My inside sources tell me:
Both the Boston Marathon, Men's & Women's Oly Trials Marathons plan to relax their time standards in such a way to maintain exclusivity and make them more inclusive - a challenging balancing act.
Boston will lop off 15 minutes per age group while male Oly Trialists will have to run 2:30 and women 3:00 to qualify. These new standards should prove popular w/out compromising quality at the top. Boston's standard go into effect in '06 and the Oly Trials standards in '08.
New National LDR liason Jimm Estess and MLDR chair Glen Lattimer are poised to announce a new low-altitude training center in Peoria, IL w/backing from CARA, the Chicago Marathon & the National Hockey League whose goals and philosophies closely parallel those of the distance-running community. Upfront it needs saying, dating between team members will be strictly forbidden.
Estess & Lattimer have held talks w/deposed UOregon coach Martin Smith to head up the new operation scheduled to begin operating this summer. In an interesting twist, prospective runners, men & women, will be drawn from a pool that never received college scholarships to mimic rules for that old Computer (K something) sponsored race series where the winner was to win a half mill and a computer. America loves the underdog, Estess & Lattimer recognize this and plan to capitalize on the resulting media possibilities.
In other developments:
The major shoe companies plan to pool their resources and build a series of 'uber' shoes that'll maximize running efficiency for all gaits and make it seem as if everybody is running on the 'bosoms of babes.' In a related move, adidas plans to recall their new $250 chip shoe because, like the 'spring' shoe, the IAAF has ruled they provide illegal aid to runners. For those who already own the shoes, they'll be urged to turn them in under penalty of law.
Rail-to-Trail proponents plan to become more aggressive and will target cities and communities nationwide to push for more and more miles of 10' wide paths regardless of local opposition, legal tangles and funding questions. They're saying, 'Enough is enough. Quit you're stalling and return the land to our people!'
And finally, since nothing ever seems good enough for Letsrun readers and mavens, wejo and rojo will be announcing soon plans for Letsrun2. It'll offer much the same stuff you see here but the world-famous Message Board will be super-sensitive and immediately delete any 'Your momma, she ain't no good' themed posts.
And lastly, Portland Runner will return to the fold. Thank you.