Running News Daily

Ethiopia’s Mulugeta Uma, the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon champion, has confirmed he will return to Canada’s premier road race on October 19 to defend his title. The 27-year-old says his focus is clear:

“My aim is to run a fast time but if I am unable to run a fast time I must win the race.”

Podium Rematch

Uma’s addition to the field sets up an exciting reunion with the two men who joined him on last year’s podium. Kenya’s Dominic Ngeno, who finished second in 2024, and Noah Kipkemboi, who claimed third, have already been confirmed for this World Athletics Elite Label race.

Though Uma won Toronto last year in 2:07:16, he has proven he can run much faster. His personal best of 2:05:33 came at the 2024 Paris Marathon, and he clocked 2:05:46 for fifth place earlier this year at the prestigious Tokyo Marathon, a World Marathon Major.

Remembering Toronto 2024

Uma recalls how last year’s Toronto victory unfolded dramatically.

“After halfway, no one was willing to lead but the Kenyan athlete (Ngeno) had a big surge and disappeared from our sight,” he remembers.

“We decided to leave him and thought we were going for second place. After a while I decided to try my best to catch him and, finally, I caught him and managed to win the race.”

His win earned him $20,000 CAD—a payday that has since risen to $25,000 for the 2025 edition. Beyond the prize money, Uma says he enjoyed his first visit to Canada’s largest city.

“I enjoyed the course and had an amazing experience in Toronto. I do have friends there and they are the ones who took me sightseeing.”

From Waliso to the World Stage

Born in Waliso, about 100 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, Uma grew up in a farming family. Inspired by Ethiopia’s Olympic heroes, he pursued running as a child and quickly made a name for himself in the 1,500m, winning silver at the 2014 Olympic Youth Games and the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships.

But his career was derailed when he ruptured his Achilles tendon—an injury he attributes to racing in spikes. It forced him into a seven-year hiatus.

His return to the sport was fueled by watching his hero, Kenenisa Bekele, transition to the roads.

“Kenenisa was the athlete who inspired me. I was eager to achieve what he did on the track. Annoyingly, my injury prevented me from the track racing I loved, but still my role model showed me I could run sub-2:02. I am working hard to run a fast time like him.”

Bekele, a three-time Olympic champion, famously ran 2:01:41 in Berlin in 2019—just two seconds shy of the then world record.

Family and Future Goals

Uma is married to Bone Chuluka, who represented Ethiopia at two World Cross Country Championships, winning medals in the mixed relay event. The couple, who currently have no children, train together as they pursue their athletic goals.

Looking ahead to October, Uma has his eyes not just on defending his crown but also on history. The course record in Toronto remains 2:05:00, set in 2019 by Kenya’s Philemon Rono.

Asked if he might challenge that mark, his response was simple:

“Yes, why not?”

Few would doubt his ability to deliver.

South African distance star Adrian Wildschutt walked away from the Cape Town Marathon with far more than just another strong performance. What began as a pacing assignment quickly evolved into a revealing test of endurance, confidence, and future marathon ambitions.

Wildschutt, who holds the South African national record in the half marathon, had initially planned to guide the elite field through the halfway mark at 21 kilometres. However, feeling comfortable and energized in the race atmosphere, he extended his pacing duties to 25km before deciding to continue deeper into the marathon to test himself over the next 10 kilometres.

The session quickly transformed into an eye-opening lesson for one of South Africa’s most exciting distance-running talents.

Reflecting on the experience afterward, Wildschutt admitted he was encouraged by how his body responded despite not having completed a full marathon-specific training block. He moved smoothly through much of the course before the real demands of the distance began to emerge between 33km and 35km — the point where marathons often become a true test of survival.

Rather than seeing the fatigue as a weakness, Wildschutt viewed it as confirmation that his marathon potential remains largely untapped.

The outing provided valuable insight into the patience, strength, and endurance required over 42.2 kilometres while reinforcing the belief that, with focused preparation, he could develop into a major force in the marathon scene.

For South African athletics fans, the performance offered another exciting glimpse into the future. Already celebrated for his speed on the track and roads — including his national half marathon record — Wildschutt now appears increasingly drawn toward the marathon challenge.

