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Runners Shine Under the Stars at Brooks Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 5K

More than 6,700 runners took part in the Brooks Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 5K presented by SLS on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Photo: Ryan Bethke

The star of Saturday night’s Brooks Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 5K presented by SLS wasn’t a pro from Kenya or Ethiopia. It wasn’t Olympic marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, who paced 7:45 milers.

In a race featuring 6,770 starters, the person creating the most buzz was 12-year-old Olivia Garcia. Garcia, a Las Vegas seventh-grader, finished second in the girls/women’s race in 19 minutes, 37 seconds seconds. Glynis Milne of Edmonton, 30, won the women’s race in 19:17.

“It feels great,” said Garcia, who planned to push the pace, lining up at the front row of the starting line. “I actually don’t run. I’m a soccer player.”

Garcia scored a goal for her travel team earlier in the day.

Photos: Brooks Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 5K

In the men’s race, Las Vegas’ Jesse Willms, 28, won in 15:36. Another Vegas local, Derek Williams, took second in 16:03.

But the girl who stole the show right off The Strip was the 12-year-old Garcia. One of the first people to greet her was Keflezighi.

“I want to be like you when I grow up,” said Meb, the 40-year-old former New York and Boston Marathon champion.

Garcia was leading the women’s race at two miles when she was overtaken by Milne.

“She threw a surge at me, but I was able to hold her off,” Milne said.

Of Garcia’s precocious performance, Milne said, “I think it’s amazing. She inspired me the whole race. It was awesome to chase her.”

Stephanie Zammit, a 41-year-old fitness instructor and mother of three from Toronto, finished third. She, too, was moved by Garcia.

“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” Zammit said. “It’s crazy, awesome. She’s amazing.”

“It feels great to run at night, all the people cheering me on,” said Garcia, who averaged 6: 19 per mile.

Willms is originally from Edmonton, Canada. His father flew 24 hours from Cambodia to see him run.

“I couldn’t let him down,” said Willms. “I did this for him.”

RELATED: Woman Sells Car, Uses Money to Run 23 Rock ‘n’ Roll Races in 2015

Vegas 5K Vibe

The 5K serves as a build up to Sunday’s GEICO Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K. More than 35,000 runners will descend upon The Strip.

The 5K atmosphere was Vegas festive with costumes leaning to super heroes Spiderman, Superman, Super Woman and Wonder Woman. Super Woman and Wonder Woman outnumbered Superman, no doubt because 70 percent of the field was women.

Sheila Echols and a girlfriend from Houston dressed in what they called 1980s prom dresses. Echols opted for a turquoise number.

“We thought they were more original than tutus,” said Echols.

RELATED: 14 Things To Know About Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas

What, Just One Marathon?

Darren Sheridan traveled 4,936 miles for the marathon, flying from Dublin to Sin City. Sheridan, 40, ran his first marathon, in Dublin, back in October 2012.

“When I finished Dublin, I went from elation to, ‘What am I going to do now?’ ” said Sheridan, who was giving his credit card a workout at the expo.

Sheridan’s solution? Run 100 marathons.

Sunday’s race marks his 64th event measuring at least 26.2 miles. The marathon will be his 49th. The other distances were ultramarathons.

RELATED: Runner Loses 100 Pounds Before Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas

Ultra, Ultra Marathoning

In August, Sheridan ran 50 kilometers, five days in a row. That’s a virtual siesta compared to what some of his Dublin Bay Running Club buddies pulled off during the summer. Try 10 marathons in five days, five consecutive days of two marathons, one at 6 a.m., the next at 2 p.m.

Asked what running’s lure is for him, Sheridan said, “I get away from everything. It’s just the road and me and see how far my body can go.”

Vegas kind of woman

Sheridan’s sister, Louise, will also be running the marathon Sunday. She loves Las Vegas, this year’s visit making it her third from Dublin.

“What you see on the telly is exactly what you get here,” said Louise, 32 “It’s kind of like another world. Everything is so big. The hotels. It’s amazing. I love it.”

That Medal Bling

Louise Sheridan has run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon twice. Besides the tug of everything Vegas offers, what made her head to Nevada to run?

“I saw one of the medals,” she said.” It was pink and glittery.”

RELATED: Craig Lutz Gambles for Greatness at Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

Ch-Ching

They moved some merchandise the last three days at the expo. Working one of the registers was 20-year-old Stephanie Fernandez of Las Vegas. Her biggest sale: $1,300.

“A mom, dad and daughter,” said Fernandez. “Pretty much just clothes. I was like, ‘Dang, that’s a lot of clothes.’ “

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Vegas is Rockin’ for Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon Weekend

As always, Meb Keflezighi was a star attraction on Friday night in Las Vegas. He even spent time with Elvis. Or a few guys who claimed to be The King. Meb will lead a 1:45 pace group in Sunday night's Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. Photos: Michael Robson

The Flamingo casino was hopping on Friday night in Las Vegas. Men and women dressed to the nines hugged a craps table, letting loose screams when the dice tumbled their way. A man pounded a black jack table as the dealer laid a jack atop his ace. Cocktail waitresses flashing cleavage served cocktails, pit bosses eyed the gamblers, gamblers eyed the cocktail waitresses and then, strutting down an aisle, in walked Elvis.

The sideburns, black hair, sunglasses, skin-tight white jumpsuit trimmed in gold. And running shoes.

