Run, Karla, Run!

There’s a new Robert Cheruiyot in town. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, a 21 year-old upstart from Kenya, won the 114^th Boston Marathon, shattering the course record by 82 seconds in the process. The previous course record holder? None other than Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, an unrelated Kenyan who won the Boston Marathon four times in 2003 and 2006-2008.

“I tried to show my talent,” Cheruiyot said immediately after the race. And he certainly did.

The new course record of 2:05:52 is also a personal best for Cheruiyot, whose age and performance was reminiscent of another young marathoner who burst onto the scene in 2008 with a gold medal win at the Beijing Olympics: Sammy Wanjiru, who was also just 21 at the time. In an event like the marathon where runners are often in their late 20’s to late 30’s, these two Kenyans may start a new trend of younger runners giving the distance a shot. Read the rest of this entry →

Call them the best. Call them memorable. Or just call them. Whatever they are, these moments defined running in the first decade of the 21^st century. What makes them so great? These 10 performances got people buzzing. My opinion is completely subjective and emotional. I have a thing for runners who fall to the ground in tears (see Nos. 4 and 5), and admire the hubris of runners who not only walk the walk but talk the talk (see Nos. 1 and 9). But I also polled some die-hard runners in the know. Like me they follow the sport—and by follow the sport I mean DVR-ing things like the Rotterdam Marathon. And these moments made short list after short list.

So who made the cut? Drum roll please.

11). Honorable Mention: You ran a race and raised money for charity in the process

The last decade has been a collective best moment in the history of running. The U.S. is in the midst of a second running boom with year over year records in road race participation. In the marathon alone, the total number of finishers has gone from 299,000 in 2000 to 463,000 in 2009 according to MarathonGuide.com. Finisher totals for all road races in the U.S. were 6,482,500 in 1997. Ten years later in 2007? The number of finishers rose by almost 2.5 million to 8,875,000 according Running USA. And more racers have meant more money for all those associated charities. According to the USATF, the amount runners have raised for charity has increased from $520 million in 2002 to $714 million in 2006. Between entrance fees for benefit races and charity partnerships for major races, the running boom is making an impact on more than just the participants. So here’s to all of you runners out there who helped make this collective moment truly one of the high spots in running this decade. Read the rest of this entry →