Running News Daily

Don Jans clipped the curb with his car as he pulled into a rest stop in Texas. It was a minor incident that likely stemmed from the exhaustion of a solo, 2,000-mile drive home to Florida, after completing 127 miles at January's Across the Years in Phoenix.

Inspecting the damage, the 90-year-old Florida man was relieved to see none. So, he hopped in his sleeping bag for a few hours before waking up around 3 A.M.  to get back on the road. A few miles later, the car rebelled.

"The temperature gauge was at the max, so I pulled off the interstate and shut it down," Jans said. "Around three or four in the morning, I get towed to a mechanic in Ozana, Texas, which is in the middle of nowhere. When I got there, I climbed back in my sleeping bag and the mechanics arrived around 7 A.M. and found me there. Unfortunately, they didn't do radiators."

Jans received another tow to another mechanic in town and was back on the road the next day after sleeping in that mechanic's lot that night. He would make it home a day or so later.

In a way, it's a fitting description of Jans as runner and person. At 90 years old, Jans finds ways and reasons to keep moving in his 10th decade on Earth, and his  fifth running.

If he can do it, he'll do it. It might take a little longer than it used to, or, using  one of Jans's many sayings and mottos, "Don't be getting in a hurry." 

"I have no explanation for why I should keep running, but I highly recommend it to everybody," he said. "It's just great to be out there on the course, in the fresh air, and the training isn't a burden. I mean, if it's something you like to do, it's not punishment. If it's punishment, you need to find something you like. That's what we're here for right? To have fun."

A Wife, a Man, and a Van

Endurance goals have been top of mind for Jans since 1980. Then 48, he started running to lose weight. Realizing he enjoyed the challenge, he became a triathlete. One race turned into another, and he eventually qualified for and ran Kona in 1987.

The same happened when he transitioned to trails in the 1990s. He found new challenges and a community in running.

"The people in the ultra and running community are such a wonderful bunch to be around," Jans said. "Everybody helps everybody. They're just the salt of the earth. I said to myself that this was the place to be."

With the help of his wife Dorothy, they packed into the family van and found races to run and volunteer at all over the country. Though never a runner herself, Dorothy became the "ultimate crew chief" for Jans. She took extensive notes, took pictures of what Jans wore so he had a reference for future races, and  stocked the van like a mini aid station on wheels for other runners in need.

"She was a super mom," said Sharon Jans, 67, Jans's daughter. "I have three brothers and three sisters, and caretaking people out was kind of her life. She just extended that to runners. She helped a lot of people here and there at so many races. Whatever they needed, she had it somewhere in that van. She loved it. It kept her busy."

While they mostly stuck to the Southeast near their Clearwater, Florida home, Jans racked up multiple ultra finishes a year after 1990, including the Umstead 100 (eight times), JFK 50 (also eight times), and Ancient Oaks 100, to name a few. He was in his 60s and 70s for the majority of these. 

Then, it all came to a halt in 2009.

They first noticed it at a race. Jans came into an aid station and found Dorothy asleep in the van. She had never missed him or been asleep at any aid station before.

Soon after, Dorothy was diagnosed with lymphoma. When that seemed to be cured, another diagnosis followed. 

"We went through a battle for five to six years," Jans said. "You lose track of time, and I'm not blaming the medical people. Once you think you're over one hurdle, there's another one. There's a continual series of disappointments, if you want to call it that. You just do it. We had been married for 60-some years, and for these next years, I was a full-time caregiver. Nothing else. You just do it."

When Dorothy passed away in October 2015, Jans didn't know what to do. He hadn't run in years while tending to his wife and best friend. He had a hip replacement and had done some swimming and walking, but nothing near what he used to. He wasn't sure if he'd ever run like he did.

A Comeback Story

Looking for something to occupy his mind and time, one conversation led to rediscovering his goals through discovering a new race.

