Meb... Meb...

Meb Keflezighi officially became my new running hero this year. I found this article on the Running Times website that is basically a "what he was thinking" from April through August 12th...

Apparently, when Brandon saw Meb on the greenway the day before the Tarheel 10-miler, he was nursing an injury. In fact, by the sound of it, his training was up-and-down through June (even though he raced well at Bay to Breakers and the San Diego Half Marathon)... it's hard to imagine that they guy who finished 4th at the Olympics was hoping to just make it to the starting line 2-months out!

His account of the race was really interesting. I'm glad even the elite athletes doubt themselves at some point and go through the:

• I quit. I'm done. I'm not running again.
• But I don't want a DNF, so maybe I'll just stick this out.
• Well, I feel a little better now, maybe I can start making up some ground.
• There's Mr. Basketball Shorts and Mrs. Running Skort... they're going down (ok, that cast of characters would never pass Meb, but yeah)
• Maybe the people in my age group placed in the top 3 and I can still get something (no one Lance-Armstrong's-it-up on the local level)
• I'm done I'm done I'm done... WAHOOO! So, when's the next race?

Anyways, read the article, it's interesting. And GO MEB!

10000m

OH HECK YEAH!!!

Mutants

Yup, elite athletes are mutants. I knew no normal person could run a 100m in 8.58sec... even if they put in the training! So yeah, genetics does play a role in success in sports at the elite level. As the article points out, being crazy tall (the average NBA player is 6' 7") is advantageous in sports where you have to shoot a ball (or puck) in a net, while being crazy small (the average jockey weighs 115lb) is advantageous in sports where you're relying on something else for transportation (like a horse or boat)... and yes, I did generalize those rules. Having exceptionally long arms is good for grabbing other people to take them down (aka fighting), an enlarged left ventricle never hurt endurance athletes, ridiculously large feet are good for swimming, and the ability to push off the ground with 2.5x your body weight (while most people can must just a measly 2x) gives you the needed edge in sprinting.

Q: What's the most popular Olympic sport?

Km: Watched? Volleyball (especially beach volleyball), basketball, track and field (in particular, the 100m final), gymnastics, and equestrian events round out the top 5 (I would have thought swimming would have ranked higher). Media attention? Swimming, gymnastics, track and field, soccer, and volleyball (based off of hits to the IOC webpage and the number of articles published). Played? Volleyball, basketball, track and field, soccer (known in the rest of the world as football), and tennis (I guess the viewing statistics make a bit more sense now... swimming ranks down at #7, behind table tennis). 

Gold - Top 5 Lists

Winning one gold medal is a huge accomplishment. Winning multiple gold medals is a wicked huge accomplishment!

• All-Time: Michael Phelps- 14; Larisa Latynina- 9; Paano Nurmi- 9; Mark Spitz- 9; Carl Lewis- 9
• Male: Michael Phelps- 14; Paano Nurmi- 9; Mark Spitz- 9; Carl Lewis- 9; Bjorn Daehlie- 8
• Female: Larisa Latynina- 9; Birgit Fischer- 8; Jenny Thompson- 8; Vera Caslavska- 7; Lyubov Yegorova- 6
• Country (looked at top the 25): US: 56; USSR: 30; Norway: 14; Germany: 14; Japan: 14
• Sport (looked at the top 25): Gymnastics: 57; Swimming: 39; Track & Field: 26; Cross Country Skiing: 14; Canoeing: 14

*** Ties were broken by looking at silver medal count, then bronze medal count.

Olympic TV Coverage

So is anyone else sick of watching re-runs of the shows that were on this spring, but don't start with new episodes until the fall? I know I am! The trials were a nice break, but I'm ready for the "real thing". Sooo... opening ceremonies are tomorrow night, and NBC will be covering the Olympics (full schedule). Track starts up a week from tomorrow (event schedule), but swimming and cycling are on in Week 1 (schedule by sport)!

Start

 So they publish reaction time in the results... Allyson Felix- 0.188, Jeneba Tarmoh- 0.164. Oddly, the top 3 in that race had some of the slowest reaction times (0.182, 0.187, 0.188). The men's 100m was a bit better, although Justin Gatlin (the winner) had the second slowest reaction time (0.168). Anyways, just found it interesting!

As a side note, lane assignment matters!

Standards

So, what's up with this A-standard / B-stardard thing? Well, here they are if you were curious. With respect to the Olympics, countries can enter 3 athletes in each event (as long as all have met the A-standard). If no athletes from a particular country have met the A-standard (but have met the B-standard), then the country can only enter 1 athlete in that event.

Tie

By now, we have all heard about the tie between Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix in the 100m, the debate over how they would settle it (runoff... coin toss...), the decision to break the tie in a runoff... and Tarmoh's ultimate decision to concede her spot before the race. I don't know about y'all, but I was really looking forward to "sudden death track and field". However, I do find it ridiculous that it took this long to reach some type of conclusion! I really don't understand why they didn't do a runoff that night. I mean, the runoff was the most logical way to settle the matter (at least in my opinion)... flipping a coin is just dumb. The only other thing that would make sense to me is giving the spot to (1) the person with the fastest time to date or (2) the person who had run the fastest time over the past 6 weeks (to take into account training, etc.).

