Waiting out the rain

While sitting here waiting out the long rain delay before the Phillies-Brewers game where ace Cole Hamels will take on Jeff Suppan, I thought it would be a good idea to break out the old-time baseball shows to keep busy. Here’s an episode of “The Baseball Bunch.”

Stay tuned… more pithy comments on sports and sports byproducts to follow.

***
Some people say there is a statistic to prove anything. Numbers, they say, can be manipulated to make just about any argument.

With that in mind, a story on Slate magazine argued that Roger Clemens is worth every penny the Yankees will pay him for pitching for four months this season. Better yet, they have the statistics and a formula to prove it.

The formula looks like this:

PCT = RS2 / (RS2 + RA2)

Yeah, I have no idea what it means and I’m not sure I want to risk the headache by attempting to think about it either. But if anyone out there wants to argue the argument, give it a go by checking out the Slate story.

From here on out there will be no math.

***
Speaking of numbers, it should be noted that a Sherpa named, simply, Apa, broke the all-time record for climbs to the top of Mount Everest on Wednesday. Apa Sherpa, as he’s known, reached the summit of the world’s tallest mountain for the 17th time to break the record of 16, which he held. The most ascents following Apa is Chewang Nima, who at 41 completed his 14th climb last year.

Apa is 47 years old and first reached the top of Everest on May 10, 1990 and has completed the climb every year since, except for the infamous 1996 expedition that was chronicled by Jon Krakauer in Into Thin Air. Interestingly, Apa is the leader of a group of guides called The Super Sherpas.

New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, are credited as the first men to reach the rooftop of the world in 1953, though there is some belief that English climber George Mallory made it to the top during his ill-fated climb in 1924.

Mallory is credited with the using the quip, “Because it is there,” when asked why he wanted to attempt to climb Everest.

This could be the last time I ever get to write anything about Sherpas, specifically Apa Sherpa, so I’m taking full advantage. Thanks for indulging.

***
Speaking of taking one giant leap for mankind, Ryan Howard trotted around the field before the heavy rains poured over South Philly today. Still on the disabled list with a strained quadriceps muscle, Howard will start working out with former team trainer Jeff Cooper (and currebt medical staff consultant) next Tuesday before heading out on a rehab assignment to Lakewood on May 23 and 24.

***
Anyone who reads the stuff I write on this site knows that I am a running freak. Besides that, readers will note that I often write about marathoner Deena Kastor, who is currently the best American distance runner out there and probably the best since Joan Samuelson. If Joanie is No. 1, Deena is an Olympic gold medal away from replacing her – she already broke her old marathon record twice.

So it is with great concern and trepidation that we wish Deena a speedy recovery and long term health from her latest bout with skin cancer. Deena updates her progress on her site and cautions runners and outdoorsy types to be smart about sun exposure and diligent in getting regular screenings. Sometimes it’s a pain, but it’s not too difficult to wear proper clothing or to apply sunscreen before going outside. I certainly know that I’m often lazy about this basic bit of prevention, but I’m going to say it anyway:

Wear your sunscreen! Better yet, make sure your kids wear it, too.

Anyway, send good thoughts or prayers or whatever positive vibes Deena’s way so she can get back to the business of kicking ass with a 100 percent bill of health very soon.

Notes from Boston

While the Phillies take the day off because of the weather, the Boston Marathon was full of intrigue for those of us interested in that type of thing and most of it was on the women’s side of the race.

All runners, it appeared, chucked out their time goals and simply competed, which made for a very tactical race. With steady 20-mph headwinds with 50-mph gusts and temperatures that started at 50 degrees and dropped like a rock to the bottom of a swimming pool, survival was the rule of the day. It definitely was no day at the beach.

