11  May 2011

Radcliffe: No Marathon Choice Yet

Posted by Kane Peterson | Tags: Choice, Marathon Choice

Paula Radcliffe Hasnt Made a Fall Marathon Choice Yet
At the moment we are still planning and exploring these possibilities, writes Radcliffes coach and husband Gary Lough. There are various options that we are looking at—some more obvious than others but no definite decision has been made. The phrase these possibilities refers to the Berlin, Chicago, and New York City Marathons (along with less obvious ones), all of which wed mentioned in our own e-mail to Lough. An article in The Daily Mail in the UK, linked at More, reported that Radcliffe would race in Chicago. But the article quotes only an unnamed source, not Radcliffe herself, and the sources wording doesnt sound all that definitive. For what its worth, weve seen other articles saying Radcliffe would do Berlin, and we know that New York City still considers itself a possible choice. (photo of Paula Radcliffe by Giancarlo Colombo/Photo Run) More (But dont believe it!)

UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in NYC Adds More Speedsters
The May 14 race in Central Park already had Leonard Patrick Komon and Micah Kogo, the two fastest men in history for a 10K on the roads. Now we hear that Ethiopians Lelisa Desisa and Markos Geneti have been added to the event, which has a $25,000 first prize and a $20,000 Zayed Bonus for a winner who breaks the Central Park 10K record of 27:42. Desisa, 21, won the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K in Charleston, SC, and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile in Washington, DC, on consecutive days last month. He finished the Cherry Blossom race in 45:36, breaking the 16-year-old course record by two seconds. Geneti, 26, won his marathon debut at the Honda LA Marathon in March, running 2:06:35, a course record. He was the 2002 IAAF World Junior Championships 5000-meter silver medalist, the 2003 Millrose Games 3000-meter champion, and the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships 3000-meter bronze medalist. Moses Masai of Kenya has withdrawn from the Healthy Kidney 10K due to injury. He will be replaced by fellow Kenyan Joseph Ebuya, the 2010 World Cross Country Champion. Ebuya, 23, has a personal best time of 27:33 for the road 10K and finished fifth at the World’s Best 10K in Puerto Rico in February. (photo of Lelisa Desisa by Victah Sailer)

Houston Revamps Its Olympic Trials Marathon Course
The original multi-loop 2012 Trials had a test drive at the 2011 USA Half Marathon and input from that occasion has led to some changes in the route. Brant Kotch, President and Race Director of the Houston Marathon Committee explains we have now modified the route to minimize and reconfigure the out-and-back sections, and we believe that the revised course will be very positively received by athletes and spectators alike. Moreover, the new route should be even faster than the Champs version, which actually produced finishing times that were faster than had been predicted by statisticians. The revamped 2012 course will feature a one-time 2.2-mile inner loop followed by an eight-mile loop traversed three times. With only one broad u-turn on the eight-mile loop, faster marathon times are expected. Click on More to read about the rest of the changes. More

How 4/100ths of a Second Changed Molly Huddles Life
Thats how much her 14:44.76 for 5000 meters lowered Shalane Flanagans American record in 2010. It basically changed how Ill think about 2011, how I think about myself, explains Huddle.  To be able to say youre the American record holder, even if it only lasts for a few months, is still a great achievement. Before, I would always come into a U.S. national meet thinking I had to have a lucky day, have the best day of my season to get onto the team, she continues. Now its a little less pressure because I know Im another level above where I was before. Huddles coach Ray Treacy says the goal now is for her to be consistent in the 14:30s. The unassuming and mild-mannered Huddle has what I call quiet confidence, notes Treacy. She lets her legs do the talking. (photo of Molly Huddle by Lisa Coniglio/Photo Run) More

Wittenberg and Samuelson Head to Oslo to Honor Grete Waitz
New York Road Runners President and CEO Mary Wittenberg, NYRR Chairman of the Board George Hirsch, Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, and broadcaster Toni Reavis are part of the American contingent that will honor Waitz in a ceremony at Bislett Stadium in her hometown on Oslo on Wednesday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will give a speech at the tribute and Norways royal family has also been invited. Waitz, a nine-time New York City Marathon winner and the first womens World Champion in the marathon (in 1983), died on April 19 at age 57 after a long battle with cancer.

