Abdirahman Runs in Memory of His Best Friend (Ryan Shay)

CHARLEVOIX — That Ryan Shay would be honored by a mile race must seem fitting to some area track fans, who recall his high school battle with Charlevoix’s John Bush in the Buckmaster 1600-meter run at Petoskey’s Curtis Field in the mid 1990s.That was one of the rare races Shay didn’t win, as he was a four-time cross country state champion and six-time track state champion at Central Lake, and a nine-time All-American at Notre Dame.Shay, then 28, died last November from a heart attack during the Olympic marathon trial in New York City. A select field — 10 runners in the men’s race, 11 in the women’s — gathered for the first Ryan Shay Mile, to compete in the sport its namesake gave his life to, Saturday in downtown Charlevoix.Grant Robison of East Lansing won the men’s road race in 4 minutes 3.2 seconds, while Dot McMahan of Rochester Hills was first in the women’s race with a time of 4:35

“In 2005, I was a teammate of Ryan’s on the half-marathon national team,” McMahan said. “I remember what an intense competitor he was. This is a great way to honor him. It was a fun race.”McMahan, an 800-meter runner at Wisconsin-Milwaukee who now does distance for elite Detroit-area running club Hanson-Brooks, took home $1,000 for winning the race, plus $250 for leading at the halfway point.“I haven’t been running middle distance, but I got off to a nice start, then the last quarter mile was downhill,” McMahan said. “In a mile race, you just do what you can.”Former Grand Valley State star Mandi Zemba was second in the women’s race in 4:37.55, followed by former Arizona State runner Desi Davilla, 4:42.31; former Michigan State runner Lisa Senakiewicz of Davison, 4:47.30; and Andrea Parker of Livonia who ran at the University of Michigan, 4:49.15.Second in the men’s race was Jeremy Doherty of Missouri, 4:04.21, followed by Ben Rosario of Missouri, 4:06.98; Derek Scott of Indiana, 4:07.77; and Clint Verran of Hanson-Brooks, 4:08.96. Rondell Ruff was the half-mile leader.“Rondell took it out pretty fast, and then by the three-quarters mark there was a group of three of us up front,” said Robison, a 2004 Olympian and 1,500-meter NCAA champion at Stanford. “Then I just started sprinting with all I had.”Robison had competed almost solely on the track during the spring, so a road race took a little adjusting.“The biggest difference is on the track, you always know where you are,” Robison said. “In a road race, even though there were quarter-mile markers, you don’t have as accurate a pace. And, there are no spikes.”Also on Saturday, Stephan Shay, Ryan’s younger brother, who runs for BYU, won the Jeff Drenth Memorial 10K in 31:23. Justin Zanotti was second, 32:22, and Tyler Noble third, 35:18. Andrea Osika was the women’s winner, in 42:19.Stephen Fuelling of Milford won the Drenth 5K, in 16:30. Ben Wynsma was second, 16:38, and Tecumseh Adams of Harbor Springs third, 17:02. Ashley Casevant was first among women, 18:15

Michael Phelps Wins Record-Breaking 8th Gold Medal at Beijing Games

BEIJING — Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.

Jason Lezak held on to the lead Phelps gave him, anchoring the United States to a world record in the 400-meter medley relay against an Australian team that did its best to spoil history.

But Phelps, with a big hand from three teammates, would not be denied. He eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music and texting with his buddies.

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"I don't even know what to feel right now," Phelps said. "There's so much emotions going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom."

Debbie Phelps was sitting in the stands at the Water Cube, tears streaming down her cheeks, her two daughters sitting with her.

Even though the Americans have never lost the medley relay at the Olympics, the latest gold was hardly a breeze. When Phelps dived into the water for the butterfly — the third of four legs — the Americans were third behind Japan and Australia

But Phelps, swimming the same distance and stroke that he used to win his seventh gold a day earlier, powered back to the front on his return lap, passing off to Lezak with the Americans in front.

Phelps has lived and trained in Ann Arbor, Mich. in recent years.

Australia's Eamon Sullivan tried to chase Lezak down and appeared to be gaining as they came to the wall. But Lezak touched in 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds — Phelps' seventh world record in his personal Great Haul of China.

The Aussies took silver in 3:30.04, also under the old world record, while Japan held on for the bronze.

"Nothing is impossible," Phelps said. "With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that's something I learned and something that helped me."

Phelps patted breaststroker Brendan Hansen on the head and threw his arms in the air after Lezak finished, though the Americans still had to wait a couple of tantalizing minutes for the official results to be posted. Aaron Peirsol swam the leadoff leg for the Americans.

Finally, it flashed on the board.

World record.

Gold medal No. 8.

On deck, a beaming Phelps slapped hands with his teammates and thrust his arms toward the Water Cube roof. The winning swimmers locked arms as if they were in a football huddle about to break for a play.

Phelps, meanwhile, couldn't stop smiling.

"Without the help of my teammates this isn't possible," said Phelps, who won five individual races and three relays in Beijing.

"I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit," he said. "For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had. I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

Source: Foxnews.com