Perhaps that’s why American Deena Kastor struggled in her Boston debut to finish nearly six-minutes off the pace for fifth place. A pre-race favorite, Kastor said her training for the race was “flawless” and based on how she dominated at the national cross-country championships, it was evident. But Kastor threw in a second straight “clunker” in a major marathon after running a 2:19 for the American record and the victory in the London Marathon last April, and victory in Chicago in October of 2005 and a bronze medal in the Olympics in Athens in 2004.

It’s a little baffling because Kastor clearly is tough. The Athens Olympic Marathon was run over a course very similar to the one she raced over today in Boston under conditions that were not conducive to running. In that race Kastor ran smart and solid to bring home the bronze.

Yet after running and winning on two courses designed for speedy, and world-record times, Kastor struggled on two “classic” styled courses by finishing sixth in 2:27:54 and today’s fifth-place finish in Boston in 2:35:09, which under ideal weather conditions might have resulted in a similar time to the one from NYC.

So is the tactical-style of racing or the undulating terrain on courses like New York and Boston that tripped up Kastor? Who knows. All we know is that running is a fickle mistress – some days you have it and some days you don’t. That’s really deep, I know, but what else is there to say? There is no such thing as getting “hot” in running, meaning it’s conceivable that I could hit a home run off Roger Clemens or get “hot” and finish a round under par in golf. But there is no way I will ever be able to run a 2:10 marathon no matter how hard I train or if I have a good day.

Unlike other sports there is no such thing as luck in running.

note: The New York Times reported that Kastor struggled with stomach cramps during the race. Her plan, before the weather report turned from bad to worse, was to go out hard from the start. Later she changed plans to race tactically before making a move at Heartbreak Hill. Instead, when it came to make a move Kastor went for one of the many port-o-pots lining the course. Except for the cramps, Kastor says nothing else bothered her during the race.

“I knew coming in here that the competition would be great and I could conquer it,” she said. “That wasn’t the case today. We marathoners can get pretty hard on ourselves, but I felt I had the drive to push forward and the will to win the race. So I’m definitely disappointed knowing I was good enough to come here and win this race. I’m disappointed that didn’t happen.

“Usually, you can learn a lesson from a marathon. I’m not taking anything away from this one. There was no learning experience. A fifth-place finish is a fifth-place finish.”

So yes, it had to be something with Kastor. She's far too good of a runner to simply have a bad day. Just ignore the second-guessing.

Certainly that was the case for Lidiya Grigoryeva and Jelena Prokopcuka, who finished in first and second place in the women’s race. Grigoryeva, from Russia, won in 2:29:18 by surging with a 5:10 mile to take her from Brookline to Kenmore Square on the point-to-point course. She smartly stuck close to Prokopcuka, the two-time champ in NYC and now back-to-back runner-up in Boston, when the Latvian dictated a strong early pace into the teeth of the Nor’easter. By Heartbreak Hill, Prokopcuka and Grigoryeva gapped the chase back and left Kastor a minute off the pace with approximately 15 kilometers to go.

Though she didn’t win, Prokopcuka may have been the best runner in the race.

Robert Cheruiyot didn’t have the problem of being the best runner in the race and falling short. Like Prokopcuka, Cheruiyot set the pace as if to tell the other racers that, “It begins and ends here, fellas. Hang on if you can… ” In the end, Cheruiyot finished in 2:14:12 – way off the 2:07:14 he ran to set the course record last year, for his third victory in Boston.

As a side note, while watching the race I was struck by Cheruiyot’s running style and how he gobbled up ground with a powerful stride that was contrarily efficient and smooth. Then it hit me… he ran like Moses Tanui. You remember Moses Tanui, the two-time Boston champ from the Nandi District in Kenya who was the first human to run a half marathon under an hour? Of course.

Tanui was so tough that he won the silver 1995 World Championships in the 10,000 meters even after one of his shoes fell off.

Tanui ran two of the bravest races I had ever seen, coming from more than a minute off the pace at Heartbreak Hill to chase down two runners in the final 200 meters to win the 1998 Boston followed by the great 1999 Chicago Marathon where Tanui and American record holder Khalid Khannouchi dueled at world-record pace from the gun.

