March 2009 Track and Field Articles

(C) Copyright - Christopher Kelsall - 2009 Steve Osaduik had a rough 2008. After years of dominating the local race scene (British Columbia)and at the same time developing a seemingly ever-improving running resume, he finally experienced his first running injury of note. Although Steve has raced on occasion through the recovery process and often with decent results, he was ‘off’ and there was no denying it.  After reaching a peak of sorts during the 2006 Royal Victoria Marathon, breaking the 27-year-old course record and running, at that time, the fastest Canadian marathon for the year of 2006 with a 2:16:47 result,… more »

As soon as one season ends, another begins, and one can feel the shift from bitter harsh winter to kinder warmer spring. For runners this means a shift from the small enclosed indoor track to the larger, outdoor track. On the second weekend of the outdoor season, there were many meets ranging from the Stanford Invitational to the Raleigh Relays. With so many meets, I recommend that readers let me know if I missed any outstanding performances by leaving that information in the comment section. World XC Championships- Shippensburg’s Neely Spence was the first American in the women’s junior race… more »

  For Immediate Release: Monday, March 30, 2009 B.A.A 5K to Feature Three Past Boston Marathon Champions  Inaugural Event, to Conclude at Boston Marathon Finish Line, Nearing Capacity Boston, Mass. - Ingrid Kristiansen (Norway, 20th anniversary, 1989), Lorraine Moller (New Zealand, 25th anniversary, 1984) and Neil Cusack (Ireland, 35th anniversary, 1974) will be honored at various festivities during the week leading up to the 113th Boston Marathon, and will once again cross the Boston Marathon finish line - this time as competitors in the debut of the B.A.A. 5K. The 3.1-mile race begins Sunday morning, April 19, at 8 a.m. at… more »

<!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> Auburn junior Elkanah Kibet recently took seventh at NCAA Indoor Nationals in the 5,000-meter run. He's going for a fast time at the Stanford Meet this weekend in the 10K. Have you taken any off days since NCAAs? No, no, no, no. I haven't taken any days off because I'm getting ready for Stanford. I'm going to run the 10K at Stanford.   How do you feel about your performance at NCAAs? I feel good. I feel happy because I got All-American. I think I… more »

  For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 26.2 Days Until The 113th Boston Marathon® For first time, top marathoners to have their names on bibs.B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile set for Sunday. Boston, Mass. -- The 113th Boston Marathon will take place April 20, just 26.2 days from today. Athletes have entered their final month of training, and both participants and fans are gearing up for an exciting race weekend. While continuing to honor the title of being the world's oldest annual marathon, the Boston Marathon is introducing several innovations this year to provide spectators and athletes with more excitement… more »

© Copyright – 2009 – Christopher Kelsall Martin Fagan broke the Irish half marathon record on Saturday, March 14th finishing in 60:57. He was racing the Fortis City Pier City half marathon in The Hague, Netherlands. Martin bettered the 21-year-old national record of 61:00, previously held by the legendary John Treacy. During the race, Martin led world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie and a handful of Africans through 10k, clocking a 28:34 split, he passed through 5k in 14:12. From 10k on the Africans took over. Martin finished strong achieving a top 5 position and finishing within a minute of the… more »

<!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> 800-meter runner, Mike Rutt, of Connecticut, recently earned All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He's going to red shirt this outdoor season and hopefully succeed at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.   Have you taken any days off since NCAAs? I'm taking these next five days off. Just to kind of regroup and give my legs a little rest. I haven't really rested them since—well, once or twice during the season—but since XC not much.   It's a complete… more »

March 18, 2009   Four Honored as Division I National Indoor Track and Field Coaches of the Year   NEW ORLEANS – After leading his Oregon Ducks to their first ever Division I indoor track and field national title, Dan Steele was honored by his peers as the Men’s USTFCCCA Division I Indoor Track and Field National Coach of the Year, announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).   J.J Clark of Tennessee was honored as the Beverly Kearney Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year after leading his Tennessee Lady Volunteers… more »

