The Week That Was In Running - January 21-27, 2013

LRC Rupp & Solomon Improve A Lot, Those That Do And Those That Don't Get LRC, 2:04 Marathons Aren't Special, Putting Mary Cain's Mile Record In Perspective This week we start by telling you there are two types of runners - "those that get LetsRun.com" and "those that don't." We tell you why we think analyzing the improvements of Galen Rupp & Duane Solomon is the very best part of our website - even though we know many (including "A Duck") totally disagree. We then put the record runs from Dubai, Solomon and Mary Cain in perspective before quoting a running executive who says a 2:04 marathon isn't "special" anymore.

USA XC Is Saturday *Live Webcast February 2nd 10:15AM ET *USA XC Meet Site

LRC USATF XC Preview: Shalane Vs. Deena, 10 Sub-28 Minuters, Including Ritz And Teg, Square Off World XC returns this year and just in time many of the sports stars are back for this weekend's USATF XC Champs hoping to earn a spot to the Worlds. We break down the fields than include Shalane Flanagan and Deena Kastor, plus Dathan Ritzenhein and ten sub-28 minute men.
*USATF US XC Champs Preview Including Junior Races

Other US News

Mid-Week Results

Jamaica's Former 400H Olympic Champ Melaine Walker Still Distraught Over Her London Letdown And Apologizes To The Public For Her Poor Performance In this and another article she hints at some kind of personal issue or problem with JAAA that distracted her mentally.

Kenyan News: Doping And Vivian Cheruiyot Sitting Out World XC

Other Drug Related News

International News

Only In Japan - The Good & Bad

Interesting Sprint News

African-Related News

More Sprint News

US News: Ritz Excited For US Cross

A League Of Their Own

Saturday's US Action *Full BU Results

LRC Galen Rupp Runs 3:50.92 Mile To Become Fifth-Fastest Indoor Miler Who said Galen Rupp has no speed? The endurance king has become the speed king the last two years and Rupp showed it on Saturday by running 3:50.92 in Boston to become the 2nd-fastest American indoor miler ever behind Bernard Lagat. *Videos
On The Boards: *Rupp runs 3:50!!
*any updates on the BU elite mile?
*Rupp is the 5th fastest indoor miler in history

updated Mary Cain Smashes High School Mile Record By Running 4:32.78 Cain breaking the record may have been expected considering she ran 4:11 last year outdoors for 1,500 (roughly 4:31 for a mile), but Debbie Heald's old record (4:38.5) was the longest record on the books for high school women (from 1971) and Cain absolutely crushed it - and we use that term knowing it is way over-used in track but well-deserved here. In the men's mile, Robby Andrews faded to 4:11.
*What's Better Than Having An Olympian For A Coach? Having Two: With Salazar Living On The Other Side Of The Country, NZ 2004 Olympian John Henwood Has Been Administering Her Workouts In NY
*Video Interview With Mary Cain
OTB:
Mary Cain 4:32.78
*Robbie Andrews
*Other HS: MileSplit Weekend HS Coverage: Edward Cheserek Wins NB Invite Mile In 4:10.92
*Q&A With Edward Cheserek Asking A Lot About His Move To The US From Kenya
*
Sarah Baxter Named Gatorade Runner Of The Year For XC, Presented To Her By Allyson Felix

Oregonian's Ken Goe Against High Price Pay-Per-View Track Broadcasts

Osaka Marathon, Kenyan Prison XC, NACAC XC *Full NACAC Results *Prison XC

London Does It Again

LRC 2013 Virgin London Marathon Field Released - Is This The Greatest Men's Marathon Field In History? All we can say is - Wow! The course record holders of all five majors, the Olympic champ, the WR holder - you name it, they got it. And one the women's side? How about the debut of Tirunesh Dibaba plus 4 of the 5 non-pregnant sub-2:20 runners from last year? So sick.
*Reuters: Dibaba To Race In London Marathon *Discuss

LRC Mary Keitany Is Pregnant With Second Child, Will Miss 2013 London Marathon And Season

Usain Bolt The Republican? London Diamond League Meet Will Be So Stacked It Will Be Held At Olympic Stadium But Yet Again, Bolt Will Boycott Due To Taxes

Oregon Indoor Mile Record Holder Mac Fleet Is Pumped To Be back On Track After 2 Years Of Injuries Things were so bad last year, he started drinking heavily and tried to tear his plantar on purpose.

