If It's Not Broke, Fix It Anyway
– Alberto Salazar talking about how he’s working on changing Mo Farah‘s form to make him more efficient at the marathon.
Week That Was
LRCNijel Amos Having Fun Or Spiraling Out Of Control, The Ultimate Runner's Funeral, Moving Back USAs, And A Great (Short) Running Movie
This week we catch up with the greatest teen sensation in 800 history, Nijel Amos, and wonder if he should be compared to Usain Bolt or Sammy Wanjiru, urge USATF to move back USAs, talk about the greatest funeral for a runner in history, and introduce you to a great new running movie. Plus we continue to be amazed by the Japanese, and quips from Alan Webb, EPO drug cheat Christian Hesch, Wilson Kipsang, Alberto Salazar, Seb Coe and others.
Top-Ranked Prep Sarah Baxter Commits To Run For Oregon Baxter: “It’s just a feeling I got. I could see myself going there for the next four years … To be around such big names in the running community was amazing.”
*MB: Sarah Baxter to Oregon
*MB: Will Oregon be better for Sarah Baxter than it was for Jordan Hasay
The Stars Of Track And Field Are Beautiful People … IAAF Awards Gallery Photo (Click Here For 200+ Photo Gallery)
Interesting News
- Free Training Advice: Scientist Trent Stellingwerf: “Just swilling sports drink in your mouth and spitting it out and consuming nothing, compared to swilling artificial sweetener, can improve 30 to 60 minute time trial performance by 2 to 3%!” He also talks about “the belief effect.”
- Boston Marathon Opens Up Special Spots For Those Who Write 250-Word Essay Saying How They Were Impacted By Bombings
- Mary Cain Was So Good With Media In Monaco, Rick Simms Jokes She Should Host Media Training Sessions For Other Elites That is good news to hear as she is the future of the sport in the US.
- 2000 Olympic Marathon Gold Medallist Gezahegne Abera Has Opened Hotel In Hawassa, Ethiopia
Other Top Weekend Action: Alan Webb Runs 23:10
- Imane Merga And Hiwot Ayalew Defend Their Titles Against Deep Fields At XC Race In Atapuerca, Spain Merga outsprinted Kenya’s Emmanuel Bett (2012 10K World leader) and Eritrea’s World XC bronze medalist Teklemariam Medhin to win by 1 second. World XC champ Japhet Korir was 6th. For the women World XC silver medalist Ayalew beat Linet Masai to win by 9 seconds. 5,000 World silver medalist Mercy Cherono was 3rd.
Alan Webb Disappointed After Finishing 7th Place In Richmond Road 8k (23:10) Webb: “Today was pretty bad. I got dropped. I tried to go for it, and those guys just ran away from me.”
*Results
*MB: ALAN WEBB 7TH PLACE @ RICHMOND 8k 23:10- Ethiopian Abebe Mekuriya (2:17:35) And Irina Alexandrova (2:39:06) Get The Wins At The Philadelphia MarathonNick Hilton was the first American, running 2:19:36 in his debut for 3rd as Amanda Marino was the first American woman in 5th (2:43:57).
- Two Sub-2:30s In One Day? Nope: Michael Wardian Wins Rock ‘N’ Roll San Antonio Marathon In 2:31:19, Heads To Second Start Line In Las VegasAbraham Rutto won the half marathon in 1:07:16 over Patrick Rizzo (1:08:10).
- *MB: Will Michael Wardian run two sub-2:30 marathons today? He ended up running 2:57:56 in Vegas.
- 2010 World Half Marathon Champion Wilson Kiprop Dominantes At Kass Marathon 12K Josephine Jepkoech won the women’s race.
*Little-Known Thomas Kiplagat (2:18) And Prague Half Marathon Champ Alice Chelang’at (2:40) Claim Victory At The Kass Marathon In Kenya
World Indoors Coming To America
Portland To Host 2016 World Indoor Championships
The World Indoor Championships are returning to the USA for the second time ever as Portland won the right to host World Indoors in 2016.
On The Boards:Indoor Worlds 2016 to Portland, OR
The New LRC
LRCWelcome To The Improved LetsRun.com
We’re proud to reveal today a new refined version of LRC. It’s still the same site you know and love, but with a cleaner design and lots of new features. Click here to read about the changes and give your feedback.
- Erik Speaks: The mysterious man behind the cleaner LetsRun.com speaks. He also reveals his 5k PR here.
- Athletics Illustrated Reviews LRC Renovation “It’s getting a makeover and it looks good, and familiar. Of all the changes that are being undertaken, remaining familiar is the smartest marketing stratagem they could make.”
