Running News Daily

The Sparkasse 3-Lander Marathon has been cancelled due to the pandemic

The Sparkasse 3-Lander Marathon – starting in Germany, traversing Switzerland and finishing in Austria – has been cancelled for this year’s edition due on 4 October.

Registration fees are transferable for the 2021 or 2022 editions. The 2021 race will be held on 10 October.

100 years ago Britain's Albert Hill completed a monumental middle distance double at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp

It was 100 years ago, on 19 August, that Britain's Albert Hill completed a monumental middle distance double at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, the last man to achieve that distinction until New Zealand's Peter Snell in 1964. Yet it was the power of his arguments as much as the strength of his legs and lungs that enabled him to become an Olympic legend.

The British selection committee originally chose him only for the 800m after finishing second to the UK-based South African Bevil Rudd in the AAA 880 yards championship, but because he had not contested the mile Hill was omitted from the 1500m team. Hill had set his sights on going for an Olympic double and forcefully argued his case with Sir Harry Barclay, the influential AAA honorary secretary.

As he recalled: "The committee were opposed to my attempting the 800 and 1500m. But I was adamant on tackling the double and in the end Sir Harry bowed to my arguments. Most of the critics, too, were against my decision – the more so because I had been defeated by Bevil Rudd. Many considered Rudd as the greatest middle distance runner of that era. But when he beat me at Stamford Bridge my leg was still troubling me. Shortly afterwards, with the aid of a bandage above the ankle, it improved 100 per cent and I was determined to show the critics that I was not the has-been they thought I was."

Born on 24 March 1889, Hill had first made a name for himself as a cross country and long distance track runner, winning the AAA 4 miles title in 1910 aged 21, but after war service in France as a wireless operator with the Royal Flying Corps he was 30 by the time he was able to resume his athletics career. Coached by the legendary Sam Mussabini, he quickly made his mark at shorter distances by winning the AAA 880 yards and mile double in 1919, equalling the British record of 4:16.8 later in the year. A chain-smoking railway ticket collector who trained just twice a week, Hill was confident he could challenge the world's best at the Olympics the following year.

There was a shock in store when the composition of the 800m heats was revealed. As Hill wrote over 30 years later: "Our astonishment was great when we discovered that all the champions in the 800m were put in one heat! The Belgian authorities thought this the best thing to do, to give the other athletes a chance. This was their explanation, and nothing could be done about it, as the programmes had already been published. The first three in my heat, as it happened, took the first three places in the final, but in a different order."

Hill realised that Rudd, who would later win the 400m title, would be his most dangerous opponent and, entering the final straight, the South African led by three or four metres.

"Everyone expected an easy victory, but I was watching him closely, and noticed his arms beginning to come up high, and his body getting stiff. The stiffer his action became the more I forced myself to relax, arms down, body slightly forward. And turning on full speed, I caught up with him 20 yards out, going on to beat the American Earl Eby by a yard with Rudd third."

His time was a British record of 1:53.4 and he regarded that race as the most satisfying of his career in terms of judgement and tactics. In seventh place was the Dutchman Adriaan Paulen, who would serve as President of the IAAF from 1976 to 1981.

2021 Okinawa Marathon has been Cancelled due to the pandemic

In light of the continued development of the coronavirus crisis, the organizing committee of the 29th Okinawa Marathon scheduled for Feb. 21, 2021 has decided to postpone the race for one year out of concern for the safety and well-being of the participants and volunteers who help make our event possible, for the local spectators along the course, and for everyone else involved in the race. The new date for the 29th running will be Feb. 20, 2022.The organizing committee had explored options and began preparations for holding the race, but the following are the reality of the current situation in relation to the coronavirus:

1.- Eliminating the risk of infection among 15,000 participants, staff and volunteers is not possible.

2.- In the event of second and third waves of infection it would not be possible to establish adequate emergency medical services to deal with coronavirus infections, making it impossible to ensure the safety of the race.

3.- Due to the nature of the marathon as an event, it is not possible to avoid people being crowded close together.We ask for the understanding of all runners and supporters who had been looking forward to our race, and we hope to see an end to this situation soon that we can welcome you all to our 29th edition in 2022.

Like our race's catchphrase says, "People, dreams, love: You'll find them all here." We'll continue to work toward that ideal, making a race where runners and locals can come together and share the moment in space and time. We can't wait to see you again at the Okinawa Marathon.

2020 Rock n’ Roll Savannah Marathon cancelled due to COVID-19

The 2020 Rock n’ Roll Savannah Marathon and Half Marathon has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

Rock n’ Roll Marathon Series made the announcement Tuesday morning, saying the health and safety of the community is an “utmost priority.”

The race was originally scheduled for Nov. 7-8. Organizers say the race will return to Savannah on Nov. 6-7, 2021. All registered participants will be receiving an e-mail with further information.

“We thank our participants for their commitment and look forward to providing them with an exceptional race experience in the future,” Rock n’ Roll Marathon Series said in a news release.

In 2019, the Rock n’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon brought thousands of people to Savannah to race and attend other weekend events. Event headliner ‘The Strumbrellas’ performed in Forsyth Park.

Last year’s half marathon winner, Ace Brown, told News 3 that the Rock n’ Roll marathon is unlike any other event in the City.

“There’s nothing like it man, there’s nothing like it,” Brown said after crossing the finish line. “Coming around a turn, and there’s a band there, there’s nothing like it.”

Each year, runners have the chance to qualify for other races, such as the Boston Marathon.

Everything you need to know about Nike’s newly-released plated spikes

Nike has quietly been working on two pairs of spikes that every runner will want to get their hands on – they’re called the Dragonfly and the Air Zoom Victory and were released earlier this summer and have since sold out worldwide. The shoes are lightweight but more padded with the addition of ZoomX foam, the same material first used in the Vaporfly and perfected in subsequent models. 

The Dragonfly is what Mohammed Ahmed wore to break his own Canadian 5,000m record and run one of the fastest times over the distance in history, and what Joshua Cheptegei wore to break the 5,000m world record on Friday. That’s two top-10 5,000m times in the space of one month in this particular pair of shoes. 

How does this compare to Nike’s road shoes?

The Dragonfly shoe seems to be everything that the Vaporfly is on the road. After companies were going more and more minimal for years (with the exception of Hoka) Nike started going maximal. While restrictions will limit how high this spike can go, its softer material and bigger stack height set it apart from the other shoes on the market. 

Before the Dragonfly, spikes had almost no cushioning. Now, with the addition of the full-length plate and a decent amount of ZoomX foam, the shoe will feel plush relative to spikes most middle distance runners are used to. 

While this shoe is more expensive than other spikes on the market, it isn’t shockingly priced. Most runners will spend around C$150 on a pair of good spikes and the Dragonfly sets you back $195 – a price increase but much more affordable than the $330 sticker on the NEXT%. 

Designed for events ranging from the 1,500m to 10,000m, this shoe will be on the feet of many runners through winter 2020 and summer 2021.

The Dragonfly isn’t the only Nike shoe that dropped this summer. The Air Zoom Victory is also built for middle distance running, but this shoe has an air bag and carbon-plate along with ZoomX foam. Slightly more expensive than the Dragonfly (coming in at $230), this shoe can be worn for any event from the 800m through to the 5,000m. 

These shoes are going fast and are currently sold out in almost every size except for men’s 13 and 14. Much like Nike’s road shoes, if runners want to get their hands on these spikes, they’ll need to watch for a re-release date and act quickly. 

Aaron Scott and Josh Lunn from England are among 50 local elite athletes invited to take part in the elite only London Marathon

There was disappointment on the local running scene after the organisers were left with no choice but to pull the plug on this autumn’s rearranged mass participation 2020 race because of the coronavirus crisis.

However a version of the prestigious event will go ahead on October 4 for elite runners only and excitingly local hot shot Scott will be on the start line alongside his Helpston Harriers second claim teammate Lunn.

The race will now take place on a 20- lap spectator- free course around St James Park in the heart of the capital.

“It’s amazing to be part of such a unique event” said Scott. “I think there is going to be 40 to 50 maximum on the startline for both the men’s and the ladies races.

“That will only include a dozen domestic athletes, so to feature with Josh is incredible. Training over lockdown has been on track. I worked on my 5km speed and managed five or six efforts of between 14:30 and 14:45 which was plenty fast enough for where I wanted to be.

“I have done plenty of laps of the Stamford Town Cricket Club outfield. I reckon I’ve racked up over 1000 miles around the boundary. People might think that’s a little odd, but all of us runners are a bit bonkers. The pitch is fast, traffic free and I can switch off and just use my lap times to compare week on week, month on month or even year on year improvement.

“London is going to be 20 loops of just over 2km around The Mall, Horse Guards Parade and Birdcage Walk, so it’s also good mental preparation for that. The aim is a big personal best, but the focus of my current training has been to forget about any goal times and run to effort.

“Around three to four weeks out I can start to see what pace my training suggests. I’d like to think that will be 2:14 to 2:15, but I also want to give myself the possibility of going even faster.

“It’s going to be an odd experience running around a closed loop, and I can imagine it’s going to be a tougher mental battle than ever. Usually at London you can rely on the crowd support in the last 10k, but there will be none of that.

“With Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele set to do battle there could be a world record chance, so I’m very excited to have a front row seat for that.

“It’s helped having a target now as I lost a lot of motivation in lockdown,” Lunn said. “I’m very excited as it’ll be a niche event and probably never happen again.”

Joshua Cheptegei thanks Kenenisa Bekele for inspiring him

Joshua Cheptegei shaved two seconds from Kenenisa Bekele’s world 5000m record in Monaco and here we take a look at their remarkable runs

On crossing the 5000m finish line with a time of 12:35.36 on the clock at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco on Friday night, Joshua Cheptegei smashed a world record which had stood for 16 years, two months, and 14 days.

The Ugandan was aged just seven when Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele stormed to his historic 12:37.35 in Hengelo. Until Friday night, no athlete since had come within five seconds of the mark, with Selemon Barega going closest with his 12:43.02 in Brussels in 2018.

Ahead of the meeting in Monaco, which was the first more traditional style Diamond League event of this pandemic-affected summer, Cheptegei was open about his goal.

“I believe if there is a time to attack the world record, it is this year,” he told the NN Running Team, of which both he and Bekele are a part.

“It is now or never.”

Cheptegei gave his thanks to Bekele for inspiring him, while Bekele – who ran his 26:17.53 world 10,000m record the year after his 5000m mark – offered his congratulations to his younger team-mate.

“I’ve learned that anything is possible, if you have the right mindset and believe,” said Cheptegei. “I really thank Kenenisa so much for inspiring me when I started running.

“He has always been a big inspiration and motivation to me.

“This record is a special moment for me and I like to thank Kenenisa for his inspiration.”

In an Instagram post, Bekele wrote: “I have great memories of running my world record in Hengelo 16 years ago. It is very difficult to run any world record. Congratulations to my teammate Joshua Cheptegei for running a new world record for 5000m tonight in Monaco.”

To which Cheptegei replied: “You are forever my all time role model and idol. Your career inspires me the most. I am forever grateful to emulate and follow your footsteps.”

U.K.’s Dina Asher-Smith has said the stakes are a bit too high for her to jump back into racing

While the track community celebrated a return to elite and high-profile racing over the weekend at the Monaco Diamond League, not every athlete is ready to get back into competitions just yet. According to an Athletics Weekly report, British 200m world champion Dina Asher-Smith has said she might skip the entire 2020 track season if the global pandemic doesn’t improve. She said it “comes down to how safe the races are,” and that she isn’t “in the mood for racing for racing’s sake this year.”