March 17, 2009   Four Honored as Division I National Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year   NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the NCAA Division I National Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year.  Two men and two women received the annual honor as voted by Division I coaches following the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships.    Those honored were Women's Track Athlete of the Year, Jenny Barringer; Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, Destinee Hooker; Men's Track Athlete of the Year, Galen Rupp; and the Men's Field… more »

Blazing individual times have already proven to be the norm at Nike Indoor Nationals this weekend.  However, the newly renovated Reggie Lewis Track Complex in Boston, MA allowed West Windsor-Plainsboro North to capture its goal as well.  On Saturday, the Knights’ 4 x1 Mile team of Ryan Sleeper, Tyler Corkdale, Joe Rosa, and Jim Rosa pulled together a stunning National High School Record of 17:21.58 – bettering the previous record of 17:25.98 set in 2004. After falling during the first 800m, Ryan Sleeper may have worried his team initially, but nonetheless managed to pull off a 4:25 split to keep… more »

By Bob Ramsak(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly and Track Profile Report, all rights reservedSally Kipyego will be chasing a record 10th national title at this weekend's NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas.The 23-year-old nursing student and native of Marakwet, Kenya, has captured eight NCAA titles during her career at Texas Tech University, three in cross country, and five on the track. Her march towards 10 begins tonight with the qualifying round in the mile and, three hours later, with the final of the 5000m where she'll be defending her title.The current record of nine individual titles is… more »

March 12, 2008   USTFCCCA Announces Division I Indoor Track & Field Regional Honorees   NEW ORLEANS – The defending women’s shot put champion, Florida’s Mariam Kevkhishvili, and Oregon distance ace Galen Rupp lead a superb group of 72 men’s and women’s indoor track and field regional athletes and coaches of the year for the 2009 Division III indoor track and field season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced on Thursday.   The USTFCCCA selects the top men’s and women’s track athlete, field athlete, assistant coach, and head coach for the nine regions in Division I… more »

West Virgina Mountaineer Keri Bland has been one of the most consistently successful runners in the NCAA for the past few years. She was considering not even running in college and is well on her way to grabbing six All-American honors in two school years, a remarkable accomplishment. She's got a fast 800 this year, a fast mile, and is working to get her school's DMR team to Nationals. Let's see how she, and her Mountaineers, do this indoor season. What are you looking to do at Nationals? As far as I know, right now, I'm running the mile and… more »

BOSTON MARATHON RELEASES FINAL ELITE FIELDSBy David Monti(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reservedOrganizers of the Boston Marathon have released their final elite fields for the 113th running of America's oldest marathon set for Monday, April 20, shown below with career best times:MEN -Ryan Hall, USA: 2:06:17 (London, 2008)Evans Cheruiyot, Kenya: 2:06:25 (Chicago, 2008)Deriba Merga, Ethiopia: 2:06:38 (London, 2008)Daniel Rono, Kenya: 2:06:58 (Rotterdam, 2008Benjamin Maiyo, Kenya: 2:07:09 (Chicago, 2005)Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenya: 2:07:14 (Boston, 2006) CRRobert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Kenya: 2:07:21 (Frankfurt, 2008)Gudisa Shentema, Ethiopia: 2:07:34 (Paris, 2008)Gashaw Asfaw, Ethiopia: 2:08:03 (Paris, 2006)Stephen Kiogora, Kenya: 2:08:24 (Frankfurt, 2008)Solomon Molla, Ethiopia:… more »

March 11, 2008   NEW ORLEANS – Defending NCAA indoor champions Marie Borner, Willy Kaul and Caitlin Schetter, and 2008 runner-up Jake Winder are among the 48 men’s and women’s regional athletes and coaches of the year for the 2009 Division III indoor track and field season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced on Wednesday.   The USTFCCCA selects the top track athlete, field athlete, and coach for the eight regions in Division III track and field.   Borner, a junior at Bethel University, owns the nation’s second fastest time in the mile run (4:52.14) and… more »

