Wow, trips over but we've just entered the halfway mark in the last push of the race calendar before the big month off from running. Now comes the hard part. I've got a 50 miler next weekend that I decided it would be a good idea to do the week after worlds. Of course this was before I knew if I'd made it to worlds. Honestly, I'm really looking forward to it. Scared to death, but looking forward to it. Why? I'm not sure. It's something new, I've never done something like this before. I like the unknown. People have been asking me why I'm doing that and I haven't come up with a good answer but I think that's what it is. It's a new adventure. I'm bored with what I know. I've done the roads, track, xc and now I'd like to take my running to another realm that I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing. And it is pleasure, I truly enjoy the run, the journey, as much as I do the competition. The 50 miler's a whole new ball game. Could go well, could go up in flames or maybe not so dramatic. Either way, I'm afraid of it. It's going to hurt and that's forced me to plan more than I've had to for a race in awhile. That planning forces me to be more invested in it too. It's a good feeling. I like a good adventure. I need to do this more often.  So, on to something new. 

April 11th is Pear Blossom 10 miler in Medford. If I can walk then that's the plan.  Most of you that read this may know what Pear is but it's a special race for me. The hometown race. I've been doing this race since high school. Several of my old teachers from middle and high school still put the race on and it has become a tradition for me and a connection to where I've come from. It's one of my favorites in my race calendar and if at all possible won't miss it for anything. It's not your typical weekend annual Fourth of July 5k that a few people come out for. The Pear is the largest running (possibly just the largest sporting event but I don't want to label it falsely) event in the Rogue Valley and is an integral part of the Pear Blossom Festival with Parade, Pageants, and other events. It attracts over 1000 people to the 10 mile run plus another 500 or so for the 5k and 1 mile walk. It gets coverage on the front page of the newspaper sports section for two days in a row and all the local news channels as well. How many local races can claim the kind of community intimacy that the Pear attracts? That's why I love it and look forward to it every year. I don't know if this is common in the ranks of the elite but this is how I stay grounded and connected. It's important for me to have something to come back to. Part of my past, call me sentimental. There are other reasons to run races than competition and prize money. I feel like it's something we've gotten away from. The 70's and 80's when runners like Bill Rogers and Frank Shorter would show up to small town road races. Maybe they were there for the prize money but I'd like to think it was more than that, just the thrill of a race and the joy of camaraderie. In 1980, Frank Shorter won the Pear. There's still no prize money. 

I'm considering trying to drive like a Jordanian for a few days when I get home. I'm kind of wondering how many fingers I would get. They aren't bad drivers but they drive very different than in the US. The best way to merge into traffic is just to give your horn a quick blast and nose your way on out. Drivers will just continue to go around you until you get too far out for them to get around and then you're in. And nobody has road rage, incredible.

Anyway, whirlwind day. Of course it was pretty uneventful for the morning. Sitting around the hotel, breakfast, light 10min run, movie, lunch, load up to the course. That's when the fun started. The next 48hrs will be non-stop. By now you've most likely seen results of the races. We've been without internet or any way to communicate since before we left for the race course (so it's not my fault this is late). I have to say, the course was pretty unbelievable, and if anyone will believe me, it was a lot of fun. Up, down, up down,... And it lived up to it's pre-race synopsis as brutal. The race went out moderately fast for the first uphill 200m, then settled in for the 600m downhill. I continued to weave my way from mid pack at the top of the hill to the top 10 by the bottom and settled in for the short flat section before the climb. Ran my own race up the climb letting the main pack gain some ground on me before catching back up on the downhill again. The pack slowed on the flat section and I was able to relax and just settle in to my own rhythm. Everyone was being pretty conservative knowing that that 5th and 6th laps were going to be pretty grueling if the race was pushed from the start. I knew I had to run my own race if I were going to run my best so I let the pack run away from me as they ratcheted up the pace going up the hill for the second time. This was about the time Bobby passed me and held on to the USA lead for a couple laps. By the end of lap 5 I was able to reel Bobby in and Ryan had caught up to us. With a hilly race like this strengths and weaknesses become very obvious. My weakness is definitely the uphills but I can make up for that on the downhill. Too bad we finished on the uphill. Ryan crushed the last two laps and especially the last climb up to the finish, as did Bobby while I held my own, even passing a few people on climb, and was third for the US and 40th overall. Ryan was 33rd and Bobby 37th. Ed Torres (my roomie) was right behind me in 58th an Ed Moran was just behind him in 68th with some nasty blisters. And Bret was 75th. The US ran smart, pacing was even and we put everything we had out there. It was an eighth place showing behind teams that couldn't be caught YET even on our best days (top 6) and Spain who had a very strong team. I'm happy with my race. It is definitely the best of my three World XC events yet. Hopefully that trend will continue. The course played to my strengths sure, but my mind was in the right place, fitness was good and I learn a little more every year about how to run in the middle pack.

