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Japanese middle-distance prodigy Ko Ochiai continues to redefine what is possible at just 19 years old.

Competing at the Twolaps MDC Meet in Tokyo, Ochiai delivered the race of his life, storming to a remarkable personal best of 1:43.45 in the men's 800 metres to break his own Japanese national record and further cement his status as one of the brightest young talents in world athletics.

The performance was historic on multiple levels. Not only did Ochiai lower the national mark he already held, but the time also elevated him to second place on the all-time Asian 800m rankings, trailing only former world champion Yusuf Saad Kamel, whose continental record of 1:42.79 remains the benchmark.

In a discipline traditionally dominated by athletes from Africa and Europe, Ochiai's rapid rise is capturing attention far beyond Japan. His latest breakthrough highlights both his exceptional talent and the growing strength of Asian middle-distance running on the global stage.

The Tokyo crowd witnessed a race of extraordinary quality as Ochiai pushed the pace from the gun and held firm through the closing stages, producing a performance that suggests even faster times may lie ahead. With years of development still ahead of him, the teenager is already establishing himself among the elite 800m runners in the world.

Behind the record-breaking run, fellow Japanese athlete Yugo Shikata also enjoyed a memorable evening. Shikata crossed the line in second place with a personal best of 1:44.94, becoming another major beneficiary of the fast-paced contest and underlining the depth emerging in Japan's middle-distance ranks.

For Ochiai, however, the night belonged entirely to him. Breaking a national record is a rare achievement; breaking your own national record at 19 years old while climbing to second on Asia's all-time list is something truly exceptional.

As the global athletics season gathers momentum, Ko Ochiai's latest masterpiece sends a clear message: Japan's teenage star is no longer simply a promising prospect—he is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting 800m athletes in the world.

Russian distance running has experienced one of the most extraordinary weeks in its modern history after the national marathon record, which had survived untouched for nearly two decades, was broken twice within just seven days — a dramatic sequence that has completely reshaped the country’s marathon landscape.

For 19 years, Aleksey Sokolov’s 2:09:07 stood as the benchmark of Russian marathon excellence, resisting generations of challengers and symbolizing an era many believed would endure much longer. But in the span of a single week, that once-untouchable mark suddenly became history.

The breakthrough first arrived on April 26, 2026, at the Düsseldorf Marathon in Germany, where Dmitry Nedelin delivered a fearless and brilliantly controlled performance to finally erase the long-standing national record. Running with remarkable composure from start to finish, Nedelin crossed the line in 2:08:54, becoming the first Russian man in history to dip below Sokolov’s legendary standard.

His achievement immediately sent waves across the athletics world. After nearly two decades of waiting, Russian marathon running finally had a new national king.

Yet the celebrations had barely settled before another shock arrived.

Exactly one week later, on May 3, 2026, the Kazan Marathon produced an even more astonishing chapter. Vladimir Nikitin — widely recognized for his success on the track and in middle-distance competition — demonstrated exceptional endurance and tactical brilliance in only one of the most significant road races of his career.

Competing on home soil, Nikitin attacked the pace with confidence and strength before storming to a sensational 2:08:07 finish, slicing 47 seconds off Nedelin’s newly established record and instantly rewriting Russian marathon history once again.

The speed of the transformation has been breathtaking. A record that had appeared immovable for 19 years disappeared twice in consecutive weekends, signaling not just isolated brilliance, but the emergence of a completely new generation of Russian marathon running.

Nedelin will forever be remembered as the athlete who ended the historic drought, while Nikitin now stands as the new national record holder after producing one of the finest marathon performances ever recorded by a Russian athlete.

What makes the story even more compelling is the contrast between the two breakthroughs. Nedelin’s run carried the emotional weight of ending a nearly two-decade wait, while Nikitin’s performance immediately elevated the standard to an entirely different level, proving that Russian marathoning is evolving faster than anyone anticipated.

From Düsseldorf to Kazan, two unforgettable weekends have transformed the narrative of Russian long-distance running. What once seemed like a distant dream has suddenly become reality — and now the question is no longer whether Russian athletes can run under 2:09, but how soon the barrier of 2:08 will fall again.

There appears to be no ceiling to the rise of Cameron Myers. The Australian teenage prodigy once again exceeded expectations, delivering a breathtaking performance to successfully defend his national title at the Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney.

At just 19 years old, Myers produced a performance of rare quality and composure, surging to victory in a blistering 3:29.85—a time that stands among the fastest recorded globally this season. In doing so, he not only retained his 1500m crown but further cemented his growing reputation as one of the most formidable young middle-distance runners in the world.

The race itself unfolded as a demonstration of tactical precision and supreme confidence. Up against a competitive field, Myers dictated the tempo with authority before unleashing a decisive finishing kick that left his rivals trailing. Oliver Hoare secured second place in 3:32.66, while Adam Spencer followed in 3:34.23. Both athletes delivered commendable season’s best performances, yet neither could come close to matching Myers’ brilliance on the day.

What makes the performance even more striking is its proximity to his personal best of 3:29.80, set in Ostrava last year. He now edges ever closer to the Australian national record of 3:29.41, also held by Hoare since 2023. With such fine margins separating him from history, it is clear that Myers is rapidly closing in on a landmark breakthrough.

This was more than a routine title defence—it felt like a statement of intent. Myers is no longer a promising talent on the rise; he is establishing himself firmly among the sport’s elite. Blending tactical intelligence with explosive speed and remarkable maturity, he is forging a path that few at his age have managed to tread.

As the global season gathers pace, attention will inevitably turn toward the young Australian. If his current trajectory is anything to go by, it is no longer a matter of whether Cameron Myers will reach the summit of middle-distance running—but when.

Few athletes in track and field have risen as quickly—or as convincingly—as Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson. Still in her early twenties, she has already won Olympic gold, broken records, and established herself as the woman to beat in one of the sport’s most demanding events.

The 800 meters has always required a rare mix of speed, strength, and racing instinct. Hodgkinson seems to have all three.

Early Life and Family Support

Keely Nicole Hodgkinson was born on March 3, 2002, in the north of England and grew up in Atherton, Greater Manchester. Sport was part of her life from the beginning. Her parents were active and supportive, encouraging her to explore athletics at a young age.

She joined a local athletics club as a child and quickly showed unusual talent. By her mid-teens she was already competing at the national level and winning junior titles.

Her family has remained a steady presence throughout her rise. Hodgkinson often speaks about the importance of that support system during the years when her career accelerated from promising junior to global star.

A Teenager on the Olympic Stage

Hodgkinson first captured worldwide attention at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. At just 19 years old she ran fearlessly in the women’s 800 meters final, finishing second and winning the silver medal.

Her time of 1:55.88 set a new British record and made her one of the youngest athletes ever to medal in the event.

The performance signaled that a new force had arrived in middle-distance running.

Olympic Champion

Three years later she returned to the Olympic stage in Paris 2024 and took the next step.

Running with confidence and control, Hodgkinson won the Olympic gold medal in the 800 meters, becoming one of Britain’s great modern champions and the first British woman in decades to claim the title.

It was a moment that confirmed her place among the elite of global athletics.

Breaking the Indoor World Record

In February 2026 Hodgkinson delivered another historic performance.

At the World Indoor Tour meeting in Liévin, France, she ran 1:54.87, breaking the long-standing indoor 800-meter world record.

The performance was widely viewed as one of the greatest indoor middle-distance runs ever.

What made it even more remarkable was how controlled it looked. Hodgkinson ran aggressively but smoothly, maintaining form all the way through the final straight.

The Coach Behind the Champion

A key figure in Hodgkinson’s success has been her coach, former British international Jenny Meadows, herself a world-class 800-meter runner.

Their partnership has helped shape Hodgkinson’s development both physically and mentally. Meadows understands the tactical demands of the event and has helped guide Hodgkinson through the pressures that come with being one of the world’s top athletes.

Together they have built a training approach focused on speed, endurance, and smart racing.

Life Away From the Track

Despite her rapid rise, Hodgkinson has remained grounded. She still spends much of her time in the Manchester area, close to family and longtime friends.

Away from competition she enjoys music, fashion, and spending time with those closest to her. Like many athletes of her generation, she connects with fans through social media but keeps her private life relatively low-key.

Teammates and competitors often describe her as relaxed and approachable off the track—but fiercely competitive once the race begins.

One of the Faces of Modern Athletics

In recent years Hodgkinson has become one of the most recognizable figures in track and field. Her performances have drawn large audiences and renewed attention to the women’s 800 meters.

She represents a new generation of athletes who combine elite performance with personality and confidence.

For young runners watching around the world, she has quickly become a role model.

The Future

At an age when many middle-distance runners are still learning their event, Hodgkinson already owns Olympic gold, global medals, and one of the fastest times ever run.

The outdoor world record—long considered untouchable—now seems within reach.

If her progress continues, the coming years could see her move from superstar to legend.

For now, Keely Hodgkinson remains exactly what the sport needs: a fearless racer who makes every 800 meters must-watch.

One of the most anticipated mile races of the decade is taking shape as Olympic champion Cole Hocker prepares to face two of the fastest young milers in history—Australia’s Cameron Myers and New Zealand’s Sam Ruthe—at the Bowerman Mile during the 2026 Nike Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The Bowerman Mile, widely regarded as the most prestigious mile race in the world, has long served as the stage where legends are made. In 2026, it will bring together a reigning Olympic champion at the peak of his powers and two teenage sensations who are redefining what is possible for young athletes.

The Olympic Champion: Cole Hocker’s Next Mission

Cole Hocker enters the race as one of the most accomplished middle-distance runners in the world. The American captured the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2024 Olympic Games, confirming his position among the sport’s elite. He followed that performance by winning the 2025 World Championship title over 5000 meters, demonstrating both speed and endurance at the highest level.

Hocker’s personal best of 3:47.43 for the mile, set at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, ranks him among the fastest milers in American history. Despite his success, one major prize has eluded him—the Bowerman Mile title. His best finish so far has been fifth place, but with his experience and championship pedigree, he arrives in Eugene determined to change that.

Cameron Myers: Australia’s Rising Star

At just 19 years old, Cameron Myers has already established himself as one of the most exciting talents in global middle-distance running. He became the youngest-ever winner of the Wanamaker Mile and holds the world U20 record of 3:47.48, placing him within striking distance of the best senior athletes in history.

