Running News Daily

Japanese Emperor Naruhito is excited for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games despite coronavirus concern

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, who turns 60, has spoken of his excitement for Tokyo 2020 as well as his the "concern" caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

At a news conference to mark his birthday, Naruhito spoke of his memories of attending the 1964 Summer Olympic Games, which were also held in Tokyo.

"At the Closing Ceremony, the athletes didn’t march in all their separate countries’ teams but all together, and in such good humor," he said, according to Reuters.

"That could be the basis of my unchanging and long-held, earnest hope for world peace."

Those Games took place less than 20 years after the end of Second World War and were important in normalizing Japan's international relations. 

Naruhito was four when the Japanese capital hosted the Olympics for the first time.

"I hope this Olympics and Paralympics will deepen understanding of other people in the world and the preciousness of peace - especially among young people," the Emperor added.

He also spoke of the coronavirus outbreak, which has now claimed more than 2,450 lives worldwide.

Almost 80,000 people are infected, including 780 in Japan, many of whom were on a cruise ship.

"This new coronavirus is a concern," Narihito commented. "I would like to send my sympathies to those who are infected and their families. "At the same time, my thoughts are with the efforts of those who are treating them and working hard to prevent the spread of the infection. 

"I hope their efforts will bear fruit soon." Numerous sporting events have been postponed, canceled or rescheduled - including some Tokyo 2020 test events and qualifiers - because of the outbreak.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission chairman John Coates said this week that he was "very satisfied" with steps taken to ensure Tokyo 2020 will be safe to attend, while the IOC was previously told by the World Health Organization that there was "no case" for moving the Games.

Mayor of Jerusalem, announced on Monday that new immigrants to Israel will be able to run for free the Jerusalem Winter Marathon

Those that immigrated within the last year are invited to run without paying fees. To the new immigrants- I am proud and excited to host you in the Jerusalem Marathon.

Moshe Lion, mayor of Jerusalem, announced on Monday that new immigrants to Israel will be able to run for free in the Jerusalem Winter Marathon. The move was made to encourage more immigrants to participate in the largest sporting event in Israel. 

"Participants are running together in the Jerusalem Marathon, all of Israel, including the new immigrants. Those that immigrated within the last year are invited to run without paying fees. To the new immigrants- I am proud and excited to host you in the Jerusalem Marathon." said Lion. 

Immigrants that immigrated to the country between January 1, 2019, and March 20, 2020 will be able to register and run for free. 

Registration for the 2020 winter marathon will end on March 14, with six different kinds of options for the participants to chose from. Options include a full marathon (42.2 km), a half-marathon (21.1 km) a 10 km race, 5 km race, a family marathon (1.7 km), and a community marathon (800 m). The race itself is scheduled to take place on March 2.

The community marathon in the past was held to accommodate participants with special needs, and for raising awareness for social issues.

Last year many runners joined packs of advocacy groups and associations championing new research and programs combating these social issues in Jerusalem. Social advocacy groups such as Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities took part.

The international World Bnei Akiva movement also participated and brought some 300 members and alumni to "join together from countries around the world to run the Jerusalem Marathon along with terror victims and IDF soldiers."

A record-breaking number of applicants have entered to run the 20th Annual 2020 TCS New York City Marathon

A record-breaking number of applicants have entered to run the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon in the 50th anniversary edition of the most anticipated and iconic annual mass sporting events in New York City and the largest marathon in the world.  This year’s race, set for Sunday, November 1, will feature the sport’s top professional athletes along with runners of all ages and abilities from countries around the globe.

New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world’s premier community running organization, has organized the race since it began in 1970 as a four-lap race in Central Park. One hundred twenty-seven runners started that first race and 55 finished. Fifty years later, over 1.2 million runners have crossed the race’s legendary finish line. Last year’s field featured the world’s largest marathon with 53,640 finishers. 

“We are extremely proud to celebrate 50 years of this amazing event that’s meant so much to so many in New York City and around the world,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of New York Road Runners.  “This year’s TCS New York City Marathon will be extra special for all the runners and supporters who will represent the millions who have helped create one of the most historic sporting events of all time.” 

Due to the overwhelming popularity of the race, NYRR provides runners with various opportunities to gain entry. Each year thousands of runners earn an entry though a range of methods (Entry methods link).  Others apply to gain a spot through the entry drawing, which has been taking place since 1980. This year’s marathon drawing will be the largest ever, with approximately 185,000 applications, which is 50% higher than in 2019.

Approximately 4,200 runners will be accepted through the drawing. Applications were received during a two-week open registration period from January 30 to February 13, as well as a special application held during the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon. Applicants who were not among the 50 runners selected in the special application were automatically entered into this drawing. 

Guaranteed entry claims were also the highest in history, increasing by 20% over the 2019 total.  The most popular forms of guaranteed entry featured a series of NYRR initiatives including the 9+1 program, which was the most popular form of guaranteed entry and saw a 21% jump from 2019.  Runners qualifying on time at an NYRR marathon or half marathon in 2019 saw a 42% rise in entries.

Other guaranteed entrants include participants in NYRR virtual racing, runners who have completed 15 or more New York City Marathons, and entrants who officially canceled their entry to the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon. 

Runners who do not gain entry through the drawing or a guaranteed method can still participate in this celebratory event by running for a charity or registering through an international tour operator. The TCS New York City Marathon provides an incredible platform for charities to fundraise. The NYRR Official Charity Partner Program raises millions of dollars annually and includes more than 450 nonprofit organizations with the aim to support their missions and services. Participating charities can offer guaranteed entry to runners who fundraise on their behalf. Among the charities, NYRR Team for Kids is the TCS New York City Marathon’s largest charity and raises funds for NYRR’s free youth running programs.

In honor of the 50th anniversary, the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon will be recognized in a year-long celebration showcasing the marathon’s history and the impact it has had on New York City and millions of people around the world. Approximately 53,000 runners are expected to take part in this historic and memorable race.

Judy Sheppard is disappointed that the Tokyo Marathon was cancelled since Tokyo was the last of six major marathons for her

Since turning 50, Judy Sheppard has run five of the six major marathons and was set to run Tokyo.

The Newfoundland runner has tackled London, Berlin, New York, Chicago and Boston — but she's never done Tokyo.

After years of trying to get into the race, this was her lucky year, until the Tokyo Marathon was waylaid due to the spread of novel coronavirus.

"I had packed masks, gloves, gels. Everything was ready to go," she told CBC Radio's Weekend AM. 

More than 2,000 people have died from the virus worldwide. Only six of those cases have happened outside mainland China.

Still, it was deemed too big a threat for the hordes of people who descend on Tokyo every year to take part in the marathon. More than 38,000 people were expected to run this year on March 1. 

For the 2020 event at least, it is limited to the world's most elite runners and whleechair athletes, resulting in thousands of participants not getting to be part of one of the biggest marathons in the world.

More than 300,000 people enter the lottery annually for a spot in the race.

Sheppard, 68, and her friend and fellow marathon runner Josee Hotton were accepted to run this year. Sheppard found out it was canceled when Hotton texted her the bad news.

Their bids for six-star medals — representing each of the major marathons — were dashed for another year.

"I was really looking forward to that one," Sheppard said.

The runners will be able to compete in next year's Tokyo Marathon without going back into the lottery.

A team of 10 athletes has been selected to represent Uganda for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia

The selected team was chosen after posting impressive results in the Source of the Nile Half Marathon Competitions held in Jinja this morning. The run attracted 138 athletes from 22 athletics clubs all over the country.

There was stiff competition among the male participants out of which the Abel Chebet finished in the first position followed by Moses Kibet, Robert Chesang, Soyekwo Kibet and Kwamei Vitalis. The women's team comprised of Doreen Chesang from Uganda Wildlife Authority, Doreen Chemutai, Rachel Chebet, and Docus Ajok from Prisons Athletics club and Arua's Viola Chemos.

Abel Chebet, the winner of the Source of the Nile pack hopes that with additional training, the can clinch a medal from Poland.

The publicity secretary of Uganda Athletics Federation Namayo Mawerere says that the annual Source of the Nile Marathon which had become a national platform for talent search was in 2015 discontinued due to lack of sponsors. However, it has resumed this year and successfully selected athletes suitable for international marathons.

Mawerere argues that regional athletics championships are vital as they inspire more youth to join the sport.

Top 5 Men, 1. Chebet Abel/Police - 1:02.33, 2. Kibet Moses/KCCA - 1:03.36, 3. Chemonges Robert/Police - 1:03.42, 4. Soyekwo Kibet/KCCA - 1:04.14, 5. Kwemoi Vitalis/KCCA - 1:04.21.

Top 5 Women, 1. Chesang Doreen/UWA - 1:13.25, 2. Chemutai Doreen/Prisons - 1:13.36, 3. Chebet Rachael Zena/Prisons - 1:14.57, 4. Ajok Dorcus/Prisons - 1:15.29, 5. Chemos Viola Muneria/Arua - 1:18.43.

Sahrawi Lehsen Sidahmed wins the world's most charitable race, the Sahara Marathon

The young Saharawi Lehsen Sidahmed won first place in the 20th edition of the Sahara Marathon that began Tuesday in the wilaya of El Aaiún and ended his 42 km tour in the wilaya of Smara, according to Rasdsport.

The winner of this 2020 edition, said he was very happy with this result, after expressing his solidarity and support for his people until he achieved independence.

With the participation of more than 500 athletes from five continents, the Sahara Marathon Edition started on Tuesday in El Aaiún (Saharan refugee camps) with the presence of Sports Minister Musa Salma; the governor of the Willaya of El Aaiún and the director of the Sahara Marathon.Shortly after 10:00, the Sahara Marathon started, a test that reaches its 20th edition with the objective of making known the situation of the exiles of Western Sahara and obtaining resources to finance humanitarian aid projects for these refugees settled in the southwest of Algeria after the Moroccan military invasion of its territory.

In its 20th edition, hundreds of runners from all parts of the world participate in the race to improve the lives of Sahrawi refugees. 

The benefits of the Sahara Marathon, become medicines, school supplies, tons of solidarity.This 42-kilometer race (from El Aaiún to Smara) is also the voice of a town that has been living in exile for 44 years. And it is that the real bottom race is the one that supports the around 170,000 Saharawis who resist day by day in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet.The Marathon of the Sahara is much more than a sporting event (21, 10 and 5 kilometer races are also deputy). 

Here you run for solidarity. Here you run for the freedom of a people who continue to fight for the fulfillment of the Peace Accords signed in 1991.

Erina Muzhingi wife of three-time Comrades Marathon winner, Zimbabwe's Stephen Muzhing dies

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has expressed its sadness at the news of the death of Erina Muzhingi, wife of three-time Comrades Marathon winner, Zimbabwe's Stephen Muzhingi.

CMA chairperson, Cheryl Winn said, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the untimely passing of Mrs Muzhingi. She was a regular sight at Comrades, supporting Stephen and to a large extent, being the wind beneath his wings.”

Winn added, “Stephen’s Comrades Marathon track record is outstanding, with a total of 9 gold and 3 silver medals, including a rare hat-trick of three consecutive Comrades wins accomplished in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

However, the defining feature was that Erina was by Stephen’s side for just about all of his epic achievements. I clearly remember when Stephen had broken through the Comrades finish tape in 2010; he ran straight into the arms of his wife, who was waiting for him. We wish the family strength and solace during this difficult time.”