We were eighth but one thing I see every year is how lucky we are as Americans and the opportunities that are just given to us, not without putting in the work, but I know other people around the world also put in the effort to be the best runners and they don't have the opportunities we have. Our federation, the sponsors on our backs, and the staff that supports us does a phenomenal job every year to get us here, give us the best support so that we are physically and mentally ready to race, and the best equipment on earth. It just reminds me that with the support system surrounding us, the runners, we certainly can't take anything for granted. It doesn't have to be like that and I hope we remember that during our last interval in the freezing rain, or the last climb in our third workout of the week, or the reason we've been in the pool for an hour and a half on saturday morning with a stress fracture, We have support because we work for it and I'm thankful for it..

How many people do you think have had the chance to cut a rug with Doug Logan, the CEO of USATF. That's right, Logan actually got out on the dance floor with the USA team and the rest of the mob. This was by far the best after party I've been to. Amazing full buffet, with beer and wine, decor and lighting that would be more than you could ask for at a formal wedding, and club dj's mixing tracks like it was the hottest nightclub in town. The Jordanians pulled out all the stops to put on an excellent event. And Doug Logan was on the dance floor, I've got pictures, as was the rest of the USA. Whether it was the foreign country, the seclusion of the USA team at the hotel, or whatever reason, this team has meshed better than any other team I've had the chance to run on. On previous trips I've barely gotten to know the juniors or the women's team but this trip has been quite the opposite. It was a pleasure to get to know the other athletes I run with and against better and I know that our relationships will last long after the trip is over.

Last Leg:

Up at 5:45 after going to bed at 2:15am doesn't feel good. We headed to Petra, one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It was awesome. Petra is in Indiana Jones and I can't remember which one. It's the big temple carved into the rock as they ride horses down a slot canyon. Kind of reminded me of Red Rocks in Las Vegas but 10,000 times bigger and with stuff carved in the rock. Is it bad I think I liked the rocks better than the spectacular carved buildings. The rocks are so cool and great for climbing. I just wanted to scramble up everything. And we all rode camels down the canyon. Pretty sweet day. Check out the pictures.

As I type, the bus is quiet. Heads are back and eyes are shut from exhaustion. The late afternoon sun shines horizontally though the bus windows as we rattle down the road. I think the feeling is one of satisfaction from a long week on the other side of the world, edging out of our comfort zones and a race well run.

That feeling of exhaustion is only half over as we're in the middle of the marathon travel adventure that will take us from Amman to Petra for a little end of the the trip sightseeing, back to Amman's Queen Alia Airport and on to home, a >24hr trip to the other side of the world. Yeah, bet my ankles won't be swollen after this trip. Right. Cankles!

