| Major Sponsors |
 ING New York City Marathon |
 |
 The Town of Mammoth Lakes |
Sustaining Patrons & Partners
|
|
Recent Wires Click here for recent editions Click here for Archives In this Edition Wire 68, September 4, 2006 (click)
Copyright © 2000-06 Running USA Inc. |
|
Coming Events
|
| Major Sponsors |
ING New York City Marathon |
|
The Town of Mammoth Lakes |
Sustaining Patrons & Partners
|
| Return
to top / Return
to main page
Hall, Runyan Capture USA 20K Titles at New Haven NEW HAVEN, Conn. - (September 4, 2006) - Perhaps Ryan Hall should stick to longer races on the East Coast. Adding to his USA 12K cross country title that he won in New York last February, Hall, 23, from Palo Alto, Calif. notched his second national championship, this time over 20K on the roads, with an easy, tactical win at the 29th NewAlliance New Haven Road Race on Labor Day. Hall, an on-again, off-again entrant until early last week, and running only his second road race and longest event in his life, was content to let the long-distance experts do all the work for the first 10 miles of the race before pulling away to a 59:29, 14 second victory over Fernando Cabada, the 2006 USA 25K champ. "I just tried to be patient and follow every else's moves," said the Team Running USA athlete who also took home $7500 as national champion. "It kind of felt like we were fartleking some of the miles - it would speed up, then slow down." |
|
Hall waited until the final climb on the basically flat course to finally go to the front, and when he took the lead things were basically settled. "I pushed the hill then tried to maintain that effort coming down," he said. "A lot of guys will ease off after they crest a hill, so you can open up a lead if you keep pushing." "We played right into Ryan's wheelhouse," said Andrew Carlson, who finished third, four seconds behind Cabada. "The longer he could sit behind us and follow, the better the odds got for him." ZAP Fitness' Joe Driscoll, Carlson's Team USA Minnesota teammate Jason Lehmkuhle and late entrant Simon Sawe, a Kenyan who gained U.S. citizenship in June, rounded out the top six, the first five of whom broke an hour under nearly ideal conditions (66F, 70% humidity at the start), the best weather the race has had in five years. The last time Marla Runyan ran in New Haven (2003) it was cold and rainy and she set a U.S. record of 1:05:52 by nipping Colleen De Reuck at the tape with a come-from-behind victory. This year the weather was better, Runyan, 37, two days and a year after the birth of her first child, daughter Anna, ran slower, but reprised her strategy in overtaking fellow two-time U.S. Olympian Elva Dryer at the 11 mile mark to pull away for an 11 second win in 1:08:28. Unlike the top two men, the leading women were in the midst of build-ups for autumn marathons, Runyan for the USA Championships at Twin Cities in a month and Dryer for her debut at the distance in Chicago. In the end, it was Runyan's superior track speed that enabled her to erase a lead that had grown to as much as 75 meters by the middle of the race. "I could sense I was catching Elva, and when I got close I just went past, figuring I'd put all my cards on the table," said Runyan of Eugene, Ore. "I was worried she might tuck right behind and go with me, but fortunately she didn't." "I had a couple of slow miles where I lost a lot of my lead," said Dryer. "I don't know, maybe I went to sleep a little. I have to work on that for the marathon." Zoila Gomez overtook Jenny Crain in the closing yards to grab third, with Ann Alyanak and 2004 national 20K champ Turena Johnson Lane rounding out the top six. Just over 2,000 finished the race, which served as
a primary selection event for the IAAF World Road Racing Championships,
to be contested over the same distance in Hungary this October. MEN WOMEN Complete results at: NewHavenRoadRace.org |
Return to top / Return to main page Kwambai, Kiplagat Win Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - (Sept. 3, 2006) - In the wake of tropical storm Ernesto, Virginia Beach welcomed favorable weather for race day and it quickly became clear that runners from Kenya would dominate the sixth annual Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon under clear skies. Kenyan James Kwambai, 23, covered the 13.1-mile course in a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes, 30 seconds while Edna Kiplagat, 26, also from Kenya, won the women's race in 1:11:08. Both champions took home $12,000. Kwambai entered the race wary of his competition. The field included the champion of the 2004 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, Haron Toroitich, 28, from Kenya and Ethiopian Dejene Berhanu, 26, who entered the race with the fastest half-marathon time in the men's field (59:23). Having learned a valuable tactical lesson in 2005, Kwambai held his finishing surge a little longer to refrain from fading at the finish as he strode to victory