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Bernard Lagat, Treniere Clement, and Khadevis Robinson all put in stellar performances at the Rieti 2006 IAAF Grand Prix meet in Rieti, Italy on Sunday, August 20th. Lagat nearly broke his own American record in winning the 1,500. Lagat's 3:29.68 put him 1.9 seconds ahead of Algeria's Tarek Boukensa and was only .38 of a second off of the American record which he set last year. A two-time Olympic medalist for Kenya, Lagat became a U.S. citizen in 2004 and has been breaking records ever since. Lagat has a lifetime 1,500 meter best of 3:26.34, which he ran in 2001.
Treniere Clement's eighth-place, 4:03.32 finish in the women's 1,500 meters may not have made the headlines, but it was a significant breakthrough for the 2004 Georgetown graduate. The time was a personal best and it vaulted her into the #9 on the U.S. all-time performers list in that event. The Ohio native set her previous PR of 4:04.40 at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this year. Also running a noteworthy personal best was Kara Goucher, who finished 11th in the same race in 4:05.14. Michigan graduate Lindsey Gallo finished 17th in 4:11.31. The race was won by Burundi's Maryam Yusuf Jamal in 3:56.18.
In the men's 800 meters Khadevis Robinson improved his personal best and moved himself into the #7 spot on the U.S. all-time performers list with his 1:43.68, fifth-place finish. Robinson's coach, Johnny Gray, still occupies the top five spots on the all-time U.S. performance list. Robinson's PR race was won by South Africa's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi in 1:43.09. In the second 800 meter race, David Krummenacker finished seventh in 1:45.60.
In the women's steeplechase, Carrie Messner put in a strong performance to finish eighth in 9:48.08. The race was won by Poland's Wioletta Janowska in 9:22.48. In the men's 3,000 meters, Matt Tegenkamp was a DNF, but he hopes to bounce back next Sunday when he runs the 1,500 meters in the ISTAF 2006 in Berlin.
One day earlier, in Merksem, Belgium, Lauren Fleshman added her name to the list of athletes setting personal bests over the weekend. Fleshman finished second in the 1,500 meters at the International Antwerp Athletics Gala in 4:11.27. The race was won by Canada's Malindi Elmore, Fleshman's former Stanford teammate, in 4:09.39.
Rieti 2006 results
Antwerp Athletics Gala 2006 results
Posted by Alison Wade at 6:28 p.m. | Tags: Race Reports, Race Results | Comments (0)
Tom Nyariki of Kenya, a late addition to the NYC Half Marathon field, pulled away from Meb Keflezighi (another late addition) in the final kilometer of the race to win 1:01:22 to 1:01:28. Abdi Abdirahman stayed close to the leaders until the final mile and finished third in 1:01:34. The race began with a loop of Central Park, went through Times Square, headed down the West Side Highway, and finished just north of Battery Park.
Catherine Ndereba's victory in the women's race was not decided until she crossed the finish line. Though Ndereba tried to put some distance on the women's field over the final four miles, her lead was never large. Benita Johnson of Australia nearly ran Ndereba down in the final 400 meters, but Ndereba held her off. Both runners were credited with times of 1:09:43. Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania finished third in 1:10:11.
We'll be posting photos of the race by Monday evening.
Posted by Alison Wade at 12:00 a.m. | Tags: Race Reports, Race Results | Comments (0)
Jen Rhines ran a 14:55.18 for 5,000 meters today in Brussels, Belgium, breaking the personal best that she set earlier in the season by just over 10 seconds. Rhines moves into the #3 spot on the U.S. all-time list, behind Regina Jacobs (who banned for drug use later in her career) and Deena Kastor. Rhines' performance placed her eighth in the women's 5,000 at the Memorial Van Damme meet, in a race that was won by Tirunesh Dibaba in 14:30.63. The USA's Sara Slattery finished 18th in the same race in 15:28.09.
In the 4x800 relay, which is rarely run at the professional level, the U.S. team of Jebreh Harris, Khadevis Robinson, Sam Burley, and David Krummenacker broke the former world record (and set a new American record) with their 7:02.82, but finished .39 of a second behind the Kenyan team. The former world record of 7:03.89 was set in 1982 by Great Britain's Peter Elliott, Gary Cook, Steve Cram, and Sebastian Coe.
In the women's 800 meters, Alice Schmidt finished seventh (2:00.95) in a race that was won by Morocco's Hasna Benhassi in 1:59.06. In the men's 10,000 meters, Adam Goucher finished 13th in 27:59.41. Kenya's Micah Kogo won the race in 26:35.63.
