It’s been another exciting week for endurance sports. This week we saw both the Ironman World Championships as well as a new world record at the Half-Marathon distance. In other news, Khalid Khannouci, one of America’s top hopes for an Olympic medal in the marathon next year was dissapointed by his performance in a tune-up Half-marathon at the Rock N Roll San Jose event.
Ironman World Championships – After many attempts, super-star Chris McCormack has finally won the Ironman World Championship in Kona. McCormack took the lead in the middle miles of the marathon and then cruised away from the field, scorching the run with a 2:42:02 marathon. Newcomer Chrissie Wellington won the women’s race. Wellington took the lead late in the bike and then powered through the run course. She ran the marathon in 2:59:58 to just slide in under the three hour mark.
It was a somewhat strange day in Kona as many of the top favorites, including Normann Stadler, Natascha Badmann, Michellie Jones and Faris Al Sultan all dropped due to illness or injury (or did not start in the case of Al Sultan) . Although the windless, clear conditions, could have set up a victory for a cycling specialist, in the end, it was the power of two of the strongest runners in the field that took the day.
Kiplagat Breaks Half-Marathon World Record – Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands broke the world women’s half-marathon record on Sunday when she clocked 1:06:25 seconds in a largely solo run at the world road running championships. The defending champion shattered the previous mark of 1:06:44 set by South African Elana Meyer in 1999. The Kenyan-born Dutchwoman also broke her own world record for 20 kms. Her time of 1:02:57 was 24 seconds faster than her mark set at last year’s inaugural championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
Paula Radcliffe technically has run the world’s fastest half-marathon with a time of 1:05:40 at the Great North Run, however, because of the downhill terrain it is not considered an official world record by sporting officials.
Khalid Khannouchi disappointed by his time at Rock N Roll San Jose – Former marathon world record holder Khalid Khannouchi didn’t have the time that he was looking for at the Rock N Roll San Jose Half-marathon this weekend. Khannouci was using the race as a tune-up ahead of the US Men’s Olympic Marathon trials coming up on November 3rd in New York City. After mile three, the men’s lead pack began to thin out, gradually dropping Khannouchi. The 35 year-old Chicago Marathon champion was clearly frustrated with his 1:05:04 finish time.
Upcoming:There’s so much more coming in the next couple of weeks. The Nike Women’s Marathon is this weekend in San Francisco. Then on the weekend of November 3rd and 4th we have the biggest weekend of all: the US Marathon Olympic Trials and the ING New York City Marathon. Be sure to stay tuned for complete coverage!
Coach Joe English, Portland Oregon USA
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