(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Organizers of the Boston Marathon released their elite fields today, and defending champions Geoffrey Mutai and Caroline Kilel of Kenya will be facing very strong competition as they run from Hopkinton to Boston’s Back Bay in the 116th edition of America’s oldest marathon. The event, part of the five-race World Marathon Majors series, is scheduled for Monday, April 16, Patriots’ Day in the state of Massachusetts.

Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam, the 2010 ING New York City Marathon from Ethiopia, and Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, the 2010 Boston Marathon champion from Kenya, lead the list of Mutai’s challengers. Gebremariam ran Boston last year, finishing third in a personal best 2:04:53, and Kiprono Cheruiyot –who ran his career best time of 2:05:52 when he won Boston two years ago– finished sixth last year in 2:06:43.

Also competing from Kenya, organizers said, are 2011 Rotterdam Marathon winner Wilson Chebet (2:05:27 PB), 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon second place finisher Wesley Korir (2:06:15), last year’s third-placer at Chicago Bernard Kipyego (2:06:29), 2011 Fukuoka Marathon champion Josphat Ndambiri (2:07:36), 2011 BMW Frankfurt Marathon runner-up Levy Matebo (2:05:16), 2012 Xiamen Marathon winner Peter Kamais (2:07:37), 2011 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon champion David Barmasai (2:07:18), and 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon champion Mathew Kisorio (2:10:58).

Two Americans, Jason Hartmann (2:11:06 PB) and Antonio Vega (2:13:47) are also entered. Hartmann finished a disappointing 32nd at the USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston last month, while Vega was forced to skip the Trials because an injury last year made it impossible for him to train and be ready.

“One of the cornerstones of any top marathon in the world is the elite field,” commented Boston Athletic Association executive director Tom Grilk, whose organization founded and owns the Boston Marathon. “Through the superb collaborative efforts with our long-standing partner, John Hancock, and its recruitment excellence over the past 27 years, the Boston Marathon has continued to thrive on fast times and a true competitive nature. John Hancock’s sponsorship of our elite runners in this year’s event will no doubt once again inspire all those associated with the race. It is a model partnership that works extraordinarily well for everyone.”

The women’s field will also be power-packed. Chasing Kilel will be Kenyans Sharon Cherop and Caroline Rotich. Cherop, the world championships marathon bronze medalist from Daegu last summer, also finished third at Boston last year and has a personal best time of 2:22:39, set in Dubai last month. Rotich is the reigning NYC Half Marathon champion and finished fourth in Boston last year in a career best 2:24:26.

The Ethiopian women’s squad at Boston will be exceptionally good, led by national record holder Aselefech Mergia, who just won in Dubai in a blistering 2:19:31. Joining her will be the 1-2 finishers from last November’s ING New York City Marathon, Firehiwot Dado (2:23:15 PB) and Buzunesh Deba (2:23:19), and 2011 BMW Frankfurt Marathon champion Mamitu Daska (2:21:59).

Russians Galina Bogomolova (2:20:47 PB) and Alevtina Biktimirova (2:25:12) will also be in the field.

John Hancock Financial is celebrating the 150th anniversary of their company this year, and see the Boston Marathon as a great way to express their corporate pride.

“In celebration of our 150th anniversary as a company, this year’s field is faster and more competitive than ever before,” crowed Rob Friedman, Hancock’s sports marketing chief. “We know these talented runners will provide the millions of fans around the world with another spectacular race, and we are counting down the days to April 16th.”

The former marathon world -record holder, Paul Tergat of Kenya, has a relevation to share: Patrick Makau’s world record (2:03:38) won’t be around for long.

Another Kenyan legend in distance running, Ibrahim Hussein, agrees with Tergat. “During my time we were doing 2:08,” Hussein, a three-time Boston Marathon champion, said. ”I was instrumental in convincing Paul Tergat, while he was still a cross-country runner, to switch to the marathon and run a 2:04 which he subsequently did and went ahead and broke the world record.”

Tergat once held the marathon mark at 2:04:55, a time he set nine years ago in Berlin. He thinks Makau’s record will be broken by another Kenyan. “I am happy that the world record came home to where it belongs and I will be much happier if the mark is lowered by my fellow countryman when that time comes,” he said.

Kenya certainly has the depth of talent to pull this off, which doesn’t make Tergat’s remarks that much of a surprise.

For More: Zee News

It’s the first week of February, and for about 27,000 lucky marathoners that means the Boston Marathon is only 10 weeks away. As far as marathons go, Boston is unique in that from the moment the starting gun sounds in Hopkinton runners are blasting downhill. In fact, with a cumulative drop of 130 feet, the opening mile is quite a descent. The steady downhill continues all the way to the fourth mile, where the net decline is 310 feet.

This rate of descent is one of the reasons Boston is not an easy marathon course. Though it may seem counterintuitive, downhill running can take its toll on your body—especially when it comes early in a 26.2-mile race. Downhill running is all about braking–and braking means muscular stress. And as you might imagine, sustained muscular stress on the quads over the course of two, three or more hours is not good for marathoners.

More from Competitor.com: Hit The Hills, Reap The Benefits

So is there anything you can do to prepare for a downhill race course like Boston? Most runners include uphill repeats in their training, but is there any benefit to running repeats in the other direction?