Memorial Van Damme results | Memorial Van Damme photos
Posted by Alison Wade at 12:00 a.m. | Tags: Race Reports, Race Results | Comments (3)
The NCAA announced sites for the 2008-2010 Division I Men's and Women's Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, in a teleconference this afternoon.
The 2008 Outdoor Championships will be hosted by Drake University at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa; the 2009 Outdoor Championships at the John McDonnell track at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The 2010 Outdoor Championships will be held at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The 2008 and 2010 Indoor Championships will be at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where the University of Arkansas has hosted it several times already this decade; the 2009 Indoor Championships will be hosted by Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
The 2007 Cross Country Championships will return to the Wabash Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana, where it will be hosted by Indiana State University for a fifth year. The bidding process for hosting future Cross Country championships will open soon and bids will be gathered until April 1, 2007.
DeTrease Harrison of Virginia Commonwealth University, a member of the site selection committee, pointed out that while the NCAA had been awarding the sites in three year blocks, those selections were made by a different committee, and the present committee favored changing sites on a regular basis. "There's been a change of philosophy," said Harrison.
Posted by Parker Morse at 2:11 p.m. | Tags: Press Releases | Comments (0)
The 30th edition of the Memorial Van Damme is schedule to take place this Friday, August 25th in Brussels, Belgium. The U.S. distance representatives in this meet will be Meb Keflezighi (10,000m), Adam Goucher (10,000m), and Sara Slattery (5,000m). The meet will also feature a men's 4x800m relay race, which is being billed as a world record attempt. The U.S. is expected to field a team.
The meet will be broadcast live on WCSN.com (available for a small fee) and is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Memorial Van Damme start lists
Posted by Alison Wade at 9:11 p.m. | Tags: Webcast, Event Previews | Comments (0)
The NCAA will announce the selected sites for the 2008-10 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships in a teleconference on Thursday, August 24th. We'll let you know as soon as we know!
Posted by Alison Wade at 4:48 p.m. | Tags: Event Previews | Comments (0)
In today's MAI-Galan in Malmo, Sweden, Anthony Famiglietti led the U.S. performers with his fifth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase. Famiglietti's 8:19.77 put him 2.7 seconds behind race winner Mike Kipyego of Kenya. Steve Slattery finished 10th in the same race in 8:46.60.
Sasha Spencer, who we mentioned earlier as a possible competitor in the 1,000m, was listed as a DNF in the results, but we have no information regarding whether she actually started the race or she was a pacesetter.
At the Gugl Meeting in Linz, Austria, Georgetown graduate Rod Koborsi set the pace for the U.S. middle-distance/distance runners with his runner-up finish in the 3,000 meters (7:55.48). Koborsi finished less than a second behind Japan's Kensuke Takezawa. Another American, Jacques Sallberg, finished fifth in the same race in 7:57.20.
In the 800 meters, Jebreh Harris took third (1:46.96) and Said Ahmed, running about half his normal distance, took fourth (1:47.13). The race was won by Spain's Eugenio Barrios in 1:45.95.
Though many of the top U.S. runners have headed home, the European season continues through the third weekend in September, when those who have qualified will compete in the IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece.
Posted by Alison Wade at 4:21 p.m. | Tags: Race Reports, Race Results | Comments (0)
Former ZAP Fitness runners Dan Wilson and Brian Rosetti, along with Vince Sherry and Ben Koch have launched a new online coaching service, The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. More information can be found on their web site.
Posted by Alison Wade at 6:53 p.m. | Tags: Web Sites | Comments (2)
[News release written and provided by the B.A.A.]
BOSTON, Mass. - The Boston Athletic Association, in cooperation with the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon course, today announces that the 111th Boston Marathon, on Monday, April 16, 2007, will begin at 10:00 a.m.
"An earlier starting time will benefit the 22,500 runners who compete in the marathon due to the cooler temperatures, while allowing all of the communities, and the City of Boston in particular, to re-open roads to traffic earlier in the day," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association, organizer of the Boston Marathon. "Also, due to the efficiency of the 'Wave Start' program which we implemented for the first time in 2006, the majority of runners will not be transported from Boston to Hopkinton much earlier than in past years."
