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Lead Stories: Friday, July 18, 2008

Ryan Hall: The Team
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 11)

Posted June 7th, 2008 at 11:30 AM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Ryan Hall as he begins his quest for Olympic gold! Check back every other Friday for Ryan’s latest entry at http://ryanhall.thefinalsprint.com/

Eleven weeks to go. I go back and forth between thinking I have too much time before the games, and then feeling like there is not enough time. Eleven weeks sometimes feels like a long time to train at the intensity that I am now daily putting forth, but then when I think to myself that in two months I will be heading out to Beijing, I wish I could sneak in a few more weeks at altitude before then. I have found that it is usually a good sign to feel like I wish I had one or two more weeks of training. It is a sign that I am still fresh, still hungry, and still moving forward. Contrast this with my first marathon run at the 2007 London Marathon when I had been hanging on for a month after training for what seemed like an eternity.

Today I will be repeating the same workout I ran two weeks ago before I left for Bolder Boulder—a ten mile tempo run. Last time out it didn’t go so well. Waking up to snow was my second sign that I was going to have a tough day, with the first sign being my cranky ankle that had been bothering me after doing an hour and a half run on a rocky—yet beautiful—single track trail in Big Bear. So between my cranky ankle, snow falling, and being out there all by myself without my shuffle (which I forgot at home) I set myself up for a long day. Let’s not get too much into the specifics; we can just leave it at that I went out slow and came back even slower. Not to mention picking up my bottles off the ground didn’t seem to speed things up any. I left for Boulder concerned.
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Ryan Hall: I Can Be Beaten, But Not Defeated
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 10)

Posted May 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

While on a run a couple of days ago I found myself laughing at Kai (our miniature Siberian Husky) as she tore off through the woods in hot pursuit of yet another squirrel, only to be left at the bottom of the tree peering up as the hot- tempered squirrel rattled off some expletives in its native tongue. I thought to myself, ‘why does she keep wasting her energy flying after squirrels when she has chased thousands of squirrels during her short life, yet has never, ever, even been close to catching one?’ But as I contemplated her spirit I realized that our spirits aren’t really any different. I have been trying to run with the best runners in the world ever since I was able to enter the same race in which they were competing, and while I have never won a race that would give the honor of being crowned “the best in the world,” I still find myself tearing off after the world beaters as if I have never been unsuccessful in beating them. When I watch Kai’s eyes as she spots a Squirrel I can see her come to attention as I though I put a fat sausage in front of her nose and then I see her wheels turning. I know exactly what she is thinking because I have thought the same thing a million times, “I am going after it.” Then the trigger is pulled and we are off to the races. I think this is what Coach Vigil means when he says that all that matters on the starting line is having big eyes. I love that saying. All that matters on race day is being ready to go after it, to go to war.
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Ryan Hall:
More Precious Than Gold
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9)

Posted May 10th, 2008 at 6:15 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

With three months to go before the Olympics begin I am now putting the finishing touches on a vision that birthed 10 years ago during a long, slow, painful, fifteen-mile run around the lake. Now, after all I have been through I have just 105 days to pour myself into my training and prepare for the biggest opportunity of my life. All the training, all the discipline, all the depression, all the sacrifice, all the joy, it was all part of the journey that has prepared me for August 24th.

I love the Olympics. I always have. Growing up I had Olympic rings scribbled all over my text books. I find the symbolism of the rings to be quite dramatic with the five rings representing the unity of man from each of the five continents. There is something powerful about the unity of man.
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Lel, Ndereba lead Kenyan Olympic Marathon Squad

Posted April 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Three-time Flora London Marathon champion Martin Lel (Pictured) and reigning world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba will head a strong Kenyan Olympic squad announced by Athletics Kenya today.

Lel, who took down the London course record with his career best 2:05:15 10 days ago, will be joined by Robert Cheruiyot and Sammy Wanjiru.