In that one, Tanui surged from the pack at the 17th mile to build a 60-second lead with five miles to go. That’s when Khannouchi decided to go after Tanui to catch him with about 5k left. The two took turns trying to break one another until Tanui reached for his water bottle at the 25-mile mark. That’s where Khannouchi really threw down the hammer using Tanui’s slight hesitation as the thin window of opportunity.

On TV, Khannouchi and Tanui disappeared into a tunnel together where cameras couldn’t send out a signal or the helicopter offering a bird’s eye view couldn’t hover. But when they came out Khannouchi was alone and blazing to set a world record in 2:05:42. Tanui finished in 2:06:16, just off the record Khannouchi had broken.

Anyway, it dawned on me that Cheruiyot’s gait was eerily similar to Tanui’s until the announcers revealed that he is coached by Dr. Gabriele Rosa – Tanui’s old coach. Then it all came together… it all made sense.

Nevertheless, Cheruiyot won his third Boston and he’s just 28. Wait until he gets to his prime.

And wait until you read this story...

Wet and wild redux

Perhaps the best thing about the two consecutive weather postponements for the Phillies is that Freddy Garcia gets that much more time to rest up before taking the mound. Of course Garcia hasn’t pitched all season and is on the mend from biceps tendonitis, which isn’t good, but you get the point. Tendonitis typically occurs because of overuse and the best remedy to fix it is rest.

No rest equals bigger trouble.

According to the Phillies, Garcia is ready to go so we all finally get a chance to see Pat Gillick’s big off-season acquisition in action on Tuesday night against Tom Glavine and the Mets.

On another note, Garcia is a really big dude with really wide shoulders. He looks like he should be able to throw really hard.

***
Meanwhile, the Phillies sent out a release this afternoon stating that Citizens Bank Park won the “Best Ballpark Eats”at the first-ever “Food Network Awards.” According to the press release:

Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies, was honored last night for having the “Best Ballpark Eats” during the premiere of the Food Network’s first-ever awards show, the Food Network Awards. The 90-minute show celebrated achievements in the world of food and entertaining in an offbeat awards ceremony unlike any other on television.

Citizens Bank Park offers many features that make it “Not Your Typical Ballpark.” From foods with Philadelphia flavor such as Rick’s Steaks, Tony Luke’s sandwiches and cheesesteaks, Chickie’s & Pete’s Crab Fries, Planet Hoagie and The Schmitter sandwich … to eateries such as Bull’s BBQ, Harry the K’s Broadcast Bar & Grille and McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon. Plus, there are many traditional favorites such as hot dogs and fries at the Hatfield Grill stands, pizza from Peace A Pizza, ice cream products from Turkey Hill, Bubba burgers and many local and national brews. For more information, please go to www.phillies.com.

An internal panel led by Food Network Kitchens selected the nominees for the awards; the same panel, which represents all departments at the network, chose the winners, in addition to five viewer’s choice categories that were determined by votes on www.foodnetwork.com.

Citizens Bank Park beat out the other ballpark finalists: Camden Yards in Baltimore, AT&T Park in San Francisco and Safeco Field in Seattle.

Notes from Boston
While the Phillies take the day off because of the weather, the Boston Marathon was full of intrigue for those of us interested in that type of thing and most of it was on the women’s side of the race.

All runners, it appeared, chucked out their time goals and simply competed, which made for a very tactical race. With steady 20-mph headwinds with 50-mph gusts and temperatures that started at 50 degrees and dropped like a rock to the bottom of a swimming pool, survival was the rule of the day. It definitely was no day at the beach.

Perhaps that’s why American Deena Kastor struggled in her Boston debut to finish nearly six-minutes off the pace for fifth place. A pre-race favorite, Kastor said her training for the race was “flawless” and based on how she dominated at the national cross-country championships, it was evident. But Kastor threw in a second straight “clunker” in a major marathon after running a 2:19 for the American record and the victory in the London Marathon last April, a victory in Chicago in October of 2005 and a bronze medal in the Olympics in Athens in 2004.

