August 24, 2008

Wanjiru Races to Marathon Gold; Conditions Fail to Slow Kenyan; U.S. Runners Take 9th, 10th

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from the Washington Post…

BEIJING, Aug. 24 — They were perhaps 22 miles into a marathon, and an uncharacteristically searing sun beat down on the streets of Beijing. It was a time for water, and it didn’t matter if you were Kenyan, such as Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, or Ethiopian such as Deriba Merga. The pair had run stride for stride for several minutes, pushing a pace that seemed sure to slow down, driving each other to a deep thirst.

With that, Wanjiru and Merga came across a yellow water bottle. Merga took a deep sip, and then passed the bottle just ahead of him, handing it to Wanjiru, who took a drink as well. Wanjiru then sent the bottle back. And with that one swig, he basically said “See you later” to his competition, pulling away from a stunned Merga, blistering his way into isolation.

Thus, Wanjiru seized the final gold medal of the track and field competition with a little bit of Olympic spirit and a great deal of athletic superiority. His winning time of 2 hours 6 minutes 32 seconds destroyed a 24-year-old Olympic record, left runner-up Jaouad Gharib of Morocco nearly a minute behind and gave Kenya, with a deep and rich history in distance running, its first Olympic marathon gold.

The 21-year-old finished before a packed, thunderstick-thumping crowd at National Stadium — which had already begun preparations for Sunday night’s Closing Ceremonies — waving as he entered the building, the pace he set intact from front to back.

“I had to push the pace to tire the other runners,” Wanjiru said. “I had to push the pace because my body gets tired in the heat when I slow down.”

Therefore, he didn’t slow, early or late. The chief concerns for the 93 competitors who started appeared to be the sun and the temperature, nearing 80. When the event began at 7:30 a.m., with the backdrop of Tiananmen Square and a trip by Mao Zedong’s portrait at the Forbidden City, there was a blue sky. Beijing’s notorious smog, such a concern for marathoners in the run-up to these Games, was absent, part of an elaborate orchestration by the Chinese government to move industry outside the capital city and to limit the use of cars during the Olympics.

“It didn’t feel that bad out there,” said Michigan’s Dathan Ritzenhein, who was ninth, better than any other American. “It was hot. But to run 2:06:32 in this is incredible. I think that just shows he’s a very young guy, and he’s going to be an incredible marathoner.”

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August 17, 2008

Romanian runs away with Olympic women’s marathon

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from the Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Romania’s Constantina Tomescu-Dita soared into the Bird’s Nest, turning the Olympic marathon into a one-woman race.

Tomescu-Dita pulled away from the lead pack near the halfway mark Sunday to win by 22 seconds over her nearest challenger.

Reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya outsprinted China’s Zhou Chunxiu for the silver to the disappointment of the roaring crowd at National Stadium. Still, the bronze was China’s first medal in track and field. Another Chinese runner, Zhu Xiaolin, was fourth.

The 26.2-mile race was expected to be the biggest test yet of what impact Beijing’s polluted skies and muggy heat would have on the Olympic endurance events. Instead, the weather provided the runners with relief. Gray morning skies replaced the blue of the previous two days with a light rain falling at times and a start-time temperature of 73 degrees.

The 38-year-old Tomescu-Dita won in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds. Ndereba, a pre-race favorite, finished in 2:27:06, one second ahead of Zhou.

It was the second consecutive Olympic silver medal for Ndereba. At 36, she may not get another chance.

“I’m not disappointed,” she said. “Disappointed is not in my vocabulary when I’m doing this.”

Tomescu-Dita, the 2005 world championship bronze medalist, blew kisses to the crowd and raised her arms in triumph as she crossed the finish line.

World record-holder Paula Radcliffe of Britain, who decided to race in her fourth straight Olympics only earlier this week because she is recovering from a stress fracture in her thigh, struggled to finish 23rd, nearly six minutes behind the winner.

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May 21, 2008

Las Vegas Marathon in Financial Trouble

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from CompleteRunning.com…

The dirty laundry of some big city marathons is being aired in public. Oddly enough, the organizers of the Las Vegas Marathon figure in many of the recent controversies.

