KIMbia Athletics

Lineth Chepkurui once again found herself among the best of the best, when the results came in at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. After taking fourth in 2009, the native of Bomet, Kenya came fifth in Poland in 2010, the third scorer on the title-winning Kenyan team. Leading the field through the two initial two-kilometer loops, Chepkurui fell back on the penultimate circuit, but held on for a strong fifth-place result in 24:40, just two-seconds behind the most decorated female distance runner on the planet, in Tirunesh Dibaba.

A good week’s work for most, but Chepkurui bounced back from World Cross to cross the Atlantic and defend her title as Crescent City Classic Champion in impressive fashion, just six days later. Read the full article

In the deepest distance race on the planet, Simon Bairu represented Canada, Nike OTC, and KIMbia impressively by taking 13th place at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, held in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Sunday. The 12k race consisted of six 2k loops, and Bairu established himself early, tucking into 19th place, just three seconds behind the leaders, as the field completed the first lap.  From there he would continue to pick off runners.

Staying close to race favorites Paul Tanui and Joseph Ebuya of Kenya, Ethiopia’s Gebregziabher Gebremariam, and Moses Kipsiro of Uganda, Simon remained just seconds back from the lead pack, even as the racing heated up on the 4th circuit, working himself up as high as 13th and just five seconds outside of the Top 5. Read the full article

Colorado residents James Carney and Elva Dryer will represent America at the 11th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, to be contested in Birmingham, UK on October 11th, 2009.  Carney was the national champion at the half-marathon distance in 2008, with Dryer winning her own title in 2007.  In fact, Dryer has shown a real aptitude for the distance, bringing a three-race winning streak — including a win in Austin this year — into the Championships.  Her PB is 1:11:40 and, in winning the national title in 2008, Carney set his lifetime best of 1:02:21.

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

Four KIMbia athletes wore the Stars & Stripes at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany.  Tim Nelson led things off on Monday evening in the 10,000m, where he finished 17th in a field of thirty-one.  With nine sub-27:00 athletes in the field, Nelson was shooting for a top-15 finish, representative of the number of finalists taken in the 5000m. Though he fell just short of that goal, Nelson clocked 28:18 in a credible World Championships debut, wrapping up what has been a banner 2009 year for him.

Three days later, his teammates hit the track in the prelim of the 5000m.  Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky ran intelligently in what turned out to be a rather briskly-paced first heat of two, keeping themselves within reach of one of the five automatic qualifying spots at all times. With six athletes getting separation in the final lap, Tegenkamp would secure automatic qualification to the finals by crossing the line second, behind Kenenisa Bekele, while Solinsky finished sixth, first in line to earn a time qualifier.  Coming home in 13:20, Solinsky admitted to easing back a bit in the final stretch, given that the pace was as fair as it was, and expecting that his time would hold up for one of the five time-qualifiers. Read the full article

Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky qualified to the 5000m finals at the World Championships in Berlin last night!  Everyone in the KIMbia family is immensely proud and super pumped for Matt and Chris to battle it out for a medal on Sunday at 10:25am Eastern Time.  As a fan, you are a huge part of that community, and all of the athletes truly apprieciate your support.  To show their appreciation, Matt and Chris want to give back by offering one fan a piece of their USA Track and Field gear that they are wearing in Berlin.  Also, the lucky winner will have the option of having it autographed by the KIMbia guys in Berlin.

 Here’s how it works: Log into your facebook account and go to the KIMbia facebook fan page.  At the page, share your well wishes on behalf of your personal running community.  Whether that is your high school team, college team, running club, or shoe store, just make sure you get your team’s name out there and make sure we know they are supporting Matt and Chris in the 5000m final (ex. “On behalf of the St. Xavier High School Cross Country team, good luck Matt and Chris! Beat Bekele!).  Once you have posted your message, get as many friends as possible to “like” your comment (facebook lingo, if you don’t understand, put your landline phone down and get with the times!).  The commenter with the most “likes” by the end of the 5k final will win a special piece of Team USA gear (Don’t worry, it’s not a sock).

Most importantly, though, tune into the 5000m final this Sunday at 10:25am Eastern Time here and scream yourself hoarse as Matt and Chris chase down a coveted World Championship medal!