KIMbia Athletics

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.

Then Kimbia would have taken the team title. (Well, if scoring was 4 deep.)

This morning in Central Park, Jason Hartmann, James Carney, Fasil Bizuneh and Tim Nelson took 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th, respectively, at the U.S. 8K championships. Jason ran 22:48 to finish 6 seconds behind winner Jorge Torres and Andrew Carlson. James and Fasil were also in the lead pack that went through 5K in 14:10. James finished in 22:53, Fasil in 23:03.

Tim was the top finisher from the chase pack, closing well after splitting 14:22 at 5K to finish in 23:05.

Results | Post-race video of Fasil

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.

The latest Final Sprint podcast profiles recent US Half Marathon champion James Carney. It’s been a great year for Carney, including a 27:43 10,000m, a disappointing (his words) 2:16 marathon debut, and the recent Half Marathon win, his first US title.

Next up: The Olympic Trials 10,000 meters.

Listen to the podcast here.

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