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Lead Stories: Saturday, August 30, 2008

Letherby, Begley Win 71st Manchester Road Race

Posted November 22nd, 2007 at 9:25 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Andrew Letherby of Australia and Amy Begley of Beaverton, Ore., won today’s 71st running of the Manchester Road Race in Manchester, Conn.

For the 34 year-old Letherby it was his second Manchester victory. He also won the 4.78 mile race in 2002, and remains the only Australian to race to victory at Manchester. His time today of 21:54 was nine seconds faster than his 2002 winning mark, but only one second up on Irishman Martin Fagan who took second.

U.S. steeplechaser Brian Olinger of Westerville, Ohio, took third in 22:00, while defending champion, Ian Dobson of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was fourth in 22:03.
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Top Talent Headed to Thursday’s Manchester
Road Race

Posted November 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

America’s most venerated Thanksgiving Day running race, the Manchester Road Race, will celebrate its 71st edition on Thursday in Manchester, Conn., with some top talent at the front.

In the men’s race, last year’s champion Ian Dobson, the former Stanford star, will try to become the first American to defend his title at Manchester since steeplechaser John Gregorek won two in a row in 1988 and ‘89. In cold and rainy conditions last year, Dobson prevailed by just one second over Canadian Simon Bairu.

Dobson’s key competition will likely come from a pair of Ethiopian Olympians, Dagne Alemu and Girma Tola. Alemu has won three consecutive races since winning the York White Rose Run on Nov. 11; Tola won the Baltimore Half-Marathon on Oct. 13 and the Boston Mayor’s Cup Cross Country on Oct. 28. Also in the mix will be 2002 Manchester champion, Andrew Letherby of Australia; New Zealand Olympian Michael Aish; Canadians Reid Coolsaet and Dylan Wykes; Irishman Martin Fagan; steeplechasers Dan Huling and Brian Olinger; and milers Rob Myers and Grant Robison.
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Lagat completes first half of double title defense

Posted June 23rd, 2007 at 12:11 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

After finishing second in the first heat of the 1500m preliminaries tonight, a reporter asked Bernard Lagat where he would be at 8:35 p.m. when the 5000m final would begin. Smiling mischievously, the 32 year-old from Tucson, Ariz. said simply, “We will see.”

A little more than two hours later, with the daylight in this Midwest city just beginning to fade, Lagat was standing on the 5000m starting line, and he was indeed ready to race.

“Every time I go on to the track I want to win,” he said later.

And win he did, using the kind of leg speed that only a two-time Olympic medalist can summon so late in the race. Running a distant second to Matt Tegenkamp at the bell, Lagat blasted down the backstraight after Adam Goucher launched a long kick 300m from home and tried to pass him. Lagat not only beat back Goucher’s challenge, but as he pulled away rounding turn three, he could see the gap to Tegenkamp was closing. Coming out of turn four, Lagat got past the tall redhead, and kept his speed to the line, breaking the tape in 13:30.73. Despite starting his kick fairly late, he still recorded a swift 56.1 second final lap.
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King’s road to Eugene begins

Posted May 27th, 2007 at 11:25 AM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Several hundred fans were on hand Saturday night as Max King won the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at The Road to Eugene ‘08 at historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.

The Road to Eugene ‘08 is a cooperative effort between the Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, USA Track & Field, and the USATF Athletes Advisory Committee. The meet is a benefit for the Professional Athletics Association (PAA), a newly formed union of professional track and field athletes.

A former Cornell standout, Max King held off Brian Olinger to win the men’s 3,000m steeplechase in a personal best 8 minutes 31.26 seconds with Olinger second in 8:31.56, they are the second and third fastest performances by Americans so far this year. For their efforts, both King and Olinger achieved the Olympic Trials “A” standard.
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