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Thursday, June 16, 2011
Happy Birthday! Nike Swoosh!
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Blog Roll - Reid Coolsaet
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The star-spangled runner: On your marks for the Los Angeles to New York Footrace 2011
But it's a good tip for tackling the epic task ahead. This Sunday, I will be in Huntington Beach in Los Angeles, with 15 others, for the start of the LA to New York City 2011 footrace (the world's longest, incidentally).
Three thousand, two hundred and twenty miles across an entire continent stretch ahead, all of which I plan to do on under own steam. Fifteen states; 45 miles a day; just the one pair of legs. In just over ten weeks' time, on August 27, I hope to run into New York, seeing the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the first time in my life.
You may well wonder why (and no, my favourite film isn't Forrest Gump). My mum certainly does. She hardly leaves Leicestershire. What's making me do this?
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Grandma's Marathon 2011: Schedule, Route, History And More
Long-distance running generally is not a sport that lends itself to guarantees, but this one is pretty much set in stone.
The men's side of the Grandma's Marathon is guaranteed to have a new winner in 2011.
Defending men's champion Philemon Kemboi, a native of Kenya, has been forced to withdraw from the 35th annual running of Grandma's Marathon due to visa problems, according to the Duluth News Tribune. The withdrawl was confirmed by race officials on Tuesday.
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Bid to con Wanjiru girlfriend foiled
The three are being held at the Central Police Station after their plan to lure Judy Wambui to sign up for a suspicious deal at a Nakuru hotel failed.
“We are holding three suspects and we are interrogating them to establish their motive for calling Ms Wambui to partner with them only a few days after Wanjiru was buried,” said Nakuru police boss Johnston Ipara.
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Yuki Kawauchi Building Up for World Championships With 50 km Ultra This Sunday
Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) became an international name when he finished 3rd at February's Tokyo Marathon, qualifying for the Daegu World Championships marathon with a time of 2:08:37 which made him the top man on the Japanese team despite an existence completely outside the corporate running leagues. At the recent Nittai Time Trials meet Kawauchi ran his last track race of the season before getting into the brunt of his marathon training, running 14:10.32 for 7th in the 5000 m in the midst of a typhoon. Before the race Kawauchi sat down with JRN to talk about his planned World Championships preparations. First up on his schedule is the Okinoshima 50 km ultramarathon this Sunday, June 19.
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Blog Roll - Ian Sharman
Well, not quite to plan this time around. Comrades is always such an overwhelming experience and that was the case again, but this time in the sense that the race humbled me and left me heartbroken after spending so long focusing on it.
My race went bad after around 35km before even hitting the marathon mark and I could only jog from that point, losing motivation given that a sub 6h time was clearly not on the cards, never mind a gold medal for top 10. Luckily I perked up a bit nearer the end after seeing Kami Semick charging along as if it was the first few miles and with a shot of chasing down the Russian twins for a win. 6:25 was my final time, which was well off the 5:51 needed to get a gold medal this year.
But the real story, which I'm really glad I got to see first hand, was the set of amazing performances by the top Brits and Americans. Before I mention the names and times, I'll just lay out the stats of the course so people can appreciate how good their performances were.
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Tuesday, June 14, 2011
As Grandma’s Marathon turns 35, race legends look back
Garry Bjorklund’s blistered feet screamed for help after reaching London Road in the inaugural Grandma’s Marathon. The rookie road racer, and running shoe store owner, made a rookie mistake by using new shoes.
At 19 miles, near the Lester River Bridge, on a hot morning on June 25, 1977, he stopped, pulled off his racing shoes and hailed a friend on a bicycle, carrying his well-worn Nike Waffle Trainer shoes.
The swap was made, his feet were happy and the 26-year-old Bjorklund carried on for a victory in his first race of 26.2 miles, winning by nearly five minutes. It came less than a year after he made the 10,000-meter track final in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and gave Grandma’s Marathon immediate credibility.
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Drug testers crack down on school doping
South Africa's drug busters are to crack down on rampant doping in school sports - which has more than doubled in the past year - starting with this year’s Craven Week rugby tournament.
And government is considering legislation to take action against those supplying the dope.
The SA Institute for Drug Free Sport, boosted by a cash injection from the department of Sports and Recreation, on Tuesday launched an "I Play Fair - Say No to Doping" initiative to counter the increase in school-going dopers.
“Our SA doping control stats clearly show the use of performance enhancing drugs is on the increase among adolescent athletes and among the adult population,” institute chairman Shuaib Manjra said.
