Running News Daily

Marathon Musician Lee Perriera plans to run from Phoenix, Arizonia to Burbank, California, and hopes to raise $1 million for charity

Lee Perriera calls himself the marathon musician because he can do both: play music and run marathons.  Starting this Sunday he plans to run from Phoenix, Arizonia to Burbank, California.

"Last year, I ran the Rock N' Roll marathon and then I performed afterward," said Perriera. 

Perriera says he was inspired by his favorite talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to spread love and kindness. So he'll be running from Phoenix all the way to Ellen's studio in Burbank, Calif. in hopes to be featured on her show as well as to raise $1,000,000 in the process for four non-profits.

Perriera plans to split the $1,000,000 dollars four ways. He plans to donate to Ellen's WIldlife Fun, Driving Out Domestic Violence, the Arizona Healtcare Foundation, and the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children. Each charity will get $250,000.

Lee plans to stream his whole run on Facebook.

"Every day for 16 days, we'll be live-streaming," Perriera said. "Each day will be a marathon until I get to Burbank, Calif."

Singer, songwriter, guitarrist Lee Perreira combines classic blues riffs with a soulfully textured vocal style leaving his audience instantly captured.

The music of Lee Perreira finds its life in the continuos and passionate pursuit of musical excellence, breathing that passion into the soul of his audience. Tracing his roots back to Long Beach, California Lee began playing guitar at the age of 12.

A regularly performing musician, he averages over 300 events per year throughout the U.S. Award winning artist Lee Perreira has opened for and sat in with blues Legend Buddy Guy, opened for James Bay at Mix 96.9s Sold out "Spring Thing" and also shared the night with amazing artists such as Foo Fighters, Gary Clark Jr, Train, The Fray, INXS, Journey, just to name a few.

His last album Whats That Gotta Do With My Dreams? is currently on rotation at the radio.

The concept of the tokyo 2020 olympic torch is to bring the Japanese people together

The Olympic torch incorporates several elements of Japanese culture, and reinforces Tokyo 2020’s Olympic Torch Relay concept: “Hope lights our way”.

The concept is designed to bring the Japanese people together around messages of support, acceptance and encouragement of one another, while also reflecting the Olympic flame’s ability to promote peace and hope to the world.

Not only do Japan’s famed cherry blossoms happen to bloom in March, coinciding with the start of the Olympic Torch Relay, but the shape of the torch also resembles a Japanese traditional “Sakuramon” cherry blossom emblem.

The body of the torch features five cylinders that represent petals of the beloved flower. Flames are generated from each “petal”, which are united in the centre of the torch, lighting the way with greater brilliance. A number of technological innovations are deployed in the combustion section that lights the torch, including catalytic reaction.

Further building on this spirit of innovation, the torch’s unique shape is made possible by utilising the same modern aluminium extrusion technology used in the manufacturing of Japan’s renowned bullet trains.

The construction of the torch also incorporates sustainability by using aluminium waste from temporary housing that was built in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. While the materials were once used to help rebuild lives, they will now be used to spread a message of hope and recovery.

In keeping with its vision to celebrate unity in diversity, the torch was designed to ensure ease of use for everyone. It consists of a weight and shape that is simple to grip and features a position mark to help visually impaired torchbearers identify the front of the torch.

Members of the Manhattan Beach-based Skechers running team will take part in the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday

Every Thursday evening, the South Bay Running Club starts its training runs at the downtown Manhattan Beach Skechers store. On Sunday, 120 of its members will join an estimated 24,000 other runners at Dodger Stadium to compete in the Los Angeles Marathon. South Bay Running Club’s sponsor Skechers is also the title sponsor of the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon.

The races begin at 6:30 a.m. with the Wheelchair division followed by Handcycles (6:42 a.m.), the Elite Women (6:45 a.m.), and the Elite Men and the rest of the field at 6:55 a.m. The race finishes on the Santa Monica bluffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Skechers’ support of the South Bay Runners Club has helped the club grow to over 360 members in only four years. Members run for reasons ranging from raising awareness for Train 4 Autism (the official charity of the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon), to running in memory of loved ones, to putting a modern spin on race prep through virtual training across the country.

“Most of our participants are runners but quite a few are run-walkers and race walkers,” Weisberg said. “Some will be running to get a personal record or qualify for the Boston Marathon. Some run to raise money for charity and others just want to check it off their bucket list.  

Secret service agent Garrett Fitzgerald fighting paralysis is training for the Boston Marathon

Three years ago a driver, high on heroin, crashed into secret service agent Garrett Fitzgerald’s work vehicle, paralyzing him below the neck.

Now he can walk with electrodes places over his muscles and is now training for this year's Boston Marathon with some help from his coworkers. They're called Team Fitz and they're raising money for the center that's trying to help him walk again.

It was Don McGrail’s idea to start Team Fitz two years ago.  

"It's really tough to see a colleague and a friend struggle as much as he's had to struggle. But it's been inspirational at the same time to watch his attitude the way he approaches things," said McGrail.

Now Fitzgerald spends much of his week at Journey Forward in Canton, a non-profit rehabilitation center that helps those paralyzed through an intense exercise-based program.

"This is an organization that takes people when they're at their worst and helps them improve. Helps them get to a place where they want to be. Get to a place that's healthier, that's stronger, that’s better," said Fitzgerald

Most of the people who come to Journey Forward were told they'd never walk again. For Dan Cummings, he's living proof they can. He broke his neck almost 20 years ago from diving into shallow water.

"They said I would be a dependent c-6 quadriplegic. I would spend my life in a wheel chair and I'd be lucky if i could ever feed myself," said Cummings.

Cummings started Journey Forward after spending four years rehabilitating at a clinic in Southern California. He now walks with the assistance of a walker.

"Why did I have to move 3,000 miles away not only to walk again, but a place to give me my life back," says Cummings.

Recovery for spinal chord injuries isn't measured in inches, but in millimeters. Cummings says that at least 15 people who were told they'd never walk again have taken their first steps at Journey Forward. 

Garrett's goal is to walk on his own again and return to the Boston field office.

Oh Joo-han, a Kenyan-born marathoner with South Korean citizenship, will be able to represent his adopted country at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

According to Oh Chang-seok, a former men's national marathon coach who helped the Kenyan-born runner with his naturalization, the IAAF recently announced that the 30-year-old marathoner can be formally selected for the South Korean national team starting March 7.

Originally, the IAAF said that Oh Joo-han can run for South Korea starting in August 2021. But after reviewing his national team eligibility, the IAAF changed its decision.

"We first requested the IAAF to review Oh's national team eligibility in December 2018, but it told us to submit additional documents that can prove his residential history in South Korea," Oh Chang-seok said.

"So, we submitted notarized documents from Cheongyang County Governor and his lawyer, and we passed the status reexamination."Born Wilson Loyanae Erupe, Oh acquired his South Korean passport last September.

Under a new rule by the IAAF on transfers of allegiance, athletes must wait three years after switching allegiance before they can represent their adopted country.

Previously, athletes who hadn't represented their native country only had to wait one year to compete for their adopted country. But Chang-seok thought that Oh's case could be subject to review.

After Oh completed his naturalization process, with help of the Korea Association of Athletics Federations (KAAF), he requested the IAAF to reexamine the case."Oh has been affiliated with Cheonyang County (in South Chungcheong Province) since 2015 and he has only been competing in marathon events in South Korea," Chang-seok said.

With paperwork cleared, Oh will now aim to win bronze at Tokyo 2020 for South Korea.

"Oh will compete in an international marathon event in September and will try to pass the Tokyo Olympic qualifying standard time (of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 30 seconds)," Chang-seok said. "Oh's target is to stand on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics for South Korea in August 2020."

How The 2020 Olympic Qualifying Rules could Impact The Sprints, Field Events, and Walks in the United States

In case you haven’t been paying close attention, the IAAF has greatly increased the difficulty of the entry standards as they mainly want athletes to qualify via the newly-created world rankings. When the IAAF announced its new qualifying system on March 10,  “the process is designed to achieve about 50 percent of the target numbers for each event through Entry Standards and the remaining 50 percent through the IAAF World Ranking System,” but that is somewhat misleading as most of the athletes who qualify via the entry standard would also qualify via the world rankings.

The entry standards were mainly designed as an insurance policy for a superstar who might have been out with injury or pregnancy, as the IAAF explained in a press release in July, “Entry standards will be approved and published later this year, but will be set for the sole purpose of qualifying athletes with exceptional performances unable to qualify through the IAAF world rankings pathway.”

Despite that, for some unknown reason, USATF told us on Friday that they won’t pay any attention to the IAAF world rankings for Olympic Trials competitors if there are three people in an event who have hit the qualifying standard.

So even if the top three finishers in an event at the US Olympic Trials are all ranked in the top 32 in the world — the IAAF takes at least 32 people for every track and field event except for the multis (24) and 10,000 (27) — if they don’t have the standard, USATF has said they won’t be going to the Olympics if there are three other finishers at the Trials who have hit the qualifying mark.

If the 2020 rules had been in place for 2016, USATF wouldn’t have sent  Paul Chelimo — who finished third at the Trials in the 5,000 in 2016 and would have been ranked in the top 30 in the world had the world rankings existed — to the Olympics even though he went on to earn a silver medal as his PR at the time was slower than the 2020 standard.

All told, seven US mid-d or distance runners — all of whom were top three at the Trials and five of whom went on to make the final in their event in Rio — would not have made the team.

Some ultra runners have completed 631 miles or more within 10 days but have any done so on a trail as tough as the one Michael Wardian is running in Israel?

