Lauren Fleshman’s Magic Bus

Are Oregon Women Ready to Replace Texas AM as NCAA Champs?
Oregon has won the last two NCAA Indoor womens team titles and set a points record at 2010s outdoor PAC-10s, but the Ducks have placed second to the Texas AM Aggies at the outdoor NCAAs two years in a row. Oregons women’s associate head coach Robert Johnson theorizes if we keep putting ourselves in those situations, sooner or later, we’re going to be able to figure this thing out and pull through. Oregon, which competes at the Pepsi Team Invitational at Hayward Field in Eugene on Saturday, still has formidable weapons in heptathlete-hurdler-high jumper Brianne Theisen and sophomore Jordan Hasay, who was the NCAA Indoor champ in the mile and 3000. That kind of took the monkey off my back, Hasay says. “Having quite a bit of success in high school, and then coming to the collegiate level, I wanted to get that title because some people said I never would. It’s one thing to tell yourself that you’re going to prove them wrong, but it’s another thing to go in and do it. Hasay is a difference-maker in the estimate of Oregons Director of Track and Field Vin Lananna. The Ducks also have the reigning Pac-10 titlist in the 800, sophomore Anne Kesselring. (photo of Jordan Hasay by Victah Sailer) More

Roll Up, Roll Up for Lauren Fleshmans Magical Mystery Tour
Lauren Fleshman, one of American distance runnings most engaging raconteurs, is also the 2010 USATF 5000-meter champion and one of the very few American women to have broken 15:00 for that distance. When she graduated from Stanford (she was a 5000-meter champ at the NCAAs, too), Fleshman took her first money from Nike and decided to purchase either a place to live or a car I could sleep in. She got the car she could sleep inwhich once served as her residence for two months at a time and is still a place to crash for sojourns like an altitude training session in Arizona. You can literally live in here, Fleshman observes in the video at More, an incredibly charming tour of the inside of a 1997 Volkswagen EuroVan which, as one Flotrack fan notes, is a van thats a Swiss Army knife. Take a look at the itinerant lifestyles of the fast and famous. The van has two beds, a dining area, a yoga mat, and all kinds of things that fold into and out of walls. Sara Hall, Alicia Shay, Ian Dobson, and Malindi Elmore are among those whove dropped in for a visit. Fleshman loves the vehicle, but admits I might consider parting with it to the right buyer. (photo of Lauren Fleshman by Lisa Coniglio/Photo Run) More And just because why not? More And why not indeed? More

Chevron Houston Marathon Cap Is Increased to 24,000
The 40th anniversary marathon will be on January 15. There will be 13,000 entries for the full 26.2-miler and 11,000 for the half-marathon. The Houston Marathon Committee will also offer early registration for a limited number of runners who meet time qualification standards to receive a guaranteed entry. With the large number of guaranteed marathon entries allocated to runners who have completed five or more Houston Marathons, we wanted to allow more runners to participate, explains Wade Morehead, executive director of the committee.

Runners who meet a four-hour and two-hour time qualification standard for the marathon and half marathon, respectively, are eligible to receive a limited number of guaranteed race entries available during an early registration period which opens on May 10  at 8:00 a.m. CST and closes on May 31 at 11:59 p.m. CST. A 10K qualifying time of 54 minutes or less may also be used to enter the half marathon. Finisher times dating back to July 2010 may be used to qualify for early registration. A list of eligible qualifying races can be found at chevronhoustonmarathon.com.

Jeremy Wariner Will Run a 400 at Drake Relays
Wariner, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2008 silver medalist, will actually run his first 400 of the spring track season at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas on April 23. A week later, hell be at the 102nd Drake Relays in Des Moines. I’m excited to come back, says Wariner. It’s always been a great crowd. No matter how cold it is, they’re always out there. Wariner won at Drake in 2009 but missed the 2010 Relays while still recovering from knee surgery and a bone bruise. He did end up ranked first in the world for the year in the 400. I really want to go out there and win, and drop a good time, Wariner says. I’ve never run 44 (seconds) there. So that’s one thing I want to do. (photo of Jeremy Wariner by Giancarlo Colombo/Photo Run) More

