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Meb, Morgan and Amy don’t disappoint

The 2012 London Olympic Games will go down in US history for many reasons: the first African American woman to win gold in the all-around gymnastics competition and Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, just to name a few, but for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, there were other historic moments that should make us cheer our Olympic athletes as they arrive back home.

While Mammoth resident Meb Keflezighi may have finished one step below the podium, in fourth place in the men’s marathon, his accomplishments in these Games were huge. As the LA Times pointed out in an article earlier this week:

“Yet while Keflezighi will leave London empty-handed, Sunday’s race did secure him a place among the most accomplished marathoners in Olympic history. Since Keflezighi was a silver medalist in Athens eight years ago, his fourth-place finish here makes him the only American besides two-time medalist Frank Shorter to finish that high in multiple Games. And just six other runners from any country have finished fourth or better twice — none of them over the space of three Olympics, which is how long it took Keflezighi.”

“Basically he proved everyone wrong in the last year,” said Mammoth Lakes Tourism Executive Director John Urdi, referring to all of the naysayers who claimed Keflezighi, 37, was too old to challenge for a medal.

Not only did Keflezighi make his way back to fourth place after dropping into 16th place at one point during the race on Aug. 12, but he was also the only American to finish the men’s marathon this year. Ryan Hall, 29, and Abdi Abdirahman, 35, dropped out just after 15 kilometers. Hall had a tightening right hamstring and Abdirahman said he felt his knee pop.

According to Urdi, the marathon winner, Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda is only 23, while the second and third place winners from Kenya are 30.

Which means Meb was only three minutes behind someone who was 14 years younger than him, and even closer to runners who are seven years his junior.

Urdi also pointed out that Keflezighi had worked his way back from an injury he received when he left a Breathe Right nasal strip in his shoe during the New York City Marathon. The strip cut into his foot, and left him with an infection, but he still won the Olympic Trials in Houston 69 days later with a personal best time.

“Did I want to finish fourth – no,” said Keflezighi in an interview with the Denver Post following Sunday’s race. “But at the world (championships) or Olympic Games I’ll take it, especially considering that I did not make the Olympics in 2008. I am very proud of myself and our country to finish fourth.”

And the rest of us should be as well.

As for Mammoth’s female runners, who trained locally in the run up to the Games, Urdi emphasized the following:

“Amy Hastings finished 11th in the Women’s 10,000 meters but was the #1 finisher for the USA,” Urdi said.

“Morgan Uceny [27] had to go through two qualifying rounds (quarterfinals and semifinals) in order to be one of two Americans in the finals on Friday. While it is unfortunate she tripped [during the 1,500 meter race] – making it to the finals is a HUGE accomplishment and she will be back and ready for 2016 in Rio for sure.”

Expect Hastings, 28, to be a contender in the 2016 Olympics as well, Urdi said. “Both women will be a big threat for the next Olympics.”

Urdi stated that Mammoth Lakes Tourism is waiting to determine when the runners will be returning to Mammoth before planning a celebratory party, but promised to keep the community posted.

A surprised Meb was welcomed home by the community of Mammoth last Tuesday night. (Photo: Shaw)

Keflezighi, Hall run 1-2 in U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, will run in summer London games

London was calling, and two of the elite athletes who train in Mammoth Lakes answered and are headed to the 2012 Olympics Games in London this summer.

Marathoners Meb Keflezighi, 36, and Ryan Hall, 29, both of whom train extensively in Mammoth, topped the field of competitors to become two of the three men on the U.S. Marathon Team.

Going into the last four miles of Saturday’s Olympic Marathon trials in Houston, Texas, Mammoth Lakes resident Keflezighi made his move. Keflezhighi, part of a three-man lead pack to that point, along with Hall and Abdi Abdirahman, 33, put the hammer down and never looked back. The 2004 Olympic Silver medalist opened up a sizable lead on Hall, who more than held his own in second, as Abdirahman worked to fend off a last-minute challenge from Dathan Ritzenhein for third place.

In the last mile or so, a spectator handed an American flag to Keflezighi, who waved it to applause and cheers all the way to the finish line.