Not worth the risk

After her world championship win in Doha in 2019, Asher-Smith showed the world that she’s a threat for gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Her immediate focus is working toward the 2021 Games, but that isn’t her only goal. She said she will be eyeing Tokyo, the Commonwealth Games, two European Championships and the Paris Games, all in the next four years. At just 24 years old, Asher-Smith will likely be a force to be reckoned with for at least the next two Summer Olympics, and while she would of course like to race this year, it’s hardly a priority for her.

“We’re going to have a very intense four years,” she said. “So it’s better to build that foundation. That’s what I’d prefer to do.” She added that since COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, she doesn’t “fancy running any risk” and that “it’s about making smart decisions at the moment.”

Asher-Smith won’t miss too much if she skips the 2020 season as a whole. Even if she wanted, she couldn’t qualify for Tokyo 2021 right now since Olympic qualification won’t be open for track athletes until December 1. She will miss out on minor racing opportunities, but that doesn’t appear to be a big concern of hers.

“I don’t fancy catching coronavirus at an event,” she said. She also noted that she has spent the pandemic working “on the things that you don’t normally get the luxury or the time to be able to do,” such as taking extensive looks into her psychology, nutrition and even her personal marketing as an athlete. 

“In elite sport, you’re always chasing the next thing and the next. You never get a time to sit back and reflect.” Whether she races or not this year, Asher-Smith appears to be confident that she will be ready to compete at next summer’s Olympics, and if her pandemic training has gone as well as she says, then the rest of the sprinting world better be on high alert come Tokyo.

2019 Paris Half Marathon champion Antonina Kwambai says that she is ready for Valencia Marathon

Following a successful return of athletics at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday, Taipei Marathon champion Antonina Kwambai is hopeful her return will be as epic when the Valencia Marathon goes down in the Spanish city on December 8.

The 2019 Paris Half Marathon champion said she has undergoing rigorous training ahead of the race, hoping to lower her personal best time in what she calls a fast course.

Kwambai has a personal best time of 2:27.43 clocked while finishing second at the 2019 Warsaw Marathon and remains optimistic that the coronavirus pandemic health situation will have improved by the time she heads to Europe.

This will be her third marathon race after Warsaw and Taipei.

“I have fully resumed training in readiness for the Valencia Marathon, targeting a sub-2:23 time," said Kwambai.

When the first COVID-29 case in the country was announced in March, Kwambai was preparing for a trip to the United States of America to run at the Los Angeles Marathon but as fate would have it, the government introduced restrictions which meant she could not fly out.

“First, I was told there was a delay at the airport and later I was told that the race had been cancelled. I was disappointed because I had done all that was needed to travel to the USA but I had to accept the decisions made by the authorities since people's health,” added Kwambai, the 2018 Lille Half marathon.

“After missing out at the outing, I did not lose hope but maintained my training under manager Renato Canova with coach John Litein ensuring that I follow the program to the later,” said Kwambai, who had ran 21 half marathons across the world before taking onto the full marathon.

After signing with Renato, she says she expects to register good results. On Sunday, she was on the training track with an easy run and fitness routines.

“I have done well in half marathons with a personal best of 67:49 set at the Roma Austria half marathon and I have a 10,000m PB of 31:02 set at the Valencia Track and Field Championships,” she said.

Apart from the international races, she finished third at the 2018 Eldoret Family Bank Half Marathon, finished third at the Kabarnet 10km race and second at the inaugural Rimoi Half Marathon last year.

Flora has returned as a sponsor of the London Marathon

The margarine brand previously backed the event as the headline partner from 1996 to 2009 and has signed-on again until 2023 with a new partnership.

This year's London Marathon, with Virgin Money as its headline sponsor, has been re-arranged for October 4 from its original April 26 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only elite races will be held on a St James' Park loop course in a "bio-secure environment", organizers said.

Mass-participation runners, including many who will be running for charity, will still be able to celebrate the occasion by completing the 26.2 mile distance on a course of their choice from wherever they are in the world.

This year's London Marathon will be the 40th edition of the race, which is part of the World Marathon Majors alongside Tokyo, Boston, Chicago, Berlin and New York.

Flora will support runners who are fundraising for small charities by donating £1,000 ($1,300/€1,100) per week to one lucky participant who shares their story.

Other prizes will also be available including running kit and places in the 2021 race.

Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who won two London Marathon titles and broke two world records when Flora was the headline sponsor of the event, has been named as an official Flora running ambassador to mark the partnership.

She will provide exclusive training and nutrition tips as part of a new "keep running" content hub.

"Everyone has such fond memories of our previous partnership with Flora and we are delighted to be able to renew that relationship," said Hugh Brasher, event director of the London Marathon.

"It is particularly fitting that Flora, which has played such a large part in our history, is back as a partner for the 40th race on Sunday 4 October.

"It says so much about the status of the London Marathon that we are welcoming this new partnership at a time when so many businesses in so many industries are facing an uncertain future."

Britain's charity sector is facing a £10.1 billion ($13.2 billion/€11.1 billion) funding shortfall as a result of COVID-19, according to Probonoeconomics.com,

"We're really excited for Flora to be partnering with the Virgin Money London Marathon," said Flora's marketing director for the UK and Ireland, Catherine Lloyd. 

"Flora has been an iconic and versatile brand within British kitchens for generations and a staple of nutrition plans for runners since the 1960s. 

"Many still remember when the event was known as the Flora London Marathon, so we're delighted to rekindle our friendship and be back in the race.

Eliud Kipchoge was named ambassador for Run as One

Reigning Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge was named the ambassador of the fund-raising initiative “Sunfeast India Run As One”.

Kipchoge became the first man on the planet to cover the marathon distance in less than two hours. The 35-year-old clocked 1:59:40 to create an athletic spectacle in Vienna, thus elevating his credentials as the world’s greatest marathoner.

“India is very close to my heart and I have had the opportunity to witness the warmth and hospitality of this beautiful nation,” Kipchoge was quoted as saying in a media release.

“The idea of helping people through running or walking or jogging, is a thoughtful way of engaging people for a good cause. And this is the reason I have joined Sunfeast India Run as One as its Ambassador.”

The “virtual event” will support people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with the citizen-led movement bringing together people of 28 states and eight union territories. The 30-day movement will kick-start on Saturday while registrations will continue till September 11.

Competition updates Because of COVID-19

Here is a round-up of updates relating to international competitions, from cancellations to postponements and confirmations.

This story covers announcements made since the start of July. Up until the end of June, most other significant announcements were incorporated into our 'new normal' reporting pages.

IAU 50km World Championships (27 Nov 2020) - cancelled

"Following the development of the coronavirus situation in Jordan and across the region, it is with regret that we have to inform you of the cancellation of the 2020 IAU 50 km World Championships that was planned for 27th November in Aqaba, Jordan."

Announcement (15 August)

Marathon des Alpes Maritimes Nice-Cannes (29 Nov 2020) - cancelled

"Unfortunately, after having tried everything to keep the race going, we find ourselves obliged to cancel the 2020 edition of the Marathon des Alpes Maritimes Nice-Cannes. To stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic which is currently affecting France, the Mayor of Nice, Christian ESTROSI has just decided to cancel the sporting events which bring together more than 300 competitors scheduled in Nice on the calendar for this end of year 2020."

Announcement (15 August)

Paris Marathon (15 Nov 2020) - cancelled

"Faced with the difficulty that many runners, especially those coming from abroad, had in making themselves available for the 14th / 15th November, it was decided that it would be better and simpler for those concerned if we organised the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris in 2021."

Announcement (12 August)

Frankfurt Marathon (25 Oct 2020) - cancelled

The race organisers have decided to cancel the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon 2020. The 39th edition of Germany’s oldest city marathon was to have taken place on 25 October. "We have not taken this step of cancellation lightly and have done our utmost to find solutions and alternatives," says race director Jo Schindler. "Now we have to face the cold reality that cancellation is inevitable."

Announcement (11 August)

Nairobi Continental Tour Gold Meeting (3 Oct 2020) - rescheduled

The Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting which was moved to 26 September, was rescheduled once again and will take place on 3 October.

Doha Diamond League (25 Sep 2020) - rescheduled

The 2020 Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar, with the date for the Doha Diamond League brought forward by around a fortnight. The fifth meeting of the season was scheduled for 9 October after it could not be held as the traditional season opener in April, but will now take place instead on 25 September.The plan is to stage 12 disciplines. A list of athletes who will compete in the Qatari capital will be announced in due course.

Annoucement (3 August)

Valencia Half Marathon 2020 - cancelled

The 2020 Medio Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP, scheduled for Sunday 25 October has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. In a statement, the organisers said: "SD Correcaminos (running club), the organiser of the Valencia Half-Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, after fully appraising the health situation and consulting all the authorities involved, hereby announces the cancellation of the 30th edition of the race. The results of the appraisal and consultation showed that it was impossible to go ahead with the race, which was scheduled for the 25th of October 2020."

Announcement (30 July)

Great Ethiopian Run (15 Nov 2020) - postponed

"The 20th edition of TOTAL Great Ethiopian Run International 10km was scheduled to be held on 15 November 2020. However, due to the current situation of Covid-19, we are forced to postpone the race. We will announce the new date on a later date. Please bear with us while we work through the details to deliver the 20th edition of our flagship race."

Announcement (27 July)

Nanjing Continental Tour Gold Meeting 2020 - cancelled

Following the decision taken by China's National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, organisers of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nanjing have announced that the competition will not go ahead this year.

Announcement (25 July)

Shanghai Diamond League (19 Sep 2020) - cancelled

Following the decision taken by the National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, we are sorry to announce that the 2020 Shanghai Diamond League will not go ahead as planned on 19th September. The meeting will return next year, taking its traditional place as one of the early-season events in the Diamond League calendar.

Announcement (24 July)

Müller Grand Prix, Gateshead (12 Sep 2020) - cancelled

The Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar. The Müller Grand Prix in Gateshead, UK, scheduled for 12 September to have been the fifth competitive meeting of the season, has been cancelled.

Announcement (23 July)

ISTAF (13 Sep 2020) - confirmed

“With 3500 spectators instead of 45,000, the ISTAF will certainly be different this time, but it may be a first small step back to normal," said meeting director Martin Seeber. "We want to set an example for sport and be a beacon for athletics."

Announcement (21 July)

Hamburg Marathon (13 Sep 2020) - cancelled

Major sporting events in Hamburg, which have been postponed until late summer and autumn 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has been raging since spring 2020, will no longer take place this year, but will be postponed until 2021.

Announcement (21 July)

Madrid Half Marathon (4 Oct 2020) - cancelled

"The organisation of the Movistar Madrid Half Marathon and the ProFuturo Race announce the cancellation of the 2020 edition, originally scheduled for 29 March and which, due to the coronavirus health emergency, was postponed to 4 October. The circumstances are still not ideal for the celebration of these two sporting events with a joint participation of close to 20,000 people, and the prospect for the coming months does not offer security guarantees for participants, spectators, volunteers and the organisation team either."

Announcement (21 July)

Rotterdam Marathon (24-25 Oct 2020) - postponed

"With pain in our hearts we have decided to reschedule the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The NN Marathon Rotterdam is now scheduled to take place on the 10th and 11th of April 2021. Every individual runner with a place in the 2020 edition will be able to use their place in the rescheduled event."

Announcement (20 July)

Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon (7 Feb 2021) - cancelled

"The 75th anniversary running of the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon scheduled for 7 February 2021 will not take place. After careful consideration we determined that, with no visible end to the coronavirus crisis in sight, for the health and safety of participants, volunteers, staff, medical and rescue personnel, fans along the course and everyone else involved with our event, our 75th running must be postponed for one year."

