James Carney placed sixth at yesterday’s U.S. Cross Country Championships to earn a spot on the team for next month’s World Cross Country Championships, to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 30.

Carney ran 35:56 for the 12-kilometer course in San Diego’s Mission Bay Park. Carney’s former training partner, Dathan Ritzenhein, won in 35:03. On the last lap, Carney was closing fast on Olympic Marathon Trials champion Ryan Hall, who placed fifth in 35:50.

Fasil Bizuneh placed 16th in 36:49. In the women’s 8K, Nicole Aish had an off day and finished 27th in 28:43.

Results | Carney Post-Race Video

Nicole Aish, Fasil Bizuneh and James Carney will take on the rest of the best U.S. cross country runners at San Diego’s Mission Bay Park on Saturday. We’ll have post-race reflections from them here this weekend. In the meantime, a few pre-race thoughts from Fasil and James.

What are your main goals for the race?
Fasil: I am going to get in there and mix it up with some of the best runners in the country and give myself the best possible chance to win my first national title.
James: Be assertive and aggressive. When the dust settles…hopefully I’ll be in the top 9.

If you make the team, will you run Worlds?
Fasil: I definitely plan on running Worlds after I qualify for the team on Saturday.
James: If I make the team, I would like to to make the trip to Scotland.

Are you in specific cross country shape, or just good general racing shape? (Or do you think there’s much of a difference between the two?)
Fasil: I don’t see too much of a difference between the two; nevertheless, I feel very strong and ready to compete over 12K.
James: When you’re fit, you’re fit. It doesn’t matter much if its a cross country course, a track, or a road race. I’m in base phase right now. I’m strong as hell, but maybe not that sharp yet.

The course in San Diego seems pretty straightforward. What’s the craziest cross country course you’ve raced on?
Fasil: When I ran World Jr XC in Belfast back in 1999, it was very muddy. There was a hill where you were running up a sidways slope, and people were sliding off that thing like crazy. I think my teamate Adam Tenforde fell three times and was covered in mud from head to toe at the end of it.
James: The XC trials in Houston 2003 was pretty crazy. You would sink up mid shin into the mud. However, I’d like to run Cinque Mulini in Italy sometime.

Kathy Butler returns to Austin, Texas this Sunday to defend her title at the 3M Half Marathon. Butler won last year’s race in a time of 1:11:12, just off her personal best. Reports from Nederland, Colorado, where Butler has been training with Nicole Aish and Colleen De Reuck, indicate that training has been going well. To challenge Butler this weekend will be Magdalene Mukunzi, a Kenyan who trains down the canyon from Nederland, in Boulder.

Austin Statesman Article: Altitude Adjustment

KIMbia’s newest athlete, James Carney, won the 2008 US Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Texas on Sunday. Carney, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Division II Millersville University, set the tempo from the beginning, cruising along at 4:45 pace, breaking the tape at 1:02:21, 11 seconds ahead of runner-up Jason Lehmkuhle. It was Carney’s first US Championship and a positive indicator for things to come. Last spring he ran 27:43 for 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invite – a time that used to raise eyebrows, but has less impact today – and at this year’s US Olympic Marathon Trials, his debut marathon, Carney finished 14th in 2:16:54. In that race he finished one spot and seven seconds behind KIMbia’s other new member, Fasil Bizuneh. (Fasil trained with KIMbia’s marathon group in Boulder leading up to the US Olympic Marathon Trials, but was not represented by KIMbia at the time.) Fasil finished 2nd at last year’s US Half Marathon Championship with a similar time to Carney’s – 1:02:20. Both Fasil and Carney plan to run the 10,000 meters at this year’s US Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

In the women’s race, Kate O’Neill continued her impressive move to the roads with a 13-second victory over Desiree Davilla. KIMbia’s Nicole Aish had a great race, finishing 4th in 1:12:30. Elva Dryer, last year’s winner and this year’s favorite, did not finish.

Race Recap and Results

Nicole Aish finished 6th at the 71st running of the Manchester Road Race in Manchester, Connecticut. Her time of 25:38 was ten seconds shy of fifth-place finisher Kassi Anderson. Amy (Yoder) Begley won the race in 24:39. She was followed by Mary Cullen, Megan Metcalf, and Molly Huddle. Andrew Letherby won the men’s race in 21:54, just one second up on Martin Fagan. Nicole’s husband, Mike, finished 9th. Amby Burfoot, Connecticut native and friend of KIMbia, ran his 45th Manchester Road Race (that’s not a typo), finishing first in the 60-69 age group.