Spiked Up, Pysched Up - A Track and Field blog

Kenenisa Bekele in the Ethiopian singlet (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

This past week saw a strange and somewhat comical scenario play out in one of the world’s preeminent track powers.

Ethiopia, somewhat reeling from a disappointing team performance at the World Championships in Daegu, suspended indefinitely 35 of its finest athletes for not showing at a scheduled training camp.

The suspension included gold medalists and word record holders Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele both whom have undergone scrutiny both at home and aborad recently due to injuries.

The initial shock of this announcement created a firestorm akin to the possibility of an entire season lockout of the NBA. Also similar to the NBA was a fiery call by its perennial champion Bekele to ask to compete for a new country, in a manner reminiscent to Kobe Bryant’s offer to play overseas during the presumed lockout. His agent Jos Hermans reported that Bekele was so frustrated and insulted by the sporting council’s ruling that he sought to change his nationality to compete for another country.

Possibly seeing the handwriting on the wall that they may have done more harm than good, the sporting council rescinded the ban after pledges from the suspended athletes to report to future camps. Unknown whether it was the prospect of alienating its best athletes, the chance that national hero Bekele may take a walk to an Arab fiefdom for a new home to compete for, or satisfaction with the apologies and promises of compliance with their rulings, the Ethiopian Track Federation changed its mind in under a week.

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Andrew Bumbalough & Matt Tegenkamp (PhotoRun.net)

The heart of the indoor track season begins this weekend with a multitude of major meets across the country – the U.S. Open Track & Field at Madison Square Garden, Penn State National Meet, Boston University Terrier Invitational and Texas A&M Mondo Challenge.

For those on the West Coast, the center of indoor action again lies at the Dempsey Indoor Stadium with the University of Washington Invitational.

Jerry Schumacher, coach of the Oregon Track Club-Portland, one of America’s top training groups, has several athletes using the meet as rustbusters for the indoor season.

Lisa Uhl headlines the women’s 5000 meters on Friday night. The 2010 NCAA 5,000 and 10,000 meter champion opened up her season two weeks ago at the UW Indoor Preview, winning the 3000 meters in 9:10.36. Uhl’s primary challenger will be Renee Metivier Baillie, who is best known for her 2010 U.S. Indoor 3000 meter title.

The Schumacher duo of Matt Tegenkamp and Andrew Bumbalough will take the track in the men’s mile. Also entered are 2008 Olympian Ian Dobson and veteran miler Jon Rankin, now representing the Cayman Islands.

Lopez Lomong will get in some speed work in the 800 meters rather than his 1500/mile specialty. Mark Wieczorek, the fifth place finisher at USA’s in 2011, will also contest the race. Wieczorek ran a 1:49.87 for 800 meters and 4:05.58 for the mile at the UW Preview meet two weeks ago.

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Elliott Heath (Image of Sport)

It was previously announced that a fast 5000 meter race would be set up at the Millrose Games for Bernard Lagat to attempt an American record run at the distance. The current record of 13:11.44 is held by Galen Rupp.

The latest entries also indicate five top collegiates will be in the field targeting Rupp’s NCAA record of 13:18.12. The field includes NCAA indoor 5000 champ Leonard Korir of Iona, cross country national champion Lawi Lalang, Lalang’s Arizona teammate Stephen Sambu and a pair of Stanford runners – Elliott Heath and Chris Derrick.

Heath, the 2011 NCAA indoor champion at 3000 meters, is returning in this indoor campaign for his final season of eligibility in a Stanford uniform. He has an indoor personal best of 13:37.77 from last year’s Washington Husky Classic, a race in which Heath blew away the field in the final half-lap, running the final 200 meters in a little over 25 seconds.

Derrick is one of the most accomplished cross country runners in collegiate history having finished in the top seven in each of his four appearances at the national championships. The Illinois native has a 13:36.87 indoor 5k best achieved at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Also appearing in the race is prep superstar Edward Cheserek. The junior from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J. is targeting Lukas Verzbicas’s high school record of 14:06.78.

The 105th Millrose Games will be held on Saturday, February 11. The meet will be hosted for the first time at the Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center in New York City.

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Ritz will be back on the track

I’ve got a confession to make.

Prior to Saturday’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, I was secretly rooting for Dathan Ritzenhein not to finish in the top three and not qualify for his third Olympic team.

Why? Not for any sort of malicious reason but because I felt he would be better off in the 10,000 meters rather than in the marathon.

Ironically, the race in Houston showed exactly why the 10k distance fits Ritzenhein the best and why the marathon may not be his strongest event.

Ritzenhein has struggled to master the marathon despite five previous attempts at the distance. Earlier on, it had to do with leg cramps and other fueling challenges that hampered him at his debut in New York City in 2006 and at the Beijing Olympics.

Despite difficulties with the marathon, Ritzenhein has continually stuck with the event, perhaps due to outside pressure to succeed in the event.

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Amy Hastings down but not out (PhotoRun.net)

The race in Houston this past weekend that determined the U.S. Olympic marathon team was quite an experience.