NCAA XC Is Saturday *Schedule/Results*Live Stream – Men’s Race Starts @ 12PM ET
LRC2013 LRC NCAA Cross-Country Prediction Contest Powered By RunFanShop.com
Our world-famous prediction contest is back. Give us your top 10 teams and 10 individuals in the country and you could win $2013. Plus, our sponsor RunFanShop.com has great gift certificates for our winners. RunFanShop.com has recently released officially licensed NCAA licensed Track and XC Gear. If you want to just check out the shirts honoring Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma St., Oregon, Stanford or Wisconsin, click here.
LRCOklahoma State Coach Dave Smith: "We probably aren't the favorites or the best team out there."
Dave Smith's Cowboys return 4 of last year's top 5 and are looking to become a true dynasty but Smith says they are the underdogs.
LRC#1 Northern Arizona Coach Eric Heins: "I am confident in what my guys have done this year."
We caught up with Eric Heins from the birthplace of LRC, and asked him about the Saturday's clash with #2 Ok. State and #3 Colorado.
NCAA XC Is Saturday *Schedule/Results*Live Stream – Men’s Race Starts @ 12PM ET
LRCA Look At The Power Conferences In NCAA Cross-Country - The Ivy League Leads The Way?
In anticipation of Saturday's NCAA championships, we have crunched the numbers and the LRC super computer tells us the most powerful NCAA cross-country conference in the land is ... the Ivy League??? Say it ain't so. PAC-12 fans may disagree.
- RT Article On The Legacy Of Terre Haute’s Famous XC Course, Which Will Host NCAAs For The 9th Time In 11 Years “In western Indiana, a championship venue is the legacy of a family love affair with cross country.”
- NAU Has High Hopes As They Go Into NCAAs Ranked #1
- Oklahoma State Heads To Nationals Ranked #2 After Regional Win Coach Dave Smith: “At this point, the rankings don’t matter very much. We have to go out and prove it on Saturday. That’s a good thing. It’s an objective process and the best teams get to go.”
- Division I Regional Athletes And Coaches Of The Year Announced
- All 3 NCAA Divisions To Be Webcast Live
- Two New #1s In Rankings As We Head To NCAAs – NAU Men And Providence Women
- Recommended Read: Great Profile Of Wisconsin’s #2 Man And Super Walk-On – Michael Van Voorhis We told you about Voorhis weeks ago but loved this piece by Sarah Barker.
*Discuss
Worldwide Study Finds Today’s Kids Are Way Less Fit And Running Way Slower Than Their Parents Study analyzing records going back to 1964 finds that on average kids are running 1:30 slower in a one mile run than children 30 years ago. The results are attributed to increased body fat and lack of cardiovascular fitness.
International News
- Sally Pearson Wants To Double 100 Hurdles And The Flat 100m At 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
- Czech Race Walker Anezka Drahotova Is Also A Competitive Runner And Cyclist The 18-year-old was 7th in the 20K race walk in 2013 World Champs, but also ran a 10:10 steeple, 33:59 10K and competed at the World Cycling Championships, finishing 19th in the junior women’s race.
- Olympians Or Kindergarteners? Australians Face Being Sent Home From 2014 & 2016 Olympic Games If Found “Swaying, Staggering Or Having Rambling Conversations” In Olympic Village
- Russian Official Admits Pre-Olympic Timing Of Anti-Gay Law Was A Mistake
$100,000 .US Road Champs *Results
LRCMolly Huddle Sets 12-K World Best - Wins Inaugural .US Road Running Championships
Molly Huddle and Shalane Flanagan put on a show as both women better the previous world’s best for 12k at the inaugural .US 12k Championships. In the end, Huddle was too good and took home $20,000 and the world’s best. *Video Interview With Molly After Her World’s Best
On The Boards:Huddle’s World Best! :Where Does it Rank?
LRCAaron Braun Wins First US Title
Braun earned a big payday as he pulled away late after Abdi suffered a bad mid-race fall. Shadrack Biwott was second and won the 2013 USARC series over Matt Tegenkamp. Chris Solinsky was a DNF.
- LRC 2013 .US Road Race Photos
- More Coverage On The LRC .US Championships Page
WADA News
- IAAF President Lamine Diack Criticizes WADA For “Ridiculous” Campaign Against Jamaica And Kenya Diack: “Stop all this nonsense! I read in the newspapers and it was like a campaign against Jamaica and I think it was ridiculous. They are the most tested athletes in the world!”
- WADA Provisionally Suspends 2014 Sochi Games Lab In Moscow, Russia The lab faces suspension unless it significantly improves the reliability of its results by Dec. 1.
