KIMbia Athletics

Once again, Tim Nelson stepped away from the track and collected a runner-up finish at a USATF Championship, placing 2nd at the Gate River Run 15k in 43:52.  Nelson laid off the hot early pace set by eventual race winner Mo Trafeh, who hit one-mile in 4:22, allowing Nelson to cross the line four seconds before recent USATF Half Marathon champion Antonio Vega, who placed third. Also running a credible race, Boston-native Sean Quigley came 5th in 44:05, while Jason Hartmann finished 13th.

In the women’s race, Rebecca Donaghue took 4th place, ahead of Olympians Blake Russell and Lindsay Anderson. Donaghue completed the 15k in 51:13.

Full results can be found here.

The newest member of the American sub-13:00 club took home the 2009 Men’s US 5k Road Championship, held as part of the CVS Downtown 5k this weekend, in Providenc, RI. Using his patented kick, Matt Tegenkamp won in 13:57, defeating two of America’s fastest in Bolota Asmeron and Anthony Famiglietti.  After trying to blister the field last year — only to lose a homestretch battle with Famiglietti –this time around, Tegenkamp sat on the controlled early pace that kept much of the field in contention through the initial miles.  On the course’s most significant hill in the final-third of the race, Tegenkamp positioned himself to kick, then blasted home to claim a 5k road title to pair with his 5000m national title from the track, won back in June in Eugene, OR. Read the full article

The conclusion of the World Athletics Final means that the 2009 track and field season has come to a close for us.  We saw many terrific performances, as our thirteen athletes who hit the track turned in a total of fourteen personal best performances, and with KIMbia talents collecting six top-five finishes in the 5000m and 10,000m races at the US National Championships — including four spots on the American World Championship team.  In particular, we were proud to dominate the Men’s 5000m in Eugene, with five runners in the top nine, and to see OTC member Matt Tegenkamp join one of the most exclusive clubs in US distance running, by going under 13-minutes in the 5000m with his 12:58.56 clocking on a chilly night in Brussels.

If you have questions for any of the members of Team KIMbia about this 2009 season,  please send them to questions[AT]kimbia[DOT]net or post them in the comments below!  If you need a quick refresher on some of the performances from the season, check the athlete bio pages or our race recaps, below.  Make sure you get your questions in by the end of the day Tuesday, September 22! Read the full article

With so many strong KIMbia showings at Maine’s Beach to Beacon, we are pleased to share some thoughts from those athletes who turned in such solid efforts.  Leading all KIMbia athletes, Boaz Cheboiywo took 2nd by just a few seconds and, according to Race Results Weekly, explained his runner-up finish, by saying of race-winner Ed Muge, “When you have an athlete of that caliber, he gets ten meters on you, you’re not going to catch him.”  Muge was the defending champion, while Boaz’s placing was an improvement on finishing fifth in 2008. Read the full article

Boaz Cheboiywo put another notch on his road racing belt Saturday by snagging the runner up spot and $5,000 in prize money at the Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This result, on the heels of a 4th place finish at the Peachtree 10k a month ago, serves as evidence of Boaz’ emergence as one of the most prominent runners on the U.S. Road Racing Circuit this summer.

Boaz was with the lead group of five runners until the 8k when the eventual winner, Ed Muge, pulled away. Despite the strong move from Muge, Boaz tried to battle back in the last mile but Muge was able to hold him off for the win in 28:04 with Boaz four seconds back finishing second in 28:08.

Also from KIMbia, Gilbert Okari finished fourth in 28:21, Simon Bairu, in his first race in his build up to the NYC Marathon, was 7th in 28:44, and James Koskei finished 14th in 30:00.

In the women’s race, KIMbia’s own Rebecca Donaghue was fifth place in 32:46. An impressive 22 second personal best for Rebecca in her first race since coming back from a European campaign that saw her post two other PB’s in the 1500m and 5000m.

Full Results and Prize Money information for the Beach to Beacon can be found here.

After hearing James Carney’s comments on his strong 10.000m effort at US Champs, we wanted to open up the lines and let you pick the brains of the rest of our athletes, with regards to their efforts at Nationals.  You asked, now they respond:

Matt, how do you focus during a race, specifically on the last couple of laps? –Jacob McRoberts

Preparation for a race always starts in practice. (That sounds simple enough, right?) But this has been a very tough year of training and our races actually seem a little easier because of it.  It is always harder to get mentally prepared for practice, so we really try to concentrate on showing up to practice ready to put in the hard work.  Once in a race setting I just try to focus on competition!  If I worry about competing against the other athletes and forget everything else, it allows me to hurt that much more.  I don’t want to get in a situation where another athlete is able to run away from me so competition allows me to push through the pain as the race progresses. In the 5k, the race doesn’t really start until the last 1200m and we have worked on staying very relaxed until that point, trying to waste as little energy as possible. That allows me to stay mentally fresh and really get ready for the grind to the finish line. That last 1200m of the race has been a real work in progress the last few years and I am very confident in my finish. You just have to compete!!! Read the full article

After this past weekend, we couldn’t be any prouder of the athletes with whom we have the pleasure of working.  There was a sweep of 5000m titles north of the Rio Grande (Simon Bairu and Matt Tegenkamp) and three additional US athletes with podium finishes and a national team berth (Chris Solinsky, Evan Jager and Tim Nelson).  But moreover, KIMbia athletes competed this weekend with verve and with guts, even if, in some cases, the end result was not a full reflection of their efforts. Read the full article

The Nelly Train rolls on.  After pushing Olympians to the limit at the US Cross Country and 15k Championships earlier this year, Tim Nelson cut a huge swatch from his former 10k PB of 28:05, running a terrific 27:36.99 to earn an automatic World Championships Qualifying Standard and win the Kim McDonald 10k out at Stanford.  Fellow former Badger Simon Bairu took 2nd in 27:50.76 — just .05 slower than his PB — and James Carney was 5th in that same section, running 28:23.  On the women’s side, Rebecca Donaghue ran 33:08.97 to win the race and cut almost half a minute from her previous best on the track. Fitting to have two winners and two more Top-5 showings from KIMbia athletes in the 10k races bearing Kim McDonald’s name…

Pace in the top flight of the Men’s 5k sagged midrace, scuttling any hopes of achieving World Champs standards, but KIMbia athletes remained competitive.  Matt Tegenkamp and Olympian Alistair Cragg met the line in quick succession — with Teg 2-tenths behind, 2nd in the race and a 13:22 to his name.  Boaz Cheboiywo manged 7th in the same section, finishing in 13:30.  Evan Jager acquitted himself well in his professional debut at the distance, running 13:29.65 which was good for 2nd in the 2nd section.

Finally, in the Men’s 1500, Brent Vaughn was 5th in the 2nd section, clocking 3:43.89 — just 2-tenths shy of his PB — while Michelle Sikes continued a whirlwind tour of American competition with a 6th place finish in the 5000, hitting the line in 15:56.

Full results here; to see KIMbia-only results…. Read the full article