The trip was a lot of fun

Friday March 27th - Jim Estes promised me mud. For a few days I had faith and believed him but my hopes and dreams were crushed today at the course preview. No mud, and what little there had been they were covering it with rock and dirt and rolling it out. What a disappointment. On the flip side this is probably about the toughest course I've ever seen. Turns out that a 20m hill is a pretty big hill. I guess it just doesn't register until you see the hill. The start is not a gradual uphill into a sharp left hand turn then a plummet to the bottom of a 600m long hill, then a short section of flat before the climb back to the top of the course. After 6 laps of that the finish comes right off the top of the course and continues a steep climb up. That should take any kind of sprint out of anyone trying to finish fast. So yeah, it's tough. Guess I should have been running more hills. We'll see what happens.

Other than that it was an uneventful day of sitting in the hotel like usual before a race. Pretty boring. We did play a heated game of Rummy in the evening of which I lost...badly. Hope that isn't indicative of tomorrow.

Well, here we go. Tomorrow is what we came here to do.

Thursday March 26th - Well no Govornator last night, just Antonio Banderas. What a day. 4am prayer, practice, roman ruins, downtown, mosques, taken by a cabbie, cabbie redeemed, now here. Here I am. Typing my day. Lets do it backwards. Not an hour ago I was frantically searching through my room for my camera I'd managed to hang onto all day. I had it when I got out of the cab right? Not right? Went downstairs to see if it was at the front desk and who do I see but the cabbie that had just sort of hustled us out of a bit more than we should have paid (our attache, Adam, said we were "very generous" when we explained it to him) with my camera. I quickly decided that he was a great guy and I was more than willing to pay him more. Adam even professed how surprised he was. So turns out that the cabbie was a pretty good guy and after all the cab ride home with the tour of King Abdullah Mosque was worth something a little extra. We, (Ryan, Bobbie, and I) had picked him up at the top of the Roman ruins and he had volunteered to take us to the mosque and show us around. He actually gave us a decent tour, took us inside showed us around and talked to the guards and stuff. Coming from downtown Amman the mosque was the last sight we needed to check off. The ruins we had come from had the best view of the city so we took the 10 min walk up the stairs from downtown and the old Roman Amphitheater. They just don't make them like they used to. 

After almost 2000 years a concert or play in this amphitheater would be quite a sight and an experience you wouldn't soon forget. It's steep enough that you wouldn't want to be inebriated in the cheap seats and "uncoordinated" people would be better off closer to the stage. 

A tour of downtown gave us the real flavor of Amman. A window shopping, souvenir shopping, turkish coffee drinking, dining on hummus and pita,  being mobbed by 10 yr olds cultural experience like no other. And that was just the afternoon. 

The morning was spent under more mundane activities. I got my morning run of 50min with strides in and I think my legs are back under me although it's hard to tell with just an easier run. We'll just have to wait until Saturday to find out. Had a beautiful sunny but crisp day for running and some field lounging. 

To finish off the morning we had a round of drug testing and I was lucky to escape this year, although it's not that bad since all the pre-race tests are blood tests. 

For those of you who think these trips aren't taken seriously and they're all just fun and playing in mud, well that's for tomorrow and Saturday. Gotta have a little fun while you're waiting for your legs to come around.  Time now to get down to bidness though, going to sleep, tomorrow is the course preview and rest and focus. Ayna ajedu al merhaad!

Wednesday March 25th - Spa day! Much needed too. Trip to the Dead Sea today after practice. Dude, I float. I've never floated, I sink like a rock usually. It was awesome, well novel anyway. And the mud there is heavenly. Greatest mud pit I've been in ever, at least since I used to play in the mud with the neighbor kid down the road.  The Dead Sea was pretty interesting. There's salt deposits on the edge of the sea, like big chunks, weird. The water's about 33% salt, 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. If you stick your finger in the water and then stick it on your tongue it's like a toxic chemical salt taste...maybe I shouldn't have done that. We stopped and took some pictures with a camel too. Interesting day. 

Anyway, back to training. Did a 70min mud run yesterday. Oh it finally stopped raining today too. But the run yesterday was capped off with 10 wet strides. I think that mud run was a bit more than I bargained for, I was pretty tied up, either from the mud run or just the plane trip. The workout today was 10 X 1min w/ 1min rest. Felt ok but had no endurance and legs just felt tight going up hill. I'm hoping I got it out and it'll be better tomorrow. Everybody felt that way so I feel a bit better. Did another short run around town in the pm to shake out. So that's that. 

