BizBuzz: Andrews & Merber Set Records in Santa Barbara and Darrell Hill’s New Warm-up

Photos: Tyler Andrews (Rocco Constantino) | Kyle Merber (JC Corliss) | Darrell Hill (@B1GHomie on Twitter)

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News & Notes

Records in Santa Barbara

 Tyler Andrews set the American Record in the 50K. Also setting the world track record, he completed the oval 125 times at SBCC’s La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara, CA. His finishing tim of 2:46:06 was good enough to best the previous American Record by over 6 and a half minutes, and the previous world mark by 2 minutes. “Andrews, 28, of Arlington Va, and a former cross country runner at Tufts University, had two pacers (Rajpaul Pannu and Chris Prias) for the first 100 laps on Friday morning (he started at 7:30 a.m.). His marathon split was 2:18.42. Running by himself, he did his last 15 kilometers in 49.02 and last 2k in 6:54.” Read the article Tyler Andrews Runs American- and World-Record Time in 50K Around SBCC Track on Noozhawk

Photo: Rocco Constantino

 Kyle Merber continued his early season hot streak by running the fastest track mile in Santa Barbara history. Finishing the mile in 3:57.74 on the same track that had earlier hosted Tyler Andrews’s record at 50K, Kyle led a group of four runners to sub-4 miles. Read Kyle Merber Leads 4 Runners Under 4 Minutes in Elite Mile Race at SBCC on Noozhawk

Related: The Santa Barbara mile record, no matter the surface, was run in 2013 by Michael Coe at the State Street Mile

The Weekend in Boston

 Shannon Osika and Lauren Johnson take 2nd and 3rd, respectively, at the BAA Mile. Winner by over 2 seconds, Nicole Sifuentes finished in 4:37.2 defending her title of last year’s course record setting performance of 4:33.7. “Sifuentes gently upped the pace on the second lap, then went into high hear on Newbury Street in the second half of the final lap. She made the final two turns before the short finish straight with the race well in hand.” Drew Hunter won the men’s race with a finishing time of 4:08.2. Read the full feature Hunter, Sifuentes Clear Winners at B.A.A. Invitational Mile on RunBlogRun

 Reid Buchanan edged out by Scott Fauble at the line in the BAA 5K. The pair finished 8th and 7th place respectively, which continues a healthy competition which goes back to their days running at the University of Portland. Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia won men’s the race in 13:42 with Ben True right behind in 2nd.

Scott (@scottfaubs) continues to own me on the roads. I think we know track would be a different story but I always respect how he brings it. Same grit that brought the first trophy to the school. Short memory on this one and on to the next. #SkechersGO https://t.co/jxw50WKC7Q

— Reid Buchanan (@reidbuchanan22) April 14, 2018

 On the women’s side, Lauren Paquette and Sarah Brown finished 7th and 10, respectively, behind winner Buze Diriba of Ethiopia. Following the race, Lauren wrote a heartfelt message on Instagram, “A couple of weeks ago, our family was hit hard by the news that my baby sis’ new husband was diagnosed with a rare cancer – Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)…I felt physically and emotionally heavy, but ran with my heart – carrying the people I care about inside it. While things feel hard right now, I decided to do what I love – and RUN.”

This was one of the most personally mentally grueling races I’ve ever run. Things happen in life that you don’t see coming, and leave you grasping for straws to make sense of. A couple of weeks ago, our family was hit hard by the news that my baby sis’ new husband was diagnosed with a rare cancer. He’s in good hands and we are hopeful and prayerful that treatment will be effective and that we’ll get through it together. Prayers for remission and resilience are very appreciated and every little bit of positivity and encouragement counts and helps. • We as runners take what we do seriously, without apology for the seeming strangeness of our daily lives; but sometimes, other things are more important and trump your feelings or thoughts about your latest workout, or what your splits down to the hundredth were, or whether you had the perfect amount of carb:protein ratio in your dinner. The past couple of weeks have been a mental and emotional grind. I found myself to be lacking in performance motivation - even on race day, a rarity. Truth be told, I considered pulling out of this race to basically get a hold back on my emotions and motivation. However, lining up yesterday on the start line of the #baa5k, while the result of the race was still important to me, my motivation for a good performance was just a little bit different. I felt physically and emotionally heavy, but ran with my heart - carrying the people I care about inside it. While things feel hard right now, I decided to do what I love - and RUN. The discomfort and effort we feel while running is NOTHING compared to what others are going through, on a daily basis. Caitlin and Jake have been so resilient and trusting through all of this, through cancer - I think I can find it in myself to run a hard 5k. • What was important to me this weekend, rather than what my time was or what place I came in, was giving it all that I had. Being the best version of me that I could, on the day, for those that I care about and are hurting • see comment below.

A post shared by Lauren Hagans Paquette (@hotpaquettes) on Apr 15, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

More from the Track-o-sphere

 Darrell Hill‘s new warm-up proves to be quite effective. The next day, he won the Triton Invite shot put in San Diego with a throw of 20.62m

How did I get ready for my season opener tomorrow, you ask? We had some fun #OTC pic.twitter.com/JxkNziaRZO

— Darrell Hill (@B1GHomie) April 13, 2018

 Charlene Lipsey opened her season with a first place 1500m finish at Temple, paced by teammate Kendra Chambers. Watch Ajee Wilson, Charlene Lipsey Run 4:12 1500m At Temple on FloTrack

Reasons to Celebrate

 Chris Giesting and Jade Barber celebrated their 5 year anniversary…perhaps this photo is proof that hurdlers have more fun than middle distance runners?

When he thought he could hit it and quit it but here you guys are 5 years later. Anniversary Time!

A post shared by Jade Barber (@jade_of_paige) on Apr 14, 2018 at 11:54am PDT

 Andrea Geubelle to be inducted into the Kansas Jayhawk Hall of Fame. “While at Kansas, she was a three-time individual national champion, winning the 2012 and 2013 indoor triple jump titles as well as the 2013 indoor long jump crown. Geubelle was also a member of the 2013 Big 12 and national championship teams, an 11-time First Team All-American, a four-time Big 12 individual champion and currently holds the school records in the indoor and outdoor triple jump as well as the indoor long jump.” Read the full feature here.

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