It’s a little baffling because Kastor clearly is tough. The Athens Olympic Marathon was run over a course very similar to the one she raced over today in Boston under conditions that were not conducive to running. In that race Kastor ran smart and solid to bring home the bronze.

Yet after running and winning on two courses designed for speedy, and world-record times, Kastor struggled on two “classic” styled courses by finishing sixth in 2:27:54 and today’s fifth-place finish in Boston in 2:35:09, which under ideal weather conditions might have resulted in a similar time to the one from NYC.

So is the tactical-style of racing or the undulating terrain on courses like New York and Boston that tripped up Kastor? Who knows. All we know is that running is a fickle mistress – some days you have it and some days you don’t. That’s really deep, I know, but what else is there to say? There is no such thing as getting “hot” in running, meaning it’s conceivable that I could hit a home run off Roger Clemens or get “hot” and finish a round under par in golf. But there is no way I will ever be able to run a 2:10 marathon no matter how hard I train or if I have a good day.

Unlike other sports there is no such thing as luck in running.

note: The New York Times reported that Kastor struggled with stomach cramps during the race. Her plan, before the weather report turned from bad to worse, was to go out hard from the start. Later she changed plans to race tactically before making a move at Heartbreak Hill. Instead, when it came to make a move Kastor went for one of the many port-o-pots lining the course. Except for the cramps, Kastor says nothing else bothered her during the race.

“I knew coming in here that the competition would be great and I could conquer it,” she said. “That wasn’t the case today. We marathoners can get pretty hard on ourselves, but I felt I had the drive to push forward and the will to win the race. So I’m definitely disappointed knowing I was good enough to come here and win this race. I’m disappointed that didn’t happen.

“Usually, you can learn a lesson from a marathon. I’m not taking anything away from this one. There was no learning experience. A fifth-place finish is a fifth-place finish.”

So yes, it had to be something with Kastor. She's far too good of a runner to simply have a bad day. Just ignore the second-guessing.

Certainly that was the case for Lidiya Grigoryeva and Jelena Prokopcuka, who finished in first and second place in the women’s race. Grigoryeva, from Russia, won in 2:29:18 by surging with a 5:10 mile to take her from Brookline to Kenmore Square on the point-to-point course. She smartly stuck close to Prokopcuka, the two-time champ in NYC and now back-to-back runner-up in Boston, when the Latvian dictated a strong early pace into the teeth of the Nor’easter. By Heartbreak Hill, Prokopcuka and Grigoryeva gapped the chase back and left Kastor a minute off the pace with approximately 15 kilometers to go.

Though she didn’t win, Prokopcuka may have been the best runner in the race.

Robert Cheruiyot didn’t have the problem of being the best runner in the race and falling short. Like Prokopcuka, Cheruiyot set the pace as if to tell the other racers that, “It begins and ends here, fellas. Hang on if you can… ” In the end, Cheruiyot finished in 2:14:12 – way off the 2:07:14 he ran to set the course record last year, for his third victory in Boston.

As a side note, while watching the race I was struck by Cheruiyot’s running style and how he gobbled up ground with a powerful stride that was contrarily efficient and smooth. Then it hit me… he ran like Moses Tanui. You remember Moses Tanui, the two-time Boston champ from the Nandi District in Kenya who was the first human to run a half marathon under an hour? Of course.

Tanui was so tough that he won the silver 1995 World Championships in the 10,000 meters even after one of his shoes fell off.

Tanui ran two of the bravest races I had ever seen, coming from more than a minute off the pace at Heartbreak Hill to chase down two runners in the final 200 meters to win the 1998 Boston followed by the great 1999 Chicago Marathon where Tanui and American record holder Khalid Khannouchi dueled at world-record pace from the gun.