The Israel National Trail (INT) is an approximately 1015km / 631mi hiking trail that crosses Israel from its southern to northern border, traversing a wide range of landscapes, a rich variety of flora and fauna, and a diversity of cultures.

The trail stretches from Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dan Kibbutz near the Lebanese border, and was named by National Geographic as one of the 20 best "epic hiking trails" in the world.

We believe the most likely Fastest Known Time on the INT to be set at 15 days in 2013 by Australian Richard Bowles.

On March 12th, 2019, Michael Wardian began his attempt to complete the trail in 10 days.

Wardian is a prodigious American marathoner and ultra-marathoner with a lengthy list of podium finishes at distances from half marathon to 100 miles, with world records such as the fastest time for 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, and the fastest 50k on a treadmill, and who has completed many of the worlds most challenging races. In September 2018 Wardian ran the 184.5 mile C&O Canal Towpath in an FKT of 36h36m, beating Park Barner's 1976 time by just 12 minutes!

Michael is eight days in and has covered 776k with 241k to go according to the website Fastest Known Time which tracks these types of events.  Photos by Ian Corless.

(Editors note: Michael is also part of the Run The World4 Challenge team and all his miles are being logged there.  He is currently in first place with 504.48 miles logged since March 1. His team Elite Men is currently in second place with 2159 miles. Team Kenya is leading with 2304 miles.  This event ends March 30. Five teams of 14 are logging in as many miles as possible within 30 days.)

Kami Semick won every Ultra race she entered in 2009 and now is making a comeback

A decade ago, at 42, Kami Semick reached the pinnacle of ultrarunning. She won every race she entered in 2009, including two world championship events in the 100k and 50k, and earned UltraRunning’s Ultrarunner of the Year title for the second year in a row.

But five years later, she called it quits and disappeared from the sport.

Her breaking point came at The North Face Endurance Championship 50-miler in San Francisco, a race she’d won in 2008. At that event in December 2014 where she finished 17th female, “It felt like I was dragging a load of bricks around,” says Semick, now 52 and living in Bend, Oregon. “The only reason I finished is because I promised myself this was the last time I was going to run 50 miles. I wasn’t coming back because I felt so horrible. I shook hands with my sponsor The North Face and said, ‘Nice knowing you, but I gotta stop.’”

Fast forward another five years to now, and suddenly, Semick’s name is popping up again. Eschewing attention-seeking social media posts, she quietly and cautiously began running longer distances again in 2017. She finished two 50-milers and a 100k in her home state last year, then won a 40-miler and 50k in California. Now she’s getting ready to line up at the hyper-competitive Lake Sonoma 50 in April, and the Lavaredo Ultra 120K in Italy in June.

While those newer to the sport might not even recognize Semick, those of us who began ultrarunning in the mid-2000s probably share my excitement at seeing her return. Personally, I’ll never forget The North Face ad campaign from 2006 that showed Semick trail running with her then-4-year-old daughter strapped onto her back. Semick’s muscly physique, fast times at races, and gutsy combination of running and parenting gave female ultrarunners a powerful role model.

I reached out to Semick to find out what happened, and what it’s like to return to the scene and get ready to race again after a long break after turning 50. She agreed to talk, but with some reluctance as part of her looked forward to showing up to Lake Sonoma without being recognized.

“If nobody knows I’m there at a starting line, I’m so happy about that, because then there’s no expectations,” she says. “I’m trying not to be attached to my history as a runner, and I don’t love the spotlight, but the reason I wanted to talk is because I’m curious about other women’s experiences. If I can share my story, then maybe we can join together as women in our 50s and say, ‘Yes, it’s hard.’ … I feel like we have to band together for support.”

American distance star Jordan Hasay is prepping for the Boston Marathon as she wins the Shamrock 15K run in Portland

With picture perfect weather 20,000 runners and walkers turned the City of Roses green as they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at Shamrock Run Portland, Oregon’s largest running event, and one of the largest races of its kind on the West Coast.

American distance running star and Portland local Jordan Hasay won the women’s 15k in 51:34. Hasay, who is prepping for the April 15 Boston Marathon, is healthy again after withdrawing from her last two marathons due to injury.

“It was nice to have a little fun out there today,” said Hasay, the second fastest female marathoner in U.S. history. “I felt great and it was a nice hard effort. The 15k course has a few hills that were a perfect simulation for Boston and it’s always a huge honor to break the tape in your hometown race.”

Not to be overshadowed in the 15k, Scottish Olympian Andrew Lemoncello won the men’s race (48:28) for his second victory of the day, having out kicked Tate Schienbein in a sprint finish in the 5k just an hour earlier. Schienbein prevailed in the men’s 8k, clocking 24:15 for the 4.97-mile distance.

“I wouldn’t normally do two races in one day, so this was a great opportunity,” said Lemoncello, who recently moved to Portland. “The thing with Oregon you usually get to make excuses about races because of the conditions, but there are absolutely no excuses today, it was the most perfect weather you could have. It was a fantastic day.”

Canadian Olympian Malindi Elmore was the women’s winner in the 8k. Second place went to Lindsey Scherf (27:51) and Portland’s Tara Welling, a two-time event champion and co-founder of RunDoyen Coaching, finished in third (27:57).

“It’s a whole new perspective after having a baby, out there having the time to myself and I probably got a little carried away and ran harder than I expected,” said Welling, a two-time National Champion running her first race since having a baby two months ago. “This race is awesome just being in Portland we have a lot of good women and men runners and I knew it was going to be a tough field, but it was a lot of fun to be out here again.”

In the half-marathon event, husband-and-wife duo Jesse Thomas and Lauren Fleshman emerged victorious in their races. Thomas, a professional Triathlete, broke away from a large pack to win with a time of 1:08:06. Fleshman, a two-time U.S. 5,000m champion, was the first woman to cross the finish line in 1:21:44.

“I had no idea what to expect as this was the first “running only” race I’ve done in 8 years,” said Thomas, who is training for the Eugene Marathon in April. “We had an awesome pack for the first six miles and I just tried to tuck in with the guys. For Portland, Oregon in the middle of March the weather was unbelievable and I really liked the course, with the out and back by all the spectators and then sharing the road with the 15k runners cheering for you. It was great and you’re always happy when you have a good day.”

Renowned ultramarathoner and bestselling author, Dean Karnazes, is set to run the inaugural MCM50K on October 27

Renowned ultramarathoner and bestselling author, Dean Karnazes, is set to run the inaugural (Marine Corps Marathon) MCM50K on Oct. 27 in Arlington, VA. Karnazes, named by TIME magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” will also be the featured speaker at the MCM Carbo Dining In on Oct. 26, as part of MCM Weekend.

The MCM50K sold out in one hour and is set to be the largest ultra in the United States with nearly double the participants of the 2018 record. Karnazes will add running with the Marines to his impressive resume that includes running 50 marathons in all 50 states in 50 consecutive days; competing on all seven continents; winning the ESPN ESPY Award for Best Outdoor Athlete; and being a three-time winner of Competitor magazine’s Endurance Athlete of the Year.

The NY Times bestselling author has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits, such as running across the Sahara Desert and the South Pole; 350 continuous miles without sleep for three nights; and as a solo participant in ten different 200-mile relay races.

“I am thrilled and honored to be part of the inaugural MCM ultramarathon. Going beyond the marathon is the ultimate test of human endurance and I look forward to the challenge,” shares Karnazes.

Belay Tilahun of Ethiopia and Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya won their New York City racing debuts in the open division

Tilahun, a 24-year-old member of West Side Runners, recorded his surprise victory in a time of 1:02:10 with an exciting kick through the final two miles. 

“I was feeling quite cold at the beginning, but as I was warming up, I began to feel better. After about 15 kilometers, I was confident that I could win. So I used the finishing kick that I had to win,” Tilahun said. 

Eritrea’s Daniel Mesfun finished second in 1:02:16 after leading for the majority of the race, while U.S. Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo took third in 1:02:19 in his half-marathon debut. 

A record eight American men finished in the top 10 in the open division, as Chelimo was followed by Jared Ward, Noah Droddy, Brogan Austin, Tim Ritchie, John Raneri, Parker Stinson, and Ben True, respectively.

 In the women’s open division, Jepkosgei, the half marathon world record-holder, won her first-ever race in the United States on a solo run to the finish in a time of 1:10:07. The world championship silver medalist in the distance became the sixth woman from Kenya to win the event, and the first to do so since 2014. “This season I am preparing to debut in the marathon, and this was a great half marathon to see how my body feels,” Jepkosgei said.

Fellow Kenyan Mary Ngugi came through the finish line one minute later in 1:11:07 to take second place, 15-hundredths of a second ahead of last year’s champion, Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba.

Emma Bates, the 2018 USATF Marathon champion, was the top American in the women’s open division, taking fourth place in 1:11:13. She was followed by 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden in fifth place in 1:11:22.

New course record set at the 8th Annual Athens Half Marathon

Greek Panagiotis Karaiskos won the 8th Athens Half Marathon on Sunday, setting a new record time for the course in the center of the Greek capital, the Hellenic Track and Field Federation (SEGAS) announced.

Karaiskos crossed the finish line in front of the Greek parliament in one hour eight minutes and four seconds, improving the event's best time which Constantinos Gkelaouzos had achieved last year.

"I really wanted the first place. I faced some problems with my stomach during the race, but I perform well in warm weather under high temperatures," the athlete who had finished ninth in the Athens Marathon last November said, according to a SEGAS press release.

The thermometer in Athens showed 22 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Greek runner Stefania Leontiadou was the first in the women's category, finishing in 1:20:43.

