KEFLEZIGHI ENTERS LONDON WITH US CROSS COUNTRY AS STEPPING STONE
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
Newly
crowned U.S. half-marathon champion Meb Keflezighi has decided to enter
the Flora London Marathon on April 26, and he'll be using Saturday's
U.S. Cross Country Championships to help him prepare. Keflezighi, the
national 10,000m record holder and an Olympic silver medalist, was
twice the national 12-K cross country champion in 2001 and 2002, but
hasn't entered those championships since 2003.
"Cross country is
a fine and fun sport," said Keflezighi in an e-mail message to Race
Results Weekly. "I always enjoy participating when I am healthy and in
shape. I was very disappointed when I couldn't participate in the
USATF XC Championships when it was held in my hometown of San Diego
last year."
The Eritrean-born athlete and former UCLA Bruin is
indeed in shape now. In Houston on Jan. 18, he ran away from the field
to win what he said was his "sweetest" national title, clocking a
personal best 61:25 to beat Dathan Ritzenhein by ten seconds. It was
Keflezighi's best performance in over a year, and clearly demonstrated
that his injuries, including a nagging stress reaction in his hip which
drove him to see dozens of doctors, were behind him.
"It's
challenging being fit enough to participate in cross country after
running a fall marathon, and that has been my priority the last several
years," Keflezighi explained. "But right now, I am healthy and in
shape, so why not participate in cross country?"
There is little
doubt that Keflezighi's performance in Houston helped him land a spot
in London's star-studded field. He has entered London three times, in
2005, 2007 and 2008, but has yet to cross the majestic finish line on
The Mall. In 2005 he withdrew prior to the race because of injury; in
2007 he dropped out with a massive blister on the bottom of his foot
and an Achilles injury in the 16th mile (26th km); in 2008 he had to
scratch because of his hip injury which he had sustained at the U.S.
Olympic Trials Marathon in New York City in November, 2007. For
Keflezighi, a fiercely competitive athlete, London represents
unfinished business.
"London is a great marathon," said
Keflezighi who is still trained by his university coach Bob Larsen. "I
am truly honored to be a part of the great field (race director) David
Bedford has assembled. I have been fortunate enough to be invited the
last three years, but I still haven't made the finish line. I hope to
do so this year in reasonable time, hopefully a significant personal
best."
Keflezighi has proved himself as a strong marathon racer,
mounting the podium in New York twice and in Boston and the Olympic
Games once, each. However, he's never run a fast time by 21st century
standards. His personal best is 2:09:53 set in New York in 2004, but
his 10,000m American record of 27:13.98 points towards marathon
potential in the low-2:07's. He's hoping to use London's talent-packed
field to help bring him to a fast time.
"The fields in London only seem to get stronger and better every year," he said.
ENDS