When results from the 2007 Honolulu Marathon were lost due to problems with a new timing tag system, it was revealed that the system had similar complaints from runners in the Las Vegas Marathon.

Coupled with a story about the small percentage of proceeds that went to a charity affiliated with the Seattle Marathon was news that the winners of the 2006 Las Vegas Marathon didn’t receive their prize money for a year.

Now the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Devine Racing, owner of the city’s marathon, owes more than $100,000 to at least a dozen local vendors for the 2007 race, and still owes money to a handful of businesses for the 2006 race.

The company also owns the Los Angeles and Salt Lake City marathons and the Chicago half-marathon.

The Review-Journal article also lists in a sidebar the unpaid vendors, many of whom state they will no longer do business with the marathon. Even the head of the Nevada Highway Patrol said, “They’ll get nothing for December 2008 – no permits from us – unless we get the full amount up front.”

In a press statement, Devine Racing CEO Chris Devine said all outstanding debts will be paid by June 15, and that he doesn’t expect similar difficulties this year since race registrations are “30% ahead of last year’s pace.”

May 19, 2008

The Great Marathon Boom of 100 Years Ago

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from CoolRunning…

With just about every major city in the United States hosting a marathon, this era could be classified as the second great marathon boom. Did you know the first one took place 100 years ago?

The New York City Marathon, at least in its current incarnation, began in 1970 when 127 runners circled four loops of Central Park, generating little interest among others visiting the park that day. Although many have marked that as the beginning of what is known today as the ING New York Marathon, it was hardly the first 26.2-mile race held in the metropolitan area. In fact, 100 years ago this year the first marathon running “boom” took place, for both participants and spectators, who numbered in the tens of thousands.

Amazingly however, the first New York “marathon” was held not in the 21st, or even the 20th century, but late in the 19th century, even before the first Boston Marathon. After the first modern Olympic Games in Athens Greece in 1896, a group of American travelers, inspired by the 40-kilomoter marathon run that proved to the centerpiece of the Games, held their own “marathon” race back in the U.S. The route took the runners from Stamford, Connecticut to New York City, some 25 miles over muddy dirt roads. John McDermott won the race in 3:25; he would go on to win the inaugural running of another new marathon the next year, held in Boston and sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association.
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April 24, 2008

Bank of America Chicago Marathon registration has closed

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Bank of America announced today that registration for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon has closed as 45,000 runners have signed on to complete the 26.2-mile race, marking the event’s established capacity. A limited number of entries are still available through affiliated charities and tour groups.“It is encouraging and rewarding to see the intense commitment from running enthusiasts across the globe registering for this race more than six months in advance,” said Bank of America Illinois Market President David Rudis. “We are proud to match their enthusiasm by continuing the tradition of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, clearly one of the greatest running events in the world.”

Runners who missed the deadline and are still interested in registering for the 31st running of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon may do so through one of the event’s 65 charity partners or affiliated international tour groups. More information on entries available through these organizations is available on the event web site, chicagomarathon.com.

Since its inception in 1977 with 4,200 registered participants, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon has grown to a field of 45,000 runners attracting 1.5 million spectators and generating more than $10.5 million for charity in 2007.

The 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will start and finish in Chicago’s Grant Park beginning at 8 a.m. on Sunday, October 12. Registration opened to the public on February 1 and closed today when the participant capacity of 45,000 was reached. In advance of the race, a two-day Health & Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick Place on Friday, October 10 and Saturday, October 11. More information on the race and how to get involved is available at chicagomarathon.com.

April 23, 2008

Registration for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is Near Capacity

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from CoolRunning…

If you’ve been thinking about running the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, register soon: The marathon now has 30,000 participants registered and is expected to hit its capacity of 40,000 runners in record time. At its current rate, registration will close during the first week of June, more than a month in advance of the mark set in 2005.

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April 22, 2008

World Marathon Majors Update

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from WorldMarathonMajors…

BOSTON – The 2008 World Marathon Majors (WMM) series continued today with the crowing of the men’s and women’s champions at the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. The inaugural WMM men’s champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya moved into second place in the 2007-08 series championship in becoming the youngest four-time Boston Marathon champion. Ethiopia’s Dire Tune added her name to the series leaderboard in the closest women’s finish in the history of the race.

