http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/29/meb-to-pace-sub-90-minute-group-in-half-marathon/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Meb to pace sub-90-minute group in half marathon
By BERNIE WILSON
Associated Press
Thursday, May 29, 2014
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Meb Keflezighi will be a true champion of the people in
his hometown Sunday.
Not recovered enough yet from winning the Boston Marathon to run the full
26.2 miles, Keflezighi will be the pacesetter for runners hoping to break
90 minutes in the Suja Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon.
After the elite runners take off, an estimated 200 runners will then start
from the "Meb corral." It'll be Keflezighi's job to get them around the
course, from Balboa Park to Petco Park, at a pace of about 6 minutes, 51
seconds per mile.
"You're going to see a lot of selfies," Keflezighi cracked.
Meb's ultimate goal is to have as many people as possible from his group
holding hands and crossing the finish line at the same time.
Of course, there's bound to be some carnage.
"Some of them might fall off but some of them are going to say, you know
what, with a half mile to go whatever, they might just want to take off and
say, 'I beat Meb,' which is fine," said Keflezighi, who turned 39 on May 5,
two weeks after winning the Boston Marathon. "Anytime you can get people
out to do activities, it's great.
"The beauty of our sport is you get to line up with the best in the world,
share the same roads, and sometimes, like Boston, I was fortunate enough to
lead the way and help 36,000 people come across in first place."
Keflezighi is still enjoying the afterglow of his win at Boston, which came
a year after the deadly bombing. Keflezighi wrote the names of the three
dead on his bib along with that of the MIT police officer killed during the
manhunt. Keflezighi was the first American in 31 years to win the men's
race.
But he's also glad to be running in San Diego, where his family moved in
1987 as refugees from Eritrea, via Italy.
The half marathon course goes within a block of the apartment where
Keflezighi's family first lived in San Diego. One of 10 children, he
graduated from San Diego High in 1994 and from UCLA in 1999.
"San Diego is the only place that I know exactly where I am," Keflezighi
said. "Other places, like still New York, I've done several times and I see
Central Park or mile marks, but I'm not comfortable. San Diego, I know
exactly where I am and where I'm going to be. It means a lot to be running
at home."
Keflezighi finished fourth in last year's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon after
winning the half marathon the previous two years.
Once a week or so, he runs part of the course where he won the city cross
country title in high school. He smiles when he runs past the junior high
he attended.
Keflezighi won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and won the New York
City Marathon in 2009.
He figures he has five or six more marathons left in him before he retires.
He'd like to run New York again this fall, and hopes to qualify for the
2016 Olympics.
He said he takes care of his joints by driving to his favorite running
spots in Mission Bay Park and Balboa Park rather than taking a pounding
running there.
Keflezighi said winning Boston "was special like no other. There was so
much meaning to it."
His life hasn't slowed down since then, "which is a good thing. I've been
blessed."
Keflezighi wants to go into motivational speaking and coaching when he's
done competing.
Regardless of what he's doing, he wants to leave people with a positive
experience when they meet him.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be in the shoes that I am in. But with it
comes a lot of responsibility," he said.
What's it like being Meb?
"It's a lot of fun being Meb," he said. "I still enjoy the sport. It's
great to be recognized. It's happy being Meb."
___
Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/berniewilson
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Received on Thu May 29 2014 - 21:00:28 EDT