There are different schools of thought on this subject. Surprisingly, the fastest American ever to run on the Boston course, Ryan Hall, isn’t a big fan of downhill training. “I actually don’t do any downhill training,” he says. However, Hall admits he “played around” with downhill running before, but it didn’t do him much good. “I felt that it wrecked my legs for weeks,” he says.

Instead, Hall prefers to prepare for Boston by doing marathon-paced workouts on rolling terrain. “I don’t feel like Boston plummets downhill or anything extreme,” he contends.

Another Boston course expert is Desiree Davila, who finished second in the women’s race last year, running a huge personal best of 2:22:30. She prepares for the race a bit differently than Hall. As a member of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, Davila takes part in team marathon-pace workouts that mimic the course’s first six miles. These workouts are completed “very early” in her marathon build.

“There is noticeable fatigue in the quads after the first workout,” Davila admits. “It gets easier over the next few. It’s good to get an idea of how the downhills will feel on your legs. In addition, you’ll head into the middle of your marathon training on tired quads, similar to how you’ll head into the middle miles on race day.”

One thing that Davila and Hall both don’t do is include any weight training to toughen up their quads. Though it may seem like a good idea—heading to the gym to build up the quadriceps—both runners prefer to use their own bodyweight while running to prepare for a Boston-type elevation drop.

Two-time Olympic Trials marathoner-turned-coach Joe Rubio incorporates two routines — “Wake Forest Drills” and “Adams State Miles” – for his cross country athletes who have to be ready to run fast both uphill and downhill.

In the “Wake Forest Drills” Rubio has his athletes run uphill for 800 meters on a gradual dirt grade. “We run the uphill at cross-country race effort,” he says. “Once we hit the top, we immediately turn around and run the downhill at a sustained (not jogging) effort with the goal being to hit the downhill 800 meters about 20-30 seconds slower than the uphill. Once we get to the bottom, we turn around and run back up at race effort. Up and back equals 1 mile, so whatever distance the athlete has normally been running their [tempo runs] we’d do the same distance here.”

Rubio’s “Adam State Miles” are completed on a 1,500-meter (just short of a mile) course that is gradually uphill the entire way. “We’ll run up at race effort, take our 3 minute recovery and run the same course downhill focusing on running fast and smooth,” he says. “We always finish with a downhill mile at a pretty fast effort. The athletes usually run 20-25 seconds faster on the downhill.”

For his Boston-bound marathoners, Rubio incorporates the same marathon-specific pace runs that Davila does, but he puts them near the end of the athlete’s training cycle—typically in the last six to eight weeks before it’s time to taper. “For Boston, we’d do the first half of say a 2 x 4-mile tempo on a gradual downhill asphalt section and on the second 4-mile session, we’d start flat the first 2 miles and hit some uphills the final 2 miles,” he says.

Rubio shares the same opinion on weight lifting as Hall and Davila. “I’m not aware of any weight work that would significantly improve your ability to run downhills better than actually running race-specific workout on downhills,” he contends.

Regardless of how you go about training for your next race, don’t forget about the downhills. In the marathon, these sections of the course can either make or break your day, so prepare for them accordingly. Your legs will thank you.

****

About The Author:

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist who’s been covering the sport of running for over five years. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007.

There’s always been a Boston Marathon versus New York City Marathon rivalry going on. But things are a lot more heated now that both city’s teams are headed to the Superbowl.

Universal Sports’ Joe Battaglia is reporting that New York Road Runners’ CEO, Mary Wittenberg, has made a friendly wager with Boston Athletic Association executive director Tom Grilk. Apparently, if the New York Giants win, Grilk will put on an Eli Manning jersey during the 2012 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K on Saturday, November 3, which takes place during ING New York City Marathon weekend.

And if the Patriots win, then it will be Wittenberg’s turn to wear a Tom Brady jersey at the 2012 B.A.A. 5K on Sunday, April 15 during Boston Marathon weekend.

The inspiration behind the wagers stems from a similar bet made between the governors of both states.

If the Giants lose, New York Governor Mario Cuomo will donate New York-made yogurt, bagels, and cheesecakes to a Massachusetts food bank.

For More: Universal Sports

(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

With the Roman Catholic Easter holiday falling on April 8, right in the middle of the traditional spring marathon season, race organizers have moved their events to avoid the holiday, creating a super marathon weekend, April 14-16.

The ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam, which is usually held in early April, has moved to Sunday, April 15, along with the Paris and Vienna Marathons, two other high-level competitions. The Boston Marathon, which is always held on the third Monday in April, falls on the 16th, making for an action-packed two days of marathon running.

The following weekend is nearly as busy with the Enschede, Virgin London, and Zürich marathons taking place, amongst others. Given the men’s fields lined up for Rotterdam and London, it is possible that the world record could be set, then broken, on consecutive weekends.

