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Due to our site design, when we post a lot of content quickly, it can be easy to miss some of it. To keep you up to speed, we've posted three new interviews and photos from two different meets in the past three days.
Our latest interviews are with new American Record holder Shalane Flanagan (1/31), Rebecca Donaghue (1/30), and Erin Ward (1/29). Flanagan and Donaghue have a fair amount in common as both are former Massachusetts high school stars who have made significant breakthroughs after coming back from injury. Ward's story is inspirational in a different way. After being "stuck" in the 3:04-3:13 range in the marathon, she lowered her PR first to 2:53, and then to 2:48:18 at the Chevron Houston Marathon earlier this month.
We've also posted several photo galleries from the Terrier Invitational and the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (with more to come from the latter tonight).
Posted by Alison Wade at 4:57 p.m. | Tags: Site News | Comments (0)
FLAGSTAFF, AZ – With exclusive video content, Jack Daniels, The Art and Science of Running, is a comprehensive training tool that illustrates Dr. Daniels’ insight into his 30+ years of coaching experience. From the beginning runner to the elite competitor, this 90-minute video will give you the tools to start training and racing your best.
Runner's World named Jack Daniels the "World's Best Coach" and the NCAA named him the NCAA Cross Country Coach of the Century. On this DVD, Dr. Daniels guides you through the essential principles of his training methods, the necessary ingredients for long-term running success, and provides the framework for establishing a pattern of intelligent training design. As author of the best-selling Daniels’ Running Formula and coach of eight NCAA National Championship teams; Jack Daniels, The Art and Science of Running, is a DVD that belongs in the collection of every runner.
To view a trailer, request additional information, or to order your personal copy, visit McMillanRunning.com. The video has a release date of February 9, 2007.
[Content provided by McMillan Running.]
Posted by Alison Wade at 4:36 p.m. | Tags: Press Releases, Products and Services | Comments (0)
Shalane Flanagan dropped off the face of the competitive planet after the 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Helsinki, but her return to the track on January 27 at the Boston Indoor Games was dramatic. Flanagan firmly established not only that she was back, but that the surgery which removed a bone from her left foot had not only removed the cause of a recurring injury, but was actually allowing her to run harder than before.
If Flanagan's nearly-under-the-radar win at the Manchester (CT) Road Race on Thanksgiving day 2006 was a warning flare, her track comeback race, an 8:33.25 American 3,000m record, was the sun at high noon. In a race originally set up as a world record attempt for Ethiopia's Meseret Defar (who owns the outdoor 5,000m record at 14:24.53), Flanagan stole the show by bridging from the main pack up to Defar halfway through the race, then actually challenging for the lead on the backstretch with a bit more than a quarter mile to go.
The authority with which Flanagan demolished the American record was spectacular enough, but it's almost as breathtaking to hear her looking at the time difference between her new mark, which makes her the sixth- fastest woman ever at the distance, and the world record (8:27.86 by Liliya Shobukhova of Russia).
Flanagan spoke to reporters after signing her way down a lengthy line of kids who came to the edge of the track with meet programs, shirts, and permanent markers.
"I haven't raced [on the track] in a year and a half. I knew I was fit, but you never know what can happen in a race. I knew I had the potential to break the American record, and I'm very glad to see it fall. I just ran as hard as I could, and as smart as I could. They went out pretty hard at the beginning, and I just said to myself, 'Be patient.' My mantras have been 'patience' and 'controlled aggression,' and those two things were in my head. I tried to run conservatively and aggressively at the same time."
"I think Defar is a little sick, and I took advantage of that today. Typically she would be out a little bit farther. She really helped me today, I have to say. If it weren't for her, I don't think that American record would have fallen so far."
"Who knows what would have happened [if Flanagan had succeeded in passing Defar]. I knew I was a little ahead of the pace I wanted to run, but she's a really fast woman and there was no need to get too antsy. Next time around, it would be nice to get even closer. Now it's 8:33, what's the world record? I'll take [8:33] for today, but who knows what would have happened."
"8:54 is my previous PR, but I've never run a really good 3,000m before. It's always extra motivation to run well in front of my home crowd. There's so much support, I feel like I can do no wrong. I feel like no matter what happens, they're going to love me either way. It's nice to know that they care what I do."
Posted by Parker Morse at 8:02 p.m. | Tags: Athlete Features, Race Reports | Comments (1)
Another week, another PR. Alan Webb dominated the Reebok Boston Indoor Games men's mile from the start, following pacemaker Moise Joseph through splits of 55.3 and 1:56.2 before taking off on his own, eventually winning in 3:55.18 over Canada's Kevin Sullivan (3:57.33). Webb dropped the field so quickly it seemed as though the pacemaker must have been going faster than anyone else wanted, but Webb wasn't convinced. "Everybody knew the pace was going to go fast; we talked about it beforehand. The rabbit was scheduled to go 1:54 [for 800m], 2:23 [for 1,200m], so I don't know how I surprised anybody by going out fast. I thought everybody was going out fast. By the time we got to 250 meters, I was alone already. I was like, 'Alright, we were supposed to go 1:54.'"
