Talk about a punchy intro! The lead to this nice story about local Olympic Trials Marathon bound runner, Megan Daly, begins thus:
Megan Daly saves lives by day and trains for the olympic trials by night.
Makes her sound a bit like Buckaroo Banzai.
Rick Perry: The pro-marathon candidate.
While the GOP presidential primary is far from settled, Texas Governor Rick Perry has definitively settled the age-old dispute over whether men should wear their shorts over or under their tights.
He is also now on the record as “pro-marathon.”
Lloyd Levine
Quick! Name the second fastest (ever) female U.S. Marathon runner. The answer will probably surprise you.
Recently, I wrote about Ryan Hall and the state of men’s marathon running in the United States. Given that, it seems only fair to look at the status of women’s marathon running in the U.S. as well. The women don’t have a Ryan Hall type figure (i.e. fast times but no wins) who draws praise, and scorn in equal measures, but the status of women’s marathon running in the U.S. is not much different from that of the men. There are a few women marathon runners who draw praise and generate excitement but, except for Deena Kastor, have little to show in the way of meaningful results or times. Additionally, like the men, there is really very little depth in the talent pool.
Most serious marathon runners in the United States probably know that Deena Kastor holds the American Record, but do you know who the second and third fastest are? After analyzing the 1,875 (which is how many times the 2:30 mark has been broken) fastest women’s marathon times of all time it appears that the United States has only had two, legitimate, top-level marathon runners, Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit–who is still the second fastest U.S. woman of all time, despite having run her best time 1985. (Editor’s Note: The list, updated today, now includes 1,917 names but the analysis of the standing of the US women has not changed materially.)
Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit are the only U.S. women to have won major marathons, posted times competitive with the best in the world, and won Olympic medals. Deena Kastor has a PR of 2:19:36, good for 11th place on the all time list (and fifth on the all time list of women not named Paula Radcliffe). Deena won the bronze medal in the Athens Olympics, and has won London and Chicago (as well as many other top finishes). Joan Benoit has a PR of 2:21:21, won the Olympic Gold medal, held the world record, and won numerous marathons.
The Mathis were the force behind the Sierra Nevada Trail Runs.
According to a report in the Reno Gazette Journal, around 8:00 PM Friday night, Robert and Linda Mathis were struck and killed while crossing Highway 28, in a painted crosswalk, in Incline Village.
Although they haven’t released details, the Nevada Highway Patrol suspect drug use was involved in the accident. The driver, Christopher Smith, was arrested and booked into Washoe County Jail on two counts of DUI causing death and failure to yield to a pedestrian.
The Mathis are widely known in the road and ultrarunning community, and Robert Mathis is the race director behind a large number of races, including the River City Marathon and Rock’n River 50.
