What a race. A truly superb performance by Mara. This really does bode well for a great World Championships for her. I felt very sorry for her that the media largely ignored the fact that she came 6th in the Olympic marathon and concentrated on the fact that Paula didn’t run well.

Mara Yamauchi finishing 2nd in London

In the men’s race I felt that Wanjiru had a great shot at the world record scuppered by some very immature running from the pacemakers. How they felt that going through the first 10 – 13 miles at that speed was correct is totally beyond me. They should have their money witheld. That Sammy managed to hang on and break the course record is totally astonishing. If anyone can break Gebreselassie’s world record it is him.

Paul Shimon - King Of The Road

As I run, I think about how many times over the years I must have unfolded myself out of bed, laced up my shoes and headed out for a run just like this one. My mind drifts back to the years I ran the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I think about Chuck, my old running partner in Annapolis, Maryland, and the hundreds of miles and weekly road races we ran together, and to the first time we ran in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run. Before that, there was Winchester, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley of the Blue Ridge where I ran in my first organized competitive run, The Apple Blossom Festival 10K. Seems I just can’t get away from the hills.

And then, with a flash, I am back to when it all began. I am not sure how or why it happened, but I do know that Paul was the impetus for it. One day, early in the summer, a group of us decided we would get up the next day and go running. I do remember I agreed only because I thought it would make the laps and sprints of football practice easier in the fall, and perhaps being preconditioned I would impress the coaches.

The first day we all showed up in our tee shirts, shorts, and tennis shoes. This was 1963, there were no shoes for running on the roads, at least not that we owned. The running boom would not officially start until 1972, when Frank Shorter would win the Olympic Marathon and send people all over the country out to run and race on the roads. We were pioneers of sorts, and we weren’t even aware of it at the time.

I can’t tell you how far the first run was. I can only tell you that no one enjoyed it nearly as much as we thought we were going to. Except, of course for Paul who continued to run after the rest of stopped and who flew past us, still running, as we walked back to our homes.

From that point forwarded, each morning with the dawn, Paul would be at my front door waiting for me. If I didn’t show at the appointed time, he would bounce stones off the screen of my upstairs bedroom window until I woke and joined him for the morning run. Paul was relentless. Even if no one else showed up to run, at least he would see that someone did, and apparently he intended it would be me.

In the early going, we ran from our neighborhood on every road out in all directions like the spokes of a wheel. As the summer passed, we settled on what was the best of the roads. It was the Mount Vernon Parkway, which ran from George Washington’s Estate into Alexandria. It is mostly covered by a canopy of trees and is bordered on one side by the Potomac River for its entire length. On a warm summer morning, there was no better place to be a runner.

As the summer progressed, we ran longer and longer distances. When we started out each morning Paul would run along with me or the group for a short while, and then all at once he would be gone. He was half again faster than any of the rest of us. We made no effort to keep up. But as the summer passed, competition did spring up among the also-ran’s and I pushed myself hard to at least be counted second to reach the finish.

By the end of summer we were completing runs from George’s place to Alexandria and back, a distance of some 14 miles or more. It seems it was around the end of the summer that Paul started talking about running a Marathon.

One day right after the first of the year in 1964, Paul came to me and said “there’s a marathon in February, on George Washington’s birthday, why don’t you come and run it with me”. I had no confidence in my ability to complete a 26.2 mile run, and made it clear to him I would not be participating. I had no doubt in my mind however that Paul would and in fact, he did. It was rainy and cold that day, but it spite of the conditions, Paul would finish in what I remember as being about two hours and forty-five minutes. It was an incredible achievement for a high school junior.

The following summer, I moved to Puerto Rico, and Paul and I would be out of contact for more than 25 years. For years, I would look in Runner’s World and other magazines expecting each time to see Paul listed among the top finishers in one race or another, but I never came across his name and wondered what could have happened to my friend and running mentor.

As the internet became more and more pervasive and social networking sites began to blossom like flowers in spring, Paul resurfaced. I found his email address and decided to get in touch. I was a bit reticent at first, because at the time I was not running much. Somehow I knew it would come up, Paul would be disappointed in me, and I would be chastised by the person I considered to be the “king of the road”.

Here is what I discovered. Paul became a school teacher and has dedicated most of his life to teaching children both in and out of school the value of a healthy life style and of course, as the running doctor George Sheehan said, the value of “a running life”. When I contacted him he was preparing to run is 100th marathon. In April, Paul will toe it up for his 121st effort.

