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LetsRun.com's Favorite Racewalker - Quentin Rew - The Usain Bolt Of The Racewalk

Over the years, we at LetsRun.com have gotten a lot of flak from track and field aficionados for refusing to treat all events lumped together in track and field equally. Our open disdain for the racewalk has generated probably the most emails. We don't think that's fair because, after all, the name of this website is LetsRun.com and if you run in the racewalk, you are disqualified. In our minds, expecting us to be fans of the event would be like expecting a churchgoer to support an atheist group. Totally out of line.

Well, racewalk fans take note - LetsRun.com now officially "has a horse" in the racewalk at the 2012 Olympics. We are now officially rooting for New Zealand's Quentin Rew, who was profiled by the NZ Herald last week. Rew is our #1 racewalker for the following reasons:

1. He's a former runner. The former 1,500 runner ran 3:57 in the event (and the article says that made the NZ finals - could that really be the case?).

2. He knows where he stands overall in the sport - at the bottom. Check out what he had to say about the sport of racewalking when he started and what he thinks of it now:

"I didn't know a heck of a lot about walking but it seemed like something people did when they weren't good at anything else. You could usually pick up an easy medal - actually, I don't think my perception has changed. Walking is simply not a glamour event. Some walkers expect the same level of attention as, say, the 1,500m, but that's just not reality."

3. He admits a key part of the sport is to basically try to cheat - and not walk but run: "I haven't been disqualified in a race for a while, but that's a double-edged sword. The closer you can get to cheating, the more efficient the technique, the faster you can go and the more likely you are to get red cards. You want to push the boundaries, but you can't afford to go too far."'

4. He is a showman like Usain Bolt. He was DQed after winning his first national title for doing a somersault at the finish line.

More: Kiwi Olympic Racewalker Was DQd For Doing Forward Somersault At Finish Line Of 1st National Champs

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Is Jeremy Wariner Done? (Updated)

Two years ago in a "Week That Was," we pointed out a disturbing trend in the direction that the season-opening times 2004 Olympic champ Jeremy Wariner was putting up in the 400 each year. Well, that disturbing trend continued last week, as Wariner opened up in the open 400 for the first time this year.

Jeremy Wariner In Better Times

Jeremy Wariner's Outdoor Opening 400 Times Since HS
2012 - 45.64
2011- 45.61
2010 - 45.47
2009- 45.06
2008- 44.82
2007- 44.62
2006- 44.12
2005- 45.13
2004- 45.21
2003- 45.13

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Is Alan Webb Done?

In talking about Alan Webb's chances for the 2012 Olympic team, we've always started with the notion of "talent doesn't go away."

Alan Webb In Better Times

Thus, his 1:55 opener he had in January didn't make us give up on him. After all, at that time, we asked:

"Do people remember his last comeback? He got a lot better in a real hurry. He opened with a 1:52.32 800 on August 14 of 2010 and people basically wrote him off then, but then ran a 3:41.16 1,500 on August 28th, and then a 1:48.34 on September 3rd before running a 3:36.21 1,500 on September 9."

Well, that was 2010 and this is 2012. And the problem for Webb fans is that two years ago, he progressed incredibly quickly in his comeback. In the span of less than four weeks in 2010, he went from 1:52 in the 800 to 3:36 in the 1,500. In 2012, Webb has shown next to little progression in a little less than 3 months.

Last weekend, Webb ran his 2012 outdoor opener and he only managed a 1:54.17 3rd-to-last performance in heat 3 of the Florida Relays, which was won in 1:51.44. He then came back later that same day and ran a next-to-last 3:54.08 in the 1,500 in a race that was won in 3:46.85 (you can watch Webb's 1,500 here, 800 here). In both races, Webb was leading to the last lap and looked very tight once he got passed.

Neither performance is good at all. Think of it this way - Webb in high school ran a mile faster than he's now running the 1,500. In his prime, Webb ran a 3:46.91 mile. Thus the Webb of five years ago could spot the current Webb 109 meters and 7 more seconds and still beat him.

Webb's lack of significant progress is pretty stunning really. Last year, Webb was at least running 7:51 for 3k indoors in February and 3:37 for 1,500 outdoors in March. At a minimum, he was at a college stardom level. Just over a year later, Webb would be lucky to be going to conference for most decent teams if he was in college. Now, Webb did run a 1:51.6 in February, so maybe something was just off last week. Webb has always had up-and-down performances but his down performances were not this subpar.