Announcement (20 July)

Meeting Liege (9 Sep 2020) - cancelled

"There will be no 19th edition of the Meeting International d'Athlétisme de la Province de Liège this year. The applicable corona measures meant it is not possible to organise the event properly later this summer. The 19th edition can take place in July 2021 and we are also looking forward to the 20th anniversary of this international event in 2022."

Announcement (16 July)

Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 - postponed

Senegal and the International Olympic Committee have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 to 2026. This postponement meets the requirement of responsibility and the concern for efficiency imposed by current circumstances.

Announcement (15 July)

Great Birmingham Run (11 Oct 2020) - cancelled

"There’s no option to stage the event as planned, or at a later date in the year."

Announcement (15 July)

Chicago Marathon (11 Oct 2020) - cancelled

Event organisers and the City of Chicago announced the decision to cancel the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and all race weekend activities in response to the ongoing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcement (13 July)

Toronto Marathon (18 Oct 2020) - cancelled

Working closely with the City of Toronto and Mayor John Tory, event organisers Canada Running Series have made the decision to cancel the event due to Covid-19 related health and safety concerns. "We are pleased to announce that we will be transitioning to a virtual event this year, to continue to offer the best possible running and fundraising goals in these challenging times."

Announcement (13 July)

Athens Authentic Marathon (8 Nov 2020) - confirmed

In accordance with the Protocol for Road Races approved by the Health Committee of the General Secretariat of Sports for Sports and the Ministry of Sports, SEGAS (Hellenic Athletics Federation) and its partners have taken up further actions and announce today that, given the current circumstances, the 2020 Athens Marathon will be staged as planned on 7-8 November 2020.

Announcement (13 July)

Seiko Golden Grand Prix Tokyo (23 Aug 2020) - postponed

Originally set to take place on 10 May, the Seiko Golden Grand Prix – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting – will now be held on Sunday 23 August. “Only domestic athletes will participate,” read a statement on the meeting’s website. “We are also considering allowing high school athletes to play a role. Details will be announced once they are confirmed.”

Announcement (13 July)

Jim Walmsley says he can take a 2:05 marathoner in a trail scenario

Walmsley on the road versus trail argument

Jim Walmsley ran a 1:04:00 in the Houston Half-Marathon on Sunday. Since his performance, many people have been critical of his race and returned to comparing the trail and road running scenes in a futile attempt to try and identify which discipline is more difficult.

Walmsley is an ultra and trail runner who’s the Western States 100 course record holder, and was formerly a high school and collegiate track runner (8:41.05 3,000m steeplechaser). Walmsley was ranked 23rd male on Sports Illustrated’s Fittest 50 athletes in 2018 (marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge ranked 21st) and is very well known for his accomplishments on the trails.

His 1:04:00 at Houston qualified him exactly for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials where he will run his marathon debut. As Walsmley straddles the boundary between ultra-trail runner and road runner, he’s become a focal point for the trail versus road argument.

Walmsley was a guest on the Citius Mag podcast the week following his half-marathon and was asked to address some of the comments. Here’s what he had to say regarding a 2:05 marathoner being thrown into the Western States Endurance Run. “The way that I attack the downhills, I will break your quads and you won’t be able to jog the flats after. Like, give me a 2:05 guy, you don’t need Western States, call me up, give me a 2:05 guy, give me a couple hours in the canyon and I’ll be the first one out.” This is a clip starting at minute 58 in the podcast.

Walmsley adds that of course a marathoner could learn to be good at ultra running, but it takes practice. He’s not denying that road runners wouldn’t be capable of becoming strong trail runners, what he’s saying is that like anything in sport, it takes practice.

These two best friends ran a marathon in Crocs

Their socially distant ‘Croc-athon’ raised over £2000 for charity

Two students have completed a marathon wearing Crocs to raise money for an anti-slavery charity.

Best friends Carrie Hallam and Mhairi Russell ran the 26.2-mile distance together in Edinburgh on July 11th in aid of International Justice Mission UK. The global organisation works in more than 20 countries to abolish human trafficking and slavery, and regularly shares rescue stories of survivors.

Having discovered the prevalence of these abuses, the athletic duo was compelled to do something practical to make a difference.

'Lockdown has brought to light the injustices that exist across the globe. One of the most shocking things to me was learning that there are over 40 million people experiencing modern slavery today,' Hallam explains.

Wearing layered pairs of socks inside their sandals, Hallam and Russell crossed the finish line after 4 hours and 32 minutes.

The choice to run in Crocs was inspired by their united love of the world-famous brand.

'We see Crocs as a wholly misunderstood footwear,' Hallam tells Runner's World UK. 'They're bright, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. They are also lightweight, breathable and they prevent plantar fasciitis – what more do you want in a pair of running shoes?!'

Although neither Hallam nor Russell had run a marathon before, they were equally eager to tackle the distance.

'After being locked down for two months, Carrie and I both had an excess of time and energy – we thought that a marathon was a great fitness challenge that would give us something to focus on and train for,' Russell says.

In their four-week training period, the pair focused on getting used to the challenge of running in Crocs.

After much experimentation, they devised a strategy to enhance the comfort of their footwear. 'We ended up with the perfect set up of prophylactic blister plasters, a pair of running socks and a pair of thicker hill walking socks,' Russell reveals.

Aware of the risk of running in less-than-suitable shoes, the women took a number of measures to fend off the threat of injury. Their training included intense strength-building, such as squats and lunges, and their race was run predominately on grass.

Having successfully completed their first marathon, the duo have set new running goals for themselves. While Russell now hopes to run a sub 1:45 half-marathon (also in Crocs), Hallam is planning to run another full marathon in under four hours.

'Perhaps long term, we’ll claim we are aiming to do an ultra in crocs, but we won’t be held to that one!' says Hallam.

Des Linden is considering a move to the trails

Linden says UTMB and Comrades are bucket-list races

The 2018 Boston Marathon champion and one of America’s most beloved distance runners is eyeing up some of the world’s most competitive trail races. While it’s far from a done deal, as she’s still got some unfinished business on the road, Des Linden wants to conquer both UTMB and the Comrades Marathon before her running days are over.

Linden told slowtwitch.com that ultra racing, specifically Comrades and UTMB are bucket list items for her. “I don’t spend too much time on the trails, to be honest, I think that’s why there’s so much intrigue. Exploring Chamonix and the Mont-Blanc region on foot and in a race atmosphere just looks pretty incredible.”

UTMB and the Comrades Marathon are two of the most competitive ultra races in the world. UTMB lasts several days and covers 171K, Comrades is a little shorter running either 87 and 90K depending on the year. Trail running is gaining popularity and as it does, more road runners will move from the marathon to even longer distances. (Side note: American distance legend Shalane Flanagan has also been seen doing some trail runs lately). It’ll be interesting to see, as more elite roadies make the move, if they can catch the best in the trail running business.

Jim Walmsley is a great example of a runner who has been successful at every running discipline – but his dominance lies on the trails. Walmsley made his road marathon debut at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trails. His run there was hyped as one of the most exciting storylines, with some going so far as to claim he had an outside shot at the Olympic team. Walmsley ran extremely well (a 2:15 on the insanely hilly Atlanta course is no small feat) to finish 22nd – a far cry from an Olympic berth, but an impressive debut nonetheless.

While Linden is looking to one day attempt a reverse-Walmsley, and it’ll be interested to watch her trajectory. She could help runners answer the age-old question of: do road results translate to the trails?

Are Virtual Races the New Normal?

“Virtual racing is where it’s at. It’s the future of racing with this pandemic looming over our heads. If you want to make money, then you might want to consider converting your events to virtual instead of simply cancelling them.”

The argument in my brain ensued. I found myself pondering, “Virtual races aren’t really the new normal, are they?”

Virtual races have been around for the better part of a decade. I’m not oblivious to that. In fact, virtual races make for an excellent fundraising platform. Since the pandemic hit and our world turned upside down, the fate of races across the globe was sealed for the foreseeable future.

For the obvious reasons, not only have virtual races filled a void in these unprecedented times, but they have kept the supply chain of swag and buckle manufacturers afloat — along with providing race directors with employment. In some sectors, virtual races have created employment opportunities. For runners among us that have been met with disappointment from event cancelations, virtual races have provided an incredible outlet to fill that void and keep runners engaged and motivated and perhaps, even less anxious at the state of our world today.

Some would say virtual races have created (or transformed) social media communities, where novice and experienced runners alike have found inspiration and validation for their effort — no matter how big or small. Virtual races have also engaged people to perhaps pick up a pair of running shoes for the first time, lace up, and join the global community of runners, even if their motivation to do so has simply been driven by a shirt, medal or online bragging rights.

At the end of the day, whatever it takes to preserve our sanity and keep us moving is a good thing. And maybe, just maybe, when all this is over, our running community will have gained a few members for life from this surge in virtual races.

But the diehards among us would argue that virtual races will never replace the deep-rooted community, electric energy at the start of a race and the exhaustion and exhilaration of the finish line. There’s the sound of cowbells, people cheering and seeing friends and family as you come bounding across the finish line—your face marred with dirt as every ounce of your body screams for you to stop. But you’ve endured 32 hours of unrelenting terrain for 100 miles and willed yourself to complete what you started. The buckle or medal that you receive is only the cherry on your sundae!

The unpredictability of race day includes variables like weather, trail conditions and how your body reacts to the highs and lows that come with running an ultra, such as the unknown terrain. Then there are people you meet along the way, the community of runners and volunteers who make racing all worth it. All of this, plus the stories that we get to tell, and the friendships and bonds we make that shape who we’ve become. With each ultra-distance race, we weave a small piece of fabric that forever becomes a part of the large tapestry that we call the ultrarunning community.

None of this can be replaced by virtual races. Virtual races are a great placeholder, but a placeholder nonetheless — not the new normal. So, run all the virtual events you want until we resume real life racing, but don’t fool yourself into believing that virtual races are the future of running. At least, for my personal sanity, I hope that’s not the case!

16-Year-Old Rheinhardt Harrison Runs 4:01.34 At Music City Distance Carnival

Rheinhardt Harrison's kick is no secret.

Over the past few seasons in Florida and beyond, the Nease (FL) High School student-athlete has built a strong tradition on finishing hard across a variety of distances.

But on Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee, the 16-year-old athlete took that strength to a new level, accomplishing an incredible milestone as he scored a new sophomore class record in the full mile with an official time of 4:01.34 at the Music City Distance Carnival at Lipscomb Academy.

Harrison's full performance, which saw a 57.35 second last lap, surpassed Edward Cheserek's former mark of 4:03.29, which was last accomplished in 2011. The mark also landed a new 16-year-old age group record, passing Nathan Green's mark of 4:06.20, which the current Borah High School senior accomplished in 2019.

As this track meet was held on the back end of the 2020 track and field season, Harrison's mark still goes down as a sophomore class record, even though he's within days of beginning his junior high school season.

The performance was in part derived from the field around Harrison, as five men broke four minutes in the mile, including winner Kieren Tuntivate, a Harvard graduate who set a new Thailand national record with a time of 3:57.87.

Harrison was in eighth after the first lap before making his way down to sixth overall, netting a new Florida state record. The time is a current US No. 2 effort.

Of note, particularly, is Harrison's progression from his last race in June, when the Floridian ran 4:09.79 for the full mile at the Desert Dream Last Hurrah Invitational.

