Running News Daily

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.

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.

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.

The Great North Run was overshadowed by tragedy on Sunday after two 25-year-old runners died after collapsing during the iconic half-marathon from Newcastle upon Tyne to South Shields.

The two men, both from the North East of England, fell ill during the race despite the presence of extensive medical support along the 13.1-mile course. Organisers confirmed that emergency teams made their “very best efforts” to save them, but both runners sadly died.

More than 63,000 participants took part in the 45th edition of the Great North Run, with huge crowds lining the route. However, what was expected to be a celebration of running was painfully disrupted by the deaths, with fellow competitors and spectators witnessing some of the emergency incidents.

One runner, Rob Nicholson, described the conditions as particularly difficult, saying it had been an exceptionally hot and crowded day.

“Everyone that was there was great,” Nicholson said, highlighting the efforts of members of the public who stepped in to help. He said an off-duty nurse was among those who provided assistance to a collapsed runner.

The race featured numerous measures designed to help participants cope with the heat, including water stations, showers and water-spraying systems. Spectators also joined the effort, handing runners bottles of water, ice pops and other refreshments along the route.

Despite those measures, Nicholson said the combination of heat and congestion made the race especially challenging.

“It was a very hot day and the most crowded I’ve felt doing the run,” he said, explaining that some runners were forced to move onto paths used by spectators as they tried to navigate through the densely packed field.

The most distressing scenes came when runners stopped to protect and assist the collapsed competitors.

Nicholson recalled seeing participants form what he described as a “human shield” around one of the men, while emergency crews used medical screens around the second casualty to protect the scene from public view.

“It was really not nice to see,” he said.

The exact circumstances and cause of the two deaths remain under investigation, with work continuing to establish what happened to the two young runners.

News of the tragedy prompted an outpouring of grief, particularly from friends and fellow members of the local running community. One friend paid tribute on social media, describing one of the men as an “amazing, funny and kind man” and expressing sympathy for both families during what they described as an “awful time.”

The Great Run Company, which organises the event, also expressed its condolences to the families and friends of the two participants.

“Everyone involved in organising the Great North Run extends their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the two participants,” the organisers said.

They added that they were continuing to support the families during the difficult period and offered their thoughts and sympathies to everyone who knew and loved the two men.

The Great North Run remains one of the world's largest and most celebrated mass-participation half-marathons, bringing together tens of thousands of runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators each year.

But this year's edition will be remembered not only for the scale and atmosphere of the event, but also for the heartbreaking loss of two young lives on a day that was supposed to celebrate the joy of running.

Tomorrow could be a defining day for Kenyan athletics — and potentially for the entire African continent.

The World Athletics Council is expected to announce the host of the 2029 World Athletics Championships, with Nairobi's bid carrying the hopes of a continent that has produced generations of extraordinary athletes but has never staged the senior global championships.

For Kenya, the moment could represent the culmination of decades of dominance, sacrifice and achievement on the international athletics stage.

For generations, Kenya has built one of the most remarkable traditions in track and field. From pioneering legends such as Kipchoge Keino and Tegla Loroupe to modern icons including Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, David Rudisha, Sebastian Sawe, Beatrice Chebet and Ezekiel Kemboi among others. Kenyan athletes have repeatedly stood on the biggest stages in world sport.

Their achievements have helped make Kenya one of the most respected names in global athletics. Olympic triumphs, world titles, records and unforgettable performances have carried the country's name across every corner of the sporting world.

But Kenya's relationship with athletics extends far beyond its medal collection.

Running is deeply rooted in communities throughout the country, while the high-altitude training environments of the Rift Valley have become famous worldwide for producing elite distance runners. Behind every champion is a network of coaches, families, training partners and communities that have helped sustain Kenya's extraordinary athletics culture.

Now Nairobi is seeking to bring the world's biggest track and field championship to the country where so many champions have been produced.

The proposed centerpiece of Kenya's bid is Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, a venue already deeply connected to Kenyan athletics. If the bid succeeds, Kasarani could become the stage where the world's finest athletes gather in 2029 to compete for global titles.

And the significance would extend far beyond Kenya.

Africa has produced some of the greatest athletes in athletics history, yet the continent has never hosted the World Athletics Championships. Nairobi's bid could change that.

Kenya's proposal is therefore not simply about staging another major sporting competition. It represents an opportunity to bring the championships to African soil for the first time and introduce millions of international fans to the continent's remarkable athletics culture.

However, Nairobi is facing formidable competition.

Kenya's bid is competing against proposals from London, Rome and Munich, three European cities with established sporting traditions and significant experience hosting major international competitions.

That sets up a fascinating choice for World Athletics.

Will the organization take the championships to a continent that has never hosted the event, creating a historic first for Africa? Or will the competition return to one of Europe's traditional athletics powerhouses?

For Nairobi, the stakes could hardly be higher.

A successful bid would give Kenyan athletes the opportunity to compete at a World Championships in front of their home supporters. It would give young runners across the country the chance to watch the world's best athletes compete in their own backyard. And it would place Kenya's extraordinary athletics heritage at the center of global attention.

It could also provide an opportunity to celebrate the champions who came before — athletes whose achievements helped establish Kenya as an athletics superpower — while inspiring the generation that will carry that legacy forward.

Imagine Kasarani filled with thousands of passionate supporters, the world's best athletes arriving in Nairobi, and Kenyan stars stepping onto the track knowing that the biggest championship in their sport is being staged on home soil.

For a country whose identity is so closely intertwined with running, it would be a remarkable sight.

And for Africa, it could be a moment of enormous symbolic importance.

Tomorrow, Kenya — and Africa — could hear its name called.

One decision. One host. One opportunity to make history.

If Nairobi is chosen, the story would not simply be about Kenya winning a bid. It would be about Africa finally welcoming the World Athletics Championships to its own soil.

It would be a celebration of the pioneers, the champions, the coaches, the communities and the generations of athletes who have helped make African athletics a global force.

And perhaps the headline of 2029 would already be waiting:

Kenya, the home of champions, has finally brought the world to its own backyard.

Nairobi 2029 — could this finally be Africa's moment?