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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Lel Is Youngest Man Ever to Win Five Majors

Posted April 15th, 2008 at 1:11 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The good news just keeps coming for Kenya’s Martin Lel. The 29 year-old leader of the 2007/2008 World Marathon Majors points series has become the youngest man ever to win five Majors events: London three times and New York City twice.

Lel, who sprinted away from compatriot Samuel Wanjiru at the Flora London Marathon last Sunday to win in a course record and personal best 2:05:15, is also the first man to achieve this career milestone before age 30. The previous youngest five-time winner was Khalid Khannouchi, running for both Morocco and the United States, who was 30 years 295 days when he won his fifth lifetime Major at the 2002 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
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Quote of the Day: 3/15/08

Posted March 15th, 2008 at 7:00 AM by Martha Jones

Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes

“The thing about Pre is that he ran as hard as he could every race, and if you were going to beat him, you were going to have to run harder than he did.”

- Bob Kennedy

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Jon Rankin: To the Goddess of Victory (Letter #2)
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #7)

Posted February 27th, 2008 at 6:15 PM by Jon Rankin

Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star
Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint.com’s
Elite Athlete Blog Series. Make sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry.

Today I sit here in awe at how much life’s journey can be compared to that of a roller coaster ride. These last two weeks have been really down weeks for me. It’s not that my training is going poorly because I’m training very well; and it’s not because I had a ‘bad day’ at the USATF Cross Country National Championships a few weeks ago because I met my goal of finishing in the top-20 (I finished 20th place). Sometimes I just find my self a little lost or down emotionally for no reason at all. And it’s kind of weird because just a few weeks prior to last week and this week I was really happy and positive. I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this way.
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Quote of the Day: 2/12/08

Posted February 12th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes

“There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run….you are not running for some future reward - the real reward is now!”

- Fred Rohe, author of The Zen of Running

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Jon Rankin:
A Letter to the Goddess of Victory: Falling In-Love
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted January 2nd, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Jon Rankin

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star
Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint.com’s
Elite Athlete Blog Series. Make sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry.

I assume you heard it at least one hundred times already, so bear with me as I say it to you one more time:
‘Happy New Year!’ to all of you.

In this entry I will be sharing a letter from my newly minted journal. It’s a letter that describes how I feel about the sport that I play (I want to achieve all that I’m capable of achieving) and also, a girl that has helped re-ignite my passion for life—a passion that I thought only existed in dreams before she won my heart.

I write this letter and will write any subsequent letters to a Goddess known as Victory. In these letters I personify the word victory because in sports victory and the idea of victory is talked about so much that it sounds like it’s something tangible, something that can be touched; and sometimes, even someone that is real. Victory is unique because the concept behind victory and what it really is goes beyond finishing first. I’ve gained a greater sense for the broadness of the definition and meaning of the word from a mentor of mine, Mebrahtom (”Meb”) Keflezighi who tells all that he meets: “RUN TO WIN.”

The interesting thing about his mantra is that it sounds like he is saying run to get first place, and that’s all. But what he is really saying is that you must run in such a way that you’re always giving your best. If you can do this then you’re truly “running to win.”
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Quote of the Day: 12/08/07

Posted December 8th, 2007 at 6:00 AM by J. R. Markham

Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt

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Quote of the Day: 10/14/07

Posted October 14th, 2007 at 6:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes

I run because it’s my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I’m going where I’m going and I’m already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise…it’s a consistent reward for victory!
- Sasha Azevedo

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Webb wins big in Paris

Posted July 6th, 2007 at 4:31 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Ooo la, la!

Alan Webb scored one of the biggest victories of his career at the Stade de France tonight outside of Paris, blazing to a world-leading 3:30.54 victory in the 1500m over home country favorite, Mehdi Baala. The Frenchman finished second in 3:31.01.

Webb’s time was not only a personal best by about two seconds, but he became the third-fastest American of all-time behind only Bernard Lagat and Sydney Maree. Lagat, who also competed in tonight’s race in Paris, finished seventh in 3:35.09. It was his ninth appearance at the meet, part of the IAAF Golden League.
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