In that one, Tanui surged from the pack at the 17th mile to build a 60-second lead with five miles to go. That’s when Khannouchi decided to go after Tanui to catch him with about 5k left. The two took turns trying to break one another until Tanui reached for his water bottle at the 25-mile mark. That’s where Khannouchi really threw down the hammer using Tanui’s slight hesitation as the thin window of opportunity.

On TV, Khannouchi and Tanui disappeared into a tunnel together where cameras couldn’t send out a signal or the helicopter offering a bird’s eye view couldn’t hover. But when they came out Khannouchi was alone and blazing to set a world record in 2:05:42. Tanui finished in 2:06:16, just off the record Khannouchi had broken.

Anyway, it dawned on me that Cheruiyot’s gait was eerily similar to Tanui’s until the announcers revealed that he is coached by Dr. Gabriele Rosa – Tanui’s old coach. Then it all came together… it all made sense.

Nevertheless, Cheruiyot won his third Boston and he’s just 28. Wait until he gets to his prime.

And wait until you read this story...

Wet and wild

Ask any well-trained athlete what the biggest concern is on the day of competition and the answer will be the same every time.

The weather.

Baseball, of course, cannot be played in even the slightest of poor conditions, while football is stripped down to its bare essence when the weather turns sloppy. On days like we had today – where a nasty Nor’easter barreled through and dropped about four inches of rain on us, the Phillies, Mets and Red Sox decided to stay indoors.

Smart thinking.

Knowing how athletes fret about the weather it’s safe to say that there are a lot of people struggling to get to sleep tonight in Boston. Tomorrow, of course, is Patriot’s Day in New England which means it is Boston Marathon Day. And judging from the forecast for Monday it seems like the reward for those weekly 20-milers and months of training will be the sloppiest day in the 111 years of the race.

Maybe the anticipated wet and windy weather is a bit of poetic justice of sorts. After all, after 110 years of holding the race at 12 noon on the dot on Patriot’s Day Monday, the Boston Marathon will start at 10 a.m. Logistically, it makes sense to get everyone from Hopkinton, Mass. To Boston’s Back Bay sooner, but maybe it was a tradition that should be messed with. Perhaps that’s the case?

Actually, there are bigger forces are at play than silly superstition. However, having run a marathon in windy and wet conditions just a few months ago, I don’t envy the folks preparing to take the trip from Hopkinton to Boston. Unless the wind (predicted to gust up to 50 m.p.h.) is at the runner’s backs, then they can forget about any time goals. So that means a lot of hard work and training is lost like spores of a dandelion lost in a Nor’easter.

It’s not fair.

That’s the way it goes sometimes. As a runner, you can complain and feel bad about your fortune it or you can take off when the gun sounds and try to kick ass. There will be approximately 23,000 athletes ready to do just that tomorrow at 10 a.m.

What to look for
After a few days of feeling pretty pleased about skipping Boston this year, I have to admit that I wish I were there. How could anyone not want to run in the craziest and most extreme Boston Marathon ever? Nevertheless, I’ll be there in 2008.

As far as the fast elite runners go, don’t expect any Americans to sprinkle in to the top 10 like last year. That’s when Meb Keflezighi, Brian Sell, Alan Culpepper, Pete Gilmore and Clint Verran made the ’06 Boston Marathon the best showing by American runners in two decades. Don’t count on that tomorrow. For one thing Gilmore is the only runner of that group returning this year, since most of the elite Americans are focusing on the Olympic Trials to be run in New York City in early November, while Keflezighi, Khalid Khannouchi and Ryan Hall are slated to run the London Marathon (with another ridiculously deep field) next week.

On the men’s side, defending champ and course-record holder Robert Cheruiyot is back after his infamous spill at the finish line at last October’s Chicago Marathon. Cheruiyot is tough as nails which will come in handy in Monday’s conditions, but he should expect a challenge from countryman Benjamin Maiyo (second last year) and Robert Cheboror, who ran a 2:06 in Amsterdam in 2004.

