Running News Daily

On August 30, approximately 35,000 runners will line up at Miller Street in North Sydney for the 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon. Among them will be an athlete who already owns a piece of marathon history: Michael Roeger, the Australian T46 marathon world-record holder and one of the most remarkable endurance athletes of his generation.

At 38, Roeger returns to the marathon with a career shaped by persistence, reinvention and an extraordinary ability to keep moving forward whenever circumstances have threatened to derail him.

Sydney is a fitting stage for the next chapter. The marathon, now part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, takes runners through some of the city's most recognisable landmarks, beginning in North Sydney, crossing the Harbour Bridge and eventually finishing near the Opera House. For Roeger, however, this is about far more than another marathon.

He is returning to the distance in the city where he set the fastest T46 marathon ever recorded.

Roeger grew up in Langhorne Creek, a small South Australian community about 55 kilometres south of Adelaide. Born without the lower half of his right arm, he discovered Para athletics after Paralympian Neil Fuller visited his school when Roeger was 12.

What began as an introduction to sport eventually developed into a career spanning five Paralympic Games, world championships, major medals and multiple world records.

His T46 classification covers athletes with an arm amputation or comparable upper-limb difference. Yet describing Roeger's performances simply through his classification fails to capture the complexity of what he has achieved.

Running is an intricate coordination of the entire body. The arms contribute to balance, rhythm and control, helping the torso manage the rotational forces created by every stride. Over 42.195 kilometres, maintaining efficient movement is an enormous physical and technical challenge.

Roeger's marathon performances therefore represent much more than a number attached to a classification. They are elite endurance performances in their own right.

His transition to the marathon was remarkably rapid. Roeger made his marathon debut at the Melbourne Marathon in October 2018, running 2:23:31. The performance was faster than the existing T46 world record at the time, although it was not ratified as a world record because the race did not have the necessary status.

Six months later, he returned to the distance at the 2019 London Marathon, where the World Para Athletics Marathon Championships were staged within the race.

This time, everything came together.

Roeger won the T46 world title in 2:22:51, lowering the ratified world record and establishing himself as the world's leading marathoner in the classification. Even when cramp began to trouble him during the closing stages, he held on to become a world champion.

The progression continued.

At the 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon, Roeger ran 2:19:33, becoming the first ambulant Para athlete to break the 2:20 barrier and once again lowering his own world record.

But his most significant breakthrough came back in Australia.

On April 25, 2021, Roeger lined up in Sydney for the Athletics Australia Tokyo Qualifying Marathon. He produced the fastest marathon of his career, crossing the finish line in 2:18:53.

That performance remains the T46 marathon world record.

The progression is remarkable. From 2:23:31 in Melbourne to 2:22:51 in London, 2:19:33 in Houston and finally 2:18:53 in Sydney, Roeger repeatedly moved the benchmark forward.

It was almost five minutes of improvement across four marathon performances.

But the record is only one part of the story.

Roeger's career has never followed a smooth upward trajectory. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, aged only 20, he contested the 800m, 1500m and 5000m T46 events, with seventh place in the 1500m his best finish.

Four years later in London, he arrived with genuine medal ambitions. Instead, gastrointestinal bleeding struck on the eve of the T46 800m. He still started the race but was forced to withdraw after one lap.

Rio 2016 finally delivered a Paralympic medal, with Roeger winning bronze in the 1500m. That success helped convince him to move towards the longer distances and eventually make the marathon his primary focus.

Then came another major setback.

Six weeks before the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Roeger suffered a stress fracture in his lower leg, destroying much of his preparation for the marathon. Despite the injury, he travelled to Tokyo and made the start line.

He finished sixth in 2:34:45, a time far outside the level he had demonstrated before the Games.

For most athletes, such a setback could have marked the end of the road. For Roeger, it became another chapter in a career defined by adaptation.

Before the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, another obstacle emerged when the T46 marathon was removed from the programme. The event in which Roeger had become a world-record holder was no longer available at the Games.

His only remaining distance was the 1500m.

So he adapted once again.

Roeger returned to the track and competed in Paris, ultimately adding another Paralympic medal to his collection with silver in the T46 1500m.

Now the marathon is calling again.

The 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon will provide a very different challenge from the flat courses on which many of the world's fastest marathon times are produced. The route begins in North Sydney, crosses the Sydney Harbour Bridge and winds through the city before finishing at the Opera House.

The course features substantial elevation changes, with approximately 313 metres of climbing across the 42.195 kilometres. It is a course that rewards strength, patience and the ability to maintain efficient form when the legs are already carrying the fatigue of a long marathon.

For Roeger, that challenge will be amplified by the quality of the field around him.

