Brooks Beasts' Deborah Maier wins 3000 in Gent, plus some good reads...

In Gent, Belgium, University of California alum Deborah Maier (left/photo by Paul Merca), who joined the Seattle based Brooks Beasts squad earlier this summer, won the 3000 meter run at the Flanders Cup meet Saturday.

Maier ran 9:09.03 to finish over five seconds ahead of Japan's Yukari Abe, who ran 9:14.11, with Sofie Van Accom of Belgium third in 9:32.34.

Brooks Beasts teammate and University of Washington alum Katie Mackey finished second in the 800 meter run, as she ran 2:02.00 behind Canada's Nicole Sifuentes' 2:01.84.

Victoria's Diane Cummins was third in 2:02.12.

Complete results from the Flanders Cup meeting are available here.

One of the most interesting reads on doping was recently posted by University of Washington alum Brad Walker on his Facebook fan page.

It's a very fascinating post by a guy who has traveled the world during his career and witnessed the best and worst of humanity as he pursues his sport.

You can read it here.

The other good read of the day is from the IAAF, as they profile the BBC's Steve Cram, who has gone from world class miler to one of the best commentators of the sport.

When asked about what qualities a good commentator needs, he said, "You have to have a feel for what you are watching. This gives you a good background, so you are not stressing about the mechanics of the race I don’t think anyone is born a great commentator, you have to work at it and learn about it. You have to learn about the different techniques of how to commentate on a race. You have to be able to inform the viewer and deliver a sense of excitement and build to a crescendo and climax.”

You can read it here.