As I turn back west on Pecos road at the mile 5 mark, I can feel the desert beginning to heat up around me and I think about the bottle of water waiting in my car, which today is parked at the bottom of that one mile ramp leading up into the foothills. I think I am glad to have been back in touch with Paul. I think this has been a good run. I pick up the pace a little, I am happy to be able to call myself a runner. Somehow I am sure that Paul will always be pinging the screen on my bedroom window, beckoning me to unfold myself, lace up my shoes and hit the road. And I think to myself, Paul this one is for you, “the king of the road”.

Side Bar

It is really important that we not lose the things we love. The people, things and ideas we love are what define who we are. What do you say, when someone asks you who you are? I’m a runner. I’m an artist. I am a photographer. I am a writer. I am these things, these are the things I love and this is who I am.

I have not always run, but I have always loved to run and doing it is one on the things that define me. I am a runner.

My good friend Bob convinced me my banjo had been in the case too long. For years, the banjo was part of me and was part of what defined me as person. It was one of the things I loved but I had lost it. Because of Bob I started playing again and I try to play a little every day and again, I am a banjo player.

If there is something you are and you love and have lost it, go and find it. There is no time to waste. Few of us are fortunate enough to be defined by our life’s work. But, each of us is clearly defined by our life loves. Put pencil to paper, brush to canvas, till the soil, run like the wind, take pictures, make music, be charitable, be a mentor, be the things you love. Go and do it now. If need be, go and find someone to throw rocks at the screen on the window of your life.

Oh, and while you are at, go find an old friend on the internet.

I’ve spent the last 20 minutes rocking the foam roller to try and undo what my worn out running shoes have been doing while watching a replay of the women’s olympic marathon. I’ve got a gnarly pinched feeling in my IT band up in my hip on the right side and I am not too psyched about it. It’s time for new shoes. It’s been time for new shoes. Now I really can’t wait any longer.

The 20-miler went well this past weekend. It felt natural and relaxed and was the easiest 20-miler I’ve ever done. I was running a good 1:20 slower than my race pace, which was good. The utility belt went over well. I hate having things on me when I’m running, so getting a 4-water bottle utility built (I used the Amphipod RunLight 4) was a big step up for me. It irritated me for the first mile. I didn’t like the added weight of water on my back and sides, but by 5k in I had stopped noticing completely and was very grateful to have the fluids at my disposal. Taking the belt off at the end felt like heaven though, and the only soreness I had from this 20 mile run was my abs, probably from compensating the weight of the water on my back.

I played a show in Hermosa Beach on Friday night at Live at the Lounge. It went great. I had a great time and I loved the venue. The sound man, Eddie, was awesome (and friendly). I’m going to get a video of the show soon. I’ll post it here when I do.

The owner of the club gave me some kudos after my set which made me feel good. My project this week is to get some more shows booked from now through November. I have too much open space and I want to build up my fan base so that when my EP eventually does come out, I’ve got an audience anticipating its arrival.

So far I’m still enjoying the gig at the running store. Most of the people seem cool and it’s fun to talk to runners all day long.

Hopefully the next time I talk to you I will have a new pair of Mizuno Inspires on my feet.

I’ve been a marathoner long enough to have run one in just about every kind of weather-freezing cold, big rainstorms, desert-like dryness, falling snow, and the occasional beautifully crisp, cool day-and, like just about everyone else with marathon experience, I’ve learned that the worst conditions of all are the unfortunately common combination of high heat, high humidity, and direct sun. Climate change seems to be blessing us with more such marathons every year-even the traditionally temperate Chicago and Grandma’s marathons were run in awful heat and humidity in 2007-but the Olympic Marathon, perversely, has almost always been run in this worst of all possible weathers. It’s part of the Summer Games, of course, which are held in countries where the weather will be nice for things like soccer, rowing, and beach volleyball-and sprinting, for that matter. And the gymnasts and swimmers and fencers don’t care much either way.[More]

