When Paula Radcliffe won the New York City Marathon 10 months after giving birth to her first child, Isla, I was left surprised.I didn’t expect her to do well let alone win the race just after giving birth.
But according to an article I have just read at Sports Illustrated I shouldn’t have been surprised because pregnancy can have an effect on a womans body that that can make her run faster
To Quote the article,
One of the many physical transformation that occur in a woman’s body to accommodate the new resident is an increase in blood volume, since there are suddenly two people in need of oxygenated blood. Once the baby is born, that extra blood hangs around. Extra red blood cells, as any athlete who has used EPO knows, means extra oxygen to the muscles. This super mom effect, however, is transient, lasting a few weeks or months. A 1991 study at the University of Vermont found that non-athlete women were still pumping slightly more blood than usual three months after giving birth.
They asked Paul Radcliffe how she felt after pregnancy and she said she felt stronger after her first pregnancy.
Abortion Doping.
There are unconfirmed reports that this relationship between pregnancy and red blood cells may have been exploited by the former East German Athletes. According to grapevine, East German athletes had gotten pregnant, and then aborted, in order to take advantage of hormone changes during pregnancy.
Meb Keflezighi made the rounds following the New York City Marathon. One of the places he visited was the David Letterman show where he read the Top Ten List on the day after the marathon:
In case you missed it
“The top ten thoughts that go through your mind when you run the New York City Marathon…”
I just came across this interesting fact about New York City Marathon in the NY times.
In 1977, Wesley Paul, a child from Columbia became the youngest person ever to complete the New York City Marathon with an incredible time of 3:00:37. In the early years of the race several children competed.
Paul still ran a 2:38 personal best at 15, in the Houston Marathon. By the age of 16 he had 40 marathon under his belt.
At 16 he fractured his knee when a car backed into him while he was running. He never recovered!
The following groups are eligible for guaranteed entry to the ING New York City Marathon.
Members of New York Road Runners, who completed at least nine NYRR-scored, qualifying races, and who have volunteered for one event, during the calendar year.
Entrants in the ING New York City Marathon the previous year who canceled prior to the race.
Those who have completed 15 or more New York City Marathons.
Those who have applied but been denied entry for the last three years in a row
Charity runners : Runners who commit to raise money for charities listed by organisers.
Guaranteed entry for overseas runners, (For those who live outside the United States) Guaranteed entry along with the purchase of a marathon package may be available through an Official International Travel Partner [ITP] in your country or territory.
In a New York Times article it was reported that in 2008 NYC marathon 46 runners were disqualified for having taking a short cut to the finish line and an untold number of runners escape detection, marathon officials said.
Mary Wittenberg, the race director, called the number of cheats shocking.
Shortcuts methods at NYC marathon
According to the organisers the two most common form of cheating are
Stepping off the course and rejoining it closer to the finish, often sneaking into Central Park once they enter Manhattan near Mile 16.
Participants running with someone else bib. According to 2008 records, a 19-year-old in the field gave his bib to someone five years older, and that person posted the best time in the 18-19 division.
The biggest reason or motivation of taking a short cut is to secure a coveted qualification time for the Boston Marathon
Meb Keflezighi won the 2009 New York Marathon. Meb Keflezighi became the first US man to win the New York City Marathon since 1982. Meb has come a long way from being just a good runner to a great runner.
In 2000 summer Olympic games in Sydney he finished a disappointing 12th at 10,000 metres, a race that was won by Haile Gebrselassie.
After Sydney his coach, Bob Larsen realised if Meb is to compete with the East African runners he had to change his training tactics.
The Training Regimen That Boosted Running Speed and Power
According to an old New York times article of Meb Keflezighi, In 2001, Larsen persuaded Keflezighi to begin training at the 7,550-foot altitude of Mammoth Lakes to increase his oxygen-carrying capacity. Shortly after his first training regimen here, he set the American record of 27:13.98 at 10,000 meters.
Training at altitude took Meb from a good athlete to a great athlete
Actor and longtime conservation activist Edward Norton will run the NY Marathon as part of a team raising awareness and financial support for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, a Kenya-based conservation organization. Norton and 3 Maasai warriors will be leading 30 people from all walks of life running the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1st.
The three Maasais are Parashina, Parashi and Sunte. They usually run in sandals made out of off-road tires. They call them “Michelins” or “Thousand Milers.” While Parashina and Sunte will wear Puma running shoes Parashi intend to stick to his Maasai Running Sandals.
As part of preparation Edward travelled to Kenya where he ran with the Maasais. Most of the running was around Chyulu hills on the Northern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Norton discribed the experience to runners world magazine: -
“We probably ran about 30 miles a week out there. It’s tough running. A lot of lava rock and rutted roads and thorn bushes. And there’s been a bad drought all this year so it’s very dusty right now, where normally it’s high green grass everywhere. I think it will make New York feel easy for these guys, as long as it’s not cold, which they are not used to.”
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