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Hollywood Stars, Olympic Medalists Lead Another Impressive Group of Celebrities Running NYC Marathon
Posted October 28th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Former soccer star Brandi Chastain (pictured, right) and former gymnastics sensation Kerri Strug (pictured, below), will trade in their old Team USA uniforms for orange running jerseys as they take on their next athletic challenge — the 2008 ING New York City Marathon.
On Sunday, November 2, 2008, the Olympic gold medalists will lead another impressive group of star athletes from other sports 
and international celebrities that will join nearly 40,000 participants for one of the world’s premier distance running events. These sporting greats will be joined by supermodel Beth Ostrovsky and actor Ryan Reynolds.
Strug and Chastain will join global financial service leader ING and wear orange shoe laces to serve as ambassadors for the ING Run for Something Better, a national program that promotes youth fitness and provides funding for free community and school-based running programs across the country.
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Ryan Hall: The Countdown
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 12)
Posted June 20th, 2008 at 7:55 PM by Ryan Hall
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall, Road Racing
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/
As I laid awake last night trying to fall asleep, I did what I have a tendency to do once training is clicking well and I feel my legs beginning to feel “alive” again after the initial callusing is complete from the first month of marathon training; I began the countdown. Only a little more than two months until I run in the Olympic marathon.
Countdowns are nothing new for me. When I was a little kid my siblings and I used to fight over who gets to open the next day’s door on a Christmas countdown board. I am not going to lie, it was the chocolate behind the door that we were really fighting over, but it did make Christmas all the more special once it finally arrived.
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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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Quote of the Day: 5/6/08
Posted May 6th, 2008 at 8:30 AM by Hariz Siddiqui
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
- Lance Armstrong
TIME Magazine Ranks Oscar Pistorius One of the 100 Most Influential People of 2008
Posted May 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 AM by Andrew Goodman
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
Today, it was announced that Oscar Pistorius has made the 2008 TIME 100, the annual list published by TIME Magazine, which identifies the 100 most influential people in the world. Oscar is in good company, including the Dalai Lama, Lance Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin, and Al Gore.
While TIME refuses to rank the 100 in importance, but does create categories – Oscar is listed third in the Heroes & Pioneers list, just after Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Oprah Winfrey – the magazine also conducted a poll amongst its readers to hear whom they thought should be on the list, and Oscar placed 19th.
Just one year ago, very few people in the world were aware of this young South African bilateral amputee who may very well change the history of sport because of his resolve and determination to compete on equal ground and without apologies against able-bodied athletes.
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LIVE at the Boston Marathon: 7-time Tour de France Winner Lance Armstrong Finishes in 2:50:58
Posted April 21st, 2008 at 12:49 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: Special Features, Live Race Coverage
Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has finished his first Boston Marathon in a very respectable 2:50:58, good for 488th place overall. Lance reached the halfway split in a conservative 1:26:52 before running an impressive negative split on the hilly second half of the course. The effort was Armstrong’s third marathon and followed his 2:46:43 clocking in New York this fall.
Leading up to this race Armstrong was a bit apprehensive, noting a lack of training and a few nagging injuries. Nonetheless his performance was solid and bodes well for his planned attempt at 2:30 this fall in New York. Lance ran Boston to raise money for his Lance Armstrong Foundation, a charitable organization that actively contributes to cancer research.
For more news, analysis, interviews, videos, and results from the 2008 Boston Marathon and USA Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials, please visit:
Lance Armstrong to Run Boston Marathon
Posted January 17th, 2008 at 1:22 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Lance Armstrong plans to extend his marathon career by running the 2008 Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today. It will be his third marathon; he ran the ING New York City Marathon in both 2006 and 2007.
In a press release the B.A.A. took care to explain that Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France champion, had actually qualified for the race like any other runner by running a 2:46:43 at New York last November (the qualifying standard for men 35 to 39 is 3:15:00). Most of the 22,473 runners who entered Boston last year had to qualify, although some were granted entry through charity groups or other special entry programs.
As in his two previous marathons, Armstrong will be running to raise money for his Lance Armstrong Foundation, which pursues an agenda focused on cancer prevention, access to screening and care, the improvement of the quality of life for cancer survivors, and an investment in research. Armstrong survived testicular cancer which was diagnosed in 1996.
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Felix and Gay finalists for 2007 Athlete of the Year
Posted December 5th, 2007 at 6:00 PM by Martin Kennedy
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
2007 Jesse Owens Award winners Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay are finalists for the 2007 United States Sports Academy Athlete of the Year presented by USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com. Last year, the ballot attracted nearly half a million votes from around the globe.
Votes will be collected online from November 30- December 24. The ballot will be located on a website hosted by the Academy, which is currently available through a direct link from the USA Track & Field website at www.usatf.org.
At just 21 years old, Felix became the second woman in history to win three gold medals at a single World Outdoor Championships with her triumphs in Osaka, Japan. She first won the 200m in a personal-best 21.81 seconds. It was the fastest time by a woman since 1999 and was the largest margin of victory in World Outdoor history (.53).
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Lance Armstrong Finds His Groove at ‘07 NYC Marathon
Posted November 4th, 2007 at 12:52 PM by J. R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage
Lance Armstrong ran a consistent, progressively faster 2007 New York City Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:46:43. His time beat his 2006 time of 2:59:36 by a huge margin of 12 minutes and 53 seconds. Here’s how his race progressed:
Split, Time, Pace
5k, 0:20:01, 6:26
10k, 0:40:08, 6:27
15k, 0:59:54, 6:25
20k, 1:19:27, 6:23
Half, 1:23:41, 6:23
30k, 1:58:40, 6:21
35k, 2:18:00, 6:20
40k, 2:37:47, 6:20
Finish 2:46:43, 6:21
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NYC MARATHON ‘07: Lance Armstrong Aiming for 2:50 Finish Time
Posted November 4th, 2007 at 10:32 AM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage
In a running interview with Runner’s World Editor-in-Chief David Willey, Lance Armstrong said he is aiming for a 2:50 finish time this year. Although he trained more this year, Armstrong didn’t sound too confident (despite looking far more comfortable this year than last).
It should be noted that Armstrong does not have what Willey called a “entourage”, or pacers, this year. Last year celebrity pacers like Alberto Salazar ran portions of the race with Armstrong; Undoubtedly helpful for a first time marathoner but also something that drew a plethora of criticism.
This year, with no marathoning legends of Hall of Fame runners in sight, Armstrong is all by himself this year - well other than the runner with green hair who is currently beside him. Ya’ gotta’ love NYC.
Best of Luck Lance.
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Follow along with TheFinalSprint.com’s LIVE coverage of the 2007 ING New York City Marathon, listen to interviews, watch press conference videos, and much more at:
http://newyork.thefinalsprint.com
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Who was America's most-valuable male runner in 2008?
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The Final Sprint
On January 8, 2009
Jimmy said:
Hey nick, im a big fan.. do you do any cross training? and why did you decide to run d3 in college...