Yeah, it’s Vegas baby! And it’s time for the 2015 GEICO Rock ‘n’ Rock Las Vegas Marathon weekend.

Some 45,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes have descended upon Sin City to rock The Strip, sweating through Saturday night’s 5K or Sunday’s 10K, half marathon and marathon.

Quite simply, there is nothing like Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas. Running on The Strip at night, the course lit up by the casino bright lights like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. And the costumes. Superman and Wonder Woman will make appearances. Runners will don tutus, some even worn by women.

With that as a backdrop, here are sights and sounds gleaned from the expo, the VIP party at Bellagio’s Hyde nightclub and from running into runners on The Strip.

RELATED: 14 Things To Know About Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas

Meb’s the Man

Some runners waited in line at the Powerbar booth for 30 minutes, wanting to share a moment with Meb Keflezighi. As only Meb can do, the New York Marathon champion, Boston Marathon champ and Olympic silver medalist connected with the audience.

He told them about how he was visiting family this summer in Columbus, Ohio, headed out for a run near a reservoir and nine miles in his legs began stiffening up. He tried hitch hiking back but no one stopped.

“All I’m wearing is a tank-top shirt and shorts in the middle of nowhere,” he recalled.

Keflezighi walked the rest of the way back.

“It happens to everyone, even to Meb,” said Lance Palumbo, brand manager for PowerBar. “Even though he’s been the top U.S. runner for a long time, he’s a guy who is very soft spoken about all his accomplishments. He’s not all about the podium. It makes him real human.

Keflezighi, 40, will try to make his fourth Olympic team at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon on Feb. 13 in Los Angeles.

RELATED: Woman Sells Car, Uses Money to Run 23 Rock ‘n’ Roll Races in 2015

Hundred Mile Club

A group of female runners worked the expo, wearing T-shirts with the logo #CC, short for Century Club. Four of the runners are from Detroit. Owing to the club’s name, they vow to run 100 miles a month and made Keflezighi an honorary member, giving him a T-shirt.

As you can imagine, it’s a little chilly outside in Detroit come December and January, but Jennifer Smigielski says it’s “wonderful” logging miles in the Michigan winter.

“I like to run right after it snows,” she said. “It’s quiet and the snow alters the sound. Your feet crunch on the ground. You see footprints where people have run before you and you feel like you’re part of something magical, like you’ve been with that person.”

RELATED: Runner Loses 100 Pounds Before Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas

Minneapolis Is In the House

BFF girlfriends Sarah Zeiher (“As in fire,” she said), Kelli Hollingsworth and Gretchen Seifert were working the Hyde dance floor at the Bellagio VIP bash. They hail from Minneapolis and call themselves “The Three Twinkies,” an ode to their favorite baseball team, the Twins.

“It’s girls weekend, that’s all she wrote, and it’s beautiful,” said Zeiher.

Like the Century Club runners from Detroit, “The Three Twinkies” know a bit about cold-weather running.

In minus-10 temps, “You’ve gotta wear a mask or you can’t breathe,” warned Hollingsworth.

Best Dressed

By a vote of male fashion critics, the 38-year-old Seifert was named “Best Dressed Woman” at the Bellagio VIP party. Seifert stunned the crowd with a gold satin gathered dress and matching heels.

“Ravishing,” said one of the judges. “Simply ravishing.”

Medal Bling

Nadene Mills made her way to Vegas from Groton, Conn., planning to run the 10K. Then she switched to the half marathon for a reason that makes all the sense in the world.

“It was the medal,” said Mills. “It’s blue and has that spinner. It’s so unique. I had to have it.”

Fashion Statement

Best shirt spotted at the expo: a man with a blue T-shirt reading, “Nurse. My job is to save your ass. Not kiss it.”

RELATED: Craig Lutz Gambles for Greatness at Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

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IAAF Provisionally Suspends Russia From International Competition

IAAF president Sebastian Coe called it a "shameful wake-up call." Photo: PhotoRun.net

The IAAF voted 22-1 in favor of provisionally suspending Russia from international track and field competition effective immediately, just days after a bombshell report by WADA uncovering a systematic doping program among Russian athletes.

“Today we have been dealing with the failure of (the All-Russian Athletic Federation) and made the decision to provisionally suspend them, the toughest sanction we can apply at this time. But we discussed and agreed that the whole system has failed the athletes, not just in Russia, but around the world,” IAAF president Sebastian Coe said in a statement.

“This has been a shameful wake up call and we are clear that cheating at any level will not be tolerated. To this end, the IAAF, WADA, the member federations and athletes need to look closely at ourselves, our cultures and our processes to identify where failures exist and be tough in our determination to fix them and rebuild trust in our sport. There can be no more important focus for our sport.”

The suspension means that, at least currently, Russian athletes are not allowed to participate in international competitions, including the World Indoor Championships in March and the 2016 Rio Olympics about nine months from now. However, Russia could regain membership to the IAAF by fulfilling “a list of criteria” subject to IAAF inspection.

“Council examined this matter very thoughtfully, fully aware of the extraordinary action we ultimately decided to take,” Stephanie Hightower, USATF president and IAAF council member, said in a statement. “The WADA report was clear in its evidence and unequivocal in its recommendations. From Council’s perspective, in light of the evidence, suspension was the only proper course of action.”

