Men's 100m / Heineken Bottle Throw Trial Has Begun
Reuters:
Deranged Bottle Thrower Snuck In Without A Ticket And Wanted Bolt To Lose The judo medallist who grabbed him was right on when she said, "Dude, are you crazy?" The answer is yes - the question is, "Does that make him not
guilty?"
BBC: Bottle thrower also allegedly said, "Bolt, I want you to lose ... Believe in Blake, no Usain."
*Story Which Includes Photo Of The Man Who Threw The Bottle
*The Guardian
Random Distance News
- Which Is Better For A Runner - Cow Or Goat Milk? They Say It's A Tie
- Morgan Uceny Could Have Played D3 Hoops In College But Hates The NBA
- 8:03 Steepler Benjamin Kiplagat Of Uganda Is Still Dreaming Big After Subpar 2012 He only ran 8:17 this year as he had a bad back. He's still only 23.
- From 1904 - 2004, The Morpeth (Morpeth To Newcastle Road Race) Was Britain's Oldest Road Race - Now It's No More
- First Ray Lewis, Now This (Only Legends Can Announce Their Retirement Before Their Last Competition) 101-Year-Old Marathoner Says Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Is His Last
Non-Distance News
- Memo To Merritt: Wouldn't It Need To Be A 4 X 100 Hurdles Race To Work?
Aries Merritt Wants To Run 200m Hurdles And Thinks There Should Be A 4 X 110m Hurdles Relay Race - A Look At HJ Sensation Mutaz Essa Barshim Of QatarThe 21-year-old won Olympic bronze and then later cleared an incredible 2.39m thanks to help from Polish coach Stanley Szczyrba.
- IAAF Review Of 1st Half Of 2012 Samsung Diamond League
Sprint News: Asafa Powell Believes Key For 2013 Is "Not Training Much"
WSJ: "Is Adrian Peterson Nuts To Want To Beat Bolt? In A Word, Yes" In high school, he rain a wind-aided 10.33, but more recently in 2007, he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash, which the WSJ roughly converts to about 11.98 seconds for 100m. We think the conversion is ludicrous
as do others.
*MB: Does the WSJ not do any research?
*MB: WSJ article on AP vs. Bolt
Asafa Powell Launches His Own Clothing Line Powell: "We are currently focusing on T-shirts now, but the ladies wanted to be included and wanted something a bit sexier, so we went with the booty shorts. The babies couldn't be left out so there are items such as onesies and even maternity wear."
He Can't Get Much Worse Than His Olympic Final: Asafa Powell: "I know that my best race is yet to come." "When I ran the world record, I wasn't training much. When I don't train much, I stay healthy, and this year I was training a lot, that's why I got hurt."
Need A Job? Rio 2016 Looking To Hire 250 New Employees There are 72 job openings with another 90 to be available soon. This includes openings in just about everything, for example architecture, finances, journalism, and medical services. Go here for job postings.
More End Of 2012/Predicting 2013 News
- UK Telegraph Writers Looking Forward To August 16, 2013: Another Gold For Mo Farah And Greg Rutherford He hopes to see Farah and Rutherford repeat some of the glory from "Super Saturday" with World Championships golds in the 5,000 and long jump.
- Athletics Weekly 2012 "Merit Rankings" For UK Male Athletes Is a statistical assessment to rank UK athletes in each event. Lists top 3 for each event.
*UK Women's Merit Rankings Impressive that according to this, Jessica Ennis was the top 100m hurdler, high jumper, and heptathlete in the UK this year. - It's A Bit Early, But ... The Wood Report's 2013 2013 NCAA Men's Cross-Country Season Preview The guy who did predictions for every D1 conference meet is already looking ahead to next year's NCAA XC season.
- IAAF 2012 Review Of Their World Challenge Meets
New Year's News
- Jan 1, 2013 Was Larry Macon's 68th BDay - He Finished 2012 With A World Record Of 157 Marathons He went through 13 pairs of shoes on the year. Apparently, he's a New Balance guy.
- 2012 - What A Year! Athletics Weekly Goes Month-By-Month And Gives You The Monthly Highlights
- Jan. 1, 2013 Marks The 150th Anniversary Of The Birth Of The Founder Of The Modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, & Current IOC Head Jacques Rogge Remembers His Great Work Sport was viewed as a trivial waste of time by many back in the 1800s.
- MB: What was your drink of choice on 12/31/12
Truly Random
- Did you know? MB: Did you know there is a post-race dance/rager after Foot Lockers?
- Did you know? UK Soccer (Football) Analyis Ray Stubbs Is Big Fan Of BUPA Great North Run - Has Run It 15 Times
- Did you know? UK Rag Daily Mirror Has 3,000 BUPA Great North Run Spots To Give Out
- Ryan Gregson Continues To Blog About Cricket
- NY Times Tries To Dispel Some Nutritional Myths
- Blogger: Why can't you like both? Racing to win and Racing for time.
2012 Women's Top 10
TFN's Women's Top 10 Rankings For 2012 Are Out Shannon Rowbury at #5 is the highest ranked US woman in the mid-d or distance events. Somehow Jenny Simpson, who bowed out in the Olympic semis and was the 35th-fastest woman on the year, was ranked #10.