The Australian elite field includes a strong collection of domestic marathoners, while the international men's race features considerable depth, with numerous athletes holding personal bests below 2:10.

Roeger will therefore not be lining up in isolation as a Para athlete. He will be part of a major international marathon field, surrounded by runners pursuing national titles, personal bests and elite honours.

That is also central to the way he has approached his career.

Roeger has long resisted the idea that Para athletes should be viewed as fundamentally separate from their able-bodied counterparts. His philosophy has been simple: once the starting gun goes, the competition is about running.

That attitude has helped him move comfortably between Para athletics and open elite competition, and Sydney 2026 offers another opportunity to do exactly that.

His partnership with coach Dr Philo Saunders has been particularly important throughout his career, helping him develop into a world-class athlete across multiple distances.

Yet perhaps the most impressive part of Roeger's story is not any individual medal or record.

It is the number of times he has had to begin again.

From a small South Australian town to five Paralympic Games. From disappointment in Beijing and London to a medal in Rio. From the track to the marathon. From a devastating injury before Tokyo to a world-record performance. From losing his marathon event before Paris to returning to the 1500m and winning another Paralympic medal.

Every time the route has changed, Roeger has found another way forward.

Now, at 38, he is returning to the marathon once more.

And there could hardly be a more fitting destination than Sydney.

It is the city where he produced his 2:18:53 world record in 2021. Five years later, he will return to the same city carrying the experience of a career that has tested his resilience at almost every turn.

The world record is already in his name.

On August 30, Michael Roeger will have another chance to show the world what remains in the legs of the man who refused to let setbacks define the limits of his career.

South America will be represented by a strong eight-man contingent at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26, with the athletes set to take on one of the deepest and most competitive men’s half marathon fields on Sunday.

The championship will bring together leading road runners from around the world, creating a demanding stage for the South American representatives as they battle for strong championship positions and potentially significant personal breakthroughs.

Bolivia’s Héctor Garibay headlines the group, joined by Colombia’s Mauricio González and Uruguay’s Cristhian Zamora. Peru will be represented by Ferdinand Cereceda, while Brazil has the largest presence with Fabio Jesus Correia, Lucas Paulo Ferreira and Giovani Dos Santos.

Argentina completes the contingent with Marcelo Fabian Manrique, giving South America a diverse eight-man lineup ready to take on the challenge in Copenhagen.

Competing at a World Athletics championship is never simply about chasing a fast time. Championship racing often demands patience, tactical awareness and the ability to respond when the pace changes, particularly when the field contains athletes capable of producing world-class performances.

For the South American runners, Copenhagen offers more than an opportunity to compete for championship honours. It is a chance to test themselves against the very best in the world and measure how far they have progressed on the international stage.

The contingent also brings a fascinating mix of experience, ambition and emerging talent. Each athlete arrives with a different racing background, but they share the same opportunity: to turn months of preparation into one memorable performance on the biggest road-running stage. Against a world-class field, even a small improvement in the closing kilometres could make a significant difference in the final standings.

Copenhagen is therefore set to provide a true test of character as much as fitness. The championship atmosphere, fast competition and relentless pace will demand that the South American runners remain composed from the opening kilometres to the final stretch. If they can execute their race plans and find another level when it matters most, several could leave Denmark with performances that represent important milestones in their careers.

With the pressure of a global championship and the depth of talent expected on the starting line, every kilometre will count. A personal best would be a major achievement, but strong tactical racing and a competitive finish could prove just as valuable.

The eight athletes will now look to arrive in Copenhagen ready to embrace the challenge, with South America hoping to make its presence felt when the world’s best half marathoners take over the streets of the Danish capital. 

British ultrarunner and oncologist Lucy Gossage has etched her name into the history of British ultrarunning, becoming the first woman on record to complete the 268-mile Pennine Way in under three days.

Gossage reached the finish at Edale early Monday morning after an extraordinary 70 hours, 47 minutes and 15 seconds on England’s oldest National Trail. Her journey began at 8 a.m. on Friday at Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish border, with the challenge taking her south through some of the Pennine Way’s toughest and most remote terrain before finally arriving in Derbyshire.

By the time Gossage crossed the line, most people were only beginning their Monday morning. She had already spent almost 71 hours moving through darkness, daylight, changing weather and relentless fatigue to achieve a milestone that had never before been reached in the women’s field.

Her performance also represents a major improvement on the previous women’s best. Anna Troup’s 72:46:37, set in August 2021, had stood as the benchmark for the fastest known women’s time on the route. Gossage lowered it by almost two hours. Before Troup, Sabrina Verjee held the women’s mark with 74:28:46, recorded in 2020.

