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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

Hundreds gather to remember Mike Long

Posted July 28th, 2007 at 11:22 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Under the warm Southern California sun, which no doubt had influenced his sunny disposition, hundreds of family, friends and running industry colleagues gathered at Mission Point Park to remember Elite Racing’s legendary elite athletes coordinator, Mike Long, who died unexpectedly last week at 65.

Tears flowed freely as more than a dozen people came to the podium to remember Long, showering him with praise and sharing their goodbyes.

“For those who never met him words would not suffice,” said writer and television commentator, Toni Reavis, who acted as emcee. He called the diminutive Long, who only stood 5′ 6″ (168cm) tall, “the center around which all we revolved.”

Long’s son, Bruce, said that his father’s sudden death –believed to be a heart attack– was probably how his father would have wanted to go, not caring for lingering goodbyes. “He was never a hospital bed kind of guy,” he said, his sunglasses concealing his tear-swollen eyes.
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Dibaba has sights set on Defar’s record

Posted May 31st, 2007 at 5:29 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Tirunesh Dibaba, the double world champion at 5000m and 10,000m in Helsinki two summers ago, is looking to take a bite out of the Big Apple by attacking Meseret Defar’s world 5000m record at Saturday’s Reebok Grand Prix on Randall’s Island.

At last year’s meet with the track still puddled from heavy rains, Defar mustered a 61.5 second closing lap to cross the finish line in 14:24.53, toppling Elvan Abeylegesse’s world record by 15/100ths of a second. Dibaba, who set the world indoor 5000m record of 14:27.42 at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games last January, would like nothing more than easing aside her compatriot to have both the indoor and outdoor world records next to her name, instead.
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