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Inside the anti-doping system
Andy Murray calls it "draconian". Rafael Nadal says it makes him "feel like a criminal". To anti-doping agencies around the world it's the most important weapon they have.
This is the "whereabouts" system, and I'm about to join it.
On Wednesday afternoon I was officially added to something called the National Registered Testing Pool, the first non-sportsman ever to be given such access. From now on I have to specify where I'll be for an hour a day, seven days a week, for up to three months in advance.
Why? So I am available for random out-of-competition tests. Why me? Because this is exactly what the 400 or so elite Olympians in Britain have to do, because it is the controversial heart of the fight against doping and because I want to see exactly how easy or onerous it is to stay on the right side of the system.
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“I was ready for Doha when the Diamond League started before this cruel injury. But now there is no pain even when I sprint...”
After three months out with an ankle injury, World 800m record holder David Rudisha is looking to return to the track and run a world-leading time in Lausanne on June 30 when he debuts at the Samsung Diamond League race.
In a telephone interview from his base in Tuebingen, Germany, Rudisha said he will have a test run in the French city of Nancy on June 24 where he will be experimenting on the extent he can go in sprinting.
It is after that confirmation that Rudisha will head to Lausanne a week later, seeking to run under a minute and 43 seconds.
World Indoor champion Abubakar Kaki of Sudan holds the world lead of 1:43.68, which he set in winning the two-lap race in Eugene, Oregon, on June 4.
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Majors cement Wanjiru legacy
With the World Marathon Majors promising to rename the elite circuit trophy after the late Samuel Wanjiru, his venerated place in classic distance running will be cemented for generations to come.
The fallen Olympics champion was finally interred on Saturday in a ceremony steeped in the contrasting side of a young life snuffed at the tender age of 24 on that May 15 dark Sunday.
“He is simply the greatest marathoner of all time. His victory at the Olympics was the signature and the best race ever run. London Marathon will be honoured since he gave us memorable races in 2008 and when won a year later,” David Bedford, the London Marathon director said at the funeral.
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Monday, June 13, 2011
Did you know...
...that the south american marathon record is held by Carmen De Oliviera in 2.27.41 and was run in Boston 1991.
...that the fourth and fifth fastest marathon in Italy is noted for Gelindo Bordin in 2.08.19 and 2.09.27 in 1990 and 1988 where run in, you guessed it, Boston.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Luxemburg Marathon highlight this weekend during long distance off season
6/11/11 ING Europe-Marathon Luxembourg Luxembourg City Luxembourg
6/11/11 LGT Liechtenstein Alpine Marathon Bendern Liechtenstein
6/11/11 Ostfriesland Marathon Hesel Germany
6/11/11 Salomon South Downs Marathon Chichester United Kingdom
6/12/11 Alpino Madrileno Marathon Cercedilla (Sierra Guadarrama) Spain
6/12/11 Macleay River Marathon South West Rocks Australia
6/12/11 Phuket International Marathon Phuket Thailand
The city is ready for its 40th Mini 10k
2, Shobukhova, Liliya, RUS, Nike, 13-Nov-1977, 30:29.36 (Cheboksary, 2009), 32:19 (Jersey City, 2009)