Here is a recap of the key spring marathons by date:

Sunday, April 15
ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam (32nd) – Netherlands
Barclays Milano City Marathon (12th) – Italy
Brighton Marathon (3rd) – Great Britain
Canberra Marathon (35th) – Australia
Debno Marathon (38th) – Poland
Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon (12th) – Japan
Paris Marathon (36th) – France
Vienna City Marathon (29th) – Austria

Monday, April 16
Boston Marathon (116th) – United States

Saturday, April 21
Belgrade Marathon (25th) – Serbia

Sunday, April 22
Cracovia Marathon (11th) – Poland
Enschede Marathon (44th) – Netherlands
Stadtwerke Leipzig Marathon (36th) – Germany
Borealis Linz Donau Marathon (11th) – Austria
Deutsche Post Marathon Bonn (12th) – Germany
Rock ‘n’ Roll Madrid Marathon (1st) – Spain
Maratona di Sant’ Antonio (25th) – Italy
Zürich Marathon (10th) – Switzerland
Virgin London Marathon (32nd) – Great Britain

I've been told that "beer" is an essential part of the training process. Got that one down.

Yes, I understand this is a humor column, but this is actually serious.

I’ve got a big mouth. This shouldn’t come as shocking news to you. But in spite of my tendency to speak often, loudly, and inappropriately, I’ve actually been able to keep a secret for the past couple months. But now, it’s time for me to open my big fat mouth:

I have a goal. A big, fat, scary, potentially embarrassing one.

It’s not like me to be so secretive. I’ve always told people to share their goals, as terrifying as it may be. It’s much easier to keep our goals to ourselves so that we won’t look foolish if we fall short. But it’s also that much easier to quit when you keep your goals to yourself. If you tell the world about it, you’ve made yourself accountable. And that’s a powerful motivational tool.

So, in the interest of practicing what I preach, here goes:

I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Yes, really. No, this isn’t a joke. Yes, I understand this is a humor column, but this is actually serious. I know, I find it funny, too. I’ll give you a moment to stop laughing. Okay, seriously, stop. It’s not that funny. Now you’re just hurting my feelings. Sigh. Go ahead and change your pants. I’ll wait.

I know I’m not an elite athlete. I’ve done endurance sports for a couple years now, but from marathons to Ironman triathlons, I’ve always been a just-finisher, jogging along and hamming it up on the course. Through these experiences, I’ve discovered my body’s able to do some pretty cool things, more than I ever thought I could do. Now, I’m curious to see what else it’s capable of accomplishing.

Under the torture tutelage of my new coach (Competitor.com senior producer Mario Fraioli, a.k.a. Coach Dude), I’m being turned into a lean, mean running machine. Okay, a slightly soft, kinda awkward running machine. Tomato, tomahto.

Training to qualify for Boston is much different than what I’m used to. My training plans lately have hard speed intervals and hill repeats and a distinct purpose, whereas before my workouts focused mainly on mileage goals and the ultimate objective of “not dying.”

I’m busting my hump every day, and as such, my workout logs are filled with detailed feedback for Coach Dude, like “I just did your ‘7-minute miles’ workout. I hope you die in a <bleep>ing fire.”

Last weekend, I tracked down a few Boston Qualifiers at the PF Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon. They were kind enough to share their insights on how I can qualify as well. Their advice was pretty standard: Get a good coach, make every workout count, and be willing to push your limits.

My favorite, however, was a 48 year-old guy who, when asked for the great secret to getting faster, replied “Beer.” I liked him. I really, really, liked him.

When I asked if they thought it’d be possible for me to qualify for Boston, too, they all said the same thing: “Absolutely.”

Do I believe that? I don’t know. But I just opened my big mouth and announced my goal in a very public forum, so I damn well better try.

A coach? Check.

A plan? Check.

A willingness to suffer? Check.

Beer? Double-check.

Boston or bust.

[sig:SusanLacke]

If there were no Trials race in 2008, would an underdog like Brian Sell (left) have been chosen to join favorites such as Ryan Hall (center) and Dathan Ritzenhein (right) on the Olympic team? Photo: PhotoRun.net

Is the Trials race necessary, or even the best way, to decide who represents the U.S. at the Olympics?

Written by: Kevin Beck

This weekend in Houston, less than three hours of racing will determine the three men and three women who will represent the United States in the Olympic Marathon in London this summer. The process is elegantly simple: The first three men and the first three women across the line in the respective men’s and women’s Olympic Team Trials races are on the team, and that’s that. (There are caveats here based on IAAF time standards, but that’s for a different discussion and is unlikely to be an issue this year.)

Some, however, might prefer the word painfully to elegantly, since despite its simplicity, this means of picking an Olympic contingent – unique among countries that send marathoners to the Olympics – is fraught with glaringly obvious hazards in terms of the potential for leaving the best marathon runners off the team. In his collection of essays Runners and Other Dreamers, John L. Parker, writing about the Olympic Marathon itself, noted that four years of diligent and relentless training could be summarily negated on race day by the effects of an undercooked egg.

Poll: Who will make the U.S. men’s marathon team?

An ill-prepared breakfast is only one manner in which an ideally prepared and superior athlete might find herself out of contention in a one-off event such as the Olympic Trials Marathon. A respiratory infection, an injury in the weeks before the race, a calf pull or some such malady during the race itself – anyone who has ever laced up shoes for an all-out 26.2-mile footrace knows too well that the possibilities for mayhem are without bound. While this is precisely what makes a superb race so satisfying for pack runners – not only have I proven my fitness and dug deep, but I’ve also beaten the odds! – it’s a reality that imperils the exploits of elite runners in a way that suggests to some observers that the trials marathon system should be abandoned in favor of the selection system used by other countries.