Depending on who you ask in the family, you'll get a different story. Jans goes with his version in which one of his daughters, Marilyn Jans Schupbach, 69, alerted him to the existence of A Race for the Ages (ARFTA). The Tennessee-based race is essentially a timed, multi-day race but with a couple twists. Everyone 40 and younger gets to run the final 40 hours of the race. Anyone 41 and older is allotted a number of hours equal to their age. In 2018, that meant Jans, who was 85, got 85 hours to run.

"I was just trying to recoup mentally from losing my wife, so it was a distraction, get your mind onto something worthwhile," Jans said. "Marilyn told me, 'Why don't you try this and see how it goes?'"

Intrigued by the concept, Jans signed up, training around the roads in his new home in The Villages, Florida. He was also motivated by having someone to race with: Marilyn. 

Jans had inspired her and Sharon to get into ultras in the 1990s, and Marilyn wanted to see if she could catch her dad. I signed up with him," Marilyn said. "That was my first and last time. I'm so much younger and he started 21 or 22 hours ahead of me. I never caught up with him. He ran 120 miles and I had 104. He was like 85 at the time, by the way."

While Marilyn hasn't returned, Jans has become a fixture at the event. He's run every single one since 2018, including 119 miles in 2022. He's also been able to convince his other daughter, Sharon, to join him for the last two.It may help that he pays her race entry and signs her up.

"I didn't think I could ever do that race," Sharon said. "Then, he just paid for my race entry and told me, 'You can do it. Give it a try.' I had done some 50Ks, but I had never tried anything like it. Since then, I've done a couple 100 milers. I even did Long Haul 100 in January with Marilyn. Dad missed it because he was tired from the drive home [from Across the Years]."

"I beat him by one mile," Sharon said. "He's 25 years older than me, and it took me until the final hour to catch up. He rests, but he never stops."

Most recently, he added Across the Years to his annual race calendar. At his inaugural run at age 90, he ran 127 miles during the six-day race. Rainy weather and cooler temperatures caused some hiccups, like a "frog strangling downpour," he said, leading to him "being old in a 1010 dome tent with wet clothes and cold weather." 

Despite the conditions, he said it was one of his favorite race experiences. He said he'll just have to "come back next year with a different plan," which includes not driving home right after the race ends.

Going Further

Not everyone is blessed with mobility later in life. Genetics, previous injuries, and the wear and tear of life can build up.. For Jans, his abilities at 90 are a blessing, and he recognizes that.

Though not as fast as the people who, quite literally, run circles around him, he gets out there everyday anyway. Most importantly, he shows up on race day. 

"Truth be told, you don't feel like you're 90," Jans said. "It's just a number. Even though you can't perform like you did 10, 15 years ago, I still feel the same way. When I wake up in the morning, I do. I don't say, 'Oh golly, I have to train.' I say, 'I want to go train.' It's a delight, not a punishment. I'm sure it's the same way for the guy who won the last-person-standing race at ATY. We wake up and say, 'Oh boy! We get another to go for a run.'"

His biggest opponent right now is cutoffs. The standard 30 to 36 hours aren't conducive for runners who need more time to hit their goals. While events can't go on forever, we are seeing more events that tailor to these needs.

In fact, Jans is seeking out his first 10-day race, and not because he wants more time to hit 100. His next goal after that?

"I'd like to do a 200-miler," he said. "I think I'd need a 10-day race to do it, which I don't think that's in the cards. A lot of races keep talking about doing a 10-day event, but I don't know if that's just scuttlebutt. I'll just keep trying to do my best if I can't find 10-day events. Just keep going."

Some victories are measured by finish times. Others are defined by the obstacles overcome simply to reach the starting line.

For American Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit, completing the New York City Marathon represented far more than covering 26.2 miles. It was the culmination of an extraordinary journey of survival, resilience, and unwavering determination that began with a life-altering shark attack just two years earlier.

On a crisp November morning in 2025, Truwit crossed the iconic finish line wearing a carbon-fibre running blade, fulfilling a promise she had made while recovering in a hospital bed after losing her lower left leg. The emotional milestone marked another remarkable chapter in one of the most inspiring comeback stories in modern sport.

