Rene poses with local wildlife at the Three Martini bar in Yokohama after her 2:29 (photo courtesy of Boulder Wave)
RW calls it “A Word With Rene Kalmer,” but it’s actually a fairly extensive interview…Rene touches on 5:00 a.m. photo shoots, her sister Christine, the move to marathoning, world travels, and her “Friends” dvd collection. Click here.
Short preview article (click here) in the Asahi Shimbun on the March 11th Nagoya Women’s Marathon…last train to London OG for Japanese women. On the Japanese side, we have 2009 WC silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Daiichi Life Insurance/adidas) and reigning (i.e. 2010 champ, as last year’s Nagoya was cancelled in the aftermath of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami) Nagoya champion Yuri Kano (Shiseido/adidas). Lidia Simon (ASICS), whose last marathon was a victory in the inaugural Osaka Marathon last autumn, will be looking to lock down qualification for her 5th (!!!) Olympic Marathon. So far as we have found out, Lidia could become the first woman in Olympic history to qualify for and compete in five Olympic Marathons. Rene Kalmer (adidas), who has been on fire this winter in South Africa since qualifying for the Olympic Games with her 2:29:59 for 5th in November’s hot and humid Yokohama women’s marathon), will be a pacemaker for Nagoya, which is expected to go out at 71:00 for the first half.
Lidia Simon (ASICS), Yuri Kano (Shiseido), Yoshimi Ozaki (Daiichi LIfe Insurance/adidas), Rene Kalmer (adidas – pacemaker)
Breaking news from our friends at the Virgin London Marathon. No comment on the appearance fee or other conditions of the invitation, which were likely to be quite generous. It is almost certain the media actually will “leave the athlete alone,” as Dave Bedford requests in this interview. Left out of the report were Bedford’s comments that “having observed this athlete’s recent altitude-training in Iten, I believe he has a world of potential; at the same time, is a safe bet to say he is the most biomechanically-challenged athlete we have ever added to the elite men’s field. How he generates a pace of 2:55 per kilometer with that arm carriage is beyond me, but I believe he can get the job done.” Click here for full video report.
The 2012 Virgin London Marathon takes place April 22nd, eight weeks to go from this Sunday.
South Africa’s Independent Newspapers group has posted an article to their on-line site on Rene Kalmer’s (adidas) plans for this year’s Olympic Marathon. “South Africa’s leading female marathon runner, Rene Kalmer, has channelled all her focus this year on one race – the Olympic marathon…” Click here for the full article.
