Marathon/Running News: 2/23/08 - 3/1/08

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News From: Saturday, March 1, 2008
	City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Kenyan runner feels safe in U.S. (Pasadena Star News) Elite Kenyan half marathoner Jacqueline Nytipei will have her marathon debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Marathon. She'll run against her aunt, Mary Ptikany, who is also one of the favorites to win. Although Nytipei is safely living in Tucson, Arizona with her husband; her eighteen month old son is still in Kenya which has been in upheaval since the presidential elections in December 2007.
		Los Angeles Marathon Returns Sunday with Gender Battle (Race Results Weekly) The 2008 City of Los Angeles Marathon returns for its twenty-third running. The men's elites field will include Joseph Kahugu, Benjamin Kipchumba, Benson Mbithi, Philip Tarus and Joseph Ngolepus. The women's elite field will include Albina Gallyamova, Tatiana Titova, Mary Ptikany and Jacqueline Nytepi.
	El Paso Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Organizers seek continued growth for El Paso marathon (El Paso Times) The 2008 Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon prepares for its second running. Both defending champs, Roberto Gonzalez and Angie Song, will be in the elite field.
	Sarasota Marathon The Grouper Run
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Aldrink looks to repeat at Sarasota Marathon (Bradenton.com) Bradenton native, Mike Aldrink, will be returning to his hometown to defend his title at the 2008 Sarasota Marathon. Aldrink had won eight of eleven marathons he ran in 2007. This will be Aldrink's 40th marathon.
		Human Interest Story
		Sarasota Marathon Q&A (Herald Tribune) Lisette Riveron, founder of Sarasota Marathon, is expecting 620 registrants for the 2008 Sarasota Marathon and 1,986 for the half marathon. Riveron herself has completed seventeen marathons. She may move the race to President's Day weekend in 2009.
News From: Friday, February 29, 2008
	2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Ames Native to Run in U.S. Marathon Trials (Mid-Iowa Newspaper) Erin Block has qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials with a 2:45.58 at the St. George Marathon, but is certain she will not be a member of the U.S. Olympic Team. Block ran her first marathon in 1996 and worked hard to achieve a sub-3:00 marathon. Despite a torn hamstring, Block is looking forward to enjoying herself at the trials.
	Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon)
		Human Interest Story
		Runners, take your marks for Round 2 of Snickers Marathon (The Albany Herald) The Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon may have the longest name in the marathon ranks but the race will still be 26.2 miles. The race, which starts at 7 am Saturday morning, will boast about doubling its total number of participant for its second annual race. Nearly one thousand runners will toe the line with 35 military runners on the other side of the world joining them from the Green Zone to run their own version of the marathon.
	Boston Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Knights owner pumped for first Boston Marathon (London Free Press) Former NHL tough guy and London Knights minotiry owner Basil McRae plans to run the Boston Marathon in 2009. McRae who qualified with a 3:27:32 at a marathon in Tampa, Florida wants time to prepare. McRase has recently relocated his family back to the United Kingdom.
	City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
		Human Interest Story
		Getting past `The Wall' is big test for L.A. Marathon runners! (Los Angeles Daily News) Somewhere between miles eighteen and twenty-one many runners will lose their mental ability to continue going. Their body has simply run out of energy. This breaking point is known as "The Wall". Pretzels, Gatorade, water and GU will be along the course to help runners keep their energy, or glycogen, levels high enough to finish the race. Lisa Rodriguez hit the wall nearing mile 21 of the 2006 L.A. Marathon and has returned to face the monumental task once again.
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Los Angeles Marathon Returns Sunday with Gender Battle (Race Results Weekly) The 2008 City of Los Angeles Marathon returns for its twenty-third running and the gender battle continues with on the gender battle: the winner of one gender will receive $120,000 plus a Honda automobile, while the other will receive just $20,000 plus the car. The men's elites field will include Joseph Kahugu, Benjamin Kipchumba, Benson Mbithi, Philip Tarus and Joseph Ngolepus. The women's elite field will include Albina Gallyamova, Tatiana Titova, Mary Ptikany and Jacqueline Nytepi.
	Little Rock Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Several entrants capable of finishing Little Rock Marathon quickly! (Arkansas Democrat Gazette) Little Rock Marathon race director Bill Torrey said he doesn't expect personal records from the winners of the race but he is hopeful for some fast times. John Rotich of Kenya has a best of two hours and twelve minutes coming into Sundays race. Fellow Kenyan William Serem has crossed the tape in two hours and fifteen minutes and will compete with Ethiopian Tamrat Ayalew who won last years Marine Corps Marathon in two hours and twenty-two minutes and eighteen seconds.