After Bernard Lagat, the defending double-world champion at 1500 and 5000 meters, shocked everyone by failing to make the 1500-meter final here by two hundredths of a second, he was quoted as saying that he would go all-out to win the 5000 meters. This meant that he would have to take on the world record-holder, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, who had already won the 10,000 meters here and would now attempt to become only the sixth man to win both races at an Olympics. Bekele usually seems unbeatable, but he has been comparatively vulnerable in major-championship 5000-meter races, especially when he doubles back after a 10,000. In both the 2003 World Championships in Paris and the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Bekele allowed the pace to lag enough to enable runners without his endurance but with as much raw speed to keep contact until the last homestretch and outsprint him. Hicham El-Guerrouj of Morocco accomplished this in each race; Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya beat them both in Paris.[More]

If there is one thing that I will take from the competitions in Beijing it is the eternal axiom: “The only thing that is constant in the universe is CHANGE”. It is an axiom that I hope I never forget. I saw many things change at this Olympics, perhaps more at this one than at any other that I can remember. I also believe that it was the lack of this understanding that left some of us-coaches, athletes, and even spectators-stuck in the past while we looked on in disbelief at what was happening. I can see now that the best athletes, coaches, training systems-be they national or individual-are the ones that are constantly changing, constantly evolving, constantly moving forward with the inevitably new demands that are required to be on top in the sport. [More]

As marathon runners, we talk a lot about the accomplishment. Just finishing your first is an accomplishment. Completing your second, something far fewer people achieve, is an accomplishment. Finishing faster than before is an accomplishment. Qualifying for Boston is an accomplishment. Every time, we relish in the accomplishment that is the finish line.

As a group, we don’t often complain.

But the truth is, marathons are hard work — really hard work. The race is grueling. The training is tough, and tedious, and requires incredible discipline, and is often done alone. It sucks (forgive my language) — really sucks — when you’ve worked for months only to be defeated by an injury, a cold, a bad day. You may finish, but in your mind, not strong enough.

I watched both the men’s and women’s Olympic marathons. I found myself getting angry at the commentators for not relaying the emotion, and strategy, and pain, and joy that each of those runners was experiencing.

I couldn’t believe Deena Kastor dropped out at the 5K and nobody found out why. I kept thinking about the hours, and the miles, and the mental energy she had spent on that race. Only 48 hours later did I find out her foot broke! What must her body have gone through the months before the marathon to literally just snap?

And did you watch Deriba Merga in the last 200 metres just let the bronze slip through his fingers? After 26 miles, with less than half a track lap to go, and an Olympic medal at stake, he just had nothing left. He watched Tsegay Kebede, his Ethiopian teammate, just whip past him. There is an incredible story in that moment.

And why didn’t anyone in the chase pack make a move to catch female gold medalist Constantina Tomescu?  There is a story in that too.

The greatest of them all, Paula Radcliff, ran Beijing on relatively little traditional training due to a stress fracture. Her face told that story. So did her place, 23rd overall.  Consider this.  Before Beijing, Paula had run eight marathons, winning seven.

Michael Phelps is amazing, no question. But his total time racing to achieve those fantastic eight medals was about 14 minutes, spread out over one week. At 14 minutes, his marathon athletic colleagues had barely begun.

I am training for my 6th marathon right now. That’s more than Ryan Hall, more than Olympic gold medalist Sammy Wanjiru, only two shy of Paula. There is speed work, and hill work, and long — really long — endurance runs. It will all lead up to 26.2 grueling miles. At multiple points throughout, I will surely want to give up and slow down. As I approach each aid station, I will debate the pros of cons of stopping to drink. I will tell myself starting at mile 18, “just take it one mile at a time.”

I will finish, no doubt. I will celebrate the accomplishment, regardless of the time. I will proudly wear my medal all day, as I always do. But it will be hard work.

Olympic marathon men’s highlights:

Enjoy the games!

I just received two assignments from Dirt Late Model magazine publisher Mike O’Connor.  He wants me to do stories on 16 year old GN late model driver Jase Kaser of Lincoln, and also a story on long-time Adams County Speedway promoter Gail Hampel, who is definitely not 16. 

Gail has been a part of Corning racing action since 1983, not quite ten years before Jase was born.  Gail’s son Greg told me that if we didn’t get the information we need from Gail, we could just make up stories. It’s your inheritance Greg.

While Gail is retiring, Jase is just beginning his racing career.  He is currently in first place in the GN class at Mid-Nebraska Speedway in Doniphan, and won the A feature at that track last Saturday.  He also won there on June 28^th, and has 10 top five finishes and 15 top ten finishes this season.

