The KIMbia performances highlighting this year’s US Championships included four qualifiers to Worlds and one US title, plus one alternate spot and two other top-five finishes.

W10,000m — If you wanted a demonstration of the term “putting on a clinic,” Shalane Flanagan delivered one in the 10,000m, taking the lead almost immediately and methodically clipping off 74-second laps. No other athlete in the field tried seriously to match her pace, and she ended up soloing an extremely impressive 30:59.97 to dominate the field and claim yet another US title. That mark is the 6th-fastest American performance ever.

M10,000m — Matt Tegenkamp, possessor of the world-class gear-change that netted him 4th-place and 8th-place finishes at previous World Championships, was poised to strike late in a very pedestrian 10,000m. 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

Lineth Chepkurui returned to the site of arguably her greatest performance — the fastest 12k every run by a woman and a dominant victory over the reigning world cross country champion, in 2010 — to notch her third Bay to Breakers victory in four years. Running 39:12 to defeat runner-up Mamitu Daska, Chepkurui became the first woman to claim three titles since the elite race began attracting a world-class (and international) field in 1985. Former champions include road-racing superstars Joan Samuelson, Grete Waitz, Tegla Loroupe, KIMbia’s Elana Meyer, and Catherine Ndereba; none have run within thirty seconds of Chepkurui’s best performance here, and none have won more than once.

A pair of KIMbia men showed well, too. Allan Kiprono ran an impressive race to place third in 34:31, just two ticks behind Boston Marathon champion Deriba Merga, and five seconds away from race winner Ridouane Harroufi. Jason Hartmann took a solid 6th in 35:28, beating Olympians Meb Keflezighi and Bolota Asmerom to be the first American across the line. After the race, Hartmann said he’s “starting to get fitter. It’s just now about the racing.”

With the 2012 Olympic Trials on the horizon, Jason Hartmann is taking his career to new heights at just the right time. Apart from a 4th-place finish and PB of 1:15:38 at the Fifth-Third River Run 25k, none of his performances early in 2010 gave any indication of the piece de resistance that awaited in Chicago this fall. There, a 2:11:06 slashed over a minute from his lifetime best and earned him 8th place in the fastest annual marathon in the United States. The time also makes him the 8th fastest American since 2005. While that clear 2010 Highlight puts him on the short list of Olympic Team contenders, Hartmann is taking things step-by-step, as we move into 2011.

In 2009, you really stepped out by winning Twin Cities, then took another major step forward this year with a performance at Chicago that had to be the highlight of your 2010. What changed in your approach to running that allowed for the breakthroughs at Twin Cities and then again this year in Chicago?
In both races, I had something to prove. Before Twin Cities Marathon in 2009, I was out for almost all of 2008. I had three navicular stress fractures in my foot and my body gave out only two weeks for the 2008 Olympic Trials 10k qualifier. I had been injured for almost 7 months, and it took forever to rehabilitate and really come back. It was the second time I had gotten injured right before a track Olympic Trials 5k/10k, and I was so frustrated that I had greatly considered giving up the sport. I had asked friends to help me edit and work on my professional resume, and I started looking at viable career options. 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