Mary Cain

Associated Press/Don Ryan

Over the weekend, 17 year-old Mary Cain competed in the IAAF Diamond League Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Cain ran against some of the best elite athletes in the 800m.

Cain finished the 800m in 1:59.51. That time set a new American high school and junior record.  She is now the first American junior athlete to run under two minutes in the event.

Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi won the women's 800m race in 1:56.72. That time set a meet record and is a world leading. American Brenda Martinez was second with a personal best of 1:58.18. Alysia Montano was fourth in 1:59.51. Cain finished behind Montano in fifth.

After Cain found out she broke the high school and junior record from her coach Alberto Salazar, Montano did something really neat. Montano asked Cain if she would like to have her red chrysanthemum that she wore in her hair. Cain said yes and Montano put the flower in Cain's hair. I thought that was so classy of Montano. That moment made me smile.

Here is the video:

Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon

I ran the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon Sunday.

The race is a point to point. The half marathon runners get bussed out to an elementary school in Dexter. The course is run on rural roads that lead to downtown Ann Arbor. According to the website, ".. the race is run on paved surfaces throughout the entire course, and features its only real flat stretches of any length for two miles during the entire race." That's true until you run up the big hills during the final two miles.

The first part of the course isn't too bad. There are plenty of rolling hills. Nothing too bad. When I ran up the heads, I just stared at the pavement. The first reason I looked at the pavement to make sure I wasn't going to twist my ankles on my low spots or potholes in the road. The second reason is the hills always go by quicker to me if you are not staring at how much longer you have to go.

When I passed the six mile mark, I was happy to be on pace to run under two hours. I have run this half marathon since 2011 and I have never done that. Then at 6.5 miles the biggest hill of the course was right up in front of us. A guy and woman next to me stopped to walk the hill. If this race was an ultra, I would have walked the hill too. Since it was just a half marathon, I ran up the hill. I put my head down and looked at the pavement about 10 feet in front of me. That hill was brutal. When I reached the top, it took a bit for my legs to speed back up and run again. I think that was the case for everyone around me.

Around the eight/nine mile mark, I thought I was still doing well to break two hours. I was wrong. The two hour pace group ended up passing me on my left. I hung with them for a stretch, but they ended up getting away. As disappointed as I was, I kept running. During those last four miles, I was surprised to see so many male runners on the side of the road with their hands on their knees or walking. It boggled my mind. Males are supposed to be tougher then females. Maybe they hot from the sun, tired or just didn't train properly. It just surprised me to see so many of them on the side of the road.

The stretch between mile 11 and 12 seemed like it took forever. Just being so close to the end, I wanted to see the next mile marker as soon as I could. When the course made a curve to the right, I knew a hill was coming. The course takes us up a hill before coming to the 12 mile marker. I was almost two minutes behind when I reached the final mile marker. I didn't want it to get any worse, so I kicked it into gear. I ended up passing so many people. I'm sure they were probably as tired as me, but I wanted to be done.

I was stuck in no-man's land after passing a bunch of runners. I had a group of runners in front of me and behind me. No one beside me. I really wanted someone next to me. The wind was hitting us in the face and I wanted a person to break the wind for me. Since I had no one but my self, I kept going. Then probably for the last half mile the course goes up hill. My legs couldn't switch into any other gear. The pace I was running is what I was going to finish in. A block away from the finish line, I took my Oiselle hat off. I did that so I could have photos taken of me without huge shadows on my face from the bill of my hat. I crossed the finish line in 2:02:26. I was two minutes shy of going under two hours. Maybe I can get my sub-two hour next year. I know I will try.

Official results:
Time: 2:02:26
Overall place: 1346/2087
Gender place: 435/1229
Age group: 70/202

Favorite photos from May 25, 2013

Prefontaine Classic

The Prefontaine Classic takes place today and Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

There will be a live webcast of Distance Night in Eugene starting tonight at 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST). The running events include the men's 1500m (national), women's 800m (national), men's International mile and the men's 10,000m.