3, Kiplagat, Edna, KEN, NIKE, 15-Sep-1979, 33:27.0hA (Nairobi, 2007), 31:18 (Peachtree, 2010)
4, Kiplagat, Lornah, NED, adidas, 1-May-1974, 30:12.53 (St. Denis, 2003), 30:32 (Peachtree, 2002)
5, Smith, Kim, NZL, Reebok, 19-Nov-1981, 30:35.54 (Palo Alto, 2008), 31:23 (Peachtree, 2010)
6, Pavey, Jo, GBR, NIKE, 20-Sep-1973, 31:12.30 (Olympics, 2008), 31:47 (Manchester, 2007)
7, Chebet, Emily, KEN, adidas, 18-Feb-1986, 31:33.39 (African Championships, 2006), 32:05 (Madrid, 2004)
8, Ozaki, Yoshimi, JPN, Dai-ichi Life/adidas, 1-Jul-1981, 31:47.23 (Kobe, 2005), None
9, Gebre, Belainesh, ETH, West Side Runners, 23-Dec-1988, NA, 31:33 (Peachtree, 2010)
10, Kastor, Deena, USA, Asics, 14-Feb-1973, 30:50.32 (Palo Alto, 2002), 31:44 (Mini, 2004)
11, Kiros, Aheza, ETH, adidas, 26-Mar-1982, 31:06.93 (Ostrava, 2008), 32:31 (Cape Elizabeth, 2009)
12, Incerti, Anna, ITA, Nike, 19-Jan-1980, 33:19.01 (Lumezzane, 2003), 32:12 (Barcelona, 2008)
13, Demissie, Misiker Mekonnin, ETH, West Side Runners, 23-Jul-1986, NA, 32:34 (Cooper River - Charleston, 2010)
14, Wellings, Eloise, AUS, adidas, 7-Nov-1982, 31:41.31 (Palo Alto, 2011), 34:03 (Boston, 2006)
15, Kano, Yuri, JPN, Second Wind AC/Mizuno, 27-Oct-1978, 31:53.07 (Niigata, 2004), 32:17 (Cape Elizabeth, 2008)
16, Simon, Lidia, ROU, Asics, 4-Sep-1973, 31:32.64 (Euros, 1998), 31:59 (Mini, 1999)
17, Aguilar, Alessandra, ESP, , 1-Jul-1978, 32:42.49 (Athens, 2003), 32:26 (Manchester, 2007)
18, Lewy Boulet, Magdalena, USA, Saucony, 1-Aug-1973, 32:33.02 (Palo Alto, 2008), 33:13 (Mini, 2003)
19, Deba, Buzunesh , ETH, West Side Runners, 8-Sep-1987, NA, 32:37 (Mini, 2010)
20, Van Blerk, Irvette, RSA, Nedbank Running, 5-Jul-1987, 34:19.54 (Durban, 2004), 33:12 (Cape Town, 2004)
21, Nelson, Adriana, USA, Asics, 31-Jan-1980, 34:02.79 (Stanford, 2004), 33:21 (San Juan, 2007)
22, Hallissey, Claire, GBR, Asics/Capital Area Runners, 17-Mar-1983, 33:10.73, Birmingham, 2009), 32:36 (Bristol, 2011)
23, Pritz, Molly, USA, Hansons Brooks, 7-Apr-1988, NA, 32:59 (Rockville, 2010)
24, Pidhoresky, Dayna, CAN, Mizuno Canada, 18-Nov-1986, NA, 33:02 (Toronto, 2011)
25, Bersagel, Annie, USA, New Balance Silicon Valley, 30-Mar-1983, 33:02.13 (Palo Alto, 2005), 33:59 (Hole, 2008)
26, Porter, Sarah, USA, Unattached, 22-Aug-1989, 33:17.39 (Turlock, 2011), None
27, Nukuri-Johnson, Diane, BDI, Asics, 1-Dec-1984, 33:17.01 (Stanford, 2008), 34:11 (Peachtree, 2008)
28, Kiernan, Reilly, USA, NYAC, 23-Sep-1988, 36:05.16 (HEPS, 2009), 35:09 (Scotland Run, 2011)
29, Cummings, Sarah, USA, NYAC, 3-Jan-1989, 33:55.91 (Mt. SAC/Walnut, 2010), 36:31 (Mini, 2010)
30, Aliyu, Aziza, ETH, West Side Runners, 20-Oct-1985, NA, 32:22 (Rockville, 2011)
31, Hullinger, Heidi, USA, NYAC, 27-Oct-1982, 34:29.88 (Palo Alto, 2004), 37:04 (Mini, 2009)
32, Mandefro, Hirut, ETH, West Side Runners, 5-Aug-1985, NA, 33:03 (Rockville, 2009)
33, Abrha, Serkalem Biset, ETH, West Side Runners, 8-Mar-1987, NA, 34:48 (Rochester, 2010)
34, Higgins, Lesley, USA, NYAC, 10-Jun-1980, None, 36:23 (Healthy Kidney, 2008)
35, Gurma, Muliye, ETH, West Side Runners, 20-Jan-1984, NA, 35:19 (Healthy Kidney, 2009)
36, Bell, Rolanda, PAN, NYAC, 25-Oct-1987, None, 36:41 (Scotland Run, 2011)
37, Harrison, Rachel, NZL, University of Canterbury, 30-Sep-1986, NA, NA
39, Audain, Anne, USA, Unattached, 1-Nov-1955, 31:53.31 (Edinburgh, 1986),
41, Switzer, Kathrine, USA, Marathon Woman, 5-Jan-1947, NA
Ryan Hall attacks the morning
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Four times in a row for Chepkurui
With elite athletes having remained in their camps in Europe and USA, the forces championship lacked its usual spark as the fringe athletes dominated the races.
