TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.
Great Line-Ups for Sunday’s adidas Track Classic
Posted May 15th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Organizers have secured great line-ups for Sunday’s adidas Track Classic at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and that includes the middle and long distance events.
The men’s 1500m is shaping up to the the top event, led by double world champion and two-time Olympic medalist, Bernard Lagat. Commonwealth Games medalists Nick Willis of Australia and Nate Brannen of Canada are also in the field, along with perennial Canadia star Kevin Sullivan and former NCAA ace Lopez Lomong. Nick Symmonds will be moving up from his usual specialty, the 800m, while 5000m man Adam Goucher will be moving down for a speed workout.
Read the rest of this entry »
American Record for Flanagan At Cardinal Invitational
Posted May 5th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
She’d never run a 10,000m race before, but Shalane Flanagan can safely say that she’s already mastered the distance on only her first try at Sunday’s Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Helped by excellent pacemaking provided by Kenya’s Rose Kosgei and a spirited battle with New Zealand’s Kim Smith which went right to homestretch, the 26 year-old Olympian toppled Deena Kastor’s American record with a sparkling 30:34.49 clocking.
“Thanks to the New York Road Runners, they set me up with a rabbit and that gave me a cushion,” Flanagan told a clutch of reporters after the race. “It really worked out very well.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Jon Rankin:
Somewhere Only We Know
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #11)
Posted May 1st, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jon Rankin
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin
Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/
It’s the end of April and the weather here in San Diego is getting hotter and hotter. I’m grateful for the warm weather, but boy, anything over 90 degrees makes things a little tough for training. However, as hot as it has been I do believe that it must be a blessing in disguise because I’ve been told that the weather in Beijing, China is particularly warm . . . Well, all of the athletes living here at the ARCO Olympic Training Center here in Chula Vista, California are adjusting and making the most of everyday no matter the weather conditions.
I’ve actually been on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to weather conditions. For nearly eight days a small group of track and field athletes from the Chula Vista ARCO Olympic Training Center travelled to Eugene, Oregon for a sneak peek at the Olympic Trials venue at Hayward field on the University of Oregon campus.
Read the rest of this entry »
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.”
Read the rest of this entry »
TFS Running Podcast 128: 2004 Olympian DAN BROWNE Sets His Sights on Eugene
Posted February 25th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
Welcome to Episode 128 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America. Today we’re joined by Dan Browne, a 2004 Olympian in the marathon and the 10000m and a graduate of West Point.
In this interview, Dan walks us through his gutsy performance at the Olympic Trials marathon and talks about how things have gone since he hooked up with his new training group, Team Running USA. He splits his time nowadays between the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA and Mammoth Lakes, CA for his altitude training. He also talks about his recent illness and his plans for the rest of the 2008 season, including running the USA 15 km Championships that will be held on March 8th in Jacksonville, FL.
Download the podcast to listen to Dan talk about this year’s Prefontaine Classic 2 Miler, his fondness for the Army 10 miler and his military service with the Oregon National Guard, the strong faith he shares with his teammates and much more.
LISTEN IN:
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: Jimmie R. Markham | Guest: Dan Browne
Executive Producer: Adam Jacobs
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 11.6 MB | Length: 17:01 MIN
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Hall Ready For San Diego Turf Battle at USA XC Champs
Posted February 11th, 2008 at 4:39 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Cross Country
The first time Ryan Hall raced the 12-K event at the USA Cross Country Championships it was in frosty conditions in New York City’s Van Cortlandt Park in February, 2006. Spectators shivered, but Hall was on fire, romping to victory over his closest rival, Jorge Torres, by 27 seconds.
It is was in that race that Hall, last November’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon champion, saw the future.
“That kind of opened up my eyes a little bit to the longer distances,” said Hall on a conference call today from his home in Big Bear Lake, Calif., where he is preparing to leave for the U.S. Cross Country Championships in San Diego next Saturday.
