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.

Lead Stories: Monday, September 8, 2008

Webb to Open Olympic Year with U.S. 8-K Championship

Posted February 5th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Road Racing

Alan Webb, the American record holder in the mile, has decided to open his Olympic year campaign on Saturday, March 15, with the Central Park Challenge, a road race here which will serve as the U.S. Men’s 8-K Championship.

Race organizers, the New York Road Runners, announced Webb’s participation at today’s New York Track Writer’s Luncheon at Da Tomasso Restaurant on Manhattan’s West Wide. It will be the first time that Webb has run the championship, and it will be the fourth serious road race of his career.

“I am really excited about running the USA 8-K champs,” said Webb in a written statement. “It will be great to start my season off by running in New York City.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Remembering Ryan Shay

Posted November 11th, 2007 at 9:45 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

Today in East Jordan, Mich., a funeral was held for Ryan Shay, the 2003 USA marathon champion who collapsed and died at the USA Olympic Team Trials - Men’s Marathon on Nov. 3, in New York City. He was 28 years-old and had been married only for four months to the former Alicia Craig, the Stanford University star who won the NCAA 10,000m title in 2003 and 2004.

The exact cause of Ryan’s death is still unknown, but it is clear that his heart abruptly stopped at about the 9 km mark of the Trials and, despite heroic and immediate medical intervention, he died before reaching Lennox Hill Hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

I knew Ryan both through my role as a journalist and a race organizer. It would be a stretch to say were close, but we were certainly friendly and shared a passion for the sport. I recruited Ryan to run the 2004 ING New York City Marathon where he set his personal best time of 2:14:08, cracking the top-10 in ninth place. It didn’t surprise me that Ryan would run his best marathon in New York, despite the difficulty of the course. He was so strong and so tough, the kind of runner who was well suited to the hills of the Five Borough Classic. Ryan really had heart.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Observing Ramadan, Khannouchi Became
Night Runner

Posted October 19th, 2007 at 12:50 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

An observant Muslim, Khalid Khannouchi has faced some unique challenges as he prepares for the USA Olympic Team Trials - Men’s Marathon scheduled for Nov. 3, in New York’s Central Park.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast between sunup and sundown. In observance of that tradition, Khannouchi would not begin his training until late at night after he had fully digested his dinner, sometimes finishing his training as late as 2:00 a.m.

Khannouchi, who with wife and coach Sandra, live in Ossining, N.Y. north of New York City, had to change training venues from the Rockefeller Preserve near his house to Central Park. The Preserve, which boasts a lovely network of carriage roads, is pitch-black at night, while the paved Central Park Loop road is well lit, like most of Manhattan This has at least given him the benefit of being able to train on the Trials course.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

2007 Blue Planet Run Concludes in New York City

Posted September 4th, 2007 at 8:54 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

An historic around-the-world relay run reached its finish line today in New York City, marking the completion of an unprecedented three-month athletic endeavor that is raising funds to deliver safe drinking water to some of the 1.1 billion people who currently live without it.

The inaugural 2007 Blue Planet Run, an event made possible by the generous support of The Dow Chemical Company, ended at noon at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport.

The twenty original Blue Planet Run team members who circumnavigated the globe, and two alternates who joined the journey along the way, ran through a crowd of fans, family and friends who were gathered at the landmark New York City waterfront locale to celebrate with the group as it completed its epic 95-day, 15,200-mile expedition through 16 countries.

Beginning from the United Nations in New York City on June 1, the Blue Planet Run team has run relay-style 24 hours a day, seven days a week across Europe, Russia, Asia, Canada and the United States. The runners have endured some of the world’s toughest conditions, from swatting flies through the Gobi Desert to navigating city streets in Beijing to coping with the blistering summer heat of America’s heartland.

Along the way, the Blue Planet Run inspired people around the world to donate to the Blue Planet Run Foundation (BPRF), the non-profit group that organized the Run. Because of Dow’s support, BPRF dedicates one-hundred percent of the money raised to fund grassroots safe-drinking-water projects in rural communities.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Full house watches Webb win mile at Reebok Grand Prix

Posted June 4th, 2007 at 8:31 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With a boisterous crowd of 5,000 filling the grandstand at Ichan Stadium, Alan Webb won the first significant mile of the season with an overwhelming kick, handing both Bernard Lagat and Craig Mottram with rare defeats at the third annual Reebok Grand Prix on Manhattan’s Randall’s Island.

The win provided Webb, 24, with much-needed dose of redemption. In his last race in front of New York City fans, he watched from well behind as Lagat and Mottram finished 1-2 in the Wanamaker Mile at the 100th Millrose Games last February. It is a race which Webb remembers all too well.

“The last time I was in New York City wasn’t my finest hour,” said Webb after the race.

But tonight, he timed his effort to perfection. Pacemakers Moise Joseph and Justus Koech became separated from the field after the 57+ second first lap, so Lagat decided to control the contenders’ pack and ended up doing a lot of the work. Both Webb and Mottram kept Lagat in sight as did Suleiman Simotwo. Lagat built a slight lead going into the final lap of the race, but did not want to get ahead of himself.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink