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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Short of Conditioning, Keflezeghi Withdraws from London Marathon

Posted March 18th, 2008 at 11:45 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Short of conditioning, reigning Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi of San Diego, Calif., has withdrawn from next month’s Flora London Marathon. In a statement released by his brother and manager, Merhawi, the man who has twice made the podium of the ING New York City Marathon confirmed what had been rumored for several weeks.

“Meb Keflezighi has decided to pass up on the 2008 Flora London Marathon,” read the statement. “Meb is short of the conditioning he and Coach Bob Larsen would like before racing in one of the finest and competitive marathons in the world. Meb and Coach Larsen feel it would be too risky to rush the workouts in preparation for London, during an Olympic year. While Meb is disappointed he will not have a chance to set a significant personal best in London, he realizes it is better to be cautious during the Olympic year. Meb will now give his complete focus on preparing for the USATF Olympic Trials.”
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Nick Symmonds: 2008 . . .
. . . It’s Finally Here!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted December 31st, 2007 at 4:56 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds. For more information about Nick please visit: www.nicksymmonds.com

Well, it is December 31st and it is a momentous day for me for several reasons.

First of all, I turned 24 yesterday. Normally birthdays come and go for me and I don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about them. While I certainly don’t feel old I am realizing that my body is almost fully matured and I am starting to enter the years that male middle distance runners typically peak. I’ve begun to notice that I get out of shape much faster than I used to, but also that I get back into shape faster; a rare combination of a slower metabolism and legs that have run thousands of miles.

This is also a huge day for me because it is New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow I will return to Eugene and will begin the process of sharpening up for the indoor season. My first race is in 26 days and I want to start the season out with a big win in Boston. But first, I will enjoy New Year’s like everyone else; one last hurrah before 2008!
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Olympian Jon Brown Changes Allegiance to Canada

Posted November 14th, 2007 at 6:30 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Jon Brown, twice fourth at the Olympic Marathon wearing the vest of Great Britain, has switched his allegiance to Canada. A long-time resident of British Columbia, Brown had already possessed a Candian passport but still ran for Britain.

“I no longer will be representing Great Britain in athletic competition,” said the 36 year-old athlete in an e-mail message sent to the Race Results Weekly office. “Instead I will now be running for Canada.”

A three-time Olympian for Britain, Brown still holds the British record for 10,000m, 27:18.14, set in Brussels in 1998. His best times at the standard distances are 7:45.41 for 3000m, 13:19.03 for 5000m, 61:49 for the half-marathon and 2:09:31 for the marathon.
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Athens Classic Marathon
Picks Up the Pace

Posted November 7th, 2007 at 10:00 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Kenyan Benjamin Korir Kiprotich and Russia’s Svetlana Ponomarenko won the 25th Athens Classic Marathon today. In mild weather conditions with temperatures around a maximum of 20° Celsius and an occasional light rain winning times were much faster than in the years before. Benjamin Korir Kiprotich clocked 2:14:40 on the classic route from Marathon to Athens’ Panathinaikon Stadium while Svetlana Ponomarenko crossed the line in 2:33:19.

Kenyans had won the Athens Classic Marathon three times in a row. And they dominated the race again today, extending their win streak. Eight of them formed the leading group when the half way point was passed in 68:07 minutes. At about 35 k Benjamin Korir Kiprotich broke away and opened a decisive gap.
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Stefano Baldini Enters NYC Marathon; Set to Compete Against World’s Best

Posted October 11th, 2007 at 5:27 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Stefano Baldini of Italy will add a touch of gold to an already sparkling men’s professional field at the ING New York City Marathon 2007 on Sunday, November 4, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary Wittenberg.

The announcement was made at a news conference in Milan, where Baldini appeared with the chairman of the New York Road Runners board of directors, George Hirsch.

“New York boasts a glittering honor roll of Italian champions, including Orlando Pizzolato, Gianni Poli, and Giacomo Leone, and we know Stefano doesn’t want his golden career to end without his name being added to that list,” Wittenberg said. “With him ride the hopes of a marathon-mad nation.”

Baldini will face off against a handful of former New York champions, including previously announced Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil (2006), Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa (2004), and Kenyans Martin Lel (2003) and Rodgers Rop (2002).
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Scott Jurek Earns Second Consecutive Spartathlon Title

Posted October 2nd, 2007 at 7:43 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Trail / Ultra

On Saturday, American ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek once again followed in the footsteps of legendary messenger Pheidippides and successfully defended his Spartathlon title. Jurek completed the 152.85 mile (246 km) course from Athens to Sparta in 23 hours, 12 minutes, 14 seconds.

Piotr Kurylo from Poland finished second in 24:29:41 and Valmir Nunes of Brazil finished third with a time of 25:37:40.

Jurek’s time is the sixth fastest in race history. Last year, Jurek became the first North American to win the legendary race and ran the fifth fastest time in the modern race’s 25-year history.

To read the rest of this entry, please visit our partner site: TrailFit.com

To hear Scott discuss his experience and victory at last year’s Spartathlon, check out: Episode 34 of The Final Sprint Podcast

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Scott Jurek to defend Spartathlon title; Run in the footsteps of Pheiddipides

Posted September 19th, 2007 at 10:00 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Trail / Ultra

In a recent blog post, America’s top ultra-elite runner Scott Jurek writes about his plans to defend his title at the 25th annual Spartathlon.

The Spartathlon is a legendary, 152.85 mile (246 km) ultramarathon race held in Greece since 1983 between Athens and Sparta. Now in it’s 25th year, the Spartathlon will take place from September 28-29, when in excess of 300 international runners will participate in the classic event.

In 2006, Jurek became the first American man to ever win the Sparathlon; crossing the finish line in a time of 22:52:18

To read the rest of this article, please visit our partner site: TrailFit.com

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Shaheen to miss IAAF World Champs with knee injury

Posted July 10th, 2007 at 1:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Injury will force Saif Saaeed Shaheen, the two-time defending world champion in the 3000m steeplechase, from retaining his title at next month’s IAAF World Championships in Osaka.

Shaheen, 24, sustained a knee injury just prior to the Prefontaine Classic early last month, forcing him out of races in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and Athens in June. In a statement today, the Kenyan-born world record holder in the event confirmed he’s lost too much training time to compete in Osaka, where he had also planned to contest the 5000 meters.
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TFS Podcast 1: Interview with legendary coach Jeff Galloway

Posted January 11th, 2007 at 7:00 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

I was honored to have Jeff Galloway, author of the best-selling running book in U.S. history, join me for The Final Sprint’s very first podcast.

Jeff, now 61 years old, has completed 131 marathons, trained more than 200,000 athletes and continues to inspire millions of runners around the world. Download the podcast to learn more about Jeff’s renowned strategies for staying injury free and achieving your goals!

Listen In
[MP3] Direct Download (Right click, 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: Jeff Galloway
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 38.6MB
Length: 00:28:44

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

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Mottram injures calf; pulls out of XC rematch with Bekele

Posted January 10th, 2007 at 7:01 AM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Australia’s Craig Mottram, the 200m World Cup champion, was forced to withdraw from this weekend’s Great Edinborugh cross country event because of a calf injury.

The 9km race is being held this Saturday in Scotland and was supposed to be his first competition against five-time world champion Kenenisa Bekele since Mottram’s surprising World Cup victory last fall in Greece.
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