Formula One Eduworks Running Club Manager, Cliff Chetty said, “It has been a shock to the team, myself and many people around South Africa to hear of the passing away of Stephen’s wife, Erina Muzhingi, after a long illness.” 

Chetty added, “This news has really dampened our spirits as Stephen was in full training for the 2020 Comrades and was looking forward to race day. We have been in touch with him. He has three children and did not ever expect to lose his beloved wife so soon. Erina Muzhingi was part of the Formula One team and was proud to be at the finish each year as Stephen crossed the finish line. Stephen will have the full support from us going forward and will run this race in memory of his Wife. May she rest in peace as she is now in God's hands.”

Kevin Seaward clocked a lifetime best and became the second-fasted Irish marathon runner of all time in the process at the Seville Marathon on Sunday

Belfast man Kevin Seaward, a school teacher, ran the second-fastest Irish marathon time ever as he finished 26th at the Seville Marathon on Sunday morning.

Belfast’s Seaward ran a PB of 2:10:10 – second only to John Treacy’s national record of 2:09:15.

Seaward’s time was more than three minutes quicker than his previous best of 2:13:39, which he ran in Berlin last September.

Only John Treacy, in 1988, has ran a faster Marathon time for Ireland than Seaward while the 36-year-old now becomes the fastest Northern Ireland marathon man of all time. 

It is also comfortably inside the IAAF time of 2:11:30 for Tokyo 2020 qualification as he becomes the third Irish marathon runner to achieve the Olympic criteria.

The 34-year-old joins Paul Pollock, who ran a 2:10:25 in Valencia in December, and Stephen Scullion who is eligible by virtue of his fifth-place finish at the “gold label” Houston Marathon where he ran a time of 2:11:52.

Ballina’s Hugh Armstrong missed out on the Olympic time by less than a minute this morning, finishing 35th in a personal best of 2:12:26.

Seaward joins Paul Pollock and Stephen Scullion as Tokyo 2020 qualifiers.

Mo Farah is facing fresh allegations that he repeatedly denied receiving a controversial supplement via injection to United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) officials ahead of the 2014 London Marathon

The allegations have been made after BBC Panorama claimed to have received new evidence regarding Farah’s use of L-carnitine, a performance-enhancing supplement that is legal in limited doses.

A documentary on the allegations will be screened on Monday night, in which it is claimed that Farah was injected with L-carnitine in April 2014, a week before he finished eighth in the London Marathon.

It is alleged that Farah was injected with the supplement by the then UK Athletics doctor Robin Chakraverty, who it appears failed to record it properly.

Farah and his team were summoned by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee to attend a Combatting Doping in Sport inquiry after the Sunday Times first revealed the L-carnitine infusion, where Dr Chakraverty insisted the volume administered to Farah was 13.5ml, well short of the 50ml legal limit. There is no evidence that any World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules were broken.

However, according to the BBC, Farah “repeatedly denied” having L-carnitine injected when quizzed by Usada officials who travelled to London in 2015 to speak to the Olympic champion’s team as part of their investigation into his disgraced former trainer Alberto Salazar, who has since been banned from the sport for four years for anti-doping offences.

Farah declined to speak to BBC Panorama regarding the new allegations, while Salazar has rejected the findings by US arbitrators and has appealed his four-year ban.

The investigation has also uncovered emails between Fudge, former UK Athletics performance director Neil Black and Dr Chakraverty in which they question whether the use of L-carnitine is in the “spirit of the sport”, and claimed they would have preferred to have trialled the use of the supplement first given it was not readily available in the UK in its concentrated form. As a result, Fudge had to travel to Switzerland to meet a contact of Salazar’s who was able to supply it for use just two days before the Marathon on 11 April.

In response to the BBC’s claims, Farah’s lawyers sent a letter that read:  "It is not against (Wada rules) rules to take (L-carnitine) as a supplement within the right quantities.

"The fact some people might hold views as to whether this is within the 'spirit' of the sport is irrelevant.

"Mr Farah … is one of the most tested athletes in the UK, if not the world, and has been required to fill in numerous doping forms. He is a human being and not robot.

Aliphine Tuliamuk represents the American dream and she hopes she caps that dream by making the 2020 US Olympic Team

Born in Kenya, Aliphine Tuliamuk grew up in the small village of Posoy where running was a part of life. She was given her first pair of racing shoes by a female pioneer in marathon running Tegla Laroupe.

Aliphine placed 9th at the 2005 World Junior Cross Country Championships. She’d actually take a break from running after that success but eventually got the attention of American colleges. She first came to Iowa State, and then transferred to Wichita State where she was an NCAA star, finishing NCAA runner-up at 10,000m twice, and nabbing a fourth place finish at the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Championships, one spot behind Jordan Hasay. Aliphine was the first woman from her village and her family of 32 kids to graduate from college with a major in Public Health and turned pro in 2013.

After getting her US citizenship in 2016, Tuliamuk went on a tear winning US titles. All-in-all she has won 9 US National titles from the 5k to 25k on the roads, and has won US cross country. She joined HOKA NAZ Elite in 2018, and won US titles at the half marathon and 25k and set a PB of 2:26:50 in the marathon while a member of the club.

The one big goal remaining for Aliphine is to make the US Olympic Marathon team, and she shares that goal with her fellow HOKA NAZ Elite pros, Stephanie Bruce (2:27 PB) and Kellyn Taylor (2:24 PB).

I started running as a little kid growing up in rural Kenya, running was a way of lie. I fell in love with running in 4th grade and made it to what’s equivalent to the state meet. As an adult now, running is not  only my job but a way to escape the world, it gives me so much joy and fulfillment. It’s my way of letting out stresses if everyday life. I have been dreaming of making the Olympics since 2010. She said.

My training had gone well so far, we have had a few workouts on some rolling terrains, most of the pressure I feel is from within, I want to make the team, fulfill my dreams, make my country proud and continue to be a positive role model to kids especially girls from my village.

Starla Garcia is looking forward to being part of the US Olympic marathon trials this weekend

Starla Garcia ran in circles during a part of her life.

It could have killed her.

After battling with herself as well as anorexia and osteopenia, a weakening of the bones, she’s back. Now, she runs when she wants instead of when she thinks she has to. And she wants to run, especially Saturday, Feb. 29, when she will be one of more than 500 runners competing at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.

She qualified by coming in under the 2-hour, 45-minute mark at the Houston Marathon, where she now lives. Garcia has no false beliefs that she will be among the top three runners to qualify for the games; she still has goals.

“A lot of people are like ‘you can make it to the Olympics,’ that’s so nice and supportive,” she said. “But imagine the talent. I already had a ticket to go and watch it in real time and was so pumped up. My goal is to be as close as to what I did in Houston.

“I knew I was on pace, sitting behind the pacer. Maybe two or three of us went for it near the end and I was one of those girls. When you stress your body, your mind just shuts off and you stop telling yourself that you’re tired and you start trusting your body to do what it’s supposed to do.”

The former PSJA North and University of Houston cross country runner fell into a pattern in high school that female runners can fall prey to. She would run, have a little better race time, lose a half pound of pound of body weight and run with the results being even a little faster.

“I would be told great job with my time and friends and others would tell me I was looking good and it was just a pattern I couldn’t stop,” Garcia said. “I started restricting foods and it wasn’t a good time.”

A self-described “Type A, overachieving kid,” Garcia said her junior year in high school she had several AP classes and had put a lot of pressure on herself, all while still trying to run at a high level, a level that brought her a regional championship in cross country her senior year and a state appearance in the 3,200.

It was what she described as the “golden days of PSJA North Cross Country. It was so fun to be there,” she said.

“I used to run because I thought I had to. Now I run because I love to.”

So what US marathoners are going to come out on top at next weekend’s Olympic Trials

The three Olympic women’s berths from next Saturday’s US marathon trials in Atlanta look to be up for grabs among at least five challengers. Besides Desiree Linden, who placed seventh in Rio, there are Jordan Hasay, who was third in Boston last year, Emily Sisson, who was sixth in London in her 26-mile debut, Molly Huddle, a two-time track Olympian, and Sara Hall.

Amy Cragg, who placed ninth in Rio and would have been a contender, has been battling Epstein-Barr virus and withdrew this week.

Linden, the former Boston Marathon victor who’s bidding to make her third team, already has committed to competing here in April. If she qualifies for the Games, she’ll be running three marathons in just over five months.

On the men’s side, Galen Rupp, who won bronze in 2016, is the decided favorite, with Jared Ward (sixth in Rio), Leonard Korir, and Scott Fauble, last year’s top domestic finisher in Boston, also in the mix.

The Atlanta loop course, which will finish in Centennial Olympic Park, is a hilly challenge and will be more so if the midday temperature is in the 70s, as it often is on that date. That’s still cooler than it’s likely to be in Sapporo (average temperature 78), the former Winter Games site where the races were moved to avoid Tokyo’s sauna (87).

Galen Rupp says he is ready for the US Olympic Marathon Trials

Portland's Galen Rupp will attempt to make his fourth U.S. Olympic team in next weekend's marathon trials in Atlanta. 

After a turbulent 16 months Galen Rupp is in a better place now physically and emotionally, and just in time.

The former University of Oregon star and Portland resident will attempt to make his fourth U.S. Olympic team in next Saturday’s marathon trials in Atlanta.

“I’ve had a great last week and a half of training,” Rupp says. “I got some good speed work in. I did a really long run that went longer than marathon distance. I’m feeling really good about where I’m at.”

Rupp, 33, is the reigning men’s trials champion and the 2016 Olympic marathon bronze medalist. But in some ways that was in another lifetime.

He last completed a marathon in October of 2018, when he came across fifth in Chicago. The next day his left foot was so swollen he barely could walk.

Doctors determined the problem was a bony protrusion on his heel that was causing the Achilles tendon to fray. It required surgerythat kept him out of action for months.

Rupp’s left leg still wasn’t right when he returned to competition a year later for last fall’s Chicago Marathon. He was forced off the course late in the race with a calf strain.

“I told myself, ‘This is going to hurt like crazy. You’re just going to have to suck it up and get through it,’” Rupp says of his pre-race mindset. “Unfortunately, my body didn’t allow me to do that.”

By then, Rupp was without his coach, Alberto Salazar. Salazar had been given a four-year ban two weeks earlier for violating doping rules. Nike disbanded the Oregon Project, the distance team which Salazar coached and of which Rupp was a member.

None of the violations for which Salazar was banned were for intentionally doping athletes. None of Salazar’s athletes were implicated in violations that led to the ban, nor have any failed drug tests. Salazar is appealing the ban.

But the upshot was, Rupp was without the man who had been his primary coach since high school. It was a tough time.

“I’m pretty religious, a strong Catholic,” Rupp says. “I truly believe God has this big plan for each and every one of us. Even if it doesn’t make sense at the time, or you’re struggling to see some good in it, you have to just keep pushing through it. It’s about having faith that it’s going to be all right.”

The philosophy has allowed him to put the pain, the injury setbacks, the coaching upheaval aside and turn his attention inward.

“All I can do is try to be the best athlete, the best person, the best husband, the best father I can be.” Rupp says. “Obviously, none of us is perfect. I would rather focus on what I can do to keep making myself better than worry about things I can’t control.”

He studied Tai Chi, which has helped him zero in on what matters most to him, being fully present for his wife, Keara, and their four children and getting race-ready for Atlanta.