Myers has already faced Hocker three times in his career, with each meeting coming in the Bowerman Mile. Although Hocker finished ahead on those occasions, Myers continues to close the gap and arrives in 2026 with greater strength, confidence, and experience.

His aggressive racing style and fearless approach make him a serious contender—not just for a personal best, but for victory.

Sam Ruthe: Breaking Barriers at an Unprecedented Age

New Zealand’s Sam Ruthe represents the future of the mile. At just 15 years old, he broke the legendary four-minute barrier, an achievement that had once seemed impossible for an athlete so young. He now holds the world U18 best of 3:48.88, placing him among the fastest teenagers ever.

While Ruthe has not yet faced Hocker in direct competition, he has raced Myers twice, with Myers holding a 2–0 advantage. However, those encounters were not contested over the mile, leaving the Bowerman Mile as the stage for their first true test at the full distance.

Ruthe’s rapid progression suggests he is not merely participating—he is arriving as a legitimate competitor

Hayward Field: The Perfect Stage for History

There is no better venue for this generational clash than Hayward Field. Known globally as “TrackTown USA,” Eugene’s iconic stadium has witnessed countless historic performances. The Bowerman Mile has produced some of the fastest times ever recorded, including multiple sub-3:45 performances and dramatic finishes that have defined careers.

The combination of elite pacemaking, perfect conditions, and an electrified crowd creates an environment where barriers fall and legends emerge.

A Race That Represents the Future of the Mile

The 2026 Bowerman Mile represents more than a single race—it symbolizes a passing of the torch between generations. Hocker stands as the established champion, proven on the Olympic stage. Myers represents the new wave of elite global talent already knocking on the door of greatness. Ruthe embodies the sport’s future, a teenager already performing at a level once reserved for seasoned professionals.

The convergence of these three athletes ensures that the Bowerman Mile at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic will be one of the defining races of the year—and perhaps one of the most significant mile races of the modern era.

At Hayward Field, where history has been written time and again, the mile’s next great chapter is ready to unfold.

The third edition of the KATA Sachangwan Running Camp K 07 Time Trial on the scenic yet demanding Salgaa–Rongai route was held under bright, sunny skies with temperatures at 64°F (18°C), 67% humidity, light winds of 2 mph, and a moderate UV index of 4.5. Despite the tough weather and rolling terrain, athletes displayed tremendous resilience and speed, once again proving why the KATA Time Trials are a breeding ground for Kenyan endurance talent.

In the men’s 10km, Weldon Langat (19 years, Bib 025) extended his dominance on this course, unleashing a powerful finishing kick to win in 30:49. Langat has made the Salgaa–Rongai route his own, demonstrating both tactical awareness and strength through the hills. Ronald Cheruiyot (25 yrs, Bib 015) followed in 34:24, while Sammy Sang (35 yrs, Bib 022) took third in 37:50, rounding out a solid men’s podium.

The men’s 5km saw rising star Benard Kitum (20 yrs, Bib 040) clock a personal best of 16:35, continuing his steady improvement within the KATA Running Camp system. His confidence and form signal a bright future ahead.

In the women’s 5km, Elizabeth Wambui (20 yrs, Bib 036) impressed once again, winning in 18:08with her trademark consistency and drive. Sandra Cheptoo (13 yrs, Bib 018) showed great promise in second, running 21:00, while Faith Chebet (16 yrs, Bib 033) was third in 23:12. Miriam Chebet (18 yrs, Bib 035) followed closely in 23:17, with Rahab Chemutai (13 yrs, Bib 019) finishing fifth in 25:27.

These performances highlight the diversity of talent within KATA’s growing satellite network — from seasoned runners to young emerging athletes.

The next KATA Time Trial will take place on December 17 across most of KATA’s satellite running camps, including the main academy in Thika, continuing the momentum of KATA’s “Fuel of Champions” program that blends training, racing, and development across Kenya.

The Salgaa–Rongai KATA Running Camp, one of KATA’s newest and most promising satellite locations, continues to build its reputation as a key hub for athlete development. Its consistent time trial events are helping to identify and prepare the next generation of Kenyan champions — runners who are fast proving that talent, dedication, and the right support can overcome even the toughest conditions.

KATA Time Trial – Salgaa–Rongai (3rd Edition) Official Results

10km Men

1. Weldon Langat – 19 yrs – Bib 025 – 30:49

2. Ronald Cheruiyot – 25 yrs – Bib 015 – 34:24

3. Sammy Sang – 35 yrs – Bib 022 – 37:50

5km Men

1. Benard Kitum – 20 yrs – Bib 040 – 16:35 (PB)

5km Women

1. Elizabeth Wambui – 20 yrs – Bib 036 – 18:08

2. Sandra Cheptoo – 13 yrs – Bib 018 – 21:00

3. Faith Chebet – 16 yrs – Bib 033 – 23:12

4. Miriam Chebet – 18 yrs – Bib 035 – 23:17

5. Rahab Chemutai – 13 yrs – Bib 019 – 25:27

Camp ID: 07 Location: Sachangwan, Kenya Date: August 13, 2025 Opetator: Amos Chirchir

The KATA Running Camp in Sachangwan hosted one of its best events to date, holding its first-ever time trial on the scenic Salgaa–Rongai route. The course featured a mostly flat profile with a very slight slope, making it a promising location for future events.

Conditions were challenging, with a temperature of 17°C (67°F), 75% humidity, and winds of 8 mph, which altered some athletes’ expectations. Despite the weather, the event delivered competitive performances and a strong turnout.

Race Highlights

10km Men: Weldon Langat (Bib 023), just 19 years old, impressed with a winning time of 30:48, promising to bring it down to 29:00 now that he’s familiar with the route. Close behind was John Lanok (Bib 024) in 30:55, with both athletes commenting on the deceptive challenge of the course.

5km Men: Isaac Rono (Bib 026) set one of the fastest times of the day, clocking 14:46—a new personal best—proving his preference for the shorter distance.

5km Women: Elizabeth Wambui (Bib 003), just two months into training, showed great promise with a 19:35 victory.

Results

10km Men

Weldon Langat (Bib 023, Age 19) – 30:48

John Lanok (Bib 024, Age 29) – 30:55

Hillary Komen (Bib 025, Age 33) – 31:31

Desmond Ngetich (Bib 020, Age 22) – 32:41

Vincent Kemboi (Bib 022, Age 32) – 33:26

Ronald Cheruiyot (Bib 019, Age 26) – 35:40

Victor Kiplangat (Bib 018, Age 27) – 38:00

Festus Kibet (Bib 015, Age 20) – 42:11

5km Men

Isaac Rono (Bib 026, Age 27) – 14:46 (PB)

Victor Too (Bib 001, Age 24) – 16:37

Samuel Sang (Bib 021, Age 35) – 18:23

5km Women

Elizabeth Wambui (Bib 003, Age 20) – 19:35

Cynthia Mogeni (Bib 002, Age 22) – 21:26

Coach’s Perspective

Coach Amos Chirchir praised the effort and determination of all participants, noting that every athlete gave their best despite the weather challenges. He expressed optimism that future time trials on this route will produce even faster times as athletes adapt to the conditions.

 

The Kenya Athletics Training Academy (KATA) is proving that the road to greatness can start in two places—the track and the farm. Since Bob Anderson launched the KATA Potato Farm Program on May 16, 2025, the initiative has paired high-performance running camps with sustainable agriculture, creating a unique funding model for athlete development.

One of the newest members of this growing network is KATA 30, based in Tulwet, Kenya, and officially launched on July 25, 2025 under the leadership of Coach Alfred Ngeno. Tulwet is a small, scenic community in Kenya’s highlands, known for its fertile red soil, cool climate, and strong agricultural tradition. The area’s rolling terrain and quiet rural roads make it an ideal location for endurance training, while its supportive community provides a welcoming home for athletes.

This camp is not just about running fast—it’s about running smart. A dedicated one-acre KATA potato farm will help finance training needs, with plans to expand both the farm and the camp’s resources as success grows.

Rising Stars and Proven Performers

Moses Tonui – 19 years, 1500m

Already clocking 3:49, Moses is a rising middle-distance talent with a mix of speed and endurance that points to a bright future.

Robert Kibowen – 26 years, 10,000m

A 29:06 man over 10,000m, Robert’s pace control and racing strategy make him a serious contender in big events.

Vincent Kipkirui – 25 years, Half Marathon

With a 62:20 best, Vincent’s combination of strength and finishing speed makes him a threat in any half marathon.

Kipkorir Birir – 33 years, Half Marathon

A veteran presence with a 62:42 personal best, Kipkorir brings both experience and consistency to the team.

Alfred Ngeno – 28 years, Half Marathon

Leading from the front, the head coach boasts an impressive 61:00 personal best, inspiring his athletes through action as well as guidance.

Milka Chepkirui – 28 years, 800m

Milka’s 2:20 in the 800m is just the beginning for this determined middle-distance specialist.

Life at KATA 30

In just its first month, KATA 30 has already established a disciplined, supportive environment. Athletes train hard, push each other to improve, and know that the farm’s harvest will directly fuel their dreams. This model not only sustains the camp but also teaches valuable life skills.

Part of a Bigger Movement

KATA 30 is one of 30 KATA camps operating across Kenya, all committed to producing world-class athletes while building financial independence through farming. It’s a program that blends tradition, innovation, and community—ensuring athletes have the resources they need to succeed.

With its mix of promising young stars, seasoned competitors, and a sustainable support system, KATA 30 is set to make noise on both the racing circuit and in the potato fields. The seeds have been planted—now it’s time to watch them grow.

Jon Sutherland of Washington, Utah, officially ended the longest consecutive daily running streak in history on December 31, 2024. He ran every single day for 55 years, 7 months, and 6 days, totaling 20,309 consecutive days—a record of unmatched consistency, discipline, and passion for the sport.

Sutherland began his streak on May 29, 1969, at just 19 years old. Over five and a half decades later, now 74, he finally decided to hang up the streak—but not before cementing himself in the annals of running history.

For perspective, that’s nearly two-thirds of a century without missing a single day. Rain, injury, illness—none of it stopped him from getting in at least one mile daily. Though not all of those runs were fast or long, the sheer volume of uninterrupted effort is unparalleled.

Interestingly, just behind Sutherland on the all-time list is Jim G. Pearson, who began his still-active streak on February 16, 1970, in Marysville, Washington. Pearson, now 81, has logged 20,236 consecutive days (55.4 years) as of today—meaning he could soon surpass Sutherland’s final total if he keeps going.

