LetsRun.com

The London Marathon - The World's Most Competitive - Is Sunday

Note: We will have our London preview(s) out late Friday in US/early Saturday UK. In terms of Boston, we didn't find it appropriate to cover the race last week due to the tragic attacks. We plan on covering it one week after the fact. The runners will get the attention they deserve here on Tuesday.

• Men's Race LRC Dave Bedford Breaks Down 2012 Virgin London Marathon Men's Field - Picks Geoffrey Mutai To Win Bedford clearly thinks this year's race is going to special and says a course record won't be good enough to win.
• After running career is over, Stephen Kiprotich will go back to working as a prison guard "That is my place of work. Running is just a short period of time – after I retire I need to go and work."
• American Pat Rizzo London Marathon with heavy heart
   
• Women's Race: Reuters: After Olympic disappointment, Edna Kiplagat looking for 1st London victory
• RRW: Tiki Gelana Reboots at London Marathon After NYC Cancellation
  
  Mo Farah Feels The Heat
  
• RRW: Mo Farah says running 1st half of London was an easy decision
  
• Guardian: I'm no money-grabber, says Mo Farah over London Marathon criticism
  
• Telegraph: Mo Farah says running half the race is 'not a gimmick
  Independent: Mo Farah is 'shocked and hurt' by Marathon greed claims
  

Previous London News

• 2-Time World Marathon Champ Abel Kirui Will Miss London Marathon With A Stress Reaction Kirui will miss at least 3 weeks, but says he still plans on being selected for Kenya's World Championships team and going for his 3rd consecutive title.
  *London Press Release
• RRW Preview: Olympic Champion Stephen Kiprotich Facing Another Big Challenge In London The field includes Geoffrey Mutai, Patrick Makau, Tsegaye Kebede (2:04:38), Emmanuel Mutai and defending champ Wilson Kipsang. Pacemakers will take the men's lead pack through halfway in 1:01:45.
• Kipsang Thinks Having Mo Farah In The First Half Of The London Marathon Could Help Their Chances At Breaking The World Record "Mo will have a lot of attention and it will help the guys who are finishing the race to relax and let him have all the attention for the first half. Maybe he'll also help control the pace and make sure the pacemakers go on the right schedule."
• Wilson Kipsang And Patrick Makau Say They Kenyans Will Work As A Team During The London Marathon
• Olympic Marathon Champ Stephen Kiprotich Didn't Think He Had A Future In Running When He Was Younger Because He Was Always Sick As a youngster, he missed three years of school due to illness and was always sick off and on, but eventually got better.
• Kipsang On Running London After Boston: "When you are running and you are thinking something like that can happen, you can't concentrate. We should have no fear ..."
• Former Race Director Dave Bedford Will Be The Official London Marathon Starter

Bolt Will Definitely Be At London Anniversary Games

• It's Official: Usain Bolt Will Compete At London Anniversary Games At The Olympic Stadium In July; 100 On Day 1 And 4 X 100 On Day 2 Others competing include Mo Farah in the 3,000, Galen Rupp and Leo Manzano in the "Emsley Carr Mile," Arles Merritt, Sally Pearson, Kirani James, Sanya Richards-Ross vs. British silver medallist Christine Ohuruogu in the 300, Jessica Ennis and more. *Telegraph Article
• Ricky Simms Talks About What It's Like To Manage The Sport's Biggest Star Simms: "We do a lot of things for Usain and other clients that are not simple business things. Like buying flights, buying cars, PlayStations, tuxedos, whatever. One hour I'll be doing management work for him, one hour I'll be doing agent work for him. Another time I'll be doing big brother work for him."
• Oscar P Not Welcome At London Anniversary Games UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner: "I don't want to see the Sunday of the Anniversary Games turning into a media circus. It would overshadow every other athlete that was there."
  *Good Read: South African National Championships Came And Went Without Oscar Pistorius "Where does Pistorius the athlete go from here? Where does he end up? And does he matter anymore?"

Yohan Blake Out For Up To 6 Weeks With Hamstring Injury The injury occurred during the UTech Classic meet where Blake DNFed, grabbing his right hamstring.

The 117th Boston Marathon *Top 25 Results *Boston Photos *Boston Pre-Race Photos

LRC Top 25 Boston Results: Rita Jeptoo And Lelisa Desisa Win The action was exciting as Portugal's Anna Dulce Felix was reeled in after having a 1+ minute lead at 35k. The men's race ended up being a 3-way sprint for home between Gebre Gebremariam, debutante Micah Kogo, and Desisa. Shalane Flanagan and Jason Hartmann led the American charge with 4th-place finishes. The American men, thanks to Daniel Tapia and Craig Leon, place 3 in the top 10!