Very bizarre. After this week, the possibility of Webb not making the Olympic Trials entered our heads as that 3:37 from last year didn't come in the qualifying window. Maybe Webb just pushed his body so hard for so long that his body has now finally pushed back. Maybe he's just overanalyzing things in races and tightening up for mental reasons. Either way he's got to figure it out quickly.

Generally the guys that operate under the "hammer it" philosophy don't have very long careers. One of the hallmarks of the LetsRun.com training mantra is we say that most of the underlying principles are very much repeatable. You are working with your body rather than against it most of the time and it all makes sense, so year in and year out you can expected a steady progression. We're not sure with that type of training if Webb would have gotten down to 1:43 and 3:46 when he did, but we are certain he'd have been a lot more consistent.

For a decade, Webb is the one guy all of us have wanted to watch race because we never knew which Alan Webb we'd see. Hopefully we'll get to see him at the Olympic Trials.

More: MB: 3:54 Webb? Really? *Alan Webb - 1:54....HE IS DONE! *Should Webb just move up now, take a shot at qualifying in the 5000 or 10000 this summer? *Honestly, what is wrong with Webb?

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Move Over Iten, Kenya - Bekoji, Ethiopia Lays Claims To Be The Cradle Of Running

Iten, Kenya is world famous for producing Olympic champions.

What hasn't gotten a lot of press is this: "Where do the Olympic champions from Ethiopia come from?"

That may be in part because English is spoken in Kenya whereas in Ethiopia it isn't. But the "secret" (although we think there isn't one) to the Ethiopian success is starting to come out.

On April 20th, a new move titled "Town of Runners" is being released in the UK (actually we see there are some pre-screenings starting April 11th).

It follows two female runners from Bekoji, Ethiopia as they try to run themselves out of poverty and into a new way of life. If you have never heard of Bekoji, Ethiopia, maybe it's time you did because the town has produced 8 Olympic golds, including those earned by Kenenisa Bekele, Tiurnesh Dibaba and Derartu Tulu.

Just as Iten has Brother Colm O'Connell as its famous coach, Bekoji has its own coach who up until now has gotten little publicity. That all changed last week as The Guardian's Simon Hattenstone recently went to Bekoji and wrote a fantastic 3,850 word profile of Sentayehu Eshetu, who is simply known locally as Coach, and the movie "Town of Runners." A definite great piece of journalism that is worth 15 minutes of your time.

Good News For Those In The US: The Film will premier at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19th. There is also an Online Tribeca Film festival which will show the film starting on the 19th. More details here.

 

More: *Bekoji, Ethiopia: Town Of Runners Lengthy Guardian profile on the town and its unheralded coach Sentayehu Eshetu. A movie on the town - "Town of Runners" - comes out later this month.
*Bekoji Photo Gallery

Speaking of films, it was announced last week that a Ryan Hall film "41 Days" is in the works. We did an interview with the filmmaker and one-time LetsRun.com author here. The good news to report is the film reached its fundraising goal of $30,000 already. It's not too late to donate to the film to get some cool Ryan Hall gear - click here to do so.

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5 Quick Thoughts About Stanford

People have been asking what we think about the 1st Stanford meet of the year. Well, to be truthful, we didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it. It's sort of like asking about the first pre-season NFL game.

The problem with track and field as a spectator sport is there are not a lot of meets that mean something, but we do have a few comments.

1. Jackie Areson may have gotten the "A" standard in the women's 5,000 with her 15:18.31, but the thing that impressed us most in the 5,000 was the 15:22 by former UNC runner Brie Felnagle, who ran 15:22.39 - a 21.48-second PR. Four years ago at age 21 and sporting a 4:08 1,500 PR (MB: Brie felnagle runs 4:08.45 all alone) and looks that generate a lot of buzz, Felnagle appeared to be one of the sport's rising stars on the women's side. However after disastrous 2009s and 2010s, during which she didn't break 4:16, it seemed like she might be out of the sport (MB: Brie Felnagle's final season at UNC...).