It led to four separate American males dipping below the 2:10 barrier and a close and top notch field of women which had the top three finishers within a 30 second gap between them.

It saw the reemergence of a pair of past-their-prime athletes Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman taking home spots to their third and fourth Olympic Games, respectively, and the darling of the sport Ryan Hall proving he belongs with the top as he pushed the pace early.

As for the women an entirely new set of marathoners are being sent to London but with the caveat that they are the finest team ever assembled. Shalane Flanagan won over the tight competition of Desi Davila and Kara Goucher who though lacking the Olympic hardware of Flanagan, are more polished at the marathon distance.

Aside from the obvious success and notoriety of these individuals, the race also provided important insights into America’s future at the marathon and the chance for those who did not qualify to excel at other events.

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Davila, Flanagan, Goucher (Dan Cruz/Competitor Group)

Shalane Flanagan pulled away from Desiree Davila with just two miles remaining in the race to claim victory at Saturday’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.

A group of four women – Flanagan, Davila, Kara Goucher and Amy Hastings – remained in the lead pack midway through the 26.2 mile race. Hastings dropped from the group by mile 19 and Goucher soon thereafter, leaving pre-race favorites Flanagan and Davila to duke it out.

In the end, Flanagan, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, finished in a Trials record time of 2:25:38 to qualify for her third Olympic team. In just her second marathon, Flanagan smashed her previous personal best by over three minutes.

Davila of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project matched her runner-up finish from the 2011 Boston Marathon with a finishing time of 2:25:55, the second fastest marathon of her career.

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Keflezighi and Hall after breakaway (Flotrack)

Meb Keflezighi set aside all doubts about his age and race preparations to pull away from the field over the three miles and win the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.

The 36-year-old San Diego native set a personal best of 2:09:08 to become the oldest male Trials winner and qualified for his third U.S. Olympic team.

Keflezighi ran the New York City Marathon just 69 days ago when he set his previous best time of 2:09:13. After the race, Keflezighi suffered from a foot infection that forced him to miss precious days of training prior to the Trials.

Defending champion and pre-race favorite Ryan Hall finished second in 2:09:30 after being dropped by Keflezighi with approximately two miles remaining in the race. Hall qualified for his second Olympic team in the marathon.

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As the saying goes – when in Texas…

The 2012 U.S. Olympic marathon qualifiers celebrate by donning some Texas cowboy hats.

From left to right: Desiree Davila, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman, Shalane Flanagan, Meb Keflezighi, Kara Goucher.

H/T to Jeremy Hayes of Flotrack for the picture.

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Full results from Satuday’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon

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Pos Name Age Affiliation Time Back
1 Meb Keflezighi 36 New York Athletic Club (NYAC) 2:09:08
2 Ryan Hall 29 unattached 2:09:30 +0:22
3 Abdi Abdirahman 33 unattached 2:09:47 +0:39
4 Dathan Ritzenhein 29 unattached 2:09:55 +0:47
5 Brett Gotcher 27 McMillan Elite 2:11:06 +1:58
6 Andrew Carlson 29 Team USA Minnesota 2:11:24 +2:16
7 Fernando Cabada 29 unattached 2:11:53 +2:45
8 Nick Arciniaga 28 McMillan Elite 2:11:56 +2:48
9 James Carney 33 unattached 2:12:23 +3:15
10 Jimmy Grabow 27 adidas Legacy Run Racing 2:12:29 +3:21
11 Ryan Vail 25 unattached 2:12:43 +3:35
12 Ricky Flynn 24 unattached 2:13:41 +4:33
13 Patrick Rizzo 28 unattached 2:13:42 +4:34
14 Josh Cox 36 unattached 2:13:50 +4:42
15 Ian Burrell 25 Boulder Running Company/adidas 2:14:04 +4:56
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A rejuvenated Kara Goucher (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

The long-awaited Olympic Trials Marathon picks courtesy of lead writer Kevin Liao. Rather than choosing darkhorses like contributing writer Sam Juliano did, Liao went with relatively safe picks.

Tune in to watch the race live – oh wait, the race won’t be webcasted at all. Two hours of constantly refreshing Twitter will have to do.

MEN

Ryan Hall is the conventional pick for the win and there’s no real reason to stray away from him. Hall has been far and away the most consistent American marathoner since he made his debut in London in 2007.

I’m going with Dathan Ritzenhein in second. Ritz is still among the most talented and toughest runners in the field – two attributes that have carried him to success his entire career. Despite all the uncertainty of injury troubles, all indications point to Ritz having had a solid marathon buildup. His two 5k races in New York City and San Jose were not the greatest showings but it’s hard to judge marathon fitness from 3.1 mile races.

Third place was a tough call. It’s hard to count Meb Keflezighi out but the foot infection he sustained after New York left him too little time to get fit enough in my estimation. At first, I was going with a dark horse pick for third – either Tim Nelson or his teammate Brent Vaughn.

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