At long last, Galen Rupp is within reach of the mountain top

He hired Northern Arizona coach Mike Smith to oversee his training. Smith has flown up from Flagstaff a few times to supervise workouts. But for the most part, former Oregon Project assistant Tim Rowberry has served as Smith’s eyes in Portland.

Rupp says the new coaching arrangement has worked well. Smith kept much of the training Rupp had been doing with Salazar, but not all.

“I wasn’t looking for someone who just wanted to replicate things and be a yes man,” Rupp says. “I think that would have been almost the worst thing. I wanted someone who was going to continue to challenge me.”

Rupp tested himself three weeks ago while winning the Sprouts Mesa Half Marathon in Mesa, Arizona in 1 hour, 1 minute, 19 seconds.

He looked good, felt good and came back from Arizona with renewed confidence. His left leg held up.

“There were a few little thoughts, like, ‘What if it does start to hurt again?’” Rupp says. “Obviously, the last year hasn’t gone all that great.

“That stuff certainly was running through my head. But running the race and feeling as good as I did and as strong as I did on that leg — I wouldn’t say it’s completely back to where it was before the surgery, but it’s pretty darn close.”

Rupp says he has driven himself hard to be prepared for anything he might see in Atlanta — the weather, the hills, the competition and the physical discomfort.

“It’s how I’ve always looked at training,” he says. “You put yourself in extremely uncomfortable situations. You make yourself hurt. You make yourself suffer. That’s how you get better.”

White marble marathon and half Marathon continues to grow

Jean Baptiste Simukeka from Rwanda wins the fourth edition of the White marble marathon in two hours, 20 minutes and 26 seconds. Great success for the running competition of our coast that was held this morning, organized by Paolo Barghini and supported by the Marble Foundation. A competition that also saw the participation of Nausicaa and Gaia as "plastic free" and schools in support of the organization of the race, in the refreshment and sponging points. At the starting line 1700 people, divided into 259 for the competitive marathon, 546 for the Half Marathon (with the Italian Veterans of the sport championship inside), 254 for the 30 km.

In the female category Maurizia Cunico won clocking 2:47:09. 

For the half marathon Joel Maina Mwangi, Kenyan, training at the UjENA Fit Club Training Camp in Thika, finished the 21 kilometers in 1:05:58.

For women the first was the Italian Federica Proietti of Calcestruzzi Corradini Excels in 1:19:39 (18th position).

As for the Marble heroto bring home the medal was Federico Bordigon of the Vicenza marathon with 1:41:37. For women Concetta Santini (run card) with 2:01:19. First Apuan Francesco Salvatori of the Uisp Marina di Carrara. Diego Garbugino of the Apuan Alps Park (ninth position) won the section of the Italian Veterans of Sports Championship. 

The patron Paolo Barghini was also satisfied with the way the marathon took place: “Running a marathon is always complicated. The race from a sporting point of view went well and the weather was also perfect. 

Ayenew and debutante Chekwel break course records at Seville Marathon

Ethiopia’s Mekuant Ayenew and Uganda’s Juliet Chekwel captured commanding victories at the 36th Zurich Maratón de Sevilla, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (23) with respective clockings of 2:04:46 and 2:23:13.

Although Ayenew had previously won marathons in Beijing and Venice, his pre-race PB stood at 2:09:00, so his victory in Seville was something of a surprise. The 29-year-old took almost two minutes off the course record.

Chekwel, who was making her marathon debut, also improved the course record by more than a minute. Her time took more than nine minutes off the Ugandan record.

Both men’s and women’s races had strong depth as seven men finished inside 2:07 and 14 broke the 2:08 barrier, while seven women went sub-2:28, confirming the new course is conducive to fast times.

The men’s race opened at brisk pace as a 15-man lead pack went through 5km in 14:45, led by pacemakers Henry Kiprop and Raymond Kipchumba. They passed 10km in 29:24 with all the main favourites in close attendance.

The halfway point was reached in 1:02:30, putting the leaders well on schedule to break the course record of 2:06:36. By then 11 men led the contest in the form of the Kenyan quartet of Barnabas Kiptum, Amos Kiplagat, Michael Kunyunga and Stanley Kiprotich plus the large Ethiopian contingent compounded by Ayenew, Regasa Bejiga, Alemayehu Mekonen, Bazu Worku, Maru Teferi and Workhenh Tesfa, plus Italy’s Eyob Faniel.

Shortly afterwards the pacesetters dropped out and by the 25th kilometre Kiplagat, Kiptum and Ayenew had broken away from the rest with the unknown Kiplagat, whose career best is 2:11:18, making most of the pace.

By the 30km checkpoint the clock read 1:28:39, following a 29:31 split between 20km and 30km. Shortly afterwards Kiplagat began to falter and the race became a two-horse battle between Kiptum and Ayenew. The 33-year-old Kenyan, a 2:06:33 performer, took command of the rhythm at first but looked back several times to ask for the Ethiopian to help. Ayenew then moved to the front but they only travelled together for a couple of kilometres because at exactly the 34km point Ayenew’s relentless speed proved to be too fast for Kiptum and the Ethiopian began to build a sizeable gap.

At 35km (1:43:24) it became clear that, barring disaster, Ayenew would be the eventual winner as he cemented a 100m gap on Kiptum and 41 over Kunyunga, Tesfa and Bejiga who would fight for the third place on the podium.

Like a metronome, Ayenew covered each kilometre section in 2:57 and even increased his speed over the closing stages to finish in a world-leading PB of 2:04:46, having recorded negative splits of 1:02:30 and 1:02:16.

Kiptum also managed a PB of 2:05:05 to take the runner-up spot. Bejiga’s late burst of speed gave him third place in 2:06:24, a PB by three minutes.

The Spanish title went to Javier Guerra, who finished 10th overall in a PB of 2:07:28 to secure his Olympic spot while Hamid Ben Daoud had to settle for second barely six seconds behind to also improve on his previous best.

Similar to the men’s race, the women’s contest started fast, the opening 5km being covered in 16:50 with Uganda’s Juliet Chekwel leading ahead of a large Ethiopian contingent comprising Gada Bontu, Melkam Gizaw, Ftaw, Zeray, Shewaye Woldemekel and Beji Bekelu, along with Kenya’s Caroline Kilel, Josephine Chepkoech and Purity Changwony.

They reached 10km in 33:48 always with debutante Chekwel running closest to the pacesetters and still eight women remained with winning chances by halfway, which was reached in 1:12:01, perfectly on schedule to lower the race record.

The continued to whittle down until only four athletes formed the leading group by 30km, reached in 1:42:05 – Chekwel, Bontu, Melaku and Chepkoech.

Chepkoech was the first of those to drift back at 35km. With the clock reading 2:13, Chekwel made a decisive move and built a seven-second gap on Bontu and an 18-second advantage on Melaku by the 40km point. In the final two kilometres the 29-year-old Chekwel finished strongly to cross the line in 2:23:13, while Bontu was second in 2:23:39, a PB by 10 minutes. Melaku was timed at 2:23:49, also a huge PB for the 22-year-old.

Ethiopian and Kenyans contingents are expected to battle at the 37th Zurich Maratón de Sevilla on Sunday

The race boasts one of the flattest courses worldwide and the new circuit inaugurated last year witnessed race records set by Ethiopian duo Ayana Tsedat (2:06:36) and Guteni Shone (2:24:29).

Kenya’s Barnabas Kiptum is in the form of his life following a 2:06:33 PB in Lisbon last October. Over the past three years the 33-year-old has shown great consistency, having bettered 2:10 six times. He will be joined by compatriots Emmanuel Kibet, a 2:08:42 performer in Rabat last year, Michael Kunyunga (2:10:05) and Stanley Kiptotich (2:10:12).

The large Ethiopian contingent is headed by Birhane Bekele and Tebalu Zawude; the former finished third last year in a lifetime best of 2:06:41 although the 38-year-old has raced only once at any distance since then with a 2:11:08 outing in Taiyuan last September while Zawude won the last Rome marathon in 2:08:37 in April 2019.

Other Ethiopians include Bazu Worku, who clocked 2:06:15 as an U20 athlete back in 2009. The 29-year-old has not approached that kind of time in recent years, but he clocked a respectable 2:10:56 in Beijing in November.

Yet the quickest athlete on show will be 2:04:50 performer Dino Sefer, but the 31-year-old Ethiopian will be contesting his first competition in more than two years. Getu Feleke, who boasts an identical PB of 2:04:50 from 2012, had a best last year of 2:10:39.

Sunday’s event will also serve as the Spanish championships for the distance. Javier Guerra, who set a career best of 2:08:33 a couple of years ago, is fresh from a 10km PB of 28:11 in Valencia last month and might also be a factor. Same goes for Hamid Ben Daoud, a 2:08:14 performer. The 24-year-old ran a fine 28:06 at the San Silvestre Vallecana at the end of December. The fight for the Spanish title promises to be thrilling with Juan Antonio Pérez, a 1:00:58 half marathon performer, also in the hunt for the win.

Likewise, the women's race doesn’t have a clear favorite. The cast is led by Ethiopia’s Sifan Melaku, who finished fourth last year in a PB of 2:26:46 and went on to improve to 2:25:29. She will be joined by fellow Ethiopians Bezabeh Fitaw, who made her debut last November in 2:29:15 in Hefei, Bekelu Beji, holder of a 2:28:21 time, and Melkaw Gizaw, who won in Nanchang last November and has a PB of 2:24:28 from 2016.

Kenya’s Purity Changwony should be in contention for victory on Sunday as the 30-year-old ran 2:30:34 to win in the altitude of Nairobi last October. Josephine Jepkoech, the runner-up at last year’s Barcelona Marathon in a PB of 2:25:20, will also try to get a podium spot.

Watch out too for Uganda’s Juliet Chekwel. The 29-year-old, who has PBs of 1:09:45 over the half marathon and 31:37:99 at the 10,000m, will be making her debut over the classic distance. The Ugandan’s last outing came in Madrid on the New Year’s eve when she finished fourth in 32:13.

The European charge will be headed by Poland’s Izabela Trzaskalska, fresh from a 1:11:09 lifetime best at the Seville Half Marathon four weeks ago; the 32-year-old seems ready to improve on her marathon best of 2:29:57 set in 2017. Spain’s Marta Galimany, who came second in Seville in a PB of 1:11:13, and Germany’s Anja Scherl (2:27:50) will also fight to finish inside the top 10 on Sunday.

The course will pass several iconic landmarks, including La Giralda, one of the largest cathedrals in the world, and the La Real Maestranza bullring or ‘La Torre del Oro’. A record number of 13,500 runners from 86 countries have entered. The forecast calls for sunny conditions with temperatures between 14-16C at the start.

Puma is collaborating with First Mile to produce sportswear collection made from recycled plastic

The Puma and First Mile collaboration is bringing runners clothing made from recycled yarn and has reused almost 2 million bottles in the process.

The First Mile is an initiative which spans Taiwan, Honduras and Haiti and collects bottles for reuse in hopes of reducing pollution and creating sustainable jobs.

Puma is collaborating with First Mile to produce a sportswear collection made from recycled plastic.

The project isn’t just about turning plastic into clothing, Puma says it’s also rooted in social impact and human connection—one that threads people together around a decision to do better. First Mile is working to ensure that bottles are sorted, cleaned, shredded, and turned into yarn that makes products runners can feel good about.