But no. Now reunited with her high school coach Matt Ellis, Felnagle had a strong 2011, during which she once again got under 4:10 for 1,500, and now after a strong winter she seems poised to reach new heights in 2012 and get Olympic "A" in the 1,500 and 5,000. In December, she won the USA club XC title. Now she opens up outdoors with a huge 5,000 PR. Felnagle may be a miler, but making the Olympic 5,000m team may be easier, as America is the top 1,500m country in the world with World #1 Morgan Uceny and World Champion Jenny Barringer, plus Worlds bronze medallist Shannon Rowbury and sub-4:00 1,500m runners Kristen Wurth Thomas and Anna Pierce.

2. After NCAA indoors, we said that people should be comparing Chris Derrick to Galen Rupp. In comparing the two at the time, we did say we weren't sure "if Derrick ever could anchor the Stanford DMR to victory as Rupp also did in 2009." Well, we want to take that back. It's not inconceivable that could happen. Last week, Derrick beat Jeremy Rae - the man who anchored Notre Dame to the 2012 DMR title - and Lawi Lalang in heat 1 of the 1,500 at Stanford, as Derrick ran 3:41.17 to Rae's 3:41.34 and Lalang's 3:41.65. A big kudos to Chris.

Chris' win got him on ESPN radio yesterday in Baltimore. Here's what he had to say about being constantly outkicked and having to get faster: "There's never going to be a race, well there has never been a race yet, that closes faster than I actually can physically run a 400m circuit. So it really is a matter of being in enough shape to bring that speed at the end." It reminds us of Galen Rupp. Rupp couldn't break 4 minutes for the longest time and got beaten at the end of most races. Now he's a beast at the end of races. Is Rupp "faster"? Perhaps, but primarily he's stronger. To download a podcast of Derrick on ESPN click here, to watch it on YouTube, click here.

3. One person who didn't have a good race at Stanford was 2011 USA 3rd placer in the 5k Angela Bizzarri, who only ran 4:30.74 in the 1,500. But if you want to watch an effort, kudos to Canada's Nicole (Edwards) Sifuentes. The former Michigan star didn't go out to Stanford to run slow. She gapped the field by more than 2 seconds in the 1st 200 and went for it and opened up a HUGE six-second lead on the field (click here for video) by the bell. She tied up in the last 100 but still ended up with a victory in 4:11.80, well ahead of Oklahoma State's Natalja Piliusina (4:14.35).

4. A Thumbs Up is in store for former Nebraska grad David Adams. The largely unknown Adams, who didn't even make the NCAA final in his final year of collegiate eligibility last year, ran a big PR to win the steeple at Stanford. Adams, who came in with a PR of 8:40.13, skipped the 8:30s entirely as he ran 8:29.51 for the win. It needs to be remembered, as we pointed out in February, that only 2 American men have the Olympic "A" of 8:23.10. 10+ seconds is a big PR but if he can get 7 more seconds, he could be on the Olympic team.

5. The guy who had the fastest 1,500 of the day - the winner of Section 2 in 3:39.04 - Jamal Aarrass - isn't an unkown as many claim. Aarass is a Frenchman who has run 3:37 each of the last two years. Oh yeah, one more thing - he served a 2-year drug ban from 2005 to 2007. Maybe people don't realize who he is because when he was doping his name was spelled Ahrass.

More: *2012 Stanford Results *Nice IAAF Recap Of Stanford: Areson Makes Up 35m Gap And Catches Lisa Uhl & Gets World Lead; Ritz Wins And More
MB: *Derrick Finally Beats Lalang *Ritz in the 10,000!

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5 Quotes Of The Week (That Weren't Quotes Of The Day)

#1 - "I'm interested in Dathan Ritzenhein's future in the marathon, and I believe that's where we need to address some issues he seems to have.

He's had good marathon coaches - both Brad Hudson and me. He's figured out the fueling. He's got this incredible aerobic engine. But something's still wrong. I ran my first marathon in 2:09:41 on just five weeks of preparation. Dathan's run 12:56 for 5K; with his engine, he should be a better marathoner than I ever was. But he's stuck at 2:10.

Something doesn't add up. When you see Dathan, Galen and Mo running together, Mo's legs look totally relaxed. Galen's got a little tension, but he's fine. Whereas Dathan seems to have a lot of tension in his muscles. And in his marathons, the muscles cramp up on him. Right now I don't know exactly why he's got that leg tension. I don't know why he can't run more relaxed in the marathon. But I think it's something important that we've got to look into before he runs his next marathon, and he agrees."