"It was a good experience. It was a test for me, because I plan to run at the Rotterdam Marathon race in three weeks. It was hot, but I did well," she said.

The center of the Athens was flooded on Sunday with thousands of runners of all ages participating in the Half Marathon as well as shorter courses in the largest sports event of the spring here.

Some 22,000 professional and amateur runners participated this year, according to organizers of SEGAS and the City of Athens.

The annual sports event aims to promote a healthier lifestyle and an image of Athens which will attract more foreign visitors throughout the year.

Did you know? Bone Broth Soup is packed with muscle boosting minerals and sodium for post-race recovery

There were stories about coconut oil and butter making a comeback. Now it’s soup. Long touted as a tool to help fight illness and inflammation, bone broth—a basic soup made with animal bones, among other ingredients—is trending among the smoothie-drinking, health-conscious crowd as a restorative miracle potion. But endurance athletes have been sipping stock for centuries. 

“Homemade bone broth is an excellent source of minerals, like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium, in forms that your body can easily absorb. It’s also rich in amino acids, collagen and anti-inflammatory compounds, like chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine,” says sports nutritionist Melissa Hartwig. 

“These nutrients improve digestion, aid in muscle repair and growth, reduce joint pain, promote a balanced nervous system, and strengthen the immune system.”

Granted, some nutritionists argue that many of the health claims surrounding bone broth aren’t backed by research, such as stock having anti-inflammatory properties or helping with GI issues; however, one undeniable benefit is the presence of extra minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, which are important for bone health and muscle function, and are not naturally bountiful in the dairy-free Paleo diet, says Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine.

Another nutritional bonus is its high sodium content—good for athletes training for or participating in a long-distance race. 

“There’s a reason broth is served at aid stations during the run portion of an Ironman triathlon,” says sports dietitian Lauren Antonucci. “Toward the end of a race, you’ve lost a lot of salt from sweat and need to replace it in order to prevent muscle cramping and dizziness, but keeping up with your sodium intake is hard, especially because you’re sick of consuming so many sweet, sugary things, like gels and sports drinks. Sipping some broth at that point could play a role in maintaining your fluid balance,” Antonucci says, because sodium helps the body retain fluid. 

One study found that athletes prefer savory over sweet tasting foods later on in an ultra-endurance running event, making broth a no-brainer choice for tired competitors. It doesn’t matter if it’s warm or cold, organic, veggie, chicken or beef—so long as it contains plenty of sodium, it will help you, Antonucci says.

Just remember that a little goes a long way: One four-ounce serving provides at least 200mg of sodium, on average, which is more than three times the amount in a packet of regular Gu. “Consuming just a sip or so at a time [every hour or so] is sufficient,” says Antonucci. “If you know you’re a salty sweater, you could take in a bit more, but in general, broth is something that you won’t need unless you’re going to be active for multiple hours at a time.” 

And don’t forget to accompany it with additional fluids, foods, and electrolyte replacements, like sports drinks, water and gels, chews, or bars when you’re racing, says Bonci. “If broth was your only source of fuel during a prolonged activity, you wouldn’t be consuming adequate amounts of carbs or calories.” 

Endurance athletes looking for broth’s sodium kick can buy boxed veggie, chicken, and beef stock at any grocery store, though some broth pundits would argue that the boxed stuff doesn’t impart the same health benefits as homemade stock. You can order homemade bone broth online or make your own with Hartwig’s easy recipe: system.”

The Ultimate Bone Broth Recipe for Athletes Ingredients: 4 quarts water, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 large onions, unpeeled and coarsely chopped, 2 carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped, 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped, 1 bunch fresh parsley, 2-3 garlic cloves, lightly smashed, 2-4 lbs. meat or poultry bones

Place all ingredients in a large pot on medium-high heat, or in a large slow cooker set on high. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12 to 24 hours. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and discard the waste. Let it cool, and then place the bowl (uncovered) in the fridge for several hours, until the fat rises to the top and hardens. Scrape off the fat with a spoon, reheat your broth and serve. (You can also add leeks, pepper, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, sage and/or ginger.)

Eliud Kipchoge donates one of his shoes he wore in Rio to help motivate more people to take up running

Reigning Olympic champion and world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya has donated one of the shoes in which he sped to victory in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games marathon.

The winning left shoe of the 2018 IAAF World Athlete of the Year will be one of the featured items in the “IAAF Heritage World Athletics Championships Exhibition”, a six-month display which will open in Doha on 18 April.

“I’m really pleased that my career will be permanently represented in the IAAF Heritage Collection,” said Eliud Kipchoge, who has also given a signed copy of the book detailing his world record run in Berlin.

“My running career has still far to go but I’m proud to donate one of my shoes from my Rio victory to be preserved for future generations of fans and publicly displayed. I hope it helps to motivate more people to take up the wonderful sport of running.”

The 400m2 exhibition will feature the world’s largest ever display of athletics artefacts and memorabilia, dating from 2nd Century B.C. to the present day.

In text, photographic and video displays, the exhibition succinctly tells the story of the sport’s 3000-year history.

Introductory displays cover athletics as it emerged from the ancient Olympic Games in 776 B.C. The story is carried through to the first modern Olympic Games of 1896, the foundation of the IAAF in 1912 and to creation of the IAAF World Championships in 1983.

Zab Mosenifar has now run 100 marathons and have logged in 135,200 miles in his lifetime

Zab Mosenifar has owned three cars in his lifetime—and he figures he only drove one for as many miles as his own two feet have run.

The 70-year-old Cedars-Sinai Medical Center physician competed in his 100th 26.2-mile race this month on Catalina Island, just off the coast of Southern California; the Weather Channel ranks it as the sixth-toughest marathon in the world. Mosenifar estimates his running total now equals traveling 5.6 times around the world, at about 135,200 miles. 

“I don’t remember a day I haven’t run in the last 50 years. I also don’t remember ever being sick in my adult life,” he said.

Mosenifar runs 50 miles a week, usually on his own in the mornings and with a group of men who train on Fridays. He’s run all big-city marathons in the U.S., plus some European races. He usually finishes in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. His unofficial time at Catalina was 5 hours and 32 minutes; he finished third in his age group.

But he’s not focusing on the number of races he’s run. 

“I’m more impressed that I’ve been able to run all of these years. It’s less about 100 marathons and more about the fact that I’m still healthy enough to run 50 miles per week and put so many miles on my body. That’s human nature—and to me, that’s much more impressive than running 5.6 times around the globe,” he said.

Sondre Nordstad Moen of Norway easily won the Gdynia Half Marathon

Sondre Nordstad Moen of Norway and Genet Gashie of Ethiopia turned in dominant victories at the Gdynia Half Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label road race, on Sunday March 17. 

After running alone for much of the race, Moen  clocked 1:01:18 more than a minute clear of his closest competitor while Gashie took the women’s race in 1:12:05, 37 seconds ahead of compatriot Shegae Maeregu who clocked 1:12:42.

The race served as a test event for next year’s IAAF World Half Marathon Championships which will be hosted by this Baltic Sea coast city of 250,000 on March 29 ,2020. Runners competed on a new course whose finish is situated on the city’s main municipal beach, the same course that will be used for next year’s championships.

Despite the presence of some strong names -- most notably two-time winner Hilary Kimaiyo of Kenya -- the competition quickly evolved into a one-man show with Moen upping the pace when the pacemaker began to struggle after 7 kilometres. He reached the 10 kilometre mark in 29:14 but didn’t look back. Behind him, the only race that was developing was the battle waged for second between Ethiopian Shumet Akalnew and Pole Krystian Zalewski.

When Moen finished a long climb between kilometres 9 and 12, he still appeared fresh and ready to maintain that tempo. He was already more than a minute ahead at 15 km (44:00) and used the downhill section to further cushion his lead in the race’s waning stages. He clocked 58:13 at the 20 km checkpoint and sprinted along the seaside boulevards in Gdynia en route to his 1:01:18 race record, a solid peformance given the windy conditions.

“I had to run alone since the pacemaker struggled,” Moen said. “It was hard to keep the pace on the uphill section but the last six kilometres were very strong for me although the wind was not making it easy.

Surprisingly, Zalewski finished second clocking 1:02:36 in his half marathon debut. Akalnew completed the podium in 1:02:54. Kimaiyo finished a distant sevent in 1:05:28.

In the women’s race, Christine Oigo was looking to repeat her victory from last year. She initially formed part of the leading group of three, together with the Ethiopians Gashie and Maeregu, who covered the first five kilometres in 17:06.

But it was Gashie who then took command, passing ten kilometres in 34:11, four seconds ahead of Maeregu. She continued to pad her advantage to the finish line, her 1:12:04 run a race record as well.

Maeregu held on to finish second in 1:12:42. Poland’s Anna Gosk passed Oigo by the 15th kilometre and held on to claim the final podium spot, clocking 1:13.07.

Thomas Panek is the first blind runner to complete the half marathon with guide dogs

Thomas Panek and his running guide dogs Westley, Waffle and Gus will make history on Sunday in the 2019 New York City Half Marathon.

Panek, the president and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, will be the first blind runner to complete the half marathon with guide dogs.

His trio of Labrador Retrievers -- who will take turns pacing him along the 13.1 mile course -- will be the first four-legged athletes in the race.

"It's really a team," Panek said.

 Panek had no intention to give up the sport, even after losing his eyesight in his early 20s.

Thanks to volunteer human guides, he has since completed 20 marathons. Still, Panek missed the feeling of independence, which ultimately inspired him to start a formal training program for running guide dogs.

