114th Boston Marathon Women's Unexpected Runner-up

Due to multiple flight cancelations caused by the Icelandic volcano ash, many European athletes were unable to attend the 114th running of The Boston Marathon today. However, Tatyana Puskareva (RUS) was lucky to be in attendance and she was due for a spectacular finish.

As reigning 2009 Champion Salina Kosgei (KEN) dominated the women’s 26 mile, 385 yard (42.195 Kilometer) race, it seemed she had this competition in the bag. Having won the race in 2009, she appeared sure that her rivals were far behind. She charged ahead not knowing that just beyond sight was her biggest challenge of the day.

The Russian runner Tatyana Puskareva (RUS), who most recently ROCKED the “Rock n’ Roll Marathon San Antonio” with a 2:30:30 and the “Siberian Marathon” (burr) at 2:34:55 appeared on the horizon. As the last few miles were covered, the distance between the two became rapidly shorter. The seasoned Salina Kosgei (KEN) watched her lead become smaller and smaller during the last minute of this race. When she finally crossed the finish line, she was left with a lead of only 4 seconds and successfully defended her title.

Overall, the event was nothing short of spectacular. Robert Cheruiyot (KEN) set a new course record of 2:05:52 earning him a $25,000 bonus in addition to what is given to all champions, $150,000 and a golden olive wreath from the city of Marathon, Greece. With over 20,000 participants, there were many age group athletes who conquered their own goals as well.

The Boston Marathon is a staple of endurance sports culture and is to many the “Holy Grail” of running. Many attempt to qualify to compete and few actually earn the chance. Do you have what it takes to race this amazing event? Learn more at http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

Mission Bay Triathlon w/ Spyder as Lead Vehicle (Video)

I've found that when you give to the world around you, the world gives back. Today was an example of the world giving back to me. I think all my volunteeing has paid off. Race Director for the San Diego Triathlon Series Rick "Koz" Kozlowski was kind enough to let me lead the bike leg of the race with my beloved "Can-Am Spyder". As you can see from the video below, it was a great morning.

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Luckily, I'm registered in the Clydesdale Division and our start time was after the lead athlete arrived at the Bike-Run transition. This guy was moving at 25-30mph (40-50kmh) the whole way, we really had to keep it moving. We arrived at the transition, I said my goodbyes to our police escort. I then found a parking spot on the edge of the expo where the majority of spectator foot traffic occurred hurried over to the shore so that I could run my triathlon.
While I was out on the course there were crowds of spectators checking out this slick new vehicle. With over 1,500 participants and thousands of supporters and volunteers I was able to distribute plenty of Spyder booklets. I also found that every last SpyderSanDiego.com card and booklets were removed from the roadster when I returned after crossed the finish line.
After it was all over, the people had plenty of questions. One person asked if we could make a bike rack that attached to the accessory platform on the tail. What a cool idea! I managed speak to a few people who gave some very positive interviews.

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After helping out some of the volunteers, I was done for the day.
Time for a burrito... haah!

Overall it was a great time and I think I'm ready for a nap...