May 18, 2016 Homepage Archive

Where Your Dreams Become Reality

Archived Homepage For May 18, 2016

Quote Of The Day

“I realize it could end tomorrow. My goal is to keep going as hard as I can reasonably. Some people say, ‘There’s no way; you get no rest.’ I heard it when I was running those 100 milers, back in my 20s. ‘By the time you’re 35, you’re going to be shot.’ ‘By the time you’re 40, you’re going to be shot.’ ‘By the time you’re 50, you’re going to be shot.’ And now they’ve stopped saying that.”

– 55-year-old masters runner Fred Zalokar talking about his longevity in the sport. Zalokar has won his age group in 5 out of 6 World Marathon Majors and hopes to complete the sweep in Tokyo. For his latest win (2:39:50 in London), his buildup included a two-month stretch averaging 150 miles a week.

Week That Was

LRC The Good, The Bad And The Ugly From The Conference Meets; Big $ On The Roads, Fast US High Schoolers And The Great Kenenisa BekeleWe praise the Arkansas Razorbacks, have some insight into the incredible Kenenisa Bekele, look at some nice road win$, including a dominant one by Ben Blankenship, plus some high school news and some insight on the Rio track.

RIP:Two-Time Olympian And Former Ohio State Coach Mamie Rallins Has Died In A Car Crash At 74 Years Old Rallins competed in the 80m hurdles and 100H at the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Games. *USATF Mourns Loss Of Mamie Rallins

Injury Woes And Comebacks

Glen Mills Says Usain Bolt Should Be Fine To Compete In Ostrava On Friday Bolt is in Germany to get treatment for his hamstring.
Sally Pearson Will Make Return To The Track Next Month A Year After Breaking Her Wrist Her first race back will be the Birmingham DL meet on June 5th.
Jessica Ennis-Hill Will Make Injury Comeback At Loughborough Meet On Sunday

Huge Training News From Kenya / RIP To A Legend

Athletics Kenya Comes To Its Senses – They Will Let Marathoners Train Separately For Rio Olympics This is a big development as in the past they’ve forced the athletes to train in national training camps, away from their normal coaches.
*MB: Raise the white flag: Kenya won’t force marathoners to train together – Rupp should do the 10k in Rio!
Famed Ethiopian Distance Coach Dr. Woldemeskel Kostre – Man Who Coached Geb, Bekele And Tulu – Dies At Age 69
*Was Ethiopia’s head coach for 25 years
*MB: RIP to the greatest coach ever? Woldemeskel Koster – guy coached Haile G, Kenny B, T. Dibaba, and Tulu!!!
IAAF Asks, “Can Faith Kipyegon Now Challenge Genzebe Dibaba After Stunning Win In Shanghai?” We’re never betting against a 3:50 female unless they are injured. G. Dibaba is injured. It could be interesting as Kipyegon is AMAZING.

2016 Pre Classic Is Next Weekend

We’ll Find Out How Much Her Injury Set her Back:2016 Pre Classic W 5,000 Is Gonna Be Awesome – G. Dibaba Versus Molly Huddle, V. Cheruiyot, Kipyego And More
Bromell, De Grasse And Ibarguen Among The Latest Names For Birmingham DL

Sammy – You Are Missed

NCAA Action Galore All Conference MeetsAll NCAA Results

PAC-12: *Results
Devon Allen And Hannah Cunliffe Lead The Oregon Ducks To Another SweepIzaic Yorks ran 3:39.14 to beat a solid 1,500 field with Matthew Maton 2nd (3:39.97) and Sean McGorty 5th. Elise Cranny took the women’s in 4:17, Raevyn Rogers dominated the 800 (2:02.41) and Colby Gilbert won the 5K in 13:35 over Morgan Pearson (13:36).
Stanford Wins PAC-12 Men’s 4 X 400 For First Time Since 1954
Oregon Men And Women On Pace To Sweep PAC-12 AgainEdward Cheserek got back to winning by taking the 10K in 28:58. UW’s Aaron Nelson (8:39) and Colorado’s Erin Clark (9:48) won the steeples.
Video Interview With Cheserek Talks about struggling with a hamstring and calf injury and says the goal here was to get the Regional time.