Isn't a 55-second opening quarter a bit hot for a proposed 1:54 first 800? Webb disagrees with that theory, too. "If they'd been behind me, they would've been 56 or so, right?"
Webb's likely to be in for a tougher race next weekend at the Millrose Games, where he will face (among others) U.S. outdoor champion and four-time Millrose winner Bernard Lagat, and Aussie Craig Mottram, now the owner of the fastest 3,000m in the world this year. Said Webb, this race "means I'm ready to go. Hopefully, I won't get embarassed like I did last time. I hope there's still room for improvement. I always tell kids that if you get a personal best every time you race, eventually you'll set a world record. I'm not saying I'll [get] there, but another PR is another PR."
Webb sees the strength he's built in recent years as the key to his recent indoor mile PRs. "I think my strength is already good. I ran 27:34 last year for 10,000m, so I think it's more just getting used to running this pace, getting used to running this fast. I'm feeling more comfortable. We're starting a little early this year, because I've been basically base training for the last three years. Now I have the luxury of running fast indoors. I don't have to do strength; that strength is inside me. I still have it in me. I can last all year, if not the next two or three years, on the base I've built over the last three years. I'm reaping the benefits of all that training."
Webb's belief in his base echos that of Mottram, who explained, "We're just fit all year round, like the Africans are. Every time I come to the line, I'm fit and ready to race."
Posted by Parker Morse at 7:16 p.m. | Tags: Web Sites, Race Reports | Comments (2)
Tirunesh Dibaba's 5,000m world record (14:27.42) and Shalane Flanagan's 3,000m American record (8:33.25) were two of the major highlights at today's Reebok Boston Indoor Games in Roxbury, Massachusetts. We will posting photos of both the Terrier Invitational and the Reebok Boston Indoor Games in the upcoming days, so check back soon.
Reebok Boston Indoor Games results
USATF press release: One world record, five national records fall at Reebok Boston Indoor Games | Athlete quotes
Posted by Alison Wade at 10:27 p.m. | Tags: Site News, Race Reports | Comments (0)
Less than two weeks after he shattered the North American Half Marathon record with his 59:43 in Houston, Ryan Hall has signed up to run the 2007 Flora London Marathon, which will take place April 22. After initially saying that he might choose a lower-key race, like the Los Angeles Marathon, to make his debut, Hall has quickly realized that no matter where he goes, he won't be able to fly under the radar.
Posted by Alison Wade at 11:47 a.m. | Tags: Press Releases, Event Previews | Comments (0)
USA Track & Field announced today that Deena Kastor, Elva Dryer, Katie McGregor, Jen Rhines, Amy Rudolph, Sara Slattery, and Jenny Crain (alternate) will make up Team USA at the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden, to be held February 25 in Yokohama, Japan. One year ago, the U.S. finished 13th out of 14 teams in this event, but this year's high-powered squad is certain to improve upon that.
These athletes' commitment to the event is also likely to weaken the fields for the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts February 24-25.
Posted by Alison Wade at 1:09 p.m. | Tags: Event Previews | Comments (2)
Later in the week, talk about the upcoming Reebok Boston Indoor Games will center on names like Dibaba and Defar, Mottram and Cragg, or Webb and Brannen. Before they take center stage, it's worth spending a few minutes on another race which might be a headline at some meets.
The men's 800m at this Saturday's meet includes the second, third, fourth and sixth finishers from the final at last summer's USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. At the top of that list is Nick Symmonds, a seven-time NCAA Division III champion at Willamette University who hadn't lost a championship 800m final until Indianapolis, where he ran 1:45.83 to finish second behind Khadevis Robinson.
Since Indianapolis, Symmonds has relocated from his hometown of Boise, Idaho to Eugene, Oregon to train with Coach Frank Gagliano and the newly-formed Oregon Track Club Elite training group. Several months of full-time training with "Gags" and—at last—teammates who could push him in a workout led Symmonds to a 3:56.72 mile on the indoor track at the University of Washington on January 13. "At Willamette, toward the end, I had to do workouts on my own, which was very physically and mentally taxing. Out here I can jump in with a group of guys. I thought I could get under 4:00, but to run 3:56 was a surprise."