WADA presented its findings from their independent investigation on Monday. It recommended that Russia be suspended from global athletics competition—including the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio—and recommended lifetime bans for five Russian athletes—including 2012 Olympic 800m champion Mariya Savinova, 2012 Olympic 800m bronze medalist Ekaterina Poistogova, 400m/800m runner Anastasia Bazdyreva and 1500m runner Kristina Ugarova—along with five coaches and administrators.

The post IAAF Provisionally Suspends Russia From International Competition appeared first on Competitor.com.

Woman Sells Car and Uses Money to Run 23 Rock ‘n’ Roll Races

Leah Reid after running the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon in October.

First things first. Leah Reid did not sell her car so that she could globetrot the United States, seeing our nation by foot, running about the country via the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. Repeat, Reid did not peddle her 2006 Honda CRV for $14,000 last December just to feed her running habit.

“I was thinking about selling it anyway and decided to pull the trigger,” says Reid, a 37-year-old accountant from Vancouver, Canada.

But the $14,000 has made it much easier for Reid to run and rock ‘n’ roll, from Brooklyn to San Diego, from Nashville to Seattle, and seemingly all points in between. Reid will be among the thousands partying down The Strip this Sunday night when she runs the GEICO Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon.

Sin City marks Reid’s 22nd Rock ‘n’ Roll 13.1-miler this year. San Antonio next month caps her year at 23.

RELATED: 14 Things to Know About Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas

As for selling her ride, well, it did provide a nice nest egg in her quest to see the nation. “I wanted to have some experiences rather than have a car,” she says. “I’ve always been an all-or-nothing girl.”

Reid began running in 2007,having finished a 5K that October, then four months later knocked off a half marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes.

“I remember looking around seeing people running the race, doing it so effortlessly,” she recalls. “I said, ‘I could do that if I put in the time.’” She ran her next marathon 15 months later. Her time: 1:49.

In 2012, Reid hopped on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series train by running 10 events. This year, she bought a Rock ‘n’ Roll Global TourPass, which enables runners to enter as many events as they wish for one fee.

“I wanted to see some new cities,” she says.“Every race you do, it makes every one you ran before that cheaper. C’mon, I’m an accountant!”

In chronological order, this has been Reid’s itinerary this year: Arizona, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Mexico City, San Francisco, Dallas, Raleigh, S.C., Nashville, Tenn., Portland, Ore., San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, Dublin, Virginia Beach, Montreal, San Jose, Calif., Brooklyn, Denver, Vancouver, Canada, Philadelphia, Savannah, Ga., Las Vegas, and finally San Antonio.

Reid is not alone in gallivanting about the world, running Rock ‘n’ Roll events. “There’s a community of runners that go town-to-town,” she says.

Reid has made friends along the way. Some of the friends have morphed into roommates. They split rental cars and taxis to cut costs.

“You skip a few meals, just eat all the (free) food after the race,” Reid jokes. She estimates the weekends have set her back about $500 to $600 per race.

As for memories, Reid is blessed with more than a few. She suffered a hamstring injury back in May, which she described as feeling, “like a knife in the back of my thigh,” and felt embarrassed that she would have to walk in Portland.

“I had met all these runners and thought they’d look down on me,” she says. Instead, it was just the opposite. “They were so supportive, saying, ‘Wow, that’s so impressive you’re going to do it anyway.’”

One man she had known for maybe six weeks promised to walk with Reid. She told him, “No, don’t sacrifice your race.”

She eased past the starting line and there waiting for her was the guy who promised to walk with her.

“If nobody kept an eye on you, I know you’d try to run. I’m making sure you’re sticking to the doctor’s orders,” he told her.

“I never felt so supported,” Reid says.

Montreal was beautiful. Reid was stunned by the radiant fall colors in Philadelphia. She ran across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. “Everywhere you looked it was like a postcard,” she says.

As for New Orleans? “I walked Bourbon Street, saw some graveyards, had some soul food and listened to live jazz.”

She doubts she’ll do a 23-race repeat next year. “It’s kind of taken over most of my free time,” she says. Plus, she misses her car.

RELATED: Then and Now: Runner Loses 100 Pounds Before Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas

The post Woman Sells Car and Uses Money to Run 23 Rock ‘n’ Roll Races appeared first on Competitor.com.

Excitement Mounts As Olympic Trials Marathon Fast Approaches

Over 300 men and women will compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in February. Photo: PhotoRun.net

The 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon is exactly three months away and as many of the 300-plus qualifiers begin their specific buildups for the Feb. 13 event in Los Angeles, it’s hard not to start speculating how things might shake out at the front of the field.

All six members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic marathon team—Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman for men; Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Linden and Kara Goucher for women—are slated to be on the starting line in L.A., and there’s good reason to believe many of these individuals will be in contention to punch their tickets to the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics just 92 days from now. In addition, a record $600,000 in prize money is up for grabs among the top male and female finishers.

Keflezighi returns as the defending champion on the men’s side, and despite the fact that he’ll be 40 years old on race day, there’s no reason not to label him the favorite. His 2:08:37 winning time at Boston in 2014 is the fastest time—and only Major marathon win by an American—in the 2016 qualifying period, and the 2004 Olympic silver medalist has shown very little signs of slowing since joining the Masters ranks in May. He’s coming off a seventh-place finish at the New York City Marathon just two weeks ago and also finished eighth (second American behind Dathan Ritzenhein) at the Boston Marathon in April. As long as Keflezighi is on the starting line in L.A., he can’t be counted out.