Cheruiyot, 33, cruised to his fourth Boston Marathon victory on Monday while Wanjiru, 21, the world record holder for the half-marathon at 58:33, finished second behind Lel in London last week in 2:05:24, also a career best.
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In Quest for Double Olympic Gold, Lagat has El Guerrouj on His Side

Posted April 19th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Bernard Lagat and Hicham El Guerrouj As he sets out on his quest for double Olympic gold this summer, Bernard Lagat will have plenty of supporters. Among them is the man whose achievement he’ll be hoping to emulate in Beijing: world record holder and reigning double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj.

“Bernard proved in Osaka, thanks to determination and passion, that he can do it,” El Guerrouj, the finest middle distance runner of his generation, said of his long-time rival, last fall.
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Ryan Hall: Post-London Recap “It’s Just the Beginning”
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8)

Posted April 18th, 2008 at 7:00 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

As has become my custom before all my best races, my travel to London was crazy. Before breaking an hour at the Houston Half-Marathon it was a monster snowstorm that left us in a ditch and literally snowed in, before London last year it was nearly missing my flight as I realized that the train from San Diego would not drop me off at LAX like I had thought (although my tardiness did result in me getting the last available seat on the plane…in first class), before the Olympic Trials it was the fires and smoke that made for a juggle in travel arrangements and then an earthquake to shake things up just hours before our flight. So when travel got crazy heading to the London marathon you would think I would be excited to know that a good race was on schedule. However, I had a hard time seeing it that way.
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Podcast 103
JASON LEHMKUHLE Climbing the Marathon Leaderboard

Posted November 12th, 2007 at 4:48 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode 103 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my interview with Team USA Minnesota’s JASON LEHMKUHLE.

Jason shattered his marathon PR and outperformed many of America’s most prominent runners to finish in 2:12:54 and come in an impressive 5th place at last Saturday’s U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials in NYC.

In the interview Jason talks about the keys to his success at the Trials, why the course was not as difficult as he expected, what it’s like to be running with and passing America’s most successful elite runners, the tremendous crowd support, dealing with the tragic lose of Ryan Shay, and how it makes (or should make) an athlete (especially one like Jason who knows they have a heart murmur) take extra medical precautions.

Download the podcast to hear Jason discuss these topics, as well as, his racing plans for the spring, his long buildup to the 10,000m U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, his future in marathoning, what makes Minnesota an ideal place to live and train, his freelance graphic design work, helping younger runners, and much more!

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)
[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to you

Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Jason Lehmkuhle
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 19.9 MB | Length: 29:04 MIN

Episode sponsored by:
Camelbak - the originator and leader in hands-free hydration.

To learn more Camelbak Elixir, their effective, easy-to-use and portable electrolyte beverage, as well as Camelbak’s running specific hydration systems, please visit www.camelbak.com.

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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Thornton, Bolden slated to head 2008 Olympic T&F Teams

Posted March 16th, 2007 at 10:15 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

University of Texas men’s head coach Bubba Thornton and UCLA women’s head coach Jeanette Bolden have been nominated to serve as the men’s and women’s head coaches, respectively, for Team USA’s track and field squads for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, USA Track & Field announced Thursday. James Li and Rich Torrellas are nominated as head managers.
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Live @ the USA XC Champs: “18 months to Beijing” Lecture

Posted February 9th, 2007 at 9:23 PM by Sarah Mandell

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Although the 2007 USA XC Championships are in less than 24 hours, athletes and coaches are already concerned and preparing for next summer’s Olympic games.

Physiologist, Dr. Randy Wilbur, began the conference entitled “18 Months to Beijing: How heat, humidity and extreme pollution won’t keep USA athletes off the podium,” and was accompanied by eight time US Marathon Champion Steve Jones, and world, US record setter, and Nike Coach and running legend Alberto Salazar. The panel of speakers discussed the fears and concerns of entering such a hot, humid and polluted environment for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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