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UPDATE: Quigley’s performance was good enough to earn USATF’s Athlete of the Week. Congratulations Sean!

You couldn’t ask for a better day for cross country. A heavy rain the night before combined with bright sunshine on race day made for vintage New England Cross Country conditions. Sean Quigley opened up his 2009 XC season with an impressive victory in the 20th Annual Mayor’s Cup, outkicking defending champ Jacob Korir over the last 100 meters. With 400 to go it was Quigley, Korir, and Andrew Ledwidth. Quigley had the wheels to win it in the sprint. All three men were wearing PUMA. And all three men broke 24:00. Coincidence?

On the women’s side, Irene Kimaiyo led wire-to-wire for a convincing win in 16:39. Delilah DiCrescenzo opened up her season with a solid 3rd place finish in 17:05. She’ll look to repeat her XC performances of last season that landed her a spot on the US team at the World Cross Country Championships. Irene, Delilah, and 4th-placer Serena Burla were all wearing PUMA. And they were all members of the winning Riadha club team (along with Kristin Anderson and Jennifer Davis, also wearing PUMA). Coincidence?

Click here for full results.

Click here for a pair of PUMA Ngong XC spikes.

This Saturday, September 26 is the 5th Ave Mile in NYC. PUMA’s Sean Quigley and Delilah DiCrescenzo are both racing. The world’s fastest milers will converge on New York’s world-famous thoroughfare to burn up 5,280 feet of pavement. The race starts on Manhattan’s famed Fifth Avenue near East 80th Street, in the heart of “Museum Mile.” From there it heads one mile south on Fifth Avenue to the finish at East 60th Street. Good luck to Sean and Delilah!

32 000 runners are expected on October 4 at the 13th Koln Marathon.  Around 10 000 of them should run the marathon. PUMA’s Sabrina Mockenhaupt wants to chase the course record of 2:27:27. She will compete only 42 days after her World Championships race (17th place).

Mockenhaupt’s next planned marathon is in spring 2010,  but she ruled out participating in the marathon at European Championships in Barcelona; there she wants to race on the track.

Her main rivals in Koln will be another German participant Luminita Zaituc and Kenyan Rose Nyangacha (2:29:22 in 2007) who returns after a baby-break. Three male Kenyans should try to break 2:10 for the first time in this race. Thomas Chemitei, Samson Bungei and Albert Matebor, all have sub 2:10 life-time bests.

to break up the berlin madness, a photo attached.

sean quigley, delilah dicrescenzo, and tim bayley visiting the puma shop in santa monica after a recent photo shoot.

For Sean Quigley running is a way of life. It informs his decisions: where he lives, who he hangs with, and how he structures his days. His passion for the sport affects how he thinks; Sean is one positive and thoughtful guy.

This past weekend Sean wanted to secure his spot on the US World team. He finished 7th. Some might see that as failure, but not Sean. He chooses his words thoughtfully, his eyes searching the space around him for the right vocabulary.

“This weekend went well. I was in ideal shape 11 and a half laps in. I felt great even going into that last lap - I just couldn’t close the door and finish off a great race.”

“It proved to me that I’m this close (placing his hands just inches apart) to breaking through to that next level. Those guys closing that fast - I’ve never witnessed that in a race before. I was mentally getting prepared for that last lap and then - I just wasn’t expecting those guys to close like that. Talk about a wake up call.”

As he adjusts his position in the chair, the PUMA on his chest seems to move - forward.

“Going into the race my goal was to get in the top three. To make U.S. World and Olympic teams is no easy feat. You have to beat at least 10 guys, who are trying to achieve the same goal as you. You have to dig deeper. You’ve got to believe in yourself and the training you’ve done.”

His smile widens. “Getting seventh wasn’t a let down. It was a motivator. I still have work to do to get to that next level. I know what I need to do.”  After a quick pause he finishes the thought. “I know I can do it!”

Without any prompting he moves to the big picture. “It’s definitely cool to be a part of this resurgence in American distance running. It’s unbelievably motivating to have so many athletes out there, and you know they’re doing the work. It’s forces you to step up your game. Push harder. Get faster.”

So what’s next for Sean: “I leave tomorrow for Europe. I’ll be staying in Holland in a small village on the Belgian border called Hulst. It’s a quiet town with some great trails and a nice little downtown section to kill some time. To refocus. I’m going to do a 3k in Oordegem, 1500 in Kotrijk, 5k in Heusden, and either a 1500 or 3k at Brasschaat. So, I’ll be on a tour of Belgium. I’m stoked.”

As he gets up to leave, he gives one final thought. “Today was awesome. Did some kick drills. Hopefully I’ll be ready to throw down some 53’s in Europe.”

That’s in reference to the fact that the winner in the 5k at nationals ran his last lap in 53 seconds, which is - fast. But it’s a skill you have to have if you want to finish in the top three at any major international competition. Sean knows this and he has already secured his next goal: getting mentally and physically prepared to close in 53.

last night sean quigley ran the 5000 in 13:31. he stayed with the lead pack until the last 500, but didn’t quite have the closing speed to hang on. he finished 7th. will try to get some insight from him this week.

delilah finished 5th in her heat of the 3000 steeple in 9:59 to qualify through. the final is on sunday,

in sunday’s final delilah finished 9th with a time of 10:02.14

no surprises in jamaica. bolt cruised through running 10.14 in the first heat of the 100m. all the athletes expected to advance, did.

have fun on your run today.

Sean will be running the 5000M on Friday @ 8:10 PM

Fast Facts: Sean opened his outdoor season with a 5K at the Mt SAC Relays and ran a PR of 13:26. He proceeded to run a 10K at Standford, 1500M in Westchester PA, and a 5K in Toronto.

Having been signed to a professional contract with PUMA allows him “to train full time and focus on all the little things that will make me a better runner.” He spent most of May building his mileage up to 110-120 miles per week breaking in his new Vectana and Velosis (PUMA’s new performance running shoes that are selling faster than any running shoe in PUMA’s recent history.) Over the past few weeks he has slowly tapered his mileage to allow for his body to recover.

Sean is stoked for the U.S. Championships and feels he is in great shape thanks to having signed with PUMA. “It’s nice to be able to concentrate on key races and hopefully it will enable me to peek at the appropriate time.”

Following this weekend’s championships Sean’s schedule shifts to Europe where he will compete in a 3K, a 1500M run, and a 5K.

Keep the joy, Sean. Be fast.

David Torrence won the MT SAC PUMA “Unattached Mile.” This is great news. This past week there was an erroneous rumor floating around the web that David had been picked up by PUMA. Now it’s a reality!

Here’s a video of the race:

Here’s David’s victory lap:

Here’s David’s post race interview:

Also congrats to Sean Quigley who placed 5th in the 5000 meter with a time of 13:27.17. Here’s a post-race interview with Sean.

And congrats to Delilah DiCrescenzo who finished 8th in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:18.39. Sorry no video. So how about a pic.

All around - an awesome event for PUMA running. Flotrack has a bunch of MT SAC related videos.

Quigley Wins Bermuda 10K

Sean Quigley carried momentum from his recent win in New York to warmer climes to win the Festival of Races 10k in Bermuda. Finishing in 29:35, Quigley edged out Kenyan opponent Joel Mully by 2 seconds. Only 4 finishers broke 30 minutes on this hilly strength course. Quigley, an up-and-coming distance star in the US appears in Puma Running’s current advertising campaign. He won the race wearing the Puma Complete Road Racers.

Links:
Sean Quigley Takes Bermuda 10K