by Larry Eder
I am in San Jose, California for Thanksgiving. My parents live in the Willow Glen area of San Jose. On Thanksgiving morning, I got up, took a nice 6.5 mile walk through Willow Glen and noticed the starting line of a very small Turkey Trot, the WG Turkey Trot, which runs down Lincoln Avenue and a bit on Nevada Avenue.
Just a few miles away, 15,000 local runners were lining up for the Applied Technologies Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k. There was also an elite 5k, where Alan Webb won, running 13:34, and his training partner, Galen Rupp, ran 13:37.
As I hit the halfway point of my walk, I grabbed my cup of coffee at the Willow Glen Roasting Company and headed back, watching the locals run the WG Turkey trot and couples walking their Baby Joggers with the kids sleeping. It is one of the things I love about San Jose: it is a pretty good size city with the feel of a small town.
On way walk, I called my nieces and nephews and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving! Two hours walking allows you to see alot of the neighborhoods and just helps me keep my sanity.
I wanted to thank all of you for reading runblogrun.com on a daily basis, and the magazines and websites we are involved with as well!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is about time with the people you love, and being thankful for all things, good, bad and strange. I am thankful for having made a living for the past thirty years at something I love doing, with people I care about.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! And thanks for being part of my world!
Photos by Larry Eder off my iphone. 
EME NEWS (NOV 25, 2010)
Ogunode 200/400 and Fukushima 100/200 doubles
GUANGZHOU (CHN, Nov 25): Four Games records during fifth day of
athletics at Asian Games. It started in the morning local time with
excellent 50 km walking race when all top five finishers went under 4
hours and under the event best. World Cup 10th placer Si Tianfeng got
third walking gold for China with 3:47:04 ahead of his team mate Li Lei
3:47:34. Third Japanese Koichiro Morioka improved his personal best to
3:47:41. Fourth Korean Lim Jung-Hyun registered new national record
3:53:24 and fifth another Korean Kim Dong-Young was timed at 3:53:52
(life-time best). Iran´s 800 m sensation Sadjad Moradi won after silver
in the 1500 m in new Games Record 1:45.45 also the 800 m. Big surprise
was the second Adnan Taees Akkar from Iraq with national record 1:45.88
and third young Qatari (non-Kenyan) Abdulrahman Bala in personal best
1:46.19. Fastest in heats Saudi Arabian Mohamed Al-Salhi was fifth
(1:46.86). After 400 m young Qatari Femi Ogunode (Nigerian origin) won
also the 200 m in new national junior record 20.43 (+1.4). Silver for
Japanese Kenji Fujimitsu (20.74) and bronze for Omar Juma of UAE
(20.83). Ogunode is only second 200/400 winner at Asian Games after
Milka Singh of India in 1958. Japanese Kenji Narisako made a mistake at
8th hurdle and the 400 m hurdles win went to Indian Joseph Abraham
(49.96). Second Bandar Al-Sharakili of Saudi Arabia (50.29). Title
defender Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan won the decathlon (8029) ahead of
Korean Kim Kun-Woo (7808) and Vietnam´s Vu Van Huyen (7755, national
record). In five women finals of the day two Games records were
achieved. Continental Cup winner and World indoor champion Olga Rypakova
of Kazakhstan leaped to 14.78 (+1.1), new event best. Second was
defending champion Xie Limei (14.18, +1.3) of China. Chisato Fukushima
achieved sprint double (third in the games history) after winning the
200 m (23.62, +1.0) ahead of Vietnam´s record holder Vu Thi Hong (23.74)
and Gizel Khubbieva of Uzbekistan (23.87). Another gold for Japan in
women´s javelin when Yuki Ebihara improved national record and Games
record to 61.56. Other medals for China (Xue Juan 58.72, Li Lingwei
57.51). Running events ended with surprises. Margarita Matsko of
Kazakhstan won the 800 m in 2:00.29 with Vietnam´s Truong Thanh Hang
second 2:00.91 (national record). Only third sub 2 minutes runner Tintu
Luka of India (2:01.36) and 1500 m winner Maryam Jamal of Bahrain was
6th (2:06.07). Korean Lee Yeon-Kyoung (first gold for Korea at this
games) won close 100 m hurdles (top six within 0.09) in 13.23 (0.0) over
Natalya Ivoninskaya of Kazakhstan (13.24) and home Sun Yawei (13.27).