But perhaps training has begun to fully kick into gear under Tom Schwartz, the coach of the Tinman Elite professional group in Boulder, Colorado. Schwartz has long coached talented young distance runners, though in recent weeks he's formed a junior group, the Tinman Junior Elite, of which Harrison is a part of.

The Nease athlete was one of a handful of athletes under that junior training group competing on Saturday.

She came agonizingly close.

But few would argue the Moses Brown (RI) School freshman, who is just 15 years old, didn't continue to impress, lowering her personal record under 2:03 as she finished fifth overall in a professional field in a time of 2:02.97.

Biding her time over the first lap, the Rhode Islander ran 60-flat before following in a rather remarkable 62-second quarter, hitting her last 200m in 31 seconds.

While Gorriaran didn't surpass the rather outrageous freshman and 15-year-old age group records, she once again lowered her US No. 1 and re-set her own Rhode Island state record in the process.

Kipyego posts a sub-1:50: Finding himself in Heat 2 of the men's 800m, Darius Kipyego was on a mission.

But while the St. Raphael Academy (RI) junior didn't break 1:48, he did claim another sub-1:50 performance, netting a time of 1:49.98, which secured his second performance under that barrier this season.

Kipyego is now one of just two athletes -- John Lester being the other -- to have run under 1:50 twice over the 2020 season. Kipyego, however, accomplished that feat in two legitimate races, while Lester secured his second performance in a time trial.

Judson Greer goes sub-14:30 in The 5K: Melissa's Judson Greer was aiming for a special performance in the 5K on Saturday.

And the Texan certainly accomplished that feat, posting a US No. 3 time of 14:28.70 in a men's professional field.

Only Nico Young -- who ran 13:50.55 in June, which was the No. 4 fastest performance in high school history -- and Matthew Farrell (14:25.23) ran faster in 2020. Greer's performance will go down as No. 44 all-time for the distance and the No. 1 junior performance of the year.

Greer, like Harrison, is coached by Tom Schwartz of Tinman Elite. Jack Scherer, a high school junior from Oshkosh North in Wisconsin, went 14:45.88.

Lynn Rathjen of Grand Island broke the American age-group record in the mile August 9th

Lynn Rathjen, a high school cross-country coach and retired physical therapist in Grand Island, Nebraska, has been running consistently for the past 40 years. But he didn’t give a whole lot of thought to setting age-group records until his son, Andrew, looked them up.

As Rathjen was approaching a new age category—he turned 75 in January—a few marks suddenly looked attainable. He signed up for the USATF indoor and outdoor masters championships, with the goal of gunning down some fast times.

Then COVID-19 intervened, canceling the races Rathjen had targeted. But on August 9, at the socially distanced Lincoln Mile in Nebraska, he got his shot—and set an American 75–79 record for the road mile, running 5:59.18.

Rathjen took more than 17 seconds off the previous record, 6:17, set by multi-time masters champion Doug Goodhue in 2017. Rathjen ran mostly evenly, he said, hitting 3:00 for the half-mile split, slowing slightly on his third quarter, and finishing strong.

“I had a good sprint at the end,” he said, “and I could see the overhead big clock, which was a motivator in getting under 6:00.”

Rathjen was a strong high school runner, but he gave up the sport until he was about 35. Since then, he’s been running consistently, but never with high mileage—he rarely exceeds 20 miles per week in an effort to preserve his good health. In his practice as a physical therapist, he saw many runners who progressed too quickly from beginners to the marathon over the course of a year or two, before sidelining themselves with debilitating injuries.

Runners in their 70s who stick to the track and shorter distances on the roads continue to rewrite the American age-group records books. It’s not just the celebrity marathoners, like Gene Dykes and Jeannie Rice, who are lowering times; athletes like Patton, Goodhue, and Paul Perry, who earlier this year ran fast times indoor times for the 3,000 meters and mile at the Armory in New York, are finding success as well.

European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway set his second European record of the season in the 1500m with 3:28.68 in the Monaco Diamond League on Friday

After breaking the European 2000m record with 4:50.01 at the Impossible Games in Oslo where he had the advantage of being paced by his brothers, Ingebrigtsen was racing against not only his older brother Filip but also the reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot from Kenya who was decisively beaten by the Ingebrigtsens in the virtual head-to-head clash between Oslo and Nairobi.

Aided by his training partners who were acting as his pacemakers, Cheruiyot blazed through the early stages in an unfathomably fast pace on his unofficial season’s debut. These exertions appeared to be catching up on the world champion as the pack closed up on Cheruiyot at the bell with Ingebrigtsen looming into view and Great Britain’s Jake Wightman also rounding into contention.

Ingebrigtsen was in position to strike off the final bend but the forward-leaning Cheruiyot kicked away again, holding the Norwegian off to win in a world leading 3:28.45 after an overly exuberant first 400 meters of 52.59. In contrast Ingebrigtsen ran a much more steady paced race and was rewarded with a phenomenally fast time of 3:28.68.

Ingebrigtsen’s time eclipsed Mo Farah’s European record of 3:28.81 which was set in the same stadium seven years ago and the teenager moves to eighth on the world all-time list which is still headed by Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record of 3:26.00.

“I felt like I kept the same pace...going from 3:30 to 3:28 it's double the achievement. It's crazy,” said Ingebrigtsen whose previous lifetime best stood at 3:30.16.

Ingebrigtsen was gearing up for not only his Olympic debut in Tokyo as well as the now-cancelled European Championships in Paris where more continental honors must have surely beckoned. Despite the decimation of the summer calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, motivation has by no means been lacking for the ebullient and popular Norwegian.

“This year I have been doing every session, I never skipped a single one because I was very motivated after Doha. That's why I can run this fast. It's unbelievable to run this fast in one race. It's one shot, one chance,” he said.

The Stade Louis II Stadium is the foremost venue for middle distance runners searching for fast times. Behind Ingebrigtsen, Wightman moved to fourth on the European all-time list - ahead of both Sebastian Coe (3:29.77) and Steve Cram (3:29.67) among others - with a marvelous lifetime best of 3:29.47.

Filip Ingebrigtsen, who had to concede the family record of 3:30.01 to Jakob tonight, almost matched his lifetime best with 3:30.35 in fourth. Reigning European indoor champion Marcin Lewandowski from Poland was seventh in 3:33.99.

Ohme Road Race to skip 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis

The organizers of the Ohme 30 km Road Race have announced that next year’s 55th edition scheduled for 21 February will not be held, with the next planned running bumped back one year.

Organizers cited the difficulty of ensuring safety and security during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. “We have carefully discussed the situation with the different organizations involved, but given the nature of a large-scale event with 20,000 participants we decided that it would not be possible to do it in a safe and secure way at this point,” they explained. The Ohme-Hochi event is the largest 30km race in the world.

The 2020 event was held in February amid concerns that it should be cancelled in the midst of the initial spread of the coronavirus in Tokyo, but with measures including the use of masks and disinfectants and a ban on high-fiving it was held without incident.

One of Japan’s most popular races, Ohme joins the Marugame Half Marathon, the Kumanichi 30 km, and six Japanese marathons with fields of over 8000 in already cancelling next year’s race. Ohme was previously cancelled in 1996, 2008 and 2014 – all due to heavy snow.

Six-year-old runs marathon to raise money for teacher's illness

Poppy Maxwell is running a full marathon to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Poppy Maxwell, a Year 2 student from Yaxley, took on the challenge on July 18 after her favourite teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer. On route to finish the race by August 14th, she has already raised over £2,000 for the life-saving charity.

Poppy, whose mother, Amy, is also a runner, has been pounding the pavements regularly since last summer. The budding athlete had initially planned to run 10km in 10 days, but after much consideration, she settled on a longer project – 42km over the course of her summer holidays.

'I wanted to challenge myself and I knew a marathon would be hard, but I wanted to try and raise lots of money,' Poppy tells Runner’s World UK.

While the experience has been mostly enjoyable so far, it has not been without its obstacles.

'Running when it’s hot is really hard!' Poppy admits. The young runner also finds the long stretches tough, taking walking breaks when needed to cover the distance.

Despite these struggles, Poppy stays focused by varying up her routes and running with the support of her family. 'We run in different places including Holkham beach and on trails,' reveals Amy.

Initially ‘a bit apprehensive’ about Poppy’s marathon, Amy and dad Gary have since been blown away by their daughter’s perseverance. 'We've been impressed with her determination and she never complains (unless it's hot!)' Amy says.

Poppy also knows that to complete the marathon, she needs to follow every runner’s favourite training rule – carb up. 'I like to eat pasta, mashed potato and apple Soreen. I want to be a strong runner,' she says.

With just days to go until she finishes her marathon, Poppy is already thinking of her next running goal. 'I'd like to get a new Junior parkrun PB and when I'm older I'd like to start my own Junior parkrun.'

This doctor ran 22 miles wearing a face mask to prove they don’t affect oxygen levels

'I feel for the people who don’t like wearing them, but this is one of the things that’s going to help us.

There’s no shortage of excuses that people give for not wearing a face mask while exercising during the coronavirus pandemic: Face masks are cumbersome, they’re uncomfortable, and they make it hard to breathe.

Many people have even subscribed to the myth that masks actually deplete oxygen levels while working out. But Tom Lawton, an intensive care doctor, recently disproved that theory by testing it out himself—all while nearly completing a marathon.

'I work in intensive care, I know physiology so I knew that this wasn’t true,' he told CTV News.

His goal: to run a 35K (about 21.74 miles) around his hometown of Bradford, while wearing a face mask and tracking his oxygen levels.

'I thought: How can I demonstrate it? How can I reassure people who would like to do their bit and wear a mask but are scared?' Lawton told CTV News.

Lawton monitored his oxygen levels during his entire run using a pulse oximeter to track actual data of how the mask impacted his breathing. He checked his oxygen levels every half hour during his run, and noted that any reading above a reading 95 percent was considered 'normal.'

'The [reading was] 98 to 99 all the time, completely normal oxygen levels all the way,' he says. Translation: He had no breathing problems during his entire run.

'It’s certainly unpleasant, and I feel for the people who don’t like wearing them, but this is one of the things that’s going to help us,' he said.

Looking for a super-breathable face mask? Here are some of the best face masks for running and outdoor workouts.

Runner Courtney Dauwalter’s record attempt on Colorado Trail stopped after hospitalization

The ultrarunner was diagnosed with acute bronchitis

Courtney Dauwalter’s attempt to break a record along the Colorado Trail has ended — for now — due to acute bronchitis.

Dauwalter, 35, of Golden, had stepped onto the start of the Colorado Trail in Durango Wednesday at 2 p.m. with a goal to run the 486 miles to Denver in record time.

Her husband Kevin Schmidt wrote on her Instagram Monday around 6 a.m. that Dauwalter was wheezing in the crew’s RV that morning, so her crew decided to take her to an emergency room in Leadville.

According to her Garmin GPS, she stopped running east of Twin Lakes, which would mean she had completed more than 300 miles of the 486-mile trail in a little more than five days.

Run Rabbit Run canceled due to COVID-19

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Run Rabbit Run, the ultra running race known around the nation, has been canceled, according to a release from race directors.

“While you’re running, you’re socially distanced, but there’s a lot of other factors involved from bringing people from all over, aid stations, volunteers, the community,” said race co-founder Paul Sachs. “Ultimately, it was not the safe or right thing to do this year. We’ll be back next year.”

The announcement explained that directors put together a strict mitigation plan for racing but ultimately couldn’t get a team of medical providers to commit.

