KIMbia Athletics

Things have been going very well since the Trials. That is a pretty easy statement to make considering what the weeks since Pre were like. Leading up to the Trials I only missed one workout, so I was not losing fitness, it just added a lot more stress (dealing with aches and pains) to an already stressful event. However, I was able to get 100% the week leading up to the Trials–I knew that I had put in plenty of work in the months leading up to the all-important Trials and was ready to go. Everyone knows what happened at the Trials, and I want to forget about that and move on!

Since the Trials Jerry has started the sharpening process, and I am responding very quickly. Part of that process was finding a 1500. It was supposed to be in Europe, but for a lot of reasons it did not work out. This year is a little crazy, and there were not quality 1500s when we needed them. Unfortunately, meet directors over in Europe follow the motto “What have you done for me lately?” I have not run a fast 1500 (or a fast time in any event for that matter) this year. That really limited my chances of getting into a good field. I was on the wait list for some but it is a long way to travel without having the race set in stone.

Luckily for us, our group is very strong and capable of getting in what we needed right in Madison. The one-event meet was an awesome experience. It worked out so much better than we could have planned for. It was perfect weather, an awesome crowd and no stress!! It was pretty cool talking to people after and they would be like, “I found out 30 minutes ago this was going on, so I hopped in the car and rushed down here.” It is great to know we have that support in our community and we are really going to miss it. Portland is going to be a great opportunity and we are looking forward to it, but we will not forget what Madison has done for us!

The 1500 in Madison was a great send-off for Europe. I am in Stockholm now getting ready for a 3k tomorrow. It is a great field, and ‘m really looking forward to competing. I am also glad that I am running early (12:15 CDT) so I can watch the rest of the meet. It is good to see a field of this quality leading up to the Olympics. I will need this because the Olympic 5000 is so stacked and going to be way harder than last year. Plus, I have a feeling that the runners are not going to let it come to a kick like it did last year, as we know how that will turn out!

This will be a one-and-done trip for me, so I better make it worth it. Madison will be good prep leading up to my departure for the Games–it will be hot and humid! I love that weather–that is what I grew up in and have always run well in. Also, I get to be with my wife, sleep in my own bed and relax with the dogs. I will get 12 days in Madison, and then head off to Beijing. Luckily, I get to go to the Opening Ceremonies, which is going to be awesome. I can’t wait, and I am very excited in my training progression.

Leave a comment for me so I know what I should be talking about!! More in the weeks to come.

Although Chris Solinsky ran his second-fastest 5,000m last night in Heusden, Belgium, until late, late, late in the race he was on the verge of a major personal best.

In the “A” heat, Chris was with the lead group of eight as they passed 4,600m in roughly 12:05. A sub-13:10 clocking seemed inevitable. He lost contact with 300m to go, and soon after disaster struck–his back went into spasm with 200m to go, and that last half lap wound up taking Chris 40 seconds.  His time of 13:18.51 is still his second best after his 13:12.24 from last summer.

Results are here.

The soon-to-be-ex men from Madison start the first part of their European tour, and as you can see from these photos, they are ready to roll, and then some.

Chris Solinsky opens tomorrow with a 5,000m in Heusden, Belgium. Matt Tegenkamp follows that up with a 3,000m in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday the 22nd. Tim Nelson and Sean Quigley have a 3,000m of their own on te 26th in Oordegem, Belgium.

As he has during past European outings, Teg will be filing periodic dispatches. Curious about something? Use the e-mail friendly version of askteg [AT] kimbia [DOT] net to send our latest Olympian your questions.

Wow, we knew Matt T. was good, but last night he outdid himself, winning every event at a meet in Madison, Wisconsin. Okay, so the meet had one event, a 1500m, but still.

In a field comprised of Matt, Chris Solinsky, Sean Quigley and Jonathon Riley, Matt held off a last-lap challenge from Jonathon to win in 3:37.94, the fastest 1500m ever run in Wisconsin. Jonathan (3:39.02), Chris (3:40.67) and Sean (3:43.46) followed, with Jonathon and Chris also under the old state record of 3:42.63.

Matt leaves for Europe on Thursday for a few larger meets than last night’s, then will return to Madison before heading off to Beijing.

You can read Madison publications’ reports on last night here and here. Video is available here, for now at least, by choosing the race video from among the options at the top right of the page.

The Singore girls may be, collectively, the best high school runners in the world, but until this spring they haven’t had a track to train on. In December, they went 1-4 at Nike Team Nationals, dismantling a good field of American high schoolers. Their fourth runner, Mercy Kosgei, finished over a minute up on the first U.S. runner, and owns a silver medal from World Junior cross country. The team’s fifth, Emmy Kerich, placed a disappointing 45th while recovering from a very recent wisdom tooth excavation. In normal circumstances the girls could be expected to have swept.

Recent Singore alumna Janeth Jepkosgei won a world title at 800 meters last year, and in 1997, graduate Sally Barisosio took Kenya’s first womens’ world gold at 10,000 meters. Internationally, it is difficult to imagine another school even considering the Singore legacy, much less challenging it. Only one country, Ethiopia, has approached distance running success on a level comparable to this high school program. It is possible “best girls team in the world” doesn’t fully capture the Singore dominance.

