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Lead Stories: Friday, August 29, 2008

Johnson Leads Loaded Freihofer’s 5K Field

Posted May 29th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Australian star Benita Johnson leads a loaded field for Saturday’s 30th edition of the Freihofer’s Run for Women in Albany, N.Y., one of America’s oldest and most prestigious all-women’s road races.

Johnson has already won the race twice, splashing to victory in heavy rain in 2006, then coming back to defend her title last year. She’s recorded excellent times both years: 15:27 and 15:22, respectively.

“I’m so excited to be returning for my third year in a row,” Johnson said through a press release. “Let’s hope it is third time lucky for me! I love this event and to run it in an Olympic year means it’s vital for my preparation for Beijing. I can’t wait to hear the crowd as I run towards the finish. It’s truly magic in Albany with those fans screaming!”
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Rematch At 30th Annual Freihofer’s Run For Women

Posted May 28th, 2008 at 6:15 PM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Press Release: With the 30th Freihofer’s Run for Women just days away, all signs indicate it will be another hotly-contested race among the open elites and the masters.

In addition to two-time defending champion Benita Johnson’s bid for a three-peat, a strong Kenyan contingent will be on hand to prove they can dominate the short courses just as well as the long courses. Included in that group will be Monday’s Bolder Boulder 10k champion Millicent Gathoni, whose winning time in Colorado (32 minutes and 49 seconds) was the fourth-fastest women’s elite time in the history of the race.

Joining Gathoni on the start line will be fellow Kenyans Jane Gakunyi, a 2004 Olympian, whose PR in the 5K is faster than the Freihofer’s course record (15:18), Genoveva Kigen, Evelyne Lagat, Florence Jepkosgei, Jane Kibii and Jacqueline Nytipei, who has finished in the top three of almost every race she entered over the last year, including a first-place finish in the Carlsbad half-marathon in April.
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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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Kenyans Kithi & Kosgei Win Medtronic TC 1 Mile With Record Times

Posted May 9th, 2008 at 4:30 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Kenyans Josephat Kithii and Rose Kosgei won last night’s Medtronic TC 1 Mile, each taking home $4,000 in prize money and setting event records.

“I’m really excited for race officials who put on a $4,000 first place prize purse for a one-mile race,” said second place Haron Lagat from Kenya through a press release. The first place prize is the second highest for a road mile in the United States trailing only the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City which pays $5,000.

Kithii was hoping to break the four-minute barrier and pocket an additional $10,000 time bonus. Although he fell well short that mark, he still set a new event record with a 4:09 finish time, easily topping Luke Watson’s 4:16 event record set in 2006. Lagat was very close behind and was also credited with the same time. American Jordan Fife was third in 4:10.
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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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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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Dathan Ritzenhein Returns to Action to Defend Title at 2008 Healthy Kidney 10K

Posted April 29th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results

U.S Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein will return to the roads of Central Park to defend his title in the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday, May 17, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

Ritzenhein will face stiff competition from an international field that includes ING New York City Marathon 2006 champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil and 2007 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships silver medalist Patrick Makau of Kenya.

Race sponsor Embassy of the United Arab Emirates has once again established a prize-money purse of $23,500—$7,500 for the champion—plus a $20,000 bonus for breaking the Central Park 10K record of 28 minutes, 8 seconds, which Ritzenhein set at last year’s race. Ritzenhein donated his 2007 first-place check of $7,500 to the National Kidney Foundation.

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New Balance Joins Falmouth Road Race As Sponsor

Posted April 7th, 2008 at 6:07 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

The 36th annual Falmouth Road Race, scheduled for Sunday, August 10 from Woods Hole to Falmouth, Mass., announced today that New Balance had become their official footwear and apparel sponsor. The sponsorship is part of New Balance’s new marketing campaign, “LOVE/hate. This is the New Balance,” which highlights a runner’s complex love/hate relationship with running.

“New Balance is excited to be involved in the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race, one of the most recognized road races in the country,” said New Balance’s Dan Green, through a media release. “This race is woven into the fabric of summer in New England and it celebrates the spirit of competition and personal achievement.”
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Beach to Beacon Entries Sell Out in Just 26 Hours

Posted March 18th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Entries for the 11th TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10-K sold out in a head-spinning 26 hours, organizers announced yesterday evening. Maine’s most popular road race is scheduled for Saturday, August 2, in the seaside town of Cape Elizabeth, hometown of Olympic gold medalist Joan Samuelson who co-founded the race.

For the first time, the event eliminated paper entries entirely. Electronic entries began to pour in as soon as registration opened last Saturday. More than 5000 runners signed up in the first ten hours alone, and the 5500-runner limit was reached soon thereafter.
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Torres, Flanagan Victorious at Central Park Challenge

Posted March 15th, 2008 at 12:50 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

At the inaugural Central Park Challenge here today, which incorporated the U.S. Men’s 8-K Championship, Jorge Torres (Pictured) and Shalane Flanagan won their respective races convincingly. But the paths taken to their titles were completely different.

In the men’s race, all eyes were on U.S. mile record holder, Alan Webb, running in only his fourth professional road race and his first race of 2008. Webb was on the lead with Christian Hesch at the first mile (4:36), and was right behind Andrew Carlson at the two mile mark (9:05). Carlson began to push the pace in the third mile (13:37), but Webb and Christian Hesch surged through the 5-K mark (14:10) where primes were awarded for the top-3 men (Webb was first with Hesch just behind).
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