In 2015, Panek established the first-of-its-kind "Running Guides" program at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a certified nonprofit school in Westchester County, New York that has trained guide dogs for the visually impaired for decades.

Twenty-four dogs have completed the program and another 12 are halfway to graduation. Once trained, Guiding Eyes matches each dog with an applicant and helps train the new team free of charge.

Thomas Panek finished the half on Sunday clocking 2:20:52.  

Kiplagat led four men under 2:07 at the Seoul Marathon

Kenyan Thomas Kiplagat Rono and Desi Jisa Mokonin of Bahrain took convincing victories at the Seoul Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday March 17.

Kiplagat led four men under the 2:07 mark, clocking 2:06:00 to win his third career marathon. The 32-year-old knocked nearly two minutes from his previous lifetime best of 2:07:52 set at the 2014 edition of the Joongang Marathon, Seoul's annual autumn marathon.

Elisha Kipchirchir was second in 2:06:12, a massive improvement on his previous best of 2:07:32, set when winning the Eindhoven Marathon last October.

Mike Kiptum Boit rounded out the podium sweep for Kenya, clocking 2:06:24 to beat Ethiopian Fikre Bekele who clocked 2:06:27, career bests for both.

In a quality race, Robert Kiplimo Kipkemboi crossed the line in 2:07:11 to round out the top five. 

Desi Mokonin who was seventh at the IAAF World Half Marathon Champpionships Valencia 2018, was even more dominant, winning by 25 seconds in 2:23:45, just six seconds shy of the personal best she set in Amsterdam last October. This was the first victory in four starts over the distance for the 21-year-old.

Hirut Tibebu, the winner here last year, was second this time around in 2:24:10.

Kenyan Celestine Chepchirchir was third in 2:24:49, a lifetime best for the 29-year-old. Zinash Mekonen of Ethiopia clocked 2:25:44 to round out the top four.

The men's course record of 2:05:13 was set by Kenyan Wilson Loyanae Erupe in 2016. Zhou Chunxia women's course record of 2:19:51 has stood since 2006.

Geoffrey Kamworor says he isn't quitting track anytime soon despite his success on the road

Two-time world cross country champion Geoffrey Kamworor has revealed he is not going to quit track anytime soon despite his success on the roads.

Speaking at the Kigari Teachers Training College, where Team Kenya to the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark is in residential training, Kamworor said he is still keen to be part of Team Kenya to August’s World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

However, the three-time World Half Marathon Champion could not reveal his distance of choice, between 5,000m and 10,000m, ahead of the global championships.

“I have not decided which race to run, but yes, it’s a priority once we are done with the World Cross Country,” said the 2:06 marathon man.

He remains determined to score a hat-trick of titles in Aarhus with his fifth-place finish at the national trials not a concern for him. He won the World Cross title in Guiyang, China in 2015, defended it in Kampala two years ago and he still keeps his push of emulating cross greats like Paul Tergat and John Ngugi, who won it five times each.

“I’m not worried about what happened at the national trials. Of importance is that I was selected in the team and I am confident I will retain my title,” he added.

Kamworor, who is captaining the side, expressed optimism that the team selected was the best he has been part of. “This is my fourth time at the world cross and if you look around, we have a good team, the best we have had so far. Remember, I have been with the team since my junior days,” he said. Kamworor said he is relishing the challenge of facing perennial rivals Ethiopia, Uganda and US runners at the event.

“This year will be tough. We have competition from our Kenyan brothers competing for America while Ethiopia and Uganda have come up very well lately,” he remarked.

He thanked Athletics Kenya for continued support in the availing kit and training allowances on time, saying: “We don’t have any complaints. We have been taken care of and we are grateful.”

Joyciline Jepkosgei and Edna Kiplagat showdown at New York City Half Marathon

Former two-time world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat and world half marathon record-holder Joyciline Jepkosgei will be among a horde of Kenyan stars who will take part in the New York Half Marathon on Sunday.

Majority of the athletes are using the race as part of their preparations for upcoming major races.

Jepkosgei will be debuting in the full marathon in Hamburg in April and she is using the race to gauge her preparedness as she seeks to swim in the deep end of the 42km race.

“I’m really prepared for the race in April but I’m using the half marathon to test my capability so far. Training in Iten has always given me good results,” said Jepkosgei.

“Competition will always be tight but I have the experience in the 21km. I will be doing my best to win the race as I finalise my training ahead of my debut,” Jepkosgei told Nation Sport.

Jepkosgei was the first woman to run under 30 minutes in 10km when she clocked 29:43 in the Prague Grand Prix in 2017.

She holds the half marathon record of 64:51 from 2017 Valencia Half Marathon.

Kiplagat, who is eyeing victory in Boston Marathon, said that she has finalised her training.

"The New York race is just part of training for me and I will be participating as part of my recovery program. I will be happy with any outcome in the race as I set my sights on the big race in April,” said Kiplagat.

Kiplagat told Nation Sport that her ultimate goal is to represent Kenya once again in the World Championships where she will be chasing a third title.

Norway's Sondre Nordstad Moen headlines the Gdynia Half Marathon this weekend

After setting a European record of 2:05:48 in the Fukuoka Marathon in December 2017, Moen missed the majority of the 2018 campaign due to a combination of illness and injury but the 28-year-old is working his way back to form and fitness. 

Moen returned to competition with a second-place finish in the 5km Herculis in 13:37 and next on the agenda is the Gdynia Half Marathon on Sunday, a five-star certified road race by European Athletics Running for All.

“I am just happy to have made it back from my injuries - especially the tendon tear in the groin - and be in condition to run a honest half marathon again considering that I have only three months of running since my DNF at the European Championships last year,” said Moen, who stepped off the road just after the halfway point in Berlin last August.

“My training is not yet at the highest level, but my race in Monaco over 5km showed that I am on the right direction. On Sunday I expect strong competition and a fast race from the start,” he said. 

Moen ran his half marathon lifetime best of 59:48 in Valencia in the build-up to the Fukuoka Marathon - a time which makes him the fourth fastest European of all-time. Moen isn’t quite in the shape to break the one hour-mark at this early juncture of his comeback but he is aiming for a time around the 62 minute-mark.

“If the weather conditions cooperate on race day, I would be happy to run my second fastest time ever,” said Moen, whose second fastest time stands at 62:19. 

The Malta Marathon was cancelled due to extreme weather and no refunds were offered to the 4500 runners

The Malta Marathon was called off last weekend by race organisers after the country was hit by one of the worst storms in recent years, with gale-force winds causing severe damage in various localities.

A total of 4,500 runners were expected to be at the starting line at the Mdina Gate on Sunday morning but the organizing committee decided to cancel the event on Saturday night after a meeting with the safety officers.

Joe Micallef, the chairman of the race committee, said nobody could question the decision to call off the race as the safety of the participants and the persons involved in the organization of the marathon were paramount.

“I think everyone will agree with our decision to call off the marathon,” Micallef told the Times of Malta.

“We waited until the last minute in hope that the weather predictions would improve but they didn’t. Obviously, there is great disappointment as preparations had been ongoing for the last 12 months. You can’t imagine how much logistical work is involved to organise the Malta Marathon. But it was just not to be.”

The decision to cancel rather than postpone the 2019 Malta Marathon took many by surprise but Micallef said that it’s almost impossible to hold the race on another date due to a packed racing schedule.

“It’s an impossible task to move the Malta Marathon to another date,” Micallef said.

“First of all, when we set the date of the race we have the police, wardens, security personnel, volunteers and scouts all booked and it’s very difficult to have all this entities available together on another date.

“Besides, to organise a marathon we need the permit from the Malta Amateur Athletics Association (MAAA). There is an agreement in place that says that the MAAA cannot issue a permit to stage a race on a weekend when there is already another running event scheduled.

“The running calendar is jam-packed with races and it’s almost an impossible task to find an alternative date.”

Micallef said that the Malta Marathon Organising Committee (MMOC) will not be refunding the athletes who were planning to take part in Sunday’s race but are considering to offer a discount for the 2020 edition. “The Malta Marathon Organising Committee has no plans to refund the 2019 entrants,” Micallef said.

“It’s clearly written in our regulations that participants will not get their €35 ($50US) registration fee back if they don’t turn up on race day or the marathon is not held. Every participant agrees to these conditions when they register for the race.

“Unfortunately not many people really know how much it costs the organising committee financially to hold the race. We spent a lot of money to circulate fliers and banner around Malta to promote the race. We paid adverts in local newspaper to give the necessary information on our race.

“Added to that we have other expenses such as the bags that we give each participant to put their clothes for the race, the Facebook photo system, which cost us 10,000 euro so we have many expenses to cover.

“But having said that we are still considering to offer a discount to this year’s athletes who will be applying for next year’s race.

“We’re not obliged to do that but we’ll think about it.”

Micallef said that despite the cancellation of the event they will still be making the donation to the official charity of the race – Inspire.

“The MMOC has already decided that the money promised to our charity Inspire will be given to the organisation as promised,” Micallef said. “It’s a commitment that we want to keep.”

Abadi Hadis took the win in The Bahrain Half-Marathon Two seconds cost the second place runner $75,000

The Bahrain Night Half saw some very fast results as runners chased one of the biggest prize purses in road racing. The top four men were only separated by seven seconds and with $100,000 USD on the line, that’s a painful margin to lose by. Abadi Hadis took the win in 59:42, he was followed by Jemal Yimer in 59:45, Bernard Ngeno was third in 59:47 and Fikadu Haftu was forth in 59:49. 