As of now, Jon Sutherland holds the record for the longest running streak ever completed.

If you’ve ever skipped a run because of bad weather or a sore ankle, let Jon’s example remind you what commitment really looks like.

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister made history by running the first sub-4-minute mile, clocking 3:59.4 in Oxford, England. His groundbreaking achievement redefined what was possible in middle-distance running, inspiring generations of athletes to chase the elusive mark.

For decades, breaking the 4-minute barrier remained an extraordinary feat, but in recent years, more high school runners in the United States have joined this exclusive club. As of February 2025, 23 American high school boys have accomplished this milestone, with notable additions in 2024 and 2025.

The Latest High School Runners to Break Four Minutes

The most recent athletes to achieve the sub-4-minute mile in high school competition are:

• Drew Griffith – 3:57.72 (May 30, 2024, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
• JoJo Jourdon – 3:59.87 (February 3, 2024, New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, Massachusetts)
• Zachary Hillhouse – 3:59.62 (June 16, 2024, New Balance Nationals Outdoor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Owen Powell – 3:57.74 (February 15, 2025, UW Husky Classic, Seattle, Washington)

These runners continue to prove that the sub-4-minute mile, once thought to be nearly impossible for young athletes, is an achievable milestone with the right combination of talent, training, and opportunity.

Jim Ryun and Alan Webb: The Legends of the High School Mile

Jim Ryun: A Historic Career

Jim Ryun was the first high school runner to break the 4-minute mile, running 3:59.0 in 1964 as a junior. He later set the national high school record of 3:55.3 in 1965, a time that stood for 36 years.

After his historic high school career, Ryun went on to break the world record in the mile twice—first in 1966, and then again in 1967 when he ran 3:51.1. At 19 years old, he remains the youngest world record holder in the mile to date. His record stood for nine years before being broken in 1975.

Ryun represented the United States in three Olympic Games (1964, 1968, and 1972), winning a silver medal in the men’s 1500m at the 1968 Olympics. His dominance in middle-distance running made him one of the greatest milers in history.

Alan Webb: The New Generation's Record-Breaker

In 2001, Alan Webb broke Ryun’s long-standing high school mile record by running 3:53.43 at the Prefontaine Classic. Webb’s performance redefined expectations for young milers and set a new benchmark for high school runners.

Webb continued his success post-high school and later set the American record in the mile, running 3:46.91 in 2007. This remains one of the fastest mile performances ever by an American.

Despite his success, Webb’s professional career was marked by injuries, including Achilles tendonitis and stress fractures, which affected his consistency. However, his high school and professional achievements cemented his place as one of the greatest milers in U.S. history.

The Complete List of High School Sub-4 Milers

Below is the full list of American high school runners who have broken the 4-minute mile, ranked by their fastest time achieved during high school competition:

1. Alan Webb (first photo) – 3:53.43 (May 27, 2001, Prefontaine Classic, Eugene, Oregon)
2. Jim Ryun (second photo) – 3:55.3 (June 27, 1965, AAU Championships, San Diego, California)
3. Colin Sahlman (third photo) – 3:56.24 (May 28, 2022, Prefontaine Classic, Eugene, Oregon)
4. Drew Griffith – 3:57.72 (May 30, 2024, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
5. Hobbs Kessler – 3:57.66 (February 7, 2021, American Track League Invitational, Fayetteville, Arkansas)
6. Drew Hunter – 3:57.81 (February 20, 2016, NYRR Millrose Games, New York City, New York)
7. Gary Martin – 3:57.89 (June 2, 2022, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
8. Connor Burns – 3:58.83 (June 2, 2022, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
9. Tim Danielson – 3:59.4 (June 11, 1966, San Diego Invitational, San Diego, California)
10. Reed Brown – 3:59.30 (June 1, 2017, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
11. Matthew Maton – 3:59.38 (May 8, 2015, Oregon Twilight Meet, Eugene, Oregon)
12. Grant Fisher – 3:59.38 (June 4, 2015, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
13. Michael Slagowski – 3:59.53 (April 29, 2016, Jesuit Twilight Invitational, Portland, Oregon)
14. Leo Daschbach – 3:59.54 (May 23, 2020, The Quarantine Clasico, El Dorado Hills, California)
15. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:57.53 (June 1, 2023, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
16. Rheinhardt Harrison – 3:59.33 (June 3, 2022, Golden South Series #2, Tarpon Springs, Florida)
17. Marty Liquori – 3:59.8 (June 23, 1967, AAU Championships, Bakersfield, California)
18. Lukas Verzbicas – 3:59.71 (June 11, 2011, Adidas Grand Prix, New York City, New York)
19. JoJo Jourdon – 3:59.87 (February 3, 2024, New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, Massachusetts)
20. Zachary Hillhouse – 3:59.62 (June 16, 2024, New Balance Nationals Outdoor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
21. Owen Powell – 3:57.74 (February 15, 2025, UW Husky Classic, Seattle, Washington)
22. Tinoda Matsatsa – 3:58.70 (June 1, 2023, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)
23. Jackson Heidesch – 3:59.08 (June 1, 2023, Festival of Miles, St. Louis, Missouri)

The Sub-4 Mile Remains an Iconic Benchmark

Roger Bannister’s 1954 breakthrough redefined human potential in distance running, and the high school sub-4-mile club continues to grow. As competition and knowledge improve, the question isn’t whether more young runners will join the club, but just how fast the next generation can go

Olympic champions Sifan Hassan and Letsile Tebogo have been announced as World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco.

Following a vote by fans, Hassan and Tebogo received top honors on an evening that saw six athletes crowned in three categories – track, field and out of stadium – before the overall two winners were revealed.

Tebogo was confirmed as men’s track athlete of the year, with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone receiving the women’s honour. Hassan claimed the women’s out of stadium crown and Tamirat Tola the men’s, while Mondo Duplantis and Yaroslava Mahuchikh were named field athletes of the year.

This year’s Rising Stars were also celebrated, with Sembo Almayew and Mattia Furlani receiving recognition.

World Athletes of the Year for 2024

Women’s World Athlete of the Year: Sifan Hassan (NED)Men’s World Athlete of the Year: Letsile Tebogo (BOT)

Women’s track: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)Women’s field: Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)Women’s out of stadium: Sifan Hassan (NED)Men’s track: Letsile Tebogo (BOT)Men’s field: Mondo Duplantis (SWE)Men’s out of stadium: Tamirat Tola (ETH)

Women’s Rising Star: Sembo Almayew (ETH)Men’s Rising Star: Mattia Furlani (ITA)

“At the end of what has been a stellar year for athletics, we are delighted to reveal our list of World Athletes of the Year – both in their respective disciplines and overall,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “This group of athletes represents the very best of our sport and has this year redefined what is possible in terms of athletic performance.

“Our 2024 cohort set new standards in heights, speed and distance, including six world records and a host of Olympic and national records between them.

“I congratulate all our award winners, and all of the athletes nominated for these honors, and I thank them for inspiring us all with their performances this year.”

World Athletes of the Year Hassan and Tebogo both won gold and claimed multiple medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Dutch star Hassan’s medal treble in Paris was capped by her winning the final athletics gold medal of the Games with her triumph in the marathon in an Olympic record of 2:22:55. That performance came just 37 hours after Hassan claimed bronze in the 10,000m, and six days after her first medal in the French capital – also bronze – in the 5000m.

As a result, she became the first woman to win medals in the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon at the same Games, and the first athlete since Emil Zatopek, who won all three men’s titles in Helsinki in 1952.

Tebogo also made history in Paris when he won the 200m, as he claimed a first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana. He ran an African record of 19.46 – a time that moved him to fifth on the world all-time list – and that performance followed his sixth-place finish in the 100m final. He went on to form part of Botswana’s silver medal-winning men’s 4x400m team.

He dipped under 20 seconds for 200m a total of nine times in 2024, with those performances topped by his Olympic title-winning mark which remained the fastest of the year.

His fellow track athlete of the year, McLaughlin-Levrone, improved her own world 400m hurdles record twice, to 50.65 and 50.37, and claimed Olympic gold in that event as well as in the 4x400m. Tola, who joined Hassan in being named out of stadium athlete of the year, won the Olympic marathon title in Paris in an Olympic record.

World records were set by both field athletes of the year. Mahuchikh cleared 2.10m to improve the world high jump record before winning Olympic gold, while Duplantis revised his own world pole vault record three times, eventually taking it to 6.26m, and won the Olympic title.

"Thank you to the fans, to everybody who voted," said Hassan, who was in Monaco to receive her two awards. "I never thought I was going to win this one. This year was crazy. It’s not only me – all the athletes have been amazing. I’m really grateful. What more can I say?"

Standing alongside Hassan on the stage at the Theatre Princesse Grace, Tebogo said: "It feels amazing to know that the fans are always there for us athletes. It was a great year.

"This means a lot," he added. "It’s not just about the team that is around you, there are a lot of fans out there that really want us to win something great for the continent. It was a real surprise to hear my name because I didn’t expect this."

Almayew and Furlani named Rising Stars of 2024

Not only did Sembo Almayew and Mattia Furlani achieve great things as U20 athletes in 2024, they both also secured success on the senior stage.

Almayew finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase final at the Paris Olympics, going close to her own national U20 record with her 9:00.83 performance, before she travelled to Lima where she won the world U20 title, setting a championship record in the process. With that win, the 19-year-old became the first ever Ethiopian world U20 women’s steeplechase champion.

Furlani improved the world U20 long jump record to 8.38m at the European Championships on home soil in Rome to secure silver, and he won two more senior major medals at the World Indoor Championships, where he got another silver, and the Olympic Games, where he claimed bronze.

In Glasgow – at the age of 19 years and 24 days – Furlani became the youngest athlete ever to win a world indoor medal in the horizontal jumps.

Knight wins President’s Award

The winner of the President’s Award was also announced in Monaco on Sunday (1), with Nike co-founder Phil Knight receiving the honour in recognition of his constant inspiring support for athletics and the development of the sport.

The President's Award, first awarded in 2016, recognises and honours exceptional service to athletics. Past winners of the award include the Ukrainian Athletics Association, British journalist Vikki Orvice, Swiss meeting director Andreas Brugger, Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt, the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and 1968 men’s 200m medallists Tommie Smith, Peter Norman and John Carlos for their iconic moment on the podium in Mexico.