Keflezighi ran a personal best time of 2:09:08. Just 69 days prior, he ran a then-personal best of 2:09:13, though that was only good enough for sixth place in the New York City Marathon. At 36, Keflezighi is now the oldest man to win the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials; he’ll be 37 when he competes in his third Olympics during the London games. All top three runners finished sub-2:10:00 races, with Hall turning in a 2:09:30, and Abdirahman coming in with a 2:09:47.

An elated Keflezighi celebrated the win with his wife and daughter at the finish line; his family, including his parents, were on hand to witness the win.

Of his fellow U.S. Marathon teammates, Hall quipped to USA Today Sports, “I was watching you guys [Keflezighi and Abdirahman] make the 10K Olympic team when I was in high school. They make me feel young!”

Mammoth’s women, however, had a much harder day of it. Olympic Bronze medalist Deena Kastor, 38, from Mammoth Lakes, was part of a lead group of 8 runners going into the last 1/3 of the race. As the group of 8 broke apart, however, Kastor found herself fading a bit, and a four-pack of women took over the lead. One of those, Amy Hastings, 27, of Mammoth Lakes, “telescoped,” falling back a bit and then surging to rejoin the other three.

At one point, she had taken over the lead, but going into the final three miles, had dropped off the pace by more than one minute. Hastings battled back, but it wasn’t enough to catch the three final Women’s U.S. Marathon Team members, Shalane Flanagan, 30, Desiree Davila, 28, and Kara Goucher, 33. Hastings did, however, come in under the previous 2:28:00 trials record time with a 2:27:17. Kastor, who stayed with the leaders early on, before dropping back into 8th place, bettered her position by the finish, coming in 6th with a 2:30:40.

Upon his return home to Mammoth, Keflezighi was the guest of honor at a surprise “Welcome Home” celebration in the Village on Tuesday evening. With his family by his side, who were in on the surprise and helped steer him to the event, Meb was introduced by Mayor Jo Bacon and joined onstage by fellow marathoner, Councilmember Rick Wood. Keflezighi signed custom celebratory posters brought in special for the event.

He thanked the town for being so supportive of its runners and was presented with a proclamation from the town celebrating his accomplishments.

In other local running news, Mammoth attorney and Town Council member Rick Wood turned in a age group-winning time of 3:09.35 during Sunday’s running of the 40th annual Chevron Houston Marathon. Wood topped the 60-64 division and, according to Mammoth Lakes Tourism’s John Urdi, bettered his previous time by a whopping 18 minutes. -Add’l source: NBC Sports 

Deena Kastor won the women’s division of Dodge San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon just eight short months after giving birth to her daughter, Piper. (Photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun)

Mammoth residents Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor went to San Jose to rock, and the two Olympic medalists did just that, easily winning their respective divisions on Oct. 2 in the 2011 running of the Dodge San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, one of the Bay Area’s biggest road races.

Keflezighi, who is training for next month’s New York City Marathon, won the 13.1-mile race in 1:02:17, more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Giliat Ghebray, a Cal senior from Union City, who turned in a respectable 1:03:38. Sergio Reyes of Palmdale was third, coming it at 1:04:20.

Kastor only recently returned to running after giving birth to a daughter, but handily won the women’s division in 1:12:23. Clara Peterson of Larkspur was second to Kastor with a time of 1:15:23 while Cal graduate Brooke Wells of San Francisco was third in 1:16:15. “She’s made a lot of progress in a really short period of time,” Deena’s husband Andrew recently told The Sheet. “Everything’s coming along just fine and she’s pretty much back in business.”

Both Olympic medalists live and train in Mammoth, and are preparing for the U.S. Olympic trials Jan. 14 in Houston.

Meb wins the men's division (Photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun)

Keflezighi led a lead pack of five runners through an opening mile of 4:35. At mile 3 the 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist picked up the pace, running a series of sub-4:40 miles to open up a sizable lead on the rest of the field, one he held all the way to the finish line.

“It couldn’t have gone any better. A lot people were cheering, ‘Go Meb,’ and it was just awesome,” Keflezighi told Running Competitor. “My Mom is here and my brother lives here, a lot of the people are aware of what I have done and it’s nice to have the course coming back with the crowd.”