In the women’s race, Brigid Kosgei, who’s the 2018 Chicago champion, took the win in 1:05:28 which is under 40 seconds off of the women’s world record set in 2017 by Joyciline Jepkosgei. Second place went to Ruth Chepngetich in 1:06:09 and third place went to Netsanet Gudeta in 1:06:49. 

After the huge first place prize, the money drops off by 75 per cent. Second place gets $25,000 and third place gets $15,000, and then there’s another drop after the podium finishes with fourth only taking home $10,000 USD. The elite fields were so tight that in the men’s race, seven seconds was the difference between $100,000 and $10,000.

Two-time champion and Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson plans to run the Boston Marathon again at age 61

The Boston Athletic Association says the two-time champion and Olympic gold medalist will be in the field on April 15.

Benoit Samuelson was a 21-year-old Bowdoin College student in 1979 when she set an American marathon record and a women’s course record. She finished in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 15 seconds, wearing a Red Sox cap.

She returned in 1983 to set a world best of 2:22:43. She won the first Olympic women’s marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Benoit Samuelson says her goal next month is to run within 40 minutes of the time she clocked in her Boston debut 40 years ago. She last ran the Boston Marathon in 2015.

Kenyan runners win at the Jerusalem Marathon today

Kenya's Ronald Kurgat won Israel's 9th Jerusalem Marathon on Friday at two hours, eighteen minutes and forty seven seconds (2:18:47), ahead of his compatriots Kipkogey Shadrack, who clocked 2:19:07, and Jonathan Chesoo (2:22:07).

Kenya also won the top three places in the women's race, as the winner was Nancy Chepngetich Kimayo at 2:44:50, ahead of Mercy Jelimo Too at 2:54:00 and Naomi Jepngetich in 2:58:00.

The Jerusalem Marathon has been held annually since 2011, the race also includes half marathon, 10km and 5km runs, as well as 1.7km family run.

The strongest fields ever assembled for the New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon will be gunning for race records

On the men's side, four entrants with sub-2:10 credentials will be on the start line targeting the 2:13:05 standard set by Kenyan Josphat Too in 2013.

Among the favourites is Kenyan Mike Mutai, the winner of the 2016 Hong Kong Marathon who also boasts podium finishes from marathons in Singapore, Hangzhou and Hefei. Mutai, 36, clocked his 2:09:18 lifetime best in Dubai in 2012.

Another contender is Ethiopian Abraham Girma whose 2:06:48 personal best set in 2012 makes him the fastest in the field. More recently, he clocked 2:12:46 in Porto last November, finishing fifth.

A third contender is Philip Kangogo of Kenya, who set his 2:08:16 lifetime best when winning the 2015 Barcelona Marathon in his debut over the distance.

Mathew Kipsaat, who clocked 2:09:19 at the 2017 Rome Marathon, is also in the field. 

Similarly in the women's race, five women with sub-2:30 credentials have been recruited to set their sites on Kim Jong-hyang's 2:34:53 race record set in 2014.

He Yinli (marathon world ranking: 164) of China is the fastest in the field with a personal best of 2:27:35 set at the 2015 Chongqing Marathon where she's finished on the podium twice. She clocked 2:31:14 at the Osaka Women's Marathon in January, her most recent race.

Kenyan Nancy Koech (marathon world ranking: 318) is another contender. She arrives armed with a 2:29:30 career best set at the 2017 Daegu Marathon, with wins at the Malaga, Copenhagen and Munster marathons to her credit.

Another Kenyan, Sylvia Medugu (marathon world ranking: 201), has a 2:29:09 personal best, set at the 2017 Frankfurt Marathon. 

Some of the best elite runners from around the world, are set to compete today in the inaugural Bahrain Night Half-Marathon offering $100,000 to the winner

The prestigious race is being held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad and organised by BAA in cooperation with International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, BOC, Asian Athletics Association and Tumooh Sports Management.

The event features separate categories for men and women over 21.1kms while there are also six-km events for those who want to run for fun and be a part of the biggest half-marathon in the region.

The participants include some of the biggest names in international long-distance running, such as world record holder in half-marathon Abraham Kiptum of Kenya.

Kiptum was upbeat yesterday heading into tonight’s event despite it being his first night race. Just last September he set his world record of 58 minutes 18 seconds in Valencia, Spain, and is confident he can maintain his fine form in Bahrain.

“Let’s hope we can be as strong as we can be,” Kiptum said. “Although it is my first night race, if the weather is good, the pace is good and if we can be strong, then we shall have a good time.

“I always train in the mornings so it is a little new to me, but I’ll do my best.”

Among the men’s elite runners who are expected to challenge Kiptum are Ethiopian Jemal Yimer Mekonnen and Bahraini Hassan Shani.

Among the women, reigning world champion and world record holder of a women-only race Netsanet Gudeta Kebede of Ethiopia is one of the pre-race favorites as is reigning women’s full marathon world champion Rose Chelimo of Bahrain.

Rose’s fellow-Bahraini Eunice Chumba, who is a bronze-medallist at last year’s World Half-Marathon Championships, will also be competing along with Ethiopian Senbere Teferi, who is a former gold-medallist in the World Cross Country Championships and a former silver medallist in the 5,000m.

Mekonnen, Shani, Netsanet, Eunice and Senebre were present with Nasser and Kiptum at yesterday’s press conference along with BAA technical director Taher Righi and renowned Ethiopian coach Haji Adilo.

“It is very important for us to do well in this race, especially since we are representing Bahrain. We will try our best to get a good time and also win,” said Eunice.

The men and women winners receive a prize money of $100,000 each. All runners finishing in the top ten in both categories will also win cash prizes totaling over $350,000 plus possible bonus money. 

There are bonuses of $30,000 for new world records.

Kenyans Erick Kiptanui and Vivian Cheruyiot lead strong field's for the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon this weekend

The EDP Lisbon Half Marathon field includes 21 male runners with personal bests of under 1:01 and ten in the women's field who have dipped under 1:10.

Erick Kiptanui made his debut over the distance in this race last year, winning in 1:00:05, and went on to improve to 58:42 in Berlin one month later. Two other sub-59:00 runners are in the field: 2013 winner Bernard Kiprop Koech, who has clocked 58:41, and Solomon Kirwa Yego, who set his 58:44 best in the 2016 Rome-Ostia Half Marathon.

But there are more athletes in this race who can produce some surprises. Ethiopia comes armed with Mosinet Geremew, winner of the 2018 Dubai Half Marathon with a 59:11 lifetime best from 2014, and Betesfa Getahun, who has a 1:00:26 personal best. He was third in the Barcelona Half Marathon last month.

Behind Kiptanui, the solid Kenyan contingent includes Micah Kogo, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist over 10,000m who's clocked 59:07; Simon Cheprot who has a 59:20 lifetime best; Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo, who has a 59:26 best; Nicholas Kosimbei, who clocked 1:00:21 at this race last year; late addition Edwin Soi, the 2008 Olympic 5000m bronze medallist, who improved to 1:00:24 in Granollers, Spain, this year; and Japhet Korir,  who has run 1:00:08.

Others to watch include Callum Hawkins of Great Britain, who'll be looking to improve on his 1:00:00 personal best and Abrar Osman of Eritrea, who's clocked 1:00:19.

In the women's field, Vivian Cheruyiot, the 2016 Olympic 5000m champion, is the undisputed star of the field. The 35-year-old, who also won three world titles on the track and the 2017 London Marathon, was second in this race last year clocking 1:09:44. She clocked 1:07:43 at last year's Great North Run, also finishing second.

She'll face a formidable field however, led by Ethiopia's Gelete Burka, who has a solid 1:06:11 lifetime best set last year.

Vegan endurance athlete Robbie Balenger is set to run more than 3,000 miles across the United States

In partnership with dairy-free ice cream brand NadaMoo, Balenger is hoping his challenge will show the world that even ultramarathon runners do not need to eat animals to excel in their field.

In a post on Instagram, the plant-powered athlete wrote, “On Saturday (March 16th) at 7:30 AM, I will put my feet to the pavement and start to run across the country.”

He believes the run will last for 75 days, covering the 3,200 miles from Los Angeles to New York City. “Not only do I plan to survive running an average of 43 miles a day on a 100% plant-based diet, but I hope to show you how I will thrive,” he continued.

Balenger hasn’t always been an athlete; he used to operate restaurants across Austin, Texas. He needed a way of managing the stressful nature of his career path so six years ago, he began running, according to Lifelong Endurance, an endurance coaching website. He now works as an endurance athlete, coaching others in the field.

“By following my passions and dreams, I believe I can make an impact on those around me,” Balenger notes on the website. “My passions are innate and simple: food and running.”

He will use his 3,200-mile challenge to communicate his feelings about dietary choices, according to NadaMoo. The brand notes on its website that as Balenger makes his way across the country, students and members of the community “will be invited to engage in conversations about big goals and smart food choices.”

Balenger isn’t the only athlete showing that a plant-based diet can boost you to achieve major physical feats.

Last year, Mike Curtin, a 27-year-old vegan thru-hiker, hiked 118 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail. The journey — from Windigo Pass in Oregon to Big Lake Youth Camp in Willamette National Forest — took 38 hours and Curtin didn’t stop the whole way.

Past Olympic champion Uganda´s Stephen Kiprotich is set to run the Haspa Marathon Hamburg April 28

Stephen Kiprotich, the 2012 Olympic and 2013 world marathon champion, will return to the northern German port city for the third time, after finishing second in 2017 and fifth one year ago.

The 29-year-old, who is the national record holder at 2:06:33, clocked sub-2:08 performances in both of his Hamburg appearances.