“Phil Knight’s passion for athletics is pretty much lifelong,” said Coe. “He developed an almost father-son relationship with his coach, the legendary Bill Bowerman, whose training approach was a departure from the orthodoxies of the day and who not only guided Knight’s career on the track but became a central figure when Phil took his first tentative steps in the running shoe business that became the dominant global force Nike.

“His love of athletics runs through Nike. It is a business created and driven by runners, with Phil never afraid to be the front runner.”

Knight said: “Thank you, Seb Coe, for the ultimate honour of the President’s Award, given by World Athletics. I am in great company, with Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and Usain Bolt. Obviously, I didn’t run as fast as those guys, but I am in such high company that I am thrilled by the award. Track and field has always been an important part of Nike – it has always been a central part of who Nike is.

“I do think running will continue to grow. Not only does Seb and his team do a great job promoting the sport, but it is a sport that not only is enjoyable, but it is probably the best fitness activity you can do. So, for me to win this honour, it is very meaningful.”

During the ceremony, a moment was taken to remember last year’s men’s out of stadium athlete of the year Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record-holder who died in a road traffic accident in February, as well as other figures from the sport who have passed away in 2024.

Matt Carpenter’s record stood for 19 years.

In his first 100-mile race of his career, trail runner and coach David Roche took down a legendary record in the sport. On Saturday, the 36-year-old broke Matt Carpenter’s storied Leadville 100 course record from 2005, winning in 15:26:34—over a 16-minute improvement of the record.

Roche won the men’s race by 30 minutes, on the dot. Adrian Macdonald was second in 15:56:34, and Ryan Montgomery placed third with a time of 16:09:40. In the women’s race Mary Denholm dominated, winning in 18:23:51. Zoë Rom took runner-up honors (21:27:41) while Julie Wright rounded out the podium in 21:48:57. 

The Leadville course is notoriously difficult, primarily due to its situation at high altitude. The town of Leadville, Colorado—where the race starts and ends—sits at 10,119 feet above sea level. The “Race Across the Sky” covers more than 18,000 feet of vertical gain and at its highest point, runners reach an elevation of 12,600 feet. (For context, “high altitude” is generally considered to begin around 5,000 feet above sea level.)

Roche went out aggressively and built a sizable cushion on Carpenter’s record of 15:42:59. At the halfway mark, Roche was ahead of course-record pace by over 25 minutes, according to iRunFar. By the 87.4 mile split, the gap had decreased to 15 minutes, but it was enough of a buffer for Roche to maintain. 

After the race, Roche posted on Instagram recapping the feat and noting some prerace nerves.

“I put a big scary goal out there early this year: chasing the historic 15:42 Leadville 100 course record by one of the GOATs, Matt Carpenter,” he wrote. “Approaching my first 100 miler, though, I’m not sure I truly believed. I kept joking about where I’d drop out and what my order would be at the Leadville Taco Bell.”

While Roche is an accomplished trail runner, he’s historically had the most success at shorter distances, like the half marathon and 50K. In 2014, he was named the 2014 USATF Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year, and he’s represented Team USA internationally.

Roche, along with his wife, Megan, are well-known in the running community for their coaching business and podcast: Some Work, All Play (SWAP). According to its website, SWAP’s professional roster includes athletes like mountain running world champion Grayson Murphy, three-time Barkley Marathons finisher John Kelly, and steeplechaser/mountain runner Allie Ostrander.

“Running plays an important role in my professional life as training for a race requires strategy, discipline, and accountability—so does leading an organization.” Reason for Running: I love how much running affects me mentally, physically, and emotionally! I love running by myself and with others.

Most Saturdays I can be found on a long run with my twin sister or my daughter (or both). It is our treasured time to catch up and the miles fly by!Growing up, I never played any sport aside from a short stint with soccer in middle school. I often joked that I would only run if a bear was chasing me and even then, it would depend on the size of the bear! As I was approaching 40, my husband said, “Wouldn’t it be fun to do a half marathon together.” I reluctantly agreed. 

I had zero running gear and only knew how far a run was by tracking the miles when I drove the same route in my car. He loves to tell the story that after a few weeks of my run/walk training, I came home elated that I had run from the school near our home to our neighborhood without walking or stopping. I was so proud of myself. Only much later did I realize that was less than a quarter of a mile!

Soon after, I crossed the finish line of that first race, signed up for my next, and have been running ever since—19 years! I used the Jeff Galloway training schedule for beginners to run that first half marathon. 

After that, for many years, I would run two half marathons in the spring and two in the fall and signed up for many 5Ks and 10Ks in between. The first few years, when my kids were young, most of my runs were local. As the years went by, I started combining my love of travel with my love of running. Some of my favorite United States races include the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon and Nashville Rock n’ Roll.

In 2018, I joined the Seven Continent Club and have run half marathons in Australia, Iceland, Patagonia, Antarctica, and many in the States. I have Africa and Asia planned for 2025 and 2026. If all goes as planned, I’ll complete the seven continents when I turn 60.

After more than 70 half marathons, I decided to train for a full and since fall 2019, I have completed eight full marathons. 

A friend once told me that he sets three goals each year—one personal, one professional, and one health. I decided to do the same, and this habit is the reason for so many positive things I’ve done in my life, including earning my MBA, becoming a business owner, and saying yes to my husband when he suggested training for that first half marathon many years ago. 

In 2012, I joined Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri as their chief operating officer and then CEO. I am honored to now serve as the national CEO for Girl Scouts of the USA. Running plays an important role in my professional life as training for a race requires strategy, discipline, and accountability—so does leading an organization. I come up with some of my best ideas on long runs. I think my team rolls their eyes when I have a 20-miler—they probably wonder what ideas I might come back with.

I want our Girl Scouts to find what they enjoy most that best supports their mental, physical, and emotional health. Many of our Girl Scout councils sponsor their own run/walks. I love to see our girls introduced to running through these events.

I now run three to four times a week, cross-train two days a week, and have one day of rest. As soon as I finish one training schedule, I move to the next. 

Running has changed my life—the people I’ve met, the goals I’ve achieved, the places I’ve seen—all made possible because of that simple question: “Wouldn’t it be fun to do a half marathon together?” I know I am stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally because of running.These tips have made my running journey a success:

1. Go for just one mile

This habit has served me well so many times when I don’t really feel like going out—especially when it’s too hot, too cold, too windy, too hilly, too late, too early. Just tell yourself “I can run one mile!” It rarely ends up being only one mile!

2. Track your runs

With all the amazing apps out there, I still print my running schedule, I highlight each completed run. The feeling of accomplishment is the motivation for the next day. 

3. Support yourself

Positive self-talk is important. Whether it was the best run/race or not so good, own the fact that you showed up. I’m a personal fan of the sign I see at races that says, “Be proud! You’re out here!” And, when you fall off your schedule, don’t throw in the towel until the next week, the next month, or the next race—pick it up the next day. 

4. Know it’s never too late

Finally, there’s no time limit on when to begin! Pick your distance and find a training plan. There are fabulous training schedules and wonderful training groups out there. Do your research, choose what works for you, and just start.

Making time for adventure at sunset is just as effective and admirable as waking up for an alpine start

Whether you’re a seasoned backcountry skier or a new trail runner, chances are you’ve heard a pack of your fellow outdoorspeople gloating about their latest sunrise summit attempt, patting each other on the backs and guffawing because they had so much fun waking up at 4 A.M. for dawn patrol. Yuck.

Dawn patrol refers to the act of waking up before the sun and heading out on an early morning adventure, then speeding back to town to clock in to your desk job. There’s nothing inherently fun about rising early to ski or run or paddle, but when you call it “dawn patrol,” it becomes something else. As long as I’ve been in the outdoor world, dawn patrol has felt like the proverbial cool kids table that, in theory, anybody can sit at, so long as they like to rise in the dark and get their sweat on before their brains are fully awake. Unfortunately, that’s not me.

As a certified non-morning person who needs several cups of coffee to get going each day, it’s darn near impossible to convince me to wake up any earlier than I have to before reporting to work at my computer. Because I value my sleep and often have morning job commitments, I carve my adventure time out later in the day. I know I’m not alone in this. Those of us who still want to get after it on a random weekday from time to time deserve our own glorified phrase: dusk patrol.

I spent 19 years living in Los Angeles with a full-time day job. For me, dusk patrol often meant zooming out of my office’s parking structure at 5 P.M. on the dot to lace up my trail runners, don a headlamp, and jog up the side of Mount Hollywood, just as the city’s infamous smog would turn an otherworldly tangerine with the sunset. It was hard but rewarding to make these sunset jaunts happen. On one such occasion, I even stopped on the hike down for an impromptu planetarium show at the historic Griffith Observatory.

On another one of my post-work whims, I checked the moon phases app on my phone and reached out to a few friends to join me for a nighttime trek up the coastal Los Liones Trail. A full moon meant that we didn’t need to use our headlamps, and our late start time meant that we had the trail entirely to ourselves. The smell of SoCal chaparral and the moonlit ocean views from the gravel path made for an utterly magical evening as we twirled around and made hand puppets with our prominent moon shadows.

Once I had really gotten into the spirit of these sojourns, friends started divulging their own favorite nighttime microadventures with me, like well-guarded family secrets that needed to be whispered and held tightly. A guy I was dating once left work early and drove out to Joshua Tree with me to scramble up one of his favorite unnamed peaks at sunset, cans of beer conveniently stashed in our packs. My buddy Brandon introduced me to a weekly cycling meet up in Los Angeles called The Passage of a Few People Through a Rather Brief Moment in Time, which took riders to the farthest-flung corners of the city. It was a group for athletic lovers of the odd and the urban, meeting at 24-hour strip mall donut shop and taking its participants through secret tunnels, down pitch black dirt trails, to industrial mining quarries, and along abandoned piers overlooking the ragged Pacific.

I live in Boulder, Colorado now, and though the after-work traffic is nowhere near as soul-crushing as in the City of Angels, I’ve tried to keep the spirit of dusk patrol alive, which is much easier these days with a chunk of the Rocky Mountains at my doorstep. But of course, better outdoor access also gives me more room to get creative with my outings.