Ryan Hall, runner-up to Keflezighi at the Trials in 2012 and still one of the most recognizable marathoners in the U.S., says he will be on the starting line in Los Angeles despite not having finished a marathon since Boston in 2014, where he finished a disappointing 20th in 2:17:50. The two-time Olympian, who has struggled with numerous injuries since dropping out of the Olympic Marathon in London with hamstring pain, DNF’d last year’s L.A. Marathon after leading a majority of the early miles. Given all that, it seems easy to write off the seemingly care-free Californian, but Hall has a history of pulling a rabbit out of his hat (e.g. 2011 Boston Marathon, fourth in 2:04:58 and 2012 Olympic Trials, second in 2:09:30) when previous results suggest there’s nothing in there.

“It hasn’t been an ideal lead-up to this Trials, but the great thing about running is that when you are on the starting line, nothing else matters but what you have on the day,” Hall recently admitted to Competitor.com. “I know who I am and my talent hasn’t changed over the past four years, so I will go out there and be the best version of me that I can be on the day—just as I always strive to do. Obviously, the fitness will have to be there, which I will be working on over the coming months.”

RELATED: Sizing Up 2016—Who Will Make The Olympic Marathon Team?

Like Hall, Abdi Abdirahman hasn’t put up a performance since his third-place finish at the 2012 Trials in Houston that would label him a top contender on Feb. 13, but making a fifth Olympic team is at the top of the soon-to-be 39-year-old’s to-do list. While he’s nine years removed from his 2:08:56 personal best, he did put forth a sub-2:10 effort to make the 2012 team, and the Arizonian also has a history of bringing his “A” game when the chips are down.

“I feel I have a lot left in the tank,” Abdirahman told me over a year ago. “Not many people have made five Olympic teams and that motivates me.”

And while he didn’t make the Olympic marathon team in 2012, it’s worth bringing Ritzenhein into the conversation from the get-go. The 32-year-old three-time Olympian, who finished fourth at the 2012 marathon trials but later made the Olympic team in the 10,000m, is hoping to carry the momentum of a solid 2015 racing campaign into the Olympic year. Ritzenhein’s 2:07:47 clocking at the 2012 Chicago Marathon falls outside the official qualifying window, but he did run 2:09:45 there a year later, making him the only other sub-2:10 qualifier in the field along with Keflezighi. Ritz was the top American at April’s Boston Marathon, where he finished seventh—one spot and over a minute up on Keflezighi. Making his fourth Olympic team and landing a spot on the starting line of the 2016 Olympic Marathon in Rio is high on his priority list.

“I love racing all distances, but there’s something about the Olympic Marathon,” Ritzenhein told the media in a conference call a little over a week ago. “The excitement just captivates you and I want to be a part of that real bad.”

Reigning U.S. marathon champion Jared Ward, who also won national titles at the 20K and 25K distances in the past year, doesn’t have one of the fastest personal bests in the field (2:12:56), but he’ll carry the confidence of his recent racing successes with him all the way to the starting line.

“Winning the national title gave me a lot of confidence,” Ward admitted. “I loved L.A. and all the people out there. I’m really looking forward to competing at the trials. I see it being hard for someone to be a surprise because the list of guys who have a shot is so long.”

The 27-year-old from Provo, Utah thinks the current depth of U.S. marathoning makes for a wide open race, and he’s right. Including himself, there are 14 men—not including Hall and Abdirahman—who have run under 2:13 during the Olympic Trials qualifying period, and another seven under 2:14. Luke Puskedra carries the momentum of his recent fifth-place, 2:10:24 Chicago finish with him to the starting line, and two other sub-2:11 runners—Ryan Vail and Jeffrey Eggleston—will be looking to elevate their careers to the next level.

Also worth considering are Diego Estrada, who won this year’s U.S. half-marathon championship in 60:51 and will be making his marathon debut at the Trials, and 2:14 marathoner Tim Ritchie, who just blew away the field at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon with a massive 1:01:22 personal best. While a fast half marathon doesn’t always translate to instant success over 26.2 miles, if someone like Estrada is still in the mix with a few miles to go, watch out. There’s also new U.S. citizen Elkanah Kibet, a former Auburn All-American from Kenya, who ran 2:11:31 in Chicago in October; Matt Llano (2:12:28), the U.S. runner-up behind Ward; and Craig Leon (2:13:53), who turned in a strong race with an eighth-place finish in New York City earlier this month. The sheer volume of potential contenders is so staggering that there are just too many to name.

On the women’s side, there’s Shalane Flanagan and Desiree Linden—who went 1-2 at the 2012 Trials in Houston—and then there’s everybody else. Times aren’t everything in marathoning, but they can’t be ignored, especially when the results back them up in a big way. Flanagan and Linden are the clear-cut favorites to make another Olympic team in the marathon, and with good reason.

Since winning the 2012 Trials in event-record time (2:25:38) and finishing 10th at the Olympic Marathon in London, Flanagan has not let her foot off the gas. The 34-year-old has added more national titles in cross country, road and track to her already extensive racing resume, and has posted the two fastest marathon times by an American female during the Olympic Trials qualifying period (2:22:02 and 2:21:14 at Boston and Berlin, respectively, in 2014).

