TFS News Briefs: 10/27/07
Posted October 27th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs, Trail / Ultra
Kenyan Steeplechaser Has Eye Marathon World Record
Boit Kipketer, a 35-year-old Kenyan who is one of just eight men to have finished a 3000m Steeplechase in under 8:00, now has eyes for Haile Gebrselassie’s marathon world-record time of 2:04:26. Read more at: [IAAF]
USOC Chair Ueberroth: Hayward Field Like Wrigley Field
United States Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth visited Eugene, OR, the location of next year’s U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, and made the storied Hayward Field his “first stop.” He compared Hayward Field to Wrigley Field, saying, “this community, with its heritage, with its magical facility, it’s kind of like Wrigley Field. That magical experience can provide a rebirth (and a) regeneration in track and field. I think it really is going to be wonderful.” Ueberroth also apologized to the whole world for Marion Jones’ actions, saying, “we damaged the Olympics. When you do something that hurts the organization, you better stand up and own up to it.” Read more at: [The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR]
Chariots of Fire, IRL
Sam Dobin, a 19-year-old economics student at Cambridge, has stolen a memorable scene from the movie Chariots of Fire and made it his own, in real life. You might recall the memorable scene in which Harold Abrahams, a central character in the movie, attempts to run all the way around Trinity College’s Great Court (pictured at right) before the clock finishes striking noon. Well, Dobin has done it, and he has done so in record time, and has been inspired to make a run at the 800m and 1500m runs in the 2012 Olympic Games. Read more at: [Daily Mail]
Slots for Houston Marathon Being Scalped for $500
Houston Marathon organizers are angry that scalpers are charging desperate runners up to $500 online for slots that will gain them entry into next January’s event. Even though a record number of 17,000 slots have been offered for next year’s race, they were snatched up in record time. Listen at: [NPR]
“Controlled Chaos” At Hairy Gorilla Half-Marathon
Halloween Fun Runs are notoriously wacky, but the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon & Squirrely Six Mile race, an annual trail event at Thacher State Park in Voorheesville, NY, takes the cake, err, banana-nut bread. Runners are chased by guys with chainsaws and zombies while volunteers in gorilla suits throw bananas at them. All the while, elite runners are trying to take the race seriously. Race organizers call the whole thing “controlled chaos.” Read more at: [Albany Times Union, NY]
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Tags: 3000m SC, 3000m steeplechase, boit kipketer, chariots of fire, hairy gorilla half marathon, halie gebrselassie, hayward field, houston marathon, marathon, marathon world record, Marion Jones, peter ueberroth, sam dobin, scalpers, steeplechase, trinity college, trinity great court, USOC, world record, wrigley field
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