May 22, 2018 | LetsRun.com

Week That Was

LRC WTW: David Rudisha Update, Israel’s 10,000m Star, Beer At Track Meets, PRs Of The Week And Being Aroused On LetsRun.com We know what half of you will be reading.

Two Recommended Reads

RR#1 Fantastic Read On Patrick Sang, Who Compares The High He Gets From Coaching To Being On Drugs He also offers his one key to coaching success, “The biggest teacher to me is the feedback mechanism from the athlete. It can take a few months, maybe even just one month, to learn that.”
RR #2 Jeff Hollobaugh Takes An In-Depth Look (4,000+ Words) At The Greatness Of The Florida Program And Head Coach Mike Holloway Holloway’s Florida men have been top 3 at NCAA for 9 straight years, winning 4 titles including the last 2. However, the women’s team is pretty good as well and for the first time in his 11 years coaching both teams, both teams won the SEC outdoor title in the same year. “It was amazing, man. Absolutely amazing.”
Also Interesting Ross Tucker Gives His Thoughts On Why Women Dropped Out Of The 2018 Boston Marathon At A Much Lower Rate Than The Men This post is from last month but we aren’t sure if we ever had it on the front page.

Sprint / Field News

Kenyan 400 Ace Maximilia Imali (51.18 PR) Will Become Kenya’s First Woman To Run A Sprint Event In A Diamond League Meet In Rome
Meet Tom Walsh’s Coach Dale Stevenson, Who Doesn’t Charge Him A Penny “The best thing we decided was I needed to get really good at asking questions, probing, and that’s probably the foundation of our relationship. We don’t have a written contract; we never will. I don’t take a cent from Tom; never will. We’re doing this because we want to and to build on some healthy foundations.”
Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart Was Emotional After Running Her Final Race In Jamaica Over The Weekend The 34-Year-Old, who won 100 silver in 2008, is calling it a career at age 34.

NCAA News

The Oregonian: Few Chances Left To Say Goodbye To Historic Hayward Field The stadium (as is) hosted its last Oregon state meet over the weekend, will host Pre this weekend, NCAAs in June and “then an era will end.”
*Register-Guard‘s Austin Meek: “The pride of Oregon is on display at Hayward Field.”
*Ken Goe: “Debate About The New Hayward Field Is Unlikely Ever To End”
Washington Head Coach Greg Metcalf Steps Down After “Having Agreed To A Mutual Separation With The University” Metcalf: “I have decided that it is in the best interest of the program for me to step down.”
*MB: Metcalf steps down from coaching at University of Washington
Men’s Pre-Regionals NCAA Rankings No changes to the top 4, with Florida, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Georgia on top. Oregon moved up to 5th.
Women’s Pre-Regionals NCAA Rankings Southern California and LSU still 1-2, but Georgia moved up from 5th to 3rd and Oregon from 3rd to 5th.
Event-By-Event Top-10 Marks From The NCAA Weekend
The Bowerman Post-Conference Champs Men’s Watch List
The Bowerman Award Post-Conference Champs Women’s Watch List

News From The IAAF

Valerie Adams To Serve As The Official Starter For The IAAF Run 24:1 Series The IAAF Run 24:1 is a series of 24 one-mile runs that will be contested around the world to celebrate Global Running Day on 6 June.
Need A Job? Paris 2020 European Championships Is Hiring
IAAF Ratifies 66:11 Women’s Only Half-Marathon WR By Netsanet Gudeta Kebede They also ratified Poland’s 3:01.77 men’s 4×400 record from World Indoors, although this isn’t the WR anymore as Texas A&M ran 3:01.39 for 2nd place at NCAA Indoors.
*MB: Only track could have a dumb rule like this. Texas A&M loses 4 x 400 but gets credited with the WR

Distance News

The Guardian: Mo Farah Claims He Was Frequently Drug Tested At His African Training Camps Farah says he was tested every two weeks when he was training in Ethiopia ahead of the London Marathon and that it included blood and urine. Doping aside, Farah reveals that he’ll most likely be running either NYC or Chicago in the fall.
Good Read: FastRunning.com: Is Jakob Ingebrigtsen Peaking Too Soon? Robbie Britton writes that Norway’s athletes have a “prerequisite for burnout” and compares Ingebrigsten’s path to US high school/college athletes.
Interesting Interview Format: Carrie Tollefson Talks With Gabriele Grunewald While On A Run Grunewald talks about coaching Chip Gaines for his first marathon and gives an update on her cancer treatment. They’re a little out of breath, but the audio is fine.