The women’s race is doubling as the American national championship, which adds to the depth of the field. Defending champ Rita Jeptoo is back, along with defending New York City Marathon champion Jelena Prokopcuka, and Mexican stalwart Madai Perez.

But Monday is Deena’s day.

Readers of these pages know that Deena Kastor is No. 1a amongst the greatest American women runners in history (Joan Samuelson, of course, is No. 1, too). A victory in Boston would be the perfect complement to a great resume. And based on Kastor's showing in the USATF Cross Country Championships, she very well could be the best runner in the world right now.

One last bit of advice
Typically, my advice to anyone running Boston is to resist the urge to go too fast on all of the downhills through the first half of the race because, inevitably, you’ll pay for it later. That happened to me in ’97. But as soon as you get to the top of a small hill around the 14-mile mark, run like hell. Better yet, from 14 miles on surge on every downhill and maintain your pace on the inclines – including Heartbreak Hill.

Boston, like a few other marathons, is like a tricky golf course. Every mile has its idiosyncrasies and nuances that make the race unlike any other in the world just the way Augusta and Pine Valley offer challenges.

Late Sunday night, however, I came across this on the Boston Athletic Association web site:

The Boston Athletic Association's medical team recommends the following precautions and advice for participants in Monday's Boston Marathon:

FORECAST: The most up-to-date weather forecast calls for a predicted Spring storm on Monday, including heavy rains (potentially 3 to 5 inches), with the start temperatures in the mid to upper 30's. Wind will likely be East (in the face of the participants for most of the race) in the 20 to 25 mile per hour range, with gusts to as much as 50 miles per hour. This will produce a wind chill index of 25 to 30-degrees Fahrenheit.

RISKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RUNNERS PARTICIPATING IN COLD AND WET CONDITIONS: Combined with the rain, we are concerned that predicted weather conditions will increase the runners' risks for a condition called hypothermia. As with any athletic competition, as a runner you are assuming the risks inherent with participation. It is your responsibility to be informed about the risks associated with running in the aforementioned conditions, and the risks of injury or illness will increase with these predicted conditions.

While exercising in cold weather, our bodies attempt to maintain core temperature by shunting blood away from the periphery, thus minimizing heat loss. Hypothermia sets in when the body's temperature drops below normal, starting when the body loses heat faster than heat can be generated. Heat is produced by muscle action and shivering. Very low body temperatures can be life threatening.

In other words, all bets are off.

Believing the hype

Deciphering the reports and the photos from last Saturday's big race in Boulder, Alan Culpepper sat back and allowed pre-race favorites Adam Goucher and Dathan Ritzenhein do all the hard work through the first 10 kilometers. It was then that the race went from Goucher trying to stick with the next great American distance hope Ritzenhein, to the former champ Goucher attempting to keep Culpepper from dominating that final two kilometers.

It didn't happen.

Culpepper, fully under control and surging toward to the tape, won Saturday's cross-country championships in Boulder, Colo. by completing the muddy and snowy 12k course in 37:09 to Goucher's 37:35 and Ritzenhein's 37:47.

Interestingly, upon hearing the results by repeatedly refreshing hurriedly typed reports on a running message board, running geeks (like me) sounded a nationwide, "Wow! What a surprise… what got in to Culpepper?"

Here's the thing about that – Culpepper, 34, has been to the Olympics twice in two different events, won two previous national cross-country titles, as well as a national title in the 5,000, 10,000 and marathon. In 2003 Culpepper ran a 2:09:41 at the Chicago Marathon and finished fifth in 2:11:02 after an aggressive effort at the 2006 Boston Marathon.