The Prefontaine Classic will be broadcast live on two TV stations Saturday. Starting first on NBC Sports Network from 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST. Then on NBC from 4:30-6 p.m.

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: the Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis
Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Stephen Rebello
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan
Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff
Top of the Morning, Brian Stelter
A Private Disgrace: Lizze Borden by Daylight, Victoria Lincoln
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run, Matt Fitzgerald
 
Currently Reading: Waiting to be Heard, Amanda Knox

adidas Grand Prix track meet

Associated Press/John Minchillo

The adidas Grand Prix took place Saturday at Icahn Stadium in New York. The weather was less then ideal. It was cold, windy and rainy. Even in those conditions, American athletes still had a good day.

In the field events, Janay Deloach Soukup was the winner of the long jump with a new meet record of 21-5.75 feet. With the win Deloach Soukup is now leading the long jump in Diamond League standings. Over at the shot put, Americans took the first four places. Ryan Whiting won the event with a put of 69-9.50 feet over Reese Hoffa (67-10.75). Cory Martin and Joe Kovacs finished third and fourth. Jenn Suhr won the pole vault. Suhr cleared 15-2.25 feet.

On the track, Michael Tinsley won the 400m Hurdles in a tight race. Tinsley's winning time was 48.83. Tinsley passed the leader, Javier Culson, to claim the win. Tyson Gay pulled away from the field to win the 100m in 10.02.

My Oiselle teammate ran the 1500m. The race was won by Abeba Aregawi of Sweden in 4:03.69. Hellen Obiri of Kenya was second (4:04.84) and American Brenda Martinez was third in 4:06.25. Grace placed eighth in 4:08.92.

The next stop on the IAAF Diamond League tour is Eugene, Oregon. The Prefontaine Classic will take place Friday and Saturday. The Prefontaine Classic will on broadcasted live on NBC Sports Network on Saturday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. and on NBC from 4:30-6 p.m.

NCAA DI Outdoor Preliminary Round-up

The NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Preliminaries started last Thursday. The East held their meet at North Carolina A&T State in Greensboro, North Carolina and the West held their prelims at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Qualifying individuals from both prelim site advance to the NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon on June 5-8.

Some of my favorite athletes that will be participating in Eugene: For the ladies, Kimberlyn Dunchan of LSU and English Gardner are in the 100m and 200m prelims, Ashley Spencer of Illinois is ranked #1 in the 400m; Rebecca Addison and Amanda Eccleston from Michigan and Cory McGee from Florida will be running the 1500m; Emma Coburn of Colorado is ranked #2 in the 3000m Steeplechase; Megan Goethals of Washington, Jordan Hasay of Oregon and Abby D'Agostino of Dartmouth will all be running the 5000m; Goethals and Caitlin Comfort of Wisconsin are in the 10,000m.

On the men's side: Casimir Loxsom of Penn State and Harun Abda of Minnesota will be running in the 800m prelims; Andrew Bayer of Indiana and Austin Mudd of Wisconsin will be in the 1500m heats; Mason Ferlic of Michigan made the field for the 3000m Steeplechase; #1 ranked Lawi Lalang of Arizona, Reed Connor and Maverick Darling of Wisconsin are in the 5000m; Lalang and Zachary Mayew of Indiana will be running in the 10,000m finals, Ali Arastu of Michigan will be competing in 400m Hurdles and Duke's Curtis Beach will be in the decathlon.

Favorite photos from May 20-24, 2013

adidas Grand Prix track meet

The adidas Grand Prix track meet from New York, which is also a Diamond League event, will be broadcasted live on NBC from 1-3 p.m. Saturday.

Some of the athletes that will be participating in the meet are Sanya Richards-Ross, who will be making her outdoor season debut, Tyson Gay, Jenn Suhr in the pole vault, Jamie Cheever and Sara Hall in the 3000m steeplechase, another Oiselle teammate Kate Grace and Morgan Uceny in the 1500m, Aries Merritt in the 110m hurdles, Ben True in the 5000m, David Rudisha, Nick Willis, Erik Sowinski and Robby Andrews in the 800m, and Jeremy Wariner and Tony McQuay in the 400m.