Manchester Great CityGames

Double World Silver Medalist Marie-Josee Ta Lou Beats Allyson Felix Over 150m At Manchester Street Race Ta Lou’s 16.60 was the seventh-fastest straight 150m of all-time. In the men’s 100, GB’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey ran 10.35 to beat Richard Kilty by .02.
Poland’s Damian Czykier Gets Surprise Win Over World Indoor Champ Andrew Pozzi And WR Holder Aries Merritt In Great CityGames 110H Bershawn Jackson won the 200 hurdles and said that the loss of his 53-year-old father in 2016 is behind his decision to retire (again) at the end of this year.
*Recommended Read: Article From February Where Bershawn Jackson Explains His Decision To Come Back For One More Year Jackson says he spoke with Bernard Lagat, Mo Farah, Sanya Richards and Justin Gatlin when seeking retirement advice.

NOP Returns To Chicago 2018

Galen Rupp Will Return To Defend His Title At The 2018 Chicago Marathon Jordan Hasay will be back as well after her third place 2:20:57 run last year.
*MB: Breaking: Galen Rupp WILL defend his Chicago Marathon title in 2018

More Doping Updates

WADA Maintain RUSADA Suspension After No Progress Made WADA director general Olivier Niggli said, “There was no need for a vote and there was no proposal. There is no change.”
European 5,000 Champ Ilias Fifa Among Banned For 4 Years For Doping Fifa is among five Spanish athletes to get a ban in connection with drug trafficking scandal Operation Chameri.
RUSADA Director General Wants Moscow Laboratory To Open So They Can Become Compliant Again Allowing access to the samples stored there is one of the requirements for reinstatement Russia still hasn’t met.
Kenyan Olympic Committee President Paul Tergat Calls For Action To End The “Cancer” Of Doping Tergat said, “We must stop sweeping it under the carpet under the guise of confidentiality and expose it for what it is.”
Former Indian Olympic Sprinter Anand Menezes Wants The Country To Do More To Eradicate Doping In The Buildup To The Asian Games He might want to check his info though as he said, “Apart from a ban, there is a provision of imprisonment to such athletes in America and Europe.”
RUSADA And The Russian Athletics Federation Sign Agreement To Help Prevent Anti-Doping Rules Violations The agreement includes ensuring access for doping control officials to all Russian sport venues.
Report Reveals That Athletes At The 2018 Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Were Worried About Sample Tampering Apparently a couple of athletes were so concerned they broke their sample bottles after screwing the lids too tightly.

At The Pre Classic This Weekend, Ajee Wilson Will Race Caster Semenya

LRC Ajee Wilson Hasn’t Thought Much About New IAAF Hyperandrogenism Regulations But Is “Glad” Caster Semenya Can Still Race For Now If the IAAF’s new hyperandrogenism rules stick, Ajee Wilson may be the biggest beneficiary but that’s not something she’s thrilled about. “I definitely know that I enjoy racing with them. I’m glad that they’re allowed to race still.”

NCAA D1 Regionals Are This Weekend & D2 & 3 Nationals D1 Info D2 Info *DIII Info

Meet Lisa Gunnarsson – Virginia Tech’s Freshman Pole Vault Prodigy The Swede, the best youth pole vaulter in history (who has lived in 5 countries and fluently speaks 3 languages), finds track and field way easier than gymnastics, which she quit at age 12.
Trackalerts Wonders If Michael Norman, Nathon Allen And Akeem Bloomfield Might All Go Sub-44 At NCAAs If they do it would be amazing as only one collegian has ever broken 44.00 in an NCAA meet and only twice has someone run a 43 and finished third in any 400.
What Did It Take To Qualify For NCAA Prelims? 2018 was the best year ever for the men’s steeple in the West (8:57.98) and women’s 800 in the East (2:07.96) and women’s 10k in the West (34:47). 800 on up only.

