Run It Fast®

Here is some international bling for you! Above is the finisher’s medal from the 2012 Mumbai Marathon that was held on January 15, 2012 in Mumbai, India.

Kenyan Laban Moiben won the men’s event in 2:10:48, breasting the tape a fraction of a second ahead of Ethiopian Raji Assefa after a sprint finish.

Ethiopian Netsanet Abeyo ran a strong and aggressive race to leave the field far behind, winning in 2:26:12, a new female course record by 44 seconds.

Indian male Ram Yadav qualified for the 2012 London Olympics by running a 2:16:59 to meet the 2:18:00 qualifying standard for the games.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

Mumbai Marathon and Half-Marathon Finishing Medals

[medal photos submitted by Naresh Kumar. Follow him on Twitter @iamarunr]

The inaugural Louisiana Marathon took place on January 15, 2012 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The race had a great turnout for a first year event and seemed to be extremely well put on.

Here is a look at the finisher’s medal from the Louisiana Marathon.

It’s rather simply, no fancy bells or whistles, but is well done with the footprint being composed of a cypress tree, the state tree of Louisiana, within it.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

RELATED: Matthew Manning Wins Inaugural Louisiana Marathon

[medal photo submitted by Tisha White. Follow her on Twitter @Cajun_Tisha]

Peter Omae Ayieni won the 2012 P.F. Changs Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon on Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona with a time of 2:24:47.

It was a close finish as Ayieni barely held off Chad Ware who finished 11 seconds behind him in 2:24:58.  Third place was close behind as well as Jeremy Zarins completed the podium with a very fast time of 2:25:08.

What a finish with just 21 seconds separating the top three men.

2012 Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon Top Male Results

1. Peter Omae Ayieni – 2:24:47
2. Chad Ware – 2:24:58
3. Jeremy Zarins – 2:25:08
4. Alan Jackson – 2:26:02
5. Kota Reichert – 2:26:28
6. Bert Jacoby – 2:27:49
7. Juwan Nuvayokva – 2:32:27
8. Andrew Drobeck – 2:33:16
9. Roosevelt Cook – 2:33:17
10. Brendan Lunty – 2:33:36

The female winner at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon went to Trisha Miller who won with a time of 2:49:12.

Tanaya Gallagher took second (2:51:24) with Tere Derebez Zacher claiming third place (2:53:45).

2012 Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon Top Female Results

1. Trisha Miller – 2:49:12
2. Tanaya Gallagher – 2:51:24
3. Tere Derebez Zacher – 2:53:45
4. Ashley Olsen – 2:55:17
5. Nikki Vander Wiele – 2:56:21
6. Vanessa Kelley – 2:58:30
7. Julia Lemoncello – 2:59:22
8. Nicole Cheyr – 3:00:05
9. Amy Golumbia – 3:00:51
10. Danya Crawford – 3:02:12

Searchable Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon Results

Congrats to all who ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon & Half-Marathon.

[image: Dave Seibert/The Arizona Republic]

Matthew Manning won the inaugural Louisiana Marathon held Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, with a winning time of 2:33:41.

Manning smoked the field, beating his nearest competitor, Chuck Engle, by nearly 11 minutes. Engle finished in 2:44:05 to barely hold off Christopher Reis who took third with a time of 2:45:38.

2012 Louisiana Marathon Results

1. Matthew Manning – 2:33:42
2. Chuck Engle – 2:44:05
3. Christopher Reis – 2:45:38
4. Matthew Urbanski – 2:51:55
5. Jacob Marsh – 2:53:20
6. Micah Mohler – 2:55:59
7. Karen Meraw – 2:58:54 (female)
8. Greg Soutiea – 2:59:13
9. Frank Livaudais – 3:00:01
10. Kevin Berger – 3:00:51

Karen Meraw was the fasest female marathoner down in ‘Red Stick’ on Sunday with a time of 2:58:54.  She beat Candace Caveny by almost ten minutes. Caveny finished in 3:08:53.  Third place female went to Grace Thacker with a time of 3:09:36.

Louisiana Marathon Searchable Results and Top Finishers

The marathon had 637 finishers.

The 2012 Louisiana Half Marathon was won by Jonathan Granger in 1:17:42 with the top female being Kelly Nicholas in 1:29:42.

2012 Louisiana Half Marathon Results

1. Jonathan Granger – 1:17:42
2. Grant Gonzalez – 1:18:12
3. Michael Anderson – 1:18:21
4. Jimmy Riccitello – 1:22:16
5. Michael Baston – 1:23:41
6. Calvin Conner – 1:24:01
7. Michael Whalen – 1:24:59
8. Van Edwards – 1:25:01
9. Luke Gehbauer – 1:25:05
10. Russ Bourgeois – 1:25:32

Louisiana Half Marathon Searchable Results and Top Finishers

Congrats to all who took part in the inaugural marathon and half marathon.