And yet, for all this, the girls haven’t had a functional track in decades. Each year during rainy season, water cascades from the school’s hillside campus to the playing field below, washing away what appears to be a long-forgotten attempt at grading and constructing a soccer field and dirt oval. During his trip to Kenya last year with Matt Taylor and Tom Ratcliffe, Bellarmin Prep girls coach Matt Ellis decided something ought to be done. Ellis and his team raised over $2,000, and KIMbia agreed to oversee a track reconstruction project, to begin in early 2008. Political chaos, and a series of greedy contractors, have slowed construction, but we’re happy to report that the track is nearing completion.

Thus far, drainage has been the name of the game. The field is both at the bottom of a hill and itself canted, so that the curve from 0 to 100 meters sits nearly 4 feet below the curve from 200 to 300, compounding the erosion problem. Thus far, we’ve devoted most of our efforts to diverting water away from and around the field, and correcting the gradient imbalance from one side to the other. Next, we’ll mine a special soil called marrum, a crushed volcanic rock, and spread it across six (hopefully) level lanes. Most tracks in Kenya use marrum, which doesn’t absorb water during rain storms, because Kenya’s soil has a high concentration of clay and sticks underfoot with shocking tenacity. Tune in for a report from the girls’ maiden home-field interval session in a few weeks.

On the Runner’s World site.

Matt Tegenkamp took second in tonight’s 5,000m final at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Chris Solinsky took fifth after seizing the lead off a sluggish pace with three laps to go. After leading early, Brent Vaughn took ninth.

We’ll be back on Tuesday with more words and some video. For now, results.

Matt Tegenkamp, Brent Vaughn and Chris Solinsky all advanced to Monday’s 5,000m final.

Matt won his heat, the first. Taking the lead in the last lap, Matt ran a sub-60 last lap after a slow opening (8:37 at 3K) to finish in 13:54.62. Brent Vaughn didn’t finish in the top 6, and therefore had to await the results of the second heat to see if he got through to the final as one of four time qualifiers.

Surprisingly, the second heat, which Chris was in, went out even slower. Chris, with “strict orders not to take the lead until three laps to go,” found himself in second for most of the race. He wound up second in 13:59.65. Brent’s 14:06.90 from the first heat got him into the final as the last time qualifier.

“I’m excited to see what happens on Monday,” Chris said. “Everyone certainly saved it tonight, so Monday should be something special.” We agree.

Things didn’t go as well for Elva Dryer in the women’s 10,000m final. She finished 15th in 33:38.60. “No go” was Elva’s two-word race summary. “When they made that move, I just had no acceleration.” Still, she said, “I know I still have good fitness, and I’m optimistic I can show it soon, most likely on the roads. I like the roads!”

5,000m results | 10,000m results

Things will get interesting right away when the meet starts today, with the men’s 5,000m heats and women’s 10,000m final. The 5,000m heats seem a little unbalanced, but that’s the luck of the draw, and certainly Chris Solinsky should enjoy his morning and afternoon a little more by virtue of them.

We had dinner with Elva and Russ Dryer last night, and they were upbeat about Elva’s chances of making her third Olympic team.

In the meantime, here are the sorts of things that happen when the running world descends on Eugene:

• Alice Schmidt’s father-in-law is in your row on the flight from San Francisco to Eugene.
• You (well, Tom Ratcliffe) gets stopped in the grocery store by Alberto Salazar.
• You (well, Tom and Scott “Wrong Way” Douglas) get lost on a run and happen upon Pre’s Rock. It’s on a surprisingly narrow road in a nice neighborhood setting. We’ll go back later with camera.

Chris Solinsky got a major pre-Olympic Trials confidence boost at yesterday’s Prefontaine Classic, where he placed 4th in a loaded 2-mile field and ran a personal best of 8:15.77. Chris hung with the leaders throughout the race and into the last lap, and in the end was beaten only by three former world champions–Bernard Lagat, Rashid Ramzi and Paul Koech. Among those Chris beat were 5,000m world championship medalist Craig Mottram and steeplechase world champion and world record holder Saif Shaheen. Here’s Chris’s take:

Going into this race I was a little bit hesitant due to the fact that the pace was supposed be 4:00 at the mile which was 4 seconds faster than the race I ran at the Nike campus about ten days prior. Knowing that race was a fluke due to coming off of hard training and also breathing problems, I knew it was not a good litmus of my fitness, so I had to prepare mentally to do what I did for one mile twice.

I got off the line real well and settled in behind Lagat, which led me to decide to just follow him around since he makes pretty good decisions. We went through the mile at 4:05, then began to slow down, which was frustrating, but since I was a little tentative it was probably good. With two laps to go I felt great and started to think what I could do to win. The mistake I made was that I was so pumped to be where I was in the race that I started getting a little tight, which led to my lack of kick at the end. If I could change one thing it would be to have taken the lead with just around 300 to go. I may still have ended up 4th, but I would have given myself a better chance against 3 world champs.

I’m pleased with the race, especially after the Nike Mile, to finish behind two double world champs and the steeple world champ while still feeling that I could have done more. Those next gears will come in the next three weeks. This was a good race to have as my last race prior to the trials.

Many have wondered why Matt did not run the mile on Sunday. It was because he has had a hamstring tightness from training that was bugging him leading into the weekend. He had hoped that it would loosen up, but when it didn’t he made the tough and smart decision to not risk anything going into the trials, as that is the most important race of the spring. We will be ready to roll in three weeks and are looking forward to our first shot at an Olympic berth!!

Here are results, and here is a post-race video interview.