What makes Gossage’s achievement even more remarkable is that the Pennine Way challenge was not originally part of her September plans.

She had entered the Northern Traverse, but when that race was cancelled, Gossage quickly changed direction and turned her attention to the Pennine Way. Rather than allowing the disappointment to derail her plans, she transformed it into an opportunity to chase one of the most demanding endurance records in Britain.

And this was far from her first encounter with the legendary trail.

Earlier this year, Gossage demonstrated her familiarity with the route by winning the Winter Spine, the brutal 268-mile January race that follows the Pennine Way. She completed that winter challenge in 87:41:38, battling freezing conditions and some of the harshest terrain the trail can offer.

Her recent record-breaking run adds another major achievement to an already remarkable endurance résumé. In June 2025, she won the South Downs Way 100 in a course-record 16:30:35, further underlining her ability to combine speed, resilience and tactical patience over ultra-distance races.

The Pennine Way, however, demanded something different. Covering 268 miles on foot is an immense challenge under any circumstances, but completing it in barely three days leaves almost no room for recovery, sleep or mistakes. Gossage had to keep moving through successive nights while managing fatigue and the physical toll of one of Britain's most demanding long-distance trails.

At the finish, the magnitude of what she had accomplished had not yet fully sunk in.

“Too tired to know what to think yet,” Gossage said, before adding a heartfelt tribute to the people who helped her through the challenge: “Other than that I have amazing friends.”

Those friends, along with her own extraordinary endurance, played a crucial role in a journey that has now secured Gossage a place in Pennine Way history.

Seventy hours, 47 minutes and 15 seconds after setting off from Scotland, Lucy Gossage had done what no woman on record had done before — conquered the 268-mile Pennine Way in less than three days.

The Buenos Aires Marathon is set for an exciting edition on September 20, with a strong international field preparing to take on the 42-kilometre challenge through the streets of Argentina’s capital.

Kenyan marathoner Bethwel Kibet Chumba has been highlighted as one of the major international stars arriving in Buenos Aires, where he will headline a highly competitive men’s field featuring athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda.

Chumba will be joined on the start line by fellow Kenyans Felix Kiptoo Kirwa, Kipkemoi Kiprono, Gevin Kipkurui Kerich, Vincent Kibor Raimoi, Kelvin Kiptoo Kororia, Vitalis Kibiwott and Zacharia Krop.

The Ethiopian challenge will feature Deribe Robi Melka, Dechasa Alemu Moreda, Embay Goitom Dimtsu and Tilahun Amsalu Beyene, while Rwanda will be represented by John Hakizimana.

With such depth across the field, the men’s race promises to produce a fascinating battle from the opening kilometres, as experienced marathoners look to position themselves for a shot at victory on one of South America’s most prominent road-racing stages.

The women’s race is equally intriguing, with Kenyan star Rodah Jepkorir Tanui set to headline the international field. Tanui arrives with a clear target: to claim her fourth Buenos Aires Marathon title, adding another chapter to her impressive record in the race.

Tanui will face strong opposition from a group of international contenders led by Ethiopia’s Sintayehu Lewetegn Hailemichael, Lomi Muleta Tefera, Agere Adera Tamir, Alem Tsehay Birm Zerihun and Tadelech Bekele Nedi.

Kenya will also have Rebecca Kangogo Chesir and Emmah Cheruto Ndiwa in the women’s elite field, setting up another potentially gripping contest over the classic marathon distance.

The presence of Chumba and Tanui gives the Buenos Aires Marathon two major Kenyan figures to watch, but neither race is expected to be a straightforward affair. The depth of the international line-up means that the leading contenders will have to manage the pace carefully, conserve energy and produce their best efforts when the race enters its decisive stages.

As Buenos Aires prepares to welcome the international running community, attention will turn to September 20, when the elite athletes take to the streets for 42 kilometres of racing, with victory, prestige and another major marathon title on the line.

Buenos Aires is ready. The international stars are coming—and the battle for the 42K crown is set to be one to watch.

Africa finally has its moment. Kenya has won the race to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, turning years of ambition into a landmark reality for the continent.

In a historic decision announced in Budapest, Nairobi has been selected to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making Kenya the first African nation to stage the senior global track and field championships.

World Athletics confirmed that Nairobi and Munich have been selected to host the 2029 and 2031 World Athletics Championships respectively, following what the governing body described as one of the strongest bidding processes in the history of its flagship event.

For Kenya, the announcement represents far more than a successful hosting bid. It is the latest chapter in a remarkable athletics story built over generations.

The Kenyan capital overcame strong competition from London, Rome and Munich to secure the 2029 edition, bringing the world's biggest senior athletics championship to African soil for the first time.

