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Headquarters 17 rue Princesse Florestine, MC 98000, Monaco Tel: 377 93 10 88 88 Fax: 377 93 15 95 15 Email: headquarters@iaaf.org IAAF President Lamine Diack (SEN) IAAF Council Arne Ljungqvist (SWE), Senior Vice President Dapeng Lou (CHN), Vice President Amadeo I.D. Francis (PUR), Vice President Helmut Digel (GER), Vice President Jean Poczobut (FRA), Honorary Treasurer István Gyulai (HUN), General Secretary, Monaco Office Members Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad (QAT) Bill Bailey (AUS), Oceania Representative Sergey Bubka (UKR) Leonard Chuene (RSA), Africa Representative Sebastian Coe (GBR) Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR) Roberto Gesta de Melo (BRA), South America Representative Robert Hersh (USA) Abby Hoffman (CAN) Alberto Juantorena (CUB) Suresh Kalmadi (IND), Asia Representative Ilkka Kanerva (FIN) Isaiah F. Kiplagat (KEN) Minos Kyriakou (GRE) Teddy McCook (JAM), North and Central America and Caribbean Representative César Moreno Bravo (MEX) José Maria Odriozola (ESP) Jung-Ki Park (KOR) Jamel Simohamed (ALG) Taizo Watanabe (JPN) Hansjörg Wirz (SUI), Europe Representative IAAF CROSS COUNTRY AND ROAD RUNNING COMMITTEE Chairman Otto Klappert Platanenallee 7, 59425 Unna, Germany Fax: 49 2303 21233 Email: o.klappert@gmx.de Members David Bedford London Marathon 115 Southwark Street, London SE1 0JF, UK Tel: 44 20 7902 0200 Fax: 44 20 7620 4208 Carlos Cardoso Avenida Gama Pinto, No. 2, 1699 Lisbon, Portugal Fax: 351 1 795 4288 Email: ccardoso@fc.ul.pt Hiroaki Chosa C/o Japan Association of Athletics Federations 1-1-1 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8050, Japan Fax: 81 3 3481 2449 Ingrid Kristiansen Norges Fri-Idrettsforbund, Karl Johannsgt. 2, O-154 Oslo, 1 Norway Fax: 47 2 233 6638 Luis Miguel Landa C/Pintura 27, 28224 Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid, Spain Fax: 34 91 547 6113 Email: lumilanda@hotmail.com David S. Okeyo C/o Athletics Kenya, PO Box 46722-00100 Nairobi GPO, Kenya Email: athleticskenya@gt.co.ke Marcus Oviedo C/o Federación Venezolana de Atletismo Fax: 58 21 2471 6332 Email: marcos.oviedo@cantv.net Rabi Rajkarnikar C/o Nepal Athletics Association, PO Box 9365, Kamal Pokhari, Kathmandu, Nepal Fax: 977 1 418 653 Email: Nepal-athletics@ mail.com.np Alan Stevens 95 Tirohanga Road, Melling, Lower Hutt, New Zealand Fax: 64 4 568 9609 Email: alanstevens@ petonetravel.co.nz Mohammed Sulaiman Taib C/o Qatar Association of Athletics Federations, PO Box 8139, Doha, Qatar Email: taiyb68@hotmail.com Anne Timmons PO Box 8081, Missoula, MT 59807, USA Fax: 1 406 542 3222 Email: aetimmons@aol.com Salih Munir Yaras Yokusçesme Sok No. 42, 34096 Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey Fax: 90 212 587 5258 Email: atlet@superonline.com 2006 7 October: IAAF WORLD ROAD RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS Debrecen, Hungary 2007 24 March: IAAF WORLD CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Mombasa, Kenya 24 August – 2 September: IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ATHLETICS Osaka, Japan 14 October: IAAF WORLD ROAD RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS Udine, Italy A new road trip Pat Butcher considers the future role of IAAF in road running The Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships still periodically focus massive interest on athletics, but road running, and particularly marathon running, is burgeoning continuously. The funrunning boom of the 1970s took the New York City Marathon out of Central Park to become city-wide for the American Bicentennial of 1976. By the end of the decade the example was spreading across the world. Every major city wanted a marathon. In Britain, after the first London race in 1981, the number of marathons suddenly leapt from half a dozen to over 100 a year. The fashion declined through the 1980s, and only the really successful races survived. Those that did became institutions, and attracted masses of runners from all over the world. Over the last half dozen years a second running boom has seen quiet but massive growth almost everywhere. In Germany it was particularly marked. The real,-Berlin Marathon grew from 20,000 entries to almost 40,000. Other cities like Hamburg experienced parallel growth and still more founded new marathons to service demand. All over the world city administrations, local sports federations and sports clubs, or smart individual promoters have recognised the symptoms of a commercial boom attached to the ‘health’ market and tourist opportunities offered by a big-city marathon. The second running boom has combined elite performance, fun-running and marathon tourism. The public and media have seen extraordinary records, like Paul Tergat’s 2.04.55 and Paula Radcliffe’s 2.15.25. There have been exciting finishes like when Tergat out-leaned Hendrick Ramaala to win the ING New York City Marathon last November. A month earlier a misjudgement by Mbarek Hassan Shami allowed Tanzania’s Fabiano Joseph to clinch the IAAF World Half-Marathon title right on the line. Otto Klappert, the chair of the IAAF Cross Country and Road Running Committee admits that the international federation came late to the party. “We definitely didn’t pay sufficient attention. Road running came into an existing world of track and field, and we thought it was just a fashion. Now we’re trying to do more, because road running is number one in terms of participants at the moment”. Sponsors have not been slow to notice. Big banks like ING and Standard Chartered have poured money into their own marathon series. Sponsor interest has ensured that prize and appearance money DISTANCE RUNNING July – September 2006 9