Ezekiel Kemboi meanwhile, a two-time Olympic and four-time world champion in the 3000m steeplechase, will be making his eagerly-anticipated marathon debut.

The fastest runner in the field is Ayele Abshero, who clocked 2:04:23 in his marathon debut at the 2012 Dubai Marathon. The Ethiopian returns after finishing third last year.

World half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei, who will also be making her marathon debut, and two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui were previously announced.

Abel Kirui, the world champion over the distance in 2009 and 2011, has already announced his intention of chasing the course record of 2:05:30, set by Eliud Kipchoge in his marathon debut in 2013. Compatriots Jonathan Korir and Amos Mitei, who have personal bests of 2:06:51 and 2:07:28 respectively, are expected to join the hunt.

Japan's Taku Fujimoto, who clocked his personal best of 2:07:57 in last year’s Chicago Marathon, will also be in the race.

Kenyan´s Stephen Kiprop will lead the men´s field at Prague Half Marathon

The field of 11,500 will include nine men with personal bests under one hour and two of the fastest women in history.

Stephen Kiprop, who won this year’s RAK Half Marathon in a world-leading 58:42, leads the men’s field. His challengers will include defending champion Bernard Kimeli, but any one of a dozen others could step up to the top of the podium.

Sondre Moen will return to Prague. The Norwegian is one of the top Europeans with a PB of 59:48. He set his 10km PB of 27:55 in Prague in 2017 and then three months later set a European marathon record of 2:05:48 in Fukuoka.

After dealing with injuries and health problems in 2018, he returned to action last month and set a national 5km record of 13:37 in Monaco.

The race will feature the second and sixth-fastest women in history, Kenya’s Fancy Chemutai and Caroline Kipkirui, who have respective PBs of 1:04:52 and 1:05:07.

Canadian 76-year-old Carol Lafayette-Boyd sets a new W75 200m world record

Carol Lafayette-Boyd, 76, of Regina, Sask. set a new world age-group record of 32.26s in the W75 200m at the 10th Canadian Masters Indoor Championships at Edmonton’s Butterdome last weekend.

Lafayette-Boyd also broke the championship meet record in the 60m and the triple jump.

The previous world record of 33.06s was set by Kathy Bergen of the US in 2015. Lafayette-Boyd held the previous Canadian record at 33.45s, set last year and the meet record of 33.54s.

More than 200 athletes took part in the meet, in which seven Canadian records and 52 meet records were broken.  

Carol won five gold medals, including the 100m and 200m, at the World Masters Championships in Malaga, Spain last summer, and set a Canadian record of 33.34s in the 200m. 

Amway River Bank Run will add a virtual race for 2019 event

A new title sponsor isn’t the only change coming to the Amway River Bank Run in 2019.

Participants who can't physically make it to this year's race will have the option to sign up for a “virtual race.”  It gives anyone the option to run the race, whether they’re on a treadmill or in a different city.

Still, Amway River Bank Run Race Director David Madiol says nothing can compare to running the race in downtown Grand Rapids.

"The energy downtown for this race is so awesome... and the course itself, it's just a great course around downtown," said Madiol.

"If you're doing the 25K, you're obviously getting way out from downtown, but it's just a really well-run race and Amway is so proud to be a part of it as the title sponsor now."

Andrew Silverman with multiple sclerosis is set to run the United Airlines NYC Half on Sunday

When Staten Island native Andrew Silverman goes on a long run, he doesn’t just get tired: The 31-year-old gets blurry vision, plus a bizarre numbness and tingling in his toes.

The strange feeling, known as Uhthoff’s Phenomenon, is caused by Silverman’s multiple sclerosis — an autoimmune disorder that attacks the central nervous system, leading to fatigue, vision loss, dizziness and, in extreme cases, paralysis and cognitive dysfunction.

“I’m so used to it that I don’t even mind it anymore,” Silverman, a pediatric oncologist who was diagnosed with MS in 2015 says.

On Sunday, the Columbia University Irving Medical Center fellow will shrug it off again to run the United Airlines NYC Half marathon — the sixth 13.1-mile race he’s finished since his diagnosis. And he hopes to complete it in two hours.

His reason for running? Because he can, at least right now.

“I’d love to be running in 30 years, but am I going to be in a wheelchair?” says Silverman. “I can envision every one of the potential major complications of MS, and it scares me.”

Silverman began noticing symptoms in 2012, during his third year at the SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Whenever he bent over to tie his shoes and his chin touched his chest, his toes tingled. It’s an MS symptom known as Lhermitte’s Sign, often experienced by others as an electric-shock sensation running through the body — but Silverman chalked it up to the stress of medical school.

He started running in 2013, to get in shape for his wedding to his wife, Krystina Randazzo, now 30 and a teacher. He stuck with the running after the big day, and decided to run a half-marathon in Brooklyn in 2015. But that year, Silverman’s health worsened: He was fatigued and seeing double, and unintentionally lost 40 pounds in four months.

By May, days before the half marathon, he was struggling to walk. So he saw a doctor in Staten Island, who ran an MRI and promptly recognized his symptoms as MS indicators. Silverman returned to his own hospital, this time as a patient, and spent four days in inpatient recovery.

He is going to keep running just as long as he can.

Canadian marathon record holder Cam Levins and 2015 Pan Am Games medallist Sasha Gollish are set to run United Airlines NYC Half

The 2019 United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon has a truly star-studded lineup. In the men’s field, Levins is joined by Americans Ben True and Paul Chelimo. Chelimo is an Olympic silver medallist over 5,000m and Sunday will be his half-marathon debut.

Chelimo told Let’sRun on Monday that he’s less concerned about time, and aiming for a spot on the podium. True was sixth at the 2015 World Championships in the 5,000m and is the 2018 NYC Half defending champion. 

Levins is targeting the London Marathon at the end of April where he will race against world record holder Eliud Kipchoge. “I’m very excited to meet him, he’s an inspiration to marathoners everywhere, but if he goes out on world record pace I’d hardly even call it the same race.”

Levins’ half-marathon personal best is a 1:02:15 from the World Half-Marathon Championships last March in Spain, which is less than a minute off of the current Canadian half-marathon record of 1:01:28 set in 1999 by Jeff Schiebler. It would take a very strong run for Levins to knock down this mark, but it doesn’t seem out of the question considering the strength of Sunday’s field. 

On the women’s side, 2:32 marathoner Sasha Gollish is joined by 2018 Boston champion Des Linden, half-marathon world record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei and two-time marathon world champion Edna Kiplagat. 

Gollish’s personal best is from 2018 World Half-Marathon Championships where she was the first Canadian across the line in 1:11:52.

Former World Half Marathon bronze medalist Fancy Chemutai will compete in her second half marathon in Prague

Fancy Chemutai, who injured her ankle in May 2018, announced her return to action in January, finishing second at the Houston Half Marathon in a time of 66:48, and believes she will be strong enough to challenge the course record in Prague, currently held by compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei in 64:52.

"I have been in good form for some time after the injury healed. It is a challenge for me in Prague but when I say I am back to my full potential, it means I have gauged myself. I will still fight for medals. I have sat down with my coach and I believe I have a chance to race again," said Chemutai, who currently trains in Iten.

The Kenyan, whose personal best time is 64:52, and last year's Prague runner-up Caroline Kipkirui (65:07), a Kenyan now competing for Kazakhstan, will lead Kenya's delegation to the Czech Republic capital.

However, they will also be up against strong opposition from Asian record-holder Alia Mohammed Saaeed (66:13), European 10,000m champion Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (67:55) of Israel and world marathon bronze medalist Amy Cragg from the United States (68:27).

"I have plans to run the full marathon, but the injury slowed me down," Chetumai said. "Now that I am back in action, I will discuss with the coaches and see how fast I can move to the marathon."

John Hayes, 70, is training for his 7th Boston Marathon

Running a marathon is a good metaphor for life — you may not love every day or every kilometer, and there may be times where you flat out hate yourself and question your sanity, but then you wake up the next morning eager to do it all again.

At least, that’s how John Hayes sees it.

When the 70-year-old runs the Boston Marathon on April 15, it will be his seventh in Beantown and his 28th overall.

But the Boston Marathon, he insists, is no different from the others. “When you take it right down to its core, they’re all the same.”

Regardless of the location, they’re all 42.2 kilometers.  The self-loathing begins around kilometer 30, the resolve to never do this again hits at kilometer 40, and by the end you just hope you don’t have explain your reasoning to anybody, he said.

“Two days later, you’re Googling running schedules.”

His late wife Heather called it an addiction, he said, but he prefers the word passion; it’s much less clinical-sounding.

Hayes began running in 2001, at 52-years-old, when his younger son was a middle-distance runner in high school.

He and Heather were doing the live-to-see-the-grandkids-graduate-university math and realized they needed to start taking care of things, so they began taking regular walks — Hayes lasted about 10 days before he declared walking boring, and began to jog.

He joined a running group that was heavily invested in marathon training in 2006, and just went along for the ride.

From there, he just kept going, running his first Boston Marathon around 2007.

Governor Kevin Stitt is inviting Oklahomans to compete against him, in new Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon relay challenge

Governor Kevin Stitt is inviting Oklahomans to compete against him and a bipartisan team in a new Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon relay challenge.

"We need to become a healthier state,” Stitt said Thursday morning at a press conference at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

So, when he took office, Stitt and his staff started brainstorming.

"We did this kind of stuff at my old company where we would just try to engage all of our team members, employees and our coworkers. I love hanging out with my team members, and now all of Oklahoma is a team member,” he said.