WNBA season

The 2013 WNBA season starts Friday. The first game of the year will be between last year's WNBA champions, the Indiana Fever, on the road against the San Antonio Silver Stars. The game starts at 8 p.m. EST and will be on Fox Sports Southwest.

Below is the rest of the WNBA schedule through May and June. The schedule lists local and national TV stations that the games will be broadcasted on.

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: the Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis
Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Stephen Rebello
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan
Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff
Top of the Morning, Brian Stelter
A Private Disgrace: Lizze Borden by Daylight, Victoria Lincoln

Currently Reading: Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run, Matt Fitzgerald

5K Race for Diabetes

I ran the 5K Race for Diabetes Saturday. It was a lovely sunny morning with temperatures in the 60s with a slight breeze.

I started the race in the third row back. Some walkers started to the right of me. I didn't understand why they started near the front. It could have been their first race. When the race started, I found myself between the fast group and the slower group. I always get stuck in the middle. I ran next
to a couple of guys for a while, but I ended up dropping them soon.

A couple of guys passed me near the mile mark. They were running a little faster then me, so I couldn't keep up with them. I did catch up with a couple of teen boys. It seemed that they started the race too fast as both of them were walking. Not long after I catch and pass them, they are passing me. That short walk must have helped them because they started pulling away from me.

I was right where I wanted to be at the 2 mile mark. My goal was to keep my pace up and finish with a good time. I was by myself with four blocks to go. I could hear a man behind me encouraging his kids to keep it up. With two blocks to go, the man and his pre-teen daughter passed me. They both pulled ahead of me, but not too far. With a block to go, they both picked up their pace. As did I. The man and his daughter ended up finishing a few seconds ahead of me. I finished in 25:59. I was the sixth overall female and placed second in my age group.

This is the second time I have run this race. They course may have changed since I ran it last. I really don't remember. The course this time was very nice and flat. It also had plenty of shade. This is a race that I will have to run again.

Favorite photos from May 14, 2013

Bohemian National Cemetery IV - Chicago, IL

Treadmill repair

While I was running on my NordicTrack Commercial 2150 treadmill last Friday, the belt stopped moving.

My husband and I have been waiting for parts for a while. The treadmill repair guy was at our house probably a month ago because the belt jerked every now and then, the deck would decline on its own and the motor was making loud noises. When the repair guy opened up the treadmill, he saw that he needed a few more parts before he could fix everything.  I asked him to put the treadmill back together so I could continue to run on it. Last Friday, my luck finally ran out. The motor finally gave up.

I had to run outside when the treadmill was no longer functional. I ran outside for the next four days. That must be a record for me. For the past six or seven years, my daily runs have been on my treadmill. In those five days I ran in cold spring temperatures, sun and wind. Sunday morning was a treat because I ran in all three: sun, cold and wind. I started my run at 7 a.m. and it was so cold outside. It was so cold that frost formed on my car windows. So much for warm May spring temperatures. It was only in the 30s and it was so windy. Another windy day was Tuesday. It was really bad. The wind was around 20 mph. That isn't too fun running into that. But I made due and did log a few miles before a busy afternoon.

The repair guy had an appointment to come back to the house Tuesday afternoon. All of the replacement parts were waiting for him. He opened all of the boxes and got to work. It took him about two hours to replace all of the parts. Our treadmill is basically new. Everything was replaced except for the frame and console.

I got on the treadmill for a couple of minutes after the repairman left. It is such a smooth ride. My first run on the treadmill was Wednesday. It felt so springy and it was so quiet. For the last month, the motor was loud. Not anymore. I actually had to turn the TV volume down because it was too loud.

I know most people don't love the treadmill, but I do. Now that it is completely fixed, I will be starting my Interval Tuesdays again next week. I haven't done any since before my 100K attempt. I need to work on my speed and hills again.