Indian A.C. Ashwini clocked another personal best to win the 400 m
hurdles (56.15) over Wang Xing (56.76) and Japanese record holder Satomi
Kubokura (56.83).
Blanco under investigation
MADRID (ESP): Bronze steeple medalist from European Championships Jose
Luis Blanco is facing two years doping suspension. He was tested
positive at Spanish Championships on July 18 while winning in 8:33.12.
Spanish media are informing. Spanish federation did not want comment on
the issue. Earlier Blanco sent a statement to all media where he claimed
that he can prove his innocence. In the statement he also confirmed
that Spanish Federation opened disciplinary proceedings concerning his
positive test at national championships. Blanco says he was informed
about the positive test 72 days after the race. If banned, he will also
lost the bronze from European Championships which will go to Ion
Lucchianov of Moldova, Poland´s Tomasz Szymkowiak will be fourth. Also
his 10th position from Continental Cup will be deleted, fortunately
without any impact on the final score.
DL wants overall winners
RALEIGH (USA): Diamond League vice-chairman Patrick Magyar (meet
director of famous Weltklasse in Zurich) said for Reuters that a working
group was formed at the Diamond League general assembly in Monte Carlo
to decide what criteria should be used to have at the end of the series
top male and female athletes. At present the global circuit, which was
introduced this year, has no overall prize, honouring instead the season
leaders in each of its 32 disciplines with a trophy and $40,000.
Kaki plans four indoor races
STOCKHOLM (SWE): Double world indoor champion at 800 m Abubaker Kaki of
Sudan plans to compete during the coming indoor season. He has in his
mind four races, two should be at 800 m and two at 1000 m. His only
confirmed race is Stockholm meet on February 22 (1000 m). When not
counting his non-finished race at DNG in Stockholm, he lost only twice,
both races to world record holder David Rudisha (in Oslo and Brussels)
and is clear world´s number two at the distance. In the famous Bislett
800 m in June he improved the national record to 1:42.23. His indoor
bests are 1:44.81 and 2:15.77. He might well be ready to attack the
world indoor record of Wilson Kipketer 2:14.96 at the 1k from 2000. Also
because last summer in Eugene at Pre his time was 2:13.62, the seventh
fastest ever outdoors.
VCB wants double in Daegu
MONTE CARLO (MON): Jamaican olympic and world winner Veronica
Campbell-Brown who was guest at the weekend´s World Athletics Gala as
one of the top five world best female athletes of the year revealed that
she plans two 60 m international competitions during the indoor season
2011. For summer her aim is to double at World Championships in Daegu.
Her agent Claude Bryan said that currently she is still without a coach,
but that should be solved soon. “I think she has a strong upside and I
believe we have only scratched the surface of what she is capable of
running,” her former coach Anthony Carpenter was quoted on Trackalerts.
Campbell-Brown won the World Indoor Championships this year with
life-time best 7.00 at 60 m.
OTHER NEWS
WARSZAWA (POL): One of the oldest European one day meetings is
switching its place. The 57th Kusocinski Memorial (EA Premium
category) will not be held in Polish capitol as usual, but in
Szceczin. This city staged in past years Pedro´s meet which was not
held last summer. The date confirmed for 2011 Kuso is June 25. For
2011 outdoor Pedro´s is not planned, but the winter edition should
be again at high level in Bydgoszcz on February 16 with pole vault
competition for men and women and men´s shot put.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): World champions Jessica Ennis and Christine
Ohuruogu helped on Thursday to launch 2011 Aviva Series. The 400 m
olympic gold medalist and 2007 world winner Ohurougu confirmed as
her main goal next year to compete at highest possible level in
Daegu.