Tomorrow it's "downtown" with Neil Young and right now we're vegging out to the Fox movie channel and the Govornator in Collateral Damage. Araka. Tosbeho. 

USA Men's 8K Championships

Place Bib   Name                          Age City               ST Team Affiliation                 Time  Ext.Time Pace 5K Time



    1 6     Jorge Torres                   27 Boulder            CO Reebok                           22:42 22:41.2  4:34 14:10

    2 14    Andrew Carlson                 25 Bloomington        MN adidas                           22:42 22:41.9  4:34 14:11

    3 16    Jason Hartmann                 26 Eugene             OR Nike                             22:48 22:47.7  4:35 14:11

    4 7     James Carney                   29 Boulder            CO New Balance                      22:53 22:52.5  4:36 14:10

    5 12    Fasil Bizuneh                  27 Flagstaff          AZ New Balance                      23:03 23:02.1  4:38 14:10

    6 15    Christian Hesch                29 Morro Bay          CA Asics                            23:04 23:03.3  4:38 14:10

    7 9     Tim Nelson                     24 Madison            WI Nike                             23:05 23:04.3  4:38 14:22

    8 31    Josh Moen                      26 Readlyn            IA Brooks                           23:14 23:13.9  4:40 14:22

    9 18    Ryan Kirkpatrick               29 Colorado Springs   CO Reebok                           23:21 23:20.3  4:41 14:22

   10 22    Macharia Yuot                  26 Chester            PA Bryn Mawr RC                     23:21 23:20.8  4:41 14:30

   11 27    Paul Jellema                   23 Rochester Hills    MI Hansons-Brooks Distance Proj.    23:21 23:21.0  4:41 14:30

   12 20    Jonathan Pierce                24 Blowing Rock       NC ZAP Fitness                      23:22 23:21.4  4:42 14:22

   13 26    Ryan Sheehan                   24 Rochester Hills    MI Hansons-Brooks Distance Proj.    23:24 23:23.2  4:42 14:21

   14 36    Mike Hanlon                    23 Flagstaff          AZ adidas                           23:27 23:26.6  4:43 14:29

   15 39    Brad Lowery                    25 Bloomington        MN                                  23:31 23:30.8  4:43 14:28

   16 3     Alan Webb                      25 Reston             VA Nike                             23:32 23:31.3  4:44 14:10

   17 25    Blake Boldon                   29 Ames               IA Saucony                          23:35 23:34.4  4:44 14:30

   18 33    Chris Graff                    32 Crofton            MD Asics                            23:36 23:35.9  4:44 14:30

   19 10    Patrick Tarpy                  25 Providence         RI Reebok                           23:40 23:39.1  4:45 14:22

   20 28    Ben Bruce                      25 San Luis Obispo    CA                                  23:41 23:40.2  4:45 14:45

   21 37    Jordan Horn                    23 Flagstaff          AZ adidas                           23:43 23:42.4  4:46 14:31

   22 49    Ryan Blood                     22 Summerdale         PA                                  23:44 23:43.5  4:46 14:37

   23 32    Jeff Gaudette                  25 Charlotte          NC Brooks                           23:46 23:45.9  4:46 14:38

   24 53    James Sjostrom                 26 Aurora             OH Real Fitness                     23:53 23:52.1  4:48 14:45

   25 24    Nate Jenkins                   27 Lowell             MA Saucony                          23:55 23:54.5  4:48 14:37

   26 29    Joe Driscoll                   28 Blowing Rock       NC ZAP Fitness                      23:57 23:56.6  4:49 14:45

   27 44    Jesus Solis                    24 Alamosa            CO Boulder Running Company/adidas   24:06 24:05.8  4:50 14:45

   28 17    Josh McAdams                   27 Orem               UT New Balance                      24:10 24:09.7  4:51 14:56

