Run The Roads

EL BOUMLILI & GROMOVA RUN AWAY WITH ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MARATHON WINS
By David Monti
(c) 2009, Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Khalid El Boumlili of Morocco and Yuliya Gromova of Russia scored runaway victories at today’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon in San Diego, Calif., the race which began the entertainment revolution in marathon running.

El Boumlili, who finished third at the 2008 Boston Marathon, was part of a large lead pack at 10 km (31:42), but soon set out on his own to try for victory.  By the half-way mark (1:05:43), El Boumlili had built up a one minute and 18-second lead over the main field.  Although Kenya’s Samuel Mugo finally broke from the main field in an effort to reel in El Boumlili, it was too late.  By 34 km, El Boumlili had nearly two minutes on the main field and about a minute and one-half on Mugo.  The Moroccan made it to the finish alone in 2:11:16 (unofficial), with Mugo second (2:12:37) and Ethiopia’s Tesfye Tola third (2:13:02).

American Olympian Dan Browne was in the main elite group at half-way (1:07:02), but was not in the top-10 at the 34 km checkpoint.  He was not listed in the top-10 finishers through 2:18:21, so he may have dropped out.

Gromova’s race was similar to El Boumlili’s.  The defending Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon champion was in the main field through 10 km (35:11), and at halfway (1:14:44) was one of the four contenders left for victory: Romania’s Nuta Olaru (who dropped out of the Los Angeles Marathon last Monday), Kenya’s Hellen Kimutai, and Russia’s Albina Mayorova.  By the time the 34 km checkpoint was reached, Gromova had built up a nearly one-minute lead, which would grow to nearly two minutes by the finish line.  Her final time, a career best of 2:27:37, was well ahead of Kimutai’s (2:29:32) and Olaru (2:30:40).

ENDS

The Reebok Grand Prix, which takes place today in New York, will be shown live on NBC from 4:30-6 p.m. EST.  From 6-7 p.m., the rest of the evening’s events will be shown on Universal Sports.  With many of the top athletes in the world competing, including Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Tirunesh Dibaba, Jeremy Wariner, LaShawn Merritt, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Bernard Lagat, the Reebok GP should be quite the show.  Make sure to watch the event and tell all your friends to watch, too!

USATF Press Release

INDIANAPOLIS - Single day tickets are now on sale for the exciting conclusion of the 2009 Visa Championship Series taking place June 25-28 at the USA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., where tickets are selling fast!

The sixth and final event of USA Track & Field’s Visa Championships Series, the USA Outdoor Championships will feature the nation’s finest professional track and field athletes competing for national honors and spots on the Team USA roster for the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany. The World Championships will be held at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium, where National Track & Field Hall of Famer and American icon Jesse Owens won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4×100m relay and long jump.

The USA Junior Championships, held in conjunction with the USA Outdoor Championships, will serve as the selection meet for the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, July 31-August 2 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.

All-Session ticket packages are currently available and are selling quickly with prices ranging from $65 to $100 for all four days of competition.

Individual day tickets are now on sale ranging from $15 to $30 per ticket depending on the day and seating section.

For ticket information to the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships visit: www.visachampionshipseries.com or www.tracktown.net. USATF welcomes you to purchase tickets with your Visa Card. Visa, the only credit card accepted by USATF.

For more information on the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the Visa Championship Series, visit: www.visachampionshipseries.com.

ETHIOPIAN TEAMS LOOK HARD TO BEAT AT BOLDER BOULDER 10-K
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Monday’s 31st running of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Bolder Boulder 10-K in Boulder, Colo., will feature the 12th edition of the race’s unique International Team Challenge, and the Ethiopian squads will be hard to beat.  Teams, which are comprised of three athletes from the same nation plus British Commonwealth and Colorado state squads, are scored using traditional cross country scoring, and the top male and female teams will earn $15,000.  There is also individual prize money and time bonuses to further sweeten the pot.

Ethiopia scored a scant 11 points in last year’s competition, handily defeating their traditional rivals Kenya by nine points.  Although only one of their athletes will return this year, Gebo Burka who finished third, the newcomers are top-notch: Tilahun Regassa and Tadese Tola.  Regassa won both the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10-K and Cooper River Bridge Run 10-K earlier this year, and was second at last week’s ING Bay to Breakers.  Tola smashed the Central Park record for 10 km at last Saturday’s Healthy Kidney 10-K (27:48) and is clearly in excellent shape.