All 2020 registrants have been bumped to 2021, which might cause some longterm backup for those on the waiting list. Run Rabbit Run and other ultra races are popular and already have long lists of people hoping to run. With the way permitting works, Run Rabbit Run can’t accommodate any more runners.

“We deferred everybody to next year, so we’re full already,” Sachs said. “I expect some people will drop out, but the reality is there won’t be many open slots.”

A similar situation is occurring in Silverton.

The Hard Rock 100, another famous Colorado ultra marathon, was canceled due to COVID-19. This is the second consecutive year the Hard Rock 100 will not happen, as it was canceled due to snow last summer.

Don’t throw out your neck gaiters just yet

No, a neck gaiter isn't worse than no face covering at all

Earlier this week we posted a story called, “Runners: stop wearing a neck gaiter as a mask” based on research out of Duke University. Since publishing that story, several outlets have reported on the study’s findings, clarifying that while it is true that the neck gaiter allowed more droplets to pass through it in their study (even when compared to no mask at all) the purpose of the study to refine testing methods, and the results should not be taken as gospel.

This seems like a small distinction, but makes a big difference when interpreting the results. As was reported in Quartz, “Without comparing this new droplet-measuring method to existing methods, it shouldn’t be used to completely rule out buffs as a face covering.” Basically, this means that if the researchers’ new testing method is sound, the mask ranking might be as well. But without further studies on their testing method, their rankings need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Two scientists who participated in the study told Wired that this was never intended to be a definitive mask ranking. While they did discover that the neck gaiters created smaller droplets that they believe could stay airborne for longer, they can’t be sure what this means for COVID-19 transmission just yet. “What we don’t want people taking away is: ‘This mask will work. This will not.’ It’s not a guide to masks. It is a demonstration of a new, simple methodology for quickly and somewhat crudely visualizing the effect of a mask,” said Martin Fischer

The takeaway is that there are likely more effective masks than the neck gaiter, but it’s still better than nothing. Runners should continue to cover their faces indoors, and outdoors when they’re unable to socially distance. If you want to take extra precautions, double-layer your neck gaiter or opt for a cloth mask instead.

World Athletics Issues Reminder About Their Amended Shoe Rules Which Went Into Affect Two Weeks Ago

As more athletes around the world return to the track for national championships, one-day meetings and other record-breaking attempts, World Athletics has issued a reminder to Area Associations and Member Federations today about the recently introduced Rule 5, governing competition shoes.

The amended rule, which puts a sole height limit of 25mm on all shoes worn in track events of 800m and above in distance (including Steeplechase), came into force on 28 July 2020, when it was published.

The rule does not prevent a road running shoe from being worn on the track but a 30mm or 40mm road running shoe cannot be worn for track events because of the 25mm limit.

As this is a transition period, all results currently in the World Athletics database will be processed, but any result of an individual athlete who has worn non-compliant shoes for the race will be marked “Uncertified” (“TR5.5”).

In the case of National Championships and other domestic competitions, for results to be validated and recognised by World Athletics for statistics purposes, such competitions must be held under World Athletics Technical Rules and Competition Rules.

This means that Rule 5 of the Technical Rules must be applied in full for the competition results to be recognised by World Athletics as valid.

To preserve the integrity of national records and statistics, the responsibility lies with the Member Federation to ensure that all athletes, officials and competition organisers are fully aware that Rule 5 of the Technical Rules will be applied in full.

If a Member Federation or competition organiser permits an athlete to compete in non-compliant shoes, then the athlete’s individual results from the competition will be marked in World Athletics’ records and statistics as ‘Uncertified (‘TR5.5’) i.e. invalid. In some cases, this may apply to the entire race.

Results achieved before 28 July, where an athlete has worn a shoe above the current track limits, are valid provided the results were achieved in shoes that complied with the sole thicknesses in the previous rule. For example, if an athlete wore 40mm non-spike shoe on the track or 30mm spike between 31 January 2020 and the notification and publication of change of rules on 28 July 2020, then the competition result is valid.

The list of shoes that were submitted to World Athletics by manufacturers for assessment, and have been approved, will be published on World Athletics’ website shortly to assist Athletes, Member Federations, Technical Officials and meeting organisers.

Lots of fast times in Monaco including a new 5000m world record

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei broke a 16-year-old world record in the 5000m by nearly two seconds, clocking 12:35.36 in Monaco on Friday.

Cheptegei, the 2019 World 10,000m champion who reportedly needed 80 hours to travel from Uganda for the Diamond League meet, took 1.99 seconds off Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele‘s world record from 2004. Bekele is also the 10,000m world-record holder and the second-fastest marathoner in history.

“It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year because so many people are staying at home, but you have to stay motivated,” Cheptegei said, according to organizers. “I pushed myself, I had the right staff with me, the right coach.”

Cheptegei, 23, came into Monaco as the 73rd-fastest man in history with a personal best of 12:57.41. But he declared before the meet that the world record was his goal, given he had no Olympics or world championships to peak for this year.

“It is very difficult to run any world record,” was posted on the Instagram of Bekele, who is part of the NN Running Team with Cheptegei. “Congratulations to my teammate [Cheptegei].”

The Diamond League next moves to Stockholm on Aug. 23.

In other events Friday, Noah Lyles easily won a 200m after raising a black-gloved first before the start. More on Lyles’ gesture and victory here.

Donavan Brazier extended a year-plus 800m win streak, clocking 1:43.15 and holding off countryman Bryce Hoppel by .08. Brazier won his last seven meets, including national, world and Diamond League titles in 2019, when he broke a 34-year-old American record.

Olympic silver medalist Orlando Ortega of Spain won the 110m hurdles in 13.11 seconds, overtaking world champion Grant Holloway. Holloway, who won worlds in 13.10 last autumn, finished fourth in 13.19.

Timothy Cheruiyot followed his 2019 World title by clocking his second-fastest 1500m ever. The Kenyan recorded 3:28.45, holding off Norwegian 19-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who set a European record of 3:28.68.

Sifan Hassan, the world’s top female distance runner, dropped out of the 5000m with two and a half laps left while in the lead pack. Two-time world champion Hellen Obiri won in 14:22.12, surging past Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey on the final lap.

Karsten Warholm ran the joint eighth-fastest 400m hurdles in history, a 47.10 against a field that lacked rivals Rai Benjamin and Abderrahman Samba. Warholm, the two-time world champion, ranks second in history with a personal best of 46.92, trailing only American Kevin Young‘s 46.78 from the 1992 Olympics.

American Lynna Irby won her Diamond League debut with a 50.50 in the 400m. Irby, the second-fastest American in 2018, failed to make the 2019 World team. On Friday, she beat Wadeline Jonathas, the top American in 2019.

Joshua Cheptegei smashes 5000m world record in Monaco Diamond league

Joshua Cheptege is the new 5000m world record in a time of 12:35:36.He broke kenenisa Bekele record that stood out for 16 years with 2 seconds.He was followed in adistance by Kimeli from kenya 12:51:78 and Krop 13:11:32.

The 5km world record holder of 12:51 was pace by two pacekars making him crossed the first lap 60.00 inside world record.The pacers were lead by 24 years Uganda Kissa who helped him crossed 1000m in 2:31:7 which was almost world record tempo compared to Bekele's 2:33:2.

He looked comfortable maintaining every km in 2:31:3-9.The world record was in severe threat when he maintain every 400m under 61 seconds as he look calm and relaxed.His super running made him run every mile faster than Bekele when he broke world record.

The fastest lap that he ran was 59 seconds making him one of the tactical athlete in the world. .He looked full of energy when crossed the finish  smiling  while stopping the watch.Kimeli managed to run his pb of 12:51.

Almost 10,000 participants are expected in the New Balance Falmouth Road Race At-Home Edition Kicks Off on Saturday

Almost 10,000 participants are expected in the New Balance Falmouth Road Race At-Home Edition, which begins Saturday – the birthday of late race founder Tommy Leonard – and continues through August 29.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, 9,482 people had registered, from 45 states plus the District of Columbia and nine countries – England, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Australia and Spain as well as the U.S.

“Although the road from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights will be quiet this year, being able to share our race with those who otherwise might not get to experience the Falmouth spirit is definitely a plus,” said Scott Ghelfi, president of the Falmouth Road Race, Inc. board of directors.

Among those entered are 719 families of three or four, and 45 wheelchair athletes. The oldest registrant is 97-year-old Helen Richards, of Coral Gables, Florida, who is running for The Boston House, a nonprofit. As of Wednesday, the 1,629 participants in the race’s Numbers for Nonprofits Program had already raised $1.2 million for Massachusetts-based charities.

“We’re especially proud to be able to continue helping nonprofits in these difficult times, when other fund-raising avenues have narrowed even as the needs have grown,” said Ghelfi.

Wearing Bib #1, which is usually awarded to either the defending champion or the fastest pro runner in the field, this year will be worn by Phil Svahn of Austin, Texas, for being the top fund-raiser in the race’s Numbers for Nonprofits Program. Svahn has raised $7,850 for the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation.

Also taking part in the At-Home Edition will be Ben Flanagan, the 2018 New Balance Falmouth Road Race champion; Abdi Abdirahman, a five-time Olympian and longtime Falmouth competitor; Diane Nukuri, the 2015 Falmouth champion and a fan favorite here; and Molly Seidel, who recently made the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team. The four will also square off in a Zoom scavenger hunt.

And on August 23 at 10 a.m. EDT, wheelchair athletes will participate in an event to be streamed on Facebook Live. Details on both the scavenger hunt and wheelchair event will be announced soon.

The 48th running of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race will be celebrated as a virtual event beginning on Saturday and concluding on August 29, with runners covering 7 miles in their own neighborhoods any time in that period. Registration will be available at falmouthroadrace.com throughout the event.

Nick Willis, Emma Coburn, Cory McGee, Ce’Aira Brown And Morgan McDonald Among Those Competing At The Music City Distance Carnival

Putting on an invitational track meet in the United States is hard in the best of times, but is nearly impossible during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Meeting the USA Track & Field requirements for a COVID-safe meet are very difficult, never mind getting adequate sponsorship in the middle of a recession, attracting the attention of top athletes who are hunkered down at home just trying to stay safe, and having to stay within state and local regulations for in-person gatherings. Large crowds aren’t permitted anywhere, so you can forget about revenue from ticket sales.

But Dave Milner of the Nashville Track Club is an especially determined meet director. The 49 year-old coach and former athlete, originally from Leeds, England, was determined to hold the 18th edition of the Music City Distance Carnival this year, and do it at a high level despite the crisis. After several delays, countless hours of work, and a little bit of good luck, his meet is set to go this Saturday in Nashville and will feature top-level athletes with Olympic or World Championships credentials like Ben Flanagan of Canada; Nick Willis of New Zealand; Edose Ibadin of Nigeria; Morgan McDonald of Australia; and Emma Coburn, Cory McGee, and Ce’Aira Brown of the United States.

Milner started the process of re-thinking the meet when the COVID crisis first struck in March.

“The meet is typically end of May, beginning of June,” Milner told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview today. He continued: “When all of this stuff happened in early March I was still optimistic that I could get it done that weekend. Nobody knew then how bad it was going to be.”

But as the virus spread in the United States, especially in the south, keeping the meet on it’s normal date became impossible. Milner first tried for a one-month delay, thinking at the time that it would be adequate.

“I pushed it back to the end of June, still thinking, yeah, we can have the meet,” Milner said. He was in communication with USA Track & Field about the new requirements for battling the spread of COVID and thought that staging the meet was doable in that time frame. He had a core set of training groups which had traditionally sent athletes to the meet including Team Boss in Boulder, the Atlanta Track Club, and the Under Armour District Track Club in Washington, D.C., and he felt he could count on those athletes for 2020.