PARIS (FRA): French sprint sensation and triple European gold
medalist Christophe Lemaître has not decided yet in which event he
will compete at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. In an
interview with French media he said he believes to have more
potential in the 200m and might focus on the event if he manages to
run under 20 seconds. On the other hand, he also believes he still
has a lot to proof in the 100m and might want to focus on that
event.
AMSTERDAM (NED): Dutch heptathlete Jolanda Keizer is on her way for
a comeback, she told Dutch newspaper Metro. Keizer managed a 9th
place at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games but got injured when
competing at the Turin European Indoor championships, an injury
which has held her aside for over a year and a half. Keizer hopes to
return to the heptathlon in 2011 end of May in Götzis and aims at
qualifying for the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu.
RIO DE JANEIRO (BRA): On the fourth day of heavy violence between de
police and gang members in Rio de Janeiro more cars and busses have
been put on fire. Ongoing violence between the police force and gang
members located in the slums has raised further doubts about Rio’s
ability to safely host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games
in 2016. Hundreds of poor communities in the city of six million
people are still so violent that police and state authorities cannot
enter, reports Eurosport.yahoo.com.
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): Double world champion 2007 and recent World
Indoor Champion Bernard Lagat has been named the 2010 Visa
Humanitarian of the year by USA Track and Field. Lagat will be
honored on Saturday, December 4 at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall
of Fame Induction Ceremony in Virginia. Through the Bernard Lagat
Foundation, which the athlete created in 2004, he has paid for
Kenyan high school students tuition fees. Lagat’s foundation is also
a regular supporter of Beat Cancer Boot Camp, a training program
designed to help cancer survivors stay active during treatment and
remission. He also uses his talent to encourage children to be
physically active, by assisting in Olympic 400m hurdler LaTonya
Sheffield’s Sports Extravaganza clinics.
LONDON (GBR): West Ham United stays in pole position to take over
the London Olympic Stadium after the Games. Sir Keith Mills, the
deputy chairman of London 2012 and Tottenham director, has insisted
that if West Hams bid “stacks up economically” they are favourite
writes Insidethegames.biz.”If it doesn’t stack up they have an
alternative in Tottenham with an athletics legacy elsewhere” Mills
was quoted.
PARIS (FRA): The 2011 European indoor championships organizing
committee has revealed the medals that will be awarded to the
athletes on the podium. The medal consists of the image of an
athlete running against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower reports
European Athletics. A separate commemorative medal, circular in
shape, has been designed to be distributed as mementos for the
championships.
TORONTO (CAN): Olympic and world hurdles medalist Priscilla
Lopes-Schliep wins Ontario athlete of the year award.
LONDON (GBR): Toni Minichiello will step away from his duties as
National Event Coach for Combined Events in order to concentrate
fully on Jessica Ennis and her preparations for London 2012. The
move, which sees him take up a full time Olympic Coach role at UKA,
allows him to give 100% focus to his group, which of course includes
the World Outdoor and Indoor and European Champion Ennis at such a
crucial period. Minichiello will be the second Olympic Coach at UKA,
with the other being Lloyd Cowan, coach to Olympic Champion
Christine Ohuruogu and Commonwealth and European Champion Andy
Turner. The role enables both coaches to dedicate all of their
coaching time to the performance agenda of winning medals. Writes UK
Athletics.
LONDON (GBR): Scotland’s Andrew Lemoncello faces a very tough test
when flying to the Far East and competing at the 64th Fukuoka
International Marathon on December 5. The US-based endurance runner
will start in a line up featuring Morocco’s Olympic silver medallist
Jaouad Gharib, while there will be a swarm of Japanese stars
competing in what is their first qualifying race for next year’s
World Championships. Lemoncello was first British finisher in this
year’s Virgin London Marathon (2:13:40) and has produced encouraging
runs at the Bupa Great North Run a half marathon in the north east
of England and over 10 miles at the Bupa Great South Run in
Portsmouth. IAAF qualifier is 2:17:00.