“I think we [my coach and I] will work back from the trials knowing that’s an important race to be ready for and what fits in making sure I’m ready for that day,” Flanagan told Competitor.com last fall. “I still have a lot of aggressive goals.”

Flanagan was fourth at Boston in 2013, seventh in 2014 and ninth this past year (although she could move up a spot in 2013 and 2014 pending whether or not drug cheat Rita Jeptoo is stripped of her titles), and also took third at Berlin in 2014 when she ran the second-fastest American time in history. No other American woman has been as successful at World Marathon Majors races with the exception of Linden, who became the only American ever to beat Flanagan in a marathon this past April in Boston.

The diminutive Linden, who finished fourth at this year’s Boston Marathon in 2:25:39—two minutes and five places ahead of Flanagan—was runner-up to her rival at the 2012 Trials in Houston but was forced to drop out of the London Games due to a femoral stress fracture. The 32-year-old, a longtime member of the Hansons-Brooks training group in Rochester, Mich., says she hit the reset button after the disappointment of her last Olympic experience and is looking forward to competing for another chance to represent the red, white and blue on the world’s biggest stage in Rio next summer. “This is like starting over,” Linden said of her mindset heading into the 2016 Trials training cycle. “It was awesome to call myself an Olympian but I don’t feel like I lived up to that label.”

Linden finished 10th at the 2014 Boston Marathon in 2:23:54—the second-fastest marathon run by a U.S. woman during the Trials qualifying period. That mark is over three minutes faster than that of third-fastest qualifier, Amy Cragg, the fourth-place finisher at the 2012 Trials who was Linden’s college teammate at Arizona State. More on her in a bit.

Kara Goucher, the third member of the 2012 Olympic marathon team, has traveled a rocky road since finishing 11th—right behind her former training partner Flanagan—at the 2012 Games in London. She placed sixth at the 2013 Boston Marathon in 2:28:11, but then left her Portland-based Nike training group and returned to Boulder, Colo., where she currently trains under her collegiate coaches, Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs. Injuries have prevented Goucher from showing her once-dominant form over the past two years—she finished a disappointing 14th at the New York City Marathon in 2:37:03—but she’s had some bright spots too, most recently at last weekend’s Big Sur Half Marathon, where she won in 1:11:13.

“This is the starting place for me leading up to the (Olympic) Trials,” Goucher said after her victory. “It’s a good place to start; it’s the fastest I’ve started in years.”

Leading a tight group of women who have run between 2:27 and 2:30 is the 31-year-old Cragg, who equaled her personal best of 2:27:03 to finish fifth at Chicago in 2014. She’s had a good run on the roads the past two years, winning national titles at 10K in 2014 and 15K earlier this year, and posting runner-up finishes at last year’s 20K championships and this year’s 5K championships. But she’s struggled as well, dropping out of Boston in April and finishing 14th at the U.S. 20K championships this past fall. Fueled by the disappointment of 2012, Hastings is keen on punching her ticket to Rio in L.A. this February.

The biggest wildcard in the women’s field is 42-year-old Deena Kastor, who heads to L.A. with the fourth-fastest qualifying time, set just over a month ago in Chicago. The American record-holder, Kastor is almost 10 years removed from her personal best of 2:19:36 and 12 years since her bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. But she’s shown in the last year that she can still mix it up with women nearly half her age. Prior to Chicago, Kastor tied the world and U.S. Masters 5K road record, running 15:48 at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose, and last September she ran 1:09:39 at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, breaking the masters world record and making her one of only a handful of U.S. women who have slipped under 1:10. The biggest question is whether or not Kastor will compete in L.A.—she’s said she is focused on helping her younger Mammoth Track Club teammates prepare for the event with husband and coach Andrew Kastor.

“I want to be available for them in any way I can and that’s going to compromise my own training,” she said recently. “But to me it’s well worth it. If I feel ready come December or January, I’ll definitely be on the starting line at the Trials. But it’s Andrew and my role completely to help fulfill their dreams at the Olympic Trials, and that’s my priority.”

In addition to Flanagan, Linden, Cragg and Kastor, only five other women have run under 2:30 during the trials qualifying period, and one of those athletes, Laura Thweatt—who just ran 2:28:23 at her debut in New York—has said she will keep her focus on the track and not run the marathon trials. The unheralded Annie Bersagel, who lives in Oslo, Norway, where she works as an attorney, could very well run her way onto the Olympic team in February. She ran per PR of 2:28:29 at the Dusseldorf Marathon in April, winning for the second straight year and also captured the U.S. marathon title in 2013 at the Twin Cities Marathon. Blake Russell, who made the Olympic marathon team in 2008, seemingly came from out of nowhere this past spring to capture the national title at the L.A. Marathon, crossing the finish line in 2:34:57, while Serena Burla has ran 2:28:01 and was 10th overall at the world championships in Beijing this past summer.

