The Global Telegraph - July 2004

JULY 2004 - VOL. 4, N. 7 (N. 36)

Publisher: Run The Planet., Seattle (Usa/Washington). Editor: Indro Neri. Associate editor: Jennifer Walker. All correspondence and suggestions are welcome. Unsolicited articles will be considered. To advertise on "The Global Telegraph", contribute to or reproduce its content please contact us via e-mail at info@runtheplanet.com. "The Global Telegraph" is published 12 times a year. The next issue will close the last day of this month. © by Run The Planet Inc., Seattle.

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This month we feature running news from: California (Usa), Croatia, Finland, France, Kansas (Usa), Netherlands, New Mexico (Usa), West Virginia (Usa).  

FEATURED WORLDWIDE RUNNING NEWS

• CROATIA / Through Velebit, the Croatian mythical mountain
Registrations are open for the Velebit adventure trekking from July 9 to July 11, 2004. The second edition of the "Velebit Adventure Trekking", a three days non-stop trekking race for two-person teams and the individuals, will take competitors through the Croatian mythical mountain - Velebit - one of the last remaining untouched wildernesses in Europe. The race is divided in two categories: ultra (that will have to complete a 135 kilometers long course) and Challenger (that will have to complete a 77 kilometers long course). Navigating through the entire course, participants will need to plan necessary food, equipment and manage tactics of resting and sleeping. All forms of civilization are avoided, giving the competitors a real sense of pure adventure. Race instructions and check points locations along with official maps are available on the website at www.adventurerace.hr.

• WEST VIRGINIA (USA) / Litespeed soars at Endorphin Fix
The electrical storm that dropped the pre-race briefing into darkness foreshadowed the lightning-fast speed in which 2-person male team Litespeed would blaze through the "Endorphin Fix" course May 21-23, in the New River Gorge Area. Jay Curwen, who is a two-time Hawaii Ironman Pro, ultrarunner, 4:15-minute mile runner, 2003 UsaRA Champion and race director from North Carolina teamed up with Joe Crocker, a West Virginia climbing guide, mountain biker and first-time adventure racer to form this tenacious team. A near faultless execution of this 140-mile course landed these first-rate athletes at the finish line in just 30 hours 51 minutes, a full 7.5 hours before the next team, Chris Caul and Bill Scoggins of Godspeed. Team Adventure Pocono, and soloist Bryan Goble rounded out the Pro categor category finishers. This course was markedly more challenging and intricate than previous courses, a sentiment repeated by many returning competitors. As course designer Joy Marr stated in the race brief, this course was unique in that racers would travel on three rivers and through three gorges as they hiked, bike, swam, paddled and rappelled. The race started at midnight after a dramatic thunder and lightning storm that left racers in the dark to prep their gear by headlamp. The "Endorphin Fix" is unique in that brand new adventure racers competed side-by-side with experienced teams. In the week preceding the race, 17 students attended the Adventure Racing Academy, where they learned land navigation, paddling, ropes skills, race strategy and other racing-related disciplines. Complete results are available on Odyssey's website (www.OARevents.com).

• CALIFORNIA (USA) / Matching athletes for various competitions and fitness endeavors
AthleticMeet.com has launched PartnerUp!, a new feature on its website that enables members to find teammates and partners for a wide range of athletic and fitness activities. Members can search and post "ads" seeking teammates, partners, relay members, etc. for adventure races, triathlons, swim relays, team sports, expeditions, and much more. AthleticMeet.com is pleased to be the exclusive site building teams for the Colorado Adventure Festivals and The Muddy Buddy Ride & Run Series. AthleticMeet.com is actively pursuing relationships with race directors, competitions, and leagues to offer PartnerUp! services and functionalities.