MB: Jenny Simpson World Ranked #10 for 2012? Really?
*A Look At The Jamaican Women Ranked In The Top 10 In The World By TFN
Turkey Says It Deserves 2020 Olympics Because Its Economy Is Growing Its stock exchange was up 57.6% in 2012.
2000 Sydney Racewalking Silver Medallist Shot At Night Club In Mexico
More Year-End News: Lance Armstrong Nominated For Texan Of The Year
- Former British Sports Minister And UK Paralympians Upset That The Queen's "New Year Honors List" Didn't Have More Paralympians On It There really wasn't much of a gap, though, as the list had 38 Olympians and 29 paralympians.
- DailyNation Review Of Kenya's 2012: David Rudisha And Ezekiel Kemboi Light Up What Was Otherwise A Dull Year For Kenyan Olympians In London
- Lance Armstrong Nominated For Texan Of The Year By Dallas Morning News And Called "A Fighter, A Survivor And A Cunning, Steely-Eyed Liar" Editor: "The Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year is a distinction we bestow for impact, be it for better or for worse. It reflects the prominence of what Texans do, not what we'd prefer them to do."
- Blog Post: Eatrunswag's Worst Of 2012 Lance Armstrong, Nike and Christian Hesch make the list.
- Bring Back The Mile's 2012 "State Of The Mile Report"
- Jamaican Media Examine T&F News' Year-End Sprint Rankings Obviously Bolt and Blake were 1-2.
Jamaica Observer Asks If Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Is Overshadowed By Usain Bolt? 100% yes. - Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis, And Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Named All-Athletics.com Athletes Of The Year
- European Athletics Year-End Review: Men's Jumps
*Women's Jumps
US News
- Suzy Favor Hamilton Loses Another Sponsor In The Wisconsin Potato And Vegetable Growers Association Disney was one thing, but losing the Potato and Vegetable Growers Association has gotta hurt.
- Molly Huddle Defers Med School To Keep Running "I'm lucky to be doing what I'm doing. There's an expiration date. You have to see what you can do. I'm not taking any classes or doing any part-time jobs."
- Good IAAF Profile Of Arizona University HJer Brigetta Barrett, Who "Emerged From Relative Obscurity" To Win Silver At The London Olympics "I remember one person told me, 'You're here for fun, and we're out here thinking about how we'll eat.' In my mind, I was like, OK, I understand what you're talking about but, at the same time, I'm hungry, too. It doesn't matter if I'm trying to feed a family or not; I'm still going to go out there and take what's mine."
The Media Reacts To Suzy Favor Hamilton
Mid-Saturday Update:
Definitely Not Politcally Correct: Chicago Sun-Times Columnist: SFH isn't alone - lots of female distance runners are total nut jobs SFH had "a glint of ferocity in her eyes, of suppressed danger. I saw the look in many of the Wisconsin middle-distance and long-distance female runners. In my book, I made special note of them, of their lapses
into near insanity, of their successes and crashes and eating disorders
and dependence on their controlling German head coach, Peter Tegen."
*Foot Locker Midwest Head Says Hamilton Can't Even Work As Volunteer At Its Event - Doubts She'll Keep Any Running Jobs
"There is not a person in my opinion who has given more back to the sport of distance running than she has. That's why it's so tragic. We're
losing Suzy." The UW-Madison School of Education, and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association also are re-considering.
*FBI Might Be Interested
*The Daily Beast Examines How Escort Services Work (link fixed)
Usain Bolt Gets Dumped
- Usain Bolt Gets Dumped By British Girlfriend She says she couldn't handle the long-distance relationship and spills the beans on what it was like to date the global superstar.
Previous SFH News
*Husband Reacts With Compassion "Yes, I knew. We were essentially separated the past year. We are trying, with help, to see if we can make
it work. Suzy is a good person who went down the wrong path, obviously."
*AP Knocks On Hamilton Door Gets No Answer, Finds Psychologist Who's Not Surprised "She needed to have some way to express some other side of herself that
didn't feel as clean or wonderful or upstanding as she appeared to be."
*Seduction
Author Not Surprised Either
"I believe at least fifty to sixty percent of all single women are
Wholesome Pretenders. ... The vast majority of women are taught and
brainwashed to behave as 'innocent, wholesome good girls.' For most
women, that is not the reality of their inner sexuality."
*Fox Sports.com: Sex scandal not funny, just sad.
*Colin Cowherd (Chris Lear And Rojo's Favorite Sports Radio Guy) Leads ESPN Show With SFH Talk - *Listen As He Says Her Actions Probably Aren't As Rare As You Think
*SFH Lands On Cover Of Daily News
*SFH Banned From All Disney Sporting Events
*runDisney Drops SFH As Event Speaker
*Competitor Group Drops Her As Well
*Bleacher Report: Former Olympian Deserves Privacy To Handle Personal Issues
Unbelievable
The Smoking Gun.com: Suzy Favor Hamilton Has Been Working As $600/Hour Escort For Last Year SFH, the 3-time Olympian, has
been one of the hottest commodities in the escort business over the last year as she jumped up to a #3 ranking and got rave reviews for her runner's body and for providing
the "full GFE (girlfriend experience)." One client raved, "I would do anything to protect her. ... She is worth every penny. I will go bankrupt before I stop seeing her. I hope no one else goes to see her, because I want her all to myself. ... I never thought I would find anyone in this hobby like her."