In a selection scheme, as you can probably guess if you don’t already know, nations’ athletics governing bodies examine the performances of their marathon runners over the past several years (the window might be since the last Olympic Marathon with or without including it; it might only encompass, say, 2010 and 2011 and parts of 2012 for the 2012 Olympic contest) and choose three men and three women based on their top performances during this period. In this way, the pitfalls of putting the burden of excellence solely on one race are neatly avoided, and bad luck is excised from the equation.

Poll: Who will make the U.S. women’s Olympic Marathon team?

This process, however, is saddled with dangers of its own. The advantage of a trials system is that it knocks politics completely out of the equation. You show up at the Olympic Trials prepared, you execute a sound race, you land yourself first, second or third, and you’re on the team. Period. No arbitrariness involved, no hand-wringing by sports governing bodies over whether a 2:08 in Boston for fifth is better than a 2:06 in London for sixth, no potential for favoritism or shadiness of any kind. You either make the grade or you do not.

Kenya in particular has faced a number of controversies regarding its selection of Olympians. This country with its surreal glut of world-class marathon runners used to pick its marathon team based on performances at the Boston and London marathons, but that has gone out the window, as in September Athletics Kenya chose to fill two of its three slots with world-record holder Patrick Makau and two-time world champ Abel Kirui. This means that among Geoffrey Mutai (2:03:02 to win Boston last year; 2:05:05 to win New York), 2011 Frankfurt Marathon winner Wilson Kipsang (2:03:42, the second-fastest time in history), and Emmanuel Mutai (2:04:40 to win London last year), only one man will get to line up in London. And that assessment omits many, many other names with thermonuclear distinction. (This opens the door to a discussion of whether the Olympics’ limiting countries to three marathon runners is even fair in the first place, but this, too, is a debate for another day.) Whatever happens in the end – that third spot has yet to be filled – there is no question that the choice will have been an agonizing, and more importantly to some degree whimsical, one.

Another element of the trials scheme employed by the U.S. is that it allows for the possibility of novice marathoners to make the team. In the past, because there are time standards runners must meet to make the Trials – 2:19:00 for men in the current cycle, 2:46:00 for women – elite runners who wished to make their marathon debut at the Olympic Trials didn’t have this option. In other words, a man who had run sub-28:00 on the track and 1:02:00 in the half marathon and was thus an obvious top marathoner waiting to happen, but who had never gone the full 42.2 kilometers, would have no shot at the Olympic team in the marathon. That changed in 2008, when USA Track and Field decided to allow runners who had reached certain standards in the 10,000 meters and the half marathon without ever having raced a marathon to enter the Trials. While this seems fantastic in principle, one might take issue with the idea of a newcomer squeaking onto the team in third place and having the Olympic Marathon represent only her second attempt at the distance, as experience is a huge factor in this event. (Cynics will remind us that Americans are not apt to place high at the Olympics anyway, but leave that aside for now.)

In any case, it’s not an easy call, as strong arguments can clearly be made for either system. But just for fun, ask yourself whom you would choose for this year’s American squads if the trials scheme were scrapped. Would you look merely at top times? Would you place emphasis on performances turned in at the major domestic races (Boston, Chicago, New York)? Some combination? I’m pondering this myself right now and am already at loggerheads with my own sense of fairness.

The marathon is grueling. Picking an Olympic team without any lingering sense of doubt is seemingly just as much of a test.

[sig:KevinBeck]

Several members of the Hansons-Brooks distance project work together at the 2010 Chicago Marathon in an effort to post an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying time. Photo: PhotoRun.net

There are three ways an athlete can qualify for America’s most exclusive marathon.

Written by: Linzay Logan

Running fast enough to qualify is half the battle in making it to the Olympic Marathon Trials, the race that will decide who will represent the United States in the marathon at next summer’s Olympic Games in London. But making the team is not the main goal for each of the 383 runners toeing the line in Houston this Saturday. Sure, the likes of folks like Meb Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist, and Desi Davila, the runner-up at the 2011 Boston Marathon, have their sights set on making the Olympic team, but for most of the 225 women and 158 men who qualified for the race, getting the chance to run in the celebrated race is their ultimate goal.

To punch their ticket to the Trials, runners had to post a qualifying time at a marathon, half marathon or 10,000-meter track race. Eligible men needed to run 2:19:00 or faster in the full marathon, under 1:05 in the half marathon or sub-28:30 in the 10K during the two-year qualifying window which closed in mid-December. Women had to run 2:46 or faster in the full marathon, under 1:15 in the half marathon or sub-33:00 in the 10,000 between Jan. 1, 2010 and December 11 of this past year. Those runners who met the qualifying standards at the USA Marathon Championships in 2008 (for men) or 2009 (for women) were the first runners granted entry into the race.

According to the data released last week by USA Track and Field, there are a few stand-out courses that yielded several Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying times. Two of the most popular marathons in the U.S–the Boston Marathon in April and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October–are also near the top of the list for producing the most Trials qualifying runners. Thirty-nine marathoners qualified at Boston and 43 runners met the standard in Chicago. Topping the list, however, is the California International Marathon with 47 qualifiers, with Grandma’s Marathon totaling the fourth largest amount of Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying runners with 30.

