WIN KIP'S SPIKES!

Here's the moment everyone's been waiting for!

Bernard Lagat, the Washington State alum and American record holder in the 5000 meters, has graciously agreed to give away an autographed pair of his racing spikes from the Olympic Trials to a lucky follower and reader of paulmerca.blogspot.com.

Not only that, our friends at Nike are matching Kip's spikes with a pair of running shoes and a jacket for you to work out with when you're not admiring this fine piece of track & field memorabilia!

Here's the catch--after the semifinals of the men's 5000 meters on Monday, we will post on our Facebook fan page (facebook.com/paulmercablogspotcom) a link where you can predict what he will run.

Once you "Like" our fan page, you can post your prediction on what his time will be in the finals on June 28th at 7:38 pm, Eugene time.

The person who comes closest to or correctly predicts his time wins his spikes and the Nike package. If more than one person gets it right, we'll conduct a drawing the following day!

Unfortunately for our foreign readers, this contest is open to US residents only.

Here's the rules:

--You must "Like" our Facebook page to enter! :-)

--After the semifinals on Monday night, we will post a thread on the Facebook fan page asking for you to predict Kip's time. That will be the only thread to the contest.

--You can only enter once per Facebook account (and I know some of you have multiple Facebook accounts).

--If you have more than one entry, your first entry will be considered your entry.

--If we believe that the Facebook page is being spammed, we have the right to terminate the contest, throw out any entries, and start over.

--The contest will end at 3:30 pm pacific time on June 28th (the time of the first event that day)!

--Winners are subject to verification before the prize package is sent.

--Contest is open to US residents only. Employees of Nike, athletes managed by and employees of James Templeton, Relay Network members, editorial contributors to paulmerca.blogspot.com, and Paul Merca's immediate family are ineligible.

--Most importantly, good luck and please have fun!

Also, please make sure that you follow Bernard Lagat on Twitter at @Lagat1500 as he chronicles his journey to London!