His comments after the race carried both honesty and optimism — acknowledging the challenge of the distance while hinting at untapped potential still waiting to be explored.

If Cape Town was merely an experiment, it may ultimately be remembered as the first real sign of an athlete preparing for something much bigger in the marathon world.

For the second consecutive year, Rory Linkletter has proven that resilience, consistency, and courage still define the soul of marathon running.

The Canadian distance star once again embraced one of the toughest challenges in elite road racing — competing at both the Boston Marathon and the Ottawa Marathon within the span of a single month — and once again delivered performances that placed him among the very best.

In 2025, Linkletter stunned the marathon world by clocking a remarkable 2:07:02 to finish sixth in Boston before returning weeks later to take second place in Ottawa with another elite performance of 2:08:31. Rather than treating the back-to-back races as a one-time experiment, he returned in 2026 and repeated the demanding double with equal determination.

This year, the Canadian standout crossed the line in 2:06:04 at Boston against one of the deepest marathon fields assembled, finishing 14th in a brutally competitive race. Many athletes would have ended their spring season there, but Linkletter chose to push further. In Ottawa, he once again demonstrated his remarkable endurance and competitive spirit, battling his way to third place in 2:09:43.

Running two world-class marathons within weeks is an enormous physical and mental undertaking, especially at such elite speeds. Yet Linkletter has built a reputation around embracing difficult challenges and showing up fearlessly against the world’s strongest fields. His ability to recover quickly and still produce championship-level performances speaks volumes about both his preparation and mindset.

Beyond the finishing times and podium places, Linkletter’s humility continues to resonate with fans across the running world. Reflecting on his demanding back-to-back marathon campaigns, he offered a simple but heartfelt message:

“Just thankful for everyone in my corner.”

That gratitude has become part of what makes his journey so compelling. While marathon running often celebrates records and victories, Linkletter’s story highlights another side of the sport — perseverance, loyalty to the process, and appreciation for the people who make success possible.

In an era where many athletes carefully limit their racing schedules, Rory Linkletter continues to embrace the grind, proving that toughness and consistency remain among the marathon’s most admirable qualities.

The streets of Ottawa were cold, soaked and unforgiving on Sunday morning, but none of it could slow down Elissa Legault’s determined march toward one of the finest performances of her career.

Battling relentless rain and difficult racing conditions at the Ottawa Marathon, Legault emerged as the top Canadian finisher after producing a superb 2:29:13 performance — a time that left her just eight seconds shy of her personal best.

In weather that tested both physical strength and mental resilience, Legault showed remarkable composure from start to finish. While many athletes struggled against the cold temperatures and wet roads, the Canadian standout maintained her rhythm with impressive consistency, turning the challenging conditions into a stage for one of the most courageous runs of the day.

Her performance carried extra significance not only because of the result, but because of the manner in which it was achieved. Running near personal-best pace under ideal weather is difficult enough. Doing it in rain-soaked conditions against biting cold elevates the achievement to another level entirely.

Legault’s effort quickly became one of the defining stories of the marathon as spectators watched her power through the final kilometres with unwavering determination. Finishing as the leading Canadian on home soil added even greater meaning to an already memorable day for the talented distance runner.

The 2:29:13 clocking further confirms Legault’s growing status among Canada’s strongest marathon performers. With form like this — and considering how close she came to her lifetime best despite the difficult conditions — there is every reason to believe even faster times could be ahead in future races.

Sunday’s race was more than just another marathon finish. It was a statement of resilience, toughness and rising ambition from an athlete continuing to build momentum on the international stage.

For the past decade, marathon innovation has revolved around shoes. Carbon plates. Super foams. Lighter and faster racing models that transformed what athletes believed was possible over 26.2 miles.

Now Adidas may have opened the next chapter in performance technology — and this time the breakthrough is not on runners’ feet.

At the 2026 London Marathon, much of the focus centered on the historic performances by Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha, who became the first two athletes in history to officially break two hours in the marathon in the same race. But another important development may have quietly emerged alongside those performances: Adidas’s new biomechanical racing suit.