Race Recaps/News:

• LRC We Covered It Live With 2 Different Blogs:
  *Live Boston Message Board Thread
  *Coveritlive Coverage
• IAAF Recap
• Competitor Women's Recap: Some Interesting Quotes From The Chase Pack As Anna Dulce Felix Gapped Them Eventual 3rd placer Sharon Cherop on what she said to countrywoman/eventual winner Rita Jeptoo: "Let us move forward. These ladies may end up winning the race. They have already gone far. I was so worried," Jeptoo replied, "I'm not going now." *Men's Recap
• AP Recap Flanagan: "The hardest part about Boston is the Bostonians want it just as bad as we do, which really tugs at our heart. We all want it too. We want to be the next Joanie." *2nd AP Article
• Shalane Flanagan Post-Race: "What we all dream about as athletes is winning and Kara and I really wanted to win this for everyone ..." ... "I really wanted to thank them and I was hoping a laurel wreath was the way to thank them."
• Good Post-Race Video With Goucher Talking About The American Drought In Boston And What's Ahead For Her
• RW: Notable Names In The Results: How Joan Benoit Samuelson, Shalene's Sister And Others Fared 1968 champ Amby Burfoot was about 3/4 of a mile away from a 4:26 finish when he was among the first runners diverted from the course after the explosions.
• World Marathon Majors Update 2012-2013: WMM Series Leaderboards Post-Boston Tsegaye Kebede and Wilson Kipsang are tied for the lead for the men and Rita Jeptoo leads for the women.
• Japan's Hiroyuki Yamamoto And US's Tatyana McFadden Win Boston Wheelchair Races
  
  Boston On The Boards:

• Lesisa Desisa Wins Boston 3 Months After Winning Dubai (And $200,000)
• Jason Hartmann deserves more respect
• Why was Boston so slow?
• Joan Benoit Samuelson - new Masters World Record?!
• You know it had to be asked: how would a healthy Ryan Hall done in today's Boston Marathon?
• I would rather be a mediocre runner and look muscular than win the Boston marathon and look like a skeleton
• Daniel Tapia!!! Couldn't Break 10 for 2 Mile in HS, 9th at Boston!!!
• Live Boston Message Board Thread

We Hope You Read Our Preview As We Nailed Both Races Perfectly And Told You "If you read one piece all year here, this is the one you have to read."

LRC 2013 Boston Marathon Preview: We Break Down The Field And Try To Make You Look Good At The Office On Monday If you read one piece all year here, this is the one you have to read. On Monday, everyone in the office will ask you what is going to happen and you'd better be able to sound like a running expert or your reputation will be ruined. Sadly, we say the American men have ZERO chance for victory and say don't expect Shalane to end the US drought that dates to 1985.

LRC World XC Photo Gallery

The Horror In Boston *One Fund Boston Charity *Channel 7 News Update (Video) *Video Of Explosion *CNN Photos (Warning: Some Intense Images) *Boston Race Photos

• LRC LetsRun.com Gets Credit For Helping Clearest Photo of Boston Marathon Suspect Go Viral
  
• Daily Mail: How Internet sleuths found crucial marathon picture first
• NY Times: "One posted it in a running forum, from where it went viral"
• UK 'quadruple-checking' London Marathon security
• Boston blasts remind Ugandans of 2010 twin blasts that killed 74 at rugby match
• Former 'Nova star & 1996 US Olympian Vicki Huber Rudawsky Writes About Boston and Atlanta Bombings
• London planning many tributes to Boston including 3 moment of silence
• Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney who oversaw compensation funds for victims of the September 11, will head out giving One Fund money
• Amby Burfoot, Boston 72 Hours Later

Eventually, they get caught

MB: 2004 Olympic 200 Champ Shawn Crawford Gets 2-Year Doping Ban It's not a surprise that Crawford, who worked with Trevor Graham but was never busted, is now out for 2 years for missing 3 drug tests. *WADA Statement *More

Non Boston/London News

• White Lightning Christophe Lemaitre to race Justin Gatlin and Ryan Bailey in 100m at Penn Relays
• Outdoor USATF Championship Series kicks off with USA vs. the World at the Penn Relays
• A preview of a busy weekend for Japanese runners - some in London, some at Mt. Sac and Yuki Kawauchi in another marathon.
• Oscar P 'not welcome' at anniversary games at London's Olympic Park this year
• Track and Field - The World's Most Global Sport - Record 205 Nations Have Entered 2013 World Champs
• Oregon and Arkansas excited for this weekend's dual meet
• Expected Diamond League stars Allyson Felix and Veronica Campbell-Brown speak to media about 2013
• Ryan Whiting threw 21.65m at Kansas Relays