“Even though one of the key benefits of this partnership is social impact, the Puma and First Mile program has diverted over 40 tonnes of plastic waste from landfills and oceans, just for the products made for 2020.

This roughly translates into 1,980,286 plastic bottles being reused,” said Stefan Seidel, Head of Corporate Sustainability for the company. “The pieces from this co-branded training collection range from shoes, tees, shorts, pants and jackets—all the apparel is made of at least 83 per cent to even 100 per cent from the more sustainable yarn sourced from First Mile.”

The first Puma x First Mile training collection will be available as of February 21 on PUMA.com and at the Hudson’s Bay Company and Sport Chek across Canada.

North Korea has canceled the Pyongyang Marathon due to coronavirus fears

North Korean authorities have decided to cancel the upcoming annual April Pyongyang marathon, travel companies told NK News on Friday, amid concerns about the potential spread of the novel coronavirus within the country’s territory.

The event — typically held to coincide with North Korea’s “Day of the Sun” national holiday and known officially as the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon — was set to take place on April 12, according to Koryo Tours, which organizes the event in cooperation with local partners.

“We received official notice from the National Olympic Committee of DPR Korea today that the 2020 Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon is canceled due to the ongoing border closure and COVID-19 situation in the region,” Marcus McFarland, Pyongyang Marathon and North Korea tour manager at the company, said in a statement.

“We had been in discussions about rescheduling the event to later in the year, but in the end they decided it was better to cancel instead,” he continued. “We had over 400 runners booked for the marathon ourselves (excluding other companies), and greatly appreciate their patience and understanding while we worked on getting updates for them.”

Another tour company confirmed the news, reporting that authorities had chosen to call off the event due to ongoing fears of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus — fears which have in recent weeks seen the country effectively shut its borders and implement a 30-day quarantine on those in-country.

“We have received confirmation from our travel partners in North Korea that the Pyongyang Marathon (Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon) held in April has been canceled due to the current borders of the DPRK being closed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) virus,” the Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) company said in a statement on its website.

“We will be in touch with our tourists who have booked with us on this event,” the statement continued, adding that the company’s annual Fall marathon is still set to go ahead.

The Pyongyang marathon, open to foreign participants since 2000, takes place annually, attracting thousands of runners from around the world.

Hundreds had signed up for this year’s event so far, Simon Cockerell, general manager at Koryo Tours, told NK News, though some had reportedly anticipated that, given the ongoing ban on foreign tourism into North Korea, the event would not go ahead.

“It’s not completely unexpected, there was consideration given to moving it but in the end they seem to have decided best to cancel the whole thing. Next one will be April 11th 2021,” Cockerell said.

“Of course quite a number had dropped out already before the event cancellation,” he explained. “I don’t think anyone will find this mind-blowingly surprising, just disappointing really.”

A previous ban on tourism into North Korea from late 2014 to early 2015 — prompted by authorities fears of an outbreak of the Ebola virus — also saw foreigners barred from participating in the marathon, a decision that was later reversed at the last minute.

Honami Maeda Breaks Mizuki Noguchi's 30 km National Record and Pre-Athens Ome 30 km Course Record

2020 Olympic marathon trials winner Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) took down two massive marks at Sunday's Ome 30 km Road Race in Tokyo's mountainous western suburbs, breaking Mizuki Noguchi's 30 km national record and pre-Athens Olympic gold medal Ome course record in 1:38:35 in wet conditions. Beating her closest female competition by almost eight minutes, Maeda was strong and about as steady as possible over the tough Ome course, clocking 5 km splits of 16:18 - 16:18 - 16:48 - 16:22 - 16:37 - 16:12.

Maeda's stated goal pre-race was Noguchi's 1:39:06 course record, set in February, 2004 as a key tune-up for Noguchi's gold medal-winning run in the Athens Olympics marathon. That fell by a wide margin, but few expected Maeda to also beat Noguchi's national record of 1:38:49 set en route during her 2:19:12 marathon national record run at the 2005 Berlin Marathon. It took Maeda's fastest split of the race, a 16:12 from 25 km to the finish, for that to happen, but happen it did. And the times being what they are, it's worth mentioning that she didn't appear to have been wearing carbon plate shoes. Looking at Noguchi in 2004 and at Maeda now, Maeda is looking more and more like the real deal. Maybe it's time to start getting a tiny bit excited about what might happen this summer.

The women's race at the other big 30 km race of the day, Kumamoto's Kumanichi 30 km Road Race, was closer, if nowhere near Maeda's level, and equally wet. 20-year-old Ako Matsumoto (Denso) ran 1:46:09, 10 seconds faster than Ome runner-up Yuri Nozoe (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), for the win, with teammate Ayano Ikeuchi and Chika Ihara (Higo Ginko) both finishing within a minute of her for 2nd and 3rd.

The men's races in Ome and Kumanichi were almost the inverse of what happened in the women's race. In Ome, a pack of eight went out on track to break the 1:29:06 course record set by Kenyan Ezekiel Cheboitibin (Sunbelx) last year. By halfway that was down to a trio, former Hakone Ekiden uphill Fifth Stage winner Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Track Tokyo), Masaya Taguchi (Honda), and Junsuke Kanbe (Komazawa Univ.).

Rounding the turnaround for the mostly downhill return trip Kitonyi attacked, but the last hard uphill with just over 8 km to go killed him. Taguchi rolled up and by in the last 5 km to take the win in 1:30:45. Kitonyi staggered in for 2nd in 1:31:14, holding off Ryo Kawamoto (Kurosaki Harima) who came up from the chase pack for 3rd in 1:31:51.

In Kumanichi, former half marathon and marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara, like Ome winner Taguchi a graduate of Toyo University and current Honda corporate team runner, did what he does best and soloed the race start to finish, winning in 1:29:47 by nearly a minute over Kazuto Kawabata (Konica Minolta). His time bettered the 1:29:55 run by his twin brother Keita Shitara at Kumanichi 7 years ago and served as a confidence builder ahead of next month's Tokyo Marathon where he hopes to run 2:04.

Post-race he told the media, "If I lost here there would be no next time. In the two weeks left until the Tokyo Marathon I want to bring my level up another 20~30%. I want to run the kind of race that's going to get people all across Japan excited."

54th Ome 30 km Road Race

Mayor says coronavirus should not affect Boston Marathon

The coronavirus outbreak should not impact the Boston Marathon, the Mayor of the American city has said.

Marty Walsh claimed that scaling back the event on April 20 would be an "overreaction".

His words came after the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) said they were monitoring the situation with regards to the virus.

The Tokyo Marathon, another of the World Marathon Majors, has already cancelled its mass participation race due to the outbreak.

Only the elite men's, women's and wheelchair marathons will now take place in Japan on March 1.

There is one confirmed case of coronavirus in Boston, with this person being treated.

"I think that's [scaling back] an overreaction," Walsh said.

"I think we have to be very careful in overreacting to a situation that isn't there.

"In Boston, it shouldn't affect our marathon."

The BAA has organised the Boston Marathon since 1897, making it the world's oldest annual marathon.

"The Boston Athletic Association is carefully monitoring developments related to the coronavirus," the BAA said to the Boston Herald.

"We will continue to closely follow updates from organisations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Public Health and the World Health Organization, and will adhere to any policies put forth by the Federal Government.

"We have no further comment at the moment but will continue to monitor the situation carefully."

There are now more than 75,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus since it originated in Chinese city Wuhan.

More than 2,100 people have died with the vast majority of patients in China.

Thirty countries and territories are now affected, with 15 cases confirmed in the United States.

Numerous sporting events have been either cancelled or postponed due to the crisis.

Earlier this week, Walsh ate lunch in Boston's Chinatown amid fears that the virus would hurt businesses in the area.

Cherono replaces injured Farah, to battle Bekele in London Half Marathon

Chicago Marathon champion Lawrence Cherono has been drafted in to replace injured Mo Farah and battle Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele in the March 1 Vitality London Half Marathon.

Cherono, one of the world's most successful marathon runners, will take on Bekele as part of his training ahead of his title defense on the streets in Boston in April.

Cherono, who has been selected to represent Kenya at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is the reigning champion of both the Boston and Chicago Marathons and has an incredible record of eight wins in 11 races over the 42km distance.

"I am really looking forward to going to London to run in such a high-quality race. I'm thankful for the opportunity. It is exactly the test I was looking for as I prepare for the Boston Marathon and I am sure it will be a great race," Cherono said on Wednesday.

The London Half Marathon, which starts close to London's iconic Tower Bridge, will offer Cherono a stern test gauging his fitness against Bekele, he is to fight at the Tokyo Olympic games later in August.

Bekele is the current world record holder for 5000m and 10000m and the second-fastest marathon runner in history having clocked 2:01:41 in winning Berlin race in 2019.

Both men will use the London Half Marathon as crucial preparation for upcoming marathons.

Bekele is working towards a mouth-watering match-up between himself and marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge on April 26 while Cherono will defend his Boston Marathon title six days earlier on April 20.

As well as Cherono and Bekele, the reigning Rotterdam Marathon champion Marius Kipserem from Kenya and a host of leading British athletes including Chris Thompson, Dewi Griffiths and Ross Millington will race in this year's event.

Mo Farah withdrew from this year's race due to injury and is still in Kenya to continue with his training.

Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh smashed the half marathon world record in Ras Al Khaimah

Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh smashed the world record to win the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on Friday (21), clocking 1:04:31 at the World Athletics Gold Label road race.

Marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei was a distant second in 1:04:49, but her time was also inside the previous world record of 1:04:51, set by Joyciline Jepkosgei in Valencia in 2017.

Kosgei led for the first half, following pacemaker Geoffrey Pyego as he brought the field through five kilometers in 15:07 – 1:03:47 pace – with nine women in tow. By the time Kosgei reached 10 kilometers in 30:18, only Yeshaneh was able to stick with the Kenyan as Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yelahun led the chase pack some 11 seconds behind.

Roughly one mile after passing 15 kilometers in 45:38, Yeshaneh overtook Kosgei and continued to pull away. Although Yeshaneh’s pace slowed, she was still able to maintain her speed – and world record pace – better than Kosgei and covered the second 10km segment in 30:54.

Yeshaneh crossed the line in 1:04:31 to take 20 seconds off the world record while Kosgei followed in a Kenyan record of 1:04:49. It was revenge of sorts for the Ethiopian, who had finished second at last year’s Chicago Marathon when Kosgei won in a world record of 2:14:04.

Rosemary Wanjiru came through to take third place in 1:05:34, the fastest ever debut half marathon, and the next five women over the line finished inside 67 minutes.

“I didn’t imagine this result,” said Yeshaneh, whose previous best of 1:05:46 had stood as the Ethiopian record for a five-month period between 2018 and 2019. “I am a world record holder!”

Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie took the men’s race in 58:58, also winning by an 18-second margin as compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao finished second in 59:16.

Unlike the women’s race which was well inside world record pace throughout, the men’s race never quite hit the target times for each segment. The pacemaker covered the first five kilometers in 14:03, about 59:17 pace, and even then the rest of the field were five seconds adrift.

Having covered 10 kilometers in 28:07, the real racing began about 12 minutes later when Munyao moved into the lead and opened up a gap on Kandie. He still led at 15km, reached in 42:01, but Kandie had not given up.

Kandie, who won the Kenyan cross-country title just six days ago, caught Munyao with about three kilometers to go, eventually pulling away to win in 58:58, a personal best by 21 seconds. Munyao finished second in 59:16, just seven seconds shy of the PB he clocked in Santa Pola last month.