The road to that unforgettable finish began only days after Truwit celebrated a major personal achievement. In May 2023, she completed her first marathon in Copenhagen alongside her mother. Just ten days later, while enjoying a graduation trip to Turks and Caicos with former Yale swimming teammate Sophie Pilkinton, tragedy struck.

While the pair were snorkelling, a shark attacked Truwit, severely injuring her left leg. Displaying remarkable courage, the two swam approximately 55 metres back to their boat, where Pilkinton—then a medical student—quickly applied a tourniquet that stopped the bleeding and ultimately saved Truwit's life.

Doctors were forced to amputate her lower left leg on her 23rd birthday.

Even in the darkest moments of recovery, Truwit's determination never disappeared. Reflecting on having recently completed her first marathon, she joked with one of the first responders that at least she had managed to run a marathon before the attack. The responder's simple but powerful reply would remain with her throughout rehabilitation: "You'll run another one."

Those words became a source of hope during the long and demanding road back.

Only weeks after surgery, Truwit began learning to walk on a prosthetic limb before gradually returning to the swimming pool. The process was anything but straightforward. The water that had once been her sanctuary became a source of painful memories, yet she refused to allow fear to define her future.

Her relentless work ethic soon produced extraordinary results.

Less than 16 months after the attack, Truwit represented the United States at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, producing a sensational performance to claim both silver and bronze medals. Standing on the Paralympic podium was a powerful reminder of how far she had come in such a short period, and she dedicated those achievements to everyone who had helped save her life.

Still, another dream remained unfinished.

The New York City Marathon carried deep personal significance. It was not merely another endurance event but a symbolic return to the city where her life had changed forever. On November 2, 2025, she lined up in Staten Island accompanied by 13 family members and close friends, all proudly representing her nonprofit foundation, Stronger Than You Think. Among them was Pilkinton, the friend whose quick thinking had preserved her life on that unforgettable day in the Caribbean.

Together, they covered every mile of the marathon before celebrating an emotional finish that Truwit later described as being "over the moon."

Completing a marathon on a carbon-fibre running blade presents challenges far beyond those faced by able-bodied runners. The prosthetic demands greater strength from the hips, core, and remaining leg while requiring exceptional balance, coordination, and endurance. Truwit's preparation combined months of disciplined training, patience, and mental resilience as she effectively taught herself how to run again.

Her story extends well beyond medals and marathon finishes.

Inspired by her own recovery, Truwit founded Stronger Than You Think, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to helping individuals overcome physical and financial barriers following limb loss. Recognising that sports prosthetics can cost tens of thousands of dollars and are often not covered by insurance, the foundation provides financial assistance for prosthetic devices, supports water-safety education, and promotes opportunities within Paralympic sport.

The organisation has already helped provide more than 11 prosthetic limbs, delivered nearly $200,000 in direct support, and funded over 4,000 hours of water-safety lessons benefiting more than 700 young people.

Throughout her journey, Truwit has remained refreshingly honest about the emotional challenges that continue to accompany recovery. She has openly acknowledged that healing is an ongoing process and that grief can still come in waves. Rather than portraying an effortless comeback, she has demonstrated that resilience is built through persistence, even on the hardest days.

Her remarkable transformation resonates far beyond elite sport. While few people will ever experience the trauma she endured, countless runners and athletes understand the frustration of injury, disappointment, or rebuilding after adversity. Truwit's journey serves as a powerful reminder that recovery is rarely linear and that courage is often measured by the willingness to keep moving forward despite uncertainty.

Now looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, Truwit continues to redefine what is possible. She is no longer known simply as the swimmer who survived a shark attack. She has become a Paralympic medallist, marathon finisher, advocate, and symbol of resilience whose story continues to inspire athletes around the world.

Her journey proves that while life can change in an instant, so too can the strength of the human spirit. Sometimes the greatest triumph is not returning to the person you once were, but discovering someone even stronger than you ever imagined possible.