Magnificent Seven Take on the Rotterdam Marathon
That reference is to the four sub-2:06 and three more sub-2:07 marathoners wholl be running in the Dutch city on Sunday. Theres a 225,000 Euro bonus available if someone lowers Haile Gebrselassies 2:03:59 three-year-old world record. The fastest men in the race are Vincent Kipruto (2:05:13) and Feyisa Lelisa (2:05:23), who were third and fourth, respectively, in Rotterdam in 2010. Kenyan Eliud Kiptanui has run a 2:05:39 and Ethiopian Getu Feleke won the 2010 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:05:44. The fastest woman in the Rotterdam Marathon is Kenyan Rita Jeptoo, with a personal best of 2:23:28. More

Semenya Considers 800/1500 World Championships Double
South Africas Caster Semenya plans to defend her 800-meter gold title at this summers World Championships in Daegu, South Korea and also take her chances in the 1500. Previously pleagued with a back injury, she reports I am feeling better and my times are getting better now. The world champs are my main target for the year, and her coach, Michael Seme, adds the quality she is showing now is fine. She has worked hard and she is in no pain which augers well. There is nothing impeding her. More

Competitor Group Goes Global, Expands to Madrid
The existing Madrid Marathon has joined the Competitor Group (CGI) series of Rock n Roll Marathons. The deal includes retaining the existing Madrid Marathon operations team, Elipse Iniciativas, to compliment CGIs marketing expertise.  We believe there is a significant opportunity to extend the reach of the Rock n Roll brand beyond North America and are thrilled to take that first step in the iconic European capital city of Madrid, states Scott Dickey, President of CGI. The 34^th running of the Madrid Marathon is on April 17 in the Spanish capital. For more information about the Maratón de Rock n Roll Madrid, visit Competitor.com or Maratonmadrid.org.

Im Throwing in the Towel and Moving on, Peter Gilmore Decides
Gilmore, a 2:12 marathoner who was eighth in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, says of his 11 years as a pro runner. I gave every ounce of energy to those goals and succeeded in making a career out of my hobby, but fell short of my Olympic dream. A series of injuries kept me from doing the work I know it takes to succeed, so regrettably, I’m throwing in the towel and moving on to new challenges, Gilmore has decided. In the rest of his blog at More, he discusses the pressures of high level racing; constant worrying about every little variable that might come up took its toll on my nerves and sometimes made me no fun to hang around, he recalls. Now comes his time for fun races that I never had time to run in the past, but would love to try now that everything is a little more relaxed. You may even see Peter Gilmore jogging at Bay to Breakers. (photo of Peter Gilmore by Victah Sailer) More

Can Trevor Dunbar Become Alaskas First Sub-4:00 Miler?
Dunbar now attends the University of Portland but hes a native Alaskan. No Alaskan has broken 4:00 for the mile and no one from anywhere has ever broken 4:00 for the mile in Alaska. Dunbar could achieve both of those distinctions on Saturday at The Big C Relays in Anchorage. The meet is in the Dome, which contains North Americas only indoor 400-meter track. More

St. Louis Will Host 2012 and 2013 USA Cross Country Championships
The 2012 Championships will be on February 11 in the citys Forest Park. “Big River Running Company and St. Louis Sports Commission are excited to bring the Championships to Saint Louis and we know our city and the people here will get behind this event, says Ben Rosario, co-owner of Big River Running Company. “The course in Forest Park is extremely spectator-friendly and the athletes will have fantastic crowd support throughout the course. The USA Cross Country Championships are expected to draw more than 600 athletes to St. Louis. (photo of 2010 USA Cross Country champion Brent Vaughn by Victah Sailer) More

Japanese Runner Raises Relief Funds in Las Vegas
Fujio Miyachi, one of Japans leading trail runners, has entered the XTERRA Lake Las Vegas Trail Run in Henderson, Nevada on April 9. Hell strive to win, but his main goal is to raise money for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Miyachi resides about 150 miles from the main area of destruction but has friends and relatives closer to  the disaster area.I decided to go to Las Vegas to run in order to encourage my friends and other people at affected areas, he explains. I believe that the Japanese people will overcome the difficult situation. But I also believe the support of the people around the world will definitely give strong power to our Japanese people. The XTERRA Lake Las Vegas Trail Run is a 21-kilometer race on a desert trail near Lake Las Vegas in Henderson. More