Mule Wasihun, who finished third at the London Marathon last year in 2:03:16, took third place in 59:47, closely followed by Alfred Barkach (59:49) and Vincent Kibor Raimoi (59:51).

The Nagoya Women's Marathon will be limited to elite runners

The Nagoya Women's Marathon will exclude all but elite competitors at the March 8 event amid concerns over the current coronavirus outbreak, while the open Nagoya City Marathon has also been canceled, organizers announced Thursday.

The move follows the example set by the March 1 Tokyo Marathon, which Monday announced it will exclude all but elite competitors. Organizers said the measure was taken to protect athletes due to uncertainty about the way the virus is transmitted.

The elite field is limited to invited athletes and those who have run marathons in 3 hours or less.

The marathon was to be held in conjunction with the canceled Nagoya City Marathon. The city marathon and related events were expected to attract around 40,000 people.

"We concluded that it was difficult for everyone to take part confident in their security," organizers said on the event's website.

Meanwhile, the Japan Para Sports Association has postponed a boccia tournament that was to double as a test event for the Tokyo Paralympics in order to protect athletes. Instead of an international event, a test event with a smaller number of domestic athletes will be held behind closed doors.

The association informed the Tokyo Games organizing committee that the 2020 Japan Para Championships Boccia, scheduled to begin on Feb. 28, has been "temporarily placed on hold until a final decision can be made on staging the event."

The association concluded that "further time is necessary to fully analyze the potential impacts should the novel coronavirus affect an athlete."

More than 30 para-athletes from nine countries and regions were to take part in the three-day event at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, a temporary venue on Tokyo's waterfront near the Olympic and Paralympic Village.

Tokyo Games organizers said they will carry out the boccia test event "in some form, after ensuring a safe and secure environment."

The government has cancelled Saturday's third and final pre-Olympic host town summit, an event that brings together local government officials with athletes from different countries and regions.

Among the 400 to 500 people, including Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto, were expected to attend.

With less than a week and a half to go Amy Cragg Withdraws from 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials

Defending champion Amy Cragg, 36, announced on Instagram that she will not compete in the championship. Cragg cited an illness as the reason for withdrawing from the race.

“The Trials are the reason I have shown up every day for the last four years, so this has been an extremely difficult decision,” she wrote on Instagram. Cragg did not immediately respond to Runner’s World’s request for comment.

In January, Cragg told Runner’s World, “February 29, top 3, that’s what I’m going for. It’s just getting on that team. For me, that’s everything.” She said that training for Trials was going well, despite a disappointing year of racing in 2019.

Last year, the 2:21 marathoner raced only twice on the roads, finishing seventh at the Prague Half Marathon in 1:13:27 in April and 14th at the Beach to Beacon 10K in 34:40 in August. She had plans to race at the 2019 Chicago Marathon but withdrew with an injury. Outside of racing, she was struggling in workouts with overall fatigue.

“You talk to any distance runner, you go through those ups and downs regularly,” she told Runner’s World. “It’s like you just can’t seem to get out of the slump. You don’t know whether to push harder or let go. I’ve been used to it over the years. But there was definitely still that fear that I might have overdone it; [I’d] hope it’s not undoable.”

After training at altitude with the Bowerman Track Club for most of January and February this year, Cragg came down to sea level to race the New Orleans Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon on February 9. Unfortunately, she slowed throughout the race, indicating that a successful Trials defense was in jeopardy. She finished in 1:16:53, averaging 5:51 per mile. When Cragg ran the 2018 Tokyo Marathon, which put her fifth on the U.S. all-time list, she averaged 5:24 pace for double the distance.

Ultra-marathoner Michael Wardian Will Attempt Breaking a 29-year-old Course Record at Catalina Island Marathon

Renowned record-breaking marathoner and ultra-marathoner and NATHAN sports athlete Michael Wardian will run in the Catalina Island Marathon on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Avalon, CA.

Michael Wardian will look to add to an impressive running resume, which includes world records  for the fastest time for seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

Fastest marathon and 50K on an indoor 200-meter track and fastest Leadville 100 mile and Pike’s Peak marathon double. Wardian will chase the 2:39:58 course record set in 1991 by Catalina Island Marathon legend Bill McDermott. The 43rd anniversary Catalina Marathon is an iconic bucket list race with rugged terrain, spectacular vistas, and more than 4,000 feet of elevation gain.

The 29-year-old course record will prove to be challenging to beat, but Michael Wardian will have his opportunity to make history on March 14, 2020

Ababel Yeshaneh from Ethiopian runs the fastest time ever for the half marathon at Ras Al Khaimah beating Brigid Kosgei

Marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei was beaten by Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh on Friday morning (Thursday night in the U.S.) at the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Half Marathon by clocking 64:31 a world record.

Kosgei, running just her second race since obliterating the marathon world record by running 2:14:04 last October in Chicago, was the heavy favorite to win at RAK and lower the 64:51 record held by Joyciline Jepkosgei since 2017. The 26-year-old achieved the second part of that goal by running 64:49 on Friday, but it was only good enough for second place as Yeshaneh dropped Kosgei between 15 and 20km.

Here are the Ethiopian’s record-breaking splits: 15:07 5k, 30:18 10k (15:11), 45:41 15k (15:23), 61:11 20k (15:30), 64:31 FINISH (3:20)

Kosgei had a three-second advantage over Yeshaneh at 15k, but the Kenyan faded minutes later as she split 15:49 between 15k and 20k, her slowest kilometer by 27 seconds.

Ironically, Yeshaneh finished runner-up behind Kosgei at the 2019 Chicago Marathon in 2:20:51, a whopping six minutes and 47 seconds behind Kosgei’s transcendent run that day. Kosgei is still the unquestioned queen of the marathon right now, but Yeshaneh’s performance at RAK suggests that the 28-year-old Ethiopian could soon become a serious challenger.

Ababel Yeshaneh Birhane is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in track, road and cross country events. She represented her country in the 10,000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, coming ninth, and ranked fifth in the world on time that year.

In the men's race Kibiwott Kandie of Kenya clocked 58:58 with Alexander Mutiso Munyao 18 seconds behind for second place.  Mule Wasihun Lakew from Ethiopia was third clocking 59:49.  

Wilkerson Given is Making Another Trial Run for Olympics

On Leap Day, Wilkerson Given hopes to take an Olympic leap – although an Olympic run might be a better description.

The former Mountain Brook high school distance runner will be competing in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials marathon on Feb. 29 in Atlanta. The course runs through the heart of Atlanta and past monuments from the 1996 Olympic Games.

The 2020 event has one of the largest Olympic Trials field ever, with 261 men and 511 women having run qualification standards. The top three finishers in both men’s and women’s races will make up the U.S. marathon team for the 2020 Summer Games, being held in Tokyo July 24 to Aug. 9.

“I think there’s a group of 15-20 guys who all have a legitimate shot of making the team, but it just depends on the day,” Given said. “Marathons are hard to predict because a lot can happen in the course of a race.”

The race starts at 11 a.m. CST and will be televised by NBC.

This will be Given’s second time running in the Olympic Trials marathon. He competed in the 2016 trials in Los Angeles and finished 54th with a time of 2:27.50.

Given, 28, qualified for the 2020 trials by running 2:11.44 in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last fall.

“It’s going to be a tough race, but I wouldn’t say there’s any pressure on me,” Given said. “I’m more excited about the opportunity.”

Given will be competing in his backyard, so to speak. He moved to Atlanta from The Woodlands, Texas, in 2018 and is a professional runner with the Atlanta Track Club Elite.

“The Atlanta track club was definitely part of my decision to move to Atlanta,” Given said. “The job I had in Texas had flexible relocation.

 “Being from the Southeast, Atlanta is close to home, close to where I went to college. I have college friends and some high school friends who live in the Atlanta area.”

Shortly after joining Atlanta Elite, Given won the 2018 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon in 1:02.48. He also finished seventh in the USATF Half Marathon Championships in May 2018.

Laura Kaulen is a mother, wife, an intervention specialist at Central Crossing High School and she’s been an avid runner since the seventh grade, and is set to challenge the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

Kaulen has a lot going on.

She is a mother, wife, an intervention specialist at Central Crossing High School and she’s been an avid runner since the seventh grade.

“Running; it brings me happiness,” Kaulen said. “It brings me peace. It brings me time to think. It gives me time to analyze my day and what’s going on.”

Running also brings Kaulen challenges – challenges like the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, which will take place at about 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, February 29.

“To qualify for the Olympic Trials you had to either run a 2:37, which gets you in the A qualifier or B qualifier is under 2:45 flat,” she said. “And I ran a 2:42:48 at the Chicago Marathon this past October.”

That race pushed Kaulen into the Olympic Trials for the second time.“I feel good, she said. “I feel like my training has gone really, really well. I’m hitting a lot of hard workouts; running at marathon pace or under marathon pace, which will help me in Atlanta.”

That training, which averages about 75 miles each week, also runs over and into Kaulen’s role as an educator.“Running gives me time to think, so I’ve come up with some great lesson plans while running because it gives me time to think about this and that and how well this student is doing or what I need to do for this student.” She said.

Kaulen tells 10TV she hopes it can inspire her students along the way.

“There’s so many obstacles and not every day you’re going to feel good to be able to run and not every day are you going to set a goal to do something and you’re going to achieve it,” she said. “So I feel like I can relate to my students who have many obstacles.”The top three men and women finishers at the Olympic Trials will be eligible to represent the country at the summer Tokyo Olympic Games.

Six of Canada’s fastest women are set to race United Airlines NYC half

March 15 is the United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon and six of Canada’s fastest women are set to race. Natasha Wodak, Krista DuChene, Kinsey Middleton, Jen Moroz, Melanie Myrand and Dayna Pidhoresky will all be lining up.

Canada is in the midst of a distance running renaissance that’s showing no signs of slowing down, and these women have played a major part in that. Wodak holds that fastest personal best of the Canadians. She ran a Canadian record in Houston a few weeks ago, becoming the first Canadian women to run under 1:10:00 for the half.

Her record of 1:09:41 stood for three weeks before it was broken by Andrea Seccafien, the current record holder, by two seconds.

DuChene is coming off her strongest year since 2015, running a 2:32:27 to win the master’s division at the 2019 Berlin Marathon. Middleton had a tough day at STWM in October but her 1:12:15 from Houston shows that she’s ready for a strong spring racing season. Myrand hasn’t put up a result since the World Championship marathon in Doha last September, so it’ll be interesting to see where she’s at. Her current personal best is a 1:15:50, a time she’ll likely lower.

Pidhoresky hasn’t touched her half-marathon personal best since the Niagara Falls half-marathon in 2011. Her 1:11:46 is sure to get broken, especially considering her Olympic qualifying marathon from STWM.

Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie has shifted his focus to the 14th edition of Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon to be held on Friday in the United Arab Emirates

The newly crowned Athletics Kenya National Cross Country champion Kibiwott Kandie has shifted his focus to the 14th edition of Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon to be held on Friday in the United Arab Emirates.

The athlete, who has been training in Ngong, Kajiado County, will be looking forward to a good run as he expects a favourable weather during the race.

Kandie, a Kenya Defence Officer, said that his preparations were good and he is ready for the task ahead as he seeks to run a time of 58 minutes in the distance.