The event turned out to be a solid tune up for Keflezighi, who won the 2009 New York City Marathon–the first American do so in 27 years, and is preparing to finish at the front of the pack in the ING New York Marathon in November. “I run to win, which means challenge myself and don’t hold back. It was good today,” he added.

Equally impressive as Keflezighi’s victory was the comeback performance from Kastor, the only American woman to ever break 2:20 in the marathon.

“It was just awesome,” said Kastor, “San Jose really came out and showed their true colors today–the communities that we ran through, the neighborhoods everyone came out in their front yards cheering on all of us runners,” she told the San Jose Mercury News. “I felt good out there. It didn’t take too much out of me so it will be good to get back into training this week and use this as a stepping stone for the Olympic Trials in January.”

Runners from all 50 states and 14 countries participated in the race, including a group of California’s fastest runners, with no less than 10 athletes training to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials in January. Three-time Super Bowl Champion and race founder Roger Craig completed his sixth straight San Jose race, along with San Jose resident and soccer star Brandi Chastain. The sixth running of the half marathon was expected to attract 13,000 entrants.

This year, the race was being eyed as a proving ground on how the current crop of top U.S. runners would measure up against recent fierce competition from top runner from other countries.

Tracy Sundlun, co-founder of the Rock ‘n’ Roll racing series and a promoter and coach for 30 years, said a big factor is money. A $5,000 first-place prize, Sundlun said, does not “raise an eyebrow” in the United States, but runners from East Africa, for example, see that amount as significant and will throw themselves into the race to capture that kind of prize money.

Sports writers and analysts have lamented that the U.S. running elites might have fallen off the pace recently. But the top finishes Sunday by Kastor and Keflezighi are being viewed as indicators that U.S. distance competitors are back in top form and ready to rock in upcoming major races, including shots at Olympic medals next summer. – AG/Running Competitor/San Jose Mercury News

Meb Keflezighi welcomed comrades (and customers) from the High Sierra Striders running club at his book signing on Monday. (Photo: Geisel)

Meb’s story filled with life lessons

Meb Keflezighi’s first book, “Run to Overcome,” which hit bookstore shelves last October, isn’t about winning, and it’s really not about running. The sport, which has catapulted the Mammoth local to superstar status, is an important part of telling his story, but its pages are filled with life lessons as opposed to running advice, and inspiration rather than just another sports figure spending page after page talking about himself. In fact, he didn’t really want to talk much about running.

The book can trace its roots back to a question asked him by the Van Camp family, which knew him as a youngster and whom Meb calls his “academic parents.” They asked what story he’d like to tell if he were to write a book. That question stayed with him for years, and in 2004, a colleague urged him to tell his own story his own way. The first three chapters were started with another writer, but the book we have today was co-written with Dick Patrick, a veteran sports reporter and writer, who had only recently left USA Today. It came together as fast as one of Meb’s race finishes. “We started on it in April 2010 and had it to the publisher [Tyndale House] by June or July,” Meb recounted.

During a book signing on Monday at the Booky Joint, a large group of fans heard an impromptu speech from Keflezighi, and were treated to a preview of the story of family, perseverance and hard work that they would soon be reading.

Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi and his family came to the United States after fleeing their native Asmara, Eritrea, a country located in the horn of Africa, to escape a violent war with Ethiopia. The third of six children, his family was poor. He and his family, particularly his father, came face to face with death numerous times, but every time some event or person intervened, which he’s certain was anything but chance.

His father was separated from the rest of the family, but managed to cross the African continent, making it to Sudan, and then to Italy, where the family reunited, and eventually immigrated to San Diego, Calif. “I arrived in the U.S. with a big old afro,” he recalled.

Contrary to what you might think, Meb may have been a born runner, but he didn’t know it until Junior High. He ran his first mile near the San Diego Zoo. After he ran a 5:20 mile, coaches started realizing the talent they had in their midst. The book recounts his winning the Cross-Country Senior Championships in High School, his time at UCLA, running his first marathon, which Meb said “was a disaster,” winning his first 10k trials in 1998, his first Olympics in 2000, and the trip to the medal podium in Athens in 2004, where he won the Silver in the Men’s Marathon.

“[The team was] probably overprepared for Athens, but we just wanted to be there. We didn’t care what medal we got,” Meb told the crowd.