The Kenyan men’s team is also strong, led by veteran John Korir, fifth at Bolder Boulder last year, who will have support from Charles Munyeki (8th at Bolder Boulder 2008) and Philemon Terer Kiplangat.  Team USA has two sub-28:00 10,000m runners on its squad, James Carney and Fasil Bizuneh, plus Bolota Asmerom, fourth at last year’s USA Olympic Trials at 5000m.  Mexico (Alejandro Suarez, Juan Romero and Teodoro Vega) should also contend for the podium.

On the women’s side, the Ethiopian squad is also very strong, led by 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon champion Teyba Erkesso, who also won last Sunday’s ING Bay to Breakers 12-K.  Ashu Kasim Rabo, fourth at last month’s Paris International Marathon in her debut, is also competing as is the lesser-known Mamitu Daska, fourth at last year’s CIGNA Falmouth Road Race.

The Ethiopian women should get their biggest challenge from the Romanian and Kenyan teams.  The Romanians, who won the team title last year with 18 points, have put marathoners Lidia Simon, Adriana Pirtea and Elena Daniela Cirlan on their team. Both Simon, the 2000 Olympic Marathon silver medalist, and Pirtea live in the Boulder area giving them a slight advantage from not having to travel and comfort with Boulder’s mile-high altitude.  The Kenyans have Caroline Cheptanui Rotich, Millicent Gathoni and Jane Wanjiku Gakunyi.  Gathoni was the race’s individual champion last year.

In 2008, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Bolder Boulder 10-K was the largest fully-timed road race in the United States, recording 47,318 finishers, according to the trade group Running USA.  It may be surpassed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race this year which, for the first time, plans to time all of its finishers.  The Peachtree had 55,000 entrants last year.

ENDS

After four years of a success athlete/coach relationship, Nike athlete Dathan Ritzenhein is parting ways with his coach, Brad Hudson.  News broke Sunday evening, when Hudson posted the following comment on his Facebook profile:

Coach Brad Hudson and athlete Dathan Ritzenhein have parted ways after 4 quality years together. Dathan… Read More’s success under Brad included the top American performance in the 2008 Olympic Marathon, two National Titles in Cross Country, as well as personal bests in the 2 mile, 3K, 5K, 10k, Half Marathon, and Marathon.

Brad said, “It was a pleasure to coach Dathan, we’ve been through a lot together. I have enjoyed getting to know him and his family. I wish him continued success in his running career.”

Ritzenhein’s coaching change comes as a surprise, and will now lead to speculation across the sport as to who his new coach will be.  It’s rare for big stars in the sport to change coaches, so this transition will certainly be watched with a careful eye by many.

Final Healthy Kidney 10-K Start List Released
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

NEW YORK (15-May) — The New York Road Runners have released the final start list for tomorrow’s Healthy Kidney 10-K.  Not included is two-time ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos who had intended to run the race.  Unfortunately for dos Santos, a Brazilian, his passport was not returned to him in time from the U.S. Consultate in Sao Paulo with his required visa stamp.

“I regret for not being able to travel to New York for this race,” Gomes dos Santos told Brazilian reporters on a specially arranged conference call this morning.  ”This is a race I really intended to be on for.”

The elite field is as follows.  Athletes will be competing for a $7500 first prize plus a $20,000 bonus for breaking Dathan Ritzenhein’s Central Park record of 28:08 set at the Healthy Kidney race in 2007.  Athletes are listed with their personal best times for 10-K on the road and 10,000m on the track:

1. Makau, Patrick, Ngong, KEN, adidas, 27:42+
3. Tola, Tadese, Addis Ababa, ETH, Nike, 27:53/27:04.89
4. Abdirahman, Abdi, Tucson, AZ, USA, Nike, 28:11/’27:16.99
5. Famiglietti, Anthony, Knoxville, TN, USA, Saucony, 28:40/27:37.74
6. Fagan, Martin, Flagstaff, AZ, IRL, Reebok, 28:47/27:58.48
7. Beyi, Worku, Bronx, NY, ETH, Westchester TC, 28:43/29:01.74
8. Cheboiywo, Boaz, East Lansing, MI, KEN, Nike, 27:54/27:44.15
9. Blincoe, Adrian, Bryn Mawr, PA, NZL, New Balance, 13:10.19 5000m
10. Bouramdane, Abderrahime, Fez, MAR, adidas, 29:47/29:53.21
11. Carlson, Andrew, Flagstaff, AZ, USA, Brooks, 28:48/28:25.86
12. Lagat, Haron, Lubbock, TX, KEN, New Balance, 29:00/28:05.23
14. Chemlany, Stephen, Sleepy Hollow, NY, KEN, Westchester TC, 29:43/29:17.89
15. Tefera, Wegayehu Girma, Briarcliff Manor, NY, ETH, 28:45
16. Torres, Edwardo, Boulder, CO, USA, Reebok, 29:21/28:21.46
17. Tefera, Demesse, Silver Spring, MD, ETH, Westchester TC, 28:31
18. Deniboba, Deresse, Bronx, NY, ETH, Westchester TC, 29:07
19. Murray, Gary, Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal, IRL, St. Malachy’s Athletic Club Belfast, 29:40/29:36.03
20. Ng’etich, Abraham, High Falls, NY, KEN, Westchester TC, 30:42
21. Lavallee , Roland, North Smithfield, RI, USA, New Balance Boston, 31:23
22. Pannone, Chris, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, NYAC, 28:49.96
23. Meyer, Lucas, Ridgefield, CT, USA, BAA, 29:32/28:48.94
24. Neal, Tommy, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, BRC/adidas Retail Race Team, 30:01