Kellyn Taylor, who trains with Hoka Northern Arizona Elite in Flagstaff, Ariz., debuted in 2:28:40 earlier this year and has run under 1:11 in the half marathon, while other relative marathon newbies such as Sara Hall (2:31:14 at Chicago in October) or Neely Spence Gracey (debut, but recently ran 1:09:59 at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon) also figure to be in the mix. Hall rebounded nicely at Chicago this fall after a forgettable debut in L.A. last spring, while Gracey is a solid cross-country runner who has only gotten better as race distances have gotten longer. The 25-year-old Gracey also comes from a strong marathon pedigree, as her dad, Steve Spence, won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1991 world championships and finished 12th at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992. At minimum, it’s seems like it’s going to take a mid-2:20s effort to make the Olympic marathon team and there are bucketloads of women knocking loudly on that door.

It’s clear that the state of American marathoning is strong as excitement builds toward next February. The question becomes: Will we see a bunch of old favorites once again wrapping themselves in red, white and blue or will these trials mark a changing of the guard and the launch of new stars? We’ll find out in three months.

The post Excitement Mounts As Olympic Trials Marathon Fast Approaches appeared first on Competitor.com.

Alexi Pappas Finding Her Spot Among America’s Top Road Racers

Photo: PhotoRun.net

(c) 2015 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — After Alexi Pappas handily won the NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K in New York City last month with a powerful late-race move, she had something of a revelation: she wasn’t afraid to try to win anymore.

“It’s worth it to take a risk and I think this is just another page in my book as I believe in myself,”  Pappas told Race Results Weekly immediately after that race.  She continued: “But I’m also believing in my speed, and that’s what it takes to win a race: strength and speed, belief, and a smile at the hardest part.”

The Nike-sponsored Pappas, 25, will carry that self-belief to the starting line of Sunday’s .US National Road Racing Championships here, the final event of the 2015 USA Road Circuit which features a $100,000 prize money purse ($20,000 for the winners). Pappas finished a distant eighth last year over the mostly flat 12-kilometer course in Old Town, but after a solid year of development during which she set personal bests from the mile to 10 miles, she’s hoping to do much better.

“I’m excited to be in Alexandria,” Pappas told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview last night from Flagstaff, Ariz., where she was visiting a former college teammate, Anne Kesselring.  “It will be the last race of what I feel has been a really great fall for me. I want to come out and really enjoy it.”  She added: “I don’t travel across the country and not show up.”

Pappas’s fall season actually began in August when she indeed “showed up” at both the TD Beach to Beacon 10K and New Balance Falmouth Road Race, New England’s two top-class summer road races. Pappas finished fifth overall (fist American) at the Beach to Beacon in a season’s best 32:57, then came back two weeks later to take seventh (fourth American) at Falmouth. Both of those races were contested on undulating, seaside courses, and Pappas really felt that her road racing chops had reached a new level of refinement.

“It was a really inspiring race, but it was a big challenge for me,” Pappas said of the Beach to Beacon where she got valuable racing tips from Olympic medalist Deena Kastor.  “It was a welcome to, like, the adult running world.  My goal was to be the top American. I knew it was something that I could do. It meant that I would have to beat women in the race I’d never beaten before.”

Back in Eugene, Ore., where she trains under coach Ian Dobson, Pappas consolidated her fitness gains from the summer and looked ahead to road racing in the fall, including an altitude training stint in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., with Kastor.  On Oct. 4, she lined up at the USA 10 Mile Championships, hosted by the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis, and stuck her nose into what was the longest race of her life.  She let eventual winner Molly Huddle go from the gun, but battled accomplished road racers Neely Spence Gracey, Laura Thweatt and Alisha Williams mile after mile.  She used new-found patience she had gained from training with Kastor.

“The 10 miles was the longest race of my life,” Pappas explained.  “I had the chance to train with Deena Kastor before it in Mammoth. I had this distance inspiration, training with these marathoners.” She continued: “Road racing was like this sweet ride where you hang on as long as you can. I wanted to let my body and mind surprise myself. At mile four-and-a-half, I stopped worrying about mile nine; mile nine will take care of itself.”

Spence would beat her for second by seven seconds, but Pappas finished third in an excellent 53:10, four seconds ahead of national cross country champion Thweatt.  The race was deeply satisfying for Pappas, who used to think that a 5K was long.

“I felt strong,” Pappas said.  “I’m bigger than I used to be in terms of strength.  Ian Dobson, my coach, has worked on me to become a more complete athlete.”

In the weeks that followed, Pappas got two different views of her future self as a marathoner, an event she said she is both “doomed and destined to run.”  In Chicago, a week after her race in Minneapolis, she fulfilled a contract she had made with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to be a pacemaker (before race director Carey Pinkowsky scuttled pacemaking at the end of August), and ran a “respectful distance” behind Deena Kastor so that she could learn more about running the marathon distance from the American record holder.  She went halfway with Kastor (1:14:03), taking as many mental notes as possible.

“In Chicago, it was very cool to be so close, tucked in behind Deena and the pack,” Pappas recounted.  “This is someone that I know as intimately as getting coffee with her, or sharing a meal with her.  To see her perform in Chicago and get that American (masters) record felt very celebratory. She was a joy to run with.”

Three weeks later in New York City after winning The Dash 5K on Halloween, she mounted a lead vehicle at the head of the all-women’s professional race at the TCS New York City Marathon, part of the New York Road Runners’ lead vehicle program for prospective marathoners.  She got to see what the independent Association of Road Racing Statisticians said was the most competitive women’s marathon in the world this fall up close.