ACC:*Full Results
Virginia Tech Men And Florida State Women Nail Down ACC Titles Distance winners included Henry Wynne (1,500), Thomas Curtin (5K/10K double), Louisville’s Edwin Kibichiy 8:34.46 in the steeple over Zak Seddon (8:34.85), NC State’s Megan Moye (1,500 – 4:11), VA Tech’s Hanna Green (800 – 2:02), BC’s Danielle Winslow (steeple – 9:57).
Day Two Report
MB:Molly Seidel Will Miss NCAAs With A Sacral Stress Fracture*Tweet From Seidel
MB:Holy cow: Virginia Tech places 1-7 in Men’s Pole Vault at ACC Championships In the men’s 10k, Thomas Curtin used a 55.4 final lap to beat Luis Vargas and Justyn Knight. Molly Seidel didn’t run the women’s race.

SEC:*Results
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake Wins Triple Crown (100, 200, 4 X 100) At SECs And Misses British 200m Record By .01 His 19.95 makes him just the third Brit to dip under 20 seconds.
*Emotional Interview With Mitchell-Blake*LSU Article
Arkansas Men And Women Clinch SEC Conference Titles
MB:Donavan Brazier nearly equals indoor best by running 1:$46.1 in SEC final

IC4A/ECAC:Results Former prep star Eddie Owens has won the steeple in 8:46.

High School Action

Midweek Action – 2016 IAAF Challenge Beijing *Race Videos

LRC Complete Results: 2016 IAAF World Challenge Beijing Two American men picked up wins in seasonal bests – Justin Gatlin (9.94) and Aries Merritt (13.24) – while pole vaulter Sam Kendricks was even better as he got a new PR and world lead (19’5″). Other world leaders included Majd Eddin Ghazal in the HJ (7′ 8¾”), Bin Dong in the TJ (56′ 6¾”), and Wenxiu Zhang in the women’s hammer (75.58m). Plus Ezekiel Kemboi won the steeple, Erik Sowinskialmost won the 800 and Nick Symmonds struggled in the 800.
*IAAF Recap Of Beijing: Ghazal Surprises With HJ World Lead, Kendricks Soars 19’5″; Hellen Obiri Wins 1,500, Ezekiel Kemboi Wins Steeple As Erik Sowinski Almost Wins 800
*MB: IAAF Challenge Beijing Official Thread
*MB: Erik Sowinski 1:45:81
*Race Videos

Oxy & Ostrava Are Friday – Rabat Is Sunday – Previews Coming Soon
*MB: Trouble in NOPland? Rupp SCRATCHES the 5000m at Oxy.
*Usain Bolt Promises He’ll Run Fast On Friday In Ostrava If The Weather Is Good, Wants A 9.8 He says his tight hamstring is feeling great.

Some Potentially Major Doping News

31 Athletes From Six Sports Could Be Banned From Rio After IOC Re-Test Of Frozen 2008 Beijing Samples The IOC target-tested 454 samples from Beijing, focusing on athletes that could be in Rio. They also re-tested 250 samples from London 2012 and those results will be announced soon.
*MB:IOC busts 31 athletes from 2008 Olympics!
*The Telegraph Article
NY Times:The US Justice Department Has Started Investigation Into Russian State-Sponsored Doping In order to establish jurisdiction, prosecutors will go after those who facilitated unclean competition in the US or used the US banking system. *Discuss
Six Arrests Made In Long-Running Investigation Into Doping In The Moroccan Athletics Federation No athlete names have been released yet.
Maria Sharapova Meldonium Case To Be Heard By Anti-Doping Panel In London Today Some experts have predicted her ban will be 6 to 12 months rather than the max 4 years.
*Verdict In Sharapova Meldonium Case Not Expected Until Next Month Sharapova admitted to using meldonium after it was banned and her levels are thought to be higher than the one microgram limit.
IOC President Thomas Bach Writes Open Letter About Sochi Drug Allegations“Should the investigation prove the allegations true, it would represent a shocking new dimension in doping …”
WADA Promises Full Public Report Into Sochi 2014 Doping Allegations

