KIMbia Athletics

KIMbia’s own Brent Vaughn and James Carney raced the Bolder Boulder this past Monday and led Team Colorado to a surprise 2nd place finish behind Team Ethiopia. Read the details below, and get ready to chat with them live!

Who: KIMbia’s own Brent Vaughn and James Carney
What: Live Chat with the fans
When: 2:30pm Eastern/11:30am Pacific

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Who: 10,000m American & Canadian Record Holders Chris Solinsky and Simon Bairu
What: Live Chat with the fans
When: 1:30pm Eastern/10:30am Pacific

This is how it works: Type any question, comment, anecdote, or musing that you want Chris and/or Simon to hear in the box below, and they will respond live. It’s that simple. This is a forum for fans to interact with some of the world’s best runners in a way that is personal and fun and accessible to the people who really care about the athletes.

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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: Matt Tegenkamp, who spent the past year making his third global championship final and breaking 13:00 in the 5k, running 12:58.56 in Brussels — a 6+ second PB and just two seconds away from the American Record.

What were you thinking with 800m to go in Brussels? Were you anxious that the pace was slowing too much and perhaps you would not get a shot at sub-13:00 and/or the US record?

With 800 to go, I knew exactly were I was for time and I was disappointed that the pace slowed and by the fact that I didn’t do anything about it.   I don’t think the other athletes would have let me get to the lead but I think if I had just made the effort the pace would have picked back up.  It was tough coming so close to the AR but it was a huge ste p forward and I know I left time on the track that day!

Now that you’re under 13-minutes, does it feel at all like a weight has been lifted? 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

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.  First up, Tim Nelson, arguably the most-improved male American distance athlete in 2009.

This year you qualified for your first National teams, competed in your first World Championsip, became the 14th-fastest American at 10k, and twice took Olympians to the wire for a National Championship.  If you had to rank your races from 2009 based on how fondly you remember them, what would be #1 and what would be the runner-up?  And why?

My number one race would have to go to the Cardinal Invitational 10k.  It was an awesome experience to finally achieve my goal of running the Olympic ‘A’ Standard and getting under the 27:40 mark.   Read the full article

Fasil Bizuneh popped his marathon PB in New York at the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2007 — that despite a go-for-broke approach in which he raced aggressively and went after a spot on the Olympic Team.  Now the Arizona State grad returns to New York to take a crack at the traditional NYC course and a very, very tough field, albeit with what he calls a “more measured approach.”  He took some time to answer a couple of pre-race questions and preview NYC.

Your marathon PB came in New York at the Olympic Trials in 2007. Although 13th place may not have been exactly what you were hoping for, you stuck your nose in that race for as long as possible and raced commendably.  How will that NYC experience affect or inform your approach to Sunday?

One of the issues that affected me at the Olympic Trials race in 2007 was and injury that I was dealing with the four weeks leading up to the race.  Fortunately my training for this year’s NYC Marathon has gone off without a hitch and I am excited for my prospects on Sunday.  With the Olympic Trials, I had an all or nothing mentality. If I couldn’t be in the Top 3, then it really didn’t matter what place I got.  For Sunday’s race, I will use a much more measured approach.  Therefore, I should cross into Manhattan at 20 miles with plenty of run left in my legs. 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

You rang and, now, he answers. Tim Nelson is a former Foot Locker finalist, a multiple-time All-American at Wisconsin, and just the 14th American to break 27:40 in the 10k.  The California native and former Badger takes on your questions, below. Read the full article

Tim Nelson is possibly the hottest American distance runner at the moment, taking Olympians Anthony Famiglietti and Meb Keflezighi to the line at the USATF 15k and Cross Country Championships respectively, and claiming runner-up honors in each.  Then, Saturday evening, he ran a fat PB of 27:36 in the Kim McDonald 10k at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite, winning the event, getting the precious World Champs “A” Standard, and making him one of the fastest Americans ever at the distance.

So: what has spurred this hot streak?  Change in diet? Change of scenery? Something so unsexy as lots of hard work and mileage paying off?  The ball is in your court, folks.  Leave your questions in the comments below and we will be back with Tim’s answers on Friday!