What do y'all think? 

Team USA

In honor of July 4th and the Olympics, I decided to take a look back at the track and field uniforms over the games that I can remember:

Atlanta (1996)

Sydney (2000)

Athens (2004)

Beijing (2008)

London (2012)

Guess it could be worse, it could've been white, but wow...

Q: I have to jump, run, and throw?!

Km: Yes, if your an "athlonete". Ok, I just made that term up, but the the decathlon and heptathlon are real track and field events. The decathlon is a two-day competition and consists of the following events: 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m, 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500m. The heptathlon is the women's version, and consists of 7 events: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin, and 800m. The heptathlon replaced the pentathlon (shot put, high jump, long jump, 60m hurdles, and 800m) in the 1984 Olympics. So, which type of athletes make the best athlonetes? Football players...

Q: What do beer and the Olympic Trials have in common?

Km: For Track and Field at least, a craft brewery and two beers- Triple Jump Pale Ale (review) and 200 Meter Ale (review). While not usually a fan of pale ales, I'd be willing to try something with the name Triple Jump in the title (I used to be a triple jumper... that's why I say everything 3x and jump around... jk), and the 200 Meter Ale received good reviews as a post-run choice. I think they should extend their line... maybe a Shot Put Stout, Long Jump Larger, Prefontaine Porter, and Weight Throw Wheat? Ok, that's all I got, the trials start on June 21st and...

BIG BOSS RUN TONIGHT!

More Running... More Running... More Running

Ok, why isn't the half marathon an Olympic event? Why do we go from track to the marathon with nothing in between 6.2 and 26.2? I'm being serious... there are a lot of good distance runners... three from some countries isn't enough! So what if they added another distance event? They used to have XC, but haven't since 1924, so that would be another possibility...

I kind of get what they're saying from a "marketing" perspective... but there are five Badminton events, and I'm not sure that the Badmiton World Federation was really concerned about filling out a TV schedule when it became an Olympic event in 1992. And I didn't even know that men played field hockey, but apparently they have since 2000!

Any thoughts? In case you hadn't heard, they announced the Kenyan Olympic Marathon Team yesterday and Makau and Mutai didn't make the cut.

... and yes, I did interrupt a "theme series". It was a difficult decision, as something normally has to be 8mm huge for me to do this, but I thought such "breaking news" warranted moving the IT Band post to a later date! Guess after almost two years, I'm getting spontaneous :-)

Kara Goucher

Just like teammate Shalane, Kara Goucher
trains with Nike. She was born in New York
but grew up in Duluth. Kara began
running during high school. She went to the
University of Colorado.
She won the 3000 and 5000,
and was the cross country champ her junior
year. In 2000, she was 8th in the
olympic trials. After college, she
was injured, but came back strong in '06.
She set a new PR, placing 3rd in
the 3000 in the IAAF
World Cup, and won the 10000 the next
year. She set the American record
in the half marathon in '07
before representing the US in
the 5 and 10 thousand in the Beijing
Summer Olympics. Debuting at the
marathon distance in '08, she placed
third. Other performances of note are
3rd and 5th in the Boston Marathon.
As for her personal life she married
fellow American runner Adam
Goucher. They have a son Colton. THE END!

Ok, I tried real hard to write that all in iambic pentameter in honor of the Ides of March, but I probably made some mistakes! 

Abdi Abdirahman

Abdihakem (Abdi) Abdirahman has the coolest website of all of the athletes thus far, and has represented the US more times in the Olympics as well. He was born on 1/1/1977 (pretty cool birthday too) in Somalia, and lived there through most of his high school years (he attended Jhameyasin Carte High School in Mogadishu). He finished school in the US, graduating from Tucson High School in 1995, where he went on to Pima Community College. He later transferred to the University of Arizona, where he majored in retail consumer studies. He was named the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 1998, the same year he finished 2nd in the NCAA championships.

Abdi represented the US in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, placing 10th and 15th in the 10,000m. In fact, he has a lot of experience in the 10k, finishing in the top 20 in three world championships (7th in '07, 13th in '05, and 19th in '03). According to his website, the marathon distance holds the most promise, as was apparent by his 3rd place finish at the trials earlier this year.  

Desiree Davila

Desiree Davila might be one of the few women who actually wears a "normal" singlet and shorts in competition (and for that, and for the fact that she is a crazy good runner, she has my respect). She grew up in CA, and played soccer in addition to running in high school (and graduated the same year as Hall and the rest of them). Davila studied psychology at Arizona State University, where she roomed with Amy Hastings (4th at the Olympic Trials). Since college, Desiree has continued to excel at distances from the 3000m up through the marathon. Among her more notable performances:

• 2nd in the 2011 Boston Marathon (fastest time by an American on this course)
• 5th (2008) and 4th (2010) in the Chicago Marathon
• 11th in the 2009 IAAF World Championship marathon 

She currently trains with the Hanson-Brooks Team in Michigan, and is engaged to fellow marathoner Ryan Linden.