What makes the apparel intriguing is that it is not primarily about aerodynamics. The company’s bigger claim is biomechanical efficiency — helping runners maintain form deeper into the race as fatigue takes over.

Every experienced marathoner understands what happens late in a hard marathon. The hips begin to drop. The pelvis tilts. Posture weakens. Stride efficiency slowly deteriorates. Over the final miles, small mechanical losses become major time losses.

According to Adidas, the suit is designed to slow that breakdown.

Jessica G. Hunter, Adidas’s Manager of Athlete Performance and the leader behind the research project, spent years building the case internally that apparel itself could improve marathon performance. Leadership within the company was skeptical.

“Nobody had ever done it successfully before,” Hunter told The New York Times.

Her research focused on stabilizing the relationship between the core and hips — the key area responsible for keeping runners upright, balanced, and efficient during prolonged fatigue. The conclusion was that traditional apparel systems could not fully achieve that because singlets and shorts function as separate pieces.

“The only way to do that is with a full, connected suit,” Hunter explained.

That detail may prove to be the real innovation.

During the London Marathon broadcast, Kejelcha appeared to be wearing a fairly standard racing setup consisting of half-tights and a singlet. In reality, the upper and lower portions were connected into a single integrated garment. Adidas intentionally designed the suit to avoid looking radical or futuristic.

By comparison, Sawe raced in aerodynamic half-tights paired with a traditional untucked singlet. Every piece of his apparel could be clearly identified separately. Kejelcha’s system operated differently beneath the surface.

The idea of performance-enhancing apparel is hardly new in sports. Swimming saw a revolution — and eventual controversy — when full-body suits contributed to a flood of world records in 2008 and 2009. Cycling has long embraced skinsuits designed for aerodynamics and body stabilization. Running, however, has remained comparatively conservative outside the shoe revolution.

That may now be changing.

The timing is significant because marathon performances continue to improve at an astonishing rate. When races are decided by seconds rather than minutes, even marginal improvements become valuable. If a connected biomechanical suit helps an athlete maintain efficient posture just slightly longer over the final 10K, the competitive impact could be enormous.

The larger question is whether this represents the future of marathon racing or simply another experimental step in the sport’s endless pursuit of speed.

Either way, London may have marked the beginning of a new era — one where what runners wear from shoulders to hips becomes almost as important as what they wear on their feet.

More than a decade after her husband etched his name into the history books of the Ottawa Marathon, Ethiopian-born star Yemane Tsegay has another reason to celebrate — this time through the remarkable triumph of his wife, Abeba Aregawi.

Back in 2014, Yemane produced one of the finest performances ever witnessed on the streets of Ottawa, storming to victory in a course-record time of 2:06:54. His dominant run remains one of the most memorable moments in the history of the race and established his legacy as one of the marathon’s great champions.

Now, in a beautiful continuation of that family legacy, Abeba Aregawi has written her own chapter in Ottawa’s rich distance-running history.

Competing in the women’s race at the 2026 Ottawa Marathon, the Ethiopian-born athlete delivered a composed and world-class performance to cross the finish line in 2:22:55, securing a brilliant victory and adding another golden moment to the family’s remarkable résumé.

Her victory was more than just another marathon win. It was a story of endurance, partnership, resilience and shared greatness — a rare moment where husband and wife have both stood atop the podium at the same prestigious marathon, years apart.

Aregawi, widely respected for her success on the track before transitioning to longer distances, showed exceptional strength and tactical maturity throughout the race. As the kilometers unfolded through the Canadian capital, she gradually separated herself from the field before powering home to a memorable triumph.

For athletics fans, the emotional connection between the two victories makes the story even more special. Yemane’s course-record heroics in 2014 inspired many East African athletes, and now Abeba has ensured the family name once again echoes proudly across Ottawa’s marathon history.

Their achievements underline not only individual brilliance, but also the extraordinary bond shared by two elite athletes who continue to inspire the global running community.

From Yemane’s unforgettable course record to Abeba’s commanding victory, Ottawa has become more than just another marathon destination for the family — it has become part of their legacy.