His family is an important part of his story, but so is his spirituality, which Keflezighi maintains didn’t come from running, but “was there all along.”

Running has been as challenging to him as it’s been rewarding. In 2008, he failed to make the Men’s Marathon team headed for Beijing. Then came the debilitating 2009 pelvis fracture, and the devastating loss of his good friend and training partner, Ryan Shay, who collapsed and died during the Olympic trials.

He points to his injury as something of a turning point. “My career should have been over,” he reasoned. It took him months to get back to running, making him work as never before both mentally and physically. “It’s not what you want; it’s what your body can do.”

Intervention had its way again, allowing him a solid return to form, winning the 2009 NYC Marathon) and Keflezighi isn’t turning a blind eye to it any more now than in the past. “Life’s a struggle. You’re gonna feel pain. Everybody hurts. I run the race, but I have a lot of people supporting me.”

He’s also comfortable with being a role model. “People look up to me, and I look up to others,” he said, referring to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts football coach Tony Dungy, who Meb called “a great man.”

Now that the book is done, he’s concentrating on training and is considering taking up cross-country skiing. “I’ve been in Mammoth for the past three winters and never been on snow!”

He’ll also continue promoting health, education and fitness through his MEB Foundation. “It teaches young kids about responsibility, time management and personal sacrifice,” he said, all extensions of the book’s message. “It can help you a lot in sports, but also in everyday life, whether you’re a scientist, a teacher … whatever. If you give 110%, your teachers know it, your parents know it and your coaches know it.”

Keflezighi’s very pleased that the Foundation has become part of the Crowd Rise collective organized by actor Edward Norton, who ran the NYC Marathon in 2009.

The book has also produced results he never imagined. “People have told me the book made them start running, helped them quit smoking. I had a scientist, who was too focused on his work, tell me it helped him find balance in his life.”

Running to win doesn’t always mean finishing first, he tells those gathered. And “overcoming” means getting the best out of yourself, whatever race you’re running.

Will there be a volume 2? “Who knows? Maybe … my dad’s story. He’s got a photographic memory and when we were writing the book, it was hard to decide what to leave out!” he quipped.

Meb plans to have an encore signing event in the spring at the Booky Joint. Watch The Sheet for details to come.

Five NYC teachers competed in this year’s Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge, in which one marathon entrant is chosen to represent each borough. The contestants and some of their students also got to go for a jog with Meb Keflezighi (in red). (Photo courtesy www.INGNYCMarathon.org)

Defending New York City Marathon Champion Meb Keflezighi, who won the race in 2009, finished in the top 10, but came in 3:24 behind the leader in Sunday’s ING-sponsored race. Keflezighi was, however, the top U.S. Men’s finisher in sixth place, with a 2:11:38 final time. He was bested by Ethiopian Gebre Gebrmariam, who flew across the finish line with a winning time of 02:08:14.

That wasn’t the race’s only major event of note, however. Haile Gebrselassie, the 37-year-old Ethiopian distance running legend, stunned the running world when he announced his retirement after dropping out of the New York City Marathon at the 16-mile mark. Gebrselassie’s sudden retirement brings to an end a much-storied career that includes a jaw-dropping 27 world-record runs. The son of a rural farmer, he became a national hero, who invested a tremendous amount of the money that came from all of his many wins into his home country, building two schools that serve 1,200 children and establishing businesses from a fitness center to a resort that employ more than 600 people.

He may not have finished the race, but Gebrselassie’s mere presence nonetheless cast a very long shadow. “When some guys looked back and didn’t see Haile,” Keflezighi told Sports Illustrated, “they went for it. They wanted to get away from Haile.” Gebrselassie’s reputation, however, engenders absolute respect from his countrymen. Gebremariam, who went on to win the race, slowed momentarily to talk to Haile before following the breakaway. “I said, ‘Hey Haile, come on,’” Gebremariam recalled after the race. “But he said, ‘I can’t move Gebre. You have to go catch them now.’”

And that’s not all … among other luminaries seen in or about the Marathon, one in particular attracted a lot of attention. His injured left knee bound, Chilean Edison Peña, 34, triumphantly crossed the finish line of the 26.2-mile N.Y.C. Marathon Sunday afternoon. Peña was one of the Chilean miners recently rescued from deep below the ground. Nicknamed “The Runner,” Peña kept himself up by running as much as six miles per day through the underground tunnels of the Chilean mine he was trapped in for 69 days. The Marathon was Peña’s first trip outside Chile.