But Milner had another big problem: securing a venue. The meet had usually been staged at Vanderbilt University, but that wasn’t an option this year.

“I was having a hard time trying to find a venue,” Milner said. “Vanderbilt, where the meet usually is, didn’t really want to have anything to do with it. I foresaw that early and started speaking to other venues as early as April.”

Eventually, Lipscomb Academy agreed to host the meet, and Milner decided to push the date back much further to increase the chances that athletes would be in shape and that he wouldn’t have to delay it again. He also wanted his meet to fall into a sequence with the two other meets planned for the southern region, Sir Walter Miler in Raleigh, N.C., (scheduled for August 7, but ultimately cancelled), and the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis (scheduled for August 22).

Milner also caught another break. Swiss shoe company On, which just launched a new USA training group in Boulder under coach Dathan Ritzenhein, decided to come on board as a sponsor. To give his new sponsor the best exposure, Milner wanted the meet to have a free, live broadcast. Working with timing and meet production consultant Cody Branch from PrimeTime Timing, the meet will be broadcast live via YouTube with commentary (link to be posted on the meet website at runmcdc.org).

“We really felt there was an opportunity to hit this out of the park from a production stance,” Milner said enthusiastically. He added: “It will be live and free, which I think people will be thrilled about.”

On Saturday, access to the track will be tightly controlled. The athletes (except high school athletes) have to demonstrate that they have had two negative COVID tests since August 8 in order to compete, and the tests have to be at least 24 hours apart. Athletes must present proof of the negative tests before they will be allowed to compete, and most are emailing those results in advance of their arrival to the track at Lipscomb. Event staff and officials will have to wear masks at all times, and the athletes will have to wear masks while they are not warming up, competing or cooling down. The races are spaced out wider than usual on the schedule because competitors must leave the track completely before athletes running the next race are allowed onto the track. Milner also has to follow state guidelines to control the total number of people who are in the stadium.

“As far as the total number of people at the event, we’re allowed 250 at any given time,” Milner said. “We’re asking people not to show up for their event more than 90 minutes beforehand. And we’re asking people after they run to leave, please. We’re not encouraging people to stick around and watch the meet.”

Milner has organized some excellent races for Saturday, despite the lack of prize money. Many athletes will be trying to earn qualifying marks for next year’s USA Olympic Team Trials (standards are here: https://bit.ly/3kDXDlb). The two 1500m races may be the best with top athletes like McGee, Yolanda Ngarambe of Sweden, Coburn, Katie Mackey and Emily Lipari in the women’s section, and Abraham Alvarado, Willy Fink, Sam Prakel, Ollie Hoare and McDonald of Australia, and Carlos Villarreal of Mexico in the men’s. Milner is hoping for the fastest time on U.S. soil for this year (currently 3:34.53 by Britain’s Josh Kerr in Newberg, Oregon, on July 31).

“That race is stacked,” said Milner of the men’s 1500m. “We’re pacing it for 3:33-high pace.”

Russian Athletics Federation pays fine to World athletics to avoid expulsion

Russian Athletics Federation, known as RusAF, confirmed on Wednesday that they have paid the 6.3 million U.S. dollars fine with the help from the country's sports ministry in order to avoid expulsion from the World Athletics.

RusAF said in a statement that it had paid the World Athletics fine "in the full amount" and they agree with a policy of "zero tolerance on doping", and they are looking for "an opportunity to begin the process of reinstating membership in World Athletics."

"World Athletics can confirm it has today received the funds to settle RusAF's two outstanding payments," World Athletics said in a statement.

World Athletics announced in late July that it would expel RusAF if it does not make the outstanding payments of a five million U.S. dollars fine and 1.31 million U.S. dollars in costs for breaching anti-doping rules before August 15.

The RusAF was fined 10 million U.S. dollars in March, with half of that sum suspended. It has already missed the first deadline to pay on July 1, and then the World Athletics governing body decided to put on hold the process of granting Authorized Neutral Athlete (ANA) status for Russian athletes who want to compete internationally.

The Russian athletics has been suspended since 2015, and its athletes missed the 2016 Rio Olympics.

18-year-old Max Burgin runs 1:44 UK U20 800m record at Trafford

Max Burgin made quite a statement in his first race of the summer as the 18-year-old stormed to a British under-20 800m record (awaiting ratification) at the British Milers’ Club meeting in Trafford on Tuesday evening.

Clocking 1:44.75, Burgin improved on his own national age-group record mark of 1:45.36 which he ran as a 17-year-old last year.

Before that, David Sharpe had held the UK junior record for 33 years with his 1:45.64 recorded in Brussels.

Burgin received a number of awards at the end of last year in recognition of his achievements and in an interview with AW the Halifax athlete said that following a summer which also featured time out through injury, he was hoping for a similar improvement in 2020 to the progress he made in 2019.

The training he has done in lockdown with his dad and coach Ian has clearly paid off, with his time in Trafford leading the European rankings for this summer and putting him second behind Donavan Brazier’s 1:43.84 on this season’s world list.

“It was an ideal season opener, really,” Burgin said in a British Milers’ Club interview.

“I just went for it. A 51-second first lap, exactly on the pace, and then just pushed on from there. Tried to go as fast as possible and came away with a good time.”

On his lockdown training, he added: “I’ve been doing some good training. Obviously it has been a bit disrupted, as has everyone’s training. There was certainly a point a couple of months ago where everything seemed to be up in the air, no one knew what races were going to happen, but we just kept training and working on the assumption that something would come together and we ended up here.”

Finishing second behind Burgin in that 800m A race was George Mills, who ran a PB of 1:47.10.

A number of other athletes also had PB performances, including British indoor under-20 800m record-holder Keely Hodgkinson who ran an outdoor PB of 2:02.85 in the women’s 800m A race, with Georgie Hartigan running an outright PB of 2:03.60 in second and Jess Judd clocking 2:04.58 in third.

Tom Dodd went quickest in the 1500m races, running a 3:45.56 PB, while Katie Snowden won the women’s A race in 4:13.9.

The 2016 European Youth Championships silver medallist Sabrina Sinha, who has shared her story of struggles with endometriosis over the past few years in the hope it may help others, improved on her four-year-old 1500m PB in the B race, clocking 4:17.17 behind Gemma Kersey with 4:16.34.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon has been Cancelled For 2020

The Human Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon will not be held in Philadelphia this year or next year.

Organizers say the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to cancel until further notice.

“With the health and safety of our community being an utmost priority, and in alignment with local authorities in relation to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia cannot take place in 2020. We also regret to advise that we cannot operate the event in 2021,” organizers announced Wednesday.

There is no word on when the event will resume in Philadelphia. Officials say they are continuing to evaluate possible future events in the area.

The run, which also takes place throughout the U.S. and in other countries, has also been canceled or modified in other areas.

The pandemic has also forced organizers of the Broad Street Run to postpone the event until October 2020.

St. George Marathon cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus

Citing concerns related to the potential spread of COVID-19 and the challenge of providing adequate health and safety protections for race participants and volunteers, the city has canceled the 2020 St. George Marathon, which was originally scheduled for Oct. 3.

“This was a difficult decision for us to make. We have enjoyed 43 consecutive years of this race, which has become one of the crown jewels of the marathon circuit,” Michelle Graves, race director for the St. George Marathon, said in a press release.

“However, the health and safety of our runners, volunteers, staff members and residents outweighed the potential benefits of moving forward with this year’s race.”

As the St. George Marathon advertised at the outset of the registration period in April, each registered participant has the option for a full refund or deferral to the 2021 St. George Marathon.

All registered participants have been contacted via email conveying their options. The next St. George Marathon is set for Oct. 2, 2021.

“We really tried to make this work out. We are sad that we won’t have a race this year, but we are beyond excited for the 2021 version of the St. George Marathon,” race operations director Nikelle Pledger said.

“We look forward to our great runners, effervescent volunteers and feeling of accomplishment that comes with the St. George Marathon.”

Africa Cross Country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli to chase best time in Monaco Diamond League

Africa Cross Country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli will be chasing a new personal best over 5,000m when he parades at this weekend's  Monaco Diamond League meeting.

Kimeli, who will be marshalling forces with Africa junior 5,000m silver medalist Jacob Krop, will also be chasing his maiden win in the series since he made his debut in 2018.

The two-time Maria Soti cross country winner, who has a personal best of time 12:57.20 set in 2019 at the Helglo Track, said the series will be part of his training ahead of the postponed Olympic Games.

“This pandemic has taken us  off our expectations for the season. However, I will do my best to ensure that I get good results in Monaco, hoping to register my maiden win,” said the Ndalat Gaa cross country winner.

He said he is still not sure what to expect after training alone for long in adherence to government protocols in curbing the spread of coronavirus.

“Since there were no open stadia for speed work, I used to do long runs and fartlek under coach Patrick Sang,” he said.

“My running system will also be determined by weather conditions, which is very crucial for any athlete. I hope it will favour Kenyan runners in Europe.”

Kimeli was part of the World Athletics Championships, held in Doha, Qatar, competing in 5,000m where he finished fifth in the final.

2020 Mainova Frankfurt Marathon scrapped over coronavirus concerns

The Frankfurt Marathon on Tuesday became the latest sports event to succumb to the coronavirus pandemic with organizers announcing this year's race, scheduled for October 25, has been cancelled.

"Set against the hardship which this worldwide pandemic has inflicted, the cancellation of a sports event is of minor significance," said race director Jo Schindler.

"We have not taken this step lightly and have done our utmost to find solutions.

"Now we have to face the cold reality that cancellation is inevitable."

The Frankfurt event, held annually since 1981, is the second-biggest in Germany behind the Berlin Marathon. Some 27,000 runners took part in 2019.

This year's Berlin Marathon, traditionally held in September, has already been cancelled.

Kenya's Wilson Kipsang holds the Frankfurt course record of two hours, 03:42 in 2011.

The 2019 men's race was won by Ethiopia's Fikre Tefera, while Kenya's Valary Aiyabei set a new course record of 2:19:10 in the women's event.

Schneider Electric Paris marathon has been cancelled as COVID-19 cases pick up in France

This year's Paris marathon has been cancelled, organizers said on Wednesday, as France battles against a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus.

The marathon was originally due to take place on April 5 but had been postponed to Nov. 15 because of the pandemic.

"After having tried everything to maintain the event, we, alongside the City of Paris, feel obliged to cancel the 2020 edition of the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris and the Paris Breakfast Run," organizers said in a statement.

"Faced with the difficulty that many runners, especially those coming from abroad, had in making themselves available... it was decided that it would be better... for those concerned if we organized the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris in 2021.

"We will be working side-by-side with the City of Paris to put on a 2021 edition that brings together the most passionate runners on the most beautiful streets in the world."

The Paris marathon, one of the most popular events on the global running calendar which routinely attracts over 40,000 participants, is the latest to be disrupted by the worldwide novel coronavirus outbreak.

In June, the New York City Marathon was cancelled while the Boston Marathon was also scrapped for the first time in its 124-year history.

Marathon majors in Berlin and Chicago were also cancelled while the London Marathon, originally set for April, was postponed to Oct. 4 and will be run as an elite-only event.

France has reported over 236,000 infections and more than 30,000 deaths from COVID-19. 

Sifan Hassan of Netherlands is expected to break first World record in Brussels after covid-19 lockdown.

AG Memorial Van Damme Organisers have comfirmed that one-mile record holder will be trying to break at Wanda Diamond league Meeting in Brussels on September 4, 2020.

