1. The Lost Creek race has been pulled from the '08-'09 Distance Challenge Series and will not be replaced with another race. The Lost Creek race, which had been scheduled as an 11-miler this November, may be rescheduled in the spring.
2. Tonight on KRLU’s "Downtown" there will be a segment on Gilbert Tuhabonye. It’s a repeat so if you’ve seen this profile of the beloved coach of the Gazelles don’t worry. If you haven’t, tune it at 8:30 p.m.
3. Andrew Lemoncello, the former Florida State star who won the 3M Half Marathon in January, has just been selected for the British Olympic team. The Scottish runner who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona where he trains as part of former Austinite Greg McMillan’s elite team, was a late addition for the steeplechase team after he ran a PR of 8:22 last Friday at the Gaz de France meet outside Paris. Lemoncello will join Irishman Martin Fagan, who is also a member of McMillan’s team, in the steeple in Beijing.
4. Patrick Evoe qualified for the Hawaii Ironman for the first time as a pro at last weekend’s Lake Placid Ironman. Evoe’s competed in Hawaii three prior times as an amateur and did a 9:06 there in ‘05. At Lake Placid, Evoe had a decent swim and the eighth fastest bike leg, but his lower back was killing him as he started the run. "I was in such intense pain," says Evoe who had to walk several times in the first few miles of the run, "that it didn’t look like I could finish." But after 11 miles, Evoe’s back muscles loosened up and he was able to cruise a 3:12 marathon which secured ninth place (in 9:14:08) among the pros and a coveted spot in Hawaii.
5. Kelly Handel also had a big weekend. Handel, who is getting hitched to Derick Williamson in Indiana in September, won the Spirit of Racine (Wisconsin) Triathlon in 4:23:18. Handel, who keeps getting faster on the run, had a terrific time of 1:25 for the 13.1-mile run to distance herself from the rest of the women in the half Ironman distance to win by more than four minutes.
6. Don Allen is a 55-year-old trust officer here for Wells Fargo and has an impressive streak of running every single day since January 1, 2000. He hasn’t missed a single day of running in all that time. He’s even gotten his daily run in, while on vacation on cruise ships. Allen’s not particularly fast, but he’s incredibly consistent with 9:30 miles. "I just find my running to be a very relaxing time of day and to be a great stress reliever," says Allen who had a six-year streak interrupted by minor surgery before starting this one.
7. The folks at Conley Sports have moved their offices over from their long-time digs next to the downtown RunTex to 701 Rio Grande Suite C-101. That’s a block north of Katz’ Deli off of West 6th. Conley’s been busy working on the big Nike Human Race in August as well as the Dick Beardsley Foundation Race Series. The race management group has also added a new event in San Diego next year in addition to the work they do managing the AT&T Austin Marathon, Texas Round-Up and other races.
8. Dave Scott, still known as "The Man" in triathlon circles, will be in Austin for a triathlon camp (August 22-24). The six-time Ironman champ will be appearing at the camp which runs all day and covers just about every aspect of triathloning imaginable. Certainly, there’s no greater authority than Scott who personally trains hundreds of triathletes in his home of Boulder. Space is limited for the tri camp. For more info, go to www.trifacts.com.
9. If you have been trying to register for the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 19th, you already know it’s completely sold out. But there are always to get in. Here’s the perfect one: Rogue has secured 43 spots in the marathon for runners in the Rogue Houston Marathon program. It’s $300 for the five-month training program which begins September 6th. For more info, go to www.roguerunning.com.
10. The Austin Sports and Social Club is putting on a 10-K in Round Rock with a twist or two (or three). The race on August 17th starts at the Dell Diamond and goes through Old Settler’s Park, but there are all sorts of obstacles you have to hurdle, climb over and all sorts of weird things you have to duck along the way. Sound like fun? Well sorta. The post-race party definitely sounds like big fun with free food, beer, music and a massage (yes, that’s free too). Some lucky runner will also win a year’s worth of UV Vodka. Hmm. For some friends of mine, that might add up to several cases. For more, go to www.austin10kplus.com.
11. You just knew Nike would make a big splash in Beijing. American sprinters will wear something called the Swift System of Dress which is an eye-catching one-piece, form-fitting deal that, Nike says, can reduce drag by 19 percent. It accomplishes this by featuring arm coverings (something like some NBA players wear), long gloves and knee-high socks. The dimpled fabric on the arm coverings and gloves supposedly minimize wind resistance as do the socks. If that isn’t enough (and with Nike it never is), its new Flywire sprint shoes are nothing more than seven linear feet of thread attached to a super thin fabric that gives the "shoe" some shape, akin to a Roman sandal. Nike isn’t saying what it weighs, but prototypes weighed about an ounce—or roughly half of what Michael Johnson’s "golden" spikes weighed.
12. Tyson Gay is going to need all the help he can get from Nike in Beijing. The World Champ at 100 and 200 meters made the US team at 100 meters in Eugene, but trashed a hamstring running in the 200 semifinals. Gay and his coach Jon Drummond keep saying he’ll be fine for Beijing in three weeks, but he pulled out of a showdown with Asafa Powell of Jamaica at a meet in London tomorrow. Even if Gay is healthy for the Olympics, he’ll have his hands full (even if they have the new Nike gloves) with Powell and world record holder Usain Bolt, also of Jamaica.

Have some news for me? (It doesn’t have to be entirely true.) If you have something to share, email it to wish@runtex.com