Sprint and hurdles superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has entered an exciting new chapter in her remarkable life, welcoming her first child with husband Andre Levrone. The four-time Olympic champion and women's 400m hurdles world record holder announced the birth of their daughter, Savannah Michelle Levrone, who was born on Sunday, July 12, 2026.

The couple shared the joyful news with an emotional message celebrating the arrival of their daughter and expressing gratitude to everyone who supported them throughout the pregnancy. Sydney described Savannah as "our blessing and our joy," while expressing excitement and faith for the future that lies ahead for their growing family.

The announcement marks a deeply personal milestone for one of the most accomplished athletes of her generation. Renowned for redefining the women's 400m hurdles through a succession of record-breaking performances, McLaughlin-Levrone now embraces a new role beyond the track as a mother.

The timing of the announcement adds another layer of significance. Just days earlier, Sydney reflected on the 10th anniversary of qualifying for her first Olympic Games at only 16 years old—a breakthrough that launched one of the most decorated careers in modern athletics. Ten years later, her journey has come full circle with another life-changing milestone, underscoring that her greatest moments continue to extend beyond sporting success.

The arrival of Savannah Michelle Levrone has been met with an outpouring of congratulations from athletes, fans, and the wider sporting community, who have celebrated the couple as they begin this new chapter together. As Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone steps into motherhood, the athletics world will undoubtedly continue to follow her inspiring journey—both on and off the track.

Ethiopia's Tsige Gebreselama produced one of the standout road running performances of the season on Sunday, storming to victory at the prestigious Boilermaker Road Race 15K in Utica, New York, with a sensational course record of 47:29.

From the opening kilometers, Gebreselama controlled the race with remarkable composure and precision, maintaining a relentless pace that ultimately erased the previous course record and secured one of the fastest performances ever recorded on the historic course. Her commanding display further reinforced her reputation as one of the world's leading road and distance runners.

The Ethiopian celebration continued as Melknat Wudu crossed the finish line in second place in 47:44, completing a dominant one-two finish for her country. Kenya's Priscah Cherono claimed third in 48:14 after a determined effort, rounding out a world-class podium in a race featuring some of the finest distance runners on the international circuit.

The battle behind the podium remained fiercely competitive. Kenya's Everlyn Kemboi finished fourth in 48:28, narrowly ahead of compatriot Selah Busienei, who clocked 48:31 for fifth. Ethiopia's Netsanet Desta and Alem Nigus Tsadik followed in sixth and seventh respectively, while Kenya's Mercy Cherono secured eighth place.

American athletes also delivered encouraging performances on home roads. Veteran Stephanie Bruce finished ninth in 50:40, with Jackie Gaughan completing the top ten in 51:02 to cap a strong showing for the host nation.

Boilermaker Road Race 15K – Women's Top 10 Results

1. Tsige Gebreselama (Ethiopia) – 47:29 (Course Record)

2. Melknat Wudu (Ethiopia) – 47:44

3. Priscah Cherono (Kenya) – 48:14

4. Everlyn Kemboi (Kenya) – 48:28

5. Selah Busienei (Kenya) – 48:31

6. Netsanet Desta (Ethiopia) – 48:46

7. Alem Nigus Tsadik (Ethiopia) – 48:48

8. Mercy Cherono (Kenya) – 50:23

9. Stephanie Bruce (United States) – 50:40

10. Jackie Gaughan (United States) – 51:02

The women's race combined exceptional depth with remarkable speed, as several athletes broke the 49-minute barrier in a contest that showcased the global strength of elite road running. Gebreselama's record-breaking run now stands as a new benchmark in the rich history of the Boilermaker 15K, adding another memorable chapter to one of the United States' most celebrated road races.

Kenya's Alex Matata delivered a sensational performance to claim the men's title at the prestigious Boilermaker Road Race 15K in Utica, New York, producing a dominant run that underlined his growing reputation as one of the world's finest road racers.