Last October, my partner Oliver and I drove my minivan across a series of winding roads to witness the autumn elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park as the sun set over the soaring Continental Divide. As we hiked around a rocky bend, our terror and delight, we witnessed an enormous bull screeching his bugle call just off trail as he gathered his harem. I’ve knocked out countless sunset summits with my mutt, Marla, on Mount Sanitas and multiple Flatiron trails near town, and this year, I aim to step it up a notch and take advantage of the nearby Indian Peaks Wilderness to get out for some weeknight backpacking trips, planning to be back at my desk at 10 A.M. to check my email.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m a huge fan of having your cake and eating it too. In other words, even if you’re not a morning person, you can still get after it on a random weekday evening. Here are some of my tried-and-true tips for making dusk patrol a smooth experience.

No one wants to rush to the trailhead after work, only to realize that they forgot their precious hydration bladder. Pack the night or the morning before your nighttime rendezvous, when you’re not in a tizzy, then toss your fully-loaded pack and trail shoes (or inflatable kayak/SUP if you’re more or a river rat) into your car, so you can leave straight from work.

In Alastair Humphreys’ appropriately-named new book, Local, he sets out to complete one adventure per week for an entire year. The catch? They all have to be within his neighborhood. He’s proof that you don’t have to live at the foot of a 14er or on a piece of waterfront property to have a weekday adventure–climb a tree and watch the sunset, take a five mile jog around a part of town you’ve never been to, or try out mudlarking (scouring a shoreline at low tide to try to unearth ocean treasures). Fellow adventurer and Outside contributor Brendan Leonard told me that once, in lieu of heading into the Rocky Mountain foothills, he and some friends biked the entire 53 mile length of Colfax Ave in Denver (the longest commercial byway in the U.S.) and experienced the thrilling immersion of passing through multiple radically different neighborhoods as they bisected the city on two wheels.

It goes without saying that most dusk patrol missions will not involve time-consuming, home-cooked meals with a knife and fork. Either pack a no-cook, soak-in-the-bag meal to eat at the trailhead or summit (Pact-It Gourmet makes a bevy of awesome treats that can dehydrate in lukewarm water while you trek), or splurge on your favorite take out, then chow down during the drive to your starting point.

As someone who didn’t start rock climbing until age 29, it was news to me that you can easily purchase a veritable floodlight to place atop your head that’ll cast a blinding glow, suitable for the most intense evening excursions. Just be sure to pack an extra set of batteries or double-check your light’s charge level (if it’s a plug-in model) the night before your dusk patrol plan. The Petzl Actik Core and Black Diamond Spot 400 have both served me well on night hikes and low-light rock scrambling missions.

Not only is it safer to have a friend in tow on after-dark excursions, should things go sideways, it’ll also help hold you accountable, so that you don’t bail on your mountain goals after an annoying phone call or conference room fiasco at the office. Plus, aren’t sunsets just a smidge more spellbinding when you experience them in good company? Pick a specific time and place to meet each other after work, and don’t forget to tell someone not on the adventure what time you both plan to return home.

Eritrean duo Nazret Weldu and Dolshi Tesfu head the current women’s start list of the Vienna City Marathon on 21st April, race organizers have announced.

Weldu and Tesfu, who are by some distance the fastest Eritrean women marathon runners in history, may be challenged by Kenyans Shyline Toroitich and Rebecca Tanui. There are hopes that the 41st edition of Austria’s major road race will see an attempt to break the course record, which currently stands at 2:20:59.

Including races at shorter distances, the organizers of the Vienna City Marathon expect to register over 40,000 entries for the 41st edition. Around 10,000 of them will be marathon runners. The Vienna City Marathon is a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.

It took 19 years until the women’s course record of Italy’s late Maura Viceconte was finally broken in the Austrian capital in 2019. Kenya’s Nancy Kiprop improved the mark to 2:22:12. However Kiprop’s time lasted much shorter than Viceconte’s. In 2022 fellow-Kenyan Vibian Chepkirui clocked 2:20:59.

Nazret Weldu and Dolshi Tesfu have both already run faster than Vienna’s course record: 34 year-old Weldu clocked a national record of 2:20:29 when she took a very strong fourth place in the World Championships’ Marathon in Eugene in 2022. She won the Daegu Marathon in South Korea with 2:21:56 in the same year and then placed sixth in Boston in 2023 with 2:23:25. Competing in a hot World Championships’ race in Budapest last summer Weldu finished eighth with 2:27:23. Despite this series of strong performances Nazret Weldu still has not achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for Paris. She will want to make sure in Vienna that she runs fast enough to get into the Olympic race.

Dolshi Tesfu features a personal best of 2:20:40. The 24 year-old, who is just 1.56 m tall and weighs just 42 kg, ran this time in her debut marathon when she finished ninth in Valencia in 2022. During the race Dolshi Tesfu ran the first half in 68:53, which is by far the fastest half marathon time ever run by an Eritrean woman. Dolshi Tesfu then showed fine performances in her two marathons in 2023 as well: First she was runner-up in Rotterdam with 2:21:35 and then she finished 10th in a hot World Championships’ marathon in Budapest in August. She is already qualified for the Olympic marathon.

When Weldu and Tesfu will come to Vienna for the first time they could attack two records in one go: While the course record stands at 2:20:59 for the two athletes the national record of 2:20:29 would probably be even more significant.

There is an athlete on the start list with a sub 2:20 PB, but at the age of 43 Helalia Johannes is not expected to challenge for victory. The Namibian ran 2:19:52 in 2020 and holds the masters world record since then.

Two Kenyan women could be the main challengers for Weldu and Tesfu: Shyline Toroitich and Rebecca Tanui both know how to win a city marathon. Toroitich took the Enschde Marathon last year with a personal best of 2:22:45 while Tanui was the winner of the San Sebastian Marathon in 2022 with a PB of 2:23:09 and then also won in Venice last autumn. Tanui will have the advantage of knowing the course of the Vienna City Marathon since she was fourth here last year with 2:26:34 in warm weather conditions.

For Andrea Ramirez Limon the Vienna City Marathon presents the last chance to achieve qualification for the Olympic Games’ marathon this summer. The Mexican has a personal best of 2:26:34. However she ran this back in 2020, so it does not count as an Olympic qualifier for Paris. While the qualifying time is 2:26:50, Andrea Ramirez Limon would need a faster time to succeed since the Olympic race will have a limit of 80 starters.

Austria’s record holder Julia Mayer has achieved qualification since she was among the 64 pre-qualified athletes at the end of January with her PB of 2:26:43. She will be among a group of runners who target the Olympic qualifying standard.

“My life is totally different today because I have purpose. I also feel 100 times better health-wise.”

I was an amateur boxer as a teenager. I stopped boxing after age 17, and never took care of myself until I was 36 years old. For 19 years, I ate badly and did not exercise, and started to gain weight rapidly after the age of 30 when I became a truck driver.

Being a trucker, I ate a lot of truck stop food and fast food and didn’t move much. My life was simple: work, eat, come home to my family, and do it all over again. My struggle was always my diet. I had a food addiction. 

I didn’t have any major health problems other than high blood pressure, but I knew I had to make a change as it was only a matter of time before I’d be on medications, and other health issues would catch up to me because of my unhealthy lifestyle. 

It started as a New Year’s resolution on January 1, 2022. I was 36 years old and my clothes no longer fit me. I also realized that I couldn’t keep up with my 8-year-old daughter or do anything outside with the family because I was out of shape and tired all the time. 

I thought to myself, ‘What kind of example am I showing my daughter?’ So I made a promise to myself and family that in 2022, I was going to take care of myself and set goals. I set a very challenging goal to lose 50 pounds in three months. 

I started out by walking in January 2022, and lost 25 pounds in that month alone. In February, I started to implement running with my walks at the local parks in San Antonio, Texas. By March, I joined a gym. 

I began walking and running on the treadmill—it was so hard for me to run at first because my legs and calves cramped up often. I couldn’t even run for 30 seconds in January, so in March, my challenge was to try to run the length of the song the gym had playing on the intercom. In April, I completed my first nonstop mile of running—I was so excited to achieve that.

After April, I ran about two miles a day on the treadmill after lifting weights, and met my goal of losing 50 pounds in three months. 

My main focus during this time was weight lifting, but one day in late August, I challenged myself after my workout to see if I could run three miles nonstop on the treadmill. To my surprise, I did it. After that, I started to go back to the parks and run. 

A buddy at the gym told me about a local 5K in San Antonio. I ran it and fell in love with the race environment. It was there I heard runners talking about the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. 

It was 11 weeks away, and I told them I would love to run the full marathon. They all chuckled a bit and looked at me like I was crazy. How would a person like me who barely started running have time to prepare for a full marathon in just 11 weeks? Well, I started training for it by following runners on TikTok and finding out what training schedule they followed. 

One month later in October, I was running 15 miles nonstop. In December, I completed the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in a time of 5 hours and 9 minutes. The feeling of accomplishment was beyond amazing. 

After the marathon, I made up my mind: Running was something I would continue. Six months later, in May 2023, I ran the Shiprock Marathon in New Mexico in 4 hours 57 minutes. It was quite an honor to run with the Navajo people at the Navajo reservation. I then ran the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon again this past December 2023, and my time was 40 minutes faster than the year prior. The next marathon on my list is the Utah Valley Marathon in June 2024.

Today, I run four to five times a week with Saturdays being my long run. My goal is to keep running marathons and to get faster. My ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston. It sounds far-fetched because I’m currently running 4:30 marathon times, but running this distance seemed impossible two years ago. 

I work 50 hours a week for a local construction company. While I have the luxury of coming home every night, the days are long. To maintain my healthy lifestyle I pack a lunch everyday—I’m fortunate that my wife prepares these lunches for me. If I didn’t pack my lunch, I’d be eating truck stop food. After work, I go to the gym for strength training, and or run around the local parks. I usually don’t get home until 8:30 at night. 

My life is totally different today because I have purpose. I also feel 100 times better health-wise. 

These three tips have made my running journey a success:

1. Stay consistent

Stay consistent with running, your workout routine, and diet. Consistency is key. Just start and never give up. It’s going to be difficult, but stick with it and results and progress will come. It’s you versus you. Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. It’s your battle.

2. Eat healthy

Diet plays a huge factor on how you fuel for your runs and the right nutrition helps you perform better. I’ve noticed on days I eat bad it really affects my runs. Before this journey, my diet was horrible. All I drank was soda and ate fast food. I’m Hispanic and I love Mexican food, but it isn’t the healthiest. Now I only drink water and black coffee. I stay away from fried food, processed foods, sugar, and flour. I love pasta and chicken Alfredo the day before my long runs. I eat lean meat, chicken breast, lean ground turkey, salmon, and sweet potatoes, along with a lot of fruit and vegetables.

