KIMbia Athletics

Gilbert handled with aplomb a high-class field at this morning’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in San Jose, Calif. He ran 1:01:46 to top Moroccan road ace Ridouane Harroufi, who won several major U.S. races in the spring, by 11 seconds.

Gilbert was joined in San Jose by several KIMbia teammates. Charles Munyeki continued his recent strong running with a fifth-place finish in 1:02:15. The seemingly ageless James Koskei was eighth in 1:03:02. In the women’s race, Jane Gakunyi was fifth in 1:12:57, and Kathy Butler took seventh in 1:14:52.

Gilbert and Munyeki will go the (half) distance again next Sunday at the BAA Half Marathon in Boston.

San Jose results are available here.

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.

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

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.

Chicago 2007: It’s Here!
(If you have QuickTime, please watch this version.)

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It’s a busy weekend for KIMbia, so here are a few things to add to your calendar:

1. The Chicago Marathon
If you’re headed to Chicago this weekend, we’re having a gathering at Kitty O’Sheas (in the Hilton Hotel) starting at 3pm, ending whenever it ends. In attendance will be Tom Ratcliffe, Matt Taylor, Bob “Kugaa” Gusmini, Jamie LaChance, Matt Ellis, and Matt Tegenkamp. Rumored attendees include Chris Solinsky and Simon Bairu. Not attending is Godfrey Kiprotich.
Sunday is race day! Ben Maiyo, James Koskei, Evans Rutto, Christopher Cheboiboch, and Kathy Butler will take to the streets of Chicago. We’ll be providing live coverage of the race – text updates with the occasional photo and maybe a video – starting early Sunday morning. After the race, we’ll be congregating back at Kitty O’Sheas, hopefully to celebrate.2. The US 10-Mile Championships are taking place in Minneapolis on Sunday. Jason Hartmann is racing as a tune-up for the US Olympic Marathon Trials.3.The BAA Half-Marathon also takes place on Sunday. Tom Nyariki, Richard Kiplagat, and Edna Kiplagat are racing. If you’re in Boston, it’s a great weekend of running – the BAA Half on Sunday, the…

4. …Tufts 10K on Monday. Elva Dryer is racing. She’s going to run fast, but she’s also going to get a preview of the US Olympic Marathon Trials course. Instead of running the regular Boston course, the women’s marathon trials will be on a loop course very similar to the Tufts course.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

In one week the marathoning world will descend on the windy city for the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. As part of their race coverage, RunningTimes.com has posted race previews for both the men and women (written by KIMbia’s Matt Taylor). For an in-depth look at the lifestyle and training of three of the elite athletes, head over to chasingKIMBIA for a glimpse of Evans Rutto, James Koskei, and Christopher Cheboiboch. Those three athletes will be joined in Chicago by Kathy Butler, who just returned from a training camp in Mammoth Lakes, CA, and Ben Maiyo, who has been training in Iten, Kenya.

Men’s Preview

Women’s Preview

40K at Magnolia. Ugali and Chicken. Table Mountain. CNN and Fox News. Trips to Wal*Mart. Yep, it’s that time of year again. Welcome to Season Three of chasingKIMBIA.

The Chicago and New York City Marathons are fast approaching, and the athletes have been getting fast. Season Three kicks off next Monday from Boulder. You’ll meet some new athletes this season, like Christopher Cheboiboch, who has a PR of 2:08 and has finished second in both New York and Boston. You’ll also see some old faces, like Baba (New York) and James Koskei (Chicago).

But the biggest change this year will be the addition of an American to the group. Fasil Bizuneh is an up-and-coming American marathoner. His half-marathon PR of 1:02:20 came in the US Championships where he finished second to Ryan Hall, and ahead of Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi. He’s been training with the guys in Boulder since the end of August in preparation for the US Olympic Marathon Trials, which take place in Central Park the day before the regular NYC Marathon. He had this to say right before his move to Boulder:

“The Marathon trials are 10 weeks away and I know that this is the right decision for me. Training with the KIMbia marathon group will give me the best possible chance to succeed on race day. With all of the American talent that will be in Central Park on November 3rd, no one will be backing his way into one of the three Olympic spots. It will take a great race to make that team. Based on my last two marathons Read the full article