KIMbia Athletics

I can’t believe we are almost in the last week of 2008. Let me just begin by thanking three amazing people who volunteered to coach me in three different times in 2008. The first person is Matt Holappa, who helped me recover from a potentially career-ending Achilles injury and helped restart my training. Then I had the opportunity to go Oregon to train with Alberto Salazar, which I was really grateful for. In April I began training with my current coach, Brad Hudson, who coached me before the Kenyan Olympic Trials and my marathon debut.

This has been a year for changes for me. My most memorable experience for 2008 was one day, when I was training for my first marathon, I ran 26 miles in 2:32. Running by myself on the dirt road around my house in Michigan, this day really stood out for me as a turning point in my career. Up until this point I didn’t really know if I had marathon potential, but on this particular run something clicked and I thought, “I can really do this.”

My first big goal for 2009 is to run a fast 10,000m race on the track, which will possibly be at Stanford. I will probably run a 5,000m race before attempting it. Then I will be choosing a marathon to focus on, which is the ultimate goal for 2009.

Boaz gives his take on his marathon debut in New York City, where he placed 19th in 2:21:40:

I am recovering well and just regret not being on top of my game that day.

My plan was to run behind the leaders and stay relaxed. I missed fluid stations at 5K and 15K, which was a mistake. Everything was going well until I fell along with Abel Kurui at the 20K fluid station, but I got up quickly and went back to get my fluid.

At the half marathon, I closed on the leaders and we crossed at 66:06, and I was still very comfortable. Right after this they quickened the pace, and I held back a little bit to run a more conservative pace, thinking I would reel them back. Things were fine until the 14-mile mark when my legs cramped, and they just got heavier for the rest of the race. I kept going because I kept thinking the cramping would dissipate if I worked through it, and I was doing okay until somewhere around 17 or 18 miles. Right around here my toenail fell off as well, which didn’t help anything. The rest of the race was just brutal for me and my legs were totally dead. I decided to finish the race the best I could so that I wouldn’t have dropping out haunting me for future races.

With training going so well, I had envisioned being very competitive, as Brad Hudson and I thought the top five was realistic. I come away from New York disappointed, but I hope the experience of my first marathon will be a building block for future marathons.

We’ll have more details later, but the executive summary is that James and Boaz fell far short of meeting their goals at the New York City Marathon today. In his debut, Boaz was 19th in 2:21:40. James dropped out in the 21st mile after being in the top 20 upon entering Manhattan in the 17th mile.

James was among a group of five Americans who led the first couple of miles. When the rest of the field asserted themselves, James was still well in contention. He was 1:06:37 at halfway, compared to 1:06:06 for the leaders. But he began to slow dramatically after 25K, and dropped out after passing 20 miles in 1:45:24.

Boaz was with the leaders at halfway. Soon after, he and Abel Kirui tripped over each other. Boaz got up quickly, but had lost his rhythm. He continued to run well through 20, reached in 1:42:44, but then started to cramp badly and covered his last 10K in 38:56.

Lots of options for live following of the Boulder boys tomorrow morning.

Most personally, you can sign up to get e-mail updates on James and Boaz. You’ll get splits for every 5K, halfway and every mile from 16 to the finish. Info here.

Universal Sports is providing a free, live Webcast. Info here.

There will be live TV coverage in some areas of the U.S. on Universal Sports TV, and in the New York City area by the local NBC affiliate. There will be an afternoon recap on NBC nationwide. Info on all that here.

Runner’s World and Running Times are providing combined live coverage. That will occur here.

James and Boaz talk about their hopes and training with just two days to go. Then the silliness starts with lightning round questioning.

James discusses why he thinks the third time will be the charm with this marathon thing.

Tomorrow: Pre-race lightning round with James and Boaz. We’ll be taping that Friday morning, and logistics will mean that it won’t go live until Friday night. But you’ll see, it will definitely be worth the wait. In the meantime, check out these James and Boaz videos on the Marathon Performance site, and read this Runner’s World interview with James.

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James and Boaz do 10 mile repeats with a minute’s rest between. They were to start at 4:55 and work down to 4:50 if they felt okay. Boaz wound up averaging 4:47, James 4:49. This was at about 5,300 feet of elevation.

Thursday: Big Plans for the Big Apple

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What happens when a 5-3 Kenyan and 5-10 American get together for a month of marathon training?

Tomorrow: 10 X Mile

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James and Boaz are joined by 2:11 Aussie Andrew Leatherby. Is it us, or are there few things in life better than a gentle run with friends in a nice setting in great weather?

Boaz talks about growing up barefoot, making his marathon debut in New York City, training with Brad Hudson and James Carney, and his culinary prowess.

Tomorrow: Res Run 2 (with a non-KIMbia interloper!),