3. Stay confident

You have to believe in yourself. You have to have faith in yourself and the process. Faith over fear. I learned you can do more than you can imagine. The mentality I have now compared to two years ago is night and day. 

Adam’s Must-Have Gear 

→ Nike Vaporfly Shoes: Of all the shoes I’ve tried, Nike Vaporfly are my go-to race-day shoes. They feel the best and I’ve had my PR with these shoes.

→ GU Running Gels: These work the best for me for fueling on long runs and don’t upset my stomach and give me a great boost.

→ Night Buddy Headlamp: For my early morning or night runs, this headlamp keeps me safe and well lit. It’s a super light headlamp and very bright.

The Nagoya Women’s Marathon announced today the world’s top women athletes who will compete in the 13th edition of the race to be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024.

The leading names in the field are Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia, world champion in Oregon in 2022 with a personal best of 2:18:11 and Silver Medallist in Budapest in 2023, and Eunice Chebichii Chumba of Bahrain, Asian Games Champion of 2023 in Hangzhou, who has a personal best of 2:20:02.

The competitor list also includes many outstanding international athletes such as Delvine Relin Meringor of Romania, Violah Cheptoo of Kenya, Giovanna Epis of Italy, Eloise Wellings of Australia, Camille French of New Zealand, and others representing China and Puerto Rico.

The local athletes who will face them from Japan are Ai Hosoda, the third-place finisher in the Marathon Grand Championship, Japan’s domestic qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics, who set a personal best of 2:21:42 in the 2022 London Marathon, the 2020 Tokyo Olympians Ayuko Suzuki in the marathon and Yuka Ando in the 10,000m, and 2023 Budapest World Championship competitor Rika Kaseda, all of whom have personal best records under 2:22 and will be vying for the final spot in Japan’s marathon team for the Paris Olympics.

Anyone who beats the Japanese record of 2:18:59 – just set this January for the first time in 19 years – will qualify for Paris.

The pacemakers driving the high-speed race include Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya, who has a personal best of 2:17:29.

The Nagoya Women’s Marathon is not only one of the world’s fastest elite competitions as a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, but it is also known as the world’s largest women’s marathon and a unique festival to celebrate women runners. All finishers will receive an event-exclusive Tiffany & Co. pendant as a token of their achievement.

The 2024 race will take place in Nagoya, Japan, on March 10 with 20,000 runners, while a virtual race is currently held from February 10 through March 31, which can be participated in anywhere in the world via a running app.

Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema made a stunning debut over the classic distance to win the Dubai Marathon in 2:16:07 on Sunday (7). Compatriot Addisu Gobena, another marathon debutant and just 19 years of age, won the men’s race at the World Athletics Label road race in 2:05:01.

Running on Dubai’s renowned super flat course that mainly stretches on Jumeirah Beach Road, Ketema smashed the course record by more than a minute. The 25-year-old, who had previously been an 800m specialist and had never competed at any distance farther than 10km, now moves to eighth on the world all-time list.

Just 18 months ago, her time would have also been an Ethiopian record, but she now sits third on her country’s all-time list behind world record-holder Tigist Assefa and world champion Amane Beriso.

Fellow Ethiopians Ruti Aga and defending champion Dera Dida took second and third places with 2:18:09 and 2:19:29 respectively. Fourth-placed German Melat Kejeta, returning from a maternity break, ran 2:21:47.

Gobena led an Ethiopian sweep of the podium in the men’s race. Prior to today, Gobena’s only known performance was a third-place finish at the Delhi Half Marathon three months ago, but the U20 athlete made a name for himself by winning in Dubai in 2:05:01.

Compatriots Lemi Dumecha and Dejene Megersa, another debutant, followed in second and third spots with 2:05:20 and 2:05:42.

 

 

Dina Asher-smith shared that she had parted ways with her coach John Blackie and will now be guided by Edrick Floreal ahead of the Olympic Games.

Great Britain’s sprint sensation Dina Asher-Smith has joined Fred Kerley and Marcel Jacobs in changing coaches.

She made the announcement in a post on her Instagram page, noting that she has parted ways with her coach, John Blackie who has worked with her since she was eight.

As reported by BBC, the 27-year-old will now be coached by Edrick Floreal and based in Austin, Texas.

Her decision comes after her poor run at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where she left with no medal. She finished eighth in the 100m final and seventh in the 200m.

She said: "After 19 years, John Blackie and I have ended our coach-athlete partnership. My life changed by meeting him and I will forever be grateful to him.

His intellect, patience, and dedication have taken me from an energetic eight-year-old to a world champion with over 20 international medals and many Olympics, World, Commonwealth, and European finals.

John and I will, of course, remain close friends. Thank you to John and thank you to all my team in London whose talents and hard work have helped me realise so many dreams to date.

My next chapter will be led by Edrick Floreal based out of Austin, Texas. I'm very excited to join his talented training group as we head to Paris 2024."

Under Blackie, the Briton cemented her place as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. She bagged the 100m bronze medals at the most recent two Olympics - in Rio 2016 and in Tokyo five years later - and won 200m gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

It will go down in history as one of the greatest nights in athletics.

Between them, Faith Kipyegon, Lamecha Girma and Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke two world records* and one world best at the Meeting de Paris on Friday (9), providing the standout moments at a highly memorable Wanda Diamond League meeting in the French capital.

A week after breaking the 1500m world record in Florence, Kipyegon etched her name into the record books for 5000m, winning in 14:05.20.

Ahead of the race, the world and Olympic champion hadn’t made too much noise about a possible world record attempt in tonight’s 5000m. It was, after all, just her third ever race at the distance, and her first 5000m outing in eight years.

But, as is always the case with Kipyegon, the 29-year-old Kenyan showed no fear as she navigated her way through the race, the early pace – 2:52.31 at 1000m and 5:42.04 at 2000m – seemingly no bother for the two-time world U20 cross-country champion.

Steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech was the third and final pacemaker, leading the field through 3000m in 8:31.91. At this point, world record-holder Letesenbet Gidey led from Kipyegon with Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye, the world 5km record-holder, a few strides behind.

Kipyegon took the lead with about 600 metres to go, but Gidey kept close contact. They were about six seconds outside of world record pace, but Gidey also knew what Kipyegon is capable of. The world 10,000m champion knew that Kipyegon had the finishing speed to break Gidey’s world record.

Kipyegon – now speeding up with each and every stride – hit the bell in 13:04.1, needing a final lap of about 62 seconds to break Gidey’s record. She did exactly that, covering the last 400m in 61.1 seconds to cross the line in 14:05.20 – a 1.42-second improvement on Gidey’s mark.

Gidey, competing for the first time since her unfortunate episode at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, finished second in 14:07.94, the third-fastest time in history. Taye was third in 14:13.31, while the next three women – Lilian Kasait Rengerek, Freweyni Hailu and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi – all finished inside 14:24.

“I didn’t think about the world record, I don’t know how I made it,” said a delighted and surprised Kipyegon. “I just focused on the green light and tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the race. When I saw that it was a world record, I was so surprised – I just wanted to improve on my PB, the world record was not my plan. I just ran after Gidey – she is an amazing lady.

“I do not know what will be next – I’ll have to discuss it with my coach and my management,” she added. “If my body is healthy, anything is possible.”

Girma had requested an ambitious pace for the men’s 3000m steeplechase – one that would result in a finishing time of about 7:52. The world and Olympic silver medallist almost got a bit carried away mid-race, though, and ran well ahead of the wavelights through the middle section of the race.

With two laps to go, the lights almost caught up with the Ethiopian – who by now was well ahead of the rest of the field. But the sound of the bell and the reaction of the crowd seemingly gave him added impetus on the final lap as he moved clear of the lights once more.

He sped around the final lap in about 64 seconds, crossing the line in 7:52.11, taking 1.52 seconds off the world record set 19 years ago by Said Saeed Shaheen.

“I feel so happy,” said Girma, who started his year world a world indoor record over 3000m. “I’m happy and very proud. I felt so fast during the race, so confident. The world record is not a surprise; it was my plan to beat it tonight in Paris. It’s the result of my full determination.”

Two miles not be an official world record distance, but that mattered not to Jakob Ingebrigtsen – or indeed the sell-out crowd at the Stade Charlety – as the Norwegian won the event in a world best of 7:54.10.

The race wasn’t a scoring discipline on this occasion, and as such was held outside of the main broadcast window. But that didn’t deter the world and Olympic champion, who stuck to the pacemakers throughout, passing through 1000m in 2:29.07 and then moving closer to the second pacemaker – and, significantly, ahead of the green wavelights.

Once the pacemakers had done their job, Ingebrigtsen maintained his tempo and breezed through 3000m in an official split of 7:24.00 – a European record and the third-fastest performance of all time for that distance. At this point he had a 13.5-second lead over Ethiopia’s Kuma Girma. Victory was Ingebrigtsen’s; his next target was Daniel Komen’s world best.

He charged through the final 218 metres, roared on by the crowd, and crossed the finish line in 7:54.10, winning by 15 seconds.

“Being able to break this mark feels amazing,” he said. “It is my first world best outdoors. The pace felt very smooth for me, coming out of the 1500m. The public was amazing; without their help, it would have been more difficult. I was a bit surprised by the time in the end.”

World leads for Hodgkinson, Wanyonyi and Holloway

World and Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson opened her outdoor season in stunning fashion in the women’s 800m, winning by more than two seconds in a world-leading national record of 1:55.77.

The European champion stuck to the pacemaker and covered the first lap in 57.7 seconds, already a stride or two ahead of the rest of the field. With 200 metres to go, there was clear daylight between Hodgkinson and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule, who was being pursued by world indoor champion Ajee Wilson.

But none of them could get near Hodgkinson, who eased down the home straight to cross the line in 1:55.77, taking 0.11 off the British record she set two years ago in Tokyo. Wilson finished second in 1:58.16 and Goule was third in 1:58.23.

The 2011 Berlin Marathon bronze medalist Edwin Kimaiyo will be hoping to debut the 2023 season on a high with a win at the 44th edition of the Stockholm Marathon, Sweden on June 3.