I did watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup marathon at Bristol last Saturday, but actually paid the same amount of attention to the Olympic men’s marathon race on another TV network.  For a good part of the Olympic marathon, a pack of runners ran together, something you don’t see in NASCAR, other than at Talladega or Daytona, and there were more lead changes in the Olympic marathon too.  I guess I am somewhat hypocritical about wrecks, because I found myself hoping that Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch would somehow manage to take each other out, and take Denny Hamlin with them. 

For years I have been saying if I could only go to one NASCAR race, it would be the night race at Bristol.  Now I am not so sure.  It has become a spectacle, more than just a good race.  The comparison between the Roman Coliseum and Bristol was a good one, though I am not sure who the Christians are, and who the lions are.  And I met that metaphorically, not religiously. I guess I would rather watch a race in Bristol, than one in Loudon or Pocono or Los Angeles or Dover. Maybe the Twin 150’s at Daytona would be a good show to see, and afterwards take in the late models and big block modifieds at Volusia County Speedway.  Maybe I’ll win the lottery some day.

I still am not sure of my Boone Supernational plans. We’ll see how this week goes.  If I don’t make it there, maybe I can get to the Tiny Lund show in Harlan, IA.  Both are great shows. I would like to take in the Octoberfest race in Beatrice, NE as well.

This week Eagle Raceway moved their regular Saturday night show to Sunday, so they did not have to compete with Nebraska football.  They also moved the season finale Cornhusker Cup to Sunday, September 7^th.  Even with hard core racing fans, Husker football is just too tough to compete against.  I’m looking forward to attending both of these races.

Thanks for stopping by.

Here are the results (with photos) of the Olympic Track & Field distance running events. Enjoy!

If a free and open election were held in China, who would win, Kobe Bryant or Hu Jin-tao? Hu?  Kobe needed as many body guards as the Chinese President during his sojourn in Beijing.

It was wonderful to see the NBA superstars throw away the NBA attitude and play basketball during the Olympics.  If they would only do that during the regular season, NBA TV ratings would sky rocket.  And the fireworks wouldn’t have to be enhanced for TV viewers.

President Bush should have patted beach volleyball player Misti May-Treanor on the butt when it was offered.  Not because it is a nice butt.  It would show that Bush is just another guy when it comes to sports.

A Swedish wrestler throws his bronze medal to the floor during the award’s ceremony, and a Cuban tae kwon-do competitor kicks a referee in the face when he was disqualified.  How soon before some TV exec decides this would be a great ultimate fight competition?

I think complaining about the ages of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team smacks a little of sour grapes. Does a silver medal for the U.S. team make team members less powerful, and their performance less graceful?  Some message boards border on ridiculous.

Rumor has it that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers of the NFL.  What defensive back could cover Bolt?  Plus, how many millions of dollars of merchandise could San Diego hawk with their lightning bolt insignia and a likeness of Usain?

The Olympic marathon winner averaged five minute miles for all 26 miles of the grueling event, which is beyond my ability to comprehend.  I watched more of this event on Saturday, than I did NASCAR’s marathon event from Bristol, TN.  There was more passing in Beijing.

Dara Torres is not really old, except in swimming years, which are the equivalent of 2/7^th’s of a dog year. 

Platform diving is like sky diving without a parachute.  I would not jump out of a perfectly working airplane, and I would not jump off a three story high platform into a swimming pool.  Actually, I would not even climb to the top of a diving platform.  Competitors in platform diving deserve medals of valor.

Why will we see trampolining and mountain biking in future Olympic games, but no baseball or softball? I think it should be the Spanish basketball team that isn’t allowed in future Olympics.  If no team member spoke up to say, “hey this is an uneducated childhood taunt that is offensive to millions of people, and classless to boot,” then they don’t meet the minimum requirements of decency to compete again.

High hurdlers are masochistic. Shouldn’t there be horses in water polo? Don’t knock table tennis.  Don’t knock badminton.  In my family Olympics, I was a champion in both disciplines. I also think bumper pool should be a part of future Olympics.  Yes, I was the family champion in that sport too.

How many people watched the Puppy Games 2008 on Animal Planet, instead of the Olympic Opening Ceremony?  I did.