   29 45    Nick Stanko                    27 Haslett            MI Brooks                           24:20 24:19.9  4:53 14:57

   30 46    Will Viviani                   35 Eugene             OR Team Eugene                      24:21 24:20.4  4:53 15:07

   31 47    Kevin Castille                 25 Long Beach         CA Team Eugene                      24:22 24:21.9  4:54 15:02

   32 40    Jon Clemens                    33 New York           NY                                  24:26 24:25.8  4:54 15:04

   33 42    Ben Schmeckpeper               25 Charlestown        MA Boston Athletic Assoc.           24:28 24:27.1  4:55 14:57

   34 43    Karl Dusen                     25 New York           NY Brooks                           24:34 24:33.3  4:56 15:09

   35 51    Jeffrey Rios                   30 New York           NY Manhattan TC                     24:37 24:36.5  4:57 15:19

   36 48    Paul Ryan                      27 Cambridge          MA Whirlaway RT                     24:43 24:43.0  4:58 15:07

   37 34    Matt Hooley                    25 Madison            WI WRRT                             24:59 24:59.0  5:01 14:56

   38 38    Brandon Leslie                 31 Albuquerque        NM Brooks                           25:08 25:07.8  5:03 15:18

   39 52    Chris English                  23 New York           NY Manhattan TC                     25:20 25:19.7  5:05 15:18

   40 50    Terrance Armstrong             36 Pompton Lakes      NJ Fleet Feet                       25:35 25:34.2  5:08 15:32

   41 35    Dan Kahn                       29 Durham             NC Saucony                          26:42 26:41.5  5:22 16:14

Women's Invitational 8K

 
Place Bib   Name                          Age City               ST Team Affiliation                 Time  Ext.Time Pace 5K Time

    1 1     Shalane Flanagan               26 Pittsboro          NC Nike                             25:40 25:39.7  5:09 15:52
    2 4     Katie McGregor                 30 St. Louis Park     MN Reebok                           25:56 25:55.7  5:13 15:57
    3 6     Molly Huddle                   23 Providence         RI Saucony                          26:07 26:06.1  5:15 16:07
    4 7     Amy Rudolph                    34 Providence         RI adidas                           26:25 26:24.3  5:18 16:24
    5 5     Carmen Douma-Hussar            31 Ardmore            PA New Balance                      26:28 26:27.7  5:19 16:20
    6 8     Erin Donohue                   24 Chapel Hill        NC Nike                             26:28 26:28.0  5:19 16:20
    7 22    Firehiwot Tesfaye              18 New York           NY West Side Runners                26:32 26:31.9  5:20 16:25
    8 3     Liliya Shobukhova              30 Moscow                adidas                           26:34 26:33.6  5:20 16:25
    9 44    Aziza Aliyu                    22 Bronx              NY Westchester TC                   26:44 26:43.6  5:22 16:20
   10 17    Julia Lucas                    24 Mammoth Lakes      CA Reebok                           26:46 26:45.2  5:23 16:44
   11 15    Melissa Cook                   28 Flower Mound       TX New Balance                      26:47 26:46.4  5:23 16:37
   12 14    Lyudmila Biktasheva            33 Gainesville        FL Nike                             26:48 26:47.6  5:23 16:38
   13 12    Cack Ferrell                   23 Eugene             OR Oregon TC                        26:49 26:49.0  5:23 16:43
   14 9     Carrie Tollefson               31 St. Paul           MN adidas                           26:54 26:53.8  5:24 16:41
   15 24    Carrie Messner-Vickers         30 Vail               CO Asics                            27:14 27:13.4  5:28 17:07
   16 16    Lindsey Anderson               22 Ogden              UT Nike                             27:24 27:23.9  5:30 16:58
   17 26    Stephanie Rothstein            24 Eugene             OR                                  27:28 27:27.7  5:31 16:58
   18 10    Lisa Galaviz                   28 Gilbert            AZ Nike                             27:33 27:32.8  5:32 16:42
   19 20    Emily McCabe                   24 Durham             NC Brooks                           27:45 27:44.6  5:35 17:14
   20 18    Alli Grace                     25 Blowing Rock       NC ZAP Fitness                      27:46 27:45.9  5:35 17:04
   21 19    Meseret Kotu                   26 New York           NY West Side Runners                28:28 28:28.0  5:43 17:33
   22 40    Sara Vergote                   27 Bronx              NY Nike Central Park TC             28:41 28:40.9  5:46 17:37
   23 30    Kate Irvin                     29 New York           NY Nike Central Park TC             28:52 28:51.2  5:48 17:45
   24 29    Aileen Conlon                  25 New York           NY Nike Central Park TC             28:58 28:57.2  5:49 17:46
   25 33    Lesley Higgins                 27 New York           NY New York Athletic Club           29:06 29:05.4  5:51 17:56
   26 39    Katrina Bruckschwaiger         26 New York           NY Nike Central Park TC             29:22 29:21.2  5:54 18:12
   27 36    Megan Guiney                   27 New York           NY New York Athletic Club           29:38 29:37.9  5:57 18:20
   28 38    Christina Hoffmann             23 New York           NY adidas women                     29:49 29:48.2  5:59 18:25
   29 37    Arianne Field                  23 New York           NY New York Athletic Club           30:07 30:06.4  6:03 18:30
   30 42    Elieen Patrick                 40 New York           NY adidas women                     31:15 31:14.2  6:17 19:22

The 32-year-old Kenyan born star who became a Dutch national four years ago when marrying coach Pieter Langerhorst, achieved a victory she had been planning for almost six months.

Kiplagat, after winning last autumn's IAAF World Running Championship title in Debrecen, Hungary with a World record time for the 20K race, commenced almost immediately preparations for Mombasa.

Today she achieved a lifetime ambition, when thwarting Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba - who beat her in last year's race – from clinching a third successive lon course crown which would have matched the feat of USA’s Lynn Jennings 13 years ago in Boston.

Kiplagat dominated the 8km race when storming to the front to hold a narrow four seconds lead after the first two kilometres of four seconds, as Dibaba and Kenya's Florence Jebet Kiplagat, gamely tracked her.

Despite Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu, last year's bronze medallist, trying to destroy her stride pattern with a brief few metres at the front, the Dutch woman always looked the stronger of the leading pack.

The former European cross country champion lengthened her lead to seven seconds after 4km, then put in a massive spurt which ultimately blew away any hopes her opponents had of making up ground.

Kiplagat's long legs extended the margin at the bell to 26seconds, ahead of Dibaba, Melkamu and Gelete Burka, - the Ethiopan's seemed to be running for the minor medals - assuring her victory unless a mishap occurred on  the final circuit.

Kiplagat throwing up her arms in a victory salute, thrilled the Kenyan crowd who have always considered her to be one of them and understand her reasons for running for the Netherlands.

"It looked easy but it was not running with two champions sitting next to me, she said after her emphatic 24seconds victory.

"The only game plan I had today was to believe I could handle the heat, I've trained so hard I didn't want to let it go. I was so inspired by how all of this was arranged," she said of Kenya hosting the championships for the first time ever.”

"Lots of people were doubting if they could do it right - but they did, so I want to congratulate them for doing the job so well."

Kiplagat predominantly a road runner admitted she has learned a lot about cross country in the last 12 months - although announcing this would be her last.

She said: "I think it’s also about a bit of experience. Last year I surprised myself being second, so this time I knew what I could do and I became a winner. "Anything today for me today less than second, meant I was loser."

"I realised they were not so close to me and it could be too hot for them, so I just concentrated and thought 'This will be my last cross country c anyway so let's give it a try’."

Dibaba admitting she was disappointed said: "The competition was tough. I was hoping to get a third medal but the heat was what did the most damage. I'm not so happy about losing.”

"I cannot speak for them but I knew this was all I could do. The heat really hurt us," she said as the Ethiopian's seemed to settle for the minor medals over the final circuit.

However they did extend their winning margin to six successive victories in the team race, winning with 19 points ahead of Kenya (26) and Morocco (99).

Dave Martin – PA International – for the IAAF

Less than five minutes after he was apparently dropped by the mighty Ethiopian, Eritrea’s World Road Running champion Zersenay Tadesse not only made up the gap, but went on to pummel past Bekele to produce what will certainly be remembered as the biggest upset of these World Cross Country Championships.

Tadesse, who has made a career of chasing Bekele since his emergence among the world’s elite three years ago, stunned the crowd not only as he fought back to catch Bekele, but stirred its imagination as well when he confidently strode by.

Left in the Eritrean’s wake, an unlikely picture of Bekele emerged, one of a runner broken, with simply nothing in reserve to fight back. Unable to summon his trademark sprint, Bekele looked drained and confused as he watched Tadesse pull away before finally succumbing to the (33 C. with 73 % humidity) conditions and walking off the course some 800 metres before the finish, to end his cross country race win streak at 27. As two medics carrying a stretcher approached, Bekele motioned them away. Later it was confirmed that he struggled with stomach pains in the middle part of the race.

While Bekele’s dramatic departure from the race was a shock, it can’t take away from the powerful performance displayed by Tadesse, the Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist who was clearly prepared for everything these championships would throw at him, be it the heat or the opposition.

“I feel happy and proud for all Eritreans,” said the 25-year-old, who has single-handedly led an athletics renaissance in his country. “I’m very happy and have no words to express my feelings.”

Tadesse, who trains part of the year in Spain, said that preparation there last year helped him for the conditions here. “I trained quite a bit in heat similar to this,” he said. Tadesse said he didn’t feel surprised when he caught up and passed Bekele, and didn’t realize that he had dropped out. “I just didn’t see him,” he said.

The early stages of the 12 km contest began rather cautiously, with several runners taking their turns with the lead. The deep Kenyan squad, much to the delight of the estimated crowd of more than 30,000 who crammed into the venue, performed admirably, but some 15 minutes into the race it became clear that none would be a solid threat for the individual win. Half a lap later, only national champion Moses Mosop was still up to the challenge, before finally dropping off the pace. He nonetheless held on for second, reaching the finish in 36:13, 23 seconds behind Tadesse. Another 24 seconds back was Bernard Kipyego, to claim the bronze.

Surpassing his own expectations, European Champion Mo Farah finished tenth.

‘Cross Country Comes Home’ was the theme of these 35th championships, and the Kenyan men certainly made a strong case with their dominating team performance.

Behind Tadesse, the hosts took spots two through six for a 28 point total, nearly 80 points ahead of runner-up Morocco to easily defend their team title, and a staggering 20th long course team crown overall.

Uganda, led by Martin Toroitich’s ninth place, was third (185 points), to claim their first senior medal at a World Cross Country Championship. The heat took a particularly hard toll on Ethiopia, besides the defending champion, four others didn’t finish, resulting in no score in the team battle, and no team medal for only the second time since 1992.

Underscoring the difficult conditions, 29 of the 134 starters did not finish the race.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Competing at the 2km circuit at the “Parque Ñu Guazú”, the 30-year-old from Brasília, led throughout the race to take the victory in 37:28 over the distance of 12Km, with a 30 second margin over local Jorge Cabrera. Colombian Giovany Amador was third with 38:12.

It was a hot weekend in the middle of the tropical summer of Asunción where conditions were far from what the athletes may face in Edinburgh. The circuit at “Ñu Guazú” had plenty of sand, mud and water and tested the athletes’ endurance in a combination with the high temperatures.

This was Marílson’s first South American Cross Country title. Previously, in 1996, he finished second in the junior race of the event also held in Asunción. As the area champion, Gomes dos Santos earned the right to participate at the World Championships along with the Brazilian team that won the team competition with a 3 point margin over Colombia.