Friday, November 30, 2007

2007 Jesse Owens Award‏





Felix, Gay win 2007 Jesse Owens Awards


INDIANAPOLIS - World-champion sprinters Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay on Monday were named winners of the 2007 Jesse Owens Award by USA Track & Field. The 2005 Owens honoree, Felix becomes a two-time Jesse Owens Award winner, while Gay has earned the distinction for the first time in his career.

Established in 1981, the Jesse Owens Award is USA Track & Field's highest accolade, presented annually to the outstanding U.S. male and female track and field performers. This year's awards will be presented on December 1 at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held at the Sheraton Waikiki hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, in conjunction with USA Track & Field's 2007 Annual Meeting.

"Allyson and Tyson took the sprinting world by storm in 2007," said USATF CEO Craig Masback. "Their youth, humility and grace under tremendous pressure to perform make them great champions who have earned respect from their competitors, the public and the press. We congratulate both of them on their fine seasons."

Felix dominates

Felix dominated the women's 200 meters in 2007, winning every race she entered.

At just 21 years old, Felix became the second woman in history to win three gold medals at a single World Outdoor Championships with her triumphs in Osaka, Japan. She first won the 200m in a personal-best 21.81 seconds. It was the fastest time by a woman since 1999 and was the largest margin of victory in World Outdoor history (.53). She then ran a decisive second leg on the winning 4x100m relay team, which clocked 41.98.

In her final event of the World Championships, Felix ran perhaps the fastest 4x400m relay leg ever by an American woman at a major championship and the fastest by any woman since the 1980s. Again running second leg for Team USA, she clocked a 48.0 split to move Team USA into a comfortable lead that propelled the Americans to a win in 3:18.55. It was the fastest time in the world since Team USA won the 1993 World title in 3:16.71.

Felix ran the three 200m fastest times in the world in 2007 and five of the top eight fastest times by an American, including the 22.34 she ran to win the U.S. Outdoor Championships. She also was a strong contender in the 100 and 400. She set personal records in the 100 (11.01) and the 400 (49.70). During the Indoor season, Felix ran one race, the 300m at the Tyson Invitational, where she set an American best in winning in 36.33.

"It is a privilege to receive an award with such a rich tradition," Felix said. "To be recognized in the company of such great champions is truly an honor."

Gay triply successful

In 2007, Tyson Gay had an historic year, sweeping the 100 and 200 meters at both the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Osaka and the USA Outdoor Championships. He added World Outdoor gold in the 4x100m to become the fourth man in World Championships history to win three gold medals at a single championship. In Osaka, he won his first gold in the 100, blazing to a 9.85 victory to relegate world-record holder Asafa Powell to third. Gay then took down Michael Johnson's 200m meet record, coming from behind to win his second gold medal of the meet in 19.76. He finished his global trifecta by running the third leg on the winning men's 4x100m relay that won a nail-biter of a race in 37.78.

Gay had given notice of his prowess at the U.S. Outdoor Championships, cementing his status as the world's most dominant all-around sprinter with his meet record wins in the 100 (9.84, -.5m/s) and 200 (19.62, -.3m/s) in posting the fastest 100-200 double in history. Gay also came away from the meet with the men's Visa Championship as the top male performer of the Visa Championship Series.

"This is the greatest honor of my career," said Gay. "Jesse Owens is a hero of mine for many reasons, and to have my name linked with his, and with the great athletes who have been honored before me, is humbling. I am very grateful."

Establishing himself as the world's top big-meet, championship runner, Gay won every race he entered in the 100 and 200 in 2007, save for one. He ran five of the seven fastest times by an American in the 100 and three of the four fastest times by an American in the 200, including the 2007 world leader (19.62).

About the Jesse Owens Award

2007 Jesse Owens Award winners were selected in balloting of members of the U.S. track and field media. Other finalists for the men's Jesse Owens Award were Breaux Greer, Reese Hoffa, Bernard Lagat, Brad Walker, Jeremy Wariner and Alan Webb. Women's finalists were Shalane Flanagan, Michelle Perry, Sanya Richards, Jenn Stuczynski and Tiffany Williams.

The permanent commemorative Jesse Owens Award is maintained at USATF National Headquarters, and a replica is provided to each of the winners. Previous winners are Edwin Moses (1981), Carl Lewis (1982 and 1991), Mary Decker (1983), Joan Benoit (1984), Willie Banks (1985), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1986 and 1987), Florence Griffith Joyner (1988), Roger Kingdom (1989), Lynn Jennings (1990), Kevin Young (1992), Gail Devers (1993, 1996), Michael Johnson (1994, 1995, 1996), Allen Johnson (1997), Marion Jones (1997, 1998), John Godina (1998, 2001), Inger Miller (1999), Maurice Greene (1999), Stacy Dragila (2000 and 2001), Angelo Taylor (2000), Khalid Khannouchi (2002), Deena Kastor (2003), Tom Pappas (2003), Justin Gatlin (2004 and 2005) and Joanna Hayes (2004), Allyson Felix (2005 and 2007) Sanya Richards (2006) and Jeremy Wariner (2006).

