Looks like the folks who put on Runnin’ of the Green 7k took some feedback from the RunColo forum and put together a website. It’s not pretty to look at, but it’s a start.

Now, if they would just redo the course to make the actual distance a 7k, I know it’s short, probably around a quarter of a mile.

10/12 – 5.5 miles
10/13 – 10 miles
10/14 – 8 miles @ 6:43 (marathon race pace)
10/15 – 18 miles with 15 mins @ 6:14, 5 min recovery, 15 mins @ 6:19
10/16 – Off
10/17 – 12 miles @ 7:16 pace + 2 miles in VFF
10/18 – 8 miles @ 2 miles in VFF

Total 65.5 Miles

* First week of the taper
* Train stops Des Moines Marathon winner
* An Honorable Run book review in Boulder Camera
* Brock Quimby opening up another Boulder Running Company in Greenwood Village
* Brandon Fuller is going to Boston
* Congrats to my arch rival and best friend Mark Thompson on his 2:51:21 at the Des Moines Marathon yesterday. I now have to run a 2:51:20 at NYC.
* Denver Marathon finally gave out tech shirts, nice work.
* Denver Marathon also had timely results and it was great to see the track runner feature on the web page. However, it would be nice if they added the text message alerts. While spectating at Denver Marathon, I was receiving regular updates on the Des Moines Marathon with regards to my friend Mark, three split points and expected finish time. The Des Moines Marathon is smaller than Denver, thus you would think Chrontrack would have this capability.
* Running Scream Scram 5k on Friday, will be pushing a stroller and battling Brandon Fuller sans stroller! The best part about Scream Scram is the 6pm evening start time on a crisp fall day, reminds me of high school CC. I ran a 21:52 last year and that was starting at the back of the crowd and having to stop twice to run back and grab my daughters witch hat. So I’ll be gunning for a slightly faster time this year, but not racing.
* Timing Shake, Rattle and Run 5k on Saturday.
* Plan on running Racing with the Stars 5k on Sunday, not racing though, probably run marathon race pace.

DENVER, Colo. – October 18, 2009 – The Competitor Group (CGI) and Denver Marathon™, the largest marathon event in Colorado, celebrated its fourth annual marathon today in the Mile High City, including a marathon, a half-marathon, ING Marathon Relay and the McDonald’s Mile Kids Race. Nearly 10,000 runners competed in all events over the course of race weekend with the many of the top place winners representing all areas of Colorado. More than 700 participants represented a dozen charity programs selected by the Denver Marathon raising more than $400,000 for their organizations.

Marathon Results:
A local Coloradan from Arvada, Chris Siemers, 28, led the male field with a time of 2:23:03. Jynocel Basweti, 22, of Kenya, the 2008 Denver Marathon winner, placed second with a time of 2:23:56. Another Colorado resident, Andrew Smith, 33, from Denver, took third place with a time of 2:28:35.

In the women’s full marathon, Holly McIlvaine, 36, of Seattle, WA, took first place with a time of 3:00:26. Ashley Anderson, 25, from Denver, placed second with a time of 3:03:03 and Jeanne Cooper, 31, from Eagle, Colo., came in third with a time of 3:05:42.

Half Marathon Results:
For the half marathon, Matt Levassiur, from Alamosa, Colo., took first in the half with a time of 1:08:05; Justin Young, 30, of Superior, Colo., came in second with a time of 1:08:59 and Kennett Kiptoo of Kenya, 29, took third with a time of 1:10:13.

Peris Chumba, 21, of Kenya led the female division with a time of 1:18:53. Cynthia Lauren Arnold, 25, of Glenwood Springs, Colo.,, took second with a time of 1:21:50 and rounding out the women’s division, Elle Pishny, 24, of Durham, North Carolina, took third with a time of 1:23:07.

ING Four Person Relay:
The first place relay team was a Mixed team, Bells Running, from Greeley, Colorado with a time of 2:30:29.The top Men’s team was The GVI Group from Denver, Colorado with a time of 2:39:40. The Four UPS, all from the Denver Metro area, placed first in the Corporate division with a time of 3:15:43. The Women’s Division top relay team was CU Buffettes, all from Denver, with a time of 3:01:28.

