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By now, Meb Keflezighi is familiar with every patch of asphalt on the New York City Marathon route.He has run the race 10 times, finishing as high as first and as far back as 23rd. Its a race he holds dear for his 2009 victory -- coming at a time when some believed his career was over -- and for the way the city has opened its arms to him, time and again. Fans have cheered his every stride through the five boroughs. He calls it the marathon of the world for its diverse field and crowds.So, hes excited to return to New York for Sundays race. This time, hes even guaranteed a lead position.For the first time since 2012, Keflezighi, 41, wont be running. Instead, hell be one of the races grand marshals, along with his U.S. marathon teammates from this summers Olympics. Hell be in the lead vehicle with a chance to see the race unfold without breaking a sweat.Its going to be a whole different perspective, he said.Related story from Competitor.com: How to watch the NYC MarathonRelated story from Competitor.com: Molly Huddle ready for her marathon debutThese days, Keflezighi is taking some time to look at everything from a new angle. After competing in his fourth Olympics, hes transitioning into a retirement that could take many shapes. Its a transition that will take a while.He plans to run two more marathons, both in 2017. That would give him 26 career marathon finishes.Twenty-six marathons for the distance, he said, referring to the races 26.2-mile length. And Im also going to be 42 years old. In terms of running international, its 42 kilometers and 195 meters. So, 42 years old and 26 marathons in honor of the distance.He said nothing is official on which races hell run. Hes hopeful they will be Boston and New York. A finale in New York would be a fitting farewell. He made his marathon debut there in 2002.But were still working out the details, he said.Keflezighi will continue to train and run through next year and beyond, but he knows its time for his marathon career to end. After that, hell run half-marathons, 15Ks, 10Ks and other shorter distances, while putting most of his attention on his family, his Meb Foundation and business and charitable interests.Ive been running 26 years, he said. I just dont want to do competitive marathons where people, believe it or not, still expect me to win. Even though Im 41, 42, they want me to win. But expectations, external and internal -- even though I have the desire to do those things, go to Rio, get the gold -- I wish it were that simple. Everything has to click. Sometimes, you just have to be thankful for the things you have earned.No unturned stonesWhat Keflezighi has earned has been remarkable.Hes the only marathoner to have won an Olympic medal (silver in 2004) while also winning at Boston and New York. He was on the 2000, 2004, 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic teams. He won 23 national championships at various distances. And he won four NCAA titles at UCLA before turning pro in 1998.My career has been more special than I could have ever imagined, he said. Im grateful for that.He said theres no unturned stones in his marathon career. He has accomplished more than he dreamed. His only goal for his final two marathons will be to finish in the top 10. They wont be ceremonial strolls.I dont want to say, Ahh, I just finished it, he said. I want to finish strong and be as competitive as I can be.Keflezighi, who came to the United States with his family from war-torn Eritrea at the age of 12, discovered running as a middle schooler in San Diego. He then became a standout at San Diego High School and earned a scholarship to UCLA. He excelled at cross country and the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He made his first Olympic team in the 10,000 and competed in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games. The following year, he set a U.S. 10K record (27:13.98).It wasnt until 2002 that he ran his first marathon, finishing New York in 2:12:35, good for ninth place.At the time, he said he never wanted to do a marathon again -- yet he actually had found his calling. Now he laughs when sharing his only regret: What I now know, I wish I knew then.Whats next?Keflezighis whole focus earlier this year was on making the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and doing as well as possible. He qualified by finishing second in the U.S. trials in Los Angeles in February, running 2:12:20. At 40, he became the oldest American marathoner to qualify for the summer games.He went into the Olympics feeling strong, but he got sick on race day and had to stop several times to throw up. He willed himself to continue. Then, as he approached the finish, he slipped on the wet pavement and fell face down across the line -- where he promptly did three pushups to show he was fine, got up and celebrated his 33rd-place finish in 2:16:46.Though disappointed, hes proud of what he did in Brazil. One reason he wanted to go to a fourth Olympics was so his three daughters (ages 10, 8 and 6) would have a memory of their father in the Rio Games.They were there at the finish with wife Yordanos, brother Hawi and longtime coach Bob Larsen.They remember it, Keflezighi said. That was the whole goal. My youngest daughter does remember. When she was asked what was the best part of the summer, she said, When Daddy competed in Rio.Time with his wife and daughters is at the top of Keflezighis wish list now, as he transitions into retirement. He said travel and training have taken too much time from them.He hopes to blend family time with the work he does for the Meb Foundation, which is focused on helping children to be healthy and successful. Also on that list is doing public speaking and coaching. Hes interested in coaching every type of athlete, from collegiate standouts to men and women who simply want to complete in a half-marathon.Keflezighi said he doesnt want to be known as just a fine runner but also as a positive citizen and contributor to society.And Keflezighis post-marathon world also will be filled with appearances and work for his many sponsors. Last weekend, he was at a half-marathon in Sonoma, California, mingling with runners for a company that makes jerky products. Included among his other sponsors are companies that make shoes, printers, nutrition bars, compression socks, sunglasses and tires.Though he wont be running in Sundays New York City Marathon, hes still having a busy race week. On Tuesday, he received an award from famed distance runner Grete Waitzs AKTIV Against Cancer organization for his philanthropic work, and hell take part in a news conference with the grand marshals Thursday.Twenty-four marathons down, two to go. Theres still more work to do.It is my plan, said Keflezighi, laughing, but sometimes you wonder why you come up with these things. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. USA Soccer Jerseys China . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. 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LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets.McLarens full Australian GP-specification car will now be tested for the first time on the season-opening weekend after they ran out of time at Barcelona. The Woking team did introduce new chassis parts onto the MP4-31 at the final test but delays in the manufacturing process at their Woking base meant the full package wasnt ready to run in time for Fridays final day.We are not running the 2016 spec here, said racing director Eric Boullier. We are a bit behind the programme. So that means we are going to turn up in Australia with more bits on the car, which have unfortunately not been signed off here. But it is what it is.Boullier downplayed the reasons for the full specification not arriving in time, saying they were perhaps only guilty of being too ambitious in the production timetable.Although the team will now face a particularly busy Friday practice in Melbourne on March 18, Boullier said they could be pleased with the mileage they were able to complete with the new Honda-powered car during the winter. We have been able to run most of the days, which is very good news, said Boullier, after McLaren finished fifth on the mileage charts at the final test with 453 laps completed.In terms of chassis, its important that we could go through all the systems, which we couldnt do last year. So for us its a good achievement. Now we have a reliable car, more or less, to start the season - so we are definitely more confident. Whats the 2016 pecking order? Crunching the numbers and analysing the lap times from F1s winter testing Honda ran two versions of their 2016 power unit across the two tests and their new F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa confirmed the final speciffication had now been homologated for the first race, describing it as a good start point.ddddddddddddAnd with the results of the MP4-31 on track matching their simulation data, Boullier believes the team can look to make continuation improvement once the season commences.There will be more to come now, he predicted. The base looks okay and there will be much more performance in the coming weeks. While reliability may have improved, McLarens position in the initial 2016 pecking order remains uncertain with the team themselves not making predictions about how competitive they will be at the first race.The team, who endured their worst season in 30 years in 2015, finished the second test with a 13th-fastest time which was two seconds adrift of Ferraris leading pace.Asked if they could be fighting with Force India and Toro Rosso, Boullier replied: We will see when we turn up in Melbourne with our full spec.Its true that Force India and Toro Rosso were competitive last year. Their cars were just an evolution of last year, so there is no reason why they will not be competitive.The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here Also See: Vettel ends testing on top Whats the F1 pecking order? ' ' '