/12/16/medalhas-da-sao-silvestre-serao-entregues-no-kit/

http://revistacontrarelogio.com.br/blogs/corrida-viva/

http://revistacontrarelogio.com.br/blogs/eu-corro-porque/

Others blogs and press are receiving strong hatred against the organizers. Giving the medal before the race is ridiculous and yescom is arguing that is for security reasons - there is going to have a New Year's Party at the same avenue where the race starts and ends. They say that it is a lot of people (22k runners have registered) and there is no room for giving the medal.

Yescom has a long relationship with the real owner of the race: Rede Globo (the main broadcaster in Brazil) and a love and hate relationship with runners. People always attend their races because of TV open broadcast. Exemple: Sao Paulo Marathon (our biggest - 3.000 finishers) starts at 9 am, so the slower running always have to face the sun in their heads (it is a tropical country, man! Are u nuts?).

Please let my identidy anonymous.

If you want further information, let me know.

Sorry for the awfull prose.

Best regards,

******** (The emailer wishes to remain anonymous as it would be potentially bad for his employment situation)

Good Road Racing News: US Road Race Goes On In A Blizzard

Maybe We Aren't A Nation Of Wussies After All
Blizzard Doesn't Stop Polar Bear Race (& Ocean Plunge) In NJ From Going On As Scheduled The race has never been cancelled and it wasn't this year. Afterwards, the competitors stripped off their clothes and ran into the ocean. UWashington's Allison Linnell almost got the overall win in the tough conditions. *Photo

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Happenings Of Note

Olympic Legend Bud Greenspan Dies If anyone did more to spread the greatness of the Olympics, we'd like to know who it was. Greenspan's documentaries brought the Olympics to life for millions. Not familiar with Bud? Check out his work here.
*NPR Obituary On Bud Greenspan
On The Boards: Bud Greenspan RIP

LRC Exclusive USATF Strikes Back With Charges Of Tax Evasion, Expense Report Abuse And The Real Reason Doug Logan Was Fired We're far from lawyers and most of you aren't either, but this is worth a read, as USATF has filed its response to former CEO's Doug Logan's lawsuit. USATF hurls some serious charges at Logan and some dirt (improper gifts to a female athlete), but none of them are the real reason Logan was fired. We've got it covered, plus news who on the USATF board Logan referred to as Fantasia and Opie.
*Message Board Thread

David Rudisha Gets Married 2010 will be a year Rudisha never forgets. Two world records and now he has married his long-time girlfriend Elizabeth. Congrats to David and Elizabeth. 2010 also saw Galen Rupp and Alan Webb get married.

Bernard Lagat To Go For Ninth Wanamaker Mile Title At 2011 Millrose Games Lagat's days as a miler are over, but winning the Wanamaker mile is apparently still in the cards. We talked to Lagat last month in Monaco about his 2011 plans and his move to the 5k. More on that here. To see him in his tux, click here.

2010 Marathon Year In Review: 124 Men Broke 2:10, And The Year Of The Ethiopian Woman

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Recommended Reads

IAAF Was Long Suspicious Of Marta Domínguez (LRC Translation) The IAAF basically knew she was doping from her blood profile (it was too consistent) but couldn't prove it. They repeatedly tried to nail her and even tested her an hour before her semifinal at Worlds in 2009, when she ran poorly in the semi but rocked the final. Eventually, we hope the doping authorities will start banning people on their biological profiles alone.

Natalia Rodriguez's Coach Talks About Doping Scandal, Looks Back To 2009 And Sees Some Things Differently Rodridguez was the women who crossed the line first at Worlds in the 1,500 but was then DQed. She was booed by some and her coach couldn't understand why. Another Spanish guy told him, "Outside of Spain they think that Spain supports doping." He was surprised. Looking back, he's no longer surprised and he sees some of his interactions with the suspected coaches differently.