Njoroge, who shelved plans to run in tomorrow’s Diamond League race in New York, emerged from the shadows of Agnes Chesang and Beatrice Chepngeno to win in a national leading time of 10 minutes 8.5 seconds.
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McCourts' settlement also could affect Los Angeles Marathon
The Dodgers are not the only Los Angeles sports institution facing an uncertain future because of the protracted divorce proceedings between Frank and Jamie McCourt.
Frank McCourt also owns the Los Angeles Marathon.
The McCourts are divorced but have not settled on how to divide their assets. In the meantime, Major League Baseball has taken over the day-to-day operation of the Dodgers and is investigating the finances of the team "and related entities," including the marathon.
Frank McCourt is struggling to meet the Dodgers' payroll, and if the Dodgers are put up for sale — whether by McCourt, the divorce judge or MLB — the marathon could be too.
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Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Blog Roll - Reid Coolsaet
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Blog Roll - Eric Gillis
Heading into Ottawa I had dropped out, or cut short, every workout the previous 10days, chest cold getting the better of me. Timing was poor to say the least. Had been keying on Ottawa for the entire Spring. In each previous race I had met, or surpassed my expectation giving me a lot of confidence. Felt excited and ready to lay it on the line in the nations capital. A week of feeling lousy eat up all that excitement, but lucky I didn't pick it in. I ended up feeling considerably better day before, and actually felt ok for race, go figure. Ended up finishing 4th overall and 1st Canadian, same as last year.
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Why Non-Marathoners Still Need Long Runs
In November of 1961, legendary coach Arthur Lydiard told the 1960 800m gold medalist, Peter Snell, to go run a marathon. Before that, Lydiard had Snell incorporating the Waiatarua circuit, a grueling, 22-mile long run up and down the Waitakere Ranges in New Zealand, as part of his 100-mile training week. What was a man who would race for less than 2 minutes doing running for 2 hours? This type of training was completely unheard of for middle-distance runners back in those days.
But it paid off.
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FINLAND DOPING: Coaches knew of use of EPO
Former top skier Mika Myllylä, who was heard in court as a defence witness, said that he had told the Finnish Ski Association coaches Pekka Vähäsöyrinki and Antti Leppävuori of his use of EPO.
In the ongoing trial Vähäsöyrinki and Leppävuori are among the accused. They are being charged of aggravated fraud arising out of an earlier libel action against the Finnish News Agency (STT).
The men are accused of having denied in court that they had any knowledge of the use of doping within the Finnish Ski Association and of having demanded compensation in a fraudulent fashion for the distress caused to them by a condemnatory news article by STT.
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CAS to rule on Olympic doping rule in September
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has set a September target to rule on the legality of an International Olympic Committee anti-doping rule that's barring LaShawn Merritt from the 2012 London Games.
Sports' highest court says it will hear the United States Olympic Committee's dispute with the IOC on Aug. 17, and expects a verdict the following month.
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Tuesday, June 7, 2011
letsrun.com - Technical Analysis of 30km and 10000m in Eugene
For those reasons, I prepared a schedule looking at 1:13’40” for 25 km, and 1:28’ for 30 km.
I was interested in two things : to control the level of Moses and Abel in long run at the moment, and to better the records, but not in running at their max speed. This attempt must not be a “finalized” record, but a record coming during a phase of preparation without specific focus. The reason was : if we use sometimes sessions of 30 km fast like the WR on track, why don’t try one time to do this on track in official way, so the athlete becomes owner of one official WR ?
But, during last week before the attempt, Abel had a problem in one foot : during a session with the bike (sometimes we use with the goal to increase the frequency of the action), pedaling barefoot, he burnt the skin of one foot because of the friction with the belt of the pedale, and this provoked a little infection, so his left foot became painful and swollen. Consequentely, he had some problem in running fast for 25 km.
During the race, the fact Joel Kimurer tried to stay with Moses like a competitor, not like somebody for helping the pace, changed the plan. Moses decided to increase the speed for going alone, after realizing that Abel could not stay with Kimurer till 25 km, so there was no more reason to wait, but could run faster than the plan.
He went for two following laps in 63”2 and 65”2, covering the km between 17600 and 18600 in 2’42”, and when was alone put himself at a pace of 2’52” per km in comfortable way.
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World Championships Marathoners Ozaki and Nojiri Head for U.S. Altitude Training
translated by Brett Larner via JRN
Teammates at both the Daiichi Seimei women's ekiden team and this summer's World Championships marathon in Daegu, Korea, Yoshimi Ozaki and Azusa Nojiri left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on June 6 for two months of altitude training in Boulder, Colorado. Ozaki, the defending World Championships silver medalist, plans to adjust to the change in environment by running the June 11 New York Mini 10 km and the June 18 Steamboat Classic 4-miler in Illinois.