Read the rest of this entry »
Josh Cox: Carpe Diem
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)
Posted February 6th, 2008 at 3:15 PM by Josh Cox
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox
Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry and for more information about Cox, also please visit: www.joshcox.com
In ‘97 Cox ran and won a 50-mile ultra, in ’99 he ran his first marathon making him the youngest Trials qualifier. The following year he clocked 2:13, which opened the door for him to train with the world’s best in Kenya. Cox has tried his hand at Reality TV, been all over magazine covers and is a fixture in the sport.
CARPE DIEM
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Baptist minister and civil rights leader“It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else, and still unknown to himself.”
- Francis Bacon, English philosopher and statesman“Never, never, never quit.”
- Winston Churchill, Author, soldier and Prime Minister
October 1980, Paul David Hewson and his band - formally known as “Feedback” and “The Hype” - had just released their first full-length album, Boy. Their single “I Will Follow” climbed the UK charts and their star was born. Around that time, the band joined a religious group in Dublin, the Shalom Fellowship. Time passed and some of Shalom’s leaders began criticizing the bands “involvement in the world.” The leaders told the band that in order to please God they would have to give up rock ‘n’ roll.
Read the rest of this entry »
Gilmore Wins, Sets Course Record at Surf City USA Half-Marathon
Posted February 6th, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Peter Gilmore [MarathonGuide.com] of San Mateo, CA started his year and preparation for April’s Flora London Marathon with a victory at the Surf City USA Half Marathon on Sunday.
Gilmore edged Russia’s Dmitry Safronov by 11 seconds and set a new course record despite the poor weather conditions with a time of 1:03:53.
Although the race was largely a tune-up for London, Gilmore’s record-setting time and first place finish were welcome successes after being forced to drop out of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials last November due to illness.
With a win and successful 2008 debut under his belt, Gilmore now faces the arduous task of going up against an extremely competitive elite men’s field in London that includes reigning World and Olympic marathon champions Luke Kibet and Stefano Baldini, former world marathon record holder Paul Tergat, defending London and 2005 champion Martin Lel, world half-marathon record holder Sammy Wanjiru, former double World Champion Jaouad Gharib, and fellow Americans Ryan Hall and Olympic silver medalistMeb Keflezighi.
Read the rest of this entry »
Team USA dominates the World at the first stop on the Visa Championship Series
Posted January 23rd, 2008 at 8:09 AM by Jeanie Rebb
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
With wins in 11 of 16 events, Team USA dominated Team World Monday evening at USA vs. the World at the Run for the Dream at the Save Mart Center, located on the campus of Fresno State University in California. Scored as a dual meet, Team USA won 96-66.
Three-time Olympian Amy Acuff won the women’s high jump with her clearance of 1.95 meters/6 feet 4.75 inches. After three near-misses at the Indoor American record, Acuff was named Visa Athlete of the Meet for her efforts. 2005 NCAA Outdoor champion Sharon Day was second with her clearance of 1.90m/6-2.75.
After one false start and one call back, 1996 Olympic gold medalist and four-time 110-meter hurdle champion Allen Johnson led the men’s 55m hurdles wire-to-wire to win the race in 7.14 seconds. 2001 NCAA Indoor champion Aubrey Herring was second in 7.27.
Reigning World Indoor and Outdoor champion Reese Hoffa [Pictured] stole the show in the men’s shot put with his winning heave of 21.06m/69-1.25. 2007 U.S. Outdoor runner-up Dan Taylor was the runner-up with 19.99m/65-7.
Read the rest of this entry »
Original Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon Begins a New Decade in San Diego
Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 AM by Jeanie Rebb
Section: News & Results, Marathons
On Sunday, June 1, 2008, the original Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego begins a new decade as one of the world’s premiere marathons. The event is known as a 26.2-mile block party with a live band at every mile along the course, hundreds of cheerleaders, themed water stations and a post-race concert, which featured SEAL in 2007.
Now is the time to set training plans and begin preparing for the entertaining fitness experience. For 20,000 runners and walkers, race weekend offers a unique opportunity to take an active vacation, accomplish personal goals, team up with friends and family, raise funds for charity or race like the King.
Read the rest of this entry »










The Final Sprint
On March 15, 2010
SDrunner said:
Great review, I wrote one on the Ironman Road Trainer HRM, which is similar to this one, without the...