• NETHERLANDS / Leiden Marathon results
These are the results of the marathon held in Leiden on Sunday June 13: (men) 1. Krzystof Bartkiewicz (Poland) 2.31.02; 2. Eddy Verhoof (Belgium) 2.34.47; 3. Mpetsi Bokondji 2.41.12; (women) 1. Agnes Hijman (Nederlands) 2.51.31. Eight women total completed the event. Source: www.arrs.net

• FINLAND / The Paavo Nurmi Games honoring the legendary Finn
On June 9th in Turku, were held the Paavo Nurmi Games honoring the legendary Finn. Although last year's 10,000 winner Janne Holmen had to forgo this year's 5000m due to Olympic marathon training, runner-up (28:23.16), Silas Sang (Kenya) was back. William Kemboi set the pace for the first two kilometers (5:35), but then Sang took over. The diminutive Kenyan used a 62.1 lap to drop Tuomo Lehtinen and Kristian Algers (Sweden) before 62.0 and 64.0 circuits gained him a 100m lead. Sang's last 3000m were clocked in 8:00 during a 13:34.90 win. Lehtinen also dipped under 14:00 for the first time with a 13:59.76 for second, with Algers was third in 14:10.38, Juha Pirkola fourth in 14:20.88 and... Juha Hellsten sixth in 14:36.65. Reprinted with permission from "Running Stats" (www.runningstats.com)

• KANSAS (USA) / Shay defends Usa Half-Marathon title
Former University of Notre Dame standout Ryan Shay pulled away at the five-mile mark to successfully defend his Usa Half-Marathon title Saturday at the Carondelet Heart Institute Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City. Shay, 25, ran unchallenged to the tape in 1 hour, 5 minutes, 4 seconds, with Teren Jameson of Salt Lake City the national runner-up in 1:05:28. Teddy Mitchell was third in 1:05:44, Scott Larson was fourth in 1:06:02 and Josh Cox was fifth in 1:06:29. Shay and Jameson are now the leading potential members of the U.S. team for the World Half-Marathon in New Delhi (India) this October. The remaining three members will be named following the Usa 20km Championship in New Haven, Connecticut, on Labor Day. Kansas City was the sixth stop on the 2004 Men's Usa Running Circuit and with top performances, Shay, Larson and Mitchell moved up in the UsaRC standings to third, fifth and sixth respectively and into grand prix contention. The men's leader is Meb Keflezighi with 54 points, with Dan Browne second with 50 and Shay with 37 points. For more information on the 2004 Usa Men's Half-Marathon Championship, visit www.usatf.org. Source: www.splittimes.com

• FRANCE / French 10,000m Championships in Toulouse
On a very hot June 6th the French 10,000m Champs were held in Toulouse. Margaret Maury, who is already qualified for the Olympic 5000m with a 14:59 in Hengelo, totally dominated the women's 25 lapper. Maury, who competes for Clermont Athletics Auvergne, lapped the field with a 32:44.22, with Fatiha Baouf (Belgium) second in 34:33.07, Fatima Yvelain third in 34:33.69, Mounia Aboulahcem (Belgium) fourth in 34:37.52, and Rkia Chebili fifth in 34:45.30. Driss El Himer dominated the men's in 28:33.84, with Mohammed Mourhit (Belgium) second in 28:47.07 and Sebastien Boiton third in 30:30.47. Abdellah Behar and Larbi Zeroual did not finish. Mourhit, back from a two-year drug suspension, got to participate when the French and Belgian federations changed the event by one day. El Himer apparently was furious over this compromise. The French also named their marathon teams, with Benoit Zwierzchiewski, El Himer and Hassan Lahssini comprising the men's team, and Corinne Rault, Hafida Gadi and Rakyia Maraoui the women's team. Reprinted with permission from "Running Stats" (www.runningstats.com)

• HEALTH NEWS IN A FLASH
As we grow ever more health conscious with each warning announced on the evening news, wouldn't it be nice to receive positive health information for a change? Now you can. SnowPack recently introduced a free e-newsletter, NewsFlash*SnowPack, with an optimistic approach to staying healthy and living an active life. Available on-line at http://home.netcom.com/~newsflash, NewsFlash is also sent as a monthly hyperlinked e-mail version to a subscriber-only list containing highlights of each new issue. Packed with timely health articles, quick tips, and unique links, the newsletter also features book reviews, recipes, a personal hiking journal and a shopping section. Guest writers contribute articles each month under the "Health+" section. Offering informative health content, these articles are provided at no charge to running, hiking, and walking clubs, as well as to other health-related websites. Subscribing to the newsletter is free and can be done through a simple form found on the SnowPack website at www.snowpackusa.com or by sending an e-mail request to info@snowpackusa.com.