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Wanjiru's mother fails to appear in court
Mrs Hannah Wanjiru was expected to appear at the Nyahururu law courts to face charges of assault and creating disturbance.
Police had at the weekend confirmed that she would be taken to court to face the charges she had allegedly committed over the weekend.
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Classic 10K defending champ not invited back to Middletown
Ethiopia's Alene Reta was set to defend his men's title at The Classic when he encountered a foe he couldn't outrun.
His past.
Reta, who won the 2010 Classic in an eye-opening 28:53, was disinvited from Sunday's race when organizers learned he had been banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations from 2001-03 after testing positive for steroids.
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Rising to the challenge of Kenya's 4,000ft half marathon
The driver starts the engine and we bump along the uneven dirt road winding its way down into the valley. Far below, small, cone-shaped mountains poke up like grassy knolls.
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Triumphant return for Hunter-Galvan
iza Hunter-Galvan was an easy winner of the women's section of the SBS Christchurch marathon at Lincoln yesterday, her first competitive race since ending, on May 29, a two-year suspension for a positive drug test.
By international standards the time was not fast at 2hr 45min 31sec, but Hunter-Galvan was delighted to win and even happier to learn that her time yesterday was 63sec faster than she had run in 1999 when she also won the title.
The 41-year-old mother of four, who admitted being nervous about the reception she would receive from fellow athletes before the race, said she need not have worried.
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Marathon master loses legs in pipeline blast
Ian Winson should be helping to organise the race that gave him "a purpose and sense of belonging". Instead, he is fighting for his life after losing his legs in the weekend's deadly Auckland watermain explosion.
Mr Winson, 47, a network engineer for Watercare, was seriously injured when a gas explosion tore through a tunnel he and colleague Philomen Gulland were inspecting in Onehunga on Saturday morning.
Ms Gulland, a 48-year-old Canadian-born mother of two, was killed and Mr Winson was blown out of the tunnel and lost part of both legs.
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Renato Canova: The Wizard From Italy
roughout history there have always been those intrepid souls responsible for the guidance of athletes with both unique genetic talents and the singular ability to fully utilize such talents. They’re the men and women who hover over stopwatches in wet, cold, snowy and windy as well as sunny conditions. They’re the ones scratching out the weeks of workout schedules that will bring dramatic improvements to their charges. They must pick horses for courses. Yet those same chosen thinclads must be properly guided and encouraged to the fine levels of fitness that stop clocks early and dazzles spectators and peers alike.
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Monday, June 6, 2011
The barefoot running debate: Born to run, shoes & injury: the latest thinking
ne of the more interesting, and certainly topical presentations at the recent meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver was a symposium on barefoot running. It was led by Irene Davis and Daniel Lieberman, both advocates for barefoot running and top scientists in this field. Lieberman in particular is something of a 'legend' in the field, and two years ago, he gave the prestigious keynote address at the ACSM meeting.
Since then, the area has moved on, thankfully. Most recently, Lieberman's group did some fascinating work on the barefoot running concept in runners accustomed to shoes or running barefoot, and that's the focus of this post, along with some thoughts on the concepts underlying barefoot running. A lot of the time, I'll play devil's advocate, because I believe in Lieberman's findings, and the theory behind barefoot running is sound. But there are some "loopholes", and I'll end with those.
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Hometown Hero Keflezighi Rocks The Field In San Diego
The look on Meb Keflezighi’s face in the first mile of this morning’s Dodge Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon said it all: this was his race, in his hometown, and it was going to be run on his terms.
Tearing through the first mile in 4:47, only three-time New York City Marathon champion and two-time London Marathon winner Martin Lel of Kenya went with Keflezighi, who was running his first half marathon in the city where he grew up.
Lel sat contently on Keflezighi’s shoulder through the 5-mile mark (23:27) before the Olympic silver medalist decided enough was enough. After Lel refused Keflezighi’s invitation to take over the lead 5-1/2 miles into the race, the 2009 New York City Marathon champion broke free and opened up a large lead he held all the way to the finish line. Keflezighi, who went through 10K in 29:03 and 15K in 43:45, broke the tape at Sea World in 1 hour, 2 minutes and 40 seconds–1:58 up on second-place finisher Drew Polley, who represents the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Lel, who finished second at the London Marathon just 7 weeks ago, dropped out of the race just after the 10K mark.
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