Rest In Peace Will Steele - aka "The Cancer Guy"

LRC Celebrating The Life Of "The Cancer Guy" Will Steele Will Steele was running 18 minute miles last year. And never has there been a more inspirational runner on LetsRun.com. We pay our respects to this great man who contributed so much to the LetsRun.com community and lost his battle with cancer one month ago on Christmas eve.

Big Race News: Ritz Running US XC, Mo Farah Running New Orleans Half, Olympic Stadium Will Host T&F This Summer

Want To Watch A Live Stream Of The New Balance Games Or The Armory Collegiate Invitational? It Will Cost You $20 And just think many of you complained that the entire Diamond League Series on UniversalSports.com was too much at $25 with individual meets just $1.99. In our book this doesn't seem to be about track fans, but about getting parents to pay.

Looking Ahead To Next Month's Tokyo Marathon And Beyond

Millrose Mile Fields Announced

18-Year-Old Ajee Wilson Sets WORLD Jr. Record At 600 (1:27.30) And Will Attack AR At Millrose

Dying Too Young

LRC 4-Time World Marathon Majors Runner-Up Abderrahim Goumri Has Died At Age 36 The former MAR national record holder at 2:05:30, who once ran 12:50 for 5k and was twice the runner-up in New York, has been killed in a car accident. Goumri was busted for drugs due to the biological passport last summer.

Former 10k World Record Holder
Samson Kimobwa, Who Ran 27:30.47 On June 30, 1977 In Helsinki, Has Died Suddenly At Age 58
Interesting fact - he coached Boaz Cheboiywo in Kenya and went to Washington State. *Wikipedia Page
*IAAF Tribute To Samson Kimobwa And Abderahim Goumri

Great Idea: 2004 Olympic Hurdles Champ Joanna Hayes Wants Runners To Have Customized Jerseys

Houston Marathon/Half Was Sunday

LRC Ethiopians Feyisa Lilesa And Mamitu Daska Win 2013 Aramco Houston Half Marathon The performance of the day belonged to Daska, who was dominant on US soil just as she was in all of 2012. Shadrack Biwott (62:23) and Lisa Uhl (73:28) were the top Americans as Luke Puskedra and Aaron Braun also broke 63.

LRC
Bazuk Worku (2:10:17) And Merima Mohammed (2:23:27) Win 2013 Chevron Houston Marathon Titles The former WJr. record holder picked up marathon win #1 as Andrew Carlson (2:17:16) and Tera Moody (2:39:10) took top American honors.

RRW:
Ethiopians Sweep Titles At Cold, Wet 2013 Chevron Houston Marathon & Aramco Half Marathon Includes quotes from Biwott, Carlson, Uhl.

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."
*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."
*Suzy Favor Hamilton Issues A Statement
*MB: Suzy Favor-Hamilton: Vegas Escort

New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Is Saturday *NBIGP Schedule/Start Lists/TV Info (ESPN3 Live 6-8pm ET Sat., ESPN2 2-4 Sun.)

More Weekend Action: 4 Olympic Marathon Medallists Are Competing

Watch Your Health

US News: 9-Year-Old Running Marathon In Antarctica For Charity

North American Distance News

Administrative News

More From The Weekend

Good Doping News: IAAF Does Blood Tests In The Rift Valley

2013 Glasgow *Free Mid-D/Distance Race Videos & Results *Full Glasgow Results

LRC Duane Solomon Is The Real Deal - He Breaks US 600 Meter Record With 1:15.70 Win In Scotland Duane Solomon got rid off Chip Jenkins' record just days before it celebrated its 26th birthday and proved 2012 was far from a fluke. In other action, Bernard Lagat got a win in the 3,000 as Centro was smoked in the 1,500. Plus Geena Gall, Sara Vaughn and more.
*MB: Hrs Later Penn State Sr. Cas Loxsom Just Misses Solomon's New Record When He Runs 1:15.79 He did beat Jenkins' old record of 1:15.80.

