The World Marathon Majors Start Saturday (7pm ET) In Tokyo *Full Coverage Here

*MB: Breaking News. Geoffrey Mutai is out of 2015 Tokyo Marathon

LRC Men’s Preview: The Three Kings – Geoffrey Mutai, Stephen Kiprotich And Tsegaye Kebede – Have Something To Prove Vs. Defending Champ Dickson Chumba A year ago, a Geoffrey Mutai (2013 NY champ) / Kebede (2013 London champ) / Kiprotich (2013 World Champ) match-up would have been salivating. Now all 3 titans have something to prove against defending champ Dickson Chumba as Tariku Bekele makes his debut. In all, five sub-2:05 guys will toe the line on Sunday morning (Saturday night in U.S.).
*Stephen Kiprotich Upbeat Ahead Of Tokyo Marathon: “I am ready to compete on Sunday.” Kiprotich has had to try to train while mourning the loss of his “Olympic” baby daughter, who died on January 2nd.

Also Saturday:  IAAF Preview Of Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix: Mo Farah Gets His 2015 Season Underway In Birmingham
*MB: Lagat will BEAT Farah in Birmingham 2-mile
*MB: Mo Farah finally going for a world record?

News From Kenya

Great Read:Renato Canova Says Florence Kiplagat’s WR Was A Surprise Even For Him Last year, her #1 goal was the 13.1 WR with London Marathon 2nd. This year, the goal was the 15km WR but London is the goal as she needs to figure out if she should focus on marathon or 10,000 for 2016.

Doping News

•  2:26:00 Kenyan Marathon Runner Julia Mumbi Muragagiven Two-Year EPO Doping Ban The 29-year-old was the Japanese 800 and 1,500 HS champ in 2002 and 2003. *MB: More proof Kenyans doesn’t benefit from EPO doping
• Seb Coe Says IAAF Will Not “Dance On Grave” Of Russia Despite Doping Crisis, Won’t Ban Whole Country From Competition We almost want to see the ban to change the culture, but imagine if the USA was banned for Lance, Barry and Marion – the non-dopers would be outraged.
  *MB: Coe Already Whitewashing Russian Doping Scandal

Seb Coe Campaigning Hard For IAAF Head, Bubka Laying Low, Nowhere To Be Seen

News From Kenya: AK To Be Disbanded?

• Athletics Kenya To Be Dissolved With Paul Tergat As The New Head? A source has said that Kenyan Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario will dissolve AK and put in place “an interim committee comprising former athletes and professionals.”
• Top Kenyan Stars Urge Hassan Wario To Disband Top AK OfficialsWilson Kipsangand former Boston Marathon champ Moses Tanui lead the charge. *2nd Article
• Emily Chebet’s Manager Makes Excuses Explains Why The Two-Time World XC Champ Failed To Make The Kenyan Team They say it was a combination of allergies, hot weather and an “extremely long wait” in the pre-starting area.
• Kenyan National XC Champ Bedan Karoki Determined To Perform For His Country At World XC Champs After Skipping African XC Last Year

• Lolo Jones Elaborates On Her Opposition To The Movie “Fifty Shades Of Grey” “I just wish every woman knew she is worth more.”
• “Words Of Wisdom” From US 400 Runner Michael Tinsley “Tackle mental weakness, don’t take talent for granted and party less.”
• Brycen Spratling Named USATF Athlete Of The Week For Breaking 500 WR At Millrose
• Schedule Set For 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships; Tickets Go On Sale Friday

More T&F Drama / Gossip

• Olympian And Former TJ WR Holder Willie Banks Calls USATF Board Vote “Totally Unforgivable” Banks was a member of the board for 6 years until October. He said, “I have always tried to listen to the constituency before I voted. In this case I believe I would have voted for Bob Hersh.” *MB Thread
• Lolo Jones Slams “Fifty Shades Of Grey” “Funny how some people think there’s nothing wrong with 50 shades of Grey. God didn’t create sex for that purpose. Watch another movie.”
• Mary Cain Withdraws From The 1,500 At Saturday’s Birmingham Indoor GP For Health Reasons
• MB: Nick Symmonds Announces That He’ll Be On Season 7 of American Ninja Warrior It’s an obstacle game show and filming is just two days (March 13 and 14).
  *Sporting News: “The Bachelor ship has sailed.” Symmonds says he’s most focused on 2015 Worlds.

Doping Updates

• Talk About Making Something Out Of Nothing: World Champ Christine Ohuruogu Upset With Lamine Diack’s Comments About Sport Being In A Doping “Crisis” We don’t understand her issue. He agreed with the interviewer, who said the sport is facing a crisis. With all the doping cases and corruption allegations, does Ohuruogu actually think he should have said no?
• Russian Athletics Federation President Valentin Balakhnichev Steps Down From His Post, But Fires Shots At IAAF First “I want to ask the IAAF to create a fairer balance. When 90 blood tests are taken from Russian sportsmen and just nine are taken in Britain over the same period, this is unfair. The law of averages will work against us. It is unfair to concentrate all your attention on just a few countries.”
• Really Russia, Really?Russia Gives Resigned Head Coach Valentin Maslakov Top National Sprint Coach Job
• Opinion Piece: “Russian Turmoil Putting Pressure On IAAF” “Russian bullying and posturing seems part of the national psyche – a microcosm of Putin’s behaviour in Ukraine. … This is a country without moral integrity at every level, from the top down.”
• Summary Of IAAF Medical And Anti-Doping Media Conference Call Nothing big here, just assurances from the IAAF that they’re investigating Russia, but that everything has to be given due process.

LRC Remembering LRCer Van TownsendThe running world lost one of its bright lights this week with the death of Van Townsend.
*MB: RIP Van Townsend: Share Your Respects Here