	Odds And Ends
		Humor
		No s-x, please (Edmonton Journal) In this sex-obsessed culture, celibacy before competition may help build up an athlete's inner strength and mental focus says Sandy Jacobson, a world-class marathon runner from Edmonton. Elite athletes deep into their training have also been known to give up sex for their sport. Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali reportedly went two months without sex before a big fight, claiming it made him unbeatable in the ring.
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Wanjiru to Buy Mother a Tractor from Zayed Half Marathon Winnings (Gulf News) Samuel Wanjiru will buy a tractor for his mother from the $300,000 prize money from the 2008 Zayed International Half-Marathon. His mother is a single parent who lives outside of Nairobi with his eighteen year old brother. High heat and humidity prevented the World Record Half Marathon holder from setting a new record and claiming an additional $200,000.
		Zayed Int'l Half: Hot stuff coming through! (GulfNews) Favourites Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya and Lorna Kiplagat won the 2008 Zayed International Half Marathon in Abu Dhabi. In the men's race Wanjiru hampered by the heat and humidity completed the race in 1:00:33 with late entrant Fabiano Joseph taking second place nine seconds behind. In the women's race Kiplagat ran solo to win in 1:08:52, but was unable to better her time. Runner up Debela Barhane clocked in at 1:11:23 and Gete Wami came in third with a 1:11:30. With $2 million available for te prize purse and world record bonus, Wanjiru and Kiplagat carried home $300,000 each.
	Olympics 2008 (Men)
		Human Interest Story
		From pollution to food, USOC hopes for best, plans for anything at 2008 Beijing Olympics (Sporting News) USOC chief of sport, Steve Roush, has been to Beijing seventeen times since 2002 preparing for the 2008 Olympics. The city of Beijing slowed factory work and nearly halted traffic in the city and the low hanging pollution seemed to clear significantly while the test run for the Olympics was completed. Athletes have their opinion regarding the Olympic Games as well. While marathon world record holder and Gold medal hopeful Haile Gebrselassie said he might skip the marathon and focus on the 10,000-meter race due to the pollution, American Dathan Ritzenhein called skipping the marathon race seemed ridiculous.
	Sarasota Marathon The Grouper Run
		Human Interest Story
		Sarasota Marathon Numbers (The Herald Tribune) The Grouper run, also known as the Saratsota Marathon, will be near its capacity on race day. The marathon has nearly 700 runners and the half has nearly 2,000 entrants. These numbers along with 89,000 cups and 1,700 gallons of water will make for a fun race. Numbers for both races have nearly doubled since last year.
News From: Thursday, February 28, 2008
	Boston Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Defending Boston Marathon champ Cheruiyot leads strong Kenyan field (USA Today) Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot will defend his title in this year's Boston Marathon and attempt to become the first Kenyan to win the 112-year-old race four times. Second and third place finishers in the 2007 BAA Boston Marathon, James Kwambai and Stephen Kiogora, added their names to the already impressive field for the 2008 edition.
		Human Interest Story
		ATHENA AWARDS: Superathlete Jean Driscoll has rolled with every punch (The Capital Times) Jean Driscoll, an elite wheelchair racer who has won the Boston Marathon eight times, will be the keynote speaker for The Business Forum's 2008 ATHENA Award program. Having set world records or produced world-best times from sprints to endurance events, Sports Illustrated for Women recognizes her as one of the top 25 female athletes of the 20th century. Driscoll was born with spina bifida to the lower end of her spinal cord and was able to walk with braces until age 14 until she dislocated a hip in a bike accident.
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot aiming at fourth consecutive Boston marathon title (IAAF) Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the Boston Marathon course record holder and winner in 2003, 2006 and 2007, has added incentive to win as he will seek to become the first Kenyan to claim four Boston Marathon crowns. 2007 Chicago Marathon winner Patrick Ivuti will go head-to-head against Cheruiyot who was fourth in the Chicago race.
	Hong Kong Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Ser-Od Wins Second Place in Asian Marathon (UB Post) Four Mongolian athletes took part in the 2008 Asian Marathon Championships which were held in conjunction with the Hong Kong Marathon and B Ser-Od won the silver medal in 2:20. B Ser-Od has competed at the last three world championships and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Abdulhak Zakaria won in 2:11.49.
