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4/21/2018

Japan's Yuki Kawauchi was 91 seconds behind at 35K, then he made an unbelievable move to win Boston

It looked like last year's Boston Marathon winner, Geoffrey Kirui, was going to win again but he may not have realized how tough of a runner Japan's Yuki Kawauchi really is in challenging weather conditions.

Kirui had taken command at 30K opening up a 28 second lead on a pack of three behind including Japan's Yuki Kawauchi who lead the pack through the half marathon mark.

At this point Shadrack Biwott was the first American as Galen Rupp was not handling the weather well. Geoffrey stayed in control, hitting 35K in 1:50:49 after a 15:51 5K split.

Yuki was 91 seconds back. Then Yuki made an unbelievable move (running a 5:08 mile) and overtook Kirui and never looked back. Two America's were in the top four with just a mile to go (Biwott and Pennel) and stayed that way to the finish.

Yuki crossed the finish line first in 2:15:54 beating last year’s champion by over three minutes. Yuki became the first Japanese runner to win since 1987. Geoffrey finished second in 2:18:21, Biwot third in 2:18:32 and Pennel fourth in 2:18:57.

In the end there were six American's in the top ten. Tenth place being almost 12 minutes behind the winner. Kawauchi said through an interpreter after the windy, rainy race that "it was the best conditions possible" for him.

(04/16/18) Views: 2,857
Bob Anderson

Desiree Linden was wet, was cold and wanted to stop but she didn’t as marathoners do and won Boston and $150,000

The weather Monday in Boston was more than bad, it was terrible. Shalane Flanagan posted, “Those were the most brutal conditions I’ve ever run in.”

One elite woman just kept putting one foot in front of the other faster than anyone else until the end. Desiree Linden even at one point waited for Shalane at a bathroom stop.

This brief break, might have helped Desiree get life back in her legs as well. Desiree caught back up to the lead pack but Shalane couldn’t hang. In the end Desiree won by nearly four minutes and became the the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since Lisa Rainsberger in 1985.

Afterwards she said there were many moments she wanted to drop out but she kept on going. Was it worth it? For her efforts she was given a check for $150,000. She could have easily not finished.

It is interesting to note that according to the race director 95.5% of those who started finished. Very impressive but then again marathoners are a different breed.

(04/17/18) Views: 1,214
Bob Anderson

Another look at the 2018 Boston Marathon Champion Yuki Kawauchi

Yuki Kawauchi’s improbable victory at the Boston Marathon on Monday is the crowning glory in the career of an amateur Japanese runner who has defied every convention in modern athletics and taken the road less travelled to make his mark.

The 31-year-old from Saitama, who becomes the first Japanese man to win the Boston Marathon since Toshihiko Seko in 1987, holds down a full-time job working at a local school, and trains without the aid of a coach or sponsorship. And he has competed in more than 80 marathons.

After splashing across the finish line through wind and rain ahead of defending champion Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya on Monday, Kawauchi was in no doubt he surprised a few people.

“I don’t think there was a single person in Boston who thought I would win this today,” he said with a smile. “In the marathon you never know what could happen.”

(Editor’s note: we did think that Yuki was the best runner in the field winning other races in extreme weather conditions. This being posted Sunday on MBR.)

Many of Kawauchi’s marathon wins have come in awful weather and he said being battered by wind and rain in Boston played right into his hands.

“I think the conditions were instrumental in being able to win …” he added. He has won his last five marathons, including four in 2018 alone, and ran 12 last year. Kenya’s reigning Olympic champion Eluid Kipchoge by comparison ran only two.

“I love to run races,” said Kawauchi. “Races gives me the opportunity to travel and in a more practical sense, because I train by myself if I didn’t put in a lot of races I wouldn’t be able to put in the same quality.”