- Coach Alberto Salazar talking to Amby Burfoot of Runners World about Dathan Ritzenhein. Salazar's got a good point as he - a man with PRs of 13:11 at 5,000 and 27:25 for 10,000 - ran 2:09:41 in his first marathon with little specific training, whereas Ritz - who has 5,000 and 10,000 PRs of 12:56 and 27:22 - has run just 2:09:55.

More: Alberto Salazar Unplugged - Part II *Part I: Alberto's book & the "Duel in the Sun"
MB: An Incredible Amby Burfoot Interview With Alberto Salazar

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#2 - "I have already run a qualifying time in Dubai (2:12:12). All I have to do is improve. I want to run it in under 2:10. I know the Paris course very well and I'm confident it will happen there. Paris is my base when I'm in Europe. I have been training hard. Everything is going according to plan."

"The dream of winning an Olympic medal is still alive, but as usual, the big challenge in Paris will come from the Kenyans and Ethiopians."

- 40-year-old marathoner Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa talking about next week's Paris Marathon. It's refreshing to see that the 2:06:55 performer, who won the 2004 ING New York City Marathon, is still dreaming big at age 40. If he just makes the Olympic team for South Africa, which appears likely, then that's a feat in itself as he'll be the first South African to have competed in five consecutive Olympics.

More: SA Marathoner Hendrick Ramaala Trying To Qualify For His 5th Consecutive Olympics

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#3 - "When my marathon runners train, I have no way of seeing how they are doing. What I'd love is a motorbike so I can follow them, but there is no way I could afford one."

- Coach Sentayehu Eshetu talking in Simon Hattenstone's 3,850 word feature on Eshetu and Bekoji, Ethiopia.

Seeing that quote from a man who guided the development of four Olympic champions who have won 8 Olympic titles, is basically why we haven't officially given up hope that an American-born male will win an Olympic medal at a long distance event. Yes, we know that Eshetu mainly works with younger athletes and that when the athletes get good they go to the capital, but the medical and technological advances that American runners still enjoy are vast.

More: *Bekoji, Ethiopia: Town Of Runners

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#4 - "It's beautiful here - red soil, blue sky, green savannah, mountains in the distance and the smell of eucalyptus everywhere."

"It's the best. It is very beautiful here, but it is also boring. It is a happy place, but there is no money. You have to go to Addis to make money."

- Excerpt from Hattenstone's Guardian piece on Bekoji, Ethiopia as well as a quote from Ethiopian Biruk Fikadu.

The quote reminded us of last year when LetsRun.com was in Kenya and we came across a similar sentiment. After visiting the Kibera slums in Nairobi, we asked a local who used to live in the slums but grew up in the country, "Why did you move here? We think we'd much rather live a simple life in the country. The slums are filthy and the country is so beautiful." The response we got was along the lines of, "No no. I wanted to come to Kibera - the slums are better as there is money. In the country, there is no money, no shoes. With money, there is a dream of a better life"

We're not entirely sure we agree with that sentiment, but that's easy for us to say as we type from an air-conditioned room in America.
More: *Bekoji, Ethiopia: Town Of Runners

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#5 - "Augusta has form when it comes to discrimination as for years black people were excluded. Eventually they bowed to the changing times and admitted one in 1990. Racism, you see, wasn't acceptable anymore. On the other hand, the golfing fraternity still seem to be cool with sexism. Why? The argument that the Augusta club should be fit to admit who they like is a bit like the one which says the Saudis should be allowed treat 'Their Women' any way they please. The real question is why the men of Augusta adopt this membership policy. And the obvious answer is because they, like their counterparts in Riyadh and Jeddah, think women are an inferior species. Words like 'medieval' get thrown around when the question of Islamic fundamentalist attitudes towards women comes up. But you don't have to go back to the Middle Ages to find similar behaviour in this country."

- Eamonn Sweeney writing a scathing piece in Ireland's The Independent where he ripped the Augusta National Golf Club and the Saudi Arabian Olympic federation for not being more open to women.

More: Irish Author: Saudis claim gold for sexism - Should be banned from Olympics

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Weekly Free Coaching Advice - Are You Under The Age Of 20 And Told By An Orthopedist Not To Run Because You Are Injury Prone - Don't Believe Them & Go See A Physical Therapist

Last week's recap was full of insight on Cayla Hatton, the high school prodigy who ran a 33:17 for 10,000 seemingly out of nowhere. Well, the website formerly known as Dyestat followed up on that run with an excellent profile piece by Doug Binder on Hatton last week. In it, Hatton elaborated on how she has battled back from some injuries that largely kept her during her sophomore and junior years of high school.

