DISTANCE RUNNING NEWS SUMMARY
By David Monti
(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

Here are a few news items which have crossed the Race Results Weekly news desk recently:

WAMI AND TULU ARE LEADING LADIES AT BUPA GREAT NORTH RUN
Organizers of the world's largest half-marathon, the BUPA Great North Run in Newcastle, England, reported that Ethiopian stars Gete Wami and Derartu Tulu will run their race on Sunday, October 5. Their key challengers will be Britain's Jo Pavey, Hungary's Aniko Kalovics and Australia's Benita Johnson. Britain's Hayley Haining and Hayley Yelling are also in the field. Both Wami and Haining will use the race as a tune-up for the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 2.


KENYANS HEADLINE DRESDNER KLEINWORT FRANKFURT MARATHON
William Kiplagat and Ben Maiyo are the best-known of five Kenyan men announced today for the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon scheduled for Sunday, October 26. Kiplagat has a personal best time of 2:06:50 set in Amsterdam back in 1999, but he hasn't broken 2:09 since winning at Seoul in 2005. Maiyo set his 2:07:08 personal best in Chicago in 2005 when he finished second; he's still looking for his first marathon victory. Maiyo's training partner Stephen Kiogora (2:09:21, Chicago, 2004), Benson Barus (2:08:33, Milan, 2006), and Sammy Kurgat (2:08:38, Frankfurt, 2007) are also entered. Because of a new bonus structure put in place this year, the race winner will receive 95,000 Euros if he breaks 2:07.


SCHMIDT WILL RUN OMAHA MILE
U.S. Olympic Trials 800m champion Alice Schmidt plans to run the Omaha Mile this Sunday in Nebraska. She'll be racing Iowa local hero and defending champion Casey Owens, three-time Big 12 champion Anne Shadle, and 2004 U.S. steeplechase champion Ann Gaffigan. Former Texas Tech star Eliud Njubi of Kenya is the top man entered in the race, but he'll probably get less attention than the legendary Henry Rono, who would like to break 4:40 at age 56. The race, which begins on 19th & Capitol and ends at 10th & Webster, was the site of the first-ever sub-4:00 road mile in Nebraska last year when Ryan Kleimenhagen ran 3:59.


MBARAK HUSSEIN BECOMES CROSS COUNTRY COACH FOR THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Three-time Honolulu Marathon champion Mbarak Hussein, a Kenyan-born American, has become the new national cross country coach for the United Arab Emirates. The UAE Athletics Association made the announcement at a meeting in Dubai on Sept. 11. "Our plan for the future is to encourage more schools and clubs to take to the sport in a bid to raise athletics to a new level in the country during the forthcoming season," said federation president Ahmed Kamali in the local media. "By appointing Hussein, a great distance champion in the past, will play a key role to develop athletics among the youth," he added. Larry Barthlow, a former athlete's agent who worked with Mark Wetmore at Global Athletics and Marketing in Boston, was apparantly instrumental in recruiting Hussein (Barthlow is now a technical consultant to the UAE Athletics Association). "He brings with him rich experience of how to work with young kids to the international level," said Barthlow. "He also brings energy and enthusiasm as he understands how to build a training programme for all."


SEAGATE 5-K IS NOW SYNAPTICS 5-K
There's been a sponsorship change at the Thanksgiving Day 5-K in San Jose, Calif., with Seagate stepping aside for another technology company, Synaptics. This elite event is held in conjunction with the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, and has $2500 checks waiting for the race winners. There are additional $5000 bonuses for American athletes should they break the national 5-K records (13:24/14:54). Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco (13:37) and Rose Kosgei of Kenya (15:53) were the winners last year.


DISTANCE RUNNERS RECEIVE DOPING SANCTIONS
Several middle and long distance runners have received doping sanctions, the IAAF reported earlier this week. France's Julie Coulaud is ineligible for three years through July 1, 2011, after failing a doping test on May 29. Any results she recorded since July 2, 2008, have been voided. Moroccan sisters Amina and Seltana Ait Hammou are now on the sidelines for one year for missing three doping tests in a 16 month period. Their suspension runs from June 5, 2008 through June 4, 2009.


SAMUELSON TO BE HONORARY CHAIRPERSON OF MANCHESTER ROAD RACE
Olympic Marathon gold medalist Joan Samuelson of Freeport, Me., is the honorary chairperson of the 2008 Manchester Road Race, one of the United States' oldest road races, held in Manchester, Conn. "We are thrilled to have Joan Benoit Samuelson serve as the honorary chairperson of this year's race," said Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. "She is an icon in the sport and an inspiration to countless runners." The 51 year-old Samuelson just broke the U.S. record for 5 km for women over 50 at the CVS Caremark Downtown 5-K last Sunday, clocking 17:24.3 (gun time). She plans to run the 72nd Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day, November 27 (Samuelson rarely visits an event without running it).


GIGI IS TOP WOMEN ENTERED IN SUNDAY'S SCOTIABANK TORONTO WATERFRONT MARATHON
Ethiopian Asha Gigi is the top woman entered in Sunday's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, race director Alan Brookes reported. Gigi has a 2:26:05 personal best from 2004. Her key rivals will be Ethiopians Atsede Tesema Bayisa (2:29:05 PB) and Mulu Seboka (2:30:04), and Kenyans Caroline Cheptonui (2:31:10) and Irene Mogaka (2:32:51). Behind this lead pack, the International Team Challenge between Team Canada, Team Mexico and Team England promises a highly competitive second group of 10 women between 2:36 and 2:48, led by Mexico's Judith Ramirez and Alicia Rodruigez, and Canada's Nicole Stevenson. The Canadians will be battling to get at least the B standard of 2:43, to claim one of the 5 places on the Canadian team to the World Championships marathon in Berlin next August.


"BETH O" TO RUN ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON
Model, animal lover and fiancé of radio personality Howard Stern, Beth Ostrosky, will run the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 2, for the benefit of the North Shore Animal League. Known as "Beth O," the sexy blonde hopes to raise over a quarter of a million dollars for the Long Island animal rescue charity. Her training blog is at http://wwwgobetho.org, while you can see a photo of her at http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/GateToWire/beth-ostrosky-pics-001.jpg

ENDS