A Look Back At The Magical 1979 NCAA XC Meet In addition to the matchup between Alberto Salazar and Henry Rono, the race featured an unreal field, as it included the following big names as well: Sydney Maree, Mark Nenow, Jim Spivey, Ray Treacy, Bruce Bickford, John Tuttle, Frank O'Mara, Suleiman Nyambui, Jon Sinclair, Kip Koskei, Rudy Chapa, Thom Hunt, James Rotich and Samson Kimobwa.

Discoverer Of EPO Dies Eugene Goldwasser never patented EPO and never got fame or fortune. Rather, Amgen is the one who reaped billions off of it.

British Beijing 10k Olympian Kate Reed Had 4 Surgeries & Nearly Died In 2010

A Track With A Hill On It Is Built

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Quotes Of The Day From Last Week

Monday: "I'm a storyteller. We like to hear people say, 'Gee, I didn't know that ...'"

"I choose to concentrate 100% of my time on the 90% of the Olympics that is good. ... I find the goodness in people, and I present them as people first and athletes second."

- Legendary Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan, who passed away at age 84 on Christmas day. Check out Bud's work here.

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Sunday: "In Ethiopia we celebrate christmas in January and new year in September, but for now I wish you all a merry christmas and a great 2011!"

- Marathon world record holder and running legend Haile Gebrselassie wishing everyone a Merry Xmas (unfortunately the wish comes via twitter).

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Saturday: "Many have gone to the U.S. Trials ... but opted not to go to Worlds. Why? Often the $$$ involved with a spring marathon appearance fee contract! That's part of the story. The other part is a lack of national pride ... and patriotism ... like we felt ... back in the day. Our guys that used to do well at Worlds ... almost inevitably had a great summer on the track/roads. Why can't they see that nowadays? Let's get our act together ... and try! Ok?"

-1980 and 1981 World Cross-Country champion Craig Virgin responding to a plea from xcnation.com for America's best to stop worrying about $$$ and race World Cross.

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Friday: "Logan referred to the Board as a 'bunch of clowns' and to its president and vice president as Fantasia and Opie."

- A quote in USATF's response to former USATF CEO's Doug Logan's lawsuit against USATF. USATF has all sorts of allegations against Logan on why they claim he was terminated with cause, many of which were discovered after they terminated him. We've got all the details covered at the link above.

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Thursday: "It was crazy.

It was like I didn't even exist until I beat the world-record holder."

- Tyson Gay on the attention he got after beating Usain Bolt. We were impressed, as it made it on the best sports radio station in the country.

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Wednesday: "My eyes became open to Africa. I thought if people were trying to kill people for a pair of running shoes then let me bring shoes over from the Western countries where there is plenty! And I did it."

- Toby Tanser, founder of Shoe4Africa.org and accomplished author, talking about how he got the the idea for the non-profit after he was nearly killed on a Kenyan beach when he was robbed of one of his shoes. *Tanser.org Website *Shoe4Africa.org *Buy One Of Tanser's Books On Amazon.com

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Tuesday: "You've got to be good with the computer these days. I'm not. If I was a qualifier, I would lose out."

- Bill Rodgers, in a Boston Globe article talking about the Boston Marathon making changes so the race does not just let in those who qualifiers who register first. This year's race filled up the day it went online and a guy who has run 20 straight Boston got shut out. Clearly, he should be allowed to run. The Globe has another lengthy article claiming the BAA is at a Crossroads. Message board threads here and here.

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12 Popular Threads This Last Week:

1. Track With a Hill On It
2. Landon Donovan, the runner
3. Wejo Ran a 39:20 10k
4. Lets just end the heel strike debate right now.
5. What I learned on Letsrun in 2010
6. ........PSAC.......
7. Most Mileage You've Ever Done in a Week
8. can someone plz explain the point of double days to me?
9. txRUNNERgirl in the hospital
10. At home for Christmas... feeling awkward like I don't belong
11. Sub-5 Minute Mile Every Day for a Month
12. Doug Logan Lawsuit - USATF being petty?

Last Week's Homepages
*Mon (Dec. 27) *Sun (Dec. 26) *Sat (Dec. 25) *Fri (Dec. 24) *Thu (Dec. 23) *Wed (Dec. 22) *Tue (Dec. 21)

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