Marathon/Running News: 5/2/08 - 5/9/08

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News From: Friday, May 9, 2008
	Air Force Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Air Force Marathon officials spread word about upcoming event (Air Force Link) Officials from the U.S. Air Force Marathon office made a stop at the Pentagon to increase awareness for the 2008 Air Force Marathon held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Race director, Molly Louden, believes 10,000 will register for the various running events. The events include a 26.2 mile marathon, a 13.1 mile half-marathon, a 10K individual and four-person team race and a family-friendly 5K the evening prior.
	Prague International Marathon
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Spring Marathon Season Comes to Close in Prague on Sunday (Race Results Weekly) The 2008 Prague International Marathon is expecting over five thousand runners for the full marathon with an additional seven thousand in companion events, including an in-line skate. Heading the men's elite field are David Makori Omiti, who has a personal best time of 2:08:49 from Venice in 2002, Benjamin Pseret, winner of the Treviso Marathon last year in a personal best 2:10:18 and Kenneth Mungara, who ran 2:17:38 at high altitude in Nairobi in 2006. In the women's field two-time Prague champion Alina Ivanova who will be looking for a Czech Olympic berth.
News From: Thursday, May 8, 2008
	Famous Idaho Potato Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Registration deadline approaches for Potato marathon (Idaho Stateman) Early registration closes Monday for the Famous Idaho Potato Marathon, which is celebrating its 30th year on Saturday, May 17. The marathon day includes a half marathon, 5 kilometer and 10 kilometer race.
	Mississauga Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Dentist closes in on marathon milestone at Missaugua. (Globesports) Rick Rayman, a dentist and the father of two and grandfather of three takes aim on the milestone of 200 complete marathons. Mississauga will be his 186th since 1978. He completed 16 in 2007. Rayman's most recent roadwork was the St. John's Waterloo marathon, April 27, in 4 hours 51 minutes.
	Odds And Ends
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Injury Forces Ritzenhein Out of Healthy Kidney 10K (Race Results Weekly) 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team athlete Dathan Ritzenhein has withdrawn from New York Road Runner's Healthy Kidney 10K race due to an injury to the third metatarsal of his left foot he had sustained at the 2008 Cross Country Championships earlier this year. Ritzenhein also suffered problems with his iliotibial band and hamstrings and had been taking anti-inflamatory medications for six months and will take the time to rest before the 10,000 meter trials in Eugene, Oregon in two months. Ritzenhein won the 10K race last year setting a course record in 28:07.2.
		Human Interest Story
		Powerwalk on the Moonlit Marathon (Driffield Times) Mary Jo Moore and Sharon Darlington, from Driffield, are taking part in the 11th Playtex MoonWalk on May 17. 15,000 walkers are expected to participate in the extraordinary moonlit marathon. The race starts and finishes in London's Hyde Park as participants walk in decorated bras, to raise money for Breast Cancer charities.
		Marathon loser Pietri remembered as a giant (Guardian) Dorando Pietri led the 1908 Olympic Marathon before staggering and stumbling and being helped across the finish line. A statue in his home town of Capri has been erected to commemorate the Italian runner who was the unofficial winner and then later disqualified for the aide he recieved.
	Olympics 2008 (Men)
		Human Interest Story
		Brazilian marathon runner Cordeiro out of Beijing Olympics (English Eastday) Vanderlei Cordeiro will miss the Prague Marathon this Sunday after his physical exam revealed an inflamed leg muscle which will push him further away from this year's Olympic Games. He has already been forced to sit out of the Turin Marathon and his chances of improving his time in the marathon to make the Brazilian Olympic team.
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Brazilian marathon runner De Lima set to miss Beijing (Reuters) Vanderlei de Lima, the Brazilian runner who was famously attacked by a spectator while leading the marathon at the 2004 Olympics, is set to miss the Beijing Games because of a nagging injury to the back of his left thigh. De Lima, who went on to win the bronze medal in Athens, has been forced to pull out of Sunday's Prague marathon which is his last chance to qualify for the games. De Lima is extremely disappointed that he will be unable to defend his medal.
