David Rudisha Doesnt Want to Peak Too Soon
The tall Kenyan, who was undefeated in the 800 in 2010 while lowering the world record to 1:41.01, is in tonights (Thursdays) 800 at Athletissima 2011 in Lausanne, Switzerland after having 
clocked a 1:43.46 in Nancy, France last week. My focus this year is on the World Championships in Daegu but that is still two months away and by then I am confident I will be running at my best, Rudisha declares. He realizes to be considered a great athlete you need to win championships as well as breaking world records. The Olympics are of course a big target for me and to win in Daegu, I would consider, would be a vital step towards that. An ankle injury has slowed Rudishas progress a bit in 2011, but hes got races coming up at Lausanne, the Kenyan Trials, Monaco, and London so there is plenty of time and some good competitions for me to be back at my very best, he notes. Rudisha adds last year I was still very strong at the end of August and early September, I expect the same this year and in fact this injury may help me peak at just the right time. In a championship year you don’t want to reach your peak too early. The article at More tells a great deal about Rudishas background and his progress from teen star to perhaps the worlds best middle distance runner. More
Richards-Ross Suggests Amending Method for Picking U.S. Team
Sanya Richards-Ross is not being self-serving in her comments, at least not as far as 2011 goes, since as defending World Champion in the 400 she gets to return to the Worlds in late August in Daegu, 
South Korea. Shes more upset that Tyson Gay, who was ailing and didnt compete in the later rounds of the 100-meter dash at the USATF Championships last weekend, wont have that long anticipated duel with Jamaicas Usain Bolt. Assuming the usual qualifying standards are met (which they always are by American sprinters), the top three in each final at the USATF Championships make the American team. I think it should be first two (qualify), and the third should be a coaches selection based on fitness and race sharpness, Richards-Ross suggests. Im disappointed, she laments. I am a huge fan of the sport and I was looking forward to that (Bolt vs. Gay) race as well. (photo of Sanya Richards-Ross and friend by Giancarlo Colombo/Photo Run) More
Adriana Pirtea Takes a Tougher (Possible) Route to Olympics
Pirtea will be best remembered for losing a seemingly unsurmountable lead in the late stages of the 2007 Chicago 
Marathon because she didnt see Berhane Adere on the opposite side of the wide final stretch, closing fast and eventually winning. Pirtea is from Romania and received an invitation to represent that country in the 2012 Olympics. But shes now Adrian Pirtea Nelson a long-time U.S. resident and an American citizen since April. Ive lived here for over eight years, I have my education here, my familys here, she states. Basically, Im from here now. Shes looking to use a half marathon to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials in January. Making the U.S. team is going to be very hard, Pirtea Nelson understands. But Im not scared of anyone there. I know there are going to be big names there, but I compete with big names all the time. If Im healthy, Im fearless. (photo of Adriana Pirtea Nelson by Victah Sailer) More
Deena Kastor Says See a Dermatologist Regularly
Or see two. The Chicago and London Marathon champ, still the American recordholder for 26.2 miles, had a rude awakening in 2003 when she was diagnosed with melanoma including in one spot where the sun never shined. Kastor had surgery but required no chemotherapy or radiation, and I now run in a long-sleeve top, hat, and sunscreen, she tells us, and she thrives on the exertion, sweat, grind, and pain of her daily runs. More
USATF Interim CEO Will Continue to Serve
Despite earlier indications that a new USATF CEO would be selected in the week of the organizations Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the USA Track Field board of directors has announced that the services of Interim CEO Mike McNees, who had been the USATF Chief Operating Officer, will be extended and that the board will institute a new committee structure designed to advance the organization’s strategic, commercial and operational objectives. Whatever. I cant go on. The press release is titled USATF sets leadership plan through London, which suggests no further change in command until late in 2012 at the very least. Theres a statement from USATF President and Chairman Stephanie Hightower; click on More if you cant live without it. More
Do Womens-Only Races Still Matter?