*Suzy Favor Hamilton Issues A Statement
*MB: Suzy Favor-Hamilton: Vegas Escort
Reaction From Across The Globe:
*NY Times: 1,176 Words On SFH: Former Olympian Cites Depression For Taking Job As Escort
*NY Daily News On Hamilton
*RRW: Suzy Favor Hamilton Admits To Double Life As $600 Per Hour Escort (link fixed)
*Hometown Reaction: Wisconsin State Journal: Suzy Favor Hamilton cites depression as
reason she led "double life" as high-priced prostitute
*Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton admits she worked as escort
*Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Profile On Hamilton In July Where She Talked About Battling Depression
Suzy Favor Hamilton TV Report In Chicago
US Collegiate Athletes Of The Year Are Announced
The Bowerman: LSU's Kimberly Duncan And S. Utah's Cam Levins Win The 5k and 10k champ Levins won on the men's side over the 100 and 110H champ, but there was even more intrigue on the women's side. Duncan had an incredible season as
she won two individual NCAA crowns in the 200, was runner-up in the 100 and was on LSU's winning 4 x 100 and runner-up 4 x 400 teams, but one LRC visitor at a minimum is irate that Arizona's Brigetta Barrett didn't win. How do you top being being undefeated for the collegiate season and then winning an Olympic silver?
*MB: So an undefeated collegiate woman who won an Olympic silver medal isn't the NCAA track AOY - a non Olympian is?
The BBC Interviews Alberto Salazar & He Doesn't Hold Back In His Assessment Of Mo Farah's Place In History
- Salazar: Mo Farah Completed Toughest Olympic Double In History "Mo Farah's double gold at London 2012 was the greatest distance running achievement in history, according to his coach Alberto Salazar."
- BBC: Salazar Compares Mo To Other Double Olympic Champs - "He's surpassed them by far."
- Salazar: "I knew Mo and Galen were ready when they wanted to play Fifa Soccer instead of go to their last track workout."
- Listen Here: BBC Interviews US "Super Coaches" Dan Pfaff & Alberto Salazar For 2 Hours LRC has always said John Kellogg and Pfaff are the only two people we know who are geniuses when it comes to track and field. We think Salazar's quotes come from this piece.
A MUST Read - One Of The Greatest Races Ever Run - The US Women's Version Of The Billy Mills 10,000 Win
RWorld Reintroduces The World To Debbie Heald, Who 40 Years Ago Incredibly Ran The US HS Indoor Mile Record Of 4:38.5 Steve Friedman's piece on Heald is moving to say the least. Heald, whose father had committed suicide,
who had been molested and who was always battling injury (13 different running-related surgeries), somehow
at the US vs. USSR meet at age 16 in 1972 beat the greatest runners in the world, including the indoor 1,500 record holder and that year's eventual Olympic 1,500 champion, by running an a 8.5-second PR of 4:38.5. She came from way back to win thanks to a ferocious kick and she was known for having no kick. Her life since then has been full of struggles with schizophrenia but her HS indoor record still stands.
MB: Debbie Heald article in RW
Heald's Incredible 1972 Race
More On Heald:
*2002 LA Times Feature
*1972 Sports Illustrated
*1967 Faces In The Crowd At Age 11
From The MB:
*16-year-old Debbie Heald takes down the Russians, sets AR in 1972
*No Wikipedia entry for Debbie Heald ...
*1972 USA vs. USSR: 16-year-old wins the women's mile in a national record. (still standing)
*1972 Video Of Debbie Heald
Sad News: Two-Time Foot Locker Finalist Arrested For Murder Eric Kweder, who has popped up in a number of threads over the years, was 9th in 1995 as an 11th grader - one spot ahead of eventual Olympian Jonathan Riley.
Foot Locker Finals *Results *Boys Photo Gallery *Legends Pre-Race Photo Gallery
Boys: Edward Cheserek Repeats After Battle With Sean McGorty McGorty, the South champ, and Jake Leingang, the Midwest champ, didn't make it easy for Cheserek, but there is a reason Cheserek
doesn't lose - he's
the best in the US high school ranks. The four Regional winners went 1-2-3-4. *Results *Milesplit Recap *Edward Cheserek Interview
Girls: Anna Rohrer Overcomes Fall To Win Rohrer pulled away for the win after falling after the start. Her Midwest teammates dominated the race with 6 in the top 10. Catarina Rocha of the Northeast was the runner-up, with both runner-ups having a least one Foot Locker finalist parent. *Results
*Steve U's Recap *Anna Rohrer Interview
*OTB: Sarah Baxter 2016 Olympics? *wow footlocker, get your cameras fixed. learn how to cover a national race *Has Foot Locker gone too far?
Kenenisa Bekele Finishes His Track
Kenenisa Bekele Builds His Own Track/Runner's Paradise In Ethiopia And Hotel For Athletes Wishing To Use It It is in an area with 20 miles of forest trails in the mountains as well as flat woods right behind the hotel. He says he spent $1.5 million on the track, which currently has 6 lanes, but he plans on adding 2 more and adding seating so they can host elite track meets.