Upcoming Action On The Track And Road

Sunday:Provisional Entry Lists For Sunday’s Rabat Diamond League Meet
May 28:Pre Classic 100: Young Stars Andre De Grasse And Ameer Webb Take On The “Old Guard” In Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell And Mike Rodgers
June 2:World Champions Ezekiel Kemboi, Caterine Ibarguen (TJ) And Christina Schwanitz (SP) Latest Stars Named For Rome DL Kemboi will face Conseslus Kipruto, Brimin Kipruto and Jairus Birech.
June 5th:Amy Cragg And Shalane Flanagan Will Headline Rock ‘N’ Roll San Diego Half

The US’s 1st-Ever Street Meet Is In Boston In 1 Month

LRCMeet Director Mark Wetmore Explains Why The adidas Grand Prix Moved From New York To Boston And Became The US's 1st-Ever Street Meet

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh also was on hand to pump up excitement for the United States' first-ever street meet, which will be free for all on the Boston Common.

LRCMaurice Greene Thinks Usain Bolt Is Not Going To Be Beaten In 2016, Says The Sky Is The Limit For Trayvon Bromell, And Says He Knows How To Fix The US's 4 X 100 Relay Woes

But does he think Dennis Mitchell should be fired?
*Trayvon Bromell To Race 150m At Friday’s Street Meet In The UK – The Great City Games In Manchester

Sprint News / If You Are Religious, Please Pray That Bolt Isn’t Hurt

Bolt’s Coach Says He Got Treatment For “Slight Discomfort” After His Race, But He’ll Be Fine We’ll find out if that’s true as he’s supposed to race again on Friday in the Czech Republic.
Athletics Weekly Ranks The Top 10 Races Of Usain Bolt’s Career
Justin Gatlin Doesn’t Rule Out Doing 2020 Olympics
Elaine Thompson Is Not Freaked Out By Her Recent 10.71 Windy 100m
Janieve Russell Says 54.61 400H – 2016 World #2 – Is Just The Beginning Just 22, she was 5th at Worlds last year.

The Latest Corruption News From Kenya, Russia And Japan

We Didn’t See This Article Coming: WTF?Wesley Korir Calls For Arrest Of Professional Athletics Association Of Kenya’s Organizing Secretary For Helping Journalists Find “Bogus Runners” To Make Up Doping Claims Korir believes that some journalists are paying Kenyans to make stuff up and dope so they’ll have a story to tell. The Organising Secretary fired back that Korir was put on the Olympic team so he’d be a mouthpiece that defends AK at all cost.
Russian Spokesman Says He Wishes Rodchenkov – The Man Who Told All To NY Times – Could Be Criminally Charged For Doping Russian Athletes “It is a great pity that until now our legislation has not considered criminal responsibility for using doping. If this is what he did, then this is what he should be tried for.”
Russian Sorts Minister Vitaly Mutko Says He And Many Athletes May Sue Rodchenkov For Defamation
Japan’s Prime Minister Vows To Cooperate With Tokyo 2020 Bribe Investigation As Papa Diack Denies Wrongdoing

Distance Stars From The Past

Book Review: Peter Snell And The Kiwis Who Flew“(It) is at least as worthy as any book on the great golden era of New Zealand Running, if not, it is simply the best and a highly recommended read.”
Q&A With Mara Yamauchi – The 2nd-Fastest British Marathoner In History – Who Thinks Coaches And Agents Should Be Banned When Athletes Get Popped For Doping

Shot Put News

Q&A With World Indoor Champ Michelle Carter She began her sporting career as a soccer goalie.
Kiwi Tom Walsh To Train With Rivals Ryan Whiting And Reese Hoffa In Arizona