I like Michael Phelps.  I like the story of his youth.  I like his mother, and I like how Phelps treats her.  I hope he does go on to even more riches, and not just in endorsements.  I would love to see him swim in the 2012 London games.  I am a little jealous though.  I can swim, and I can touch my hands behind my back, but no one is asking me to endorse Wheaties. I hope Americans don’t turn against him for winning so much.  It seems like we often love people who win, but when they win and win and win, we like them less and less and less.

For those of you who are afraid of suffering Olympic withdrawal syndrome, you can put off your fate for a few more weeks by watching the games from Denver and Minneapolis, aka the Democratic and Republican Party conventions.  If a network acted quickly, they could fill in some of the boring spots of the convention with the ultimate fight match between the Swedish wrestler and Cuban tae kwon-do hot head. 

Sammy Wanjiru won Kenya’s first ever gold in the men’s marathon, breaking the Olympic record despite the soaring heat in Beijing. Wanjiru, who was among the leading pack which set the fast early pace, pulled away in the final kilometres to win in 2 hours six minutes and 32 seconds.

Morocco’s Jaouad Gharib won silver, trailing by 84 seconds, while Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede took bronze. Wanjiru, 21, and compatriot Martin Lel set a punishing pace in the first five km which reduced the leading pack to eight, with Spain’s Cheme Martinez the only non-African.

The leading pack was then whittled down to five as Wanjiru upped the pace a notch at the 15km mark, and 20km later only Wanjiru, Gharib and Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga could sustain the phenomenal tempo.

Wanjiru, who was running in his third marathon, always looked the stronger of the trio and the Kenyan broke clear to win comfortably, breaking the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes.

Two-time world champion Gharib and Merga were left to fight it out for silver and bronze, but the latter fell away in the last two km to finish fourth.

Wanjiru, runner-up in the London Marathon in April, said: “I had to push the pace to tire the other runners. I had to push the pace because my body gets tired when I slow down. “In Kenya we have many medals, but I’m glad to have this one. It feels good to make history for Kenya and win the gold.”

Several of the favourites, including defending champion Stefano Baldini of Italy, failed to cope with the hot conditions.

The 37-year-old was out of contention early on and had settled for a 12th-placed finish.

“It was incredible what the Africans managed to do in those last 10km,” said the European champion. “This was my last marathon and my last international event. I want to carry on running, but without the stress.”

The marathons and Beijing Games are over–at least for me, as I head to the airport shortly.
What a close it was. It was the greatest marathon performance ever. Young, 21-year-old Sammy Wanjiru ran a race to remember. Leading from the gun at a blistering world record pace all while the sun was getting higher and hotter. Sammy gradually knocked each rival one by one until he ran alone. A 2:06 marathon in the Olympic Games, and a hot one at that, is unheard of. The next fastest Olympic run was three minutes slower. The Americans ran strong and tough!

The hype was building all week for the crowning event–the men’s marathon. Much to everyone’s surprise, the day dawned cool and clear. It was the nicest day here yet. In line with the favorable weather conditions, the lead guys were flying at world record pace at 10k; crazy in the Olympics. Ritz was running smart, Hall was farther back and not looking like himself. I was hoping he was just being cautious early on. Sell was running steady. The stadium was energetic with inline skaters and constant entertainment. I am fine with the race alone.

Tom Burns, a friend of mine who ran 20:20 for four miles at age 47, once said that the races he was proudest of weren’t his fastest ones, when everything had gone right, he’d beaten who he’d wanted to beat, and splits that he usually struggled to reach suddenly felt effortless. He said he was proudest of a few races in which everything had gone wrong – when the people he wanted to beat receded into the distance ahead of him, the splits were pathetic, and he felt like his legs were lead weights – but he still didn’t back off. [More]

The marathon shows no favoritism as to who will be the winners, who will be the survivors, and who will be left by the wayside. In fact, one might say that the Olympic marathon does its best to turn the tables on the world record-holders, world champions, and returning Olympic champions. I think it is the nature of the beast when you attempt to run an event whose founding father died after accomplishing his goal. This 2008 Olympic Women’s marathon proved to be no exception… [More]

BEIJING – AUGUST 17: Constantina Tomescu of Romania completes her final lap in the Women’s Marathon Final at the National Stadium on Day 9 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 17, 2008 in Beijing, China. Constantina Tomescu of Romania finished the event in first place with a time of 2.26.44 to win the gold medal. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)