Louisiana Marathon Website

Ethiopian Tariku Jufar won the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday morning with a winning time of 2:06:51.  Jufar held off fellow countrymen Debebe Tolossa (2:07:41) and Demssew Tsega (2:11:13) who finished in third.

2012 Houston Marathon Results

1. Tariku Jufar – 2:06:51
2. Debebe Tolossa – 2:07:41
3. Demssew Tsega – 2:11:13
4. Shawn Forrest – 2:14:37
5. Leonardo Trejo Camargo – 2:18:10
6. Simon Bairu – 2:19:52
7. Samuel Kosgei – 2:21:05
8. Vasileios Pouliopoulos – 2:21:44
9. Alemitu Abera – 2:23:14 (female)
10. Jonnatan Morales – 2:23:16

Alemitu Abera, also of Ethiopia, was the winning female with a time of 2:23:14. She finished 9th overall.  She won the women’s race by over five minutes.

More 2012 Houston Marathon Searchable Results

Today the 2012 USA Olympic Marathon Trails were held at the Chevron Houston Marathon down in Texas.  It was a very speedy and fast day as four Americans went under 2:10:00 for the first time ever during the same marathon.

American male Meb Keflezighi won the Houston Marathon with the fastest time of 2:09:08 which is a new personal record (PR) for Meb.

Ryan Hall finished in a close 2nd place at 2:09:30.

2012 USA Olympic Marathon Trials Male Results

1. Meb Keflezighi – 2:09:08
2. Ryan Hall – 2:09:30
3. Abdi Abdirahman – 2:09:47
4. Dathan Ritzenhein – 2:09:55
5. Brett Gotcher – 2:11:06

It looks like it will be Meb, Ryan, Abdi representing the USA at the Olympics with Dathan as the 1st alternative.

Shalane Flanagan was the female winner as she held off Desiree Davila to finish with a time of 2:25:38.  Flanagan moves to 6-0 in the head-to-head matchup with Davila to date.

That means Flanagan, Davila, and Goucher will represent in the Olympics with Hastings as the alternate.

2012 USA Olympic Marathon Trials Female Results

1. Shalane Flanagan – 2:25:38
2. Desiree Davila – 2:25:55
3. Kara Goucher – 2:26:06
4. Amy Hastings – 2:27:17
5. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom – 2:29:45
6. Deena Kastor – 2:30:40
7. Clara Grandt – 2:30:46
8. Alissa McKaig – 2:31:56
9. Dot McMahan – 2:32:16
10. Magdalena Lewy Boulet – 2:33:42

Congrats to all of the men and women who qualified for the 2012 London Olympics today. Way to Run It Fast!!!

[women finish line photo by Hideki Kino. Follow her on Twitter @RunKino]

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 17 of you responded!

Best of luck to you all running this weekend and those running at the Olympic Trials in Houston as well.

Joshua Holmes – Training runs in Maui and maybe a small marathon before next weekend’s Maui Oceanfront Marathon. #runitfast

Frank Hostetter  – Resolution 5k/10k in Orange Park, FL

Lisa Gonzales – I’m running local trails and going to hit every hill I can find so I’ll be ready to smoke some boys in Feb! 😉

Marielle Genovesi – Gotham Cup college meet, The Armory in NYC#oneontastate

Maricel Bautista – I’m running the Resolution 10K Race tomorrow in Orange Park FL!

Scott Gorski – Samson Stomp – 5k, Milwaukee Cty. Zoo

Caitlin E. Brown – Phoenix Rock ‘n Roll!

Rebecca Elrod – The @TRAXRunning Frozen 4 in Bowling Green, KY. It looks like it could be a four-miler in snow… 🙂

elizabeth v rehmer – livingston my half marathon w-Nike+

Craig Brett – 11 miles of The Rough and Tumble. Mud and hills what more could you want.

Nolan Holloway – running stone mountain park. training for a 5k in Feb.

Karla Riemer – a snowy 12 miler in my hometown!

jufreeze – Either Georgia or South Carolina, not sure but at least 7 miles

Kristin Auci – Freehold NJ Winter Series 5K on Sunday

Monkey Trent – I’ll be running SwmpStomper 50+ k in Memphis’ Shelby Forest.

Gerard Pescatore – Icicle 10 Miler in Wilmington, DE on Sunday! Brrrrrrrr

Willie Way – LVTC Fund the Fund 10k, Saturday.

Here is a look at the 15th Anniversary Walt Disney World Half Marathon finisher’s medal from the race that was held on January 7, 2012 in Orlando Florida.

This medal is on the large side and is die-cut using the 0 in 2012 to double as Donald Duck’s eye.  It is the 15th anniversary medal of the Disney Half Marathon, and it’s obvious more went into the design than in previous years.