Five Team USA Minnesotans Will Be at USA 1 Mile
The USA 1 Mile Championships on the road are in their hometown of Minneapolis on Thursday evening at the downtown Nicollet Mall. Heather Kampf, Gabriele Anderson, Jamie Cheever, and Meghan Armstrong will be in the womens race at 7:53 pm., with Chris Rombough in the mens race at 8:00 p.m. Kampf’s best in the mile is 4:30.95 and Anderson’s best is 4:31.05, both set on the road at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York last fall. Its a busy week for Kampf; after the mile race, she will head for the airport the next morning to travel to Shanghai to run the 800 meters at the Dunlop Golden Grand Prix on Sunday. Kampf has a best of 2:01.05 and is the only U.S. entrant in a field of international women in the 800. (Photo of Heather Kampf, in black, by Lisa Coniglio/Photo Run)

Pittsburgh Offers Incentives to Olympic Trials Aspirants
The Pittsburgh Marathon, which is on Sunday, will award $1,500 to the top American male and female who earn their first A U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers and $1,000 to the second- and third-place A qualifiers, all of whom also earn $750 in gift certificates. Any other first-time A qualifiers and all first-time B qualifiers receive $500. The A qualifiers are sub-2:19 for men and sub-2:39 for women. Women running under 2:46 achieve a B standard. Were treating them really well, explained Pittsburgh Marathon administrative assistant Kelsey Jackson. More

After Penn Relays Win, Amine Laalou Covets Daegu Gold
Laalous dominating anchor leg lifted Morocco to a Distance Medley Relay victory at the Penn Relays on April 30. Laalou ranked second in the world in the 1500 in 2010 and posted a best time of 3:29.53. In preparation for this track season, I focused on a lot of mileage and Im in excellent shape, he explains. I have yet to put in specific speed work. I feel very good about my shape and, with our win and the way I ran, I feel Im going in the right direction. Sohes going to be scarily good after this year, and he says, I want to start winning Diamond League and big races. At the same time, my main focus is the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, late in the summer. More

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Plans a Daegu Double
Were going to have a tough time fitting that twice-hyphenated name into headlines, arent we? The ebullient Jamaican was the 2008 Olympic and 2009 World Championships 100-meter gold medalist and she just defeated two-time Olympic 200-meter champ Veronica Campbell-Brown in the half-lap sprint at Saturdays Jamaica International Invitational in Kingston in 22.10 seconds. Its the fastest I have ever ran, Fraser-Pryce observed. I decided I was going to run the first 100m very, very hard, and tell myself, catch me if you can, and I just ran and maintained my form. Her coach needs to approve the plans, but Fraser-Pryce said shed like to try the 100 and the 200 at the World Championships in Daegu. (photo of Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce by Yohei Kamiya/Photo Run) More

Carmelita Jeter Races in Shanghai on May 15
Jeter posted a 10.86 victory in the 100 meters in Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday, but shes traveling all the way to China to face Jamaicas Veronica Campbell-Brown on the track. For the hometown fans, a match-up between David Oliver and Liu Xiang in the 110-meter hurdles will be a highlight. Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot and Linet Masai, the 2009 World Champions in the 5000 and 10,000, respectively, will race each other in a 5000. More

The Little Red Book of Running Is Ready for Order
The author is Scott Douglas of Running Times, as sharp and informed a person as covers our sport today. Lets just quote the writeup at Amazon: The 250 tips offered here are the next best thing to having a personal coach or an experienced running partner. Douglas includes tips for increasing your daily, weekly, and yearly mileage; advice on increasing your speed and racing faster; useful knowledge on how to stay injury-free and be a healthy runner; and much more. Questions about running apparel, fitting runs into a busy schedule, and setting and achieving goals are also answered. And yes, the book is for every level of runner. And its got pictures! And a foreword by Amby Burfoot! More

In the Ivy League, Princeton Wins Everything
By winning the mens and womens Ivy League Heptagonal team titles in New Haven last weekend, the Tigers completed a sweep of the academic years league cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track team championships for both genders. Cornell was the runner-up for both men and women this time out. The Princeton women closed out their effort with a 4800 relay victory in 8:38.33, a meet record by nine seconds. Princetons men clinched their win with a 3:11.79 victory in the 4400. Donn Cabral moved up to the 10,000 and gave Princeton a victory in 30:22.28 on Saturday and returned on Sunday to win the 3000-meter steeplechase in 8:41.93. (photo of Donn Cabral by Lisa Coniglio/Photo Run) More

Connecticut Men and Louisville Men Are Big East Champions
Thats Louisvilles fourth straight Big East outdoor track team title, with 117 points to 107 for West Virginia in the Championships contested at Villanova. Louisvilles strength came mainly in the field events. The outstanding female track performers were Chelsea Carrier, who won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.07 and  400-meter hurdles in 57.48 and also took first in the long jump; Connecticuts Tricia Hawthorne, who took the 100 in 11.31 and 200 in 23.22; and Villanovas Sheila Reid, with a win in the 1500 in 4:23.98 and a strong 5000-meter victory over Georgetowns Emily Infeld in 16:13.29. More

Heres Todays Running Song of the Day
For our 50th choice (who knew wed get this far), we pick a relative newbie from an enormously popular 2010 release. I didnt like it the first time I heard it and loved it the second timeso you may need to hear it twice. The third time? Who knows what dazzling surprise awaits us? All I know is that these lads seem to what someone to run with them. More

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