For complete race coverage and athlete biographies, visit the website if the New York Road Runners at http://www.nyrr.org.

ENDS

TOP FIELD EXPECTED FOR BAY TO BREAKERS 12-K
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Organizers of the 98th annual ING Bay to Breakers 12-K, scheduled for Sunday, May 17, in San Francisco, have recruited an excellent field led by Kenyan Sammy Kitwara and American Deena Kastor.  These two athletes will actually be competing for the same $25,000 Battle to the Breakers bonus where the men’s leaders try to catch the elite women who have been a four minute and 40 second headstart.  Add in the special $5000 bonus for leading the race at the top of Hayes Street Hill in the third mile and it is possible for one athlete to win a $37,000 check ($38,000 if that athlete is an American).

Kastor, who went to high school in California and now makes her home there in Mammoth Lakes, is the race’s top star.  It will be the first time the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist will compete in the Bay to Breakers.  Kastor hopes to become the first American winner since Lynn Jennings in 1993.

“We are exceptionally thrilled to have Deena head the elite field,” said Josh Muxen, the race’s elite athlete manager.  ”Deena is always a tough competitor, which will serve her well - taking on defending champ Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya will be no walk in the park.”

But Kitwara, who won both the World’s Best 10-K and City-Pier-City Half-Marathon earlier this year, may end up being Kastor’s biggest rival.  Kitwara ran a course record 27:26 at World’s Best race, then beat Haile Gebrselassie at City-Pier-City in 59:47, showing a strong kick.  He and Kastor could be very close in the final meters.  At last year’s race John Korir kicked past Lineth Chepkurui in the final 400m to collect the bonus.

Other key contenders include Magdalena Lewy Boulet (USA), Edna Kiplagat (KEN), Jane Kibii (KEN), Mariya Konovalova (RUS), Abebu Gelan (ETH), Liliya Shobukhova (RUS), and Kiyoko Shimahara (JPN) on the women’s side, and John Korir (KEN), Ridouane Harroufi (MAR), John Yuda (TAN), Bolota Asmerom (USA), Feyisa Lelisa (ETH), Gilbert Okari (KEN), Tilahun Regassa (ETH), Josh Moen (USA) and Linus Maiyo (KEN) on the men’s side.

ENDS

We might be new to the media scene, but we have years of experience covering big-time events.  This week we’ll be in both Minneapolis, Minnesota and Grand Rapids, Michigan, as we cover the USATF One Mile and 25k Championships.  The One Mile Championships take place Thursday evening in Minneapolis, while the 25k Championships take place Saturday in Grand Rapids.

Run the Roads will be on-site for both events, bringing you interviews, race summaries, photos and much more.  We’re excited to get out there this week and hope to bring you great coverage of these fantastic events.  Stay tuned as we update the site with more information over the coming days.

USATF One Mile Road Championships (Minneapolis, MN)

USATF 25k Road Championships (Grand Rapids, MI)

After months of preparation, hard work and putting the pieces together, Run the Roads is here.  Run the Roads is a site dedicated to the sport of road racing.  While we’ll cover athletes and events that don’t necessarily deal directly with road racing, the majority of our focus will be on bringing the sport and all that it has to offer to you, the fan.  Whether you are a six hour marathoner, an Olympian, or somewhere in between, we’ll have content each and every day that applies to you and your interest in the sport.

We’re proud to bring you this website.  We’re proud to offer you a place to go for all your road racing needs.  While the site still has some work to be done, and it’ll take a few months to find the rythm all great websites have, we promise to bring you unique coverage of the sport, from a variety of angles.

If you have any questions feel free to email us.  If you have any article ideas, athletes you’d like to see interviewed or just general comments, feel free to get ahold of us.  We know you’re dedicated to the sport, everyone who runs is.  Please enjoy Run the Roads, as we start the journey we’ve been eagerly anticipating.