The race started and finished at EPCOT and included a tour around the Magic Kingdom and through the big castle along the way.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

More Photos of the Disney Half Marathon Medal

Chrissie Wellington Kona 2011

2011 was an amazing year for running. Records fell left and right. There were some very gutsy runs at top marathons, ultras, and on the track. The Olympic Marathon Trials are now less than 2 weeks away and 21 Masters Women qualified for them. 21! Women of all ages are rocking the running world and just about every weekend in 2011, I was inspired by them.

These 5 women/races/adventures in 2011 inspired me the most and made me want to lace up my running shoes and test what I was made of:

1. Chrissie Wellington at the Ironman World Championships

Chrissie always amazes me with her blazing speed, whether it’s setting records or smoking tri guys but she blew me away with her determination and pure grit in Kona this year. Just a couple of weeks prior to Kona, Chrissie crashed her bike. She had major road rash, bruised her hip, elbow and pectoral muscle, and had to battle an infection. During the Ironman, she was 9 minutes behind the lead woman coming out of the swim and 22 minutes behind coming off the bike. She was in pain. She was aching. But she battled back and won her 4th World Championship! You can read about her day here.

Or watch a recap of it here:
2011 Kona Recap-Chrissie

2. Caroline Kilel & Desi Davila at the 2011 Boston Marathon

I was “watching” this through Twitter as it happened and my coworkers were wondering why I kept yelling. It was so exciting and it had me on the edge of seat. I saw the finish later and still got chills. Watching the lead change back and forth between them…you could see neither wanted to give it up. When Caroline collapsed after the finish, you knew she’d left everything out there.

You can watch a recap of the women’s marathon here:
Boston 2011

3. Lauren Fleshman at the London, England IAAF Track and Field Diamond League

Lauren’s run in the 5000M showed how a great finish kick can you help you win. Bam! She just took off and kept going putting a huge gap on the competition. Talk about intimidating the competition!

You can watch a recap of it here:
Fleshman 5000M 2011

4. Devon Crosby Helms, Krissy Moehl, Darcy Africa, and Bethany Lewis at the Grand Canyon R2R2R (Rim to Rim to Rim)

This was quite a year for the Rim To Rim To Rim run for women. Devon & Krissy set the Female Fastest Known Time (FKT) back in April and then Darcy Africa set a new Female FKT just a few days later! Then in November, Bethany shaved almost 10 minutes off of Darcy’s time for yet another Female FKT! This run is hard core but these women rocked it in 2011.

This is a short video of Devon & Krissy’s run:
Devon & Krissy R2R2R

5. Jennifer Phar Davis Thru-Hike of the Appalachian Trail

Jen set the speed record for a thru-hike of the Appalachian trail, man or woman, and she did it in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes! For a girl who gets lost on trails she runs frequently, this floors me. What an adventure and what a great experience.

Here is a short interview with her about her hike:
Jennifer Phar Davis Interview

These women rocked 2011 and inspired me and countless other women (and men, I’m sure). Who inspired you? Who have you inspired? Or better yet…who will you inspire in 2012? Happy running!

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 22 of you responded!

Joshua Holmes – Recover from the Holidays 50k in Alabama and Downtown Dash 5k that night in Tennessee.

Kristen Jones – new years eve race in Rehoboth De and new years day race in Bethany beach! Racing in to the new year!!

Stanley Peyton – Harrisonburg Va #FirstNight 5k

Anwen Edwards – Running tomorrow morning with the girls around Llogerheads and Cilcain in North Wales. Hope the rain holes off.

Naresh Kumar – Recover from holidays 50K 🙂

Jeanie Olinger – doing my first New Year’s Run!

Lisa Ford – a 6mile new years day race x

Monkey Trent – Dirk’s FA 50k!

Jason Buike – to the liquor store : )

MAXIMILIAN – Deployed AF new years 10K, Kuwait

Lisa Hamilton – Halifax NS

Susan Eastman – 7.5-mile run tomorrow in Centerville MA; 5-miler on Sunday in Barnstable Village; next race Jan. 8 – winter Grand Prix series

Jaim – New Years Resolution Race, Rochester, MN! Supposed to be really windy….

RMP – at viveros México city

Lisa Gonzales – I’m running in San Francisco at the New Years One Day 12HR!!! Woo!!! Sorry, I’m just a little bit excited. 😉

Evan Gilead – I had the #needforspeed but my jet plane is in the shop. Second alternative, I went running.

Lionel Garcia – no races this week but #rundisney next weekend!

Ian Richards – Running from home probably 8 miles steady on Sunday.

Jared Friesen – 2 double digit back to back runs this weekend for a total of 32 miles in cold Alaska winter weather!

Erin Donovan – Albany, ny! Hangover half marathon

Aaron Johnstone – 14 mile training run tomorrow for the @austinmarathon! Just hit 1000 mi. for the year this morning!!!

Kiwi – Knoxville, TN

Steve Carleton – South Mills Recreational Trail, South Mills, NC