Marathon/Running News: 3/31/08 - 4/7/08

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News From: Monday, April 7, 2008
	Andrew Jackson Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Jackson native Findley wins Andrew Jackson Marathon (Jackson Sun) Jack Findley won his hometown marathon in 2 hours 53 minutes and 21 seconds to outdistance the other 87 runners in the marathon. Kris Whorton, 42, from Chattanooga, won the women's title in a time of 3 hours, 25 minutes and 59 seconds.
	Boston Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Statue will honor famous Boston Marathon starter, athletics pioneer (Metrowest Daily News) Boston Marathon officials will unveil a statue of George V. Brown. Along with being an influential person in the sports community, Brown was the athletic director of Boston Athletic Association for twenty years and served as starter of the Boston Marathon from 1905 until 1937. He was instrumental in having the starting line moved to Hopkinton in 1924
	GO! St. Louis Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		15,000 Runners Take To The Streets In St. Louis Marathon (MyFox St. Louis) Karl Gilpin from Russelville, Missouri won the race in a record time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 52 seconds. While governor Matt Blunt is leading a four person marathon relay team
	London Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Britain suits Maasai marathon warriors to a tea (Telegraph) Clare Martin of Cooling, Kent and the mother of 3 is the host family for the six Maasai warriors. The warrior have never before left their tiny Tanzanian village of Eluai and have settled in today with mugs of sugar-packed tea and seem to be addicted to the Brittish "cuppa"
	Marathon des Sables
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Morocco's Ahensal wins Marathon des Sables (Magharebia) Mohamed Ahensal won the 23rd Marathon des Sables on Saturday making this his second win dating back from 1998. He finished second in the previous seven editions, behind his brother Lahcen, who did not participate in 2008 event. The women's race, Moroccan Touda Didi won the gold with 28 hours, 38 minutes and 11 seconds.The marathon is a six-day 243-km long endurance race across the Moroccan Sahara.
	More Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Almost 8,000 Women Competed at the Fifth-Annual More Magazine Marathon. (PR Newswire) The top finishers in the 26.2 mile More Marathon were Stephanie Hodge from Long Island, New York who ran 3 hours, 1 minute and 50 seconds. She was followed by Susie Meyers-Kennedy in 3 hours, 4 minutes and 33 seconds of Chandler, Arizona and one of the pre-race favorites Kelly Keeler Ramacier of St.Paul, Minnesota who ran 3 hours, 4 minutes and 50 seconds.
	Odds And Ends
		Human Interest Story
		Marathon Massacre (Daily Mirror) Highways and Road Development Minister and Chief Government Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and fourteen others were killed in a bomb at the Sri Lanka Marathon. Olympic Marathon Runner K.A. Karunaratne was also among the 15 casualties ofr the suicide bomber attack being claimed by the LTTE.
	Paris Int'l Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		ATHLETICS: Komu wins Paris Marathon as Makau, Arusei triumph in Berlin (Nationmedia) France-based Kenyan Martha Komu won the 32nd Paris Marathon in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 33 seconds. It was her first sub 2 hour and 30 minute marathon as she outpaced Ethiopian Worknesh Tola who also ran a personal be of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 37 seconds. On the men's side Tsegaye Kebede won the marathon in 2 hours 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
	Yakima River Canyon Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Yakima Marathon -- Hard-fought wins (Yakima Herald Republic) Jesus Valdez found himself asleep finally at 1 am the night before the Yakima River Canyon Marathon. At 43 year of age and a 2 hour 46 minute and 26 second winning time he was the oldest victor in the races history. Annie Thiessen, the 37-year-old veterinarian who nearly broke the three-hour barrier in capturing the women's title in 3:00:25.
News From: Sunday, April 6, 2008
	Odds And Ends
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Twelve Killed in Suicide Bomb Attack at Marathon in Sri Lanka (Race Results Weekly) Violence marred the 2008 Sri Lanka Marathon leaving twelve dead and a hundred injured in the incident. Suspected to be the a Tamil Tiger separatist rebel, the bomber posed as a runner. Among those killed were a Sri Lankan minister, Olympic marathoner Kuruppe A. Karunartne and a Sri Lankan national coach.