“I’m well prepared for the race and being a fast course, I will be looking forward to running my personal best. I am targeting 58:00. It will be competitive but I believe my training for the last three months will be productive,” said the athlete.

Last weekend, Kandie stormed to victory at the Athletics Kenya National Cross Country Championships where he beat the race favourite and two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor to win the contested race in 29:57.7.

The men's elite field for Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon features one of the fastest ever assembled

Ethiopia's Mule Wasihun, who was third at the London Marathon last year in 2:03:16, brings a 59:34 career best to the line, but Julien Wanders of Switzerland, the European record holder at 59:13, has gone even faster. In all, 11 men have lifetime bests under 60 minutes.

Wanders, 23, has said training has been going very well after his 27:13 European 10km record run in Valencia last month, encouraging him to set his sights on the 59-minute barrier.

"It is a course that I like quite a lot," he said. "My training group helped me to arrive here in good shape.”

The field also includes world leader Alexander Mutiso Munyao at 59:09, Solomon Berihu (59:17), Amdalak Belihu (59:10) and Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo (59:26).

A record 5,064 runners will compete across a variety of race categories, including the half marathon, a relay, 5km and a 1km fun run.

Defending Champions Joyciline Jepkosgei and Belay Tilahun will Return for the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon

All four defending champions – Joyciline Jepkosgei, Tatyana McFadden, Belay Tilahun, and Daniel Romanchuk – will return for the 2020 United Airlines NYC Half, which will feature a world-class professional athlete field that includes 14 Olympians and eight Paralympians leading 25,000 runners from Prospect Park in Brooklyn to Central Park in Manhattan.

The 15th running of the event will take place on Sunday, March 15, leading the athletes on a 13.1-mile tour through neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan and past iconic New York City landmarks, including Grand Army Plaza, the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, and Times Square. Coverage of the race, including features, interviews, and pro race look-ins will be available on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York area from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET on race day, while a pro race livestream will begin at 7:00 a.m. ET on multiple ABC7 and NYRR social media channels.

“This year’s United Airlines NYC Half will feature all four defending champions leading an exciting array of international stars and rising American talent,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of NYRR. “Olympians and Paralympians from 18 different countries will join our defending champions in a race that will be followed all around the world, as New York again becomes the focal point of the global running community this March.”

Jepkosgei, who won the United Airlines NYC Half and TCS New York City Marathon last year in her first two trips to the United States, will look to defend her event title against a stacked international field. 

At the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half, during her first-ever trip to the United States, Jepkosgei won on a solo run to the finish in a time of 1:10:07. The world championships silver medalist in the distance became the sixth woman from Kenya to win the United Airlines NYC Half, and the first to do so since 2014. She then made her marathon debut at the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon and finished in first place with a time of 2:22:38.

She was just seven seconds off the course record and registered the second-fastest time in the women’s open’s division in New York City Marathon history. The time was also the fastest ever by a woman making her New York City Marathon debut. Jepkosgei is the world-record holder in the half marathon, having run a 1:04:51 to win the 2017 Valencia Half-Marathon in Spain.

“In my first two trips to the U.S. – for the United Airlines NYC Half and TCS New York City Marathon last year – I was so excited to cross the finish line first in Central Park to win both races,” Jepkosgei said. “I cannot wait to return to New York to defend my NYC Half title.”

Challenging Jepkosgei will be two-time NYC Half champion Caroline Rotich, 2018 NYC Half champion Buze Diriba and last year’s runner-up, Mary Ngugi. Olympians Milly Clark, Susan Krumins, Steph Twell, and Natasha Wodak will join them in the field, along with the United States’ Jess Tonn, who finished as the runner-up at the 2019 USATF 5K Championships and will be making her half-marathon debut.

A respected Japanese virologist said that Tokyo Olympics probably couldn’t be held now, under current circumstances, but things could improve by July

A respected Japanese virologist, Hitoshi Oshitani, on Wednesday said if the Tokyo Olympics were tomorrow, the games probably couldn’t be held because of the fast-spreading virus from Wuhan, China.

“We need to find the best way to have a safe Olympics,” Dr. Hitoshi Oshitani said, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. “Right now we don’t have an effective strategy, and I think it may be difficult to have the Olympics (now). But by the end of July we may be in a different situation.”

The local Tokyo Olympic organizing committee and the International Olympic Committee have repeatedly said over the last few weeks that they are following the advice of the World Health Organization and that the games will go on.

But with every passing day, the impact of the virus seems to spread, and so does the fallout: Olympic qualifying events are canceled or postponed, travel gets difficult, and athletes and families are left wondering. Not to mention sponsors and broadcasting networks that have invested billions of dollars in the Olympics.

The modern Olympics dating from 1896 have only been canceled during wartime, and in 1980 and 1984 they went on with boycotts.

Oshitani, a former adviser with the WHO who worked on the SARS outbreak almost 20 years ago, was hopeful but sowed some uncertainty about the July 24-Aug. 9 Olympics.

“I’m not sure of the situation in Japan at the end of July,” he said, answering in English. “But probably we will not have large outbreaks in Japan in July.”

Oshitani said he was most concerned about a “Wuhan-type” of outbreak taking place in Africa or other parts of Asia and having cases imported into Japan. He said if that happened “it may get difficult to have” the Olympics. But he also suggested Japan might be able to handle it.

“So what we have to do now is try to prevent such a thing from happening,” he added, saying the Japanese government should support countries so they don’t have “that kind of situation.”

The viral outbreak has infected more than 75,000 people globally. China has reported 2,004 deaths among 74,185 cases on the mainland, mostly in the central province of Hubei. Only one death in Japan has been attributed to the virus.

Earlier in the week, Shigeru Omi, a former regional director of the WHO and an infectious disease expert from Japan, also said he could not be sure about the Olympics.

“Whether the outbreak will last until the Olympic date or not depends upon the virus and the societal effort and joint international community,” he said at a news conference. “Nobody can predict whether we can contain the virus or put an end to this outbreak before the Olympics start. That’s anybody’s guess.”

He added it was not a “big question mark, but there is a question mark.”

In the spotlight are 19 test events that Japan is to hold beginning next month, a chance for organizers to practice in competition mode and an opportunity for potential Olympic athletes to check out Japan.

In a cancellation Wednesday, the Kyodo news agency reported that Mongolia’s archery team had pulled out of a training camp in Japan’s central Aichi prefecture.

Dozens of sports events have been called off around Asia in the wake of the outbreak, including the indoor world track and field championships next month in Nanjing, China, and the Formula One race in April in Shanghai.

Organizers announced last week that next month’s Tokyo Marathon will be limited to elite runners and wheelchair athletes. About 38,000 runners had been expected to participate in one of the world’s largest races.

2020 Nike Vapormax is set To Debut At Tokyo Olympics

February 2017 marks a pivotal notch in Nike’s innovation timeline as this was the very instance that Vapormax technology made its retail introduction to the globe.

Since this moment, the segmented Air unit is still considered to be one of the Swoosh’s significant creations of last decade and has spawned an entire generation of new Sportswear models designed equally for performance and lifestyle purposes.

And while many of its releases in the past year have delivered compelling colorways and hybrid silhouettes such as the recent Vapormax 360, it’s ready to turn the page to its new chapter, and what better event to do so than at the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Vapormax 2020, a brand new silhouette that keeps most of its traditional DNA, but modifies its constructions with elements more aligned with futuristic proportions.

Engineered with a more sustainable approach, this new model’s Flyknit upper is comprised of 75% recycled manufacturing waste, and features multi-colored threading inspired by a bird’s eye view of piles of waste (We didn’t know trash could ever look this good either). In addition, the heels have been upgraded with a much sleeker shape with curvy molds plastered to the rear which, for these initial launch colorways, arrive in an icy blue hue set with scrap speckles on the USA edition, and an oceanic marble for its GR colorway. 

However, perhaps the component that reflects its evolution the most, is the addition of Flyease – Nike’s laceless technology system that allows users to slide in and out of the shoe while still providing a flexible and secured fit.

The translucent outsole is also altered slightly with the arrival of an “S” shaped mold that separates the forefoot and heel, as well as more chippy recycled accents pasted onto its borders. You can expect to these to make their debut on the Olympic podiums via this Summer’s medalists, as well as see a public release sometime during Summer/Fall 2020.

Taku Fujimoto and Kaena Takeyama will lead Japanese team at the World Half Marathon Championships

The JAAF has announced the Japanese team for next month's World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland. Six of the ten men and women are fresh off PBs at the Marugame Half and National Corporate Half earlier this month, with three of the other four having set new bests since December.Set to be elevated from runner-up to winner of December's Fukuoka International Marathon after the bust of Moroccan El Mahjoub Dazza, Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) leads the men's team with an all-time Japanese #2 1:00:06 in Marugame.

Three other men on the team including amateur Takahiro Nakamura (Kyocera Kagoshima) broke 1:01 at the National Corporate Half two weeks ago. The only man on the the team not to have cleared 1:01 yet is 2020 Olympic marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu), who ran a PB 1:01:40 at January's Takanezawa Half.National Corporate Half winner Kaena Takeyama (Daihatsu) is the top-ranked woman with a 1:09:12,  followed by Sara Miyake (Tenmaya), 3rd at December's Sanyo Ladies Half in a 1:09:23 debut.

Takeyama's teammate Mizuki Matsuda won January's Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:21:47 and Miyake's teammate Honami Maeda just set a 30 km national record at Sunday's Ome Road Race, so you know where they're coming from. Rui Aoyama (Univ. Ent.) was just over 1:10 in Sanyo behind Miyake, with Ayumi Hagiwara (Toyota Jidoshokki) the only athlete on either team with a PB over two months old. 

Toshika Tamura (Hitachi) is a surprising addition, having run only 1:11:13 for 11th at the National Corporate Half.

Valencia Marathon sells out ten months ahead of the 2020 event

The Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP has sold all 30,000 race bibs for the next edition of the race, which will be held on December 6, 2020.

Thus the ceiling on runner numbers has been reached 10 months before the event and within just three months of opening entries for the race.

Like last year, the organizers will open a waiting list in a few days time so that those without entries can take up places, if and when these become available as entered runners drop out for whatever reason.

To mark its 40th anniversary, the Valencia Marathon raised the number of bibs available to 30,000 (5,000 more than in 2019), split into three equal tranches priced at EUR 60, EUR 80, and EUR 100 respectively. The first tranche of 10,000 bibs was put on sale on the day following the previous race. The bibs ran out in under 48 hours. The second tranche ran out just nine days later.

Last year, race bibs ran out almost six months before the race date. This is why the organizers – SD Correcaminos running club and Valencia City Council – decided to ditch the 10K Valencia Trinidad Alfonso so that they could offer more places for the Marathon. For the third year on the trot, race bibs have run out for the race which the Spanish athletics federation RFEA ranks as Spain’s best marathon by far. The race is also the first one to obtain World Athletics’ Platinum Label.

Those who have missed out on a race bib so far have one last chance to take part in this special, 40th anniversary of the Valencia Marathon. This chance takes the form of the hundred Platinum Bibs put on sale to celebrate the award of the World Athletics Platinum Label. This is a new way of taking part in the trial and includes a special charity quota for Save The Children — the Official Charity for 2020 — and many extras such as access to the VIP area, a post-race thermal poncho, participation in the Breakfast Run and so on.