Lolo Jones Has Survived Her First Bobsled Crash And she even jokes about it: "God is real. I saw him today and he said come back later."
Track And Field's Male Fans Are Thankful For This
Fit Again & Recovered From Achilles Surgery & Bacterial Infection, Blanka Vlasic Is Ready
To Compete Again
The Running Event Is In The Books *Photos
LRC The 2012 Running Event Is In The Books: Five Takeaways On The Industry Shark Tank's Daymond John Speaks The trade show for specialty running shops was last week in Austin, Texas and LRC's Wejo was there plus Ryan Hall,
Meb Keflezighi, and most of Saucony's top athletes. The running industry should be renamed the "how to not get injured" industry. Some take-aways from the convention.
*Press Release: The Running Event 2012 Attracts 2,100 To Austin
LRC Aussie 1,500 Record Holder Ryan Gregson Enters 2013 Having "Never Been This Aerobically Fit Before" The man who ran 3:31-flat two years ago as a 20-year-old is feeling good after a high altitude training stint in Fall Creek.
Weekend Action - 2013 BUPA XC Is Saturday *Schedule (Race Live On BBC One At 1pm Local/ 8am ET) *Starts Lists *Race Website
- IAAF Preview Of Saturday's Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross-Country - Defar, Cheriuyot And The Unsponsored Bobby Mack! Bobby Mack is back to lead the US charge. *Spikes Mag Preview
- Defar Versus Masai And Cheriuyot Should Highlight
- Other Top Names: Injury-Free During The Winter For The First Time In Three Years, Lisa Dobriskey Has High Hopes Again For The Year Ahead 2012 was nightmarish for Dobriskey, who overcame a hip injury and then blood clots and still made the Olympic final. We guess it shows you how good she is - 4th in 2008 and 2nd in 2009.
- Interesting: Julia Bleasdale Races After Two Months Of Altitude Training In Ethiopia With Stints On Bekele's New Track The woman who was 8th in both the 5k and 10k at the Olympics has become good friends with Meseret Defar and Haile G.
- UK Athletics: British Team Update
- European Athletics: Britton Set To Head Team Europe At Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross-Country
- Preview Of Sunday's Xiamen (China) Marathon The race is pretty darn strong. Peter Kamais won last year in a 2:07:37 CR, but the 2nd placer Dickson Chumba went on to run 2:05:46 - both are back. Will the women's CR of 2:22:38 fall? Kenya’s Eunice Jepkirui (2:21:41 PR) hopes so.
More Year-End Rankings - Britain's Magazine For Track Chimes In
- Athletics Weekly Release Its 2012 Rankings: International Merit Rankings 2012 - Men
- Athletics Weekly Release Its 2012 Rankings: International Merit Rankings 2012 -Women
- British Men's Rankings
- British Women's Rankings
Distance News
- Good Read: CNN Piece On Tirunesh Dibaba, Who Says Her Main Focus In The Coming Years Will Be On The Marathon "I want to do something special, that is historic and unforgettable. Especially in the Olympic marathon, I want to compete there. I believe that is what is left for me to achieve."
- Lauren Fleshman Joins Oiselle Women's Apparel Company As Sponsored Athlete And Business Partner
- Fleshman Blogs About Meeting The Founders Of Oiselle Through Twitter 2 Years Ago Flshman: "At the end of 2010, Oiselle was a small brand. Nike probably made more money on winter glove sales in California than Oiselle did on their entire line that year."
- Joe Fejes Sets 72-Hour Running WR Distance Of 329 Miles He broke the previous record held by legendary ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros.
- Study Refutes Idea That It Is Harmful For Younger Teens To Run A Marathon Study included teens from 14-17 and found that marathon running is no more dangerous for teens than adults.
More Early 2013 Action: Hakone Ekiden
- Nittai University Wins First Hakone Ekiden Title In 30 Years
*Hakone Ekiden Day 1 Recap
*Full Results - January 5th: Team USA Heads To Great Edinburgh International Cross-Country Meet This Weekend The team is led by Club XC champs Jacob Riley and Mattie Suver. Men's roster also includes Craig and Matthew Forys and Bobby Mack.
Drug-Related News
- UK Javelin Thrower Gets 4-Year Doping Ban For Possession Of Multiple Banned Substances Police discovered the substances during a raid on his home.
- False: UCI Head Pat McQuaid: "I've Done Nothing To Warrant Resigning" Includes some interesting quotes from McQuaid on Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis and how they tried to get away with cheating. Who knows whom to believe?
Lots Of New Year's Day Action:
US: Delilah DiCrescenzo And Christian Thompson Win 2013 Emerald Nuts Midnight Run In Central Park The former CU Buff Thompson edged Tim Ritchie while DiCrescenzo
dominated. *MB: Emerald Nuts Midnight Run Top Results
*Emerald Nuts Midnight Run Video
Worldwide: LRC Other End-Of-Year / New Year's Day Action Of Note That No One Wrote An Article About (Kogo, Soi, Lalli, Kipsiro, Etc.)
Angola:
59:47 Half Man Atsedu Tsegay (28:17) & Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Priscah Jeptoo (32:31) Win 57th Sao Silvestre de Luanda Race In Front Of More Than A Million Spectators The race offers $145,000 in prize money and the men's title went to the guy we talked about recently
in the WTW. The weather was HOT (86/30 WITH 72% humidity).