For full biographies of Felix and Gay, visit the Athlete Bios section of www.usatf.org

1936 - At the Olympic Games in Berlin, Jesse Owens, won four gold medals in Dassler shoes.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

adidas SF Urban Run - November 26, 2007

ROUTE – Pier 39 or Aquatic Park run

• Start at the adidas Sport Performance store
• Right on Market Street
• Left on Embarcadero

o Turnaround at Pier 39 (Embarcadero @ Bay St.) for 4 mile run
o Turnaround at Jefferson/Hyde for 6 mile run
o Turnaround at Marina/Fillmore for 8 mile run

• Return onto Embarcadero
• Right on Market Street
• Finish at the adidas Sport Performance store

Monday, November 19, 2007

adidas SF Urban Run - November 19, 2007

All,

Our route for this week will be an out an back from the adidas Sport Performance Store to AT&T Park. Total mileage will be somewhere in the 5 mile range. For those of you that opt for a shorter option, you can turnaround at the Ferry Building for a 2 miler or turnaround at the base of the Bay Bridge for a 3 miler.

See you tonight!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Sizing Up Athletic Shoe Makers

Taken from http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/122/athleticshoes

This is pretty worthwhile for the green consumer buying running shoes.

NIKE

While the company was embroiled in sweatshop labor problems during the late '90s, Nike has reformed itself. "I think Nike is a genuine leader, making bold moves to eliminate toxic materials, improve recyclability and generally reduce waste and emissions of their products and their manufacturing processes," says Makower.
The Good
* Publishes the names and addresses of all factories and suppliers online
* Manufactures Nike Considered, a line of organic-cotton clothing and shoes
* Recycles any brand of used running shoes through its Reuse-A-Shoe program
The Bad
* In its 2006 labor report, Offside: Labour Rights and Sportswear Production in Asia, Oxfam International found that Nike placed a higher volume of orders in non-union factories and hasn't required that workers receive a living wage.

REEBOK

The Good
* At least 90 percent of Reebok shoe boxes and tissues are made of recycled paper.
* Publishes the names and addresses of all factories and suppliers online
* Provides international suppliers with detailed guidance on dealing with and respecting trade unions
The Bad
* Despite Reebok's efforts to respect trade unions in foreign factories, the Oxfam report noted that the company has discouraged attempts to unionize factories in the U.S.

ADIDAS

The Good

* Oxfam's report noted that Adidas "has probably done the most research and thinking" about living wages for Asian factory workers.
* Provides suppliers with a detailed explanation of trade-union rights
* Reduced VOC emissions during shoe production from 140 grams/pair to 19.3 grams/pair
The Bad

* Does not publish factory and supplier addresses online

ASICS

The Good
* Has used EVA foam since the 1950s
* Replaced the carcinogenic heavy metal chromium in leather treatment with less-harmful tannin
* Has instituted their EcoPet program, which collects and recycles synthetic school PE uniforms, in 500 schools
The Bad
* Does not make factory and supplier addresses available to consumers

BROOKS

The Good
* Recently introduced HPR Green, a silica-based, petroleum-free sole used in the Adrenaline ASR 4 and Cascadia 2 that reduces the amount of petroleum used in production by more than one pound for every 10 pairs
* Works with FLA's collegiate-licensing program
* Relies on production techniques that eliminate waste by 50 percent
The Bad
* Does not publish factory and supplier addresses online

NEW BALANCE

The Good
* The only athletic footwear company that maintains U.S. production factories
* Enforces a corporate policy that international footwear suppliers limit work weeks to 54 hours/week
* Uses 100-percent recycled materials in Dunham, Aravon and PF Flyers shoe-boxes
* All stuffing and tissue wrap made with 100-percent recycled materials
The Bad
* Criticized by Oxfam for its lack of transparency in labor policies* Does not publish factory and supplier addresses online

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Facebook

I've added the group, adidas San Francisco Urban Run, onto www.facebook.com . Everyone is welcome to join.

Also, I am disappointed to report that Chris Ekman will not be assisting me with the Urban Run. Due to incompetencies and miscommunication, I've been screwed once again. Fortunately, I love being apart of adidas SF Urban Run and making sure that you get a good sweat on Monday evenings.