[sig:LinzayLogan]

Written by: David Monti

(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Geoffrey Mutai ran the fastest marathon in history last year in Boston, breaking the tape in 2:03:02. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Reigning champions Geoffrey Mutai and Caroline Kilel will return to the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16, to defend their titles, organizers reported Thursday.  The race, held every year on Patriots’ Day from Hopkinton to Boston, will be contested for the 116th time this year.

Without the aid of pacemakers Mutai, 30, the #1-ranked marathoner in the world for 2011 by Track & Field News, swept to victory at Boston last year in an improbable course record of 2:03:02, the fastest marathon ever run on a certified course. The self-coached athlete who is sponsored by adidas, followed-up his Boston victory by winning the ING New York City Marathon last November, also setting a course record there (2:05:06).  He became the first man ever to set Boston and New York City Marathon course records in the same year.

“I want to return to Boston to defend my title,” the Kenyan explained through a statement. “I very much liked the race in 2011, because I made the best time ever run in the marathon.”

As part of his training, Mutai will ready himself for Boston by running the San Blas Half Marathon in Puerto Rico on Feb. 5. He will return to Kenya after that to complete his training for Boston.

Kilel, also a 30 year-old Kenyan, earned her Boston victory in a three-way sprint against American Desiree Davila and compatriot Sharon Cherop. She set a personal best 2:22:36, just two seconds up on Davila and and six seconds ahead of Cherop, then tumbled to the pavement in exhaustion.

“I have chosen the Boston Marathon because, of course, I had a good experience by winning in 2011,” said the adidas-sponsored Kilel, who wears her hair in intricate braids. “I hope I can do the same this year.”

The 2012 edition of the Boston Marathon, America’s oldest, will mark the 27th year of financial sponsorship by John Hancock Financial, whose investment in the race makes the participation of the professional athletes possible. With $150,000 going to the race winners, Boston has the highest first place prize in marathon running amongst the five commercial events of the World Marathon Majors, and the largest overall prize purse.

“Throughout our more than quarter century sponsorship of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock has each year honored its commitment to bring the world’s top runners to the race, and knowing the defending champions will return in 2012 is an excellent start to the new year,” said Rob Friedman, head of sponsorship and event marketing at John Hancock.

Boston was the third-largest marathon in the United States in 2011 in terms of finishers (23,879), and according to the independent Association of Road Racing Statisticians the race had the most competitive mens’ field of any marathon in the world last year with 844 quality points, just edging the ING New York City Marathon by five points. Boston’s women’s field was ranked third with 847 points, behind only the Virgin London Marathon (919) and the World Championships (851).

Kenya's Patrick Makau on his way to setting the marathon world record at the 2011 BMW Berlin Marathon (photo courtesy of the BMW Berlin Marathon)

Written by: David Monti.

(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

The depth of performances by Kenyan men at the marathon distance in 2011 was simply staggering, according to an analysis by statistician Ken Young of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.

A compilation of marathon results through mid-December, showed that Kenyan men ran 2:20:00 or faster 719 times this year.  That total was achieved by 474 different athletes, who amassed 135 victories and 319 podium finishes. Moreover, Kenyan men were victorious at all six World Marathon Majors events held this year (Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York and the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea), and recorded victories at other important marathons in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Chunchon, Dubai, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Otsu, Paris, Prague, Rotterdam, Valencia, and Xiamen amongst others.

At the top of the list, Kenyan men broke 2:06:00 15 times (11 performers), 2:07:00 31 times (24 performers), and 2:08:00 47 times (37 performers).  By contrast, men from Ethiopia, Kenya’s traditional distance running rivals, broke 2:06 just once, 2:07:00 3 times, and 2:08:00 9 times.  Within the top-50 times in the world this year (2:07:28), men from Kenya achieved all of them but nine.  Only one North American (Ryan Hall, 2:04:58), and one South American (Marilson Gomes Dos Santos, 2:06:34) made the top-50 performances.  The fastest European of 2011, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Sitkovskyy, clocked 2:09:26, a time surpassed by 70 Kenyans.

While athletes like Patrick Makau, who set the world record of 2:03:38 at Berlin, and Geoffrey Mutai, who won both Boston and New York, got most of the attention, lesser-known Luka Kipkemboi Chelimo also achieved a noteworthy feat.  Chelimo, 34, broke 2:20 more than any other Kenyan this year, achieving the feat seven times.  He also won four marathons: Donying, China (2:13:37); Montreal, Canada (2:13:45); Chongquing, China (2:16:27); and Perth, Australia (2:17:03).

Patrick Makau is now the official marathon world-record holder. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Even though it took several months, there’s no doubt that Kenya’s Patrick Makau is happy right now. On Tuesday, the governing body of track and field, the IAAF, ratified his Berlin Marathon time of two hours three minutes and thirty-eight seconds, making him the fastest official marathoner in the history of the world.

Fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai has actually covered the distance faster at April’s Boston Marathon, but his time did not count, because the Boston course does not qualify for a world record due to it’s point-to-point nature and unallowable drop.

