KIMbia Athletics

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.

On a cold, wet Boston afternoon, 7,000 women crossed the Longfellow Bridge into Cambridge, ran along Memorial Drive, and returned, via the Mass Ave Bridge, to Boston Common. Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, CA opened an early lead on Katie McGregor (and the rest of the field) and never looked back; her lead continued to increase throughout the race. McGregor, like Kastor, ran most of the 10,000 meters by herself, in no-woman’s land between the leader and the pack. Elva Dryer ran in that pack the entire race, leading the charge as athlete after athlete fell off the pace. As the athletes ran back down Memorial Drive, the chase pack dwindled to just three – Elva, Alicia Shay, and Rebecca Donoghue. As the trio dipped under the Mass Ave Bridge and climbed the short, but steep incline underneath, Elva made her move. By the time she reached the Mass Ave Bridge – only 364.4 Smoots long – she has a 20 meter lead on Shay and Donoghue. McGregor was in site, but out of reach. Elva crossed the line in 32:53, good for 3rd place.

Nicole Aish led the second chase pack as it dipped under the Mass Ave Bridge, but after the hairpin turn as they returned to cross the bridge, it was Desiree Davila who was pushing the pace. Nicole made a strong push towards the finish down Charles Street, but perhaps too soon; Stephanie Rothstein and Melissa White both passed her over the final 400 meters. “I kicked too soon,” Nicole said with a laugh after the race. “But I’m happy; I’ve only been training for five weeks.”

Both Elva and Nicole return to Gunnison, Colorado later today to continue their training. Elva will be making her way up to Boulder next week for a hard week of training; her next race is the New York City Marathon on November 5th.

Tufts Results
Tufts 10K Slideshow

Tom Nyariki and Edna Kiplagat were both victorious at the BAA Half-Marathon. Nyariki’s time of 1:02:19 smashed the old course record by 38 seconds. Tom just held of Samuel Ndereba by one second. Edna cruised to a convincing 30-second win over Caroline Chepkorir. Richard Kiplagat struggled with blisters, finishing in 6th place in 1:05:13.

Full BAA Results

The results in Chicago were not as good. Ben Maiyo finished 5th and Christopher Cheboiboch 6th; James Koskei and Evans Rutto did not finish. Kathy Butler struggled in the heat, finishing in 2:48. It was a brutal day; race officials actually cut the race off short for people further back in the pack. Full Chicago coverage can be found at chasingKIMBIA. Results will be posted here.

In Minneapolis, Jason Hartmann finished 13th at the U.S. 10-Mile Championships in 50:15. Results can be found here.

Tomorrow we’re back in Boston for the Tufts 10K with Elva Dryer and Nicole Aish.