Previous Boston Bombing News

• FBI Releases Photos, Video Of 2 Suspects Message board thread.
• Runners Plastered On Front Page Of NY Post As Possible Suspects Are Two Legit Runners The media has been botching the investigation left and right, but no one has botched it worse than the Post. More here and here.
• How You Can Help: One Fund Boston Established To Raise Money For Families Affected By The Boston Bombings
  *You Can Also Buy A Boston 2013 T-Shirt Where All Profits Go Towards One Fund
  *RW: How To Help Or Show Support For Boston Includes list of everything from donations to memorial runs.
• AP Article On Third Boston Bombing Victim, BU Chinese Graduate Student Lu Lingzi Her parents described her death as a "dagger in our hearts."
• Yankee Fans Pay Tribute To Boston By Singing Red Sox's Anthem, "Sweet Caroline" During Game At Yankee Stadium After the 9/11 attacks, Boston was singing "New York, New York."
• Tribute Paid To Boston Marathon Victims And First Responders During Boston Bruins Game With Moment Of Silence And Special Video Includes moving video of whole stadium singing the national anthem.
• Raptors, Celtics Pay Tribute To Boston Marathon Victims Prior To Tipoff
• Bill Rodgers: "It's such a human sport. I don't think these bombers get that - that when they attack the Boston Marathon, they don't just attack America. They attack all the countries with runners in the marathon."
• Ken Goe: "Why attack a joyous celebration of human achievement? That's what terrorists do." "To go ahead and live life without reservation in full understanding of the uncertainties and the possibilities is the kind of courage that makes the ultimate difference."
• Wesley Korir: "My attitude to marathons will never change but my attitude to life may change."
• Friend Of Heat Guard Ray Allen Among Those Injured In Boston Attack The family was among those who lost a leg and that another friend owned the restaurant that employed the 29-year-old woman who was killed.
• 1968 Boston Champ Amby Burfoot Was At 25.5 Miles When He Had To Stop; Shares Experience In The Crowd Of Confused Runners Halted So Close To The Finish
• After Blasts, Chris Rupe, M.D. Went From Marathoner To Medic 30 Seconds After Finishing His First Boston
• Animal Rights Activists Outraged After Sochi Officials Announced They Would Kill More Than 2,000 Stray Cats And Dogs Before 2014 Winter Olympics To "Ensure The Safety Of Visitors"
• Jamaican Team Concerned With Security Ahead Of Penn Relays Some parents are hesitant to send their children.
  
  Investigation News:
• Investigators Hunting For A Man Seen Dropping A Bag In Department Store Surveillance Video And In A Finish Line Image
• Federal Officials Deny That Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Is In Custody
• FBI Seen Searching Apartment Seeking Clues In Attack
• Country On Edge: In The Wake Of The Boston Marathon, Security Has Upped Nationwide Against Other Possible Threats Including another Bomb threat in Boston's federal courthouse, suspicious packages being investigated, and preliminary tests showed letters sent to President Obama and Senator Roger Wicker contained the poison ricin.

International News

• Yuki Kawauchi Wins Honjo Waseda No Mori Half Marathon In 1:06:28 Despite making A Wrong Turn This race marked the beginning of an eight-week stretch that will see him run nine races, his next being the Apr. 21 Nagano Marathon.
• Asafa Powell's Agent Says He Still Has Appeal For Race Directors Despite Constantly Dropping Out With Injuries His agent said, "Of course there is some concern when we do deals with meets and people ask if he is going to show up healthy or if he is going to finish the race healthy, but a lot of athletes have that issue."
• One Of The Things Mo Farah Enjoys Most About Living In Portalnd Is Not Being Noticed He says in the UK, "You're out pushing the kids and people want pictures. They're the people who come out and support you, so you want to give them time. But sometimes when you're in a rush or you want to get something done, it isn't easy."
• Episode 9 Of IAAF Inside Athletics: Ato Boldon Answers "Fan Mail"

Previous Boston Bombing News

• Spirited 8-Year-Old And Outgoing 29-Year-Old Woman Among Boston Marathon Victims Article on two of the three fatalities and updates on the many of the other injured.
• Chinese Consulate Just Announced 3rd Person Killed In Boston Was A Chinese National
• Joan Benoit Samuelson: "I feel as though our community has been violated in a violent and senseless way."
• Statement From Thomas Grilk, Executive Director Of The Boston Athletic Association "Boston is strong. Boston is resilient. Boston is our home. And Boston has made us enormously proud in the past 24 hours. ... We are committed to continuing that tradition with the running of the 118th Boston Marathon in 2014."
• NY Times: Bring On The Next Boston Marathon "Wash the sidewalk, wipe away the blood, and let whoever did it know that while they have sickeningly maimed and killed some of our brothers and sisters, they have left no trace on our society or way of life."
• Reactions From Track World, Including Paula Radcliffe, Haile G And IAAF President Liame Diack  Liame Diack: "This ghastly and cowardly attack strikes at the very core of the freest of human activities. Whether as a fun runner or elite competitor, road running exemplifies the honestly of basic human movement, strength and resilience."
• President Obama Calls Boston Bombings An Act Of Terrorism
• Federal Agents Say Kitchen Pressure Cookers Packed With Explosives And Lethal Shrapnel Were Used In Bombings
• Reflections On A Senseless Tragedy: "Americans have always proven to be resilient and Marathon Monday in Boston may not mean the same thing in the future, but the important part is that it will continue."
• Instinctive Running: Some Kept Running To The Finish, Others Started Running Towards The Danger
• College Coach Says He Saw Bomb Sniffing Dogs And Greater Than Normal Security Before The Start There were multiple announcements saying it was just a training exercise. *MB Thread
• Spectators And Runners Share Their Experience During The Attack One said, "It's just a loss of innocence."
• Russian Sport Officials Say They Will Be Increasing Security At This Summer's World Championships In Wake Of Boston Bombing
• Even Smaller Marathons And Races Will Start Looking Into Increasing Security