The question is put by multitasking Karla Bruning, who not only runs and works as a journalist but even sang the national anthem at the recent NYRR New York Mini 10K, the world’s first 
women-only road race back in 1972. Bruning understands that races like the Mini are a key reason that the sport has grown so much among women that they are now the majority at many mixed roadraces. In the wake of the Mini, notes Bruning, other events like Freihofers Run for Women in Albany, New York have thrived because of a demand for them. We live in a capitalist and consumer driven society, and there will always be a company to supply the product that meets demand. The success of women-only races seems to suggest that there are plenty of women who want to run them. She herself promises I’ll keep running the Mini because it gives me the enjoyment of competing with women and commemorates a historic moment in women’s sports. It’s important to remember how far we’ve come not just as women, but also as a society. (photo of Magdalena Lewy Bouulet, who was the top American at the 2011 NYRR New York Mini 10K, by Victah Sailer) More
Meanwhile, Womens Only Racing Extends to the UAE
The United Arab Emirates also sponsor a New York running event, the Healthy Kidney 10K. But back home, the country has its own 5K Womens Run, as its known, scheduled for November 11 under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council. The Run is perhaps the first such initiative in the Middle East and, organizers say, is a torchbearer of the spirit of the Arab woman not only in sports but an indication of what Arab women can achieve in the region. Over 1,000 women entered the 5k in its first years, 2010, and double that total are expected in November. The Palm Jumeirah a fabled artificial archipelago in the shape of a palm tree is the running route for the 5k, offering a unique coastline course. Partial proceeds for the race will go to the Al Noor Learning Center for Challenged Children.
Does Getting Pregnant Make You Faster?
Many have wondered, but Peter Vigneron (hey, we know him) has given the matter closer and more specific scrutiny. He examines ten cases of the likes of Paula Radcliffe, Kara Goucher, Shayne Culpepper, Derartu Tulu, Florence Kiplagat, Colleen De Reuck, and Deena Kastor (about whom its really too early to tell) and even he was surprised by what he found. More
Peter Gilmore Takes on Double Dipsea
Gilmore, a 2:12:45 marathoner with an excellent first name and a last name with a magnificent initial, is a 2:12:45 marathoner who took on, as what he calls my first post retirement racing experience, the Double Dipsea, a trail race in Californias Marin County that is in a word, brutal. The experience of bounding down a 3 foot wide trail as steep as a ski slope, littered with rocks and roots, while squeezing between slower runners on the right and that thicket of poison oak on the left was the reason that friends and strangers may have seen Gilmore walk like a crippled cowboy this week. Click on More for the rest of Gilmores colorful description of a race with insanely steep uphill sections and fabled stairs that feel like the equivalent of climbing a 50 story building. (photo of Peter Gilmore by Victah Sailer) More
Runner Uses Hot Box to Prepare for Badwater Ultramarathon
Part of this 135-mile is through Death Valley, and Tom Clarks hot box is meant to mimic the heat and perspiration and solitude of the desert in July. I like to see how far I can possibly push my body, affirms Clark, who is using his Badwater effort to raise funds for a veterans memorial in Wichita. More
Helen Clitheroe Plans a Future in Marathoning
Britains Clitheroe is a bit of late bloomer. She become a European Indoor 3000-metrer gold medalist in March at age 37, and then won the Great Manchester 10K on the roads. Clitheroe expects to do the 5000-meter run at this summers World Championships but 
then, she says, I see a future running on the roads and Im planning on doing a half marathon this year, either the Great North Run (September 18) or the Great Birmingham Run (October 23). She adds I never thought Id say maybe I will run a marathon but its getting more and more likely. I think I will do one . To feel Im in the shape of my life at 37 is totally inspiring and motivates me to keep going. (photo of Helen Clitheroe by Giancarlo Colombo/Photo Run) More
Pennsylvania Gets Another Marathon and Half Marathon
The inaugural Delaware Lehigh Heritage Marathon and Half Marathon commence at 9 a.m. on October 23 beginning at Canal Park in Northampton and finishing at Lehigh Gap. These are for the most part flat races on crushed limestone trails. More
Heres Todays Running Song of the Day
This is a venerable one from the Liverpudlian whos probably the wealthiest living rock musician. Well, hes earned it. The original song dates back to the days when East Germany was still a track and field power (which has nothing to do with subject matter), but weve put up a live British TV version from 2010 instead. Sir Pauls bands not running here, but they can play. More
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