Spain: Tariku Bekele (28:29) And Gelete Burka (30:59) Dominate 48th San Silvestre
Vallecana The women's race was expected to be a battle between Burka and Linet Masai but Masai was WAY back in 2nd in 32:13.
*Article On Race Translated From Spanish
Japan: After Slow Start, Konica Minolta Comfortably Beats Toyota Kyushu To Win
1st Title Since 2008 At Japan's New Year's Corporate Ekiden *IAAF Recap
Brazil: Kenya's Edwin Kipsang Rotich (44:05) And Maurine Jelagat Kipchumba (51:42) Win São Silvestre 15km In São Paulo
Italy: Imane Merga (29:12) Barely Wins As Syliva (16:21) Kibet 3-Peats At Boclassic Sylverlauf In Bolzano American Scott Bauhs was 5th in 29:32 just behind Sergiy Lebid.
Austria: Leonard Komon Shatters Course Record In Peuerbach New Year's Eve Run Komon, the 10k road WR holder, edged junior 10k bronze medallist and 26:55 guy Geoffrey Kirui. In the women's race, European jr. xc champ Amela Terzic edged 2:19 marathoner Irina Mikitenko.
Some British Athletes Tweet Out Their New Year's Resolutions
Pre-Race News - Bring In The New Year With Some Fast Races
Olympic Bronze Medallist Tariku Bekele And 2009 World Champion Linet Masai Highlight The Fields For New Year's Eve Madrid 10k Bekele will face Spain's Ayad Lamdassem, whom he actually lost to at a 10 miler in Porstmouth back in October. Masai will be up against the 2008 World
indoor 1,500m champ Gelete Burka.
*Japan Running News Preview of The 2013 New Year Ekiden National Corporate Men's Championships 37 teams, 7 stages, 100.0 km. Broadcast available online at 8:30AM Japan time on the 1st.
*Japan Running News Preview Of Biggest Running Event of the Year in Japan - The Hakone Ekiden University Men's Championships This is considered one of Japan's biggest and most popular sporting events. It is held on Jan. 2-3 and the broadcast starts at 7AM Japan time each day.
*February: Jenny Simpson Scratches From February New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Could this have to do with her coaching switch to Mark Wetmore?
Random US News: Lauren Fleshman Responds To You
- Lauren Fleshman Responds To LRC MB Posters: "Why I'm No Longer With Nike" Fleshman responds directly to LRC message board posters who came up with "several interesting speculations" as to why and how she left Nike.
- Watch Out, Usain Bolt? Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson Says He Wants To Qualify For The 2016 Olympics In The 200 Or 400 And Thinks He Could Beat Usain Bolt Peterson: "I know a lot of people laugh and be like 'come on, let's be real with yourself.' It's Usain Bolt, but I feel like you can accomplish anything you put your mind to." Well, according to Wikipedia, Peterson ran a wind-aided 10.33 in high school.
- 2011 World HJ Champ Jesse Williams Almost Ended Up Competing For New Zealand Instead Of The United States His parents were NZ-born. Williams said, "I was thinking about competing for New Zealand for a little while. It was in 2005 when I was trying to get the A standard. It was in the back of my head and I said to myself, if I don't get the A standard, maybe I should try and compete for New Zealand. It would be easier making the team."
- Cold: 18 Runners Compete In Dawn-To-Dusk Run In Fairbanks, Alaska On The Winter Solstice Runners had from 11 a.m. to 2:41 p.m. to see how many times they could travel around a 3-mile course. Temperatures ranged from 25 below to 35 below. The winner ran 24 miles and the top female 18.
- Foot Locker 3rd Placer Jake Leingang Commits To Oregon
- A Look Back At Harvard's Aggrey Awori, Who In 1963 Set A Record By Winning 3 Individual Indoor Ivy League Titles And A Fourth On A Relay
The Christmas Holiday Wasn't Real Kind To Mo Farah
- Mo Farah Gets Detained By US Customs Officials For Terrorism Questioning, So He Shows Them Gold Medals To No Avail "I couldn't believe it. Because of my Somali origin I get detained every time I come through US Customs. This time I even got my medals out to show who I am, but they wouldn't have it." *MB: Mo Farah - a terrorist?
- Muslim Mo Farah Gets Asked On Radio Twice About His Christmas Celebrations
- MB: Mo Farah only runs 12.9 for 100m time on BBC Superstars Show That's barely 52 seconds for a 400 for a guy who closes races almost that fast.
- Mo Farah Is Disappointed He Didn't Get Knighthood Like Bradley Wiggins If we were the Brits, having learned from the Lance Armstrong case, we wouldn't touch knighthood for any endurance athletes like Wiggins until 10 years after their careers were over.
- On The Bright Side: Mo Farah "Blown Away" After Being Made CBE
Ridiculous Claim: 37-Year-Old 2:14 Marathoner Luke Kipkosgei Says He Would Have Won Olympic Gold Had He Not Been Injured Kipkosgei, who did win a world indoor 3k bronze in 2003, is hoping to run the Moscow WCs. Good luck with that.
