The Madison squad love their drills, and we’ll have three videos sharing the love. In this first one, Chris Solinsky and Jonathon Riley impress the neighbors following a 70-minute run with Simon Bairu and Brandon Bethke.
Music by The Coctails.
Tomorrow: So, Solinsky: Fall Much?
No victories to report, but some solid performances this weekend, most recently James Getanda’s 4th-place finish at this morning’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego. James ran 2:11:50. He was part of the lead pack at halfway (1:04:07). Simon Wangai emerged from that pack to win in 2:10:07. Results and splits are available at the race’s site.
Yesterday, at the Freihofer’s Run for Women in Albany, New York, Jane Gakunyi and Millicent Gathoni doubled back from Monday’s Bolder Boulder 10K, which Millicent won. Jane was 4th in Albany in 16:02, one second and one place ahead of Millicent. Kathy Butler was 10th in 16:38. Australia’s Benita Johnson won her third straight title. Top ten are here.
You may have heard that Simon Bairu ran a massive PR and an Olympic “A” standard last night in Belgium. Unfortunately, while it is true that Simon ran 27:30.90, that time is for 24 laps, which is when Simon stopped. Our initial reports are that the 10,000m was a bit chaotic–more than 30 men were in the field–and that both runners and officials misjudged the lap count. We’ll post updates as we receive them.
Meanwhile, be sure to join us tomorrow for the launch of our Madison Project video series. We’ll have new video every weekday leading up to Matt Tegenkamp’s and Chris Solinsky’s bid to make the Olympic 5,000m team at the end of the month.
Listen to Chris talk about life on the European circuit in this podcast at RunningTimes.com. The podcast is a supplement to an article Matt Taylor wrote featuring Chris, Matt Tegenkamp, Michelle Sikes, Simon Bairu and Tim Nelson in the magazine’s July/August issue.
Lots of fast times last night at Ridgemont High Stanford University. The KIMbia take:
Not sure why, but the men’s A 1500m race was split in two sections. Matt Tegenkamp won his section in 3:40.04 over, among others, Chris Lukezic. Chris Solinsky was in the other section and ran 3:43.59 in a race that Kevin Sullivan won in 3:39.75. Now, 3:43 might not seem all that impressive, but given that Chris fell during the race and got gashed up similar to last summer in Stockholm, we think it’s pretty darn good.
In the fast heat of the 5,000m, James Carney lowered his PR to 13:31.62 in his first track race of the year. Tim Nelson also ran well, posting a 13:38.78. Simon Bairu ran 13:46.75 in the same race.
Fasil Bizuneh won the glass-half-full/glass-half-empty award in the fast heat of the 10,000m. He smashed his former PR by running 27:50.48. But oh, that .48 of a second, as the Olympic A standard is 27:50.00.
Videos and full results here.
Shortly after arriving at the Canadian training camp in Singapore, Simon Bairu suffered a tear in his calf muscle. With a good team of staff doctors and therapists in Singapore and Osaka, everyone was optimistic that it would be okay on race day. Unfortunately, just a few laps into the race he felt a shooting pain in his calf and was forced to stop. Although he’s disappointed today, Simon had a great season; there is a lot more to come in the future.
Today is an off day for KIMbia before Michelle Sikes takes to the track on Wednesday evening. The following evening it’s Matt Tegenkamp’s turn.
This is the first in a series of journal entries written by the the four athletes competing at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. First up is Simon Bairu, who was in Singapore for several days with the Canadian National Team before arriving in Osaka on Wednesday. He races the 10,000m on Monday, August 27th.
Hey All,
I arrived in Singapore last night around midnight. The flight wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be - it was what you would expect being on a plane for 20 hours would feel like. When I woke up this morning I did an easy 35 minute jog along the beach. I ran at 9:00am, but the heat and humidity made it feel like it was the middle of the day. Later that day we had a reception to attend, hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner. (Admittedly, I don’t know what that is, but by looking at the size of his house I would guess he’s a big deal.) The local media and several Canadian businessmen who live in Singapore greeted us. Most of the people I talked to would often ask me if I was going to win (since they heard I was the top Canadian distance runner) - the look on their face when I told them my goal was top 10 was pure disappointment. Oh well…
-Simon
Four KIMbia athletes will be competing at this year’s World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Matt Tegenkamp, Michelle Sikes, and Laban Kipkemboi all arrived today via Madison, Wisconsin, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Cherigany Hills, Kenya, respectively. Simon Bairu has been in Singapore for the last week with the Canadian National team; they chose Singapore as their training camp prior to the Championships. Simon will join the others in Osaka on Thursday, the same day Tom and I arrive.
Here is the competition schedule for these athletes:
Saturday, August 25th - Men’s Marathon (Laban)
Monday, August 27th - Men’s 10,000m Final (Simon)
Wednesday, August 29th - Women’s 5,000m 1st Round (Michelle)
Thursday, August 30th - Men’s 5000m 1st Round (Matt)
Saturday, September 1st - Women’s 5,000m Final (hopefully Michelle)
Sunday, September 2nd - Men’s 5,000m Final (hopefully Matt)
We’ll be providing coverage from Osaka on a regular basis starting later this week. In addition, the athletes are all keeping journals, which we’ll post as the days roll on. Sayonara.
Simon Bairu ran a similar race in the following section, biding his time along the rail in the middle of the pack. After Ryan Hall dropped off his pacing effort at 3000 meters, Reid Coolsaet and Ian Dobson continued the charge, putting 20 meters on the pack. But with 800 meters to go, Coolsaet began to struggle as Jonathan Riley began to close the gap. Simon got going with 600 meters to go, finishing with a 9-second PR in 13:25.91, good for 8th place. Tim Nelson ran in the same heat as Simon, but fell on the rail towards the end of the race. He was still able to finish, but the fall hurt his chances of running a fast time.
Matt Tegenkamp ran a good race earlier in the evening, finishing 6th in the 1500m with a time of 3:36.48. With 150 meters remaining, it looked like he would use his 
momentum to push through the chase pack; second place was definitely in reach. But an athlete stepped out in front, causing Matt to slow down. The move killed his momentum and by the time he got back to full speed they were already at the line. Less than a second separated 2nd and 6th place.
Just three days earlier Matt ran the 3000m in Monte Carlo. It was a good effort - 7:37 - but “not my best race.” Michelle Sikes made her European debut at the same race. She ran 8:44, a 30-second PR, good for 8th place.
Next up for Matt and Chris is the 3000m at Stockholm on August 7th. Simon, Tim, and Michelle returned the States today. Simon and Michelle will prepare for the World Championships while Tim heads to the Falmouth Road Race on August 12th.