The 20,000 bibs for the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP (which will be held on October 25, 2020) are selling like hot cakes. The first tranche of 10,000 was sold out in December. Right now, there are still some 1,500 bibs available before we hang up the ‘sold out’ sign.

The Valencia Half Marathon is now part of the new Super Half circuits, which brings together the best international trials over this distance.

Caster Semenya has run her first public race in eight months, breaking the national 300m record at a low-level meeting at a South African university

Caster Semenya runs first public race for eight months in 300m before proclaiming: 'Track and field, you will still see my face'.  "I'm here to stay."

The Olympic 800m champion is currently banned from competing in her favored event at major meets, and any distance from 400m to one mile, unless she follows World Athletics rules that require her to medically reduce her natural testosterone levels to compete in women's competitions.

The regulations were designed for female athletes with differences of sex development like Semenya and have been severely criticized.

The race at the University of Johannesburg on Friday night, which also featured high school students, was Semenya's first appearance since June last year when she won an 800m race at the Prefontaine Classic in America.

"Track and field, you will still see my face," Semenya said after winning Friday's 300m race in 36.78 seconds. "That is all I can say for now."

It's not the first time Semenya has guaranteed a comeback. The Olympics are just five months away and it's doubtful if Semenya will be able to defend her title in the 800m. But maybe she has another plan.

Semenya, who turned 29 last month, has twice appealed against the regulations. She lost her first appeal at sport's highest court. Her second legal challenge at the Swiss supreme court is still being considered. Her chances of winning that second appeal are seen as slim.

Semenya has repeatedly refused to adhere to the testosterone regulations and her decision to open the Olympic year with a 300m race might be significant.

The rules do not apply to races below 400m and Semenya could compete in the 200m at the Olympics without having to reduce her hormone level.

Semenya didn't indicate if that was her intention when she stated that her track career was not over. The South African has rarely run the 200m and her personal best is 24.26 seconds. Semenya would have to improve that by nearly two seconds to meet the qualifying standard of 22.80 seconds for the Tokyo Olympics.

Asian Games silver medalist Hima Das has moved to the 200m category from 400m ahead of 2020 Olympics

The 20-year-old was asked to move to 200m because she has struggled with illness and does not have basic conditioning level she needs for a longer race.

Asian Games silver medalist Hima Das has moved to the 200m category from 400m for the upcoming season, thereby putting her chances of qualifying for an individual event at this year’s Tokyo Olympics in major doubt, reported The Indian Express.

The report added that Das will switch back to 400m only next season as she has missed on training due to illness during the back end of last year and won’t be physically ready for the longer distance. Das had missed out on the World Championships after suffering a debilitating back injury and then struggled with a recurring fever.

“It does not make sense to focus on the 400 meters this season because she does not have the basic conditioning level she needs,” Athletics Federation of India’s high-performance director Volker Herrmann was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The German added: “And in the 400 meters, you need a decent amount of endurance and considering that now there is only four and a half months till the end of the qualifying period for the Olympics, we didn’t want to make similar mistakes of last season and we didn’t want to force anything.

“If we put her into 400 meter competitions again there would be a lot of pressure. She is still young and and we don’t want to rush anything.”

Das faces an uphill task trying to improve on her time in the 200m event. To qualify for the Summer Games, the cut-off is set at 22.80 seconds. The Assamese sprinter’s personal best in the 200m is well below the qualifying mark at 23.10 seconds.

Herrmann stated that Das was asked to move to 200m because of the endurance levels needed to run a longer race, and was confident that she can make the grade for the Olympics.

“Hima’s main limitation now is her speed for a 400 meter runner, so this year as far as individual events go, Hima will focus more on the 200 metres,” Herrmann said.

“The goal is to improve her personal best, and from 2021 onwards with better speed base and hopefully with more endurance as well, she can focus on improving her 400 meter performance.”

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei is set to make his half-marathon debut at the upcoming world championships

Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda ran a world-record shattering 5K on Sunday in Monaco–a 12:51, the fastest 5K time run on the roads or track in the past year. He did this just a few months after a monster 2019 season, where he became both the cross-country and 10,000m world champion.

Next up for Chepetegi is a half-marathon debut at the upcoming world championships in Gdynia, Poland.

It’s not typical to run a distance debut at a world championship, but when you’re a former 10K and current 5K world record holder, you’re not a typical runner. Cheptegei told World Athletics that he would like to make history at the March 29 race and become the first person to win consecutive world titles in cross-country, the 10,000m and the half-marathon.

The runner also told World Athletics that his usual mileage is between 120 and 140K per week when he’s training for track events, but since he’s stepping up to the half, he’s increased it to roughly 160K. The most important session of the week is a 30 to 35K long run, over rolling hills, at 1,800 meters of elevation.

The world half-marathon championships always draw a strong contingent, but especially this year.  The new world ranking system gives points to runners based on their placing at national and international championships.

The half-marathon championship is an event where a strong finish could nearly guarantee a spot on the Olympic start line. Also, runners who typically float in between track and road events no longer have to chose as the World Indoor Championships, also scheduled for March, were postponed due to coronavirus.

Federations will finish announcing their world championship teams in the coming two weeks, but spectators can expect to see strong fields including South African national record-holder Stephen Mokoka (59:51).

Nagoya Women's Marathon Considering Canceling Mass Participation Race

In the wake of the Tokyo Marathon's cancelation of its mass-participation race, on Feb. 17 it was learned that the Mar. 8 Nagoya Women's Marathon, which like Tokyo features a format combining an elite selection race for the 2020 Olympic team with a mass-participation race, is examining whether it will be possible to still stage the mass-participation component of its event.

Following the Tokyo Marathon's announcement earlier in the day that it was canceling its mass-participation race over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Nagoya's organizers were inundated with inquiries from the media and amateur runners entered in the race.

The organizers say that they hope to reach a decision and make an announcement as soon as possible.

The largest women-only marathon in the world, as of Feb. 13 Nagoya has 24,002 entrants total this year, 137 in its elite division and 23,865 in its general division.

Along with Nagoya, organizers are also examining the feasibility of staging the Mar. 29 Toyohashi Half Marathon and Apr. 26 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon.

Defending Champions Tadu Abate and Dibabe Kuma will return to the Haspa Marathon Hamburg

Defending champions Tadu Abate and Dibabe Kuma will return to the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. Fellow-Ethiopians Ayele Abshero, who was runner-up last year, and Meseret Belete will be among their rivals on 19 April. This was announced by the organisers of Germany’s biggest and fastest spring marathon during a press conference. So far 12,000 entries have been registered for the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, which is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.

"It is always a good sign when athletes like to come back to challenge and to possibly produce thrilling races once again. We are proud that both winners from 2019 will return,“ said chief organiser Frank Thaleiser. With regard to the entry figures he said: „Compared to the same time last year we have 400 more entries for the marathon, which shows the trust the runners have in our event."

At the age of 22 Tadu Abate is still a youngster in marathon running. After his biggest career victory in Hamburg a year ago, when he clocked 2:08:25 in wet and cold conditions, the Ethiopian improved his personal best to 2:06:13 last autumn in Amsterdam.

On 19 April he will renew his rivalry with Ayele Abshero. The two Ethiopians produced a thrilling finish last year, when Abate was just one second ahead of Abshero. Back in 2018 Abate had left his experienced rival behind him as well, when the pair finished second and third in Hamburg behind fellow-Ethiopian Solomon Deksisa. 29 year-old Abshero, who features a world-class personal best of 2:04:23, will be eager to be quicker than his younger rival this time.

The women’s field will be headed by defending champion Dibabe Kuma. The 23 year-old Ethiopian caused a surprise last year, when she produced a great solo run in the poor conditions, winning in 2:24:42.

"This is a very good course,“ said Kuma afterwards, indicating that in more suitable weather she could have improved her personal best of 2:23:34. Fellow-Ethiopian Meseret Belete will be one of her main challengers on 19 April. Just 20 years old Belete was sixth in the World Half Marathon Championships in 2018 and holds a marathon PB of 2:24:54.

Breaking the Olympic qualifying times on Hamburg’s fast course will be the major goal for the German elite runners. Philipp Pflieger, who has a personal record of 2:12:50, intends to go for the 2:11:30 Olympic standard.

He showed fine form just two days ago when he improved his PB in the half marathon to 62:50 in Barcelona. Two other Germans who recorded personal bests in the Spanish half marathon two days ago also have Olympic ambitions: Twin sisters Deborah and Rabea Schöneborn will run a marathon together for the first time. While Deborah won the Cologne Marathon last autumn - though without proper competition - in 2:31:18 in her debut, Rabea will run her debut in Hamburg. Preparing for the marathon it looks that the 25 year-old twins are currently at the same level.

Deborah clocked a PB of 71:37 in Barcelona on Sunday while Rabea crossed the line immediately behind her in ninth place with 71:40, a PB as well. It seems that both can achieve the Olympic qualifying time of 2:29:30 in Hamburg.

World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei set for first race of the season

World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei is among elite athletes who will compete in Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arabs Emirates slated for Friday.

The Kapsait-based athlete will line up in the race alongside her compatriots, former World Half Marathon Championships title holder Peres Jepchirchir, Joan Chelimo, Rosemary Wanjiru and third fastest woman over the distance, Fancy Chemutai. World Half Marathon champion, Netsanet Gudeta, from Ethiopia will also compete in the race.

Kosgei, who is one of the most sought-after athletes at the moment, has predicted a competitive race in the Gulf.

“Friday’s race has attracted a competitive field and promises to be tough. My target is to run well, and to possibly register my personal best in the race,” she told Nation Sport Monday.

The reigning world marathon record holder who resumed training in December after a long break will have Geoffrey Kipsang for a pacemaker. Kipsang helped Kosgei break the world marathon record last year in Chicago Marathon.

“I have trained for the last few months and I will stick to my game plan in the race,” she said.

The 2020 Chongging International Marathon has been postponed

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2020 Chongqing International Marathon, which was originally scheduled for March 22, is to be postponed, organisers said on Monday.

Organizers in southwest China's Chongqing municipality said that they will retain the qualification of the runners who successfully registered. Runners who quit the race can get an unconditional refund and keep their qualifications alive until the next marathon race in 2021.

The event, an IAAF race, is sponsored by the China Athletic Association and Chongqing Municipal Sports Bureau.

2020 Tokyo Olympics organizers says there is no Plan B for summer games amid coronavirus fears

Tokyo Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said there is no 'Plan B' for the upcoming summer games despite growing fears that the coronavirus could impact the event, which are set to begin in July, the Associated Press reported.

Speaking at a press conference Friday, the organizers took 11 questions, all of which were related to the virus, athletes and fans coming in from China, and the continuation of the planned events. 

"Certainly the advice we've received externally from the WHO (World Health Organization) is that there's no case for any contingency plans or canceling the games or moving the games," IOC inspection team head John Coates said during the news conference, CBS Sports reported.

Coates also claimed he is "100% confident" that the Olympic games will continue as scheduled.

"It is meaningless to predict a timing when the coronavirus may come to an end,"  former regional director of the WHO and an infectious disease expert from Japan Shigeru Omi told the Associated Press separate from the news conference on Thursday. "We should assume that the virus has already been spreading in Japan. People should understand that we cannot only rely on border controls to prevent the spread of the disease."

However, CEO of the Tokyo Olympics Toshiro Muto said on February 4 at a meeting with International Paralympic Committee officials that he was "seriously worried" about the impact the coronavirus could have on the "momentum towards the games," the Associated Press reported.