	Honolulu Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Honolulu Marathon comes up short on finish times (Star Bulletin) After two months of reviewing hours of finish-line videotape and analysis of flawed race times, the Honolulu Marathon Association will not be able to provide "completely accurate" times for the 2007 race. The finishing times of about 2,400 runners were missed by the SAI timing system and as a result videos of the finish had to be studied to capture more data. It was the first time the marathon had used the system, and heavy rain and other difficulties caused the timing system to miss about 3,000 runners at the start and about 2,400 runners at the finish.
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Honolulu Marathon finds missing times (Pacific Business News) Two months into a video review of the finish line at the Honolulu Marathon the race organizers have finalized the finishing times. Jim Barahal, Honolulu Marathon associate president stated the onf the twenty-thousand plus runners only 1,700 of their finishing times were truly accurate. Glitches in the computer system were noted for starting times, finish times and even split times along the course.
	Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Japanese to secure final Olympic berth at Lake Biwa Marathon (IAAF) The 2008 Lake Biwa marathon, the oldest continuous marathon in Japan, will see many 2:07 marathoners in its roster of elites. Dmytro Baranovsky, with 2:07:15 at the 2006 Fukuoka Marathon, Mubarak Hassan Shami with a 2:07:19 at the 2007 Paris Marathon, and Jose Rios with 2:07:42 at the 2004 Lake Biwa Marathon. Lake Biwa will be the final race for the Japanese men to qualify for the Olympic marathon team spot. Japanese elites Atsushi Sato, Arata Fujiwara Tsuyoshi Ogata, and Satoshi Osaki will battle it out for the honor to run for Japan.
	Long Beach Marathon
		Non-Marathon/ Other Running
		Sea Festival Events Under New Management of Intl City Racing (Gazettes.com) International City Racing (ICR), the organizers of the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon, is set to manage the two-month series of events in Southern California called the Charter Communications Long Beach Sea Festival. With the economic impact of the growing event, prior event organizers needed a qualified team who understand the special event business. ICR was created eight years ago with Olympic pole-vaulter Bob Seagren as its CEO.
	Marathon des Sables
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Sudbury climber to 'shuffle' across Sahara (The Sault Star) Armed with her anti-venin kit, a 17 kilogram back-pack and a pair of custom made shoes, McGrath will start the Marathon des Sables - a 243-kilometre trek across the scorching desert sands of Morocco. While some competitors run the entire course, McGrath says she's planning to employ what is known as the "airborne shuffle,'' which the Canadian Air Force captain describes as a technique akin to speed walking. McGrath has just climbed Everest last year.
	Nagoya Int'l Women's Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Takahashi to face stiff test in Nagoya Marathon (The Daily Yomiuri) Naoko Takahashi will face some very grueling competition in the third and final domestic Beijing Olympic qualifying marathon in Nagoya. The 2000 Olympic gold medalist failed to win a bid to defend her title in Athens in '04. She will be among 15 other invited women runners for the March 9th qualifying race.
		Takahashi looks for Olympic berth in Nagoya marathon (International Herald Tribune) Sydney Olympic gold medalist Naoko Takahashi will look to secure a place on Japan's team for the Beijing Olympics at the 2008 Nagoya International Women's Marathon, a race she won in 1998 and 2000 before becoming the first Japanese woman to win a gold medal in an Olympic athletics event. The Nagoya race is the final Olympic marathon qualifying event for Japanese women. Takahashi will need to win the race with a better time than Tomo Morimoto's 2:25:34 from the 2008 Osaka marathon.
	Odds And Ends
		Training/ Health
		US Olympic Committee hopes for best, plans for anything (USA Today) Over four major issues US Olympic athletes will face at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are pollution, oppressive heat, lack of free speech, food safety and getting around. None can predict how the outcome will be, but athletes are taking a stand with top seeded tennis player Justine Henin and distance runner Haile Gebrselassie possibly not participating. American long-distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein spoke the party line when he said the prospect of skipping the Olympics seems ridiculous to him.
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Namibia: Goeieman is New Marathon Champion (AllAfrica.com) Erich Goeieman won the 2008 Roessing Namibia Marathon Champion in 2:25:57. Four-time Marathon Champion Salomo David took second place in a 2:30:52 and Leonard Namupala took third place in a 2:35:16. The ladies winner was Rachel Akukothela in a time of 3:01:01. Second place was Johanna Andreas in 3:33:29 and third place was Siglinde Gontes in 3:37:53.