(04/18/18) Views: 629

Uganda's Cheptegei pulls off double, sets Games Record and Robertson sets New Zealand National Record

The much talked about 10000m at the Commonwealth Games today was one of the best events of the Games so far. Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (UGA) fresh off his 5000m win not only won the 10000m too but set a Games Record breaking Wilberforce Talel (KEN) record of 27:45 set in 2002. Cheptegeie clocked 27:19 running his last 5000m in 13:25, 25 seconds faster than his 5000m winning time. The 10000m was a fast race as six runners got under the Games Record. Jake Robertson (NZ) finished fifth in a new national record for New Zealand clocking 27:30. He took the lead at the 7K mark coming up from eight and lead for four laps but he could not hold it but he still ran 13:36 for his last 5000m. Canada's Mohammed Ahmed and Cheptegei battled back and forth for the lead the last two kilometers. In the end the Canadian was out sprinted placing second in 27:20. Third was Rodgers Kwemoi (KEN) in 27:28. Eight runners finished under 28 minutes. It does not get much better than this. (04/13/18) Views: 374

Your training for Boston is done and now the only thing left to do is run the 26.2 miles on Monday

The Boston Marathon is just two days from now. Your training is done. Now you just need to run the 26.2 miles on Monday. That’s all. There are many decisions that need to be made for race day and each can make the difference between running a good race or a bad one. Decisions like what do you eat, wear, how fast do you start and how should you deal with the weather? “You have done the training. For race day don’t do anything new,” says Bob Anderson who ran the 2013 Boston Marathon. “However, Boston does start later than most marathons and there is a lot of waiting at the starting area. So I had to do two things a little different. I did bring some warm clothes (it was cold) to the start to stay warm which I left on the bus and one shirt I tossed away right before the start. Secondly, I normally don’t eat much before a race (except for half a banana and a GU pack). For Boston (because of the later start I wanted to make sure I had enough fuel) I ate a light breakfast (pancake with honey and a banana) at around 6am. I ran 3:32:17 (age 65) that day and everything worked. I drank water or Gatorade at each water station and I carried five GU’s that I started eating at mile five. I knew I had gotten in most of the training miles I wanted. The main thing left, was dealing with the mental side of things. Ty Velde a Boston Globe writer wrapped up his training for this year’s race on Wednesday with a ten mile run. Ty wrote, “ While my physical training may be done, I wish I could say that same about my mind. The interesting thing about marathon training is that when it comes to running, it’s easy to set parameters in terms of mileage, time, routes and frequency. But the parameters associated with mental training are not so defined. That’s something that does not end until I cross the finish line.” (04/14/18) Views: 281
Bob Anderson

New record set for pushing a triple stroller for Half Marathon in San Jose

When Ann Marie Cody’s 16-month-old triplets get fussy, instead of taking them for a spin in the car to calm them, she straps them into their 4-foot-wide triple stroller and takes them out for a run. It works like a charm, the mother from Sunnyvale says, because the two boys and one girl seem to like being pushed while she jogs. Cody used her kids’ calm temperament while in the stroller to her advantage Sunday morning as she bested the Guinness World Record time for fastest half-marathon while pushing a triple pram, running in the inaugural Silicon Valley Half-Marathon in downtown San Jose today April 15. She finished in 1:46:13, beating her previous time by nearly two minutes, which she set in the Fresno California Classic Half-Marathon last year. The time will still need to be ratified by Guinness before becoming official. Even with the stroller, Cody placed 49th out of 753 women registered for the event, and 153rd overall out of 1,474 entrants. “I went out hard, I tried to not leave any gas in the tank,” Cody said after finishing the race Sunday morning, still dripping in sweat and fighting off cramps in her feet. “It was awesome.” (04/15/18) Views: 278

One elite Boston Marathon runner, Yuki Kawauchi handles extreme weather well

Maybe the one elite runner in the Boston Marathon field that has performed the best in extreme weather conditions is Japan's Yuki Kawauchi. He is running his first Boston. He was one of just three runners in the Marshfield Road Runner's 37th New Year's Day Marathon. He was attempting to break the world record of 75 sub 2:20 marathons he co-held with Doug Kurtis which he did. It was very cold and windy. The temperature was 4 degrees and he ran 2:18:59. Colder than what is predicted for Monday. Most Runners would not have run on News Year Day but it didn’t stop Yuki. The 31-year-old, who has won more than 30 international marathons, has a best of 2:08:14. What will the weather be like race morning? As of late Sunday morning, Boston was just a couple of degrees above freezing, and it won’t be much better early Monday. Should be a little warmer but most likely there will be rain and wind. How will this play out? We will know in 24 hours. (04/15/18) Views: 270
Bob Anderson

Derek Clayton who held the World Marathon Record for 14 years, says shoes and pacemakers is why today's times are so fast

DID YOU KNOW: On June 12, 1965 Japan's Morio Shigematsu broke Abebe Bikila's world marathon record clocking 2:12:00 at the Polytechnic Marathon near London. Then on December 3, 1967 Australian's Derek Clayton shattered that record clocking 2:09:36 at the Fukuoka Marathon.