65-Year-Old SA Distance Legend Sonja Laxton Injured Badly In Hit-And-Run While Running Laxton, who won 70 national titles and broke 28 SA records in her prime, is not in critical condition, but will need multiple surgeries to repair her joints.
US News: The UK Hoping Salazar Will Give Them Another Mo Farah
Alberto Salazar Agrees To Help Coach UK Distance Runners As An Adviser To UK Athletics His involvement will be purely advisory rather than “hands on” and comes in the wake of UKA switching from adidas to Nike.- 35-Year-Old Sprinter Darvis “Doc” Patton Retires After 13-Year Career, Contemplates Move To Bobsledding Patton: “Right now, I’m just trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.”
*USATF.tv Video Tribute To Retiring Doc Patton - Michael Wardian Talks To RW About His Failed Attempt At Two Sub-2:30 Marathons In One Day He ran 2:31 to win RNR San Antonio and then 2:57 for the second one in Las Vegas.
- Black Distance Runners Hall Of Fame Inducts Inaugural Members First members include 1952 US Olympic marathoner Ted Corbitt and 1977 Boston Marathon runner-up Marilyn Bevans.
Why Wouldn’t They? IOC Medical Commission Chairman Arne Ljungqvist Says They Haven’t Decided Yet Whether To Test Frozen 2008 Olympic Samples With New Steroid Test And if you haven’t heard yet, this article mentions how under the new WADA code the statute of limitations in doping cases will be increased to 10 years starting in 2015.
Big Doping News
Daily MailWorld Exclusive:Lance Armstong Says UCI Head Helped Him Cheat His Way To Tour de France Titles Lance says that the head of the UCI, Hein Verbruggen, back-dated a prescription so he could get off for a positive for cortisone at the 1999 TDF.
- Hein Verbruggen Denies Allegations: “Since when does one believe Lance Armstrong?”
*Independent - New Drug Test Developed In Germany That Can Detect Steroids 6 Months After The Fact – Has Already Found Hundreds Of Previously Unreported Positives, IOC Promises To Re-Test Frozen Samples
- Press Release On New Testing Method Why do they tell people this again?
Weekend Action We Missed
More News From Europe
- Jessica Ennis-Hill On The Road To Recovery And Eyeing Commonwealths Gold
- Ennis-Hill: “The pressure is still there, it’s just different.”
- Isinbayeva Given Distinguished Career Award At IAAF World Atheltics Gala
- European Athletics – TV Audience Of 21 Million Watches European Athletics Team Championships
- UK House Of Lords Worried That “Legacy” Of 2012 Games Is Being Lost
More Weekend Results
- Kenyan Felix Kipkemoi Keny Wins Valencia Marathon In Spanish Soil Record Of 2:07:14 Ethiopia’s Azalech Masrecha won the women’s race in 2:27:01.
Kenya’s Patrick Terer Defends Title At Turin Marathon with 2:08:52. 40-year-old Italian Ivana Iozzia won the women’s race in 2:34:12. - Kenya’s Rebecca Chesire Beats 2008 Olympic 5,000 &10,000 Silver Medalist Elvan Abeylegesse To Win The Istanbul Marathon Chesire ran 2:29:05 to Abelyegesse’s 2:29:30. France’s Abraham Kiprotich won the men’s race in 2:12:28.
- Russia’s Albina Mayorova Wins The Yokohama Women’s Marathon In 2:25:55 She had almost a 3-minute gap over second place.
*IAAF Recap
One Of The Year’s Biggest Questions Has Been Answered: Cain Goes Pro
LRCMary Cain Turns Pro
Cain will continue to run under Alberto Salazar and attend college while competing as a professional.
*Discuss
*Mary Cain And Alberto Salazar Receive Awards At 2013 World Athletics Gala In Monaco Cain got the Female Rising Star Award and Salazar received the IAAF Coaching Achievement Award.
*MB: CAIN GOES PRO
*MB: This week’s sign of the Apocalypse: Mary Cain’s role model is Mary Decker
*Mary Cain Talks About Going Pro
LetsRun.com Founders Named as Two of “The 50 Most Influential People in Running”
Runners World Honors You and the Brojos
We like This Photo So Much We Leave it Up
Want a Better Running Shoe?
Beta Better Running Shoe Site
It’s Time to Change How We Find Running Shoes
American Strong: The Untold Story of How American Teamwork Helped Meb Keflezighi Win Boston
28,000+ Likes on Facebook
A Real Running Hero:
The Flo Groberg Story
Flo Has Now Won the Medal of Honor