McDonald’s Mile Kids Race:
The McDonald’s Mile Kids Race had more than 1,200 participants in its one-mile fun-run and other younger races to promote balanced active lifestyles in the state of Colorado. Ronald McDonald kicked off the event with a stretching and fitness session to prepare for the McDonald’s Mile Kids Race.

The course highlighted the cultural diversity of Denver’s communities by incorporating a mix of urban neighborhoods, shopping and restaurant districts, city parks and residential areas. The race course was flat and had little to no elevation change and was certified by USA Track & Field as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

“Today signified what the sport of running is all about — dedication, commitment and perfect Colorado weather, which made for an amazing running event in the great state of Colorado,” said Anton Villatoro, General Manager, Denver Marathon. “Today, we celebrated with the 10,000 athletes who participated in our event and encourage everyone to start training for the first Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon & ½ Marathon in the Fall of 2010. See you at next year’s finish line.”

The Competitor Group (CGI) announced recently that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series will officially add the Denver Marathon to its schedule of races for next year. The event will host the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon, ½ Marathon and the ING Marathon Relay in the fall of 2010. With the addition of the Denver event, there will now be 13 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathons and half Marathons in 2010. Each event creates a running block party with live bands performing at every mile, cheerleaders encouraging runners throughout the race, themed water stations, and a post-event concert featuring a headlining act. The events’ festive atmospheres, which combine entertainment and running, all maintain the unique aspects of the regions in which they are held.

For more information about the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon, please visit www.runrocknroll.com

About The Competitor Group
Competitor Group, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, CA, is a leading endurance media and event entertainment company dedicated to promoting the sports of running, cycling and triathlons. CGI owns and operates 32 national events delivering more than 300,000 professional and amateur participants in 2010. CGI publishes four magazine titles with a combined monthly circulation of over 800,000 and has recently launched an online endurance community at www.competitor.com. Further information about Competitor and its media properties can be found at www.cgimediakit.com.

Denver, CO – October 16, 2009 –The Competitor Group (CGI) today announced that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series will officially add the Denver Marathon to its schedule of races for next year. The event, which will celebrate its fourth running this Sunday, October 18, 2009, will host the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon, ½ Marathon and the ING Marathon Relay in the fall of 2010.

“Denver is an outstanding destination to run a marathon and we are excited to offer runners a flat, scenic course set against the backdrop of the breathtaking Rocky Mountains that give Colorado its gorgeous panoramas,” said Peter Englehart, President and CEO of CGI. “The Rock ‘n’ Roll format will help this event increase its visibility on a national scale and attract participants from across the U.S. and abroad.”

The largest marathon in the state of Colorado, the race is known as the premier distance running event in the Rocky Mountain Region. The marathon was founded four years ago by several people including CGI’s Anton Villatoro, who saw an opportunity based on the fact that Denver has one of the largest numbers of runners per capita of any city in the U.S. The event provides participants with a unique running tour of the city and last year was named one of 10 “Marathons You Should Do in 2008” by Runner’s World magazine.

“We are very excited that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is coming to Denver,” said Richard Scharf, President of VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Denver is the perfect city to be hosting the Marathon, with 300 days of sunshine, a great love of sports and outdoor activities, world-class cultural offerings, and natural beauty from the Rocky Mountains backdrop. We look forward to welcoming thousands of runners from around the world next fall.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, which began in San Diego in 1998, is organized by CGI and held in markets across the nation including Phoenix, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Antonio. The series of marathons and half-marathons will attract over 300,000 participants nationwide, and by incorporating the Denver event in 2010, more participants will travel from outside of the Rocky Mountain Region for the race, increasing the event’s annual economic impact for the City of Denver.

“Denver has always been a great city for sporting events and our community consistently shows its support to professional and amateur athletes alike,” said KieAnn Brownell, President of Denver Sports. “We are very pleased to bring this premier event to Denver and we consider this another example of the positive economic impact world class sports events can create for a city and its surrounding communities.”

With the addition of the Denver event, there will now be 13 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathons and Half Marathons in 2010. Each event creates a running block party with live bands performing at every mile, cheerleaders encouraging runners throughout the race, themed water stations, and a post-event concert featuring a headlining act. The events’ festive atmospheres, which combine entertainment and running, all maintain the unique aspects of the regions in which they are held.

