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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

Gold Medalist Dita Leads Chicago Field

Posted September 11th, 2008 at 10:45 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Organizers of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon will have the sparkle of gold at their race on Sunday, October 12, when Romania’s Constantina Dita steps to the starting line. The newly crowned Olympic Games gold medalist will have just 56 days to recover from her breakaway win in Beijing, then rally back to perform at her best in Chicago. It will be her fifth appearance in the Windy City, a race she won in 2004 and finished second one year later in a personal best 2:21:30.

“I am delighted to be returning to Chicago,” said Dita through a press release. “I have always felt great running there and have been fortunate to have some of the best races of my life there. It will also be nice to return because I understand Chicago is bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games and I think it would be a wonderful place to have them.”

In Beijing Dita pulled away from the field just before the halfway point, and romped to a solo victory in 2:26:44, 22 seconds ahead of silver medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya. She became the oldest Olympic Games marathon champion at 38.
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De Reuck Replaced by Gomez in BolderBOULDER 10-K

Posted May 25th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

A report published in today’s Rocky Mountain News said that USA masters 10-K champion Colleen De Reuck is out of Monday’s Dick’s Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10-K.

The report said that De Reuck, 44, was forced to withdraw with an illness and that she was to be replaced by marathon runner Zoila Gomez, recently fourth at the USA Olympic Marathon trials.

De Reuck, who has lived in Boulder for many years, is a fan favorite. However, the USA team for the International Team Challenge may be a bit stronger with Gomez, 28.
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Russell Hopes for Elusive Olympic Team Berth

Posted April 18th, 2008 at 5:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Some four years ago on a warmish day in St. Louis, Blake Russell was competing in the biggest race of her life, the 2004 USA Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon. Right from the gun, she stepped on the gas, motoring through the first 10 km in a snappy 33:33. She quickly built a one minute lead on the field, including pre-race favorite Deena Kastor and eventual winner Colleen De Reuck.

“It was one of those things when I felt I was ready to really run fast,” Russell recalled today ahead of Sunday’s Marathon Trials where she is amongst the favorites for a podium finish and a spot on the U.S. Olympic marathon team in Beijing.
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Colleen De Reuck Withdraws from Olympic Marathon Trials

Posted April 8th, 2008 at 5:14 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

One of the sentimental favorites for the upcoming USA Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon, Colleen De Reuck, has decided to withdraw from the race due to a calf injury.

De Reuck, who turns 44 on Sunday, is the defending Trials champion, a victory she earned just ten days before her 40th birthday in 2004, sending her to her fourth Olympic Games, and her first as an American. She’s also the Trials record holder.

Coached by her husband, Darren, De Reuck was returning to form after having her second daughter, Tara, last July. She first injured the calf at the U.S. Cross Country Championships last February, then reinjured it at the U.S. 15-K Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., last month.
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Flanagan Enters U.S. XC Championships as Favorite

Posted February 15th, 2008 at 4:21 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field

At last year’s U.S. Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colo., Shalane Flanagan had high hopes for victory. Her main rival, Deena Kastor, was in the midst of heavy training for the Boston Marathon, and Flanagan had been flying on the track, just setting an American indoor record for 3000m: 8:33.25.

But Boulder’s mile-high altitude played to Kastor’s favor (she was one of the few athletes who actually came down from a higher altitude to race in Boulder), and Flanagan was soundly beaten by about about a minute over the 8 km course.

“Boulder was really tough for me,” said Flanagan recalling the race on a teleconference today. “I felt really ill afterwards. Maybe it was altitude or just the effort of the race. There were a couple times on the course when I literally considered throwing myself off the course. I was completely exhausted and it took me a few days to recover.”
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Flanagan, De Reuck Interview Excerpts from USATF Teleconference

Posted February 15th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews

USA Track & Field served as the host to a media teleconference Thursday afternoon featuring two-time USA women’s cross country champions Shalane Flanagan and Colleen De Reuck [Pictured].

Flanagan and DeReuck discussed their preparations for the 2008 USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Saturday, where both open and junior men and women will look to earn a spot on the Team USA squad for the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 30.

The championships in San Diego will feature six races that will determine national champions for masters men and women; junior men and women; and open men and women. The event will be televised in association with the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships February 24, from 5-7 p.m. on ESPN 2.

Excerpts from Thursday’s teleconference with Shalane Flanagan and Colleen De Reuck follow:
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2008 Previews & Predictions: Women’s Marathon

Posted January 24th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The marathon promises to be one of the marquee events in women’s track and field in 2008. Among the highlights will be an epic showdown in London, a thrilling U.S. Olympic Trials, and Paula Radcliffe’s last chance at Olympic glory in Beijing. These and a few other huge races should provide many memorable moments and will define many careers. I will again try to make predictions based on as much hearsay, personal bias, and circumstantial data as I can gather.

The first big event on the 2008 women’s marathon calendar is the Flora London Marathon, which will be held on April 13. This race feature’s several of the world’s top female marathoners including World Record holder Radcliffe, World Marathon Majors Champ Gete Wami, Dubai Marathon champ Berhane Adere, Svetlana Zakharova, Constantina Tomescu-Dita, and Benita Johnson.
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USA Half-Marathon Titles
Up for Grabs in Houston

Posted January 13th, 2008 at 8:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

With deep fields but no clear favorites, Sunday’s USA Half-Marathon Championships hosted by the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon look to be wide open races. Most athletes are only in the base phase of their training cycles, either recovering from, or in the early stages of preparing for, important marathons. Expectations amongst the top entrants are modest, despite the $12,000 winner’s purse.

“I was in the same boat last year at this time,” said defending women’s champion Elva Dryer in a telephone interview last night from Houston. Prior to last year’s championship, Dryer was just restarting her training after running the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in October.

This year, she’s had even less recovery time after placing sixth at the ING New York City Marathon last November. However, Houston offers her a good chance to see where her training stands for April’s USA Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon in Boston. A two-time Olympian at 10,000m, Dryer has an excellent shot of qualifying for her first Olympic marathon.
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Kastor wins USA Women’s
10 km Championship

Posted October 8th, 2007 at 6:16 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) cruised to victory at the 2007 USA Women’s 10 km Championship, running 32:01 today at the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women in Boston.

Kastor and two-time defending women’s 10 km champion Katie McGregor (Minneapolis, Minn.), pulled away from the field during the opening 800 meters and by the first mile mark, Kastor passed in 5:00 with a five-second lead over McGregor.

A second 5:00 mile propelled Kastor to a 15-second lead. As she continued her tour of Memorial Drive, Kastor steadily built her lead, reaching the finish 40 seconds ahead of McGregor, who finished in 32:41.

The race for third saw 2007 USA Half-Marathon champion Elva Dryer (Gunnison, Colo.), outrun 2007 USA 20 km champion Alicia Shay (Flagstaff, Ariz.), and Rebecca Donaghue (State College, Pa.), Dryer was timed in 32:53 with Shay and Donaghue finishing in 33:05 and 33:09, respectively.
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Past Champion, Olympic Medalist are first to register for 2008 U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials

Posted October 5th, 2007 at 7:15 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Two of America’s preeminent female distance runners have officially entered the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon, officials from USA Track & Field and the Boston Athletic Association announced Friday.

Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.) became the first women to announce their intent to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon in Boston on April 20, 2008, when they submitted their entries this morning.

Kastor and De Reuck are in Boston this week to compete in the USA Women’s 10 km Championship, hosted on Monday by the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women.
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