Yet with those outstanding credentials Culpepper's victory on Saturday is an upset. Why? Was it the rough day he had at the New York City Marathon last November? Perhaps – after all, Culpepper had to drop out because he couldn't stay hydrated despite drinking throughout the race. Couple that with what I wrote about Culpepper before the New York City race and it's easy to understand why the running geeks (like me) believed Ritz, Goucher or Abdi Abdirahman were the runners to beat in the deep field. To wit:

And of course I'd like to write that American Alan Culpepper is going to let it all hang loose and be risky instead of his typically intelligent tactics. Culpepper is always consistently steady, which produces great times but it isn't exactly inspiring. To steal a phrase from baseball players, Culpepper doesn't like to "get dirty."

Culpepper got dirty, literally, on Saturday. Better yet, those so-called "intelligent" tactics served him well. In the end, when the race was on the line, Culpepper ran the two kids into another muddy ditch. There's definitely something inspiring about a tough race run well.

More: Daily Camera (Boulder) running section

Denver Post: "Boulder's 'Running Town' Reputation Safe"

The results

1. Alan Culpepper, Lafayette CO 37:09
2. Adam Goucher, Portland OR 37:35
3. Dathan Ritzenhein, Boulder CO 37:47
4. Jorge Torres, Boulder CO 38:07
5. Michael Spence, Ogden UT 38:15
6. Zach Sabatino, Morgantown WV 38:16
7. Fasil Bizuneh, Flagstaff AZ 38:24
8. James Carney, Marina CA 38:25
9. Jason Lehmkuhle, Minneapolis 38:26
10. Edwardo Torres, Boulder CO 38:31

What happened?

Abdi Abdirahman, my choice to win the race, finished 21^st in 39:07.

Hyped just right

Meanwhile, the press covering the event in The Running Republic of Boulder gave the race rave reviews. The town, the event, the course and the fans all lived up to the pre-race hype, which is saying something. In this distance running Super Bowl only the finishing times seemed lopsided with an estimated 10,000 fans lining the course two-to-three people deep to watch a cross-country race. According to the dispatches from Boulder, New York City has a high hurdle to leap for November's marathon Olympic Trials.

We'll definitely have to see that one first hand.

DOMINATION

While the men's national championship was an upset with the old man knocking off the young bucks, the women's race was a coronation. And it wasn't just a new thing, as in Deena Kastor is the best American runner of her era. Nope, that's not good enough.

On Saturday Deena Kastor proved that she is the best woman American runner ever.

Yeah, she's even better than Joan Benoit Samuelson.

Nevermind that Kastor owns three of the top four marathon times in U.S. history, or that Samuleson won the Olympic gold in 1984, the Sullivan Award in 1985, and at 50, Joanie can still run an Olympic Trials-qualifying time for the marathon, what Kastor did to the field on Saturday is ridiculous.

Kastor won her eighth cross-country championship by covering the 8k course in 26:47. That's 61 seconds better than second-place finisher Shalane Flanagan, which is almost unheard of in a national championship race. A five-second victory is significant, but 61 seconds is more than domination if there is such a thing.

Here's the crazy part. Just two weeks ago Flanagan set the American indoor record in the 3,000 meters, and actually led the race after two kilometers. But according to the race recap from Letsrun.com, Flanagan said, "I think it was a little naïve to think that I could run with her."

From Letsrun.com:

Kastor and Flanagan were well clear of the rest of the field not even 2k in, and in third was Kara Goucher who had a big gap over the rest of the field. Kastor however wasted no time in destroying the young upstart Flanagan. She pulled away from Flanagan and soon the lead was 10 seconds, 20 seconds, and then 30 seconds. Flanagan was not faltering, however, as she had 30 seconds up on the third place Goucher. Kastor was just putting on one of the most dominating performances in the history of American women's distance running.

It's going to be really interesting to see what Kastor does in Boston in April.