Sprints/Jumps: Bolt Opener

LRC No Need To Panic, Bolt Fans – Usain Bolt Opens Season With 10.05 100m At Cayman Invitational With video. Bolt opened with a 10.09 in 2013 at this same meet. In other action at this meet, Kendra Harrison ran 12.42 in the hurdles, giving her the 3 fastest times in the world in 2016, and Jenna Prandini got the 100 /200 double (11.16 / 22.63). *IAAF Recap

Tyson Gay Runs 10.03 Twice At NTC Pure Athletics Meet
Marquise Goodwin Soars To 8.45m Long Jump World Lead
Asafa Powell (10.04) LaShawn Merritt (20.15) And Kirani James (44.15) Pick Up Wins At Meet In The CaribbeanEnglish Gardner ran 11.04 to win the 100 and Kristi Castlin (12.69) and Ronnie Ash (13.13) ran quick times to win the sprint hurdles.
Chaunte Lowe Sets HJ World Lead With A 1.96m Victory At Rio Test Event It was the highest she’s jumped since clearing 1.97m in 2014.

International Distance Results

World Half Champ Peres Jepchirchir (32:15) And Defending Champ Mosinet Geremew (28:36) Win TCS World 10K In Hot And Humid Conditions Start time temperature was nearly 91F (33C) and 90 percent humidity.
Bahrain’s Eunice Kirwa (68:55) And Patrick Mwaka (61:51) Win Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon
Running Through Illness, South Africa’s Irvette van Zyl Wins Cape Town 12K
Kenya’s Dominic Kangor (2:11:45) And Ethiopia’s Shitaye Gemechu (2:38:40) Win Lattelecom Riga Marathon
Eritreans Dominate Nittai University Time Trials In Japan Ayuko Suzuki (15:26), Kokob Ghebru Abraha (28:38) and Teklit Teweldebrhan Tesfable (13:24) were the winners.

The Negative Side Of The Sport

An Apology? Russia Must Be Getting Desperate:Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko Says Russia Is “Sorry” And “Ashamed” About Doping Crisis More arguments from Mutko about how “clean Russians” shouldn’t be punished, but he takes a much more diplomatic tone than usual.
Seb Coe Visits Rio Olympic Track; Won’t Speculate On Russia’s Participation “I’m going to wait for the task force to come and report back to us.”
Singapore Anti-Corruption Department Assisting French Investigation Into Tokyo 2020 Payments
Little Margin For Error As Rio 2016 Subway To Open Just 4 Days Before Olympics
One Positive: IAAF: World Athletics Day Celebrated By Youth Far And Wide

Random Running News

Good Read:Masters Runner Fred Zalokar Shooting For Age-Group Sweep Of The World Marathon Majors 55-year-old Zalokar has won his age group at five of six WMMs with a best of 2:34 at age 50. He ran 150-mile weeks leading up to his most recent win in London.
British Racewalker Challenges Runners To Run 5K Faster Than He Can Walk ItTom Bosworth has a walking 5K PR of 18:54, so they’ll have to run 6:05 pace to beat him. Those that beat him get free entry into the Great South Run.
Video:Former Beer Mile WR Holder Jim Finlayson Sets Beer Two-Mile Record At 11:39 8 laps, 8 beers.

Sunday / Monday US Track Action Results: Portland Twilight*Swarthmore

MB: 16-year-old Kate Murphy guns down Marielle Hall – Runs 4:14.26 at Swarthmore – #6 all-time
*Race Video
MB: 3:37.75 for Awad at Swarthmore. 0.01 off the NCAA lead In a race rabbited by Nick Willis, Awad got his OTrials qualifier in a race was won by David Torrence, who picked up the Olympic Games standard of 3:36.20 with a 3:36.02. Julian Mathews also got Olympic standard as Hamish Carson missed it by .05.
*Race Video
*Julian Matthews Clinches Kiwi Olympic Spot With 2nd Place Showing
Portland Twilight:Kate Grace Runs 2:00.05 To Win Over Alexa Efraimson (2:00.99)Lopez Lomong, Treniere Moser and Jordan Hasay were among the other pros who competed.