The 2010 event will utilize the existing race course that begins in front of the State Capitol, and travels past many of Denver’s major landmarks including the Denver Public Library, Art Museum, Larimer Square, the Pepsi Center, Union Station and Coors Field, as well as City, Cheesman and Washington Parks. The course has little to no elevation change and is certified by USA Track & Field as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

“This is wonderful news for Downtown Denver,” said Tami Door, President & CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “As one of the healthiest cities in the nation, we are proud to support this kind of activity and a population of people who value wellness. Downtown Denver will make a beautiful landscape for the event and is positioned well to accompany this influx of people.”

The 2009 Denver Marathon event weekend kicks off with a free two-day Target Health & Fitness Expo at the Colorado Convention Center on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17. The Expo, where all participants pick up their race number, t-shirt and goodie bag, will feature up to 100 exhibitors with samples, the latest in running gear and sports apparel, as well as a full schedule of interactive clinics. Race registration for both Sunday’s marathon and half-marathon races is available at the Expo.

For more information about the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon, please visit http://www.runrocknroll.com/

Boston Marathon qualifiers or cheaters?

I’ve gotten a few emails telling me to look into the results at the Boulder Marathon 2009. Let’s point out a few anamolies.

Here are the 12th and 13th place for the women’s race:

12 Hideko Kawasaki F4549 Tachikawa
13 Takako Uchida F4549 Itabashi TO

They are both showing a 3:57:29 (9:03 pace per mile) finishing time, yet they ran their first 10k in 1:15:05 (12:05 pace per mile), making their overall finish time suspect. Also, both of these runners are missing their 20 mile chip time, meaning either they did not cross the 20 mile marker or the mat did not read their time. Here are the photos of Kawasaki and Uchida, they do not look like they are running a 3:57 marathon that is for sure.

A quick Athlinks search shows that Hideko Kawasaki ran a 4:37:06 at the 2004 Honolulu Marathon. You can view Takako Uchida’s race performances on Athlinks and her normal marathon time is also in the high four hours. Is it possible that both of these women PR’d on a tough course, at altitude on a hot summer day? Or is it more likely that they cut the course short?

On the men’s side we have John Sell, who came in second overall with a 3:12:26 (7:19 pace per mile), also missing the 20 mile split time. If you look at John’s times via Athlinks, we can see that he ran the last two Boulder Marathons in 4:20 and 4:29. That is quite the improvement, especially when you run your first 10k in 1:00:40 (9:45 pace per mile). Here are the pictures of John, crossing the finish line even.

If you look at the course map, my guess is that they cut the course short and did not take the left turn onto Oxford Street. The million dollar question is why did they cross the finish line if they did not run the full 26.2 miles?

I am a die hard University of Illinois basketball fan, thus I follow Big Ten basketball closely. I read the following the other day about Robbie Hummel and was impressed:

The running man

Junior forward Robbie Hummel amazed several teammates when he finished the Boilermakers’ annual team mile run in an impressive 4:49.

While Hummel appreciates the praise, he is quick to point out that he ran the mile for Valparaiso’s middle school track program.

As a senior, Hummel ran the 400 for the high school track team. This is two years in a row the 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward has broken five minutes in the team run.

“This year, I felt a little better and was able to put together a better time,” Hummel said. “I guess it’s a pretty good time.

“I could have finished better. I was dead tired, so I guess I gave it my best.”

On track

Hummel was impressed that every Boilermaker beat his maximum allowed time in the mile.

“That’s the first time that’s ever happened,” Hummel said. “I was impressed with (freshman center) Sandi Marcius being able to make his time.

“(At 6-9, 261), he is a big dude. For him to run the mile in less than six minutes is impressive. That kind of shows what kind of shape our team is in.”