More: Watch the races and check out the entire day in Boulder on Flocast

The Asics Marathon brought to you by Nike

There were a couple of things that stood out during Sunday’s New York City Marathon. Let’s start with Lance Armstrong first. I was struck at the production surrounding Armstrong’s marathon debut that was magnified when the cameras panned back on the web cast and showed the famous cyclist and philanthropist running in a phalanx of security pals, famous Nike runners, a pace car and the “Lance Cam.”

In interviews Armstrong talked about how he was excited to be a mid-packer – which he kind of is with his 2:59:36 finishing time. But when was the last time a mid-packer had Alberto Salazar, German Silva, Joan Samuelson and Hicham El Guerrouj say anything other than, “you’re welcome for the autograph…” Forget about acting as a rabbit or handing over drinks or gels.

The absolute genius of Armstrong’s run in New York didn’t dawn on me until I was about 2 miles into today’s run (a 14-miler in 1:35:26). Asics, the sponsor of runners Deena Kastor and Stefano Baldini, was the “official” sponsor of the race. The shirts, jackets, caps, etc. that runners bought or were given at the expo were branded with the Asics logo. So too was the finish line area and mile markers. Asics clearly spent a lot of money to be the “official” sporting goods sponsor of the ING New York City Marathon.

But all anyone will talk about is the Nike guy and his Nike pals breaking 3-hours.

Nike knows marketing. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Nike suggested to Armstrong that he run the New York City Marathon. Why not? Nike already had all of the top runners, how about the 3-hour guys, too.

Shrewd. Very shrewd.

Ready, set... uh... go? The other thing that struck me was how passive and tentative the top runners were. Chalk this up to the deep field where every runner knew each other’s credentials and chose to err on the side of caution. When eventual winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos made his move on First Avenue before crossing in to the South Bronx just shy of the 20th mile, the ever-dwindling main pack of runners just allowed him to waltz ahead. It seemed as if everyone in the pack was watching Paul Tergat. When Tergat didn’t break after the Brazilian, no else did either.

That is until it was too late.

Afterwards, according to the Chasing KIMBIA site, Tergat told second-place finisher Stephen Kiogora that “we let him get to far away.”

Well, yeah.

The same thing happened in the women’s race, too, only the star-studded women’s field allowed the defending NYC champ build a 20-second lead after one mile that quickly turned to a minute for most of the race. By the time Jelena Prokopcuka was blowing kisses to the crowd in Central Park while jogging in the final mile, her name had already been engraved on her trophy.

Like Tergat, women’s favorite Kastor said the women’s race was too tactical.

“I think we were being a little tentative, and by the time it was ready to roll it was too late,” she told reporters. “I think out of respect to the other women. I think we were all tentative in seeing what the others wanted to do.”

Those tactics by some of the best runners in the world are baffling. After months of training, planning and hype, when it came time to get dirty and be aggressive, only two runners went after it.

“To win a marathon you have to have courage,” dos Santos said.

Americans? The 2006 New York City Marathon turned out to be just a typical outing for American runners. On the women’s side, Kastor finished sixth in 2:27. She chalked her disappointing finish up to just one of those days.

Meanwhile, stomach trouble ruined Alan Culpepper and Meb Keflezighi’s day. Culpepper dropped out in the Bronx after 20 miles, while Meb, who finished in second and third in the past two years, limped home in 2:22:02. According to The New York Times, Keflezighi got food poisoning in New York on Thursday and drank Pepto-Bismal before the race on Sunday morning.

It didn’t help.

Californian Peter Gilmore, who is not sponsored by Nike, adidas or Asics, was the top American in 2:13:13. That’s Gilmore’s second-best time ever, and a good encore for his seventh-place finish in 2:12:45 in Boston last April.

Wonder boy Dathan Ritzenhein ran 2:14:01 in his highly anticipated marathon debut. Ritzenhein ran a 61-minute half marathon in his tune up before New York, which made him a pre-race top 10 pick, but as veteran marathoners know, the race is fickle and tricky. If you have a weakness, the marathon will expose it.

That fact is the only guarantee about marathon running.