Several qualifying events have already been canceled or moved because of the virus, CNN reported. Asia and Oceanian region's qualifying boxing event has been canceled, and the Asian Football Confederation's women's football qualifiers has been moved from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to Nanjing.

China is expected to bring in a team of about 600 athletes to the Tokyo games this summer.

 "We continue also to monitor, particularly the Chinese that will be coming here," Coates continued. "You'll find that the Chinese teams are mostly out of China. That's the athletes and officials."

As of now, there has been one coronavirus-induced fatality in Japan, making it the second death outside of China, the Washington Post reported. To compare, 1,380 deaths have occured in China. 

Kenyans Benson Kipruto and Lucy Cheruiyot reign supreme at Guadalajara Half Marathon

Benson Kipruto and Lucy Cheruiyot began their 2020 season on a high note by taking the top honors at the 34th Electrolit Guadalajara Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race on Sunday, although the course records set one year ago remained intact.

With ideal conditions for long distance running, clear skies and temperatures hovering at 10 C, a pack of over dozen men covered the initial 5km in just under 15 minutes. As they hit the 10km mark in 29:40, it signaled the course record of 1:01:48, set by Kenya’s Mathew Kisorio last year, would be hard to beat.

Thirty-five minutes into the race, the lead group was reduced to five: Kenya’s Jeoffrey Kimutai, Kipruto, Cosmas Birech, Peru's Ulises Martin and Mexico’s two-time winner and two-time Olympic finalist Juan Luis Barrios.

Barrios remained with the three Kenyans at 15km, but Kimutai left Kipruto soon after. As they entered the home stretch, Kimutai moved to the front but Kipruto bided his time and launched his sprint in the last 20 meters to secure the victory in 1:02:13, a personal best over the distance for the 2019 Toronto Marathon champion. Barrios completed the podium with 1:02:27 as he prepares for the London Marathon.

In the women’s race, a Kenyan quartet soon made a statement as they moved to the front in the first kilometers. Cheruiyot was joined by her countrywomen Winfridah Moraa, Margaret Agai, Visiline Jepkesho and Ethiopia’s Belaynesh Oljira.

The group remained compact until the 15km marker, when Cheruiyot and Oljira moved away for good, setting the stage for a battle to determine the 2020 winner.

Cheruiyot launched her attack in the last 400m, but Oljira could not respond and was content to settle for second. The 23-year old Kenyan crossed the finish line in 1:10:52, four seconds ahead of the Ethiopian. Moraa completed the podium with 1:11:14.

The course and Mexican all-comers’ record of 1:08:53, set by Ethiopia’s Afera Godfay Berha in 2019, remained intact.

Vianey De La Rosa was the first Mexican to cross the finish line in sixth in 1:12:52, her fastest time in four years, guaranteeing a spot on her national team for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, on 29 March.

The 34th edition of the race, powered by Granvita, drew close to 14,000 runners in celebration of Guadalajara’s 478th anniversary of its foundation.

The 2020 Great Wall Marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus

The safety of our runners is our top priority. We have thus decided, in coordination with our local partners in China, that it is in everyone's best interest to cancel The Great Wall Marathon 2020 due to the situation with COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. 

We are deeply saddened to make this decision, but due to the World Health Organization's declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and resulting travel restrictions imposed by many countries, we believe that the right course of action is to cancel for this year. 

We offer a heartfelt apology for any ensuing disappointment – we are equally disappointed, but we hope to see you at one of our other races in 2020 or back in China in 2021. 

If you have already booked, you should have received a separate email detailing your options.

Olympic triathlon gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen runs first race since 2018

Gwen Jorgensen ran her first race since 2018 on Friday evening at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle, Washington. She finished in 15:47.20 for sixth place in the 5,000m.

The last time the 2016 Olympic gold medallist toed the line was in 2018 at the Chicago Marathon. That was the runners first real crack at the 42.2K distance (when it wasn’t within a triathlon or run on a whim). Jorgensen ran a 2:36:23, which for her was a disappointing result.

She had announced in a YouTube video in December she had decided to try to qualify for the 10,000m and possibly the 5,000m on the track for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, since her extended recovery from heel surgery has temporarily derailed her marathon plans. It was only in the fall of 2019 that Jorgensen was able to resume a full training load.

Jorgensen’s time from Friday is a good start to her season, but still a long way from the Olympic 5,000m standard of 15:10.00. Canadian Regan Yee won Friday’s race in a new indoor personal best of 15:33.17 which is only a second and a half behind her outdoor personal best of 15:31.62. Yee represented Canada in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2019 World Championships.

Tokyo Marathon Canceled for General Runners

The Tokyo Marathon Foundation said it will cancel the running event for non-professional runners as the coronavirus outbreak pressures cities and institutions to scrap large events.

Some 38,000 runners have registered for the race scheduled on March 1, according to the Tokyo Shimbun, which reported on the cancellation earlier.

“The cancellation is disappointing,” said Akari Terrell, who was planning to compete on the day. “This time, it can’t be helped.”

Competitive races will still be held, as the Tokyo marathon is an Olympic trial race for professional runners. Last week, residents from China were asked to refrain from running in the race.

Major events have been called off or postponed in recent months due to the virus, including the Hong Kong Sevens international rugby tournament, as well as the annual Singapore Yacht Show.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February had repeatedly said the 2020 Olympics would not be canceled or postponed despite fears about the novel coronavirus that has infected tens of thousands and cast a shadow over travel and tourism in Asia.

Joel Mwangi won the 13th Edition of the Verona Italy half marathon clocking a personal best of 1:00:40 the fastest half in Italy over the last year

The Kenyan Joel Maina Mwangi and Valeria Straneo are the winners of the 13th edition of the Giulietta & Romeo Half Marathon staged in Verona Italy on Sunday February 16 2020. 

The men's race was fast with Mwangi crossing the finish line in 1:00:40 preceding the compatriots Solomon Koech (1:00:56) and Ishmael Chelanga Kalale (1:01:26) who dropped after the 15th kilometer. In fourth place was Sounder Moen, former European marathon record holder, clocking 1:01:28; in seventh was the German record holder Arne Gabius (1:03:23).

This was the fastest Italian half marathon of the last 365 days.  After the race Joel Mwangi who is training at the newly opened (January 19) UjENA Fit Club Training Camp in Thika, Kenya said: "Despite a lot of corners, I took the lead from 18km.  I was well prepared for any pace.  Any time they tried to push I pushed back. At 10k I push for 1km (2:40) to break the group of four.  We remained two, Solomon and me.  At 18k I took over and he was not able to resist."

This was a personal best for Joel by 39 seconds.  His pace was 2:50 per k.  Third photo is Joel training with his Ujena Fit club team in Thika at an altitude of 5351 feet.  

The Italian title goes to the policeman Daniele D'Onofrio in 1:93:15 (7th place and personal best) ahead of Neka Crippa (6th) and Xavier Chevrier (1:03:25).

In the women's race, Valeria Straneo, who took over at 2km from the finish, got rid of the Kenyan Lenah Jerotich, who finished second in 1:11:43, Straneo clocked 1:11:34. Giovanna Epis also did well placing third clocking 1:12:13. 

Yamanishi cruises to national 20km title in Kobe, secures Olympic team spot

It was an island of dreams for Toshikazu Yamanishi at the 103rd Japanese National 20km Championships as he roared home to gold and a place in the Japanese Olympic team.

The world champion triumphed ahead of a stellar field to celebrate his 24th birthday the day before - and by a distance.

Previous editions in Kobe had been mostly cagey affairs, usually won by a grudging inch or two. But on a new 1km loop around Rokko Island at the southern end of the city, walkers spread out and saw times dip fractionally on previous years.

It probably owed a fair bit to the weather.

A slate grey rain demanded heavy coats and umbrellas on the sidelines. Many spectators wore medical masks, presumably to ward off the threat of Coronavirus.

‘Fresh’ said the forecast - decidedly chilly was nearer the truth. Walkers shivered on the start line, and many wore arm warmers.

However, the pace was white hot from the gun, incidentally kept inside a plastic bag by the starter until the last second.

Defending champion Eiki Takahashi, Koki Ikeda, Yamanishi, Isamu Fujisawa, Hirooki Arai, Tomohiro Noda and top Swede Perseus Karlstrom quickly established themselves at the front of the 84-strong field, and ticked off 5km in 19:18.

They were lapping the back markers very soon, and by lap nine, the pack was halved to just three.

Yamanishi, Takahashi and Ikeda had clearly decided to take the race by the scruff of the neck.

Halfway saw 38:50 on the course clock, with Karlstom already 17 seconds down, desperately trying to get on the coat-tails of Noda and Ikeda.

On Lap 12 Yamanishi shook off his two shadows in an almighty rush.

In fact, his leg speed over the next circuits was phenomenal.

The hot favourite for the Olympic title in Tokyo appeared a blur through the mist and rain. But Takahashi with a slightly longer stride refused to panic.

He halved a 20m lead over the next 2km, and closed the gap entirely by three-quarter distance reached in 58:10.

However, the bespectacled Yamanishi wasn’t finished.

A lap later, and with a second wind, he stretched another lead over Takahashi to around 15 metres even though he had to lap back markers on the outside - and this time the gap proved decisive.

The leader had the luxury of looking round at every 500m turn over the last 3km to see all opposition disappearing in his wake as he splashed though a sizeable puddle at the end of each lap.

He took the tape just as he did in Doha at the World Championships, this time in 1:17:36 but in very contrasting conditions.

Yamanishi has lead World Athletics rankings for an incredible 47 weeks, and despite a lack of opposition and the cold, was only marginally outside his personal best, 1:17:15, set in the Asian Championships at Nomi last year.

He’s also the only walker to have gone under 1:18:00 on four occasions.

Behind him, Ikeda moved through the gears in the closing stages to come home a surprise second.

Karlstrom paid the price for a fierce early pace to finish overall third, nearly two minutes down on the winner - and a long way outside his PB, 1:18:07.

No doubt the Doha bronze medallist and 2019 Race Walking Challenge winner will reflect and adjust come the Olympics.

Poor Takahashi looked forlorn as he crossed for fourth, and third in the Japanese Championships. There was to be no sixth win in a row in a city where he has been unassailable.

Okada takes women’s 10km crown

In the women's 10kms, Kumiko Okada moved up from overall second in 2019 to take the title, and unlike the men’s race where the result was in doubt until 16km, the 28-year-old reigned supreme from the start.

Walking smoothly and wearing glasses like the men’s champion, Okada did justice to the gold number handed to the reigning champion.

She was exactly a minute ahead at halfway of the only two who might passably be called chasers, which Okada clocked in 44:33.

A distance behind, Kaori Kawazoe and Nadia Gonzalez were battling of the minor medals, but by 15kms the Mexican, walking as a guest, had to give way and slipped back through the field.

Okada was an encouraging sixth in Doha, and boasts a 1:27:41 national record set at La Coruna last year.

She crossed the line in 1:29:56, the only woman under 90 minutes, and was already giving interviews by the time Kawazoe battled the last 500m for a deserved second to finish in 1:33:15.

Behind her, it was anything but a grey day for Nami Hayashi.

The Japanese looked totally spent with head tilted and mouth open as she collapsed over the line, but equally shattered was her 1:38:55 PB, and by more than three minutes to take bronze just ahead of Serena Sonoda in fourth.