“In New York sitting on the lead car, it was really wonderful to see women I’ve admired from afar, plus women I know (like Sally Kipyego and Laura Thweatt),” Pappas said.  “I felt like this strong connection with Laura (who was making her marathon debut). I was really in awe of Laura taking on this distance.”

She was astonished by eventual winner Mary Keitany’s might in the final miles of the race.  Keitany ran the 21st, 22nd and 23rd miles in 5:14, 5:13 and 5:15 respectively, putting the race out of reach. Pappas had never seen such powerful running up close.

“The race was eye-opening to see,” she marveled.  “When she made the move… you could blink and miss what was going on.”

Pappas credits some of her success with Coach Dobson with his willingness to allow her to embrace her other passions, most notably film-making.  Her original movie, “Tracktown,” is in post-production.  She co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced the film—in which she also plays the lead character—with boyfriend Jeremy Teicher. They have submitted the film to several film festivals and hope that it will make its world premiere, soon.  She said she runs better when she’s also fully engaging her artistic side, and Dobson gets that.

“I feel like there is a great teammate-ship between me and Ian,” Pappas explained.  “He’s really open minded to sharing and learning.”

She continued: “He understands that I have a unique running background and a unique life now. When I’m happy as a whole person I’m running better. Not every coach would allow their athlete to have such a well-rounded life.”

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Emelie Forsberg: A World-Class Athlete With a Balanced Approach About Food, Weight and Body Image

Emelie Forsberg cruises to the finish line of The Rut 50K in Big Sky, Mont., in Sept., setting a new course record of 6:25:44. Photo: iancorless.com

Emelie Forsberg can be as intense and competitive as any athlete in the world. A native of Sweden who lives in Chamonix, France, she’s won dozens of trail running and ski mountaineering races all over the world, including several in the U.S.

She trains a lot, races often and travels quite a bit. She is also someone who likes to eat good food and happily allows herself to indulge from time to time. The 28-year-old grows her own food, has worked in a bakery and admits that she loves dessert. She often posts recipes to her blog. But she also eats healthy food most of the time.

Still, because of her strong, muscular frame and powerful legs, she says she’s been told she seems too fat to be a runner or that she “doesn’t look like a runner”—which is odd, given that she’s one of the very best mountain runners in the world. She says understands the context to some extent, but is disappointed that it’s based on perception. “I’m not big, I’m fit and strong,” she writes on her blog this week in a post titled “Relationship mind, body and soul.”

But Forsberg says she’s more frustrated that some of her fellow athletes focus more on counting calories and their weight than they do on being healthy. Forsberg had read a provocative post about the topic from the Trail Sisters column on IRunFar.com called “Weight and the Accompanying Head Games” and decided to give her own insights about food, weight and her body.

She says she wants to have a strong, healthy body that will serve her well in the long run—both in her sports and in life—and that means having a healthy relationship with food.

Her take is simple: “Eat what you want. But learn a little about nutrition that will make you eat sustainably and healthy!”

In the end, she says it’s about feeding your soul. “Don’t read ‘weight-loss’ or ‘get these abs’ or ‘how you get this skinny’ articles,” she says.

“Love your hips, breasts, butt and belly,” she concludes. “The fat keeps you warm. And healthy.”

Well said, Emelie!

MORE: Read Emelie Forsberg’s full blog entry here.

MORE: Read the Trail Sisters full blog entry here.

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Pros Aiming for Fast Times at This Weekend’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Races

Last year's half-marathon winner, Ben Bruce, will be leading the pack again and is the man to beat at this year's race. Photo: Photorun.net

When the starting gun sounds at the GEICO Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, thousands of runners will head down the famous Strip. For most of these participants, the race will all be about soaking in the city—spotting Elvis impersonators, jamming to rock and roll along the way, and basking in the trademark kitsch that makes Sin City truly like no other city in the world. But for the pros leading the pack, Sunday’s race will be about something else: winning.

In the men’s marathon, Andrew Lemoncello will be wearing the coveted number 1 bib. For this 33-year-old British citizen, the 26.2-mile race through Las Vegas at night is going to be a fast pursuit of an Olympic-qualifying time. Lemoncello wore his country’s singlet at the 2008 Olympics and boasts a 2:13:40 personal best in the marathon. There to help Lemoncello with pacing duties will be his training partner, Brett Gotcher, who’s run a 2:10:36 marathon. Another runner to keep an eye on in the men’s pack is Sesar Figueroa from Richmond, Texas, a marathon debutant, but the owner of an impressive 4:04 mile.

The women’s marathon should prove to be a footrace between Katrin Gottshalk and Shannon Desrosiers. Gottshalk, a 42-year-old from New Zealand, has run a 2:57:33 marathon and was the runner-up at her country’s marathon championships. Eight years younger than her rival Gottshalk, Desrosiers, an American, has clocked 2:58:27. And not to be forgotten, 53-year-old Rosalva Bonilla, a two-time Masters champion, has run a faster marathon than either Gottshalk or Desrosiers in her career.

The competition in both the men’s and women’s half marathon races should be stiffer than in the marathon, and many in the field are hungry to earn an Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier (1:05:00 for men and 1:15:00 for women).