Symmonds' first time under 4:00 was also his first-ever indoor track race; Willamette doesn't run an indoor track season. Since UW's track is oversized and unbanked, this will be Symmonds' first race on a 200m banked track. Still, Symmonds is eager to bring in his 1:45 personal best and match it against the 1:47.92 event record, set 10 years ago by Rich Kenah. "We've been doing work to get my speed up, to make moves on those tight turns. I think I have a short, powerful stride that will help me out indoors." Kenah, who now works for meet organizers Global Athletics and Marketing, went on to win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Athens that summer.
This could sound like bravado coming from a first-year pro fresh out of Division III, but from Symmonds it sounds like nothing more dangerous than enthusiasm. "What it comes down to is that it's a great experience for me because I come to races so hungry. I believe I can run with these guys and know I can run with them. It's a matter of proving to myself and others that I can do it, and being ready to do that."
Symmonds talked to reporters by teleconference on Tuesday. He will face former World Indoor champion David Krummenacker, former U.S. champion Derrick Peterson, former NCAA Division I champion Sam Burley, Jebreh Harris, and Kenyan Justus Koech over 800m at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday.
Posted by Parker Morse at 9:34 p.m. | Tags: Athlete Features, Event Previews | Comments (1)
BOSTON, MA—In its 22nd year as the major sponsor of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial Services announced the entry of the world's top three ranked women marathoners for the 111th running of the race on April 16. Olympian and American record holder Deena Kastor is set to compete against returning Boston champion Rita Jeptoo and World Marathon Majors leader Jelena Prokopcuka.
American Deena Kastor leads the charge and comes into the race having run the fastest marathon in the world last year. She earned the #1 ranking by Track & Field News for her unstoppable 2:19:36 win in London, where she also improved her existing American record.
Best known for her inspirational bronze medal performance in the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon, Kastor is a former world record holder in the 5k, a two-time silver medalist at the World Cross Country Championships, and the 2005 Chicago Marathon champion. She is also a multiple American record holder on the roads and track, has won 18 national titles, and is an eight-time NCAA All-American.
"Five and a half years after my first marathon, I am finally running Boston," says Kastor. "Tradition, sponsors and fans make this the greatest and most well-respected marathon in the world. It is an honor to be a part of Boston this year and it is my greatest desire to win this prestigious event." Kastor, who lives in California but has roots in the Boston area, added "I am hoping the crowds will be especially loud as I pass the Newton-Wellesley Hospital as that is where I was born 34 years ago."
Along with signing Kastor, John Hancock announced they have also secured 2006 Boston champion Rita Jeptoo of Kenya to return and defend her title. Only 25 years old, Jeptoo is a rising star in the sport and brings strong credentials to the race. Winning the first two marathons she entered in Milan and Stockholm, Jeptoo then placed seventh at the 2005 World Championships. After her Boston Marathon win last year, she ran the fourth-fastest 20k of all time and then went on to finish a strong fourth in the New York City Marathon.
These accomplished women join Jelena Prokopcuka, of Latvia, who as the reigning leader of the World Marathon Majors series announced her commitment to return to Boston earlier this month. Prokopcuka and Jeptoo faced off last year in the closest 1-2 finish in the race's history with Jeptoo taking the win by a slim 20 seconds. Prokopcuka returned the favor in New York City by besting Jeptoo in that showing. A three-time Olympian, Prokopcuka holds multiple national records on the road and track and has won the New York City Marathon the past two years. Track & Field News ranked Kastor the #1 runner in the world last year and gave Prokopcuka the #2 rank and Jeptoo the #3 rank. These three top athletes will join the complete John Hancock elite team, which will be announced in March.
"As the American record holder and an Olympic medalist, Deena now headlines Boston playing host to the USA Women's Marathon Championship," said Guy Morse, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the marathon. "More important, she could become Boston's first American champion in more than 20 years, but she'll have to defeat one of the strongest fields ever. Rita proved herself here last year, winning the closest women's race in Boston history over Jelena—and with all three women competing in April, the 111th Boston Marathon is already shaping up to be one for the ages."
"John Hancock is thrilled to be able to bring the three best women's marathoners in the world today to Boston for this year's race. We regard having an outstanding field of runners as part of the fulfillment of our promise to help ensure that the Boston Marathon remains one of the world's premier road races now and in the future," said John D. DesPrez III, President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Financial Services.
[Press release provided by John Hancock.]
Posted by Alison Wade at 8:52 a.m. | Tags: Press Releases | Comments (0)
It has recently come to our attention that those who are using Internet Explorer 7 as their web browser are unable to see the left column of this web site. We plan to fix this bug later today, but in the meantime, we thought we would let those in the two-columned world know that we have just posted an interview with Elva Dryer.
Posted by Alison Wade at 2:20 p.m. | Tags: Site News | Comments (0)