wow, that sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity. And I'm not sure about Kenyan cuisine but eritrean is among my favorites.

Dan
http://www.aiatriathlon.com

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http://www.aiatriathlon.com

A Frenchman who lives in the US...a runner who posts on ST...you are truly a lost soul...

Americans have been doing this for years. This is just a publicity stunt. A dare, if you will. There is no reasion an athlete can't go there to trian. I personally know a half dozen runners that have been for extended training stints. I also know a place where you can get a bed, three squares, and non stop training for 5 dollars a day (group showers are the downfall)

They'll get their asses kicked because they dont train to the level of the east africans, not because they couldn't train in east africa. Hell, many of the best africans live here in the states. Places like new jersey and baltimore are fluded with groups of africans training like mad men. Don't even get me started on Boulder and such.

The funniest part about all the people that I've known that trained in east africa with a group is that when they got back they all said the same thing "that was the hardest training I've ever done." Then they get back to cozy little boulder and get right back into the regular training they were doing before. Imagine if they kept up to the level of training that was the weekly standard in east africa...

Hang on there....Benoit Z went to Kenya for several months to train with the best. When he came back he ran a 2.06.xx marathon...

of course he subsequently had little problems...some story about him dealing EPO etc...I guess the proof wasn't in the pudding.

I wasn't saying it would make them faster. My intent was that it would be an amazing vacation. I would do the 5 bucks a day. I played ice hockey growing up so the group shower is no big deal :)

Dan
http://www.aiatriathlon.com

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http://www.aiatriathlon.com

Depends how you roll.

Oh, for sure!

Haven't had too much eurtrain (how do you spell it) food. I have a friend that works with international athletes and is learning the language. Says it's a bitch (majored in spanish something or other)

5 bucks a day is great! its the 1500 dollar, multiple plane, might get shot in the fucking head, flight that stopped me from doing it...

Ok so you might not get shot in the head, but it sounded funny in my mind so I had to say it.

SO who here thinks that east africans are geneticly better than the rest of us and why?

I'll post my opinion later... lets here yours as to why they are so good and deep in running, save the sprints where they suck ass.

"Mombassa, Kenya in 2007"

that explains the nationals choice of boulder, which i would've thought would generate criticisms of being at too high an altitude, absent this piece of info you just provided.

i'm trying to find out whether any elite triathletes are running this race, since it's in boulder. but i understand most will be either in chula vista or in OZ in feb 10. i would really like to see hunter and andy, as well as some of the non-ITU boulder crowd, try XC Nats on for size.

btw, i'm also interested in seeing how us oldie von moldies might do, since masters XC nats are included in the event (separate race, 8k, masters only). i'm close to buying a plane ticket myself, i just have to see what the qualification standards are (i've emailed USATF, don't have the reply yet). i turn 50 eight days before the race, so i'm kind of champing at the bit.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

yeah, the plane ticket and time away from family are the deal breakers for me. Otherwise...

I almost did New Zealand's national cross country championships last "summer" but I couldn't find a ride up. I would have gotten smoked anyways.

Dan
http://www.aiatriathlon.com

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http://www.aiatriathlon.com

Isn't Mike Pigg running at Nationals?

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"Isn't Mike Pigg running at Nationals?"

really? cool. is he 40?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Hmmm... I got this email from a friend saying this:

"It is going to be insane. 272 people are signed up already. I am interested to see the pileup in the first corner.
Lots of interesting entrants. This one stood out:
197. Mike Pigg Humboldt Track Club"

But then I looked on this site and couldn't find his name. I don't know what to say...

http://www.usatf.org/...ips/entry/status.asp

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Club Nationals are in San Francisco this weekend! see y'all there.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

That's it Matt. Pigg is racing for Humboldt Track Club-A in the Masters 40+ Men's 10K.

Just look for a bald dude who likes to stick his chest out and tilt his head back and cheer for him. Too bad Allen isn't there to chase him and make him run like a mad man.

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There are no qualifications beyond a USATF license and a willingness to find your inner humility. I have raced Winter CC nationals on three occasions and come away each time with a reminder that I am a Marine with four children, not a professional athlete. I raced the Open 4K three times and doubled once to do the 12K the next day as part of the Military Cross Country Championship. The masters runners are still pretty fast but not likely as insanely quick as the Open Men. I was nearly lapped on the 12K by the winners in a 6x 2K format. I still wonder what kind of snow you will have in Boulder in Feb. Two of my races were in Vancouver, Wa. And one in Houston and each was a mudfest.

Chad

"that explains the nationals choice of boulder,"

Dan,

Mombassa is on the coast, at sea level. Not sure if you wwre thinking that the Boulder choice of XC Running nationals was made due to the altitude in Kenya.

I have been there. Not the nicest place really. The old Portugese fort down by the habour is nice to look at. The beach resorts to the south and the north are much nicer once you get out of Mombasa proper.

Kenya is a funny place. I spent two months traveling around the country in 1995. I saw exactly one person running - it was another ex-pat traveler like me who I encounteerd while I was running one day in the Ngong Hills on the outskirts of Nairobi.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Fleck-you mean you just packed up and went to Kenya for 2 months-to run and look around?

"Mombassa is on the coast, at sea level."

oh well, that shoots down my theory. personally, i'm happy about it, because i live at 4200' and train regularly at 6k and 7k, so boulder's 5500 is right up my alley. but i can imagine a lot of flatlanders grousing about it.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

"Fleck-you mean you just packed up and went to Kenya for 2 months-to run and look around?"

The two months in Kenya was part of a one year around-the-world trip that I took in 1995. I went on some cool runs while I was in Kenya. Out on the Serengeti Plains, along the edge of the Rift Valley, and along the beaches south of Mombasa. But as I said, never saw anyone else out running. In bars, when you chatted up the locals over a Tusker beer, they seemed to want to talk more about soccer than distance running.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I'll keep my eyes open. I used to race against some funny looking Humboldt TC guys...lots of shaved heads and unusual facial hair.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

Mike Pigg update: just talked to him. it's the CLUB nationals he's running, that's this weekend in san fran. the individual nationals, that is, the open runners trying to make the worlds team, along with master's nats, etc., is in february.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Read Tim Nokes Lore of Running. He provides lots of info on that. there are also some research stuides done pointing out some of the differences.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Jon Entine is also a good source on this issue.

"I am convinced that anyone interested in winning Olympic gold medals must select his or her parents very carefully." Per-olof Astrand, 1967