Ryan Hall

Unlike many elite runners, Ryan Hall is his own coach. This 29-year-old has plenty of distance running experience though, breaking onto the running scene when he was in high school (he, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Alan Webb all graduated in the same year). Hall was the CA cross country state champion both his junior and senior years, and won many state titles in track, along with setting some records. He attended Standford University, where he continued to excel both in cross country and track (1500-5000m). Hall earned many Pac-10 and All-American honors, graduating in 2005 with a BA in sociology.

After college, Ryan Hall's running career gained more momentum. He won the USA Cross Country Championships in 2006, broke the U.S. 20k record later that year, and broke the North American record in the half marathon early the next year. In his debut marathon ('07 London), he finished 7th overall, and won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in New York later that year. Since then, he has continued to excel at the 26.2 distance (he has run the fastest marathon time of any American - 2:04:58):

• 5th in the 2008 London Marathon
• 10th in the 2008 Summer Olympics
• 3rd in 2009, and 4th in both the 2010 and 2011 Boston Marathon

Ryan Hall has been sponsored by Asics since 2005. He is married to Sara Bei, who is also a professional runner. The two founded the Hall Steps for Foundation in 2009 to "empower the running community to use the energy and resources that fuel runners’ athletic achievements for social justice efforts". To stay up to date with Ryan Hall, follow his blog (although I'm not sure how often it gets updated).

Shalane Flanagan

Shalane Flanagan, a UNC graduate, was born in Boulder, CO in 1981, but grew up in MA. In high school, she was invited to numerous All-State meets, and set records in both the mile and two mile (which still stands). At UNC, Flanagan won national cross country titles in '02 and '03, and continued to excel in track and field at distances from the 1500-5000m. Her numerous accomplishments are summarized here. Of note:

• Two-time national champion in the 5000m
• Two-time winner of the USA Cross Country Championships
• Bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2008 Summer Olympics (American Record)

Flanagan's family is well known in the running community-- her husband was a track star at UNC and both of her parents participated in the U.S. World Cross Country Championships and are accomplished marathon runners (her mother held the world record in 1971). Flanagan now trains with the Nike Oregon Project. Follow her blog to stay up to date with her training and racing.

Meb Keflezighi

When I was watching the trials, I realized that I knew very little about the people running, other than the obvious fact that they were all "wicked" fast. So, for the next 6 weeks, every Thursday will be dedicated to a brief bio of one of the athletes who will be representing Team USA in London. We'll start with Meb Keflezighi.

First off, Meb is just a nickname... his full first name is actually Mebrahtom... and his last name is pronounced Kef-lez-ghee. He was born on May 5, 1975 (making him 36 years-old if you don't feel like doing the math) in Eritrea. His father fled Eritrea on foot, eventually ending up in Italy, where he sent for his family so that they could escape the war that had broken out there. The Keflezighi's arrived in the San Diego when Meb was 12, and he became a naturalized citizen in 1998. Meb began his running career while still in junior high, and was the 1994 CA state champion in both the 1600m and 3200m. He continued on at UCLA where he majored in Communications (with a concentration in Business). While in college, he won numerous NCAA championship races and received a bunch of All-American awards. His career highlights are summarized here. Of particular note:

• Meb won a silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, becoming the first American man since Frank Shorter (1976) to win an Olympic medal at the marathon distance.
• In 2009, Meb won the ING NYC Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since 1982. 

He currently lives (and trains) in Mammoth Lakes, CA with his family of five. He is a member of the New York Athletic Club and is sponsored by Sketchers. Follow Meb's blog to keep up with his training, or read his book!

5 Golden Rings

Ok... well, they're multi-colored rings... but hopefully the USA Track and Field athletes will be bringing home lots of gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The track and field Olympic team trials will be held in late June / early July at the University of Oregon (schedule). However, the marathon trials are a lot sooner, with both the men's and women's races being held on the same day (January 14, 2012) at the same site (Houston). NBC will broadcast the event from 3-5PM on the very same day. The course was designed to mimic "London conditions", with a 2.2-mile inner loop and an 8-mile outer loop (run 3 times). A list of athletes meeting the qualification standards can be found here... not sure if this will have been updated to reflect anyone qualifying on the last possible day. So, who are the top athletes? On the men's side: Ryan Hall (2:04:58), Meb Keflezighi (2:09:13), and Dathan Ritzenhein (2:10:00) have the fastest times. On the women's side: Desiree Davila (2:22:38), Kara Goucher (2:24:52), and Magdalena Lewy Boulet (2:26:22) are at the top of the field.