The B.A.A. has been discussing this concept with officials of each of the cities and towns since last year and has now received support from representatives of each, as well as those from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Mobility Impaired Program, Wheelchair and Elite Women's divisions will continue to start earlier. The race will also continue to utilize a two-wave start, with the first wave beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The legendary Boston Marathon course follows a point-to-point route from rural Hopkinton into Ashland, then Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline and, finally, Boston. The inaugural Boston Marathon, held in 1897, began at 12:19 p.m., and the race traditionally began at noon in the 109 races that followed.
Tentative, working timeline for the start of the 2007 Boston Marathon:
Division Start Time
Wheelchair Division (approximately 50 athletes): TBD
Elite Women (approximately 80 athletes): TBD
Wave One (approximately 10,000 athletes): 10:00 a.m.
Wave Two (approximately 12,500 athletes): 10:30 a.m.
"A start which is two hours earlier than past years doesn't necessarily mean we are requesting from each city and town along the course that the roads shut down two hours earlier in all cases," said Race Director Dave McGillivray. "The B.A.A. is working closely with each individual city and town to determine the exact road closure and re-opening times based on the new starting schedule."
"In a positive change for the communities through which the course runs, an earlier start means that the roads will re-open much earlier than in recent years," said McGillivray. "We are simply shifting the times that the course is closed then re-opened. And, for some towns, the total time of the road closures likely will be a bit less than in the past."
In addition to runners enjoying cooler temperatures and an earlier re-opening of roads to vehicular traffic, several other reasons factored into the B.A.A.'s decision to break from its traditional Noon starting time:
* The overwhelming majority of runners prefer to start earlier than Noon. Recreational and elite runners alike are accustomed and tuned to racing marathons in the morning.
* The event's medical constituency unanimously concurs with an earlier start time.
* Police, fire and medical representatives of all eight cities and towns along the route have responded positively to the concept of the earlier start.
* International media deadlines will be more easily met, which will allow for expanded coverage.
Registration for the 2007 Boston Marathon will open at www.baa.org on September 6, 2006. A field size of 22,500 official entrants is expected.
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial Services. Earlier this year, the Boston Marathon launched - along with the Flora London Marathon also in April - the World Marathon Majors series. Other events in the series include the real,-Berlin Marathon, LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon.
Posted by Alison Wade at 6:32 p.m. | Tags: Press Releases | Comments (1)
Continuing his superb season, Matt Tegenkamp ran a strong race at the Herculis 2006 meet in Monaco on Sunday, August 20th, and became the fifth-fastest U.S. runner of all time at 3,000 meters. Tegenkamp finished fifth in a close 3,000m race in 7:34.98. The race was won by Kenya's Abraham Chebii in 7:33.42. Tegenkamp trails only Bob Kennedy (who has the five fastest marks), Sydney Maree, Bernard Lagat, and Adam Goucher on the U.S. all-time list.
A large U.S. contingent competed at the Norwich Union International in Birmingham, England, a four-way meet among the U.S., Russia, Great Britain, and China, on August 19-20. Khadevis Robinson (800m, 1:47.48), Bernard Lagat (3,000m, 7:50.49), and Gabe Jennings (mile, 4:10.02) all took home gold for the USA. Jennings became the first U.S. winner of the Emsley Carr Mile since 1967, when Jim Ryun beat Kip Keino. The race was a tactical one in which Great Britain's Michael East led through 800 meters in 2:14.40. Jennings kicked away from the field on the last lap, which he covered in approximately 53 seconds, and finished .06 of a second ahead of Great Britain's Andrew Baddeley.
Lauren Fleshman led the U.S. women with her 9:01.59 third-place finish in the 3,000 meters, a race which was won by Liliya Shobukhova in 8:38.42.
Treniere Clement (1,500m, 4:12.77) and Sean Graham (3,000m, 8:04.31) both earned fourth place finishes. Carrie Tollefson (3,000m, 9:03.84), Lisa Galaviz (steeplechase, 10:03.90), Nick Symmonds (800m, 1:48.81), and Alice Schmidt (800m, 2:03.54) all finished fifth in their respective events. Lindsey Gallo (1,500m, 4:18.65 and 800m, 2:05.97), Christian Smith (mile, 4:11.87), and Kristin Anderson (steeplechase, 10:30.63) all finished seventh.
Meanwhile, in Beijing, China, the U.S. team finished up their competition at the IAAF World Junior Championships on Sunday, August 20th. The final U.S. middle-distance/distance runner to compete was Baylor's Erin Bedell. She finished 10th in the 1,500 meter final in 4:20.01, a new personal best.
Posted by Alison Wade at 8:02 p.m. | Tags: Race Reports, Race Results | Comments (0)