Lel Shows Me, Shows Them

Martin Lel showed he wasn't going to beaten in a sprint on Sunday (contrary to my post below) and won the Flora London Marathon in an event record 2:05:15. He beat my pick, Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya, who ran a very fast 2:05:24 and Abderrahim Goumry of Morocco, who claimed bronze in 2:05:30. American Ryan Hall ran phenomenally well, posting a fifth-place 2:06:17. That bodes quite well for Beijing. Hall is a solid No. 2 on the USA marathon list now, trailing only Khalid Khannouchi, who has a pair of sub-2:06s on his resume after getting US citizenship. Khannouchi had the London record of 2:05:38 -- until Sunday.

On the women's side in London, German Irena Mikitendo, running only her second marathon, stunned everyone with a 2:24:12 win. She was joined on the podium by Russian runner-up Svetlana Zakharova (2:24:39) and my pre-race favorite, Gete Wami of Ethiopia (2:25:37).
You win some, you lose some, whether you're running or predicting!
For a London Times story, check out: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article3738093.ece

London Calling . . . Who's On First

With a "Doctor Who" marathon playing on Chicago's WTTW-TV tonight, what better time to prognosticate about tomorrow morning's Flora London Marathon. With apologies to "The Doctor," who has the advantage of being a Time Lord, and with his Tardis can predict London's future like it was yesterday, here go my predictions:

Men
1. Sammy Wanjiru, Kenya
2. Martin Lel, Kenya (he gets a little surprise near Buckingham Palace)
3. Ryan Hall, USA (the kid can stay with the Africans and Asians)

Women
1. Geti Wami, Ethiopia (no Paula Radcliffe, no problem)
2. Berhane Adere, Ethiopia (two-time Chicago champ!)
3. Salina Kosgei, Kenya

Swoosh!

Nike has announced a new multi-year agreement with Bank of America to become the official footwear and apparel sponsor of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, beginning with the Oct. 12, 2008 race, as well as the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. Previous shoe company sponsor was New Balance. This deal has been in the works for a long time and surprised just about no one. If you want to run, no matter what brand of shoes you wear, sign up very soon. Fewer than 12,000 spots remain out of the 45,000 allotted.

A Blog Born to Run

A running blog for the Chicago area? Why the heck not? Doing this has been on my mind for quite a while, and tonight, the gun finally has sounded. We're off and running, for better or worse.

I don't want this to be about me other than a quick introduction. My name is Bob Richards, and I've been covering running in Chicago and the Midwest for various media outlets since the early 1980s. My gigs have included more than 20 years at the Chicago Sun-Times and a stint as editor of Chicago Athlete magazine. I continue to write a column for Silent Sports magazine, but enough about me.

How about all those runners (more than 800) from Illinois who will toe the line at Boston on Patriots Day, Monday April 21? I don't know about you, but I get goose bumps just watching the famous race unfold on TV (VERSUS CABLE NETWORK). It's something very special, and so are the runners who make the trek each year from Hopkinton to Beantown's Boylston Street. And the women's Olympic trials the day before will be very cool.

Did you hear about the St. Pius 5K in Lombard last Saturday? I feel for the race director. The lead runners went off course not once but twice in a race that ended up being 2.14 miles. As national class 55-59 runner Sam Cortes said, "I just set a world record" as he clocked 12:09 for the bizarre distance. Sam was third overall. Two kids barely beat him.

CARA Circuit race No. 1 is Sunday in Oak Park. Want to see how a race is supposed to be run? This is the one to see. It's also one to dress for. It will be cold!

Quick tip: If you want to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, sign up now. There are close to 33,000 registered as I write. That leaves 12,000 spots. You go, Chicago!

Let's see where this goes. I look forward to hearing from you.