Jared Ward, photo by PhotoRun.net
CARDIFF NEWS
CARDIFF (GBR): “This has been a tale of two cities for me,” said IAAF President Sebastian Coe before Saturday´s World Half Marathon Championships. “Only a few days ago I was in Portland and now I’m here in Cardiff. But the tale of two cities also focuses on innovation. Lot of the things we did in Portland had been tested at the IAAF World Relays and I must thank Paul Hardy of the IAAF competitions department for driving many of the things we witnessed there. There are two themes we were focusing on: one was the fact that indoor athletics creates the opportunity for pubic engagement, and the other was that we continue to make the athletes the heroes of the sport; they’re the story and they are why we’re here. The World Half Marathon should excite people into wanting to run.” From the IAAF.
CARDIFF (GBR): Main star of the event Mo Farah will focus on the position not on the time. “It depends on the weather,” said Farah. “If I’m thinking right, I don’t think you’ll see fast times. I’m expecting a tactical race. It’s going to be quite a tough race as Geoffrey is a great athlete – and the other Kenyans too – but hopefully I can go out there and have the crowd behind me.”
CARDIFF (GBR): US Sara Hall believes a medal in the team race isn’t beyond the capabilities of an experienced US team who will be competing in Cardiff. “We’re eyeing that chance to win a medal as a team and we’re excited about the cold and rain,” she said, only half joking. “A lot of us ran in the US Marathon Trials [in Los Angeles] where it was really hot so we don’t mind a little bit of rain to make it cooler.”
CARDIFF (GBR): An additional element of excitement will be the weather. While on Friday it was sunny with a pleasant breeze, forecasters are calling for sometimes heavy rain and “gale force” winds for Saturday, according to the BBC. Winds could gust to 50 MPH (80 KPH), the BBC reported. That will not only present a challenge for the elite athletes competing for the medals, but also the approximately 16,000 runners who have entered the accompanying citizens’ race. Informs RRW.