Wolrd Champion in 1500m and 10 000m is highly expected to break 12 years 18.517km world record in 60 minutes.The record is currently held by Ethiopia's Dire Tune which she set in 2008.She is expected to do it after a difficult situation of covid-19 that has affected the entire world.During her interview about her preparedness, she has  said ; "This is a strange and difficult season , but i have been able to continue with my training as well as i could and i feel fit and healthy.There are very few occasions to compete these days and am delighted with the invitation from AG Memorial Van Damme to attack the one hour world record.It is a strong record but i take the challenge with both hands and i believe that i'm in the right shape to succeed."Said Hassan.

Women world record is familiarised with the place having race several races in Belgium.She set her 3000m national record 2014 and one-mile 2015 in the King Baudouin Stadium.Last year ,she also won 5000m title in Belgian Capital.2019 at her best season, she managed to broke one mile world record 4:12:33 in Monaco,European record in 3000m of 8:18:49 in Stanford and another 5000m European record of 14:22:12 in London.

Men 21.285km that is currently held by Haile Gabreselassie will be great fight between Sir Mo Farah of Britain and Bashir Abdi of Belgium.Sondre Moen who is expected to break Hermen 1975 European record will also be joining men challenge record challenge.

Other event that will take place is 1500m that Norwegian brothers Henrik,Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are going to participate.

No runner had ever run a mile in less than four minutes in the state of Colorado—until now.

In a certified intrasquad time trial on Monday, August 3, Olli Hoare and Joe Klecker, of the newly formed On Athletics Club, became the first two people to ever run a sub-four-minute mile in Colorado, finishing in 3:56:8 and 3:58:4, respectively. This time trial came after only a month of team workouts for the newest pro running group.

Klecker—a standout at the University of Colorado-Boulder, who took second at the 2019 NCAA cross country championships—was the first to sign with the team earlier this summer. On worked to set up the new group around Klecker, considering his input on where the team should be based, who should be the coach, and who else should be on the team.

“[On’s] commitment to this team and to developing top of the line footwear stands out,” Klecker told Runner’s World. “We’ve been going a month and they’ve already sent their product development team out to Boulder, we’ve been on video calls, and they’re listening to what we have to say about the product and team and implementing them. They just rolled out their first spike, and we used their new carbon shoe on the track [Monday night], not the one on the market so far.”

The group is coached by three-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein, who retired from pro running earlier this year. Ritzenhein moved his family from Michigan to Boulder, Colorado, to take on the coaching role.

Eliud Kipchoge will use the Nike Vaporfly, the shoes he used during the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, to defend his London Marathon title

Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will use the Nike Vaporfly Next % — the shoes he used during the Ineos 1:59 Challenge — to defend his London Marathon title on October 4.

At the same time, Kipchoge has welcomed Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele’s challenge at the London Marathon, but hastened to add that “every athlete who will compete in the race is a threat.”

“The shoes have not been banned hence I am looking forward to another great show on them as I seek my fourth victory on the course,” said Kipchoge during the launch of domestic tourism at the Serena Mara in the Maasai Mara, Narok County.

Kipchoge made history on October 12 last year when he became the first man to run a marathon (42 kilometres) in under two hours when he conquered the Ineos 159 Challenge in 1:59.41 using the new Nike Vapour Next % shoes.

Defending women’s London Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei also used similar shoe technology to set the women’s world marathon record in winning the Chicago Marathon in 2:14:04, just a day after Kipchoge’s Vienna exploits.

Then Bekele would come close to breaking Kipchoge’s world marathon record of 2:01:39 set by Kipchoge in Berlin in 2018 by three seconds when he won in Berlin in 2:01:last year. Nike's controversial Vaporfly range was the talk around the world with the feeling that it gave undue advantage to other runners owing to its sole technology. However, World Athletics — the global athletics governing body —  said it will not ban the shoes but would instead institute tighter regulations around high-tech running shoes. Any new shoe technology developed after April 30 this year will have to be available on the open market for four months before an athlete can use it in competition.

World Athletics has also introduced an immediate indefinite ban on any shoes that have a sole thicker than 40 millimetres.

“Everybody is a threat, especially when you are on a running course. Personally, I don’t see everybody less or high,” said Kipchoge adding that the only threat or difference will be the unusual training and competition conditions. “I don’t know what everyone has been doing in training. For sure it will be a different race where it won’t have the usual large field and fans owing to Covid-19 regulations,” said Kipchoge, adding that it will feel good running in London, a course where he won in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Kipchoge said he has been training in Kaptagat, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, in isolation and in small groups but hopes that the government will reopen camps in the next week to enable them to train well.

“This is a non-contact sport and it’s my prayer that the government allows some camps to open,” said Kipchoge, who has occupied himself in reading books. He has also attended over 100 zoom meetings in the last four months from across the world.

World 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will attempt to break the one-hour world record at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on September 4

Organizers of the AG Memorial Van Damme have announced that world 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will attempt to break the one-hour world record at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on September 4.

The Dutch distance runner will have to cover more than 18.517km within 60 minutes to break the record set in 2008 by Ethiopia’s Dire Tune. If she is at her best, that distance should be within Hassan’s capabilities; when she set a half marathon PB of 1:05:15 in 2018, Hassan covered roughly 19.375km during the first hour.

Hassan is familiar with the track in the King Baudouin Stadium. Having set national records there for 3000m in 2014 and the mile in 2015, last year she secured the Diamond League title over 5000m in the Belgian capital. Aside from her unique double at the World Championships in Doha, Hassan’s momentous 2019 season also included a world mile record of 4:12.33 in Monaco, a European 3000m record of 8:18.49 in Stanford, and a European 5000m record of 14:22.12 in London.

“This is a strange and difficult season, but I have been able to continue my training as well as I could and I feel fit and healthy,” said Hassan. “There are very few occasions to compete these days and I am delighted with the invitation from the AG Memorial Van Damme to attack the one hour world record. It is a strong record but I take the challenge with both hands and I believe that I’m in the right shape to succeed.”

An attack on the men’s one-hour world record (Haile Gebreselassie’s 21.285km) had been previously announced with four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah and Belgian Bashir Abdi set to take on the challenge. They will now be joined by Norway’s Sondre Moen, who has set his sights on breaking the European record of 20.944km set by Jos Hermens in 1976.

A men’s 1500m has been added to the programme and it will be headlined by Norwegian brothers Henrik, Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

The 2020 Rock and Roll Madrid Marathon has been cancelled due to COVID-19

The Madrid Marathon has become the latest sporting event to fall victim to the COVID-19 crisis, after race organizers confirmed on Monday that the marathon, which had originally been rescheduled from the end of April to November 15, has been canceled.

In an official statement, organizers said they had taken the decision after "considering the evolution of COVID-19 in the world and after looking at the possible alternatives."

The race, which last year attracted over 8,000 runners, had initially been due to be held on April 26, but was pushed back to November with Spain in lockdown. The statement added that the 2021 event would be held next September 26.

The cancelation of the Madrid Marathon comes a week after that of the Madrid Open tennis tournament, which had been rescheduled to be played from September 12 to 20 after first being postponed from May.

Joshua Cheptegei will be eyeing the 5000 meters winner's prize in Monaco when he returns to the Diamond League this weekend

Unlike previous years, the Diamond League 2020 will not be a structured series of events leading to a final. Due to the coronavirus upheaval, only 11 instead of the planned 15 athletics meetings will take place this season.

There are all signs that Lady Luck will again smile at Cheptegei in the same European city-state where he broke 5km road world record early this year.Cheptegei, together with fellow world champion Halima Nakayi (1000m), Winnie Nannyondo (1000m), and Samuel Kisa (5000m) were flagged off by First Lady and Sports Minister Janet Museveni Saturday.

"Please take care to protect yourselves from COVID-19, remember that self-discipline is a big factor in the fight against this virus. God be with you," said Janet Museveni as she handed the athletes the national flag.

The Ugandans were, according to Monaco procedure, first subjected to a mandatory COVID-19 test.

Steeplechase star Conseslus Kipruto from Kenya failed the test and will accordingly miss the Monaco Diamond League event.The Ugandans left on a Uganda Airlines chartered flight to Nairobi on Saturday, then another to Monaco ahead of the August 14 event.

The race organizers of the Monaco event chartered the flights for the 10 Kenyan and four Ugandan athletes.The men's events in Monaco include 200m, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 110m hurdles, 3,000m steeplechase, and pole vault, while women will compete in 100m, 400 m, 1,000m, 5,000m, triple jump and high jump.

Organizers also confirmed that top athletes including women's world record holder, triple jumper Yulimar Rojas from Venezuela, Dutch 1,500m world champion Sifan Hassan, 10,000m world champion Joshua Cheptegei and French hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will partake of in the events.

On June 26th, the Diamond League canceled its meets in Paris, France, and Eugene, in the United States because of the current restrictions on mass gatherings and international travel due to the coronavirus menace the world over.

Due to the global outbreak of the fatal respiratory disease, the Diamond League season could not start as planned in Doha on April 17.

Meetings have since been canceled in London, Rabat (in Morocco), and Zürich (in Switzerland) which was originally scheduled to host the season finale in September - while other events on the calendar were postponed due to the pandemic.

World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge wants Usain Bolt to visit Kenya

World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has invited the fastest man on earth, Jamaican Usain Bolt to visit Kenya and witness the wildebeest migration, one of the wonders of the world.

“It’s good to invite my good friend Bolt to come and visit to see what is currently happening in Kenya now," Kipchoge said on Sunday during his tour of the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

“He is an all round guy, charming, a great sports ambassador to the world.”

Kipchoge said Bolt, who visited Kenya 11 years ago, is welcomed to come and find out how the baby cheetah he adopted in 2009 is doing. 

“We have the big five- Lions, Leopards, Rhinos, elephants and buffaloes, which are some of the fastest animals in the world then we have the cheetah that is the fastest animal,” said Kipchoge.

“Bolt is the fastest and I will be glad to host him in Nairobi to witness over 2.5 million wildebeest migrating.”

While Bolt holds the 100m and 200m world records of  9.58 and 19.19 seconds, Kipchoge holds the world marathon record of 2:01.39.

Kipchoge, who has been named Kenya tourism ambassador, on Sunday ran with Kenya's game rangers and Masai Morans at the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Narok County.

Kipchoge, who raced over 10km in the wild said he used the race to pay tribute to the game rangers for their efforts in safeguarding the wildlife besides their conservation efforts.

The world Marathon record holder also commended the Morans and their Masai community for being on the forefront not only to preserve their culture that has been a major world attraction, but also the wildlife and environment.

Kipchoge, who has a passion for environment conservation and wildlife said,  “I should have been in Japan to defend my Olympic title and I was ready for it, but Covid-19 happened.”

 “It was a good run that I also wanted to use to bring hope to 47 million Kenyans. I want to tell them that we can’t go down completely and that we can still rise and go up together as a country through running,” said Kipchoge, who will be defending his London Marathon.

European indoor 5000m record-holder Marc Scott stormed to a British record in Barrowford on Saturday evening, clocking 13:20 to just miss the European best at the Podium 5km

European indoor 5000m record-holder runs 13:20 on the road, while triathlete Beth Potter impresses with 15:24 to go fifth UK all-time.

Marc Scott stormed to a British record in Barrowford on Saturday evening, clocking 13:20 to just miss the European best at the Podium 5km.

Alex Yee was also under the previous UK record time of 13:27 which had been set by Nick Goolab in Monaco in February, with the 2018 UK 10,000m champion running 13:26.