Makau broke the record that had been held by Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie of 2:03:59–a mark that was also set in Berlin.

In the same ruling, the IAAF also ratified Makau’s 30K world record, which was set in the same race (1:27:38)–an 11-second improvement over Gebrselassie’s mark set in Berlin in 2009.

Makau’s previous marathon PR was 2:04:48.

For More: Sports Illustrated

Desiree Davila predicts a new record at the upcoming U.S Olympic Marathon Trials. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Written by: David Monti

(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Desiree Davila and Ryan Hall, the woman and man with the fastest qualifying times for next month’s USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston, predict that record breaking times will be needed to both win and finish on the podium.

The top-3 athletes earn provisional berths on the USA Olympic team in the world’s only one-day selection race which picks an entire Olympic Marathon squad. “I will say that the top-3 guys will all be under 2:10,” Hall told reporters from his home in Redding, Calif., during a conference call hosted by USA Track & Field (USATF), something which has never happened in the history of the Trials.

More from Competitor.com–Looking Back: Ryan Hall Wins The 2008 Olympic Trials

Hall, 29, who has a career best time of 2:04:58 set at Boston last April, is already the Olympic Marathon Trials record holder. In New York’s Central Park in 2007, he clocked a remarkable 2:09:02 off of a slow first half, roaring back in the second half in 1:02:45 to win by over two minutes over Dathan Ritzenhein (2:11:07) and Brian Sell (2:11:40). Although most observers see the self-coached Hall, who has posted 11 qualifying marks for the Trials in both marathons (sub-2:19) and half-marathons (sub-1:05), as a favorite to repeat his victory from 2007, Hall said that the addition of strong athletes who have yet to finish a marathon, like Mo Trafeh (1:00:39 half-marathon PB), Brent Vaughn (1:02:04), and Brian Olinger (28:07.52 10,000m), will make sizing up early leaders more difficult. Under USATF rules, all of the 158 male qualifiers are considered “A” qualifiers, meaning all of their travel, lodging and meal expenses will be paid by the Trials Hosts, the Houston Marathon Committee.

There is essentially no risk for qualified athletes to go to Houston and at least start the race. “That’s a great question,” he replied when asked about the effect of the debutants.  ”I don’t know. A lot of that depends on how I’m feeling at the moment. I think you’ve got to have respect for everyone. That’s the answer for that question.”

Related Content: Desiree Davila: “I had to keep it honest.”

Davila, 28, who like Hall recorded the fastest-ever marathon at Boston last April by an American (2:22:38), predicted that the Trials record of 2:28:25 set by Colleen De Reuck in St. Louis in 2004 will be crushed. Indeed, she predicted that bettering De Reuck’s time would be required just to get on the podium. “I’d say on the women’s side, you’re looking at 2:24 for the win, and I think 2:28 would land you on the team,” said the straight-talking Davila who races sparingly under the coaching of Kevin and Keith Hanson. She also said: “It’s just completely different this time around (as compared to 2008 when she placed 13th in her first Trials). “That’s the team you want to be a part of. If you make the team in Houston, that’s the kind of team you want to be a part of.”

When Davila ran the 2008 Trials, it was only her second marathon. She said today that she is now “a completely different athlete,” and that she made “rookie mistakes” in 2008 that she is unlikely to make again. She now has run a total of six marathons, and has brought her 10,000m time down to 31:37.14 (it was just 33:20.7 prior to the 2008 Trials). “When I think about all of my marathons, that was definitely my biggest learning experience,” Davila said from her winter training base in Davenport, Fla., southwest of Orlando.

About her 2004 race she added: “I just openly panicked when I found myself in the hunt.” The Trials in Houston will be the first ever in the United States where men and women will run on the same course at the same time (the men get a 15 minute head start; not enough time for the male leaders to catch the women’s race on the three-loop course).

Observers feared at first that the women’s race would be overshadowed by the men’s, but based on the quality and volume of qualifiers, the women’s race could be even more compelling. Seven women have sub-2:30 qualifying times –Davila, Kara Goucher, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, Amy Hastings, Shalane Flanagan, Stephanie Rothstein, and Clara Grandt– while 16 have run 2:33 or better.

Moreover, USA record holder Deena Kastor (2:19:36 PB) is also entered (she’s only the 25th qualifier on time), as well as 70-minute half-marathoner Serena Burla, whom Davila mentioned by name. “I’d say one name which hasn’t come up much who has a great shot is Serena Burla who is just as tough as can be,” Davila said of the 2:35:08 marathoner who runs well despite having a cancerous tumor removed from her leg in 2010. “She’s run some really quality times.”

Women's running legend Bobbi Gibb will receive the Jock Semple award. Photo: Women's Spirit.com

From: Running USA

BOSTON – (December 7, 2011) – The Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run presented by the Boston Athletic Association is this Sunday, December 11 at 5:30pm. Runners will assemble at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Crossing before the 2.3 mile fun run and wind their way through the Boston Common and the financial district before returning to the Downtown Crossing area for the post-race party at the Hyatt. As is the tradition at the Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run, holiday dress and costumes will be in full-form among the field of more than 1,000 runners. In addition, the Cloney Award and Semple Award winners will be recognized at the event.