	Paris Int'l Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Kebede takes Paris Marathon win in 2:06:40 (IAAF) Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede won the 2008 Paris Marathon in 2:06:40, currently the second fastest time in 2008 to date. The seven men that followed Kebede to a finish had personal best times as well. In the women's race Kenyan Martha Komu won in 2:25:33.
News From: Friday, April 4, 2008
	Boston Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Cape Breton winter helped local group prepare for Boston Marathon. (The Cape Breton Post) A group of five Cape Bretoners have been meeting regularly in the high winds and icy conditions to prepare for the Boston Marathon. The groups runs seem to make the time fly by. Last years Boston Marathon fed runners very high winds and slightly cooler than normal temperatures.
	Bungay Black Dog Marathon
		Non-Marathon/ Other Running
		Cancer and Lymphoma only motivates Illingworths to run more! (Beccles and Bungay Journal) Simon Illingsworth, the proud father of three, will attempt to run 100 marathons in the next 5 years as a way of raising money for Cancer Research. Illingsworth has been diagnosed with testicular cancer and non Hodgkins lymphoma. This news only adds to the 45 year old's motivation. He will compete in London on April 12th and run another 26.2 miles less than one week later.
	Hogeye Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Hogeye Marathon organizers say flatter is better for runners (Arkansas Democrat Gazette) The Hogeye Marathon will see the thirty second edition of their event. A small marathon of about eighty three participants has an updated course with less hills and more trails. The race director stated that there are few stretches of Fayetteville that are flat, although the course should be less grinding on runners than the previous course
	Jamaica Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		A Party of a Marathon! (Leader Post) What do the majority of runners do at the end of a marathon? Drink beer and relax. Only this is not acceptable behavior for a trip focused on training a group of "high-risk" adolescents to run a marathon. The "Dirty Dozen" group raised public funds to send groups of people to the Jamaica Marathon. One of the members videotaped the drinking and smoking party that occurred at the end of the marathon. The number of complaints about the group has been "dizzying"
	London Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Maasai Warriors set for marathon are given London warning (Mirror.co.uk) Six Maasai warriors are leaving their Tanzanian village of Eluai to run in the 2008 London Marathon. The tribesmen have been given a guide on how to cope with running in London versus the African bush. The Maasai will not be able to rely on the sun for the time.
	More Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Runner Keeler Ramacier is 'poster grown-up' for Sunday's women-over-40 marathon (Minnesota Post) The More Marathon will kick off this Sunday morning in Central Park. Keeler Ramacier will headline the race. She is a fast, over 40 runner from the Twin Cities area and will enjoy the race that is touted as the only all women's over 40 race.
	Odds And Ends
		Non-Marathon/ Other Running
		2009 IAAF Championship Venues Announced (Race Results Weekly) Great Britain is set to host the World Half-Marathon Championships for the third time in a row. Birmingham, England will be the host in 2009. Also, of note, the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics will be held in Berlin, Germany, and the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships will be held in Amman, Jordan.
	Olympics 2008 (Men)
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Geb pulling out of Olympic 10,000 in Beijing (allAfrica) Haile Gebrselassie has made the decision to pull out of the Beijing Olympic 10,000 meter race. The Ethiopian Athletic Federation stated that he could not pull out of the marathon, but the IOC overruled that decision and accepted his withdrawal for health concerns. Geb's coach, Coach Woldemeskel Kostre, said the Geb would be unable to compete with the younger runners in the 10,000 meter event despited having won four previous world championships.
	Olympics 2008 (Women)
		Human Interest Story
		O'Sullivan Dismisses Beijing Bid (SportingLife) Thirty-eight year old former Olympic 5,000 meter silver medalist, Sonja O'Sullivan, has dismissed suggestions she is planning to enter this summer's Olympic marathon, despite competing in the 2008 Boston Marathon. Her goal is to run under three hours, rather than achieve an Olympic qualifying mark. O'Sullivan had been training in Flagstaff with Craig Mottram and Benita Johnson.
