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Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Bekele Defends Olympic 10,000m Title; Rupp 13th

Posted August 17th, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine reclaimed gold and silver for Ethiopia in the men’s 10,000 meters Sunday night in Beijing. Three-time world champion and 10,000m/5000m world record holder Bekele ran 27:01.17 to break the Olympic record, which he set in Athens.

“It was a very big goal for me to win this title - my dreams have come true to win tonight,” Bekele said afterward.

Sihine was close behind Bekele in 27:02.77 and Kenya’s Micah Kogo won the bronze with a time of 27:04.11. Kogo barely outkicked fellow Kenyan Moses Ndiema Masai at the finish line.
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2008 Beijing Olympic Preview: Men’s 10,000 Meters

Posted August 14th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Men’s 10,000 Meters

The Schedule: Sunday, Aug 17
(live on NBC)
The Americans: #12 Abdi Abdirahman, #18 Galen Rupp, Jorge Torres
The Contenders: #1 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), #3 Moses Ndiema Masai (KEN), #10 Sileshi Sihine (ETH), #18 Haile Gebrselassie (ETH), #19 Micah Kogo (KEN), #22 Martin Mathathi (KEN)
The Stats: Records, 2008 List,
2007 Worlds, 2004 Olympics
The Medal Picks: T&FN - Bekele, Sihine, Mathathi;
SI - Bekele, Sihine, Masai
The Story: This event is dominated by Kenya and Ethiopia, and the latter has been recently taking the best of the former. The Ethiopians have entered their three greatest runners of the last two decades: “The Emperor” Gebrselassie, his heir Bekele, and Sihine, who in five tries has never lost to anyone but these two in a championship 10k. A sweep would be surprising only in that Geb seems to have lost a little bit of the edge necessary for track racing.
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97th ING Bay to Breakers Returns on Sunday in San Francisco

Posted May 14th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Part parade, part fashion show, and part road race, the 97th ING Bay to Breakers returns to the streets of San Francisco on Sunday, and organizers expect some 70,000 runners and walkers (about half of them unregistered) to take part.

Up front, the race is serious business. Elite athlete coordinator Josh Muxen has assembled a strong field to chase a $74,000 prize money purse, including a special $25,000 ING Battle to the Breakers bonus which will be awarded to the first athlete to cross the finish line. That could be a man or it could be a woman; women are given a four minute and 40 second headstart based on the difference between the male (33:42) and female (38:22) course records.

In addition, there is a $5000 bonus for the first man and first woman to reach the top of Hayes Street Hill, a beast of a climb which begins at the two mile mark on Franklin Street, rises 201 feet, and covers a distance of 0.69 miles. Athletes can pocket the bonus as long as they also finish in the top-20.
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BUPA Great Manchester Run Set for Sunday

Posted May 13th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

The BUPA Great Manchester Run boasts the fastest 10-K course in Great Britain and organizers have assembled a top-flight field of athletes to take advantage of it. Elite athletes manager Andy Caine has invited world marathon champion, Luke Kibet of Kenya; seven-time European cross country champion, Sergey Lebid of Ukraine; and former European 10,000m champion, Chema Martinez of Spain, to lead the men’s field.

The women’s field is just as strong, featuring three-time European Cup medalist and defending champion Jo Pavey of Great Britain; two-time world marathon champion, Catherine Ndereba of Kenya; two-time Olympic gold medalist Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia; and road running ace Anikó Kálovics of Hungary, who finished second in Manchester last year.
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Marathon World Champions Headed for Manchester

Posted May 7th, 2008 at 1:30 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Organizers of the BUPA Great Manchester Run on May 18 announced today that reigning world marathon champions Luke Kibet and Catherine Ndereba (Pictured) will headline their fields.

The two Kenyans earned their world titles in the steamy conditions of Osaka last August. Kibet overwhelmed the men’s field by one minute and 19 seconds, while Ndereba had to beat back a formidable challenge from China’s Zhou Chunxiu in the final kilometers to win by a much narrower eight seconds.

Most recently, Kibet raced the Flora London Marathon, finishing 11th. His training was curtailed by the post-election violence in Kenya where he was assaulted, sustaining a head wound from a thrown rock. Ndereba did not run a spring marathon, but has run several road races. She won the Scotia Bank Semi-Marathon de Montreal on April 20 and was most recently second at the Lilac Bloomsday 12-K in Spokane, Wash., last Sunday.
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London Marathon Champions Return for BUPA London 10,000

Posted May 7th, 2008 at 10:28 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Britain’s two leading organizers of road races have joined forces to launch a new event slated for Monday, May 26. Dubbed the BUPA London 10,000, the event will be jointly produced by the Flora London Marathon and Nova International and will feature Martin Lel (Pictured) and Irina Mikitenko, the 2008 Flora London Marathon champions.

“We are delighted to have such strong elite fields for the first ever BUPA London 10,000,” said David Bedford, race director of the Flora London Marathon. “To have our current Flora London Marathon champions on the start line is a great boost for us in our first year.”
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Kenyans Kogo & Ndereba Featured in Sunday’s Lilac Bloomsday Run

Posted April 30th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Over 47,000 runners are expected for one of America’s great sporting rites of spring: the 32nd Lilac Bloomsday Run set for Sunday in Spokane, Wash.

The race may be big, but it’s also fast. Race director Don Kardong and elite athlete coordinator Jon Neill have pulled together a very strong field, led by two of Kenya’s heaviest hitters: Micah Kogo and Catherine Ndereba (Pictured).

Kogo, 21, is as swift on the road as he is on the track where he has a 26:35.63 10,000m personal best. Although he has limited road racing experience, he’s been nearly unbeatable.
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Kogo Sets Course Record
in Houilles

Posted December 31st, 2007 at 12:54 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Kenya’s Micah Kogo defended his title at yesterday’s Corrida Pedestre Internationale de Houilles in France, shaving one second off of eight-time winner Khalid Skah’s course record.

The 21 year-old Kogo clocked 27:56 for 10 km, just two seconds ahead of Ukrainian Sergey Lebid. His Kenyan compatriot, Paul Kosgei, was third in 28:02. Interestingly, Lebid is scheduled to run another 10-K today in Bolzano, Italy.
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Soi, Kiplagat Top
Running Times 2007
Road Racer Rankings

Posted December 12th, 2007 at 11:15 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Edwin Soi of Kenya and Lornah Kiplagat (Pictured) of the Netherlands were given the #1 road racer rankings for 2007 by the editors of Running Times magazine.

Assisted by statistician Ken Young of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, the magazine compiled their rankings for the period Oct. 15, 2006, to Oct. 14, 2007, based on head-to-head competition between the world’s top-20 runners.

Soi, 21, got the top ranking over compatriot, Micah Kogo. In an ironic twist, neither athlete ran in many road races during the ranking period.
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2004 Olympic Silver Medalists Keflezighi, Ndereba to Race at 35th Falmouth Road Race

Posted August 9th, 2007 at 9:30 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons

2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalists Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya are set to run at the 35th CIGNA Falmouth Road Race on Sunday morning, August 12.

The scenic waterfront seven-mile course winds from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights. A field of 10,000 is expected, and prize money totaling $90,300 will be paid to the top international and U.S. finishers including $10,000 to each race champion.

Keflezighi will be challenged by the world’s top ranked 10,000 meter runner, Micah Kogo of Kenya, and three-time Falmouth champion John Korir, also of Kenya. Kogo, 21-years-old, ran a 2006 10,000m best of 26:35.63. This year, he also ranks first on the 10K road list (27:07).
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