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: Tuesday, December 2, 2008

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

Video: Preview the Highly-Anticipated Third Season of chasingKIMbia

Posted September 20th, 2007 at 6:30 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

40K at Magnolia. Ugali and Chicken. Table Mountain. CNN and Fox News. Trips to Wal*Mart. Yep, it’s that time of year again. Welcome to Season Three of chasingKIMBIA; a video blogumentary detailing the lifestyle and training of some of the world’s best marathoners.

The Chicago and New York City Marathons are fast approaching, and the athletes have been getting fast. Season Three kicks off next Monday from Boulder. You’ll meet some new athletes this season, like Christopher Cheboiboch, who has a PR of 2:08 and has finished second in both New York and Boston. You’ll also see some old faces, like Baba (New York) and James Koskei (Chicago).

But the biggest change this year will be the addition of an American to the group. Fasil Bizuneh is an up-and-coming American marathoner. His half-marathon PR of 1:02:20 came in the US Championships where he finished second to Ryan Hall, and ahead of Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi and he’s been training with the guys in Boulder since the end of August in preparation for the November 3rd US Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC.

Play the video trailer below for a sneak-peak of chasingKIMBIA’s highly-anticipated third season!

Click To Play

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

New ‘Chasing Glory’ Pre-Marathon Trials Video

Posted September 20th, 2007 at 5:07 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

As part of the New York Road Runners’ unprecedented promotional and media build-up to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon race on Saturday, November 3, “Chasing Glory,” a seven-week series of web videos offering exclusive athlete and coach interviews and insight will premiere today on the NYRR website, it was announced by NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

Leading Olympic Trials contenders Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, Brian Sell, and Ryan Hall, along with top coaches Brad Hudson, Keith and Kevin Hanson, and Terrence Mahon will be among those featured in the weekly videos. Other segments will highlight behind-the-scenes footage of the challenging Olympic Trials course in Central Park, facts and figures about the race, and a glimpse of how the USA’s runners compare with those of the rest of the world.

The five- to seven-minute videos will be launched every Tuesday and Thursday from September 17 to October 26. The videos are produced by videographer Matt Taylor, whose other credits include “Chasing Kimbia” and “Chasing Tradition.” The videos will be supplemented by three text-based commentaries each week, written in conjunction with television analyst Toni Reavis.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Note on the News:
“Chasing Glory” Series Debuts

Posted September 18th, 2007 at 2:12 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The New York Road Runners, who are hosting the USA Olympic Team Trials - Men’s Marathon on Saturday, Nov. 3, have co-produced a web documentary series entitled “Chasing Glory” about the men who hope to place in the top-3 of that race and make the USA Olympic Team.

A trailer for the series is now posted at www.nyrr.com and regular updates will begin tomorrow, posted every Tuesday and Thursday.

The series, which is narrated by Toni Reavis and shot and edited by Matt Taylor and Tessa Olson, features both top athletes and their coaches and was shot on-site where the athletes train.

Comment on this post | Permalink

Cox Gets U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifying Time in Solo Run

Posted September 16th, 2007 at 12:39 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Josh Cox qualified for this third USA Olympic Team Trials - Men’s Marathon today with a solo victory at the 11th United States Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Cox, 32, clocked a course record 2:19:29 to finish more than 11 minutes ahead of runner-up, Chuck Engle. His performance was well under the “A” qualifying standard of 2:20:00 which will guarantee him an expenses-paid trip to the Trials in New York City on Nov. 3, just 49 days away.

At 24 Cox was one of the youngest qualifers for the 2000 Trials held in Pittsburgh. He finished 18th in 2:22:30. After that race he started to train under Italian marathon coach Dr. Gabriele Rosa in a special Fila program to discover marathon talent in the United States. The relationship appeared to pay off quickly when Cox ran a surprising 2:13:55 personal best at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in October, 2000.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink