By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

(19-May) -- Here is a round up of what some athletes have been doing and saying recently:

HELEN CLITHEROE (GBR), the European Indoor 3000m champion, will make her 10,000m debut at the European Cup 10,000m in Oslo on June 4, according to U.K. Athletics.  Her best time for 10 kilometers on the road is 31:45, run in Manchester last Sunday.  CHARLOTTE PURDUE (GBR) will join Clitheroe on the U.K. team.

MO FARAH (GBR), the reigning European 5000m and 10,000m champion, competed in an informal poolside long jump competition in Iten, Kenya, against wife Tania and American blogger and author Toby Tanser.  A photo sequence posted on his Facebook page shows Tania was a clear winner as the three jumped off of the pool deck into the water.  "Sorry, Toby.  It looks like you got bronze... not silver," Farah wrote.  "hahaha."

JAN FITSCHEN (GER), the 2006 European 10,000m champion, makes his debut as a commentator at the Haspa Hamburg Marathon on Sunday.  The event will host the German Marathon Championships.  Through his Facebook page, he asked his friends to send him their opinions on his commentary.

SHALANE FLANAGAN (USA), the reigning Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist, is in Flagstaff with the rest of Jerry Schumacher's training group for altitude training.  They use a high school track in nearby Sedona for lower altitude speed sessions.  "On our way to Sedona for a track workout, drinking high octane coffee and listening to some bad 80s music," she wrote yesterday on her Twitter feed.  "Good times!"

KARA GOUCHER (USA), the 2008 USA 5000m champion, said that although she was named to the USA team for the marathon for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, competing in that discipline is actually her second choice.  "I will compete in the 10,000m at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships," she wrote on her blog at Competitor.com  "If I'm able to qualify for the World Championships in that event, I'll run it, and skip the marathon, passing my marathon slot to current alternate Zoila Gomez. If I don’t qualify, I'll go ahead and run the marathon."

ALANA HADLEY (USA), one of America's best youth distance runners (she's 14), will enjoy invited status at the Freihofer's Run for Women 5-K on June 4 in Albany, N.Y., race director George Regan announced.  Last April Hadley clocked 17:06.16 for 5000m, her personal best.  Her best 5-K time on the road is 17:36.

MEB KEFLEZIGHI (USA), the 2009 ING NYC Marathon champion, is dealing with wintry weather in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.  "Still snowing in Mammoth," he wrote on his Twitter feed yesterday.  "Nice interval sessions w/ Dirk in Horton Creek. 2 X mi & 6 X 1K. I invited ML guests Tim & Lisa Swietlik 2 workout."

BERNARD LAGAT (USA), the 2007 1500m/5000m world champion, will run the 5000m at the adidas Grand Prix on June 11 against IMANE MERGA (ETH), the 2010 Diamond League 5000m points champion.

WILL LEER (USA), is in Flagstaff training and is adjusting to the bright mornings there (Arizona does not adopt daylight saving time like the rest of the USA.  "In Flagstaff, AZ, the sun rises straight into my bedroom at 5:30 a.m.," he posted to his Facebook page.  "I might need to change my sleep schedule."

NANCY LANGAT (KEN), the #1-ranked middle distance runner in the world last year, will compete in the 1500m at the adidas Grand Prix in New York City on June 11, according to meet organizers.  She'll be joined by ANNA ALMINOVA (RUS), GELETE BURKA (ETH), KALKIDAN GEZAHEGNE (ETH), KENIA SINCLAIR (JAM), ANNA PIERCE (USA), and JENNY SIMPSON (USA).

NICK SYMMONDS (USA), who won his third consecutive USA 800m title last year, is excited to compete at the USATF High Performance Meet at Occidental College in Los Angeles on Saturday.  "Finished last workout before Saturday's race at Occidental College," he wrote on his Twitter feed yesterday. "1500 meters against the best in North America!"

DAVID TORRENCE (USA), who just won his third consecutive USA Road Mile Championship, setting a course record, explained what happened in the final 400m of the race on his blog.  "I wasn't too sure I was going to be able to hold on," he wrote. "But once I made the turn, and saw the finish, I switched gears and brought it on home to a new course record, a $10k sub-4 bonus, and my 3rd Road Mile National Title. I was pretty pumped to say the least."