Yee’s fellow triathlete Beth Potter was also in impressive form as she won the elite women’s race in 15:24 to move to fifth on the UK all-time list.

World University Games champion Jess Judd was second in 15:36 for a time that puts her joint 10th UK all-time.

Racing on a loop course in Lancashire in blustery conditions, Scott led through the first kilometre in around 2:39 before Omar Ahmed took over at the front and led through 2km in 5:22 from Scott and Yee.

Scott was in the lead again at 3km, which he passed in around 8:03 with Yee and Ahmed close behind, and the eventual winner went through 4km in 10:43, a couple of seconds ahead of Yee.

As Scott crossed the finish line with a British record time on the clock, he also came close to the European best of 13:18 set by France’s Jimmy Gressier in the same Monaco race that Goolab had set the previous top UK mark.

This latest result continues a string of strong performances by US-based Scott, who broke the European indoor 5000m best with 13:08.87 in Boston in February.

CANCER SURVIVOR FULFILLS GOAL OF RUNNING 5K

To his friends and family, Mohawk Valley athlete Jason VenBenschoten of Westmoreland is a walking miracle.

WESTMORELAND, N.Y. - To his friends and family, Mohawk Valley athlete Jason VenBenschoten of Westmoreland is a walking miracle.

Jason suffered a brain hemorrhage due to a cancerous tumor back in 2018. He was in a coma for over a day that doctors thought he wouldn't come out of. When he did, Jason couldn't walk and had trouble with his vision.

Jason registered for this year's Boilermaker Road Race, but because he still struggles with running, Jason couldn't participate in the race virtually without his friends there to make sure he doesn't fall.

So this year he created his own fake (faux) Boilermaker that he called the "Fauxlermaker". Jason said throughout his road to recovery, he couldn't imagine being able to run as he did on Saturday.

"When I woke up from cancer I couldn't walk at all so and the fact that I'm running is a big deal for me," said VenBenschoten.

The 5K (3.1 miles) course began at Jason's house and ended at the 7 Hamlets Brewery in Westmoreland. At the finish line, Jason's friends and family watched as the group of 10 runners crossed the line. A Boilermaker representative was also there to greet him with an honorary 2020 Boilermaker hat and pin.

"It was awfully good of them to come out and give that to me. I never officially ran a race but now I have an official finish," said VenBenschoten.

His wife Bethany VenBenschoten also ran with him and said she couldn't be more proud after all that he's been through.

"Every day, every time he opens his eyes in the morning I'm proud because he went through some of the hardest things anyone would ever have to go through."VenBenschoten.

Jason ended with a time of 37 minutes beating his 45-minute goal. Jason plans on running the Boilermaker next year.

Strength training exercises to improve running efficiency

Strength training is a crucial aspect of a runner’s program. Whether you have Olympic goals or are working towards you first 5K, a strength program has a place in your weekly routine. Brittany Moran, Jess O’Connell and Dylan Wykes are all accomplished runners and knowledgable about the benefits of a strength routine.

Moran is a 2:36 marathoner who’s also a chiropractor out of The Runner’s Academy in Toronto. On top of being a talented marathoner, Moran is a Hyland’s ambassador. Hyland’s Leg Cramp Pills bring runners relief from leg, calf and foot cramps–all of which can interfere with training and competing. Runners want to be their best on race day and one aspect of that is working strength training into their routine. Another aspect of performing at your best is having the necessary tools to succeed, like Hyland’s cramp remedy.

O’Connell also has an impressive running resume. The runner holds a 5,000m personal best of 15:06.44 and is a 2016 Olympian. She is currently training for the 2020 Olympics and has her own coaching business, Grit, on the side. Wykes is a 2012 Olympian in the marathon and the 2019 Canadian 10K champion. The runner is also the co-founder of Mile2Marathon, one of the most successful running clubs in Canada.

Together, this group of three makes up a pretty killer set of running advisors and they’ve broken down the most important (no fuss) strength exercises that runners can do anywhere.

Why strength training?

O’Connell says that runners love running, which can become a problem. She explains, “Runners love running but a lot of them would be well served by adding a strength program. Running is a repetitive motion that follows the path of least resistance, but the path of least resistance isn’t necessarily the best path. Becoming stronger means you can recruit muscles more efficiently which will speed you up and make you less injury prone.”

Activation

Every runner should be doing an activation routine. These are quick neuromusclar routines (about five minutes long) done before any run or weight session that help warm the runner up and get them ready to workout. O’Connell swears by activation and always does 10 reps of each exercise below before she heads out the door. She explains, “With these exercises I’m not looking to build strength, I’m only looking to warm myself up. But, take your time here and be mindful of what you’re trying to activate. Know the intent of the exercise.”

Dead bug

The key to the dead bug is to keep your back as flat as possible. Ideally, you can feel your low back touching the ground through the entire movement. Start at neutral and then extend your opposite arm and opposite leg.

Hip bridge

Start with your back on the ground, knees bent and push your hips towards the sky. Hold there for one to two seconds and lower.

Leg raises

This exercise works your glutes, so make sure they feel engaged through this movement. Start on your side and lift your leg before slowly lowering.

Exercises for marathoners

Wykes explains that a strength program is really helpful to marathoners at the end of their race. “Our strength program focuses on developing good function in the muscles. We do things that help you fire well while you’re running. We want you to get the most out of each muscle.”

But the runner also acknowledges that strength work needs to be functional. Wykes recommends keeping your routine simple, 30 minutes maximum, and making sure everything in your strength routine can be done at home.

Monster walks

The aim of monster walks is to engage your glutes. Start with your legs shoulder width apart in squat position and walk horizontally.

Squats

With squats be sure not to let your knees flare and focus on moving your butt back as opposed to down.

Exercises to improve your running gait

Moran reminds runners that the important areas to strength train are their core and single-leg stability. She says that these exercises don’t need to be fancy, but they do need to be intentional. She recommends working this routine into your post-run plan at least a couple times a week.

Front and side plank

The plank works your core. Be sure to keep your back level and core engaged through the entire 30 second hold.

Bird dog

The bird dog focuses on back strength, because don’t forget, your core includes your back.

Single-leg dead lift

Also known as the hip hinge, this exercises is good for you hamstrings, glutes and overall stability. Start in your a marching A position and then lower your upper body, while raising your back leg. With the marching A, you want to focus on having your toe pointed toward the sky, strong posture through your upper body and an engaged core.

World Athletics amends Olympic qualification timeline for road athletes

Marathoners and race walkers will be able to qualify for Tokyo 2021 as of September 1

World Athletics announced the suspension of Olympic qualification for all athletes until December 1. On Tuesday, this was officially amended for road athletes, and now marathoners and race walkers will be able to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as of September 1. The reason for this change is simply due to the limited number of qualifying opportunities for these athletes ahead of May 31, when the qualification period ends. As it stands now, track and field athletes will still have to wait until December to qualify for the 2021 Olympic Games.

Olympic qualifying

When discussing the decision to move the start of the qualification period up to September, Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, noted the lack of mass participation road races around the world due to COVID-19.

Most of the major marathons have already been cancelled or postponed for the remainder of this year and the evolution of the pandemic makes it difficult to predict if those scheduled for the first half of next year will be able to go ahead,” Coe said. He added that marathoners and race walkers cannot be expected to compete as often as track athletes who run shorter distances and still produce high-quality times that would qualify them for Tokyo. He said the qualifying window for road athletes would be “really narrow … without this adjustment.”

Along with the suspending Olympic qualification back in April, World Athletics froze the world rankings until December 1. These will remain frozen as originally planned, although world records are still up for grabs, as long as they’re ratifiable.

World Athletics can amend the qualification period, but that doesn’t mean mass participation road races will suddenly start to pop up once again. In the announcement released on Tuesday, several racing opportunities are outlined, the biggest of which is the London Marathon. The last World Marathon Major standing, the London Marathon is set for October 4, and organizers have refused to cancel even as the coronavirus pandemic persists around the world.

The statement says London Marathon organizers are working with World Athletics to ensure athletes will have a chance to qualify for Tokyo 2021. Whether this means the event will be an elite-only run is unclear, but a decision regarding the fate of the race is expected within the next week.

World Athletics is also working closely with the Abu Dhabi Marathon with the hope that they can provide athletes with another qualification opportunity before the end of the year. For race walkers, two major race walking events are expected to be held between the September 1 and November 30.

Many Canadians have yet to qualify, but Athletics Canada has already confirmed that marathoners Dayna Pidhoresky and Trevor Hofbauer and race walker Evan Dunfee have guaranteed spots for Tokyo. The rest of the Canadian team will be announced next June.

Paris 2024 could feature a mixed cross-country relay

Cross-country hasn't been included in the Olympics since the 1924 Games

World Athletics has announced plans to include a cross-country mixed relay event in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Cross-country hasn’t been featured in the Olympics for almost a century, and it was last included in the 1924 Olympics, which were also in Paris. If the Paris 2024 organizing committee and World Athletics can work out a plan for the mixed relay, cross-country will make its return to the Games 100 years since its last competition and in the same city.

The event would feature 15 countries, and each team would be made up of four runners (two men and two women). The race would be 20K, and the teams would alternate between male and female runners, with each athlete covering two laps of a 2.5K course.

The president of World Athletics Sebastian Coe has expressed his excitement for a potential Olympic cross-country event. “My love for athletics began with cross-country,’’ he said. “When I joined my first athletics club, Hallamshire Harriers, the club president was Joe Williams, who ran in the last Olympic cross-country race in Paris in 1924. It would be hugely symbolic for this wonderful athletic discipline to return to the fold after a century.”

As of July 26, the Paris Games are just four years away, and an additional running event would be welcome news for Olympic hopefuls around the world. World Athletics officials and Paris 2024 organizers will reportedly meet soon to discuss more details for the prospective relay.

The Weight of Gold: Lolo Jones Is Determined to Make It Back to the Olympics

Lolo Jones, who's featured in HBO's new sports documentary The Weight of Gold, is one of the few Olympians to compete in both the Summer and Winter Games. It's a feat just a little more than 100 athletes in the history of the Olympics have achieved out of the thousands who have qualified over the years. For her part, Jones has competed with the best in the world in both track and field and bobsled — and she's not done with the Olympics yet.

Jones made her Olympic debut in the 100m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Games and competed again in 2012, placing seventh and fourth, respectively. She took up bobsledding in an effort to get past her disappointment and ultimately competed with the US Olympic bobsled team at the 2014 Winter Games, placing 11th.

Though she had every intention of continuing her Olympic career in track and field, Jones withdrew from the Olympic trials in 2016 after sustaining an injury earlier in the season. She also didn't make the cut for the 2018 bobsled team, which she said was devastating. "At the end of the day, to make a bobsled team, it's a very subjective process. It's not like track and field where the top three cross the line, and they go," Jones told USA Today at the time. "You can have better results, and I have better results than the girls who are going, but at the end of the day it's a subjective process." She added that she didn't think she'd return to bobsled after that.

Instead, Jones has focused her energy on qualifying in hurdles for the 2020 Olympics — which are now happening in 2021 — in Tokyo. In late 2019, she told FanSided that she was still gunning for a spot on the Olympic team, though she recognizes the challenges of competing against athletes who are much younger. "I'm feeling the aches and pains of basically all the times I've crashed in a bobsled at 90 miles an hour, every hurdle hit I've had," Jones said. "So it's built up, but what's great about it is the fact that I'm super strong and determined to finish out my goals." She added that her ultimate goal is to make the podium — and she's not giving up on that dream yet.