Derek was training over 250 miles a week and was clearly the world's best marathoner at that time. Then on May 30, 1969 he ran a marathon in Antwerp, Belgium mostly on cobble stones. He clocked 2:08:33 beating his own time by over a minute. 

Skeptics throughout the following decades would speculate that the course must have been short. Yet only 11 days before his historic run in Belgium, Derek ran at high altitude and won a marathon in Turkey May 19th clocking 2:17:26.

“I had to run faster than I'd planned. If I hadn't run in Turkey I would have run 2:07 in Antwerp," Clayton said. "Maybe the course was short but Derek had nothing to do with that," says Bob Anderson, MBR & RW founder and a good friend of Derek.

"Any way, worse case scenario is that Derek held the world record he set in Fukuoka until Ron Hill ran faster (2:09:28) on July 23, 1970. That is two and half years.

Best case scenario, Derek held the world record for 14 years, until Robert De Castella ran 2:08:18 December 6, 1981 at Fukuoka. Derek was one of the world best marathoners of all times, the first under 2:10.

Yet even today when Derek's name comes up there is talk about the possible "short" course. I think it is about time we give him the credit that is due."

Yes, times today have gotten a lot better but there are two things that are clearly different today. "...the shoes they are wearing...and something I am dead set against, pacemakers," says Derek.

(04/19/18) Views: 210
Bob Anderson

This year’s London Marathon could be the hottest ever but you never know with weather forecasts

London Marathon organisers say they will send advice to runners this week, with forecasts suggesting Sunday's race could be the hottest on record. Expected temperatures of up to 24C (75F) could surpass the 22.2C recorded in both 1996 and 2007. Organisers told the BBC they have made contingency plans, but that it is too soon for an accurate prediction. "We monitor the weather forecast for race day very closely," said Hugh Brasher, the marathon's event director. "We have a number of contingency plans in place in case of hot weather and we will be sending advice to runners and spectators later in the week that will be proportionate to race day." In 2007, organisers installed four run-through showers along the route and added an extra 2,600 bottles of water to the normal stock of 25,000 bottles at each station to help runners deal with the high temperatures. "This year's London Marathon will end up being one of the warmest on record, potentially even the warmest," said BBC weather presenter Simon King. "Temperatures on Sunday are expected to reach 22-24°C with some strong April sunshine. "The heat will no doubt cause issues for the runners, but I can offer the smallest of relief in that there is a small chance of a thunderstorm through the morning which will temporarily drop the temperature." Marathon schedule: Sunday April 22 Start times (BST): Elite Women (09:15), Elite Men & Mass start (10:00) (04/18/18) Views: 195

By far this was the most emotional race (Boston) I have ever run says 4th place finisher Tyler Pennel

Tyler Pennel place 4th in the Boston Marathon, second American. He posted this a few hours ago on Facebook. "We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.” - Emil Zatopek. While I have always thought this quote to be true, yesterday’s Boston Marathon confirmed it. Only runners would have been out in what most people would describe as horrid conditions, let alone run 26.2 miles in it. We are a different breed. There is a level of persistence and stubbornness that distance runners of all ability possess, and yesterday’s race was all about grit and persistence. By far this was the most emotional race I have ever run. I went through times where I wanted to just stop; I was cold, wet, and miserable, only for a mile or two to pass and I would feel great. Crossing the line, the only thing I was happy about was that I had run the Boston Marathon and I was done. I could finally get some dry clothes on and warm up. Only after learning that Nicole placed 5th did I find out I was 4th. It was just the cap to an emotional two and a half hours. I would not have been on the starting line with out the support of ZAP Fitness. Five and a half years ago, they offered me a spot on the team, and I would not have made it to this level of running without them. Thank you! (04/17/18) Views: 193
Tyler Pennel