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Lead Stories: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Podcast 96: MEB KEFLEZIGHI Pre-U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials Interview

Posted October 19th, 2007 at 5:20 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode 96 of The Final Sprint Podcast features my pre-U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials interview with 2004 Olympic silver medalist MEB KEFLEZIGHI.

After nearly 20 years on U.S. soil, Meb remains focused on realizing his dreams through faith, hard work, a unique appreciation for life and having the utmost respect for his competitors.

In the interview, Meb talks about taking one day a time, the 20 year anniversary of when his family came to America from war-torn Eritrea, overcoming his recent calf ailment and staying confident despite a rough year of health concerns and bad luck.

Download the podcast to hear Meb discuss these topics, as well as, his race strategy and preparation for the arduous Marathon Trials race course, lessons learned from his 2004 second place finish, his reputation for having a “reserved personality”, pacesetters, advice for young Olympic hopefuls, and much more!

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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Meb Keflezighi
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 11.5 MB | Length: 16:45 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

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Podcast 80: Team USA standout MATT TEGENKAMP discusses his career year, pacemakers and more!

Posted September 17th, 2007 at 3:26 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts, Drugs In Sports

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Episode 80 of The Final Sprint Podcast; the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my interview with MATT TEGENKAMP; a Team USA standout coming off of an extremely impressive year; including his fourth place finish in the 5,000m at the IAAF World Championships.

In the interview, Matt talks about his very successful rookie experience at the World Champs, the frustration of coming within 0.03 seconds of the bronze medal, and what he learned about the difference between American and international racing.

Matt also weighs in on the debate over the use of pacemakers; explaining how they impact the sport’s global fan base and how their inclusion and the pressure for world records at international meets may affect the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Download the podcast to hear Matt discuss these topics, as well as, dealing with the added expectations and pressure that come along with his recent successes, the different philosophies held by many European runners in terms of training paces, the need for more knowledgeable commentators during American track & field TV broadcasts, and much more!

Listen In
[PLAY] (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: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Matt Tegenkamp
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File Size: 15.5 MB | Length: 22:45 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

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NYRR, Wittenberg Continue to Lead the Way

Posted September 14th, 2007 at 9:03 AM by Scott Bush

Section: Marathons, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

For the past few years, every major marathon seems to include a handful of pacemakers to take out the race and push the fields to fast times. While fast times look impressive on paper, they don’t always make for the best races and the public is generally unaware of the records and impressive times for elite marathoners. With that in mind, Mary Wittenberg, the race director for the New York City Marathon, announced Friday that there will be no pacemakers at this year’s race.

mary wittenberg “Our sport is full of great stars who thrive on competition and the purity of head-to-head racing,” Wittenberg said. “In the end, it is all about the thrill of racing and the pursuit of victory. Who cares what the clock says? We owe it to our best to put them front and center and let them race.”

This is great news for a variety of reasons. While hundreds of thousands run a marathon or two each year, few of those runners know more than a couple of the world’s best marathoners. Taking away pacemakers in the front of the pack allows TV commentators to focus on identifying athletes and build stories around them, creating more space for athletes to be showcased. No pacemaking also signifies a larger, more competitive field at the end of the race, instead of a strung out group, with no more than a handful of athletes in the lead pack.

The New York Road Runners build running environments in their city that are both creative and diverse, and with Wittenberg at the helm, NYRR consistently shows why New York City is the center of the second running boom. Dropping pacemakers from the elite race is a bold move. It suggests more head-to-head racing, but slower finish times. NYRR often gambles with ideas like this and continues to exude the creativity, confidence and ability to elevate their events and athletes that this sport so desperately needs.

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New York Nixes Pacemakers

Posted May 3rd, 2007 at 4:46 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

In an effort to further emphasize head-to-head competition and bare-knuckled racing tactics, the organizers of the ING New York City Marathon announced today that men’s and women’s pacemakers would be eliminated from the 38th edition of the world’s largest marathon set for Sunday, Nov. 4.

The decision was announced on a conference call originated here by race director Mary Wittenberg, the president and CEO of New York Road Runners, the Manhattan-based not-for-profit which organizes the race.

Wittenberg said that the idea of dropping pacemakers, routinely used by nearly all major commercial marathons, had been debated internally for several years, and that the time was right to remove them.
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