Will Cloney and Jock Semple were longtime caretakers of the B.A.A.’s athletic and administrative efforts. In their honor, the B.A.A. and brothers Bill and Charlie Rodgers bestow awards upon worthy local recipients. The Cloney Award is presented to an individual who has promoted the running industry, especially locally. The Semple Award is presented annually to a local athlete who has made an impact within running, especially through performance.

Both awards will be presented by four-time Boston Marathon champion and running legend Bill Rodgers, along with representatives of the B.A.A. before the start of the Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run.

Will Cloney Award – John Powers
John Powers has worked for the Boston Globe since 1973, writing for the Sports, Metro, Sunday Magazine and Living departments. He shared the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a special Globe magazine on the nuclear arms race. As part of his international sports beat, he has covered the Olympic Games since 1976 as well as five soccer World Cups and has written stories from five continents. He has covered the Boston Marathon for the better part of four decades.

Powers is the author of seven books: The Short Season (a Boston Celtics diary), One Goal (with Art Kaminsky, on the 1980 US Olympic hockey team), Yankees (with George Sullivan, a club history), Mary Lou (with Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, an autobiography), Seasons to Remember (with Curt Gowdy, a memoir) and The Boston Dictionary and The Boston Handbook (humorous lexicons with illustrator Peter Wallace). His eighth book, a Fenway Park history co-authored with Ron Driscoll, will be published next year.

Powers, a cum laude 1970 graduate of Harvard and a former Poynter Fellow at Yale, lives in Wellesley, Mass. with his wife Elaine.

Jock Semple Award – Bobbi Gibb
Roberta Louise “Bobbi” Gibb was born in Cambridge, MA and in 1966 became the first official woman to finish the Boston Marathon. She is recognized by the B.A.A. as the pre-sanctioned era women’s winner in 1966, 1967 and 1968. Gibb’s run in 1966 challenged prevalent prejudices and misconceptions about women’s athletic capabilities.

Gibb studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University School of Special Studies. Her early running included daily commuting of the eight miles to school. She ran in white leather Red Cross nurses’ shoes because there were no running shoes available for women at the time.

Gibb received her B.S. degree from the University of California, in 1969, fulfilling the pre-medical requirements, with a major in philosophy and a minor in mathematics. She has reported she was denied admission to medical school because of her gender. She went on to earn her law degree in 1978.

Gibb has been included in Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. In 1982, she was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Long Distance Running Hall of Fame, and she has been interviewed for news programs and documentaries on ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN and HBO. She was included in the 1999 HBO Sports documentary Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports. In 2000, she produced a documentary on her art and running entitled “Where the Spirit Leads”. She pursues a career in art and writes on a wide range of topics including economics, spirituality, the nature of natural systems, and the phenomenon of subjective experience. Recently she joined the Cecil B. Day Neuromuscular Laboratory, in Boston, as an associate working to find the causes of and cures for neurodegenerative diseases, specifically amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Race entry remains open, and interested runners are encouraged to register at: www.baa.org

Mo Farah trains on one of Alberto Salazar's secret weapons, the underwater treadmill. Photo: PR Web

When British running superstar Mo Farah switched coaches to Alberto Salazar and moved to Beaverton, Oregon, he wanted to take his running to a new level.

He calls that new level the “extra one to two percent” needed to become the best in the world.

It seems to be working out for him.

At his new home in Oregon, Farah is being exposed to an enormous regimen of Salazar’s unusual training techniques: secret underwater treadmills, zero gravity running machines, and air thinning sleeping tents.

Salazar’s approach is so controversial that the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) considered banning some of his methods a few years ago.

“We are doing stuff other countries don’t know about – and it gives us an advantage,” said Salazar, a former New York and Boston Marathon champion. “We all know what’s right and what’s wrong. [But] however you can train better, that’s great.”

Salazar maintains that his athlete is clean and that Farah was drug tested 20 times last year.

For More: Channel Four

Deriba Merga returns to India to regain his title. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Some of the best runners Ethiopia has to offer will be competing in the Aritel Delhi Half Marathon on November 27. In the men’s race, former Boston Marathon champion Deriba Merga will be in attendance, while in the women’s division Aselefech Mergia will be in the mix.

Merga won the race in 2008 and 2009. At 59 minutes and 15 seconds, Merga still retains the course record. He is ranked fourth in the world on the roads. Joining Merga will be a host of athletes from other distance-running powerhouse nations like  Kenya, Tanzania, and Eritrea. Of the entire field, nine runners have personal bests under 60 minutes.

Merga won the Ras Al-Khaima Half Marathon this year, clocking 59:25.

For More: Times of India

Amby Burfoot's contributions to the sport of running are being recognized in New York. Photo: Running USA

The former Boston Marathon champion has been in the business for three decades.

From: Running USA

NEW YORK – (October 18, 2011) – For a career that has spanned more than three decades as editor and feature columnist at Runner’s World magazine, as well as numerous books, Amby Burfoot has been named recipient of the George Hirsch Journalism Award,presented by New York Road Runners, it was announced by NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

Burfoot will be honored at a news conference during ING New York City Marathon race week on Friday, November 4. A special award created by Tiffany & Co., an official sponsor of the ING New York City Marathon, will be presented at that time.