	Paris Int'l Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		37,000 runners for 32nd Paris Marathon (European Athletics) Last year's Vienna Marathon Champion (2:07.33) Oleksandr Kuzin of Ukraine will lead the European field at the 32nd annual Paris Marathon. Kuzin can expect tough international competition from 37-year-old Toshinari Takaoka of Japan who finished fourth at the 2005 World Championships and has a personal best of 2:06:16. The women's field will prove equally challenging with three women who have all raced under 2 hours and 30 minutes for the marathon.
		Takaoka & Tola Lead Paris Marathon Fields (Race Results Weekly) The 2008 Paris International Marathon will have elite fields led by Japanese record holder Toshinari Takaoka and Ethiopian Worknesh Tola respectively. Also in the men's field will be sub 2:08 marathoners Tesfaye Tola, James Rotich, Philip Manyim, Joseph Ngolepus and Oleksandr Kuzin. The women's race will include Shitaye Gemechu, Mindhaye Gishu, Linah Cheruiyot and Alice Timbilil who will be debuting in the marathon distance.
	Yakima River Canyon Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		A 78 year old Dolphin Running Marathons! (KNDO) Bob Dolphin heads up the Yakima River Canyon Marathon with over 500 Runners each year. He not only directs the race, he runs in it as well. He also runs nearly 20 other marathons through out the year. An average year of running for the 78 year old.
News From: Thursday, April 3, 2008
	Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Flying Pig Marathon trumps gypsy moth plans (The Enquirer) The Ohio Department of Agriculture have postponed their original plans to spray for gypsy moths in eastern Cincinnati due to the Flying Pig Marathon.
	Gold Coast Airport Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Marathon snub by Premier (Gold Coast News) Premier Anna Bligh will next week launch the 30th anniversary of the Gold Coast marathon; but not on the Coast. The launch will be at Parliament House in Brisbane since it was a State Parliament sitting day. Many detractors feel that this is a snub by the premier considering 10,000 of the 16,000 competitors in the race came from outside Queensland and it was important she be represented at the main launch.
	Marathon des Sables
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Ahansal leads Marathon des Sables (Press TV) Moroccan runner, Mohamad Ahansal, is still leading after completing the first half of stage four in the 2008 Marathon des Sables. This stage of the marathon, known as the "the main course" by the competitors, includes plains, dune fields and El Oftal Jebel to tackle, a summit with a twenty-five percent incline. The vast majority of runners will have to continue through the night to reach Oued Ahssia. The runners are being guided by lasers marking out the course and all the competitors have luminous nightsticks and carry emergency flares in their kits.
	Miami Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Ted Metellus succeeding Robert Pozo as Miami Marathon race director (Sun Sentinel) Logistics expert Ted Metellus has been named race director to succeed Robert Pozo, the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon race co-founder and only race director of the six-year event. Metellus, a logistics expert, was event manager for Eventage and also managed dozens of large scale competitive road races for the New York Road Runners Club, including the New York City Marathon. Pozo and other marathon co-founders, wife Gaby Pozo, and Frankie Ruiz, remain with the company in major roles.
News From: Wednesday, April 2, 2008
	Boston Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Putting the "me" in the Boston Marathon! (Wicked Local North Attleborough) Nick Giordano proposed to his wife after completing one of his marathons. He has even run several others in honor of his parents, grandparents and for various charities. In 2005 he ran for the American Liver Disease Foundation. Shortly after the race Giordano would be running a race against the very same disease.
	Friendly Massey Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Friendly Massey Marathon hoping to increase friends with 10K! (The Mid North Monitor) Chairperson Elizabeth Gamble hopes to attract more youth for her Friendly Massey Marathon. She has contacted multiple local high schools from Michigan to Ontario to whip up the numbers for the inaugural 10 kilometer race the will be held in conjunction with the marathon on July 19th and 20th.
	LEADING LADIES' MARATHON
		Human Interest Story
		Katherine Switzer to Lead Leading Ladies Women on the Move Conference. (The Earth Times) Women's running pioneer Katherine Switzer will lead the Women on the Move conference that will take place in conjunction with the Leading Ladies Marathon in Spearfish, North Dakota on August 17th. Switzer is well known for challenging the all-male notion of the famed Boston Marathon.