Big Ten Track and Field Championships

Mike Dickbernd

The Big Ten Track and Field Championships took place over the weekend on the at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The Nebraska Huskers won the men's title with 13.50 points and the Penn State Nittany Lions won the women's title with 133 points

Some highlights from the weekend was Wisconsin's Maverick Darling winning the 10,000m on Friday, May 10. Darling was following Indiana's Zachery Mayhew for most of the race. Darling passed Mayhew with 800m to go and easily won the race. Darling won the race in 29:25.11. That time set a track record.

Michigan's Amanda Eccleston won the 1500m run on Sunday in 4:20.75. Ecceleston's teammates finished behind her in third, fourth and fifth. Rebecca Addison was third in 4:21.55, Shannon Osika was fourth (4:23.00) and Jillian Smith was fifth (4:23.72). Michigan's 1-3-4-5 finish in the 1500m gave the Wolverines 25 points.

mgoblue.com

Andrew Bayer of Indiana was a double winner over the weekend. Bayer won the 1500m in 3:44.24 and the 5000m in 13:54.71

Illinois sophomore Ashley Spencer was a triple winner. Spencer won the 200m in 23.20 and the 400m in 52.27 and was the anchor on the winning 4x400m relay. Also on the winning relay was Marissa Golliday, Ahlivia Spencer and Samantha Murphy.

The Big Ten Network will air tape-delay coverage of the outdoor track and field championships on Sunday, May 19 at 1 p.m. EST.

Women's Team Standings

1. Penn State                 133       
2. Illinois                       120  
3. Ohio State                 86       
4. Michigan                   82  
5. Michigan State          76       
6. Nebraska                   75  
7. Wisconsin                 74.50
8. Minnesota                 66.50
9. Indiana                      38     
10. Purdue                     37  
11. Iowa                        31    

Men's Team Standings  

1. Nebraska                   131.50    
2. Minnesota                  93  
3. Wisconsin                  86.50   
4. Illinois                       86  
5. Iowa                          85       
6. Ohio State                 84  
7. Indiana                      67.50    
8. Penn State                 59  
9. Purdue                       56      
10. Michigan                 36  
11. Michigan State        33.50                                                 

IAU 24 Hour World Championships

@usaultrarunning twitter

So many running events took place over the weekend: Diamond League Doha, USA 25K Championships, IAU 24 Hour World Championships, Big Ten Track and Field Championships and Pac 12 Track and Field Championships.

The IAU 24 Hour World Championships took place Saturday-Sunday in Steenbergen, Netherlands.  The men and women's USA teams won gold medals. American Jon Olsen was the individual champion of the men's race running 167.568 miles and
teammate John Dennis was second with 163.255 miles. Sabrina Little was second overall in the women's race finishing behind Japan's Mami Kudo who ran 156.712 miles. Little set an American Record at the World Championships finishing with 152.030 miles. Little broke teammate's Connie Gardner's 2012 record of 149.368 miles. Finishing in third was American Suzanna Bon (146.785); fourth was American Traci Falbo (142.785).

Sabrina Little Instagram

Men
1. Jon Olsen, 38, Modesto, CA, 167.568 miles
2. John Dennis, 32, Takoma Park, MD, 163.255
3. Florian Reus, 29, DEU, 161.518
4. Anatoly Kruglicov, 55, RUS, 159.717
5. Timur Ponomarev, 24, RUS, 159.484

Women
1. Mami Kudo, 49, JPN, 156.712 miles
2. Sabrina Little, 26, Waco, TX, 152.030 (American Record, old record 149.368 miles by Connie Gardner, 2012)
3. Suzanna Bon, 48, Sonoma, CA, 146.785
4. Traci Falbo, 40, Charlestown, IN, 142.730
5. Anne-Marie Vernet, 45, FRA, 142.538

Teams - Men
1. USA, 485.012 miles
2. Japan, 467.623
3. Germany, 467.275

Teams - Women
1. USA, 441.545 miles
2. Japan, 438.428
3. France, 416.752


Complete results of the IAU 24 Hour World Championships.

Favorite photos from May 6-10, 2013