End-Of-Year News
- David Rudisha Named TFN's Athlete Of The Year For 3rd Straight Year - Joins Carl Lewis As Only Athlete With 3 Straight Wins Ashton Eaton got more 1st place votes but didn't get his WR in the Olympics. We might have given it to Aries Merritt, who won indoor and outdoor gold and absolutely obliterated the world record.
*MB: The Case For Aries Merritt Being 2012 Track and Field's Athlete of the Year - TFN Releases Its Men's Top 10 World Rankings The rankings are bound to be controversial. Olympic silver medallist Leo Manzano is only #9, for example. As a result, we thought it would be good to discuss some of the selections. Maybe we'll pick two more tomorrow.
*MB: Discussion: Track & Field News' 2012 World Steeple Rankings: Kemboi #3? (Kipsiele Koech #1) Jager Nabs #10
*MB: Discussion: Track & Field News' 2012 World 1,500 Rankings: Kiplagat #1, Makhloufi #4, Centro #5, Manzano #9
Random Distance News
- Say It Ain't So
Desiree Davila Pulls Out Of 2013 Boston Marathon As She's Still Recovering From Her Stress Fracture - After 55 Years, Sapporo International Half Marathon Will Be Run For Last Time In 2013 The elite-only races in Japan are having a tough time surviving.
- An Interview With Iona's Ethan Heywood The transfer to Iona didn't run NCAAs but had PRs of 3:50 and 8:17 before he transferred in.
Sprint News
- World's Fastest Man From 1902 - Who Later Was Banned By The AAU Without A Trial - Gets Redemption And USATF Hall Of Fame Induction Arthur Francis Duffey was a GTown student who ran 9.6 (100y) in 1902 but got shafted for allegedly letting his expenses be paid.
- Adam Gemili, The 18-Year-Old (Now 19) World Junior Champ, Had The Tinme Of His Life At The Olympics And Couldn't Believe Rudisha, Bolt & Felix Knew Who He Was "I remember sitting next to David Rudisha on the (bus) to the stadium on the night he won his gold medal. I took a picture of him and he said: 'Well done for winning the World Juniors.' Allyson Felix also said that to me. I was amazed that she actually knew who I was. And of course the best thing was Usain Bolt coming up to me and saying congratulations as well. I met him in the village and we got talking a little bit."
- 4 X 400 Bronze Medallist Shereefa Lloyd Crashes Car On Same Highway That Bolt Crashed In 2009 - Is OK
Caster Semenya's 800 Olympic Silver Medal Was South Africa's Only Track Medal Of The Games Semenya: "I am happy with the silver but I know the coach (Maria Mutola) isn't really happy as I didn't do a good job, but you learn from your mistakes."
Christmas/End Of The Year News
- EatRunSwag Funny Running Christmas Carols We're particularly fond of "Ruppdolph the Face Masked Runner."
- Running Parody On "'Twas The Night Before Christmas"
- Video: The Weirdest World Record Of 2012? The Juggling Triathlon
Patrick Makau Reveals That He Ran Frankfurt Instead Of Berlin This Year Because Race Organizers Weren't Willing To Pay Him Enough Makau: "For someone to attempt a world record is not easy. Last year, I used a lot of effort to make the world record but in this case, we could not agree with them on what I was to get."
Merry Christmas:
- Mo Farah Will Train On Christmas Day - Will You?
- Bolt Wishes Fans Merry Xmas Via Twitter
- Did You Know? 1908 Olympic Gold Medallist In Pole Vault, Who Invented 1st Toy Widely Advertised In Media, Saved Xmas In 1917 By Continuing Toy Production During War
- Non-Cheerful News: Sorry Guys, Hannah England Is Engaged
Oregon Thought He Didn't Recruit Distance Studs - Others Thought He Only Got Them To Transfer
Who Says Martin Smith Can't Recruit Distance Runners? 4:02 HS Miler J. Burcham Commits To Oklahoma Burcham is a beast who ran 4:33 in 8th grade.
Sunday Results: Both Euro XC Champs Lose And Show The Best Europeans Are Still Not As Good As Mid-Level Africans
- World Junior Steeple Silver Medalist Gilbert Kirui Wins IRIS Lotto Crosscup In Burssels Over Good Field As Euro XC Champ Andrea Lalli Was Back In 7th Ethiopia's World Junior Championships 5,000 silver medallist Ruti Aga took the women's race after a battle with Ireland's 2011 and 2012 European champion Fionnuala Britton.
*Athletics Weekly: Silver For Britton In Belgium
*Irish paper: Britton Gets Silver In Brussels For Xmas - World Junior 5,000 Record Holder Hagos Gebrhiwet & Berlin Marathon Champ Aberu Kebede Were The Winners At Yesterday's Great Ethiopian Run 10k Gebrhiwet ran 28:37 and Kebede 33:27 in the race founded by Haile Gebrselassie back in 2001.
- Yukiko Akaba Defends Her Title At The Sanyo Ladies Road Race Half Marathon In 1:09:56 The 33-year old became the oldest Japanese to break 70 for 13.1
Justin Gatlin Says He Still Hasn't Given Up On Beating Usain Bolt "I've got world champion blood in me. It's not about times but about running to the line, being the first across it. ... I've got the Gatlin guns to throw at the Lightning Bolt and the Beast (Yohan Blake) and Tyson Gay."