RELATED: Craig Lutz Gambles for Greatness at Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

The returning champion of last year’s marathon, Ben Bruce, is the man to beat in this year’s half. The 33-year-old from Flagstaff, Ariz., has run a faster time (1:02:53) than anyone else in the field. Bruce’s closest rivals are Carlos Trujillo and Nicholas Hill. Trujillo has covered 13.1 miles in 1:03:19. Hill, whose PR is 4 seconds slower than Trujillo’s time, has already earned his Olympic Trials qualifying time. Not to be overlooked in the men’s half-marathon pack, Andrew Wacker of Boulder, Colo., was the runner-up at the World Mountain Running Championships and has proven leg strength that could translate into fast times on the mostly flat Las Vegas course.

The women’s half-marathon field is 25 runners deep. The woman to defeat will be Canada’s Lanni Merchant. The 31-year-old owns her country’s national record in both the marathon and half marathon with a 1:10:47 half marathon time. Three-time Olympic qualifier Alvina Begay (1:12:25), and Adriana Nelson, who owns the fastest PR in the field (1:09:59) are expected to be Merchant’s toughest competitors.

Two debutants in the half will also be lacing up their flats: Nicole Blood, a nine-time All-American at the University of Oregon, and Leah Rosenfeld who works as an assistant coach at Northern Arizona University.

Along with the half and the full marathon, Las Vegas will be playing host to two other races this weekend: the Brooks 5K presented by SLS Las Vegas on Saturday evening, as well as an inaugural 10K that kicks off 30 minutes before the longer-distance races on Sunday. And the Rock ‘n’ Roll partying doesn’t stop there as five-time-Grammy-nominated musician Kid Rock takes the stage to give runners a pre-race morale boost as part of the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Concert Series powered by iHeartRadio.

PHOTOS: 2014 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon

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Strength Training for Runners: Renegade Rows

Photo: James Carney

This exercise engages your entire core.

 

“The renegade row is an amazing functional exercise that requires stabilization of the core,” says Dr. Heather North of Red Hammer Rehab in Louisville, Colo. “It recruits multiple muscle groups the way an athlete would in the real world, and not just isolating one muscle at a time.”

How to do it:

Place a set of dumbbells on the ground in front of you and get into a plank position, gripping the weights.
Establish a stable plank position while drawing your belly button in and pulling your shoulder blades down and back.
Slightly move your body weight to one side and again find a stable position.
Starting with the right side, pull the weight toward your chest. Keep your core tight and back straight. “Move very slowly with this exercise to promote optimal stabilization at all times,” North Also make sure that you draw your shoulder blades down and back to prevent rotator cuff strain.
Slowly lower weight back to the ground and then repeat the exercise on the left side. North cautions not to let your lower back sag. “Even a slight pike is better than a sag in this position,” she says. “Aim for an unmovable body. The only things that should be moving are your arms.”

Perform two sets of eight repetitions on each side at first. Progress to three sets of 15 reps as you gain strength and coordination.

RELATED: How-To: Active Isolated Stretching

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Trail of the Week: Rattlesnake Canyon Arches Trail, Colorado

Our Trail of the Week feature is made possible through a partnership with Trail Run Project.

This route links up some of the best canyon country wilderness in the Grand Valley. The second greatest concentration of arches outside of Arches National Park in Utah, Rattlesnake Arches has singletrack that weaves along the cliff edge for miles and an abundance of solitude. You might see some horses on the lower trail sections, but the trail is generally wide enough for you to allow them to pass safely.

Starting from the Pollock Bench Trailhead, follow signage for the trail Pollock Bench Trail – P1 as it climbs up out of the parking lot. At around 1.6 miles there will be a junction, head left to enjoy the P1 – Pollock Bench Trail while cruising downhill. At the top of the next climb you’ll reach a junction with the Flume Canyon Trail network. Stay right to reach the spectacular section along the edge of the canyon’s rim. After a couple of miles on the edge you’ll reach a junction heading uphill to the right for horses, stay to the left along the canyon edge until you reach the next junction which should have signs directing you to go left onto the Rattlesnake Canyon Arches Trail – R1.

Once on the main trail, it is well marked with signposts, cairns and a well-worn track as it weaves in and out of washes, and over sandstone slick rock. After a long and loose climb up to the beginning of the long traverse, around mile 6 you’ll come to a junction with the Upper Rattlesnake Arches Trail. Go right, cruising over flat ground as you reach the final sandstone cliff formation. When you round the final corner, start looking up and left to see the arches. You’ll pass by a number of smaller arches, finally arriving at Rattlesnake Arch (the main event). Continue another quarter of a mile to the final arch (Cedar Arch). Here there will be a sign indicating you have reached the end of the trail. You can either turn around here, or scramble through the arch via some steep chopped steps (Class 3/4) and join the Upper Rattlesnake Arches Trail.

If you choose to scramble, go through the arch and head right to get on a doubletrack trail. At the first junction you reach, head left and down off the top of the mesa back to the trail you came up earlier. Retrace your steps all the way back to the junction with the P1 – Pollock Bench Trail.

RELATED: Trail Running at Lake Tahoe

The Data

Miles: 16.4

Runnable: 88 percent

Average Grade: 7 percent

Max Grade: 59 percent

Total Ascent: 2,926 feet

Total Descent: -2,923 feet

Highest Elevation: 5,717  feet

For a closer look, check out the interactive map, data, photos and virtual run simulator courtesy of Trail Run Project:

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