The championship will be staged at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, in Nairobi, giving Kenya the opportunity to welcome the world's greatest athletes to a country that has produced countless champions of its own.

For generations, Kenya has established itself as one of the most influential nations in global athletics.

From pioneering Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino and distance-running legend Tegla Loroupe among others to modern icons such as Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, David Rudisha, Faith Cherotich, Vivian Cheruiyot and Ezekiel Kemboi among others. Kenyan athletes have repeatedly conquered the world's biggest stages.

Their Olympic victories, world titles, records and unforgettable performances have made Kenya one of the most recognizable names in track and field.

But Kenya's athletics identity extends far beyond medals.

Running is deeply rooted in communities across the country, while the high-altitude training regions of the Rift Valley have become synonymous with the development of world-class distance runners. Behind the champions are coaches, families, training partners and communities that have helped create an athletics culture admired around the world.

Now, for the first time, that culture will become the backdrop for the sport's biggest senior global championship.

Nairobi 2029 will be historic before the first race even begins.

Kasarani, already an important venue in Kenya's sporting history, will take center stage as athletes from across the globe descend on Nairobi in pursuit of world titles.

For Kenyan fans, the opportunity to watch the world's greatest sprinters, middle-distance runners, distance stars, hurdlers, field-event athletes and relay teams compete on home soil will be extraordinary.

For the country's next generation of athletes, the impact could be even greater.

Young runners who have grown up watching Kenyan champions compete around the world will now have the chance to experience a World Championships in their own country. The sight of the world's best athletes competing at Kasarani could inspire a new generation to believe that they, too, can reach the highest levels of the sport.

The significance, however, stretches well beyond Kenya's borders.

Africa has produced generation after generation of Olympic champions, world champions and global athletics icons. From Kenya and Ethiopia to Uganda, Morocco, South Africa and numerous other nations, African athletes have played a central role in shaping the history of track and field.

Yet the continent had never hosted the senior World Athletics Championships.

Nairobi 2029 changes that forever.

The successful Kenyan bid therefore represents a major breakthrough for African athletics and a powerful recognition of the continent's contribution to the sport.

World Athletics' decision also secures the future of the championships beyond Nairobi. Munich will host the 2031 World Athletics Championships, creating a two-edition sequence that will see the global showpiece move from Africa to Germany.

But the spotlight now belongs to Nairobi.

The announcement in Budapest has transformed what was once an ambitious bid into a confirmed date with history.

In 2029, Kenya will not simply send athletes to compete for world titles.

Kenya will welcome the world.

It will be a celebration of the pioneers who laid the foundation, the champions who carried the country's name across the globe and the young athletes who represent the future of African athletics.

After decades of producing champions for the world, Kenya will finally have the opportunity to bring the world's greatest athletics stars into its own backyard.

For Africa, this is more than a hosting victory.

It is a breakthrough. It is recognition. It is a new chapter.

And when the athletes walk into Kasarani for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, they will be stepping into a moment that will belong not only to Kenya, but to an entire continent.

NAIROBI 2029 — THE WORLD IS COMING TO AFRICA. 

Keely Hodgkinson is wasting no time putting the finishing touches to her long and demanding 2026 season.

Just days after battling to a runner-up finish behind Audrey Werro in the women’s 800m at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, the British Olympic champion is preparing to lace up once again — this time in front of her home crowd.

Hodgkinson is set to return to the 800m at ATHLOS London on Friday, September 18, 2026, at StoneX Stadium, where she will defend the title she won at the event last year.

The quick turnaround underlines just how relentless Hodgkinson’s season has been. After months of elite competition, travel and intense racing, the 24-year-old now faces one final assignment before bringing her 2026 campaign to a close.

Budapest provided another fiercely contested race for Hodgkinson. She was unable to finish the season’s Ultimate Championship with victory, as Switzerland’s Werro produced a superb performance to claim the 800m crown, leaving Hodgkinson to settle for second.

But there will be little time to dwell on the result.

The homecoming at StoneX Stadium offers Hodgkinson an opportunity to respond immediately and potentially end her season on a high. With the British fans expected to turn out in force, the atmosphere should provide an extra source of motivation for one of the country’s biggest athletics stars.

Hodgkinson has already established herself as one of the defining 800m runners of her generation, and another victory in London would add a fitting final chapter to a season that has demanded enormous consistency and resilience.

The question now is whether she can summon one last burst of brilliance after such a gruelling campaign.

With the Olympic champion back on British soil, all eyes will be on Hodgkinson as she takes on the 800m one more time in 2026.

No rest. No easy finish. Just one final race — and a home crowd waiting to see Keely Hodgkinson deliver one more unforgettable performance.