Hatton said that a doctor basically told her not to run anymore.

"Hatton said that her doctor told her there was a structural problem, that she had 'retroverted cups' in her hip joint. The doctor advised her that running would only lead to more pain and injury.

That news took Hatton to a new low."

"I went through all the phases of mourning," she said. "I remember being so upset, so angry at (the doctor). I was in denial. But I also think the whole experience made me realize how much I love running. Before, it was soccer, and running was just a hobby. When (running) was taken away I realized how much I missed it."

The sentiment - being told not to run any more by a doctor while under the age of 20 - is one that is pretty darn common (on a side note: we think the whole concept of not realizing how much one enjoys running until they aren't running any more also is common).

Our advice - don't believe it.

This issue is a bit personal for LetsRun as one of the co-founders was told while in HS by a prominent sports doctor- an NBA team physician - not to run as well. The quote still burns raw: "Since your nothing more really than a recreational runner and have had a series of stress fractures, it's best that you don't run and find another sport as you just weren't cut out for the sport."

Don't totally ignore a doctor's opinion, but at the very least get a second opinion. More importantly, runners should see physical therapists, as Hatton did, about their injury problems. Physical therapists help people run. Doctors normally tell people not to run.

Whenever teens or early 20s types talk to us about serious injuries, we generally tell them to adopt sort of the Chris McDougall "Born to Run" philosophy.

We'll respond with something like, "You are a young guy (or girl) in the peak of or your physical prowess. Human beings are meant to be active. You won't be hurt forever. Ultimately, your body almost certainly will get better if you keep trying different things."

It's unbelievable to us how many people are told to just "give up running" under the age of 25. We know of one person who was told their freshman year in college, after having a knee surgery that didn't work, that they had arthritis and there was nothing that could be done except move to a better dry climate like Arizona. In reality, an ITB problem was very much solvable with some strengthening drills from a physical therapist. Unfortunately, this wasn't figured out until three years of college were down the drain.

Injuries are frustrating, but there are few people in the prime of their lives so structurally unsound that there isn't some way to get back to the sport they love. If you don't believe us, believe Cayla Hatton.

More: Cayla Hatton Talks About Her Road Back From 2 Years Of Injury To Run Her 33:17 10k

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Janeth Jepkosgei Opens Up at 1,500

Before we get to the "Recommended Reads," we wanted to talk briefly about a piece by Capital FM's Mutwiri Mutuota on Janeth Jepkosgei. LetsRun.com has long corresponded with Mutuota via email and Rojo had lunch with him in Kenya. We like to feature his stuff, as one of the goals of LRC is to promote the African stars of the sport as real personalities.

Jepkosgei, who ran 4:02.32 for 1,500 last summer and is now 28, told Mutota that she is contemplating a move up to the 1,500 after the London Games. The possible move up in distance does make sense as she is getting older and the Caster Semenyas and Pamela Jelimos of the world are hard to beat.

As Jelimo told Capital FM's Mutwiri Mutuota, "This year I will concentrate on 800m and also do the 1,500m. Last year, I ran a 4:02 and I need time to learn the tactics in 1,500m. It is opening another page in my career; you can do something for long and have no motivation and interest and that is why I want to change."

Well, the 4-time global medallist at 800m ran some 1,500s in Kenya last week to gauge her fitness.

The early season result wasn't good for Jepkosgei, as in the final she faded to 6th in a race that was won by her protégé Eunice Sum, who was a Worlds semifinalist last year at 800. Sum ran 4:14.13 to Jepkosgei's 4:19.9.

One side part from Mutuota's feature on Jepkosgei that we didn't know - Mutwiri wrote that it's "widely said" that Jepkosgei is "to be engaged to her Italian coach Claudio Berardelli." Congrats to them.

More: Janeth Jepkosgei Has 14 IAAF Championship Medals, But No Olympic Gold And Wants To Change That In 2012 She's hasn't won a tile since 2007 due to the rise of young upstarts like Pamela Jelimo, Caster Semenya and Anna Saminova.
2011 WChamps Semifinalist Eunice Sum Beats Olympic 800 Silver Medallist Janeth Jepkosgei In 1,500 In Kenya