College News *All College Results

Thank God They & Not Us Asked It - Carmelita "The Jet" Jeter Can't Fly Away From The Doping Question Jeter refused to answer the following question: Did Lance Armstrong's confession make "it harder to convince people that athletes in other sports were clean?" Her answer: "Well, I'm going to stay away from anything with that question, thank you."

Nick Wills Runs Fastest 3,000 In 15 Years At NZ Champs (7:57)

Ajee Wilson Goes Pro With adidas

LRC Lukas Verzbicas' Comeback Continues With 21:02 4-Mile Win We're calling this kid "The Real Lance" as he is a comeback-from-near-death athlete you can believe in.
*MB: Discuss

Who Says It's Just January? *Full UW Results

LRC Mary Cain Runs 9:02.10 For 3,000 - Arguably The Greatest Distance Performance In High School History
MB: *Cain 9:02!!!
*Mary Cain 9:02!!!
*How many boys state 3200/2 mile can mary cain win?
*NOW what do you think about a Baxter-Cain face-off at 3200 / 2-mile? Hmmmm?

RIP John Thomas And Steve Lynn

Former HJ WR Holder And USATF Hall Of Famer John Thomas Passes Away At 71 Thomas won silver and bronze Olympic medals and when he was only 17, became the first person to clear 7 feet indoors.
*RR: Rip John Thomas: Toni Reavis Blogs On The "Passing Of A Hero"
*Video Of John Thomas' Historic 1959 Millrose Games WR HJ Meet director Howard Schmertz: "That was my No. 1 most memorable moment in Millrose history. It brought the house down. It was the loudest roar I ever heard at the Garden. Any sport."
*Former Iowa State Track Coach Steve Lynn Dies At Age 61

Olympic 100m Bottle Thrower Convicted

Guilty: Men's 100m Bottle Thrower Is Convicted Sounds like due to his mental illness, he'll get a slap on the wrist, but the judge's reasoning was sound: "The video, in my view, quite clearly shows Mr Gill-Webb checking to see if he is under observation before taking the risk of throwing the bottle. I am sure that he was at that point weighing up the chances of being caught before throwing the bottle in an effort to disrupt the start of the race and put off Usain Bolt. I am sure, therefore, that he was at that point acting rationally and wrongly."
*MB: OJ Simpson may have gotten off but the Olympic bottle thrower is convicted!!

Kenyan Attacked

Video: Kenyan Runner Edwin Kipsang Rotich Was Attacked During Brazil's New Year's Eve Kings Run 10k, But Still Went On To Win Police said the attacker has a history of mental problems and doing stunts like this. Rotich was unfazed at the finish as he didn't even mention the attack in his post-race interview. *Longer Video

Recommended Watch: Very Well Done Documentary On Ryan Vail On The Life Of A Professional Runner "This is my job. It's not about, 'I don't feel like running today' because everyone doesn't feel like going to work today. So I just say, 'This is better than a 9 to 5. Get out there and do your work today. This is going to work. Just get out there and do it.'"

Random US News: Lauren Fleshman Responds To You

US News: Adam Nelson On His Way To Becoming An Olympic Champion

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

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.

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

A Look At On Running: Run On Clouds

LRC A Look At On Running And The "Cloud" Technology: Shoe Company Started By Former World Class Triathlete Olivier Bernhard was a world class triathlete who was injured with Achilles problems. So what did he do? He started tinkering with his shoes. What did he come up with? A better shoe technology, he thinks. Learn more about Olivier and the "Cloud" technology as LRC starts taking a look at some of the newer shoe companies.