Kenyan News: Peter Mateelong Wins And Asbel Kiprop Is Healthy Again *Photos
- Peter Mateelong Wins KCB/Athletics Kenya National Cross-Country Series Meet Over 7-Time World XC Veteran Hosea Mwok Macharinyang Asbel Kiprop rabbitted the first 5k as 2011 African XC champ John Mwangangi was 4th. African 5,000/10,000 Champ Glady Cherono won the senior women's race over Chicago Marathon 3rd placer Lucy Kabuu and in the junior women's race, there was a huge upset, as World Junior XC gold medallist Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon was 5th as World Junior 3,000m champ Mercy Chebwogen won. *2nd Article focusing on some of the other top runners who lost. *Photos
- RunBlogRun Post On Why Kenyan Elites Are Starting To Move Away From Group Training Camps LetsRun has always said that Athletics Kenya always forcing their athletes to go to controlled training camps in the weeks ahead of major championships is a horrible idea.
- Toni Reavis Jokes That According To The Stats, The Marathon Could Be Considered For Elimination From The Olympics The IOC says Olympic sports should be "widely practiced around the world" and outside of Kenya and Ethiopia, only nine other nations have runners with times in the top 100 for 2012 (and those nations have only 1 or 2).
- Former Steeple World Champ Brimin Kipruto Looking Forward To Taking Back His Title At Moscow 2013 This will be his fourth World Championships appearance, with his first back in 2005.
- Prize Money For July Nairobi Marathon Winners Still Unpaid
Spikes Magazine: "The Rise Of The Jager Meister" Jager says he got his start in soccer where he "used to run the entire game without needing a sub and I usually did it faster than everyone else too."
Stop Complaining: NYC Marathon Announced Cancellation Policy And You Can Get A Refund Get a refund or pay again for next year and run next year (while paying for this year as well).
On The Boards: NYC Marathon Resolution
*WSJ: NYRR Reach Multi-Million Dollar Settlment With Insurance Company After Cancellation Of NYC Marathon
New Year's: World XC Champ Imane Merga Will Take On Olympic 5,000m Bronze Medalist Thomas Longosiwa In New Year's Eve 10k Race In Bolzano, Italy Scott Bauhs is also in the field as two-time World 5,000m silver medallist Sylvia Kibet headlines women's 5k.
Good Read: Brett Larner Explains "How I Learned To Love The Ekiden And Why You Should Too" "When you put on that soaking wet, stinking piece of cloth and your own sweat mingles with it there is a physical bond formed between your life and theirs, your own years of work becoming part of something bigger, and others are waiting to join you. Giving anything less than your best is not sacrificing your gift, it is sacrificing everybody else's gifts."
Sports Science: Viagra Improves Performance In More Ways Than One
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Athletics Illustrated Q&A With Steve Magness Apparently Viagra when combined with high altitude training has the potential to improve athletic performance.
- WSJ Continues Its Campaign To Discourage People From Exercising: Study Says Playing A Round Of Golf Is Just As Beneficial As A 100-Mile Bike Ride For Aiding Longevity We stopped reading after the second paragraph, when we saw the study is based on data taken from Olympian mortality records between 1896 and 1936.
- On The Other Hand ... Study Finds Olympic Medalists Live On Average 2.8 Years Longer Than Average Population This study looked at Olympic athletes between 1896 and 2010.
US News: Adam Nelson On His Way To Becoming An Olympic Champion
- Good News: 4 Throwers From 2004 Athens Olympics Officially Stripped Of Their Medals After Doping Retests *2nd Article
- Which Means ... Q&A With Adam Nelson, Who Stands To Be Upgraded To Gold After Official IOC Announcement Stripping Yuriy Bilonog Of His Medal "To be honest, it feels really strange and it's a weird feeling. I've heard the rumors before and have not given the rumors much credit until an official ruling. Now that it's happened I'm excited. It is all just sinking in. You know, I feel I excited as I did to not lose that event [in 2004]; I was second on a tie-breaker. I feel good that I will always be the person who threw farthest on that day."
Weekly Recap
LRC Predictions For 2013 - Bolt & RudishaAre Done? The Muslim Mo Farah's 1st Xmas, The Case For Aries Merritt For AOY & Paralympic Whining We kick off the New Year by wondering if Aries Merritt should have been Athlete of the Year before wondering if 2013 will be the beginning of the end for both of the men who dominated 2012 - Usain Bolt and David Rudisha. We then dare to tell you that in reality, the Paralympics and wheelchair racing are over-publicized (not under-publicized as many claim) and tell you about the most insensitive interview ever involving Mo Farah. Plus crazy races in Alaska and yet another gratuitous slam of Lance Armstrong.
2013 World Champs Standards
- IAAF Releases New World Championships Standards For Moscow 2013 Some standards got tougher, such as the men's 5,000 going to 13:15 from 13:20, while others got easier, such as the women's 5,000 going from 15:14 to 15:18.
*Full IAAF World Champs Standards And Qualifying Rules Document
A Review Of Duncan Larkin's "Run Simple"
LRC Review By A LRCer Of Duncan Larkin's Book, "Run Simple: A Minimalist Approach To Fitness And Well Being" Has running become too complicated and gotten away from it's blue collar roots? Larkin seems to think so and gives advice to try and make things simpler.
