TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More!

Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Carlson and Kastor Win U.S. 15-K Road Running Titles

Posted March 8th, 2008 at 1:59 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

deena kastor after winning 2007 usa xc champs In conditions so windy that water was blowing onto the course between the 5 km and 6 km marks, Andrew Carlson and Deena Kastor (Pictured) captured the U.S. 15-K road running titles this morning in Jacksonville, Fla., at the 31st Gate River Run.

Carlson was the big winner as he and three other men were able to catch Kastor who, along with the other elite women, were given a five minute headstart. Carlson won not only the $12,000 first place prize but an additional $5,000 bonus for winning the gender battle. He crossed the finish line about 25 seconds ahead of Kastor. It was Carlson’s first U.S. title at any distance on any surface, and he waited for Kastor at the finish line and congratulated her with a hug.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Athlete Makes U.S. Trials in Last Ditch Effort

Posted February 12th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Melanie Peters of St. Petersburg, Fla., won the Walt Disney World Marathon on January 13, but her victory wasn’t a joyous one. Attempting to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon in Boston on April 20, Peters missed the minimum standard of two hours and 47 minutes by 29 seconds, less than on second per kilometer.

Undeterred, the 24 year-old Peters lined up at yesterday’s Gasparilla Distance Classic Marathon in Tampa, Fla., just 28 days later to give it one last shot at qualifying. Finishing fifth overall, and the first amongst women, Peters clocked 2:46:45 to make her first Olympic Trials. The effort completely sapped her; the Tampa Tribune reported that her legs buckled at the finish line and she had to be taken to the medical area in a wheelchair.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Lehigh set to host the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Champs on Saturday

Posted November 9th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, College

Lehigh will host the 2007 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Saturday morning on the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course. The Division I men’s 10K race will start at 11 a.m., followed by the Division I women’s 6K race at 12:15 p.m. Goodman Campus will also serve as host to the Division III Mideast Regional, with the women’s 6K race starting at 1:15, followed by the men’s 8K race at 2:15.

The Division I men’s race will feature 33 schools, including defending champion and nationally ranked Georgetown (No. 14) as well as Patriot League champion American and Paul Short winner Villanova. The Mountain Hawks will send eight runners to the course, led by freshman Dan McClimon and junior Dan DeWitt.

The women’s race will feature 33 schools, including defending champion and nationally ranked Princeton (No. 4), West Virginia (No. 14), Georgetown (No. 20) and Penn State (No. 28). The Princeton women are also the winners of this year’s Paul Short Run, finishing ahead of West Virginia. The Brown and White will send nine runners to the course, led by junior Shannon Alejandro, who was named to the All-Patriot League first team.

Read the rest of this entry »

3 comments, add yours | Permalink

34 in a Row, Hogs Win SEC Cross Country Championships

Posted October 29th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Damp and chilly weather in Lexington didn’t slow the Hogs down as John McDonnell’s team took the 2007 SEC Cross Country title at Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday. The Hogs won Arkansas’ 34th-consecutive cross country conference title and its 17th-consecutive SEC cross country title. The title win also marks Arkansas’ 82nd conference title (cross country, indoor and outdoor).

“(The consecutive streak of conference championships) is my greatest achievement,” McDonnell said. “I take great pride in it because so many things can happen, good and bad. It’s unpredictable. To have enough depth is really the key. To win something like this for 34-years straight is pretty special.”

The Razorbacks won the team title with 36 points. Florida was second in the team race with 74 points. Alabama was third with 82 points. The Crimson Tide’s Emmanuel Bor was the race winner with a time of 23:50.45.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Olympic Champion
Frank Shorter To
Speak In Manchester

Posted October 19th, 2007 at 4:24 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results

The Manchester Road Race Committee will sponsor a speech by Olympic Marathon Champion Frank Shorter on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 7 p.m. at Manchester Community College’s SBM Auditorium.

Shorter, an All-American long distance runner at Yale University, won the marathon at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Four years later, he captured the silver medal in the marathon at the Montreal Olympics.

Shorter, who is widely credited with helping to spark the “running explosion” that has occurred in the United States during the past three decades, is the honorary chairperson of the 71st Manchester Road Race. He is also expected to compete in the annual Thanksgiving Day event.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Oerter memorial service announced

Posted October 8th, 2007 at 6:45 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

A memorial service for four-time Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder and National Track & Field Hall of Famer Al Oerter, who died on October 1, has been announced.

The event will take place on Friday, October 19 at First Christian Church in Ft. Myers, Fla., beginning at 1:00 p.m. The address is 2061 McGregor Blvd., in Ft. Myers, FL 33901. Phone: 239-334-0316.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

U.S. 15-K Championships set for Saturday in Jacksonville

Posted March 7th, 2007 at 2:32 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country

Saturday’s Gate River Run 15-K in Jacksonville, Fla., will feature some of America’s best male and female distance runners vying for the U.S. 15-K title and sizable prize and bonus money.

It will be the 30th edition of this warm weather race which last year recorded 9,241 finishers and is the site of both U.S. 15-K records: 42:22 by Todd Williams in 1995 and 47:15 by Deena Kastor in 2003.

Olympic silver medalist, Meb Keflezighi, has won this race five of the last six years it has been contested has also won the race’s “Equalizer” division twice. In the Equalizer division the elite women are given a five-minute headstart over the men, and the first athlete to cross the finish line receives a $5,000 bonus. The overall male and female champions receive $12,000 in prize money.

(Click here to listen to Deena Kastor speak about trying to beat Meb and Ryan Hall in the “Equalizer” on Saturday!)
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Kastor & Keflezighi to return to Gate River Run for Champs

Posted February 15th, 2007 at 10:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country

Deena Kastor, the 2007 USA Cross Country Champion, and Meb Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist, will try to win their respective U.S. 15-K titles –and beat each other– at the 30th running of the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday, March 10, organizers announced yesterday.

Kastor and Keflezighi, both of whom live and train in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., will be competing against each other in the Equalizer division of the race. The elite women will start five minutes ahead of the men and the first athlete to cross the finish line will receive a bonus of $5,000 on top of the winner’s check of $12,000. Since the race introduced the Equalizer division in 2004, Keflezighi has won it twice, in 2004 and 2006.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Runners earn unexpected win at ‘06 Jacksonville Marathon

Posted December 19th, 2006 at 4:00 PM by Jenna Sumara

Section: News & Results, Marathons

There was an unexpected win on Sunday at Jacksonville’s no-frill marathon. Kim Pawelek, a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier wasn’t planning on actually finishing the race; intending for it to be a mere training run.

She had planned to call it quits after 20 miles and just have a fun LSD (long, slow distance). She didn’t even wear here racing shoes. However, around mile marker 18, Pawelek realized that she was the leader.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink