BERLIN (AP) — Haile Gebrselassie broke his own marathon world record on Sunday, becoming the first runner to finish under 2 hours, 4 minutes.

The Ethiopian clocked 2:03:59 to win his third straight Berlin Marathon, beating the mark of 2:04:26 he set last year over the same flat course. He also became the first runner to win the race three times.

(AP Photo/Miguel Villagran)

“Today, I’m so, so, so happy. Everything was perfect today,” Gebrselassie said.

Running under clear, sunny skies in mild temperature, Gebrselassie paced himself well and controlled the race from the start.

The 35-year-old Gebrselassie was way out front as passed through the Brandenburg Gate and ran to the finish line to applause from the crowd lining the route.

Gebrselassie said his training in the buildup to the race was hindered by an injury.

“I had a small calf muscle problem and I stopped for a week, and then I started again a week ago,” he said. “Then today I had, you know, some doubts … but it was really very good.”

The Ethiopian praised Berlin and its spectators in helping him break his 26th world record.

“Before I came here, I knew I can do something here in Berlin, because since I started running Berlin is my lucky city,” Gebrselassie said.

He improved last year’s winning time by nearly half a minute.

Berlin’s flat course often provides for fast times.

Five years ago, Paul Tergat of Kenya ran 2:04:55, becoming the first man to go under 2:05.

Gebrselassie first ran in Berlin in 2006 and clocked 2:05:56, before breaking the world record last year. In three years, he has improved nearly two minutes on the course.

The Ethiopian chose to skip the Olympic marathon in Beijing because of the city’s pollution. However, he finished sixth in the 10,000 meters, a race he won in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

Irina Mikitenko of Germany won the women’s race in 2:19:19, improving her best by over four minutes to clock the seventh fastest time in history for a woman.

She became the fourth fastest woman marathon runner of all time, with only Paula Radcliffe, Catherine Ndereba and Mizuki Noguchi ahead of her. Mikitenko broke the national record and became the first German woman to run under 2:20.

Askale Magarsa of Ethiopia was second in 2:21:31 and Helena Kirop of Kenya finished third in 2:25:01. Both ran personal bests.

I want a girl with a mind like a diamond
I want a girl who knows what’s best
I want a girl with shoes that cut
And eyes that burn like cigarettes
I want a girl with the right allocation
Who’s fast, and thorough, and sharp as a tack
She’s playing with her jewelry, she’s putting up her hair
She’s touring the facility and picking up slack
I want a girl who gets up early
I want a girl who stays up late
I want a girl with a smooth liquidation
I want a girl with good dividends
I want a girl with uninterrupted prosperity
Who uses a machetti to cut through red tape
With fingernails that shine like justice
And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

I want a girl with a short skirt,
And a long jacket.

(Cake, “Short Skirt, Long Jacket”)

Today (Sunday, Sep 14) T3, Mav and P.I.T. Sweet Tee drove to Tulsa for the 3rd Annual Turkey and TATURS Trail Run. Held on the trails at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area, the Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners (TATURS) put on a great race

There is a 50K (Mav and T3’s choice), a 25K and a 10K (Sweet Tee). The race starts at the Westside YMCA and follows a 25K loop that is well marked but in places can hardly be considered a “trail”. In fact, some places look like they just marked the trees over a rock field in a random pattern up and down the hills!

This year the trails were marked by pink ribbon with black dots. All the wrong turns were blocked by yellow caution tape too. It was almost impossible to get lost.

Since the start was staggered for the different distances, Mav and T3 lined up with the early crowd to begin a long day on the trails.

Once the “gun” went off (an improvised potato cannon) the 50Kers picked their way through the rocky climbs and descents by flashlight for the first 3 miles or so. Once the sun was up and the trail visible, the pack began to stretch out and the faster runners took the lead. Mav and T3 were just doing a second long run for the weekend (they had already done 30 miles on Friday) so the mantra “we are not racing” was repeated often in the early miles. The weather was supposed to be rain and wind, but the sky cleared and the day was partly cloudy to sunny with a very nice breeze. Later in the day it got a little warm, but it was a perfect day really.

The trail continued to be challenging and the rocks and elevation changes rarely let up. At one point Mav turned his left foot and twisted his ankle which then bothered him the rest of the day. T3 slipped off a rock with his right foot and got a really nice bruise on his instep which also bothered him the rest of the day. Most of the run was spent picking out footing and trying not to fall off the mountain!

The TATURS know ultra trail running and they were well prepared to meet the runners needs. Four major aid stations were stocked with a wide variety of snacks and fluids and the volunteers were cheerful and quick to fill a bottle or offer to help in any way.

While T3 and Mav were negotiating the first 25K loop, Sweet Tee was being baptized into trail racing in his first trail 10K.

Running under an hour, he finished 13th overall and claimed it was “awesome fun”. After his race he pitched in and helped Brian Hoover (race director). It was later reported that Sweet Tee is a very good race volunteer, of course we already knew that, he IS a Piraña in Training after all.

After the turn The Pirañas passed several runners and were passed by none. Even with the day heating up and the 30 miles from Friday setting into their legs, Mav and T3 managed to run even splits and finish around 6:23.

All-in-all it was a great day. A challenging well marked course, friendly and qualified volunteers, excellent post race food (fresh hamburgers and cookies and beer!), and a nice finishers medal and custom bibs (rare for a small event).

The Pirañas extend our thanks and congratulations to Brian and his crew and all the runners on a very fun and successful event.

The North Face Endurance Challenge, Washington DC Edition
Tropical Storm Hanna Endurance Challenge
Screw North Face, We’re Running Anyway Race Report
First Annual Renegade 50 Non-Race Report

What was it that poet Robert Burns wrote? “The best laid plans of mice and men oft’ go awry.”

Or that Murphy fellow, what was his law? Oh, yeah: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”

Both the awry and the wrong could be said North Face’s Washington DC regional edition of the 2008 Endurance Challenge.

The BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) is that the events (10k, 1⁄2 marathon, 50k, 50 miles) were cancelled 48 hours before the starter’s gun was to go off due to the projected route of Tropical Storm Hanna and her predicted fury. It’s said that “hell hath no fury as a woman scorned…” but on this weekend it was that bitch-storm Hanna doing the scorning and the running community unleashing the hell.

Forget that registration had opened in February. Never mind that this race was part of North Face’s “biggest ever cash purse for trail racing” gimmick. And forgo that runners had already arrived in the District from as far away as California and Puerto freakin’ Rico. When Virginia governor Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency for Virginia, this race was done for. The official cancellation email came at 8pm on Thursday night for a 5am Saturday event.

And then something special happened. Runners started emailing each other. The first few messages were filled with contempt and disdain toward The North Face – and race organizers Hawkeye Sports and Entertainment. Samsonite’s favorite was the guy who harpooned Hawkeye saying, “Whomever the race director is for this race, he/she is clearly not wired into the heart beat of ultra runners…” Then a local Virginian pitched the idea that….hey, let’s run anyway! They had all done the training for the event, prepared themselves mentally to race – not to mention having devoted a week or two to a good taper. Their bodies were prepared to hurt, and golly gee, they decided to go make them hurt! 300 emails and 16 hours later a group of 30+ strangers had agreed upon a starting time and location. They had traded phone numbers, text messages, and life stories… They had become friends before they even established a starting line. They are RUNNERS, hear them roar!

To Samsonite, this was a character-defining moment. Either you are one who will show up and run through the rain, or you stay inside and run the treadmill. It was a real 2 Samuel 18:23 moment.

On Saturday morning everyone converged at Great Falls Park for a 7am gun time. Great Falls would have been included in the original race course. Now it was the entirety of their race course. They would run a 16.5 mile loop – twice for the 50k runners and 3-plus-another-mile times for the 50 milers. The loop included a famed local running route called “Difficult Run.”

While staging in the parking lot, everybody “met” each other for the first time – even though they had already become friends via emails. They made jokes about the kinds of phone calls that had been going around: “Hey, uh, are you, uh, running tomorrow?” “Yeah, dude, that’s the password. You’re in. Need directions?” They were also making jokes about the – believe it or not – lack of rain. “So who forgot to pack the rain?” “Attention non-racers: This run is cancelled due to clear skies!” That’s right – at 7am there still wasn’t a hint of storm in the sky!

After a local runner briefed them on the course and locations of impromptu aid stations, they took a group picture and their non-race began. There were 22 true grit warriors – many of them barrel-chested freedom fighters (i.e. members of the military) – who made it to the start line for what they dubbed the Renegade 50. The group was made up of mostly 50k runners, 4 50 milers (Samsonite included), and a few folks just out for the halfie.

10 minutes after “Ready, Set, Go!” the skies began to spit. Then stream. Then pour. Fashionably late, but far from forgotten – Tropical Storm Hanna had arrived!

The runners weren’t 4 miles in before the words “torrential downpour” became applicable to the conditions.

The 4 50 milers—and a West Point buddy of Samsonite’s who was going 50k—settled into a casual lead. If this had been a race, Samsonite would have been farther back and playing the race tactics game. But at 8pm on Thursday night, his focus had shifted from out-for-blood to out-for-fun. They talked, laughed, wasted too much energy… They had to bird-dog their way through parts of the first lap of the course, an energy expenditure that wouldn’t have been required on a marked race course. The folks who were at the 3 aid stations were twice as friendly as regular race volunteers. It takes a special person to sit in the rain for 8 hours while their loved one or two and a bunch of strangers keep hitting them up for bananas and orange slices.

Q. What’s difference between a Renegade 50 aid station volunteer and hockey mom Sarah Palin?
A. Hair and make-up artists.

The first lap was what could have been a good, even-split pace for Samsonite’s entire day. But then one of the dudes—this guy made the decision to drive up from Georgia…after the race had already been cancelled!—picked up his pacer at mile 20, opened the stride a little bit…and the Samsonite-mobiles just couldn’t hang back. Samsonite’s 20th-32nd miles were way…to…fast—and they felt so good, too! In these miles he got a little too rambunctious, too excited with running in such miserable conditions—and seeing the entire George Washington University girls’ cross country team didn’t help! (It was all he could do to not pull a Mav and chase skirt.) This rambunctiousness made Samsonite tire prematurely and he broke contact with the other two when his stomach began to grow surly at 33ish. Back at the start line/parking lot, he spent 5 healthy minutes in the bathroom before heading back out to finish the miles. At this point, 5+ hours into the rain, the river levels were way up. In fact, the course was now impassable at the 3.5 mile mark, where the trail became the river – or did the river become the trail? No matter, they had to do a few extra out-and-backs along a known 2-out-2-back loop to finish up. But finish up Samsonite did, in 7:50 (happily below his goal of 8 hours), having run at least the 50 miles – and with several course long-cuts and other directional misadventures, may well have surpassed the notional 51st or 52nd mile markers.

Samsonite’s favorite part of the day was the 4th river crossing. Take a look at the stepping stones (i.e. boulders) in these pictures from last year’s not-stormed-out race.

On each loop they had to cross these once on the way out and again on the way back. The first time they crossed, it had been raining for about an hour and there were about 8 inches of the rocks above water. No big deal—to Samsonite. (One of the locals he was with said that this was the deepest he’d ever seen the river… Fear is in the eye of the beholder, Samsonite learned. Samsonite danced right across, because he thought 8 inches of dry rock was a good safety net. This guy nervously tip-toed across because he knew that usually there were 36+ inches of dry rock…) On the second “out” loop water the tops of the rocks were wet, and some of them submerged an inch or two. Still, whatever, no big deal. They had waded through much deeper thus far. This time Samsonite tip-toed and the locals crawled. On the “back” portion of the second loop the rocks were covered by more than 6 inches of rushing river water – and they had no choice but to get across. Walking across wasn’t an option, because the current was swift enough that it would have taken their feet right out from underneath them. They got across by gripping the far side of each rock with fingertips, cautiously shifting left, searching for the next submerged rock, and repeating….14 times. Samsonite didn’t know if the current was swift enough to sweep away a car, but he’ll say for sure that the time spent in the fatal funnel that is the middle of the stream had him saying more than a silent prayer. The 5 leaders got across safely (perhaps a miracle, don’t tell Samsonite’s mother) and warned all other runners they passed to not even try to cross the river.

This was a non-race, no finisher’s medal, no post-race pasta, no age group awards, no schwag…and definitely no $600 for having been the 2nd place finisher in the 50 miler. However, at that finish line there were 2 smiling faces, a fruit bowl with some awesome pineapple, and an old park bench just begging Samsonite to take a seat upon it. And life was good.

People back at West Point have been asking Samsonite questions that require answers they’ll never understand. “Why do you run?” Explain “green” to a blind person. Samsonite’s favorite comments are, “Fifteen miles, cool…” and “So, did you get wet?” Samsonite has seen things that can’t be adequately described with words on paper. Get 2 DVD players, 2 copies of Forrest Gump, and play the running-across-America and the raining-in Vietnam scenes simultaneously (if possible, meshing the two screens into one) and your mind’s eye will have a base knowledge of what it was like out there.

This isn’t totally a fair statement, because—in the end—even Samsonite will admit that The North Face did the right and safe thing by canceling the race. But he still thinks this would make a sweet Renegade 50 t-shirt:

Price of registration after refund: $42.50
Cost of gas and tolls to DC: $200
Running through a category 3 tropical storm while Dean Karnazes is flying back home: priceless.

This race gave Samsonite a lot of confidence. Having not practiced sound racing strategy, taken a 5 minute bathroom detour, fought through a category 3 tropical storm on an unmarked course with 4 river crossings, and still running below his goal time? Put him on a real high-stakes start line – he’s ready to race. Next up for Samsonite is the USATF 50 Mile Championships at the Tussey Mountainback 50 in Pennsylvania on October 11, 2008. The Piraña colors will fly high and mighty, never wavering, never faltering.

Pass the weak, hurdle the dead.
Take all you can, give nothing back.

The Pirañas just finished week 10 of a 20 week training program leading to several ultra races this fall.

Week 10: Sep 1 to Sep 7
54 miles total

Monday - 10 miles on trails
Tuesday - 6 miles on road
Wednesday - 10 miles on road
Thursday - rest day
Friday - 12 miles on road
Saturday - 16 miles on trails
Sunday - rest day

We are heading into week 11:

Week 11: Sep 8 to Sep 14
87 miles total

Monday - 10 miles on road
Tuesday - 6 miles on road
Wednesday - 10 miles on road
Thursday - rest day
Friday - 30 miles on road
Saturday - rest day
Sunday - 50K on trails (31 miles) Turkey & Taturs in Tulsa

This is a really big week for us. We will see how things go on Sunday

People often ask what the Pirañas eat and drink during long training runs and ultra distance races. During a race we sample a lot of foods that are available at the aid stations (a little bit of anything is tolerable.) However, we primarily stick to foods we have tested in training and have brought with us. We are big fans of bananas, pb&j (Mav puts raisins on his, yuck!), grapes, various granola bar type stuff and pumpkin pie. For technical or race designed foods during training and racing we use a couple of products almost exclusively:

Clif Shot Blocks

We use these instead of gels. It is much easier to control your intake, they are cleaner, and it is easier to keep eating them (we get sick of the sweet gooey taste of gels pretty fast!) We almost only eat Black Cherry w/ Caffeine. There are 200 calories in 6 blocks (1 pkg) so you could eat a package an hour.

HEED

HEED, by Hammer Nutrition, is a better blend of complex carbs and gives you prolonged energy instead of the quick rush you get from most “sports” drinks. There are 100 calories in a scoop and we use two scoops in a normal water bottle. If you are going to be without water longer, you can mix it a little thicker so you are at least getting the electrolytes and calories. HEED also comes in individual serving packages so if you can find water you can mix it on the trail or road. We like Mandarin flavor best.

We also use Ensure as a prerun meal or during a long run or race. We have been known to use Redbull (just not to much at a time) or other energy drinks, mostly for the caffeine. For recovery all the Pirañas have their own thing going but the list includes: chocolate milk, Recoverite, beer, anything you can get you hands on, etc. You get the idea

The most important thing is for each individual to have a nutrition and hydration plan and to test that plan in training under similiar circumstances (course type, weather, distance) so you know what works for you. The worst thing you can do is something new on race day.

Today was the Bears Cross Country Invitational at John Marshall. P.I.T. Sweet Tee attended the meet with the CCS Cross Country Team:

The middle school boys course was 1 mile over grass with a few mild climbs and some fairly uneven footing. Sweet Tee was feeling good but had almost ripped his toenail off the night before, so he was worried about the effect that would have on his race (we offered to take it off for him, but for some reason he declined…)

When the gun went off Sweet Tee went right to the front.

By about a qtr mile he was battling another guy for first. They traded off the lead a couple times, but by the last 200 yds the other guy had the lead and Sweet Tee couldn’t out-kick him. Sweet Tee finished 2nd overall in a time of 6:41. You can tell by this photo that he was giving it all at the finish.

The Brothers congratulate Sweet Tee on a strong finish and a great race!

From Brother Samsonite:

The Nike Human Race. What an amazing concept and a great race!  Celebrating humanity through the medium of running!  26 cities around the world, 1,000,000 runners running on the same day.

Samsonite had almost registered for this event when he was at home during the summer, but was turned away because it was at 6pm on a Sunday night and he knew he’d never make it back to where he needed to be when he needed to be there.  Then the first week of school he realized that the race was on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend and that the Directorate of Cadet Activities was offering free entries to the race!  A small group of friends and Samsonite happily hopped on the freedom train to the race.

In order to achieve the whole “we are one” feeling, the race bib number was screened onto an Army Engineer red Nike Dri-Fit shirt, so it was a sea of scarlet bobbing up and down out there.  (Another thought is that this concept makes it easy to discourage and catch bandits on the course)  Despite worldwide acknowledgement of the color clash between red and orange, Samsonite wore his Piraña Brothers running cap so that the best colors could fly over NYC.

The race was held on Randall’s Island in NYC, and this created a problem getting all the runners to the start line.  At the time the gun was supposed to go off, there were still 5 ferry-loads of runners not en route to the island.  Since this day was all about solidarity, tolerance, patience, and embracing your fellow man, the race directors opted to wait until these runners arrived.  That was fine with Samsonite, but remember – this was New York City.  They call it a “New York minute” for a reason…  Many in the crowd were growing abrasive.  When the race did start it was under a cloud of, “It’s about friggin’ time, Boss!”

About 1 mile in Samsonite realized that this event was missing a certain peppy energy, and it was time for a few crazy cadets to make something happen.

“Free high-five!  High-fives fo’ free!”

Suffice it to say, Samsonite and his buddy Josh gave out a lot of free high-fives.

“Free high-five!  Here, take ten!  Where’s my change?  Wait, one more!  Put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day!”

They high-fived the crowd, the volunteers, fellow runners, old men, beautiful young ladies – even the Naked Cowboy!

At the finish line someone told them that they were about 30 yards away from having caught and high-fived Matthew McConaughey!  (Samsonite would have given him the upside-down Longhorns hand-sign after his free high-five, too!)  At an event celebrating humankind, it was the least they could do to spread the only uniform language the world has ever known – that is, the language of the smile!

It was a 2-lap course, and their second lap – for some, it was still their first – was a practical exercise on The Bottleneck Principle.  The whole course was pretty narrow, but there was one particularly narrow foot bridge that everyone had to cross.  Josh and Samsonite had sailed through the first time, but when the slower runners began to amass at the bridge, uh oh!  On their second pass they easily lost 3 minutes waiting for the herd of cattle to move across.  Many people were antsy and angry at the congestion, so Josh and Samsonite – ambassadors of humanity – implored people to

“Make a friend!  Hug your neighbor!  Here, take a high-five and pass it back!”

People chuckled, smiled, and undoubtedly had a more memorable time because of these two crazy dudes.

It was also on this bridge that Samsonite branded Randall’s Island with the Piraña colors.  He had been carrying a Piraña sticker with him, looking for the perfect spot to slap it.  Seeing as people were all but crawling over this bridge, He decided that this would be the best high-visibility location – maybe they’d even memorize and visit the website!  Later that night he returned to the scene of the vandalism to take a picture.

The lights in the background at the stadium where we finished, a la Olympic Marathon style.

And the party continued…!  After the race was a free concert by the All-American Rejects. One of Samsonite’s more emo-centric buddies led them to the Emo Fest and they had a blast!  Samsonite even met a girl – a co-ed at NYU – there and got her number, too.  He has been saying that he needs to meet girls either on the start line of a race or in Sunday School.  We think that the post-race concert could count, too…

Overall, it was an awesome way to celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Go World.  Good job, Nike.