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USA 15-K Championships On Tap for Saturday in Florida
Posted March 12th, 2009 at 1:48 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Road Racing
The 32nd edition of the Gate River Run will take place on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla., and will serve as the USA 15 km Championships for both men and women for the 16th time. A prize money purse of $58,000 is on the line, and eight Olympians have committed to the race, USA Track & Field reported.
Defending champion Andrew Carlson leads the men’s field. In extremely winding conditions last year, Carlson won by nine seconds over Dan Browne, 44:12 to 44:21. He pocketed the $12,000 first prize plus an additional $5,000 “equalizer” bonus for getting to the finish line ahead of Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor who, with the other elite women, had a five minute head start.
“I’m from North Dakota so I’m used to wind,” Carlson said after the race.
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Slattery Wins U.S. Women’s 8-K Title
Posted September 27th, 2008 at 8:00 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Road Racing
Sara Slattery of Lafayette, Colo., won today’s U.S. Women’s 8-K Championship in Akron, Ohio. For the 26 year-old athlete, who won the Pan Am Games 10,000m title in 2007, it was her first ever U.S. open title on any surface.
Slattery went for victory early, sharing the lead with race favorite Katie McGregor. They passed the first mile in 5:05, while a chase pack of eight women, including Amy Rudolph, Molly Huddle, Renee Metivier-Baillie and Lindsey Anderson, kept them in sight. On a gradual uphill in the sixth kilometer, Slattery eased away from McGregor and Metivier-Baillie, who had come up from the chase group, and found herself with a ten meter lead.
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U.S. Women Converge on Akron for 8-K Championship
Posted September 25th, 2008 at 8:45 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Road Racing
Nearly 30 American women have entered the U.S. Women’s 8-K Championship in Akron, Ohio, on Saturday, USA Track & Field reported today. A $23,500 prize money purse is on the line with $7,500 going to the winner.
The top contenders for the title include two-time national 10-K champion Katie McGregor, two-time Olympian Elva Dryer, reigning national 20-K champion Jill Steffens, two-time national 8-K champion Amy Rudolph, Olympic steeplechaser Lindsey Anderson, and former NCAA 10,000m champion Sara Slattery.
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Interesting Possibilities in Tonight’s Women’s 10,000m Final
Posted June 27th, 2008 at 6:00 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
The fan and media focus at tonight’s women’s 10,000m final at the U.S. Olympic Trials here is rightly on the event’s two top stars: American record holder Shalane Flanagan and last year’s IAAF World Championships bronze medalist Kara Goucher.
But, because the field has only four Olympic Games “A” standard holders, several other women are likely to be pushing the pace because it is their only hope of making it to Bejing. Unlike in previous Olympic years, U.S. athletes will not be allowed to register qualifying times after the Trials have concluded. Also, if a “B” standard holder should win the race, she won’t be able to earn a Beijing berth because the qualifying rules state that as long as there at least two “A” standard holders behind them in the field, those athletes will be nominated to the Olympic team ahead of the “B” winner. For athletes without the “A” standard going into tonight’s race, it’s do or die.
The four “A” standard holders — Flanagan, Goucher, Molly Huddle and Katie McGregor — have no incentive to push the pace, and it is unlikely that they will do much leading tonight. However, other strong athletes who need to make the standard tonight (31:45.00 or better), will have little choice but to make the race.
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Hundreds gather to remember Mike Long
Posted July 28th, 2007 at 11:22 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results
Under the warm Southern California sun, which no doubt had influenced his sunny disposition, hundreds of family, friends and running industry colleagues gathered at Mission Point Park to remember Elite Racing’s legendary elite athletes coordinator, Mike Long, who died unexpectedly last week at 65.
Tears flowed freely as more than a dozen people came to the podium to remember Long, showering him with praise and sharing their goodbyes.
“For those who never met him words would not suffice,” said writer and television commentator, Toni Reavis, who acted as emcee. He called the diminutive Long, who only stood 5′ 6″ (168cm) tall, “the center around which all we revolved.”
Long’s son, Bruce, said that his father’s sudden death –believed to be a heart attack– was probably how his father would have wanted to go, not caring for lingering goodbyes. “He was never a hospital bed kind of guy,” he said, his sunglasses concealing his tear-swollen eyes.
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U.S. Athletics Championships open tomorrow in Indy
Posted June 19th, 2007 at 9:26 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
The AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, arguably one of the best track meets in the world for event-by-event depth, open tomorrow in Indianapolis and will serve as the binding selection meet for the U.S. team for the IAAF World Championships in Osaka in August.
Like last year, the meet will span five days and be held at the Michael A. Carroll Stadium at Indiana University-Purdue University. The top-3 finishers in each event, assuming they have achieved the appropriate IAAF qualifying standard, will be named to the U.S. team.
Also, the U.S. Junior Championships will be held at the same venue over the same dates. Most of the junior events will be held earlier in the day.
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Dibaba has sights set on Defar’s record
Posted May 31st, 2007 at 5:29 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Tirunesh Dibaba, the double world champion at 5000m and 10,000m in Helsinki two summers ago, is looking to take a bite out of the Big Apple by attacking Meseret Defar’s world 5000m record at Saturday’s Reebok Grand Prix on Randall’s Island.
At last year’s meet with the track still puddled from heavy rains, Defar mustered a 61.5 second closing lap to cross the finish line in 14:24.53, toppling Elvan Abeylegesse’s world record by 15/100ths of a second. Dibaba, who set the world indoor 5000m record of 14:27.42 at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games last January, would like nothing more than easing aside her compatriot to have both the indoor and outdoor world records next to her name, instead.
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The Final Sprint
On June 9, 2009
Bridget said:
I completely agree with this article. Although I don't think moderate caffeine before a moderate workout...