Martin Lel of Kenya and Irina Mikitenko of Germany both earned 25 points in winning last week’s Flora London Marathon, the first of six races in the series in 2008. The next points races in the 2007-08 series will be the Olympic Marathons this August in Beijing. At the conclusion of the two-year series this fall, the male and female point leaders will each be awarded $500,000.

Cheruiyot closed the gap in winning the Boston Marathon for the second time in the 2007-08 WMM series, earning 25 points for the victory. Lel sits atop the standings with 75 points, while his fellow countryman Cheruiyot moves within 20 points of first-place with 55 overall. Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco drops to third place with 30 points.

The top three in the women’s standings remains the same following today’s race, as 2006-07 WMM women’s champion Gete Wami remains in the lead with a total 65 points. Mikitenko remains in a tie for second in the 2007-08 series with China’s Zhou Chunxiu as each woman has accumulated 40 total points.

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April 22, 2008

Lance Armstrong finishes Boston Marathon in 2:50:58

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from BikeRadar…

Seven times Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong finished the 112th Boston Marathon in 2:50:58, placing 488th out of more than 25,000 Monday.

Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot won the men’s race in 2:07:46, missing the course record he set by just 32 seconds. He became the fourth man to win Boston four times, joining American great Bill Rogers.

Armstrong, running together with 50 Livestrong ‘teammates,’ is raising funds and awareness for his Lance Armstrong Foundation, known around the world as Livestrong. This was Armstrong’s first Boston Marathon; he’s finished the New York City Marathon twice. Participants in that race raised more than US$500,000 in November 2007.

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April 21, 2008

Race Results: 2008 Boston Marathon

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from TheFinalSprint…

Men’s Race

Cheruiyot Wins 112th Boston Marathon; Matches Bill Rodgers with 4 Boston Wins!

Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot has won the 112th Boston Marathon in a blistering time of 2:07:46. It is his third consecutive Boston victory and fourth overall. Cheruiyot challenged his course record of 2:07:12 with an incredible surge in the Newton Hills, but ultimately settled for a historic victory in a still remarkable time.

Morocco’s Abderrahime Bouramdane also had a spectacular day, finishing second in 2:09:03.

Women’s Race

In the closest race in the 112 year history of the Boston marathon, 22-yr old Dire Tune of Ethiopia defeated Russia’s 25-yr old stallion Alevtina Bikitimrova. Tune crossed the line in 2:25:21 and became the youngest Boston champion since 21-yr old American Joan Benoit Samuelson won the race in 1979.

Tune and Biktimirova traded the lead in dramatic fashion throughout the final 800m; each matching then other’s surge just when you thought they would be down and out. Tune ultimately proved to be too strong; taking off with 100m to go, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Biktimrova and collapsing the the after breaking the tape.

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April 20, 2008

Race Results: 2008 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials

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from USATF…

BOSTON - A nearly insurmountable deficit could not deter American record holder Deena Kastor as she led fellow Californians Magdalena Lewy Boulet and Blake Russell onto the Olympic Team, Sunday at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon.

With her American record personal best of 2:19:36 making her 12 minutes faster than the next-fastest Olympic Trials entrant, Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) was a heavy favorite coming into Sunday’s race. But Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) ran far ahead of the pack for the first half of the race. Her lead at 14 miles was 1:55, but Kastor at that point truly began to pursue Lewy Boulet. A strong second half is what gave Kastor, also the American record holder at 10,000m and a two-time World Cross Country silver medalist, the Olympic bronze, and she again demonstrated strength and patience in Boston.

The 35-year-old Kastor began running mile splits of 5:30 to 5:34, quickly eating up Lewy Boulet’s lead. When the Olympic bronze medalist strode past Lewy Boulet 2:14:50 into the race, she increased her pace even further, to 5:29 per mile, as she added an Olympic Trials marathon title to her storied resume by crossing the finish line in 2:29:35.

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