03-11-2009 INDIANAPOLIS - Defending men's Champion Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, Ariz.) takes on a field that includes eight Olympians at the USA 15 km Championships this Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. This marks the 16th year that the championships have been hosted by the Gate River Run. Set to challenge Carlson for the title will be 2008 Olympians Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.), Ian Dobson(Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), and Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.) as well as 2004 Olympian and 2000 15 km champion Dan Browne (Beaverton, Ore.). In a field that includes eight of the top ten U.S.-ranked road racers from 2008, contenders for the men's title will also include 2008 USA Cross… more »

Hello everyone.  Before I get into this article I want to apologize for the large time gap in articles (not sure anyone even noticed/cared), but I have a good excuses.  First, the 9-5 has been insanely busy; I have the “Work to live”, not “Live to work” philosophy.  On the other hand, being a hardworking, bullheaded runner like some of you, there is a time to apply that athlete mindset and just get everything done, even if it takes 14 hours a day (multiple days in a row).  Plus in this economic climate, just having a job is a blessing. … more »

  Bill Rodgers once said, “If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.” This upcoming week, many athletes will be hoping to unleash their crazy side at the DII Indoor Track and Field National Championships taking place at the University of Houston. In the spirit of March “madness,” I am going to pick my favorites for some of the individual running events. I want you to pick yours too and to fill me in on the other events. 60 meter dashWomen- St. Augustine’s Barbara Pierre is back hoping to defend to her indoor title… more »

<!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> Florida Gator Christian Taylor is only a freshman, but he's got a deep resume of accomplishments under his belt. This season he's qualified for the NCAA National Indoor Meet in three events, the long and triple jump, as well as the 4 x 400 meter relay, where his Gators are the top ranked team with a time of 3 minutes, 5.82 seconds. Let's see if he can pull off a big triple, like used to do in high school.   What are you looking to… more »

By David Monti(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, alll rights reservedAmerican distance runners will continue to enjoy strong financial support from the New York Road Runners this year, president and chief executive officer Mary Wittenberg announced today.  The leading not-for-profit race organizer in the United States will contribute $190,000 this year to support the USA Distance Project, a collection of training groups throughout the country, and will provide direct financial backing to post-collegiate track races at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Cal Berkeley next month."Our goal is to get people running worldwide, and to build our sport," said Wittenberg in a… more »

(C) Copyright - 2009 - Christopher Kelsall I read the book “My Life on the Run” by Bart Yasso, the Mayor of Running, for clues to its relevance to his public image as defacto race ambassador at Runner’s World Magazine. I am happy I did, because, in many ways, the memoirs are a constant reminder echoing his life’s transition from misdirected youth to sub-elite runner and adventurer, to the present in how far he has come as a person. According to Bart, life’s journey is about how far we have come, not in how fast we run through it. For… more »

I am one lucky intern.  My first assignment for MileSplit US was to interview the newest on-the-rise runner our country has witnessed – Ryan Hall.  I published the first part of the story on Friday night (http://fl.milesplit.us/articles/22026) and was expecting that the second part was going to be a recap of Ryan’s American-record run in the 15K at the Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, Florida.  To my surprise, despite the fact that he was his usual phenomenal self, Ryan wound up about a minute off the record. First, let me assure you that I will follow up with Ryan after… more »

The IAAF announced on Monday that the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., and Reebok Grand Prix in New York City will be part of a prestigious new circuit of elite track meets known as the "IAAF Diamond League", starting in 2010. Replacing the current ÅF Golden League of six meets, the Diamond League will feature at least 12 globally televised meets on four continents, giving the IAAF a series that extends beyond the European confines of the current Golden League, into the United States, Asia and the Middle East. The Diamond League also will expand the number of events contested in the IAAF's showcase series, featuring 32… more »

March came in like a lion for many, especially those hoping for the last chance to qualify for DII Indoor Championships on March 13 at the University of Houston. There were an array of meets ranging from conference races to last chance meets, and, as usual I tried to cover as many meets as possible covering automatic marks and fast times. If there is an event or performance that I missed, please leave the results in the comment section. After all, Flotrack is a community. GLIAC Indoor Championships-Grand Valley State’s women won the meet with 205 points over Ashland (134)… more »