Keflezighi’s book, “Run to Overcome,” detailing his life’s inspirational journey, was released Nov. 1, the one-year anniversary of his NYC Marathon win. He and his team also recently launched the MEB Foundation, which stands for Maintaining Excellent Balance. Keflezighi said the Foundation is set up to work closely with organizations and communities throughout the country and around the world to promote an active and balanced lifestyle through health, education and fitness. “I want to do my part to help the New York City Marathon raise $1 million per mile for different charity organizations like mine,” he said in a letter to supporters. To contribute and learn more about the MEB Foundation, visit www.crowdrise.com/mebkeflezighi. –AG/Sports Illustrated

He’ll take Manhattan … Meb crosses the finish line victorious in the Men’s Marathon. In the top 10, U.S. men placed six finishers for the first time in 30 years. (Photo courtesy Sports Illustrated)

Keflezighi wins NYC Marathon

Meb Keflezighi is a man on fire long after he’d been written off as embers for not making the 2008 Olympic team.
What a difference a year makes.
Last Sunday, Keflezighi became the first American since Alberto Salazar in 1982 to win the New York City Marathon. It was also an historic moment for Team USA, with six runners in the top 10, including fellow Olympian and Mammoth resident Ryan Hall, who finished fourth.
The last time 6 U.S. runners finished in the top 10 here was back in 1979.
The win was doubly sweet for Keflizghi, the first marathon victory ever in which he also set a personal best. He recently also posted another personal best and scored a record-setting first place finish in the Oct. 3 running of the Fourth Annual San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon, where he set a new U.S. 20K record and bettered his previous best time by 25 seconds.
At the start of the race, a large lead group of about 13 did most of the running at the head of the field. By around mile 20, the higher tempo left the lead pack with only 5 runners, but with only 2 miles to go, Keflezighi overwhelmed the field with his relentless pace.
Sportswriters who had previously dismissed Meb due to age and injuries are reconsidering their opinions
Keflezighi spent 1.5 years in rebuild-mode after one terrible November day two years ago, when his body started to fall apart. Already sick just days before the 2007 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials in New York, he cramped up because of dehydration during the race and ended up crawling around a hotel room on all fours because of the pain in his legs. “[He] practically couldn’t get up and walk to the bathroom,” according to his wife, Yordanos. That same day, his friend and training partner, Ryan Shay, collapsed and died during the race.
Months later, a stress fracture was found in his hip. All in all, Keflezighi could have been forgiven for hanging up his racing shoes for good right then and there. He didn’t.
Today, the words “age,” “injuries” and especially “retiring” aren’t in his vocabulary. He worked way too hard to get healthy and back to the starting line in New York and defy the expectations of many of the race’s two million spectators lining the course, who thought they’d see an athlete running for Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil or Morocco cross the finish line first.
And he’s got a history of foiling the naysayers, taking the silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon, the first medal for a U.S. man since Frank Shorter took silver in 1976. Americans could run with the Kenyans and Ethiopians, and Keflezighi was one of those who were resolved never to let there be another time like 2000, when the U.S. qualified only one runner for the Olympic marathon.
Some of the motivation for Keflezighi’s win could have come in the form of a tribute to Shay. (During a pre-race news conference, Keflezighi asked for a moment of silence in his memory.) Shay reportedly took great offense when some insinuated that Keflezighi wasn’t a “real American” even though he’d been living here since he was 12, and a citizen since 1998. He can recite the exact day he came to America from Italy — October 21, 1987 — after his family left Eritrea as refugees. He was thrilled to attend UCLA, and as a Mammoth resident, its not unusual to see him running up and down local roads, or out and about with his wife and family during town events.
During the race, Keflezighi acknowledged his friendship with Shay, pointing to the USA letters on his jersey a couple of times and making the sign of the cross as he ran past the spot near the bottom of Cat Hill where Ryan Shay fell. After the race, Shay’s father, Joe, reportedly called Meb “one of the class acts in all of sports.”