The George Hirsch Journalism Award recognizes excellence in the reporting, writing and broadcasting of the sport of the marathon and long-distance running. Any journalist or broadcaster who has regularly demonstrated excellence in the coverage of long-distance running and the marathon through magazine, newspaper, radio, TV and website coverage is eligible to be honored.

Longtime track and field journalist Dick Patrick was the inaugural honoree in 2010.

The award is named in honor of George Hirsch, the founding publisher and president of The Runner magazine from 1978 to 1986 and the worldwide publisher of Runner’s World from 1987 to 2003. Today Hirsch is the chairman of the board of directors of New York Road Runners.

“George Hirsch has been one of the two most instrumental mentors in my life, and the most important publisher in the history of running,” said Burfoot. “It’s an incredible honor to receive a journalism award that bears his name.”

Burfoot, 65, joined Runner’s World in 1978 after a successful running career highlighted by his 1968 Boston Marathon victory while still a student at Wesleyan University. Burfoot’s winning time was 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 17 seconds in the last Boston Marathon not run on a Monday. Later that year he ran 2:14:29, his lifetime best, to finish fifth in the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan.

Burfoot has held a variety of positions at Runner’s World, including executive editor from 1985 to 2004. He currently serves as editor at large.

In his years at Runner’s World, Burfoot has won journalism awards from many of the sport’s leading organizations, including the Road Runners Club of America and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. His running achievements and contributions have gained him induction into the RRCA Hall of Fame, the National Distance Running Hall of Fame and Running USA’s Hall of Champions inaugural class.

“Amby has become the voice of our sport. He has a very special perspective and covers the sport from all angles like few others can – from the pro spectacle to the health benefits of running,” said Wittenberg. “He has done it all – from winning Boston, to running recreationally, to winning awards for his writing. He is richly deserving of this award and of our thanks for his efforts in promoting our sport these many years.”

Burfoot lives in Emmaus, PA, with his wife, Cristina Negron. He has two adult children, Daniel and Laura.

For more information, visit: www.INGnycmarathon.org

Moses Mosop had the fastest debut marathon in history this past April with his 2:03:06 finish at the Boston Marathon. Photo: PhotoRun.net

The 2:03:06 debut marathoner runs his second 26.2-miler in Chicago on Sunday.

Interview by: Sabrina Yohannes

Moses Mosop of Kenya was a medalist at the 2005 track and 2007 cross country world championships, but the next few years were not as fruitful. So some months after winning Milan’s Stramilano half marathon in 59:20 in March 2010, he decided to make his marathon debut at Boston in April 2011. That proved to be wildly successful when he placed second after pushing his Kenyan compatriot Geoffrey Mutai almost to the finish line, and the pair ran to unprecedented 2:03:02 and 2:03:06 finishes in optimal race conditions.

Mutai’s time was not recognized as a world record due to the course having an excessive net drop in elevation and being unidirectional, which allowed the continued benefit of a tailwind. But Mosop felt he could break the then-world record of 2:03:59 on a different course, and he set his sights on the Chicago Marathon, which takes place this Sunday, October 9. The men’s field includes American Ryan Hall, who ran 2:04:58 in Boston, and three others who have run under 2:07.

More from Competitor.com: Watch The Chicago Marathon Live Online

Mosop broke the long-standing track world records for 25,000m and 30,000m on the track at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on June 3, running 1:12:25.4 and 1:26:47.4 respectively, before taking third in the BAA 10K on June 26.

After his competitions in April and June, and again a few days before heading to Chicago, Mosop talked to Competitor.com about his races and his world record designs, including his thoughts on Patrick Makau’s new world record of 2:03:38.

]]> http://running.competitor.com/2011/10/interviews/world-record-ambitions-exclusive-interview-with-moses-mosop_39377/feed 145 http://running.competitor.com/2011/10/news/kim-smith-discusses-nyc-marathon-strategy_39159 http://running.competitor.com/2011/10/news/kim-smith-discusses-nyc-marathon-strategy_39159#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:25:42 +0000 News http://running.competitor.com/?p=39159

She will be taking into account a strong Kenyan contingent.

New Zealand's Kim Smith will return to the ING New York City Marathon next month. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Fresh and confident from her victory at last month’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, New Zealand’s Kim Smith is now preparing to tackle her next race: next month’s ING New York City Marathon.

She aspires to be the third New Zealander to win the prestigious marathon, following Allison Roe (1981) and Rod Dixon (1986).

Smith’s last marathon was a bit of a disaster. She had been leading at this year’s Boston Marathon all the way to the 17-mile mark, but was forced to drop out due to a calf injury.

“Any niggle can turn into something larger,” Smith admits. “You’ve got to be 100 percent healthy on the start line. At Boston, I felt a minor twinge a couple of days beforehand, then it became a big problem during the race.”

Smith hasn’t ruled out using the same front-running tactics in New York, however she remains realistic trying to steal the early lead from the Kenyan runners.

“This time, I’ll try to be more conservative in how hard I go out, but you’ve got to take the Kenyans into account,” she says. “They have been dominant this year and they are tough to beat, especially as a unit. It is daunting running against them.”

For More: NZ Herald