More Distance News

Recommended Read: Profile On Shanghai 800 Winner Wycliffe Kinyamal Kisasy, Who Plans To “Run Under 1:43 This Year” Interestingly, Kisasy started track and field in the high jump (PR around 2.00m) and actually started running to help his jumping.
MB: Desiree Linden Kissed By Taylor Swift Live On Billboard Music Awards
*Tweet From Chris Chavez With Video
RR: The Guardian Obituary For GB Runner Bruce Tulloh Who Famously Won The 1962 European 5000 Title Barefoot Tulloh, a sub-4 barefoot miler, had a very interesting running career as he broke the record for running across the United States by 8 days, taking 65 to complete the journey and spent time living with the Tarhumara Indians (made famous by the book, Born to Run).
MB: Boston Runner-Up Sara Sellers Now Sponsored By Altra
MB: High Schooler Brodey Hasty To Run International Mile @ Pre Classic This will be Hasty’s first outdoor mile, but he ran 4:00.05 indoor at Millrose.
Haile Gebrselassie Helps Inaugurate The World Health Organization’s “Walk The Talk Health For All Challenge” In Geneva
Video: Mo Farah Leads Manchester Bombing Anniversary Moment Of Silence Tribute
Caster Semenya: “I love myself and don’t care what people think of me.” “What I think of is the love that I get from my family, the love that I get from my friends, the love that I get from my nation.”
MB: Seattle runners. Cougar attack (fatality) in Washington: Same trail as the course used for downhill marathons?

Sprint Stuff

The Guardian: Sierra Leone Athlete Jimmy Thoronka Can Stay In The UK After Three-Year Legal Battle Thoronka was found living on the streets in the UK after competing and defecting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Ebola virus killed his mother and four siblings while he was out of the country leading him to a “chronic traumatized state.”
Good Read: IAAF Profile: “Poland’s Men’s 4 X 400 Relay Quartet – When The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts” A look at the team that upset Team USA to win World Indoor gold in a WR-setting time this past winter.
South African 100m Record Holder Akani Simbine Shares His Earliest Sprinting Memories And Explains His Love For The Sport Simbine first discovered his speed when playing soccer because his team’s strategy was to kick the ball over the defenders and let Simbine sprint it down and score.
BBC: Former British Olympic 4 X 100 Champion Darren Campbell Home From Hospital After Suffering Brain Bleed
*Darren Campbell “Relieved To Be Alive” After Brain Bleed The 44-year-old had to be resuscitated after having a seizure.
Allyson Felix: “Women are definitely not seen in the same light as men, especially in the sporting world … I hope that changes for the next generation.” Talking about her competitiveness, Felix said, “I never want to be satisfied with losing and I don’t feel that will ever change.”
Video Interview With GB Hurdler Andy Pozzi On Dealing With Mental Health As An Athlete

Night Of 10k PBs / European 10,000 Cup Results Facebook Page

Germany’s Richard Ringer Wins European 10,000 Cup Title At The Night Of 10,000 PBs Ringer ran 27:36.52 to beat out France’s Morhad Amdouni by just .28. Also noteworthy was the fact that three Brits broke the 28-minute barrier in the same race for the first time in 35 years with 20-year-old triathlete Alex Yee (27:51.94) beating out Andy Vernon (27:52.32) and Chris Thompson (27:52.56).
*European Athletics Recap: Judges It Brilliantly To Win Euro 10,000 Cup Title
*MB: 20-yr old British triathlete runs 27.51 for 10k in his debut (on a track)
Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter Wins European 10,000m Cup In World-Leading 31:33.03 Romania’s Ancuta Bobocel was 2nd (31:43) and GB’s Charlotte Arter 3rd (32:15).
*European Athletics Recap
Athletics Weekly Article On 20-Year-Old Triathlete Alex Yee Who Debuted In An Impressive 27:51 At The Night Of The 10,000m PBs Yee: “The triathletes are the hardest workers out of any sport and my training partners and housemates all invest 30-35 hours per week in training and don’t get the credit they deserve. So it’s nice to come here and show what we can do.”
European Athletics: The Night of the 10,000m PBs has the perfect formula to engage the masses

Meet The Guy Who Has Run Sub-3 For 30 Straight Years But Ran 3:04 In Boston And Was Happy About It