Worlds Coolest Marathon Accommodates 26 People
It’s the type of event that anybody with a sense of adventure will take on,” says president of Polar Running Adventures Richard Donovan, who won the first South Pole Marathon in 2003. “There are a lot of marathon runners out there who are looking for the next thing to do that they haven’t experienced already. This time Donovans talking about the North Pole Marathon, and given the small size of the field, many adventurers are going to have to wait. With temperatures around minus 25 degrees, hypothermia is a concern and so is snow blindness. And there arent many natural landmarks to mark the route. Maybe thats why its confined to a 5k loop to help organizers keep track of runners. I want it to be a marathon, not a survival race, Donovan stresses. The entry fee to the race? About $16,000. More

A Quest to Run 52 Marathons in 52 Weeks Is Up to #31
So Sundays GO! St. Louis Marathon will bring Curtis Workman 60 percent of the way to his goal. Thus far hes spent $15,000 on registration fees and travel expenses and 14 nights sleeping in his car.  Hes keep on schedule despite a case of strep throat and one incident in which, a friend says, he was at mile 15 about four weeks ago when something snapped in his foot. He finished, half running, half hobbling. Workman created Marathons With A Mission to train local at-risk high school students (those at schools with graduations rates of under 50 percent) to run marathons. Workman believes completing a marathon can make it seem that anything is possible, and he admits I didnt get that until I was 42 when I ran my first marathon. We need to teach them (children) this lesson in their teenage years, so they can take it with them and do anything. More

At 56, Sharon Vos Is Thriving in the Marathon
Vos is one of triplets, and she led a 1-2-3 finish of lookalike siblings at a shorter roadrace in San Francisco last September. But Vos, a 56-year-old Connecticut resident whos running the Boston Marathon on April 18, is making her biggest mark at 26.2 miles. She captured the 55-59 division at the 2010 ING New York City Marathon by more than 11 minutes in 3:09:24. Her post-age 55 bests include 41:13 for 10k and 1:25:31 for 20k. I think it is mostly due to better nutrition, affirms Vos, who in the past year surpassed her times in the previous three. Im gluten-sensitive and have had stomach problems over the years that I wasnt able to shake. But I saw a nutritionist and started paying more attention to my diet. It has made a huge difference. Vos likes the age-graded aspect of evaluating race performances. Its a fun way to see how I am doing relative to everyone else, and my goal is to run times that are at the upper 80 to lower 90 percent range, she notes. Vos sets goals and trains hard for them but doesnt forget to have fun and be flexible . Ive had to alter or miss workouts or skip races many times due to weather, my daughters or husbands plans, illness, even oversleeping! (photo of Sharon Vos by Victah Sailer) More

Daniel Craig Will Defend His Eisenhower Marathon Crown
Craig will be back in Abilene, Kansas on Saturday. He has a personal 26.2-mile best of 2:30:31 and finds the marathon has a way of keeping you humble. If your race doesn’t go well or if you have to drop out of the race, don’t get discouraged. He suggests.  ten years from now you will probably not remember how fast you ran or what place you came in, but you will remember the memories you made, so take time to appreciate the whole experience of running a marathon. Recalling his boyhood beginnings in the sport, Craig notes my older brother convinced me to run with him and my sixth grade teacher encouraged me to go out for track. I really enjoyed my first track season and have kept running ever since. More

Drew Carey Will Run His First Half Marathon
The comedian and The Price Is Right host isnt the first guy who leaps to mind when youre thinking svelte distance runner, but he has slimmed down in recent years and kudos to him for entering the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 15. Hell also serve as official starter of the event. Carey is a former U.S. Marine corporal who served six years in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1981 to 1987. He was a communications center operator serving with the 4th Marine Division in Las Vegas and Cleveland. More

Heres Todays Running Song of the Day
This ones probably one of the five tunes you most expected to see here someday, and its one of the best. You may also know the singer for his work with Mudcrutch and as the youngest of the Traveling Wilburys. And the animation is memorable. More

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