This weekend, the world’s best distance runners will gather in Punta Umbia, Spain to contest the 39th IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Did you know that KIMbia athletes have collected NINETEEN Top 5 finishes at World Cross? Paul Koech leads the way with an impressive four, including a silver medal in 1998 that might have been gold, had the unbeatable Paul Tergat not been in the field.  (Koech also finished sixth on two occasions.)

Individual medalists include Sammy Kipketer (silver, 2000 4k), Luke Kipkosgei (silver, 2002 4k), Daniel Komen (silver, 1998 4k), and John Yuda (silver, 2002 12k). Additionally, Top-10 finishes have come from Elana Meyer (6th in 1994 and 1995) and Elva Dryer (8th in 2002 4k).

A list of Top-10 finishes by KIMbia athletes is below. Read the full article

Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky, Tim Nelson and Andrew Bumbalough have journeyed to Australia for a fast, uber-competitive early season 5000m in Melbourne, Thursday March 3rd.  During this week, we’re sharing some reports from half a world away…

Since, we’re scarcely more than a day away from what has to be the biggest season-opener in recent athletics memory, here’s a quick run-down of everything you might want to know about Melbourne, the city’s history in athletics, and what we have to look forward to on Thursday:

At almost three million residents, Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city (behind Sydney), is located on the southern coast, and hosted the Olympics in 1956; right off the bat, it should be no surprise that Melbourne is home to a terrific athletics history.

Read the full article

A brief but busy day on East Coast roads for KIMbia on this last Sunday of summer.

First up, the CVS 5K in Providence, Rhode Island. In his road 5K debut, Matt Tegenkamp went through the mile in 4:23 with road veteran Luke Kipkosgei right with him. Matt gained a slight edge by the two-mile mark, but fellow U.S. Olympian Anthony Famiglietti, who was familiar with the course from having raced it before, reeled Matt back in, then surged away for the win on the race’s one major hill in the last half mile. Fam ran 13:41, with Matt second in 13:49 and Luke third in 13:57.

Jane Gakunyi took third in the women’s race in 15:51 behind Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan (15:28) and Ireland’s Mary Cullen (15:45).

A few hours later, Chris Solinsky tore down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue with a bunch of miler specialists, and placed fifth in 3:54.1. Olympic bronze medalist Nick Willis (3:50.5) edged out Bernard Lagat to win by a tenth of a second.

Providence results | NYC results

Lots of KIMbia folks in action over what for non-professional American runners is a holiday weekend.

First up, on Sunday Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky race 3,000m in Gateshead, England. You can watch the meet live online here, starting at 9:55 a.m. Eastern time.

On Monday, Elva Dryer, James Carney and Fasil Bizuneh will contend for the national 20K title in New Haven, Conn. Elva and James were second in last year’s race. Running Times will have live coverage here.

The same day, (much) further south, Jane Gakunyi, Richard Kiplagat and Luke Kipkosgei will race half as far at the U.S. 10K Classic in Atlanta, Ga. Luke and Richard were second and fourth, respectively, in last year’s race.

A women’s victory and the top three spots on the men’s side of yesterday’s Bellin Run highlighted the last spring appearances of many of our road racers. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Millicent Gathoni notched another dominating win, taking the Bellin Run 10K in 32:51, more than 2 minutes ahead of 2007 Chicago Marathon runner-up Adriana Pirtea. On the men’s side, John Yuda and John Korir both recorded times of 28:47, with Yuda getting the nod for the victory. Charles Munyeki completed the KIMbia sweep by placing third in 29:20.

At the Steamboat Classic in Peoria, Illinois yesterday, Luke Kipkosgei finished his spring season in fine form, running 18:18 for the 4-mile race to finish second, just one second behind Ridouane Harroufi. Richard Kiplagat took fourth in the strong field by running 18:20. Elva Dryer took fifth in 20:44, and Jane Gakunyi was one place and 2 seconds behind Elva.

Johns Yuda and Korir, Luke, Charles, Millicent and Jane will return home later this week. Some of them, as well as KIMbia stalwarts like Gilbert Okari, will return later in the summer for the height of the U.S. road season.

Bellin Run 10 results | Steamboat Classic 4-mile results