instead of fighting for second place as he did last year. Through miles seven and eight, the large men's pack began to break up, dropping the pre-race favorite Berhanu. It was then that Kwambai began to take control. He turned in a 14 minute 5K through miles nine and 11. At the turn on to the oceanfront boardwalk, Evans Cheruiyot, 25, of Kenya was in the process of building an attack on Kwambai in the final miles, but his strategy was futile as Kwambai released the surge he had patiently reserved to open up a commanding lead which he kept to the finish line. Cheruiyot finished second in 1:03:49. Reflecting on his competition, Kwambai said he had been afraid of the 'finishing speed' of some of the other top men, but was obviously content with his improvement from 2005 as he accepted the champion's trophy with a smile. As is customary in Virginia Beach, the women's professional field started five minutes ahead of the men and remained in a tight pack for the first half of the race. The field jockeyed for position through miles four and five before settling into a conservative pace. Mild attacks at the pace came shortly after mile five by the Alice Chelangat, 29, of Kenya, who won this year's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, Calif. Romanian Luminita Talpos, 33, chose to challenge the pace as the pack of 16 women approached mile seven before the eventual champion Kiplagat made her presence felt. Through miles seven and 10, Kiplagat increased the pace, turning in the fastest split of the race at mile 10 (5:11). As she turned on to the boardwalk for the final two miles of the race, Kiplagat had secured victory in her debut half-marathon against a field that, in her words, contained some dangerous competition. "I wanted to run carefully in my first half-marathon," Kiplagat said. "I am very happy to win." A sold out field of 20,000 entrants joined the elite athletes along the 13.1-mile course that finishes along the Atlantic shoreline, including approximately 1,000 runners and walkers from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training, The National AIDS Marathon Team, The NF Marathon Team and Team Hoyt (Dick and Rick Hoyt). The efforts of the participants in these charity programs helped raise a total of $1.3 million (net) at this year's event. Sixteen cheer squads and over 20 bands lined the course to entertain and motivate the runners and walkers. The evening capped off with a headliner concert featuring 3 Doors Down. 6th Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
presented by SunTrust MEN WOMEN Full results at: RnRHalf.com Return to top / Return to main page Kiplagat, Leghzaoui Set Course
Records at Park Forest Scenic 10 Mile PARK FOREST, Ill. - (September 4, 2006) - Their legs pumped in rhythm like a piston engine as Kenyans Nelson Kiplagat and Reuben Chebii matched each other stride-for-stride in the last two miles of the 2006 Park Forest Scenic 10 Mile on Labor Day. With the finish line in sight, Kiplagat surged ahead to win in 46 minutes, 30 seconds, more than 20 seconds faster than the course record set in 1995 by Jimmy Muindi. "This is my best race this year," Kiplagat said. "I was confident going in." He won $4000 including a $500 course record bonus. Chebii followed a split second later also in 46:30, worth $2500. Four runners - Kiplagat, Chebii, Julius Kibet and Nicodemus Malakwen - broke ahead at 4.5 miles. With Malakwen leading, the four Kenyans crossed the 10K mark on a course record pace (28:39). Kiplagat and Chebii pulled ahead at the 8 mile mark and gained a solid lead over Kibet, who finished third in 46:47. Malakwen's aggressive racing at the front of the pack took its toll in the last two miles, and he placed fourth in 47:12. Asmae Leghzaoui of Fès, Morocco broke the women's course record by nearly 40 seconds with her unchallenged 52:40. The win in Park Forest was Leghzaoui's first victory after she injured her upper thigh during the Paris Marathon. Magdalene Mukunzi of Kenya was second in 54:11. "The course is good," Leghzaoui said. "I enjoyed going through the forest, the music and the people cheering." Dan Held of Pewaukee, Wis. (52:48) was the top masters (40+) runner, while Boulder, Colo. resident Patty Murray (58:52) was the top masters female runner. Each won $500. A steady rain poured down during the entire running of the 29th annual race. The Park Forest Scenic 10 Mile is a mostly flat course through the neighborhood streets and forest preserve of Chicago suburb Park Forest. Around 1,700 participants were registered for the Park Forest Scenic 10 Mile, which also offered a 5K option. More than a dozen musical acts lined the course, including a string quartet and bagpipes. The race has won the "Best Race" award from the Chicago Area Runner's Association (CARA) for 15 of the past 17 years. 29th Park Forest Scenic 10
Mile MEN WOMEN Complete results at: Scenic10.com Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director |