All the best, and see you next week!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Turkey Beach Trot 5K

Sorry for the blast here. For those of you running the Turkey Beach Trot on Thanksgiving Day at Ocean beach, note that the race is being moved to Golden Gate Park. See info from the race website below:


--SAN FRANCISCO BAY OIL SPILL ALERT!--
Tuesday, November 14, 2007 11:48AM The TURKEY has been in communication with the National Park Service and the SF Department of Parks & Recreation. Following is an update on the effect of the Oil Spill on the race. For those of you unaware of the SF Bay oil spill, please click here.

The GREAT NEWS: The TURKEY Beach Trot will be held on Thanksgiving morning. However, some necessary changes are being made to this year's race.

NEW LOCATION & COURSE

The National Park Service at this late date cannot guarantee that Ocean Beach will continue to stay open to the public. On Tuesday morning, November 13th, the NPS informed THE TURKEY that it is currently discussing closure of the beach due to the oil spill. Therefore, we will not gamble on the possibility that Ocean Beach will be open on Thanksgiving Day for the race and have come up with an alternative location for the race. The 2007 TURKEY Beach Trot is now officially the 2007 TURKEY PARK Trot. The TURKEY met with the SF Department of Parks & Recreation this morning to obtain the proper permit and to discuss the new course. When these details are finalized, we will email all participants and post this information to the website ASAP. Details will be available by Friday, November 16th at the latest.

NEW LOCATION: The new start/finish will be in Golden Gate Park, in the area of the deYoung Museum and the Academy of Sciences. We are finalizng the course logistics with the SF Department of Parks & Recreation and will update the information here ASAP.

REVISED DISTANCE: The new run & walk course will be a 5K route, taking trotters through the lush greens of Golden Gate Park. Squanto could not have come up with a better course. If you have registered or are registering for the race, you will receive numerous email updates over the next week. Please be patient with us as we wish to ensure all information is available to all participants- -no matter how frequently the message is communicated. If you have friends & family also participating, please ensure you relay the information to them as well.
Thank you.

TURKEY BEACH TROTPhone: (415) 595 6934
Web: http://www.turkeybe achtrot.com Email: info@turkeybeachtro t.com

Friday, November 9, 2007

Urban Run pictures


Richard coming back after running a few marathons this year.



Hoa is being impossible...again. Dare I say it, impossible is nothing.



Lead runners, Jorge and Felix, are first to return.


Warren in charge of logistics and post-run extraordinaire for Urban Run


Thursday, November 8, 2007

Turkey Beach Trot - Thanksgiving Day


Want to burn off those calories before that Thanksgiving Dinner? Start/Finish is below the Cliff House on Ocean Beach btwn Balboa/Great Highway in San Francisco!

http://www.turkeybeachtrot.com/

Register for the Turkey Beach Trot now! Previous editions have sold out! Entries limited to 1,000! And the prizes...click on the website to look at the VERY GENEROUS PRIZES!!!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

adidas SF Urban Run - November 5, 2007

With Fall back in effect, we will provide our runners with an adidas safety running light (retail value - $20), compliments of adidas Urban Run. In order to receive one (while supplies last) on Monday, November 5th, you must either:
  • wear adidas running apparel and/or running shoes -- OR --
  • bring a new running friend


ROUTE - Park 39 or Aquatic Park Run (4 or 6 miles)
  • Start at the adidas Sport Performance store
  • Right on Market Street
  • Left on The Embarcadero
  • Turn around at Pier 39 (Embarcadero & Bay Street) for 4 mile run
  • Turn around at Jefferson/Hyde) for 6 mile run
  • Return onto The Embarcadero
  • Right on Market Street
  • Finish at the adidas Sport Performance store
If you have any friends who are interested in walking/running, please invite them to join us!



UR INCENTIVE - UR runners who complete their first 10 runs will be awarded with an adidas Response running shirt. All runners also receive a 30% discount on all adidas running apparel and shoes after each Monday run!



RAFFLE DRAWING -
To be eligible, you must have run any (1) previous Mondays and the last Monday, November 26 to have a chance to win. Must be present to win.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Shoutout to Local Favorite at New York City Marathon

Sopagna Eap from San Francisco and Lowell High alumna will be running with Paula Radcliffe, Jelena Prokopcuka, and other women elites in the NYC Marathon. Her best time is 2:44 and has qualified for the Olympic Trials, which she will race in Boston 2008. Watch out for her this Sunday
(bib #F29)

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Lake Natoma Half Marathon

http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=24986&PWD=&ID=42704008&FROM=photos&BIB=704
Official Time: 1:32:47

Good luck to Ancita and Joel running the NYC Marathon and Yancy at the Silicon Valley Marathon this Sunday!