That’s why Stitt’s encouraging Oklahomans to participate in the new Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon relay challenge.

"The memorial marathon, being the largest in the state and for what it stands for, I think it was a natural fit to jump in and challenge Oklahomans to get off the couch and put a team together,” said Kari Watkins, executive director for the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

The teams will then compete with the governor and his own bipartisan team.

To celebrate the new challenge, some state employees and local runners joined Stitt for a mile run that took off from the Survivor’s Tree.

"I am very tired. This is - I've got to start running and training. So, this was a great first step,” he said after the run.

Come April, the race is on.

"Oklahomans have - we're kind of at the bottom of some categories that we should be at the top at. So, we need to just enjoy the outdoors and just focus on working together, and we can do amazing things in our state,” Stitt said.

In early May, the winners of each division will be invited to join Stitt for a celebration at the Governor’s Mansion. They will also receive a memorial marathon T-shirt that says ‘I Beat the Governor.’

Ultra superstar Michael Wardian started his most challenging ultra ever today, the FKT Israel Project 631 miles in 10 days

Most people would think that running a marathon every day for ten days and averaging under three hours would be enough. But not for ultra superstar Michael Wardian.  For his current challenge he will be averaging 63 miles daily for 10 days.  

He is currently taking on the FKT Israel project. He plans on running 631 miles in 10 days on the National Israel Trail. He started today March 12.

Michael messaged me yesterday and said "I am really excited to attempt a Fastest Know Time on the 1000k Israel National Trail. I can't wait."

His wife, Jennifer, wrote me an hour ago saying "Tough Day I - Michael called out on the trail saying "I am lost in the dark and can't reach anyone, can you help." the call was a bit unsettling." 

FKT Isreal Day 1 - (From Jennifer Wardian): "When I was talking with him this afternoon he said today took longer than expected because he got lost several times and missed trail bases. He said it was very technical and exposed at times otherwise felt great.

The Fastest Know Time Israel Project organizer Ian Corless wrote: "One year of planning finally came to fruition today when Michael departed Eilat, Isreal at 5:46am (March 12) to head south covering a total of 631 miles on the Israell National Trial in a target goal of 10-days,” Ian wrote this morning.  

Later Ian wrote, "At the final feed point, Beer Matak at 61.5km he was notably looking tired and fatigued from the day’s efforts. He was also feeling the heat from the last big climb of the day. It was time to dig deep and push on for a final 18km.

 It was here, as darkness came that disaster struck. Mike followed the marker of the ‘INT’ but unfortunately missed the turn to our bivouac which was off the INT route. He pushed on, following the markers and it was our support runner who notified us that he was ‘missing’ after hearing from another trekker that he passed some 30-minutes early.

“Our camp no cellular connection, so, we departed following the approximate route that Mike would take, It was here that technology took over. We managed to liaise with Mike via WhatsApp, we shared ‘live locations’ and we were able to navigate to him a long way down the ‘INT’ route. The route that he should have done on day-2!

“Mike was surprisingly in good spirits, but he had been out on the trail for almost 13-hours and 20-minutes, it was a tough first day! The only plus side coming that he had eaten in to tomorrow’s mileage.

“Back in camp, it was all about recovery. He hydrated, ate some snacks, wiped down and put on fresh clothes. He soon needed a nap. It had been a very long day, both physically and mentally. The priority was good rest, some quality food and then focus the mind for the challenges that day-2 would present.” 

Fiancé of slain DC runner, Daniel Hincapie will run the Boston Marathon in her memory

It’s been nearly six months since 35-year-old Wendy Martinez was attacked and stabbed to death while on a run near Logan Circle.

Her death left her family heartbroken, and it left DC’s running community in disbelief.

“She really took running seriously, and she was very competitive. And one of her dreams was actually to run the Boston Marathon,” said Daniel Hincapie, who proposed to Martinez exactly one week before her murder in September of 2018.

In a matter of days, he went from planning a wedding to planning a funeral.

Martinez went for a run on the night of September 18. She was in Northwest Washington’s Logan Circle neighborhood, where she and Hincapie lived, when she was fatally stabbed in what police have called a random attack. The man charged in Martinez’ murder was found competent to stand trial just last week.

Through it all, Hincapie said he finds strength in memories shared with Martinez. He says it was running that first brought them together.

He was preparing to run his first half marathon, and a mutual friend asked Martinez to give Hincapie some tips.

“She literally came and said hello and dropped off a printout with some tips, and she left some notes on it,” he said. “I kept that printout and told her it was her first love letter.”

On the day of that race, he says Martinez completed the course much faster than he did. Then, she stood in the rain and waited for him at the finish line. Hincapie smiles as he thinks back to that day.

On April 15, he plans to run the Boston Marathon in Martinez’ honor, fulfilling the dream she never got to finish.

“I only started training a few weeks ago, so it’s a little challenging to get back on track. It probably isn’t going to be my fastest race, but I’m going to run it with my heart,” he said. “And my goal, and what I know I’m going to accomplish, is to cross that finish line together with her. Just raising our hands and crossing that finish line. She’ll be right there with me.”

Hincapie’s marathon run will also raise money for the Wendy Martinez Legacy Project.

Kara Goucher is making a second move from the roads to the trails

Kara Goucher is a World Championship silver medallist, two-time Boston third-place finisher, and an American distance running legend. After an illustrious track career, Goucher moved to the roads. Now she’s making a second move from the roads to the trail, running her debut trail marathon at Leadville. 

Goucher announced on Monday that she will be trying something new this June. She said in a race preview, “I started running when I was six and I loved it right away.

I loved being outside, being in the woods and having my heart feel like it was going to beat out of my chest. Now that the days of trying to make Olympic teams are past me, I kind of want to go back to what got me into running in the first place.”

Goucher ran the Houston Marathon in January and had a tough time. After a much anticipated return to the roads, the Olympian didn’t finish the race as a result of an old injury flare up.

After heartbreak in Houston, the runner is excited to get back to her running roots and try out the trail. The Leadville Trail Marathon runs June 15, 2019.

Ultrarunner Rickey Gates gained a new perspective on San Francisco by running every street

Gates, an accomplished mountain and trail runner, had an idea to run every street of his home city, San Francisco.

In a 49 square-mile area, that amounted to 1,100 miles of pavement. He did it in 46 days, averaging just over 28 miles a day, as he had to double up on some streets due to necessity or cul de sacs.

“There is really no way to prepare yourself for ‘this is going to take 36 miles and you’re going to be in this neighbourhood all day’ – and that is the point,” he said in a beautifully shot short film put together by his sponsors Salomon.

He later adds that the people he met along the way and confronting the challenge of being surrounded by people – and you see that he met as wide a demographic as you would imagine in a cosmopolitan city with a mammoth wealth division – “gave me a whole new depth of what empathy is, to try and treat everybody with the same importance”.

The cynic may say he was well looked after with gear, time and other resources by his sponsor – that his is a privileged view of the melting pot of city life.

But we could also see that Gates was touched by the people he met and things he saw. And that, you feel, was his point.

Tyler Pence has started training rigorously for U.S. Olympics Trials marathon

Tyler Pence never struggles to get out the door. Well, unless there’s a freakish snowstorm not unlike the one in January.That forced him to stay indoors and run on a treadmill.

“But usually 99 percent of the time I’m running outside,” said Pence, who graduated from Springfield High School in 2011.

Pence hasn’t slowed down one bit since winning a couple of NCAA Division II long-distance titles at University of Southern Indiana in 2015, which included the indoor 5,000 meters and outdoor 10,000.

That’s because the 2016 USI grad is prepping for his first appearance in the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon scheduled Feb. 29, 2020 in Atlanta.

He qualified this past December, beating the required 2:19.00 standard at the USATF-sanctioned California International Marathon in Sacramento, California. Pence came in at 17th place with a time of 2:15.36.

“That’s something that I really wanted to accomplish,” Pence said. “The marathon, it’s a gamble. Things can go wrong. It’s such a long period of racing that something can go wrong at any moment, so to put it together and have the day that I had, I was very happy with how it went.”

Pence had only attempted one other marathon – the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon in 2016. Pence said that was just for fun.

Sacramento was different.

Pence started training rigorously in August, approximately the same time he won his third straight 10-kilmometer Abe’s Amble road race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

His training spanned four months, running 110-120 miles a week. Sundays were always his big runs, reaching up to 20-24 miles.

He often did morning practices with UIS runners, in addition to a second jaunt in the afternoon.

It was the source of his inspiration.

“When I graduated college, I actually didn’t really plan on continuing my running career and then once I got into coaching, I was around these guys all of the time. It was definitely a motivator of mine,” Pence said. “I thought, ‘How can I tell these guys what to do all of the time, but not do it myself?’ So, I’m a big believer in practice what you preach. That’s definitely what got me back into getting motivated to run at the next level.”

IAAF Announces New Qualifying System for Tokyo 2020

Today the IAAF Council met in Doha and announced the qualification system for track & field at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The big change from previous years is that the IAAF will be using its new World Ranking System as part of the qualifying criteria.

As in the past, athletes can still qualify by hitting an entry standard. But those standards are much stiffer across the board as compared to 2016. In the men’s distance events, for example, the times dropped from 3:36.20 to 3:35.00 in the 1500, from 8:30:00 to 8:22:00 in the steeplechase, from 13:25.00 to 13:13.50 in the 5000, from 28:00.00 to 27:28:00 in the 10,000, and from 2:19:00 to 2:11:30 in the marathon for 2020.