		Kenyan marathon star Wanjiru leaves for Japan to prepare for Beijing Olympics (Xinhua News) World half marathon champion and runner-up in the 2008 London Marathon Samuel Wanjiru is expected to leave the country next week for Japan in order to start preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games. Wanjiru, London Marathon winner Martin Lel, Four Times Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot and Rotterdam Marathon winner William Kipsang are among the nine marathoners in the Kenyan team. Athletics coach Francis Kamau who nurtured Wanjiru said he believes that the athlete is aggressive and may bring back to Kenya the world Marathon record.
News From: Wednesday, May 7, 2008
	Great Ocean Road Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Record number of runners sign on for Great Ocean Road Marathon (Geelong Advertiser) Event director John Craven said a record number of entries have been received for he 2008 Great Ocean Road Marathon exceeding last year's registration by over three hundred. Competitors from twelve countries would compete in the event, including seven Africans and an Argentinian.
	Odds And Ends
		Non-Marathon/ Other Running
		Flanagan following parents' footsteps in distance running (Indy Star) Shalane Flanagan who made recent headlines breaking the women's record in the 10,000 meters in a 30:34.49 has famous roots tied to marathoning. Flanagan's mother Cheryl Treworgy, born Cheryl Pedlow Bridges set a world marathon mark of 2:49:40 in 1971 andher father is a marathoner as well. The current twenty-six year old Flanagan said she is genetically predisposed to longer distances, but listening to her father's advice does not want to go into marathoning too early.
	Olympics 2008 (Men)
		Pre-Race Review/ Lineup
		Hard work can hurt Chinese chances in Olympics (Arabian Business) Chinese officials were upset when Frenchman Christian Bauer saw the Chinese fencing team he was hired to train for the Olympics and the first thing he did was to send them all home to recover from over training and various injuries. Bauer's situation illustrates concerns among some top officials that over-training by Chinese coaches may be doing more harm than good to China's Olympic medal hopes at the August 8-24 Games. Foreign coaches and athletes first began to take notice of China's coaching regimen in the early 1990s when Ma Junren took his women distance runners on brutal marathon-a-day high-altitude training sessions in the Tibetan foothills producing top female Zhou Chunxiu, winner of the 2007 London Marathon, runner-up at the world championships in Osaka and China's strongest gold medal hope in track and field at the Beijing Games.
		Human Interest Story
		Qualification situation for Beijing Games (Guardian) The Qualifying standards for the Olympic Games must occur between January 1, 2007 and July 23,2008. Their are A and B standards and countries vary as to who is selected for the competitions. The U.S. holds it trials for the Olympic Games and selects the top 3 performers from the competition. Other countries select the 3 best performances from the whole year.
News From: Tuesday, May 6, 2008
	Belfast City Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Viewpoint: A marathon effort in Belfast. (Belfast Telegraph) Nearly 15,000 runners opted for the chance to improve their health at the Belfast Marathon. The sun smiled down and the city touted an emphasis on the health of its citizens.
	Casper Wyoming Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Casper Marathon Right Around the Corner (Jackson Hole Star Tribune) The Casper Marathon offers a running option for almost anyone. The 2008 event includes Marathon, half-marathon, and marathon relay. Organizers expect between a over one hundred sixty full marathon runners, two hundred half marathon runners and up to one hundred people for the marathon relay teams.
	Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Firefighters Save Life of Marathon Runner (Firefighter News) Bobby Edwards collapsed near the 10 mile mark of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and was likely to be another tragic headline. Fate would have it that a group of paramedics and firefighters were running near Edwards and began CPR saving his life.
		Boston to consider Pig times (The Enquirer) Due to a last-minute detour around a fire on the 2008 Flying Pig Marathon course, Flying Pig Marathon runners who just missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon during Sundays race might have their times treated leniently by Boston Marathon officials. The detour added .2514 miles to the original 26.2-mile course. Race director Don Connolly said Monday that the finishing times were official and that they wont be adjusted to fit a 26.2-mile course. He also said the marathon was continuing to work with the Boston Marathon to find a solution.
	Cox Sports Providence Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Providence Marathon Debuts in the Rain (AP) The Providence Marathon saw nearly 3,000 runners compete this past weekend despite the rainy weather. The race series included a half marathon and 5 kilometer race as well as the 26.2 mile race.