for the elite now outstrips that for all but the best track athletes. Big wins can be worth $100,000. Five of the world’s biggest marathons - Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York (in their calendar order) – have formed themselves into an ad-hoc organisation, called the World Marathon Majors. Over a two-year period, athletes running in these events can amass points to win $500,000 each for the overall men’s and women’s winners. Klappert sees this latest development as an opportunity for IAAF. “Co-operation is the key, and I believe it is possible. It’s one of our tasks to promote the sport. In turn, people have to respect that the IAAF is the body that sets the regulations. The IAAF can add prestige to even the biggest races”. Mary Wittenberg, race director of the ING New York City Marathon points out their group’s appeal. “We have a combined entry of 300,000 participants, and that’s very attractive to sponsors”. Despite huge numbers of participants not many of these newcomers join an athletics club, the traditional route towards achieving higher levels of performance. Wittenberg agrees. She sees local race organisation as the equivalent of a club system, extending the New York Road Runners’ reach beyond Central Park, around the Metropolitan area. “We believe in the club system, in club races. The idea of club running really helps our sport. We need to get our star runners to stay out there, meeting the masses, signing autographs, inspiring everyone else”. Dave Bedford, race director of the Flora London Marathon, sees it a little differently: “The world has changed, the club system isn’t as strong. What you do get is hundreds and thousands of people talking online, swapping experiences, getting advice. A virtual club, if you like”. East African runners’ increasing domination of long distance is seen as one reason for an alarming decline in elite running in other countries. Even stars like Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie recognise there is a problem, “The world has lost interest in long distance races, because they are regarded as competition between Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes” said Tergat. Bedford’s answer is to exercise more control. “We need the right kind of balance. Where the invitation races have an advantage over the championships is we don’t have to be an African Championship. We can limit their involvement, in order to nurture our own runners”. Wittenberg says, “We need to personalise the winners. Paul Tergat came to the New York stock exchange, and he impressed everybody. And Jelena Prokupcuka (of Latvia, who won the New York women’s race), she’s so cute, we paid for her to have English lessons. There are many more great athletes than promotional spots in our marathons. Someone who comes across well is highly sought after”. But the USA is also one of the few countries to have set up a system (of elite training camps) to attempt to counter African dominance. Two Olympic medals in the marathon suggests it could be working. Wittenberg says that New York wants to contribute to that, even if they were late starters in the charity stakes. “We never used to have a charity programme, but last year, we raised a million dollars for a public schools programme that introduces youngsters to running”. IAAF road running competitions have suffered several false starts. The World Cup marathon, World Ekiden Championships, and World Half-Marathon Championships were all abandoned. To replace them the World Road Running Championships will be held for the first time in Hungary on 8 October. Klappert says, “We chose a different name, because we want to integrate the championships into existing events but we need to sort out the problems of conflicting sponsors, etc”. The partnership between the World Marathon Majors and the IAAF, says Klappert, “is the beginning of structuring the sport better. This is the first tier, but we need a second tier, then a third. And we also need promotion and relegation, otherwise the idea won’t stay alive.” Pat Butcher is athletics correspondent for the Financial Times and author of The Perfect Distance: Ovett & Coe - The Record Breaking Rivalry (Phoenix Sport) A longer version of this article first appeared in the IAAF Magazine, issue 1, 2006 DISTANCE RUNNING July – September 2006 11
Page 1 and 2: JULY - SEPTEMBER 2006 Race results
Page 3: President Hiroaki Chosa, Japan Asso
Page 7 and 8: donning a costume on one of the lap
Page 9 and 10: Further along the lake is the Capta
Page 11 and 12: Result MEN: 1 Gilbert OKARI KEN 28:
Page 13 and 14: On the run in Mexico Tangamanga Mar
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Page 21 and 22: 2 APRIL 2006: CHUNJU MARATHON, KORE
Page 23 and 24: There were 22517 entrants from 94 c
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Page 27 and 28: events (15km and 5km) were also run
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Page 31 and 32: WOMEN: 1 Heather GREGG USA 3:58:24
Page 33 and 34: OPINION Keeping it real Kenneth Llo
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