8/17 – 5.5 miles
8/18 – 8 miles + 2miles in VFF
8/19 – 7 miles in VFF
8/20 – 13 miles @ 7:19 pace, then 4 miles at 6:47 pace
8/21 – 4 miles in VFF
8/22 – 8 miles + 2 miles in VFF
8/23 – 8 miles + 2 miles in VFF

Total 63.5 Miles

A decent week of training. The long run felt good, then tried to bust out the last four miles at marathon race pace. It was hard to change speeds like that after running 13 miles at a steady clip, but I think that’s the point of the workout and I was able to accomplish the goal.

Going to race the SkirtChaser 5k on Saturday evening, I ran a 17:48 there last year, be interesting to see where I am out now. I also may go for the back to back and run the Tiny Miracles 5k on Sunday, we will see.

My achilees is still really sore, enough to make me limp if I get out of a chair after sitting for a bit. The odd thing is it doesn’t hurt at all when I run, but it gets rather tight after a period of inactivity. It’s been like that for the last 3-4 months, but I’m not going to take any time off now with the marathon only 9 weeks away. I can rest up afterwards and as long as it’s not bothering me when I run, or once it is warmed up, I should be ok.

7/20 – 7.5 Miles
7/21 – Off
7/22 – 8 Miles in Lincoln City, Oregon on the Beach, wearing the Vibram Five Fingers
7/23 – 6.6 Miles in Eugene am & 8 Miles on Pre’s Trail in the pm
7/24 – 10.1 Miles in Portland, running downtown along the Willamette River
7/25 – 9 Miles running Salmon Butte Trail
7/26 -Off

Total 49.2 Miles

Solid trip, my college friend and I flew into Portland, immediately left Portland and headed towards the coast, cruised down the 101 and spent our first night in Eugene. Checked out the Rogue Brewery in Eugene, where the food was horrible and the beer was almost as bad. We had some laughs though, mainly with the decor which had pictures of various track athletes as well as the ever so sweet Track and Field video game.

The other highlight of the trip was running into a young guy who worked at the Rogue Brewery. Who told us that Steve Prefontaine was his “Bastard Uncle.” Apparently this kid, his name is Dallas by the way, well Dallas’s Grandpa and Steve’s Mom had relations, thus the guy Steve thought was his Dad, is not really his Dad. Dallas then told us that both he and his Dad were “Star Cross Country Runners in high school” and that “If you hold up a picture of myself and my Dad, next to Pre, we look identical,” let’s just say that Dallas provided a lot of laughs that night and he was 100% serious and he did not look anything like Pre, but it was hard to say since he did not have Pre’s sweet mustache.

Perhaps I should start a website to put the true light on Steve Prefontaine and his genetics.

I was not impressed with Eugene, sort of dull for a college town. I was also disappointed that Hayward Field was closed, I was told it was open to the public but that was not the case when we ran over there at around 9am. But, Boulder is hands down a superior college town, not even close. I was expecting Eugene to be similar but I could easily rattle off about 10 college towns that are superior, including Ft. Collins.

I loved Portland, great city and we just so happen to arrive during the Oregon Brewers Festival, thus we partook in said festival. The festival would have been great if there were not as many people, it took about 10 minutes each time you wanted to fill up your small mug and the overall size of the crowd wore me out after about an hour.

We spent about a day checking out Mt. Hood, including a tough trail run.

We spent four nights in Oregon, two in Eugene, two in Portland. In hindsight, wish we would have only done one day in Eugene and three in Portland, as I would have liked to have gotten back to the Mt. Hood area for another day and not felt so rushed.

Oregon is a cool state though, you can’t complain when it’s a short drive to the beach and to the mountains. Maybe someday they will let you pump your own gas, only time will tell.

7/13 – 4 Miles in Vibram Five Fingers
7/14 – 15 Miles on The High Line Canal, hot!
7/15 – 2 Miles in VFF
7/16 – 3 Miles in VFF
7/17 – 4 Miles in VFF
7/18 – Off
7/19 – 7.1 Miles

Total 35.1 Miles Total

I now have a Vibram Five Fingers tan line.

Poor week of training. The heat kills all motivation that I have to run and my schedule pretty much allows me to run at a 5pm or not at all. Thus, I cut a lot of my runs short this week.

Looks like my next race will be Tiny Miracles Trot 5k on August 30th. I have a few open dates in August, but not much going on those days in terms of races that I would want to do.

Fly to Portland on Wednesday.