Kimaiyo will be joined by fellow countrymen Robert Kipkemboi and Shadrack Kimining in the Scandinavian nation. 

Kimaiyo last raced in October last year at the Munich Marathon where he finished fifth in 2:11:02 a race won by compatriot Philemon Kipchumba in 2:07:28. 

The 37-year-old will be aiming to lower his personal best of 2:09:12 that he set at the Shanghai Marathon, China in November 2017.

The Kenyan trio will face stiff competition from an Ethiopian quintet led by the world junior record holder Tsegaye Mekonnen.

Mekonnen caused a major upset in the world of athletics when he won the Dubai Marathon in 2014 aged just 19 years old in a time of 2:04:32 to set the the unofficial world junior record.

Others who will pose a threat to the Kenyans include; Ethiopia's Ashenafi Moges, Zewdu Hailu, Derara Hurisa and Fikre Workneh, Eritrea's Berhane Tesfay and Mao Ako from Tanzania.

The course record is held by Ethiopia's Nigussie Sahlesilassie 2:10:10 a time he set in 2019.

Colin Boerger and Jessy Sorrick are the winners of the 2023 Little Rock Marathon.

Beginning shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday and continuing into the afternoon, finishers of the 21st Little Rock Marathon will trickle across the finish line on La Harpe Boulevard.

Their legs plenty tired after completing the 26.2-mile course, runners will take a couple hundred more steps, following the signs directing them inside the back of the Statehouse Convention Center.

The runners will pose for pictures, then go grab a snack to refuel or some more water. Others might go for a celebratory Michelob Ultra -- or two -- before seeking out their friends and family for a hug.

But before any of that, each finisher will find a smiling volunteer and bow their head, awaiting one of the hundreds of oversized, sparkly, brightly-colored medals that will be placed around their neck.

Since its third edition in 2005, the Little Rock Marathon has awarded those who complete the race with a distinct, intricate prize -- enormous in size while also extravagant in detail.

This year's medal is no different, measuring in at more than 8 inches wide and nearly 3 pounds. Inspired by the theme, "Peace, Love, Little Rock Marathon," it features an interlocking peace sign and heart surrounded by symbols associated with the hippie movement such as flowers, doves, music and a van, brought to life with an array of bright, sparkly colors as is tradition for executive director Geneva Lamm.

Year after year, Lamm attempts to one-up herself with a unique and elaborate design, ensuring that each runner -- everyone from Searcy native Tia Stone, winner in five of the last seven women's races, to the final finisher -- has something to appropriately commemorate their accomplishment.

The idea spawned from a race Lamm ran in southern Texas shortly after beginning her role with the Little Rock Marathon in 2002. Lamm had just finished the marathon and her friend had completed the 5K race.

"When we finished, we got the same medal, and I was like, 'Oh, no, no, I did the marathon. I didn't do the 5K,' Lamm recalled. "They're like, 'No, that's the medal for everybody.' "

That didn't sit right with Lamm. She believed that everyone should get a medal the size of their individual achievement.

So, Lamm set out to make that the case for her race in Little Rock. She sketched out what she wanted of the first medal -- mostly in stick figures -- but quickly discovered that the companies bidding to produce them had a different idea of what it would actually look like.

That led Lamm to teach herself how to use the Adobe Creative Suite so she could specifically design the medals on her own. In 2006, she produced a sparkly version of the race's corporate logo, which Lamm calls "The Shield."

From there, the medals took on a life of their own, and each year, Lamm tasks herself with designing something one-of-a-kind to fit that race's theme.

In 2008, it was "Six in the City" to celebrate the race's sixth edition. In 2012, the theme was disco. The 2015 race was pirate-themed -- perhaps Lamm's favorite to date -- and as is the case each year, Lamm and race organizers encourage runners to dress in costume.

But idealizing and designing the medals is one thing. It's another to produce them, especially as the race has grown as large as 10,000 total runners across the different competitions -- marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K.

Steve Hasty, owner of Hasty Awards in Ottawa, Kan., has worked in conjunction with Lamm on and off for the last 12 years. It's not guaranteed Hasty will be the one chosen to produce the medals each race -- because the Little Rock Marathon is a fundraiser for the City of Little Rock's Parks and Recreation Department, Lamm has to run an annual blind-bidding process to determine who will get the contract for a given year.

But Hasty holds a special place in his heart for Little Rock because the medals are such a passion project for Lamm.

"There's no question that the Little Rock Marathon is the most fun race," Hasty told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "[Geneva] is an educated customer, which makes it a lot easier."

The bidding typically begins in June, and for an early March race, Hasty likes to begin production no later than September.

For the marathon medals, the die-casting process begins by forcing each of the different colors of zinc-based alloy into the molds. Each of the different colors, many with glitter -- a Lamm specialty -- is allowed to dry before Hasty moves on to the next color.

All told, creating the Little Rock Marathon medal takes about 50 days. That's before the ribbon is hand-sewn on, all adding up to a cost of $13 per medal and leaving little profit margin for Hasty.

The goal is then to have all the medals completed and in Little Rock no later than January. Across the different competitions, that's between 9,000 and 10,000 medals -- almost a 400% increase from the 2,502 that participated in the inaugural race in 2003.

Lamm keeps a notepad on her desk at home with ideas for future themes, and she's already thinking about concepts and designs of medals for at least the next five years.

After 19 years, it's nothing but "a labor of love."

"It's always on my mind," Lamm said. "We're always trying to figure out how to do something better and new. ... The payoff for me and my staff is seeing those people cross the finish line."

Runners love runners, and while runners often date and marry other runners, some runners date non-runners who despise running.

My fiance is the latter. Running isn't for her. It isn't for everyone. A large part of me wishes we could share the miles and time together, and she wishes we could actually spend a Saturday morning together instead of me going on a long run only to come back, eat, and nap.

There's give and take in any relationship, but with any passion comes sacrifice. We see the passion on display everyday, but little do we hear about the sacrifice, the unfiltered thoughts of those who might not share the same affinity for run culture.

This Valentine's Day, we give them the mic. To my fiance, and to anyone else in similar situations, I hope you feel seen today.

Forty Years and 200+ Hundred Milers

If anyone can understand the grind and sacrifice of supporting an ultrarunner, it's Martha Ettinghausen. Her husband, Ed, 60, has logged more than two hundred 100-plus milers since his first in 2009-one of three people ever to hit that milestone.

For the vast majority of those races, the couple from Murieta, California, has done it all stride for stride. Martha was crew chief, sacrificing weekends, birthdays, and Mother's Days for her runner. It also included nights at home waiting to eat dinner until late hours, delayed romantic evenings on vacation due to Ed being "lost in the moment" of a run, and endless time and money poured into the sport.

"It really has cost us a fortune," Martha said. "There's so much sacrifice, if you want to call it that, that was given up for Ed to pursue his dream. I look at the time and money spent over the years. Sometimes I say, 'This could be our new car,' or, 'This could be an amazing vacation.' Really, it's kind of a selfish hobby, but so is any hobby."

But that's not what Martha takes away from Ed's passion. It has taken years to find balance, and also to recognize that you can be supportive without having to attend every race like she did at first. Now, she goes when she wants to.

"For the first 19 years of marriage, I don't think we spent one night apart," Martha said. "That was a lot of time together. We did everything together, and I like that connection, but in order to find my own life outside of it while he's off doing his thing, I had to learn to do my own thing. He's pursuing his passion; I can pursue mine also."

This has taken various forms: Saturday morning walks with her friends, starting her own business, not waiting to eat meals, even walking 104 miles herself last April at Beyond Limits in California. A big reason she pursued most of these passions was Ed's inspiration.

"One of the biggest things I've learned from Ed doing ultras is going in with a positive mindset and believing you can do it," Martha said. "Never be negative or allow doubt. That carries into every aspect of life. Don't take it so seriously. Watching Ed, I'm like, "You know what? I can do anything.'"

These are lessons learned from 40 years of marriage and 14 years of ultras. While it has its pros and cons and still requires conversations and compromises from both, Martha said the best advice she has for a non-runner significant other is letting each other know what makes the other happy and working toward those goals.

"I would never ask him not to run because that would be like taking his soul away," Martha said. "It's about finding a balance, about what's going to make both people happy. It's sitting down and asking, 'Can we satisfy the runner's desires and passion with the partner's desires and passions?'"

We Don't Talk About Trail Running

When you love something, you want to share it with those you love. Take running. Runners love sharing their goals, training, miles, tales from run group, what the pros are doing, what they read, listened to, or saw about running, *insert endless examples here.*

If you paused at any point during that and sighed, you've likely been on the receiving end of a runner, and Stephen Ettinger, 33, wants you to know something:

"I've gotten the impression that it's a widespread problem among ultrarunners," he said. "Corrine and I have this anecdote that, at some point, I was like, 'You have to find some other people in the trail running community to talk about this stuff. Find an outlet. Talk about trail running with them because I can't listen to you talk about trail running all the time. It's driving me bonkers.'"

He's (mostly) kidding, but he's not wrong. If you put a quarter in a runner's jukebox, that song will play in its entirety. His wife, pro runner Corrine Malcolm, was guilty of it, and she heard that feedback. She's now a podcaster, author, editor-in-chief of FreeTrail, race announcer, Pro Trail Runners Association board member, and various other trail adjacent projects.

Ettinger gets his ultra stories in moderation now, and, with someone who lives and breathes the sport, he knows how important it is for her. It's a lot, but it's a healthy outlet runner's need, especially as Malcolm faced injuries in recent years.

"An injured runner is an unhappy runner," Ettinger said. "It's super frustrating for them, and it's hard to be the partner of someone who's frustrated because you don't want them to be sad and bummed out. How can you not when you can't do the thing you love? Like anyone, they need an outlet."

Ettinger has found his own outlet in recent years. It wasn't something he expected after retiring from professional mountain biking and going to medical school and doing his residency in San Francisco. But when the trails in the city weren't as accessible to bikes as running was, he ran with it.

Before that, the couple split up at trailheads to bike and run. Going together, he says, brought them closer. They understand that Ettinger could spend that time reviewing charts and Malcolm could be going faster to train.

He's not sure why, but he said he might even sign up for an ultra this summer.

"It's not my most favorite thing, but I do enjoy it," Ettinger said. His parting advice: "Never expect 10 toe nails. Expect weird tan lines, and make sure to give your dog a break from running every now and then."

