Daring Dathan

I didn't plan on watching the World Half-Marathon Championships this morning. The online broadcast began at 1 a.m., for crying out loud, and I'm not that hardcore. Then again, maybe I am. I'd fallen asleep around 11:15 p.m., and noise from the street outside my bedroom window woke me up at 1:45 a.m. Next thing you know, I'm on UniversalSports.com watching the action from Birmingham, England. Let me tell you, it was worth it, thanks to Dathan Ritzenhein. Of course Zersenay Tadese was the best runner; he won the title for the fourth time. But to see an American, and one who lives and trains in the Portland area, no less, fearlessly take on Tadese and all the great Africans was brilliant stuff. Dick Patrick of USA Today wrote a pretty good story on the race, which you can watch at your leisure on Universal.

X-C Action!

Garmin data.
Official results.

A Veggie BQ

Huge congratulations to Matt, the No Meat Athlete. He not only got his Boston qualifier yesterday, but did it in style. Being a young fella, he needed a 3:10, which for Boston actually means 3:10:59. But No Meat obviously didn't want anything to do with those extra seconds. He aimed for 3:10, and he got it: 3:09:59. Classy!

Matt's quest was a great benefit to me during my training for Berlin. He was following the same FIRST program I was and his experiences and insights, always well-told on his blog, provided me much to think about when it came to my own running. Plus, I picked up several excellent recipes! Great job, Matt.