LRC 30 Years Of Sub-3:00 Marathons: Despite A Setback In Boston, Mark Cucuzzella Is Looking To Extend An Epic Streak 51-year-old mark Mark Cucuzzella has run a sub-3 hour marathon for 30 straight years. One month ago in Boston, Cucuzzella ran his first marathon over 3 hours in his life and yet was happy with the result. “It’s a privilege and a pleasure to be out there if you have a busy day job … [Bad conditions mean] there [are] more war stories to tell. And you learn more from a race like that than [one run in] 50 degrees and a tailwind …”
*MB: Guy who has run sub-3 for 30 straight years reveals the secret – Don’t run hard as “running hard beats the shit out of you”

The Week That Was Goes To College

LRC The Week That Was: NCAA Conference Madness, All Hail The SEC, A 15-Year-Old Runs 1:47 And The Hotel 4 X 100 The quality of the NCAA track and field action in the year 2018 is insane. It’s so good that collegiate superstars like Michael Saruni (1:43 PR), Grant Fisher (NCAA 5k champ), Justyn Knight (NCAA XC & more) and Karissa Schweizer (NCAA XC & more) all suffered losses at their conference championships last week.

Upcoming Diamond League Action

May 26: Justin Gatlin And Christian Coleman Headline Pre Classic 100m Also in the field are Ronnie Baker, Isiah Young and GB’s CJ Ujah.
May 26: World Champ Phyllis Francis Vs. Allyson Felix And Olympic Champ Shaunae Miller-Uibo In The Pre Classic 400m Also World Indoor champ Courtney Okolo.
May 31: 10 Diamond League Champions, 9 Word Champions And 8 Olympic Champions Will Compete At The Rome Diamond League Distance action will include Elijah Manangoi vs. Timothy Cheruiyot in the 1,500, Emma Coburn in the steeple with world champ Pierre Ambroise Bosse vs. world indoor champion Adam Kszczot in the 800.
June 30: World Champs Pierre-Ambroise Bosse And Caster Semenya Announced For Paris DL 800m

News From Europe

Callum Hawkins Will Race For 1st Time Since CG Collapse Against Mo Farah At Vitality London 10,000 Next Monday
15+ Minutes: Ato Boldon Interviews Belgium’s World And Olympic Heptathlon Cahmp Nafissatou Thiam
50 Days To Go Until World Juniors In Finland The Finns are trying to be environmentally friendly and will be giving the athletes tap water, not bottled water as their tap water is so clean it’s way cleaner than bottled water.
30% Of British Athletes Report They Have Seen “Unacceptable Behaviour” 17% of them say they’ve experienced.
Former European Indoor 3k Champ Bob Verbeeck Of Belgium, Now An Event Promoter, Says Athletics’ Strength Lies In Its Variety “Yes we’ll have the javelin going on the same time as a 100m or 10,000m, which are different sports fitting into one sport. But what we need to do is translate that better. We can’t have the assumption that people know what’s going on. As far as telling the story, we need to do a better job. Also it’s important how we mix in the ‘show element’ of the sport.”
Irish Marathon Olympian Lizzie Lee Says The Marathon Is Made For Older Women “Marathon is not a young women’s game. That’s because it is so mental as well as physical,” says the 37-year-old.
And Australia: 50 + Athletes Illegally Remain In Australia After Commonwealth Games Another 200 are trying to stay in some form or fashion in a legal manner.

2018 adidas Boost Boston Games *Schedule / Results

Day 2 LRC Shaunae Miller-Uibo Breaks 150m WR; Tori Bowie (11.05 100m) & Noah Lyles (14.77 150m) Grab Wins On the streets of Boston a world record (150m for women) and American record (women’s 200 hurdles) went down.

Day 1 LRC Drew Hunter Earns His Biggest Win To Date, Ajee Wilson & Charlene Lipsey Impress On Day 1 At adidas Boost Boston Games Hunter took down some big names to win the mile, while Wilson (1:59.27 800) and Lipsey (4:04.98 1,500) both posted US leaders. Plus Nick Willis explains why even if Asbel Kiprop doped (Kiprop denies it) and it cost him Olympic gold why he wouldn’t be the biggest casualty of Kiprop’s doping.