For the women, the 1500 standard has gone from 4:07.00 to 4:04.20, the steeplechase standard has gone from 9:45:00 to 9:30:00, the 5000 standard has gone from 15:24.00 to 15:10.00, the 10,000 standard has gone from 32:15 to 31:25, and the marathon standard has gone from 2:45:00 to 2:29:30.

The reason for these tougher standards is the IAAF’s desire to make use of its World Ranking System which in theory encourages athletes to compete head to head in important meets, which is something we’re behind. Essentially, the World Ranking System will take the place of the world descending order list that was used to fill fields in the past at the Olympics and World Championships.

The IAAF will accept all athletes who achieve the entry standard and fill the rest of the field based on where an athlete ranks in the World Ranking System as of July 1, 2020; if the athlete does not accept the place, the IAAF will continue down the rankings until the field is full in each event.

The qualification window for each event is as follows:

For the marathon and 50k race walk, the qualification period runs from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020

For the 10,000, 20k race walk, and combined events, the qualification period runs from January 1, 2019, to June 29, 2020.

For all other events, the qualification period runs from May 1, 2019, to June 29, 2020.

In addition, the top 10 finishers in the marathon at the 2019 World Championships will be considered to have achieved the standard, as will top-5 finishers at IAAF Gold Label Marathons and top-10 finishers at Abbott World Marathon Majors held during the qualification period.

Alemu Bekele and Kuftu Tahir destroy the Zurich Marathon Barcelona course records

Alemu Bekele set a new course record at the 41st edition of the Zurich Marathon of Barcelona. The Ethiopian and Bahrain nationality athlete, who has been distanced from his rivals in the Via Laietana section, completed the course in a personal best of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 4 seconds. The previous record set in 2010 by Kenyan Jakson Kotut (2:07:30). Abebe Negewo (2:06:49) and Anthony Maritim (2:06:54) were second and third.

"I've made my best record. The race has been very nice and I enjoyed it a lot. I did not expect a record like this, but I'm doing well now," explained Bekele, who has run just four marathons. 

"The trip was better than I expected, but the competition was hard. I have resisted in the first group at all times and I have waited to attack where I thought I could do it. I knew it could beat the record," he said.

"Despite suffering a lot in the final stretch, Ethiopian Kuftu Tahir was first female and also set a course record clocking 2:24:44.

"We went out at a good pace from the start and and that was key. We were together for almost 40 kilometers." Second place placed third.  

"The new course was improved so that it is faster, but without removing any of the emblematic points that characterize us. We have had a balanced marathon, very linear, with few curves and great avenues. Also, we have reduced 20% the a positive difference compared to 2018," syas Cristian Llorens.

There were 17,465 participants. Almost half (49%) were foreigners, from 107 different countries, another historic record.

Mo Farah retained the Vitality Big Half title as he outkicked Bashir Abdi of Belgium and Daniel Wanjiru of Kenya to take the win in a thrilling sprint finish

Farah, the 2018 Chicago Marathon champion, clocked a time of 61 minutes and 14 seconds, which proved too much for training partner Abdi and former London Marathon champion Daniel Wanjiru.

Abdi was second in 61:16 and Wanjiru third in 61:17.

Farah said: "The conditions weren't great today so I'm pleased to win, although it would have been nice to run a bit faster and really test myself. I'm happy with the win and with how my preparations are going ahead of the London Marathon in April.

"The London Marathon is still quite a long way away but I'm happy with my progress and it was nice to be able to race today."

The women's race was won by last year's champion Charlotte Purdue in 70:38, with Steph Twell second in 71:33 and Charlotte Arter third in 71:44.

The Roma-Ostia Half Marathon was once again a fast race but with some surprises

The Roma-Ostia Half Marathon once again lived up to its reputation as being a fast race with a winning time of 01:00:17 by Ethiopian runner Guye Adola in the men’s race and 01:06:40 by Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, of Israel, in the highly anticipated women’s race.

Adola, winner of the 2017 edition of this competition, now in its 45th year, ran a smart race, tucking into the lead pack for most of the way until a final sprint to the finish, beating Kenian Geoffrey Yegon by 6 seconds in a race that saw 8,456 finishers run from Rome’s EUR neighbourhood to Ostia, the city’s honky tonk beach town.

In the women’s race, Salpeter, bettered her PB by 1:15, running a constant pace of 3:08/km, while the American Jordan Hasay, finished with a time of 01:11:06, well above the expected PB that everyone was hoping to see her run. At the presentation of elite runners on Saturday, Hasay seemed to want to run a fast race and, with an identical PB as Salpeter, everyone was hoping for an exciting and fast duel to the finish. But today wasn’t going to be that day for Hasay. During the race, the live tracking for Hasay did not work so there were no live split times for her at the 5km, 10km or 15 km markers and commentators never mentioned where she was during the race.

Only when she arrived at the finish line 4:26 after Salpeter (and 6th woman overall), was it obvious that she was way off a PB pace today. Hasay, part of the Nike Oregon Project and trained by Alberto Salazar, is set to run in the Boston Marathon on April 15. An Italian male runner who finished in a little over 1hr 7 minutes and who was at the start with Hasay, said she ran the first 2 kms very fast but then dropped off her PB pace and he passed her at km 3. A spokesperson for Hasay said after the race that Hasay did not have any injuries that affected her performance today, citing that after a year away from competition she was only a bit “race rusty.”

NN CPC Loop Den Haag was Canceled due to extreme weather

THE HAGUE -The NN CPC Run The Hague has been canceled. The organization does not consider it justified to have more than 41,000 runners start under the stormy weather conditions.

The organization announced on Saturday night that the course was going on for the time being, but in the end the strong wind decided to cancel the course, according to a spokesman.

"The wind force is increasing to 7 with gusts up to 100 km per hour. Because of the very bad weather, the temperature of the feeling can drop to the freezing point, which creates an unsafe situation on the course and the Malieveld for both runners and the public."

After consultation with the mayor and emergency services, the organization has taken the decision to cancel the event. The organization says it regrets the measure.

"We, too, have been looking forward to this 45th edition of the NN CPC Run The Hague. A setback for everyone who is looking forward to it, but the safety of the runners, volunteers, spectators and other people involved is always at the forefront of the NN CPC course in The Hague."

The organization calls on people not to come to the Malieveld. The organization does not yet want to make any statements about what happens to the registration fee and any alternative course at another time.

"We'll come back to that later." Reaction Krikke Mayor Pauline Krikke calls it 'unfortunate' for the more than 41,000 enthusiastic runners that CPC can not continue.

"A cheerful sporting event, one of the biggest events in our city every year." The mayor was at the Malieveld on Sunday morning around half past seven to view the weather conditions with the organization and relief workers.

She shows understanding for the choice not to let the run go: "No matter how beautiful the event is and no matter how much I give the runners their game, the safety of the participants is always paramount."

Five Japanese runners qualify for MGC through Nagoya Women's Marathon

Namibian runner Helalia Johannes on Sunday won the Nagoya Women’s Marathon, a race through which five Japanese punched their tickets for this fall’s Marathon Grand Championship, which will serve as a qualifying race for the 2020 Olympics.

Johannes broke away from a three-woman lead pack to win in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 25 seconds in the race, which started and finished at Nagoya Dome, while Reia Iwade finished fifth for Japan’s best result.

Iwade, who set a personal best of 2:23:52, had already qualified for the Sept. 15 race in Tokyo, but Kayoko Fukushi (2:24:09), who finished eighth, and Miyuki Uehara (2:24:19), who was ninth, clocked sub-2:25:00 times to meet the qualifying standard for the MGC.

Sairi Maeda (2:25:25), Mizuki Tanimoto (2:25:28) and Ayano Ikemitsu (2:26:07), who placed 10th, 11th and 12th, also earned MGC berths, bringing the entry tally for Japanese women to 14.

“I still had strength in my legs in the end. I think I did well,” said Iwade, who improved her personal best set at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon three years ago by 46 seconds.

Iwade was eight seconds behind Fukushi in eighth at the 40-km point but moved up three places over the final two kilometers. She was the only competitor who entered the race having already qualified for the MGC.

Visiline Jepkesho (2:22:58) and Valary Jemeli (2:23:01), the two Kenyan runners who moved to the front around the 35-km mark, finished second and third.

The Nagoya Women’s Marathon was the last domestic chance for Japanese women to qualify for the MGC.

Jordan Hassy is set the break the American Half Marathon Record Sunday in Rome

American distance star Jordan Hasay may be set to break the American record in the half marathon tomorrow at the Huwai Roma Ostia Half Marathon.

The current American record of 67:25, set in January 2018 by Molly Huddle, is only 30 seconds faster than Hasay’s PB of 67:55, set in 2017 at the Prague Half Marathon. And while this time is good, it does not correspond to her PB of 2:20:57 run at the Chicago Marathon that same year. 

During a presentation of the elite athletes today at the Roma Ostia Village, former Italian distance runner Gianni De Madonna – 2nd at the New York City Marathon in 1987 – asked the top athletes about their plans for the race. Hasay’s main competition, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, from Israel who also has a PB of 67:55, said that she hoped for a fast race as she wanted to improve her time. When De Madonna asked if she was hoping for a time of 66 to 66:30, she laughed and said that she would do her best to stay with the pacers that they will be following.

In the men’s race, 2017 winner Guye Adola is back for a repeat victory. Adola, from Ethioia, was an unknown in 2017 when he crossed the finish line in 59:48 but made a name for himself several months later when he came in 2nd to Eliud Kipchoge at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:03:46, only 14 seconds behind the current world record holder in the marathon.

The weather should be ideal for racing: cloudy with a high temperature of 14 C.