	Frederick Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Prerace traffic snarls aside, marathon runs glitch-free (Frederick News Post) Although a car crash delayed some runners before they got to the starting line, the 2008 Frederick Marathon had no major dilemmas. The eighteen-year-old driver, whose name police did not release, lost control of the Mercury Tracer she was driving and overturned into a bush. Aside from traffic, there were no major glitches, race director Rachel Ridgway said. She believes the marathon's revamped course and relocated venue improved the event.
	Honolulu Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Honolulu Marathon entries are off to a running start (Honolulu Advertiser) Over two thousand three hundred runners looked past last year's timing disaster, a $10 price increase, even a Spam-induced traffic snarl to register for the Honolulu Marathon. The strong response from local runners is significant, especially given the timing snafu that resulted in thousands of incorrect or missing finishing times at last year's race. The problems were traced to a massive failure of a new timing system administered by SAI Timing of Michigan.
	Odds And Ends
		Human Interest Story
		Miss Utah Credits Military Service With Her Civilian Success (Black Anthem ORG) Sgt. Jill Stevens has complete 14 marathons and stated that the one in Afghanistan "was one of the toughest." Her career as a medic serving overseas has helped her to work for things in American. Stevens will represent UTAH in the Miss America pageant.
		Lel and Mikitenko to return to London to contest 10k road race (IAAF) Flora London Marathon Champions will return to run the inagural Bupa London 10,000 meter which will cover part of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Course. The London Marathon Champions will be joined by 10K champions Zersenay Tadese and Mikah Kogo
		Non-Marathon/ Other Running
		Beijing hopefuls head for London (BBC Sport UK) Great Britain's distance runners will use a new 10km race through the streets of London as part of their preparation for this summer's Olympic Games. London Marathon winners Martin Lel and Irina Mikitenko are also taking part. Mo Farah, the 2006 European 5,000m silver medalist, and marathon runner Dan Robinson lead the men's challenge. Mara Yamauchi, who set a marathon personal best this year, joins a strong women's field along with Liz Yelling.
News From: Monday, May 5, 2008
	Colorado Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Scott repeats as men's champ; Gil wins second women's title at Colorado Marathon (The Coloradoan) Defending champion Brian Scott ran solo for nearly the entire race to win the 2008 Colorado Marathon in a personal best of 2:31:33. Mercedes Gil won the women's race for a second time in a 3:01:01, nearly five minutes ahead of runner-up Sara Kadlec who finished in 3:05:53.
	Cox Sports Providence Marathon
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Six run to titles in downtown Providence road races (Providence Journal) More than three thousand three hundred runners participated in the inaugural Cox Providence Rhode Races, an event that featured three races of varying distances all taking place simultaneously on the streets of downtown Providence. The Cox Sports Marathon men's race was won by Blaine Moore in 2:43:28. Alyson Venti won the women's race in 3:01:02.
	Frederick Marathon
		Human Interest Story
		Man Proves You Don't Need Shoes To Run Marathon (Your4State.com) Amidst more than five thousand runners, one man stood out for running the marathon without shoes. Todd Byers has been running marathons for decades without shoes. His advice is to keep a good idea and a lot of common sense about where you are going.
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Baillie, Tanner Take Marathon Titles in Frederick (Washington Post) Debuting in the marathon distance Brian Baillie won the 2008 Frederick Marathon in 2:34:48. Melissa Tanner won the women's race in 2:56:17, setting a course record by forty seconds. Tanner was a track star from Harvard running her third marathon.
	Gutenberg Marathon Mainz
		Post-Race Review/ Results
		Hann and Naumov win Gutenberg Marathon in lifetime bests (European Athletics) Defending champion Andriy Naumov won the 2008 Gutenberg Marathon in a new course record and personal best of 2:11:10. In the womens race, Susanne Hahn clocked a lifetime best of 2:29:34 to take the German title and make the 2:30 qualifying time for the Beijing Olympic Games.
	International Peace Marathon in Rwanda
		Human Interest Story
		Peace Marathon Registration Hits Seven Hundred (All Africa) Seven hundred sixty six athletes have registered for the 2008 Kigali International Peace Marathon which will feature international and national athletes. There is a full marathon, a half marathon and a fun run. Last year Daniel Rotich won the full marathon in the men's race and Prisca Kiprono won the women's race.