KIMbia Athletics

Brent Vaughn: runner, father, music-lover.

Brent is the latest athlete to be featured in a RunnersWorld series that shares music playlists from distance runners, and Vaughn’s entry landed him on the front page of RunnersWorld.com.  The accompanying interview, conducted by friend of KIMbia, Peter Vigneron, explains the influence that the youngest Vaughn — daughter Ciara — has had on the music her dad listens to, while the playlist showcases Brent’s penchant for beat-driven ditties.

The full piece can be seen here, while Vaughn’s playlist is available for iTunes download here.

In a match-up pitting Canada’s best distance runner against the fastest American half-marathoner in history, KIMbia’s Simon Bairu came home the victor, winning the Rock and Roll Arizona Half Marathon over Olympian Ryan Hall. Bairu’s 1:02:47 not only won the day, but also took nearly of two-minutes off of the course record. Running just his second half-marathon, Bairu used the 11th mile to put 26 seconds between himself and Hall, and only lengthened his lead to the tape. With high hopes for his next race — the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Poland — Bairu certainly seems on the right track.

Meanwhile, a hop, a skip, and a very long jump away in eastern Texas, the USATF Half Marathon National Championships brought together a deep domestic field.  Houston has a history of auspicious, break-out races — from Hall’s own AR, to KIMbia’s Jim Carney winning the National Championship in his debut in 2008 — and Tim Nelson and Brent Vaughn looked to add their own chapter to that story as each took his first swing at the 13.1-mile distance. Read the full article

The domestic professional season kicks off this Sunday with the American southwest serving as ground zero.  The US Half Marathon Championships will run through the streets of Houston and feature a handful of KIMbia athletes, while the Rock and Roll Arizona Half Marathon goes off in Phoenix, with Simon Bairu taking on American Record Holder Ryan Hall.

There is plenty to be watching and a couple of Running Times pieces have gone inside the KIMbia stories that will be playing out this weekend. Chief among them? The half marathon debuts of Tim Nelson and Brent Vaughn. Vaughn expressed his confidence as he looks ahead with a new coach and new training approach:

“I’m training harder. I’m doing a lot more general strength stuff. My coach now is Jay Johnson. I think he’s a great coach. One of his strengths is knowing how hard I can push once the running is done.”

The full interview can be found here.  Read the full article

As we move into 2010, our athletes will each be sharing a look back at 2009, which we will be running throughout the next two weeks.  Next up: Brent Vaughn, who is preparing to step up to the half-marathon later this month.

1. You have talked a bit about moving up in distance starting in 2010.  Any idea yet when and where you might make your 10k/Half debut, and if longer races will be a part of the coming year?

I am planning to try out a longer race this winter before the track season starts.  I’m not planning to specifically get prepared for anything, but just want to run a road race during my preparation for the 10k and this upcoming track season. [Ed. Note: Brent has since entered the Houston Half Marathon where he'll compete for the USATF Championship at that distance.] 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

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

KIMbia — and Coach Jerry Schumacher — saw three more athletes join Tim Nelson (10,000m) on the American team for this summer’s World Championships, with Matt Tegenkamp claiming his first outdoor National Title in 13:20.  Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky (13:20) and Evan Jager (13:22) earned a decisive sweep in the Men’s 5000m, by running brilliant tactical races at Hayward Field, blitzing the final lap in 53 seconds.  Sean Quigley had his best showing at an outdoor national championship, hanging with the lead pack to the bell and ultimately finishing 7th, while Brent Vaughn took 9th. Watch the race in it’s entirety below, and check back for more the rest of this week! Read the full article

As members of the Oregon Track Club, Wisconsin transplants Chris Solinsky, Matt Tegenkamp and Evan Jager get to call Hayward Field their home away from home. And after turning in terrific performances at Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic, the trio seems to feel plenty comfortable there, showing great form in their final tune-ups before the US Outdoor Championships.

In a strong Men’s 3000 field, Chris Solinsky and Matt Tegenkamp stayed just off a hot early pace, which had been aimed at the 7:30 barrier.  When things slowed with a kilometer to go, Solinsky and Teg closed a small gap and attached themselves to the back of a lead pack consisting of six world-class athletes.  With 200 meters remaining, Qatar’s Saif Saaeed Shaheen made a bid for the win, and the pair of KIMbia athletes responded.  While Tegenkamp got caught in some traffic, Solinsky stepped wide and positioned himself well, as the lead pack entered the homestretch.  When the field spread itself across multiple lanes with 100m to go, Teg found some space and the pair blasted toward home.

When the dust settled, Solinsky and Tegenkamp had left former World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Eliud Kipchoge in their wake, along with 2008 Olympians Alistair Cragg and Moses Ndiema Masai, earning 3rd and 4th place, respectively.  Solinsky came within inches of successfully running down 2-time World Champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen, as well as a new PB, with his 7:37.05 clocking landing just .15 shy of the 7:36.90 PB from 2007 — a time, it bears mentioning, that was run in mid-July of that season. Tegenkamp finished in 7:37.32 — a few ticks off of his PB, but a good early-season performance against a field of this caliber.  To wit: Kipchoge entered the race as the 2009 world leader at 7:28, and, after Sunday, Solinsky and Tegenkamp were the 8th and 9th fastest performers in the world, this year.

In the Bowerman Mile, 20-year-old Evan Jager ran a man’s race, setting a big PB of 3:54.35, shaving a second from his previous best equivalent performance, and taking 7th in a very good field — right on the heels of the top American finisher in the race.  With Bernard Lagat holding a free pass to this season’s World Championships as the defending 1500m champion, all three American spots are up for grabs, and with his race at Pre, Jager has put himself on the short list of  contenders to make it to Berlin. Read the full article

Held annually at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR, the Nike Mile gives employees a chance to compete on a unique track which was actually built through a stand of trees on the southeast corner of the campus.  Considering that Nike presently “employs” the American record holder in the mile, among many others, the fast section of this event is, well, quite fast.  Brent Vaughn continued his card of early-season under-distance races and acquitted himself well, putting himself right in the thick of the lead pack at 1200m, and ultimately taking 4th place with a 4:01.57 clocking — a PB for the full mile.