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

Coming off his pacing duties last week in Chicago, John Yuda ran an impressive 61:13 at the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon. Unfortunately, McDonald Ondara ran 61:11 for the win. It’s the third race this year where Yuda has come out on the short end of the kicking stick (Beach to Beacon and VA Beach Half Marathon being the other two). About one minute back from the leaders was Tom Nyariki in 62:17, good for fourth place. “It wasn’t my best race, but I ran okay,” Nyariki said after the race. “I think I am a little tired after Boston [BAA Half Marathon] last weekend.” Charles Munyeki rounded out the KIMbia contingent with a 5th place finish in 62:58.

Next week Laban Kipkemboi and Charles Kibiwott will be racing the Seoul Marathon. And this week chasingKIMBIA continues with its coverage from Boulder, Colorado where Fasil Bizuneh and Stephen Kiogora are preparing for the US Olympic Marathon Trials and the NYC Marathon, respectively. The Trials are on November 3rd, the regular Marathon on November 4th.

Tom Nyariki and Edna Kiplagat were both victorious at the BAA Half-Marathon. Nyariki’s time of 1:02:19 smashed the old course record by 38 seconds. Tom just held of Samuel Ndereba by one second. Edna cruised to a convincing 30-second win over Caroline Chepkorir. Richard Kiplagat struggled with blisters, finishing in 6th place in 1:05:13.

Full BAA Results

The results in Chicago were not as good. Ben Maiyo finished 5th and Christopher Cheboiboch 6th; James Koskei and Evans Rutto did not finish. Kathy Butler struggled in the heat, finishing in 2:48. It was a brutal day; race officials actually cut the race off short for people further back in the pack. Full Chicago coverage can be found at chasingKIMBIA. Results will be posted here.

In Minneapolis, Jason Hartmann finished 13th at the U.S. 10-Mile Championships in 50:15. Results can be found here.

Tomorrow we’re back in Boston for the Tufts 10K with Elva Dryer and Nicole Aish.

Chicago 2007: It’s Here!
(If you have QuickTime, please watch this version.)

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It’s a busy weekend for KIMbia, so here are a few things to add to your calendar:

1. The Chicago Marathon
If you’re headed to Chicago this weekend, we’re having a gathering at Kitty O’Sheas (in the Hilton Hotel) starting at 3pm, ending whenever it ends. In attendance will be Tom Ratcliffe, Matt Taylor, Bob “Kugaa” Gusmini, Jamie LaChance, Matt Ellis, and Matt Tegenkamp. Rumored attendees include Chris Solinsky and Simon Bairu. Not attending is Godfrey Kiprotich.
Sunday is race day! Ben Maiyo, James Koskei, Evans Rutto, Christopher Cheboiboch, and Kathy Butler will take to the streets of Chicago. We’ll be providing live coverage of the race – text updates with the occasional photo and maybe a video – starting early Sunday morning. After the race, we’ll be congregating back at Kitty O’Sheas, hopefully to celebrate.2. The US 10-Mile Championships are taking place in Minneapolis on Sunday. Jason Hartmann is racing as a tune-up for the US Olympic Marathon Trials.3.The BAA Half-Marathon also takes place on Sunday. Tom Nyariki, Richard Kiplagat, and Edna Kiplagat are racing. If you’re in Boston, it’s a great weekend of running – the BAA Half on Sunday, the…

4. …Tufts 10K on Monday. Elva Dryer is racing. She’s going to run fast, but she’s also going to get a preview of the US Olympic Marathon Trials course. Instead of running the regular Boston course, the women’s marathon trials will be on a loop course very similar to the Tufts course.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

On the eve of chasingKIMBIA Season Three, the road racing crew got things started with great results. At the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence, Rhode Island, Simon Ndirangu outkicked teammate and defending champion Richard Kiplagat for the win. “It was quite an exciting race,” said Tom Ratcliffe. “There were still a half-dozen athletes in the race approaching the final hill. That’s when Simon and Richard made their move.” It’s the same spot where Richard made his move last year to defeat Anthony Famiglietti and Fasil Bizuneh. Unofficially, Simon ran 13:40.

Further south at the Philly Distance Run Half Marathon, Tom Nyariki and John Yuda were in the hunt until the last stretch. Julius Kibet (who is James Koskei’s brother) had the faster closing kick on this day, pulling away from Nyariki and Yuda to win in 62:01. Nyariki ran 62:04 and Yuda 62:05. Charles Munyeki had a solid race, finishing 6th in 62:28. On the women’s side, Edna Kiplagat finished 3rd in 1:10:11. Pamela Chepchumba was the winner in 68:45.

Be sure to tune into Season Three of chasingKIMBIA starting tomorrow.