Matata surged to victory in an outstanding time of 42:24, mastering the demanding course with a display of strength, speed, and tactical brilliance. His commanding performance secured a memorable triumph in one of the United States' most celebrated road races, adding another significant international victory to his career.

Kenya's success was further highlighted by Kiprono Sitonik, who produced an equally impressive run to finish second in 42:53, completing a remarkable one-two finish for the East African nation. South Africa's Adam Lipschitz rounded out the podium after clocking 43:14 to claim third place following a determined effort.

The race featured a highly competitive international field, with American athletes Reid Buchanan and Hillary Bor finishing fourth and fifth respectively, while another Kenyan, Victor Shitsama, added to his country's strong showing by taking sixth place.

Matata's victory once again showcased Kenya's enduring strength in global road racing, as its athletes continued to dominate major international competitions through exceptional endurance, tactical awareness, and relentless finishing speed. His performance in Utica not only thrilled the spectators lining the streets but also reinforced the depth of Kenyan distance running on the world stage.

Men's Top 10 Results – Boilermaker Road Race 15K

1. Alex Matata (Kenya) – 42:24

2. Kiprono Sitonik (Kenya) – 42:53

3. Adam Lipschitz (South Africa) – 43:14

4. Reid Buchanan (United States) – 43:38

5. Hillary Bor (United States) – 43:40

6. Victor Shitsama (Kenya) – 44:02

7. Futsum Zienasellassie (United States) – 44:32

8. Charlie Sweeney (United States) – 44:37

9. Sam Lawler (United States) – 44:54

10. Tyler Berg (United States) – 45:08

With another major road racing title added to his résumé, Alex Matata continued his impressive 2026 campaign while reinforcing his status as one of the leading names on the international road racing circuit. The Boilermaker 15K once again delivered a high-quality contest, with athletes from across the globe producing memorable performances in one of the United States' most prestigious road races.

Eliud Kipchoge's remarkable World Tour continued on Brazilian soil as the Kenyan marathon icon completed the New Balance 42K Porto Alegre Marathon, crossing the finish line in 2:18:39 to place 12th overall during the second stop of his ambitious seven-continent global running tour.

Competing against a strong international field, the two-time Olympic marathon champion displayed the resilience and determination that have defined his legendary career. While the result was not among the victories that have made him one of the greatest marathon runners in history, Kipchoge once again demonstrated the unwavering commitment that continues to inspire athletes and fans across the globe.

Morocco's Zineddine Ouria claimed victory in a superb 2:08:49, with Kipchoge finishing 9 minutes and 50 seconds behind the race winner after navigating the demanding course in Porto Alegre.

Kipchoge began the race with controlled and confident pacing, reaching 5km in 15:34 before passing the halfway mark in 1:05:07. As the race entered its decisive stages, the pace gradually slowed, but the veteran marathoner pressed on with characteristic determination, completing the 42.195-kilometre challenge in 2:18:39.

For many, the story will be told through the finishing position. But for those who truly understand greatness, this journey is about far more than medals, records, or podium finishes. Kipchoge's World Tour is a celebration of the sport itself—an opportunity to connect with runners across every continent, inspire the next generation, and continue living by the philosophy that has become synonymous with his career: "No Human Is Limited."

The Brazilian appearance also carried added significance, coming shortly after Kipchoge was permanently honoured in Porto Alegre with his footprints unveiled at the entrance of Parque Harmonia—a lasting tribute to his extraordinary impact on distance running and his enduring legacy in the sport.

Once a champion. Forever an inspiration. Legends do not stop inspiring when the victories become fewer; they inspire because they never stop showing up. Through every stride, every finish line, and every challenge embraced, Kipchoge continues to prove that true greatness is measured not only by what an athlete wins, but by the lives they touch along the way.

With the second stop of his World Tour now complete, Kipchoge will turn his attention to the next chapter of his global adventure when he lines up at the Melbourne Marathon in Australia this October. Wherever he races, millions will once again follow the journey of a man whose legacy extends far beyond the stopwatch.