2016 Bay To Breakers

“Texas” Man Isaac Mukundi Wins Bay To Breakers In 35 Minutes, 23 Seconds We guess the liberals out West don’t want to state the obvious – he’s Kenyan – as every article we’ve read has called him a Texas man. Caroline Chepkoech won the women’s race.
More Naked Runners Show Up At Bay To Breakers, Which Pleases Many
Residents Stand Guard To Make Sure Racers Don’t Snort Cocaine And Pee In Their Foyers

Rio Is Ready – Are You?

MB: American Brandon Johnson places third in Rio test event in 1:46.12.
Seb Coe Attended Event After Taking Subway And Predicts Olympics Will Be A Huge Success “Don’t for one moment overlook the unique spirit of this city, it’s an extraordinary city and it will absorb the Games. I think people will be surprised by the spirit these Games will generate.”
After Taking Subway To The Event, C oe Says Track Was Fast And Predicts Athletics World Records Will Fall
Interesting: Chaunte Lowe Paid Her Own Way To Rio For Test Event And Says It Was Well Worth It As She Learned A Lot About The Track Surface
*Chaunte Lowe Loved Rio: “I have to say I love Rio! I felt safe, had fun and ate great food!”
*Chaunte Lowe Set HJ World Lead With A 1.96m Victory
Rio 2016 Olympics: Australian Athletes To Be Given Anti-Zika Virus Condoms As “A Common Sense Approach” In a cost saving move, male distance runners won’t be given any as officials know they’ve got no chance of needing to use them 😉
British Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith Isn’t Very Worried About Zika “You can’t live in fear of the unknown, otherwise you do nothing, just stay inside in your house.”

Meet The Bernard Lagat Of The Discus 44-Year-Old Virgilijus Alekna – The 2000 And 2004 Olympic Discus Champ – Still Competing For Lithuania

2016 Shanghai DL Full ResultsTV & Streaming*Meet Preview By LetsRun.com

MB: Official 2016 Shanghai DL Live Discussion Thread *Full Results

LRC A Diamond League Debacle: David Rudisha Beaten By Four Men; Nick Symmonds Runs 1:48 In Farce Of Men’s 800 In Shanghai Rudisha had a good excuse for his loss. The same can’t be said for Nick Symmonds. Find out what we are talking about.

The Rest Of The Meet LRCFaith Kipyegon Crushes It In Women’s 1,500; A Fast Women’s Steeple; A Sub-13 Men’s 5k And Much More In the first DL women’s 1,500 of the year, Jenny Simpson fans have reason to worry as Faith Kipyegon smashed the Kenyan national record. Justin Gatlin was utterly dominant as well, Muktar Edris was great in the 5,000, Omar McLeod went sub-13, Americans Sam Kendricks and Kurt Roberts picked up their first DL victories, and more.

VCB Disappointed With 200m Runner-Up Finish, Saying She Needs To Listen To Her Coach And Not Be A “Workaholic” In Training
IAAF:Sam Kendricks Gets Surprise PV Victory Over Renaud Lavillenie; Sandra Perkovic Breaks Discus MR
IAAF:Despite Two False Starts, Omar McLeod Keeps Cool And Storms To A Sub-13 Clocking McLeod ran 12.98 for his third world lead in the last three races.
IAAF:Classy Faith Kipyegon Sets 1,500 NR

Shanghai On The Message Board:

The “Blade Debate”

IAAF Will Decide On Criteria For Paralympic Athletes In June German long jump paralympian Markus Rehm wants to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, but will have to prove his blade doesn’t give him an advantage.
GB’s Paralympic Medalist Stef Reid Joins The “Blade Debate” And Says The Wrong Question Is Being Asked “The notion that single leg amputees have an advantage is ridiculous. The question we should be asking is whether the performance is comparable.”