News

Kenenisa Bekele announced on Wednesday that he will build a
multi-million-dollar sports complex in Ethiopia. The sports complex
will be built in two years time, in Sululta, 30 miles north of
Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The project is estimated to cost 15
million dollars. The 50-hectare complex will meet international
standard, and it is hoped that Ethiopia could host major international
track and field events once the complex is open in two years time.

Corrigan Sports Enterprises (CSE) announces that the 2008 Under
Armour Baltimore Running Festival has passed the 17,000 runner
mark for the first time in event history, just two weeks after
passing the 15,000 point. Last year's event drew a record
14,542 runners.

What began as debate amongst delegates attending the 2007 USATF convention
in Honolulu last December has ended in a new, tougher set of rules for
qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials - Men's Marathon. According
to the new rules, recently made public on the USATF website, there will
no longer be "A" and "B" standards for getting into the Trials, but

Philadelphia, PA – September 17, 2008 – Approximately 15,000 runners
are expected to take to the streets of Philadelphia on Sunday,
September 21 for the 31st annual ING Philadelphia Distance Run. The

With the Beijing Olympic Games having come to a close and the
Fall/Autumn marathon season about to begin, the 2007-2008 World
Marathon Majors Series men's and women's titles remain very much up in
the air. Last year both titles were decided in the final two races of
the Series. With six athletes still in contention in 2007-2008 -- two
men and four women -- the Series is headed for another exciting
conclusion. Athletes will have three chances to score points before the
champions are crowned on November 3 in New York City:

New York, USA - Double World champion Bernard Lagat will close out
his 2008 season with a debut performance at the Continental Airlines
Fifth Avenue Mile on Sunday 21 September.

Lagat headlines a deep professional field of 10 Olympians competing
in the 28th running of the world-famous mile road race down Fifth
Avenue, including America’s Nick Symmonds, Nick Willis of New Zealand,
and in the women’s division USA’s Shannon Rowbury and Britain’s Lisa
Dobriskey.

Boston, Mass. – Online registration for the 113th Boston Marathon,
scheduled for April 20, 2009, began at 9:00 a.m. eastern time on
Wednesday, September 3. Held on Patriots' Day, a Massachusetts holiday,
Boston is the world's oldest annual marathon. Since 1986, the principal
sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial Services.

For the second consecutive year, the field will be limited to 25,000
entrants. In 2008 the field filled by late February and race organizers
expect the 2009 race to each its limit even faster.

Brussels, Belgium - For the first time ever, the world’s three
pre-eminent sprinters Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, will meet
in the same 100m race when the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme meeting, the finale of the ÅF Golden League 2008, takes place in the Belgian capital on Friday 5 September 2008.

The Brussels’ dash is literally the premier encounter between the premier sprinters of our time.

INDIANAPOLIS - 2005 women's 100m world champion Lauryn Williams has
been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning
two events Sunday at the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead, England.

Running in rainy, sloppy conditions, Williams defeated reigning
Olympic champion Shelly Ann Fraser of Jamaica in the 100 meters with
her time of 11.24 seconds, with Fraser the runner-up in 11.29. Williams
also won the 200 meters in 22.65 seconds, finishing in front of
runner-up Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the Bahamas, who crossed the line
in 22.73 seconds.

With the elimination of Tyler Christopher, Gary Reed is Canada's best bet for a track and field medal at the Beijing Olympics.

But the fact that the focus is now squarely on Reed doesn't sound like a burden for the 800-metre specialist from Kamloops.