Seb Coe News
- Former 1:44 800 Runner Ikem Billy Says He Was Paid $10,000 To Throw Race To Seb Coe In 1989 *MB: Was the Ovett-Coe era manipulated by Andy Norman?
- Lord Seb Coe Says There Is "Quite A High Correlation" Between People Who Spend Their Time Texting Or Tweeting And Under-Performance On The Field
Last Week's Weekly Recap
LRC Biomechanics Are The Key? 2012 The Year Of The 800? Mo Farah The GOAT? SFH > Galen Rupp & Leo? Usain Bolt's Love Life, Wisdom From Pfaff & Salazar, And More This week we spend a lot of time wondering, "Was Mo Farah's double win really by far the greatest Olympic distance double" as Alberto Salazar claimed? (No). We also wonder if biomechanics are the key to success in T&F, wonder if this was the greatest year ever in the men's 800, compare the amount of pub generated by Suzy Favor Hamilton as compared to Galen Rupp, give you great coaching insight from Dan Pfaff (and Salazar), tell you how some coaches are never satisfied, and remind you to yawn before your next race. Plus Usain Bolt's ex-girlfriend kisses and tells, and why the best thing about altitude training may have nothing to do with altitude.
D-Day For Lance Armstrong
- D-Day For Lance Armstrong Came And Went As Yesterday Was His Last Chance To Appeal His Ban To CAS
- Tyler Hamilton: "You hear very little from Lance, but I think this will not be a permanent state. I fear Lance will hit back." "I think he is suffering a lot. He is a very proud person and thinks that - like Atlas - he can carry the whole world on his shoulders. Now everything is gone, the honour and the glory. I think it will tear him apart that he is no longer a hero."
Japan's Top Collegiate Runner Joins Salazar And The Oregon Project
Japan's #1 Male Collegiate Runner Suguru Osako (13:31 5k, 27:56 10k, 1:01:47 Half) Will Be Joining Alberto Salazar And The Oregon Project He'll be running for the corporate Nissin Shokuhin team following his graduation in 2014, but live in Oregon and train under Salazar for the OP.
Run, Recover, Run More
LRC Runners Recover Better And Hopefully Stay Injury Free With These Two Products From The 2012 Running Event Wejo talks about some of the injury prevention products he saw at the The Running Event, which include better methods for massage, icing, and compression.
Meb And The Mental Side Of Running
LRC Meb Keflezighi Talks About Getting His Start In Running, The Mental/Physical Breakdown Of The Sport Meb: "I really believe during preparation it's 90% physical, 10% mental. When the gun goes off it's 90% mental and 10% being healthy."
Christmas Has Us Emotional - Is The Meaning Of Life Love?
Read This Article & Then Watch This Video
Dubai Marathon Is January 25th
- IAAF Looks Ahead To Dubai: 2:03:06 Man Moses Mosop Battle Martin Lel And Yemane Tsegay Mosop lost to Tsegay at Rotterdam last year when Tsegay ran 2:04:48. Ethiopia's 2012 Dubai champ Ayele Abshero (2:04:23) is out with an injury, but Dubai will also host the marathon debuts of 4 sub-60 minute half marathoners.
- Women's Race: 2011 & 2012 Winner Asselefech Has Pulled Out With Injury, So Paris Champ Tirfi Tsegay (2:21:19) Will Be The Favorite She'll be up against Toronoto Marathon Champ Koren Jelela (2:22:43).
Maggie Vessey Tests Positive And Gets A Warning
Maggie Vessey Tests Positive For Diuretic And Accepts Public Warning
The American 800m star was taking a prescription medicine that had a banned substance. She won't have to serve a suspension of any kind.
On The Boards: Maggie Vessey tests positive
The Week That Was In Running: December 10 - December 16, 2012
LRC Jenny Simpson's About Face, Sally Jenkins' Embarrassing Defense Of Lance, Fast Rugby Players, A Mea Culpa And More Not a lot happened last week on the track but there is A TON to talk about. We break down world champion Jenny Simpson's about face and return to Mark Wetmore by comparing her positively to Charles Barkely and Dan Marino, but remind people that a return home didn't resurrect the career of Jeremy Wariner. We absolutely rip Sally Jenkins for defending Lance Armstrong and for using the "rape card" to support her argument as we compare Lance to Bernie Madoff. Along the way, we tell you why legalized PED use = the end of women's sports and introduce you to the fastest rugby player in the world. Plus we fess up to a rare, rare mistake.
TodaysMiles.com Launches On LetsRun.com
Today's Miles Launches The running world has got 3.1*, 13.1 and 26.2 stickers. Todaymiles.com takes that concept to running apparel. Want to celebrate that 26.2 you did? Do it. Want to run 20 minutes and wear a 20 mile shirt? You can do that, too. More info here.
Wetmore-Simpson Round II
LRC Jenny Simpson Coaching Switch Update Former CU Buff Stephen Kasica has some details on Simpson training in Boulder last week. Plus there is a cool multimedia timeline on Simpson's career and some perspective. Simpson won Worlds under Juli Benson, yet never ran within 3.5 seconds of her 1,500m PR. Fascinating.