Turning in an impressive, historic performance in just her second-ever marathon, Shalane Flanagan punched her ticket for the London Games by winning the US Olympic Trials. Her time of 2:25:38 slashed just over three minutes from her previous personal best, set a Trials record, and is the 6th-fastest performance by an American woman, all-time. And as the #3 US performer ever, she now trails only Deena Drossin-Kastor and Joan Benoit-Samuelsson — each of whom won an Olympic medal at the distance.

After biding her time for the first two hours of running, Flanagan made a late break and won by seventeen seconds over Boston Marathon runner-up Desiree Davila; new teammate Kara Goucher became Shalane’s Olympic teammate, as well, thanks to her third-place finish. “I tried to view it as a track race for the last mile,” Flanagan said after the race. “I didn’t really enjoy that last mile. It felt really long.” Read the full article

Although Haron Keitany is already a distinguished international performer, he is a relatively new addition to the KIMbia roster — but he has very quickly shown why we are so proud to have him in our family. On Sunday in Hengelo, the man they call “Land Cruiser” clocked 3:31.86 to take second place behind Mohammed Shaween, a mere four-hundredths away from the win. Left in his wake were thirteen men, including a sub-3:30 rising star in Silas Kiplagat, and the reigning Olympic Champion (steeple), Brimin Kipruto. The time is Keitany’s third-fastest all time, and was just a few tenths away from Nixon Chepseba’s world lead.

One day later, Lineth Chepkurui won Bolder Boulder by over four seconds, claiming an enjoyable victory in the town where she sets up shop for her US season, each year. Along with runner-up Mamitu Deska, Chepkurui broke away from the rest of the field in the third mile, only securing her win over the Ethiopian — and two-time defending champion — with a final kick. Read the full article

The marathon can be a cruel mistress, as the training can handicap your ability to perform optimally at shorter distances, and the full race itself can make your two annual attempts a bit of a crapshoot. James Carney says he lived that experience in 2010, logging a tough DNF in Chicago and falling short of his goals in Rotterdam in the spring.  However, we might take a moment to point out that Rotterdam did mark a one-minute PB for 26.2, and that Carney still showed well all over the country:  7th at Bolder Boulder when he was coming back from a lay-off; 3rd in New Haven at the USATF 20k Champs; and, runner-up at the Bellin 10k in Green Bay, WI.  Nevertheless, Carney looks toward 2011 with both an intense ultimatum for himself and a more laid-back outlook to his racing.

What would you call the main highlight of 2010 for you, either professionally or personally?
There were no real “highlights” to 2010. 2010 was a year of trial and error for me. I tried different training techniques, Read the full article

Chris Solinsky showed best among KIMbia athletes ranked by Track and Field News at the end of 2010, ending the year ranked 8th overall among all American men, and 3rd in the world for 10000m. While Solinsky’s American Record 26:59 at Stanford was the world’s second-fastest time of the year for 10000m, Wilson Kiprop got the top slot in the world rankings by virtue of his wins at the Kenyan National Championships and African Champs. Additionally, Kiprop won the World Championship in the Half Marathon this Fall: clearly a phenomenal athlete having a phenomenal season, and we are certainly very, very proud of Chris and this, his first Top-10 appearance in the T&FN World Rankings. Solinsky actually ranked 1st in the world in the event — and 5th in the 5000m — according to the IAAF’s point-system, which rates marks and head-to-head competition, with an eye toward repeated good performances. And, moreover, the Stevens Point-native ended 2010 ranked #76 in the world across all disciplines, according to the IAAF system. Not too shabby in a sport where over 6,000 male competitors earned points in professional competition. Read the full article

Sean Quigley can’t be anything but proud after taking home his first US Championship in any discipline, winning the Stratton Faxon New Haven 20k on Labor Day, with a time of 59:21.  Calling his post-collegiate career a “disappointment” to date, Quigley stepped up to take down US road champions Mo Trafeh, Brett Gotcher, and KIMbia’s James Carney, making New Haven the impressive win that the Massachusetts native had long been seeking.

Gotcher entered the race as the defending champion, Trafeh the returning runner-up, and Carney the 2008 champion. Late in the race,  Trafeh, Carney, and Quigley had broken away, and after weathering a surge by Trafeh, each KIMbia man made a bid for the win.  Carney went first, opening a gap during the long final straightaway, with Quigley just behind.  With a half-mile to go, it was Quigley’s move that came last and propelled him to first place: a victory in the longest race he had ever contested. Carney finished third, just four seconds behind Trafeh, while Jason Hartmann placed 8th in 60:44.

Full coverage can be found here.