Balancing 'Me Time' and 'Us Time'

Char Ozanic, 46, of Grand Junction, Colorado, is not a fan of running. She recalled bad experiences with the required elementary school mile. When asked if she'd ever run a race again now, she said, "I'm giggling so much it hurts. No."

Ultrarunning found its way into her life through her husband, Matt, 48. They have two boys, and when they moved out, running filled his rediscovered free time as a work destresser.

"By the time the boys left, we had already been in the schedule mode of practices, dinners, and booked weekends so we fell back into that rhythm again quickly," Char said. "But, instead of the boys, it was Matt."

There were mixed feelings initially. Matt had found a passion, but it involved hours they could otherwise spend together or visiting their boys. If this was going to be their life, compromises were a must. Mostly, they had to prioritize scheduling things they wanted or needed around, and not over, those of the other.

"We had a lot of sit-downs," Char said. "You can't get your feelings hurt about every moment you're expecting to get [with your partner] because I also have a life of my own. It's our schedule. It belongs to both of us. You just need to be mindful of each other."

Part of the adjustment was significant amounts of "me time," Char said. Matt usually does two 100 milers a year. This year, one is the Moab 240. Many nights after work and long-run weekends add up fast for Matt.

"You have to genuinely be okay with being by yourself," Char said. "I go see movies by myself all the time, especially movies Matt might hate, or have a spa day. I do a lot of mental health stuff when he's trekking some big miles."

Sometimes it can be tough to find time together, especially in big mileage weeks. Char said that sometimes that means combining "me time" with "us time."

"If I'm craving more us time, I'll go to the trail with him and aid him along the way," she said. "I get my 'me time' and I get time with him. Other times, I like kicking him out the door to read a good book. It's all about balance."

This is also the case for races. Char has only missed one ever for Matt. Travel, she says, is her favorite perk. "It brings us to so many places," Char said. "He'll sign up for a race in, like, Beaver Canyon, Utah. I've never heard of it. Then we go and it's so beautiful. When he's racing, I can go on these small hikes and venture out to do what I want, too. I Google things I can try."

His best advice for anyone dating a distance runner: "Always have snacks around. Easy to grab. Runners can go from wanting a snack to ragingly starving quickly. Trust me. Snacks."

Never Run to Impress

Who hasn't done something to impress a person they're dating? Justin Charboneau, 33, can relate. When he started dating his now-wife, Brittany, 34, in 2016, she was qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with sites on going pro.

So, Justin did what any love-struck person would do in that situation: sign up for a half marathon. He completed it, plus some other races and triathlons, too. It wasn't his thing, but he kept up the charade because he thought Brittany wanted him to run.

But in 2022, they hadthe talk.

"I started a cookie company in 2019 and running stopped," he said. "I still do Peloton and cycling now, but I kept running sometimes, and it got to a point where Brit's like, 'Do you like running?' I said no. She was like, 'You don't have to be a runner.' It was a huge weight off my shoulders."

Though he doesn't run anymore, Justin admires the work Brit, and other runners, put in to complete these long distances. He experienced running firsthand, and he wasn't a fan, but what Brittany does inspires him. At the same time, it can be a challenge. Being Denver-based with most friends from the running community, running can dominate the conversation and the attention.

"I've felt a little bit not heard or lonely because Brit does so much," he said. "There were times early on when it felt like Brit was doing all these awesome things and everyone's telling me my wife is so amazing. I got to a point where I'm like, 'What can I do to get some attention?' Eventually, I stepped back and realized that this is us. It's our life. Everything either of us do is for both of us. She inspires me, and it makes me excited to celebrate with her and be her support system."

That same friend group has no judgments since Justin stopped running. He joins them for "Fun Club" after runs and he's heartily welcomed, he said. The only other challenge, Justin says, is working around a runner's schedule. Brit goes to bed early and Justin is a social night owl, so compromising is a must.

"Being social after work fills my bucket. Sometimes, that's completely opposite of what Brit needs during training," Justin said. "It's an interesting thing to navigate because we still want to spend time together, so how can we find those things that fill both our buckets? It's a challenge, but definitely doable."

Finally, his best advice for anyone dating a distance runner: "Always have snacks around. Easy to grab. Runners can go from wanting a snack to ragingly starving quickly. Trust me. Snacks."

Young Love on the Trails

We conclude with our youngest couple: Heidi Strickler, 33, and Hannah Gordon, 38, of Seattle, Washington, an 11-month-old relationship between two passionate outdoor lovers. Strickler is more the runner of the two, competing in ultras and spending days in the mountains. Gordon enjoys a three- to six-mile run here and there, but is more of an outdoor generalist with passions for hiking, biking, and rock climbing.

Together, they find love on and off the trails.

"I view our relationship as three relationships: Heidi with herself, me with myself, and us," Gordon said. "I think we're pretty aligned. We both have interests in certain things and would like to pursue those, and also share them. But that doesn't mean the other person needs to be 100 percent in it."

Each part of that trio requires intentionality and attention, Gordon adds. When she goes on her adventures, or Strickler goes on hers, they both return fulfilled in their passion and, in turn, better versions for their partners.

"I almost wonder if there's an independence level in both parties that works well for people who are partnered, with ultrarunning or some big passion," Gordon said.

At the same time, scheduling becomes intentional, too. Planning their passions is as important as planning to be together. For example, Tuesdays are set aside for just them. Outside of that, they work around friends, work, and being outside, to spend time together. Through communicating ahead of time, they make it work. One thing they haven't experienced yet, Gordon and Strickler said, was a big training block for Strickler.

"I see the potential conflict depending on how many races per year are being trained for if that gets in the way of what we're hoping for intentional time together," Gordon said. "I think I could see that would be something we would just need to talk about. I think it's still solvable."

Additionally, Gordon says that having someone with inner drive to do things like ultras is attractive.

"Watching Heidi, I see such joy and exuberance when she comes back from the mountain," she added. "For me as a partner, I am very thankful that I am with somebody who finds so much joy in the activity that she's born to do. I can see the joy on her face when she comes back and brings in the mud and she's just smiling and beaming that she got to get so dirty and run 30 miles in the cold - which makes no logical sense to me."

Had the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 gone ahead in 2021 as originally planned, there’s a strong chance that Letesenbet Gidey would already be a world champion at the discipline.

The Ethiopian was in sensational form in 2020 and 2021, setting world records of 14:06.62 for 5000m and 29:01.03 for 10,000m. She had to settle for bronze at the Olympic Games at the longer event, but she prioritized global honors over records in 2022 and was rewarded with her first world title on the track, winning the 10,000m in Oregon in a nail-biting race.

The 24-year-old is now focused on winning her first individual senior world cross-country title. She won back-to-back U20 crowns in 2015 and 2017, joining an elite club of athletes to achieve the feat, alongside Faith Kipyegon and Genzebe Dibaba.

Gidey finished third in the senior women’s race in 2019 and earned gold in the team competition, but this time she heads to Bathurst as one of the big favorites.

If her performance at the Jan Meda Cross Country – Ethiopia’s trial event for the World Cross – is anything to go by, Gidey is certainly in form to challenge for gold in Bathurst. In that race back on 1 January, she bided her time until the last kilometer of the race and then soon opened up a gap of about 20 seconds on a strong domestic field.

It looked as though she was running within herself, too.

As much as individual glory will be Gidey’s biggest goal on Saturday, she will also want to earn gold in the team standings, and Ethiopia will once again be in with a great shout of doing exactly that.

Gete Alemayehu, who has a 1:06:37 half marathon PB, was second in the trial race, just ahead of 30:06.01 10,000m performer Tsigie Gebreselama, bronze medalist in the U20 race in Aarhus in 2019. Fellow Ethiopian Fotyen Tesfaye just missed out on a top-10 placing in Aarhus, so will be keen to improve on that in Bathurst.

But Gidey and her Ethiopian compatriots won’t have an easy ride, as they’ll be up against someone who is undefeated in international cross-country races for more than a year.

Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel has dominated the World Athletics Cross Country Tour and currently tops the season standings thanks to her three victories last month. She won at the prestigious Campaccio meeting in San Giorgio su Legnano, then two days later triumphed in Elgoibar, winning by eight seconds. More recently she won in Hannut, racing in heavy snow, showing she can cope well in any conditions.

Daniel enjoyed a successful 2022 campaign on the track, setting national records for 5000m (14:36.66) and 10,000m (30:12.15), the latter when placing fifth at the World Championships in Oregon.

But the 21-year-old is clearly more at home on cross country, and despite this being her World Cross debut, Daniel will have high hopes for a podium finish.

Beatrice Chebet is just as formidable an opponent, though. The Kenyan took 5000m silver at the World Championships last year and won the U20 women’s title at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus. She is also the African, Commonwealth and Diamond League 5000m champion, and is a former world U20 champion on the track.

She has raced just twice in cross-country events since the end of the track season, but won both of her races. She won by 13 seconds in Atapuerca in November and by 15 seconds at the Cinque Mulini in January.

In the absence of Chebet at the Kenyan trials, teenager Grace Loibach Nawowuna was a surprising winner of the senior women’s race, beating Olympic semifinalist Edinah Jebitok by four seconds. The Kenyan team also includes two-time world cross-country champion Emily Chebet and Agnes Ngetich.

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba missed the peak of the 2022 track season through injury, but still managed to win three races on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, and then triumphed at the Venta de Banos Cross Country in December. In her latest appearance, though, she was a distant fifth in Elgoibar, some 47 seconds behind Daniel.

Stella Chesang, the 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m champion, was a dominant winner of the recent Ugandan Cross Country Championships and is keen to improve on her 21st-place finish from the 2019 World Cross. She is joined on the Ugandan team by world U20 5000m bronze medallist Prisca Chesang.

Olympic finalist Nozomi Tanaka, who holds national records for 1000m, 1500m and 3000m, leads the Japanese team. The 2018 world U20 3000m champion placed 39th at the last World Cross when she was still just 19 years of age, so she’ll be hoping for a higher position this time. Ririka Hironaka, who earned U20 team bronze in 2019, will also be flying the Japanese flag in Bathurst.

Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati feature on the US team, while Australia’s Rose Davies and Leanne Pompeani will aim to give the home crowd something to cheer for. Other contenders include Canada’s Regan Yee, Mexico’s Laura Galvan, and Britain’s Abbie Donnelly.

The 60th annual edition of America’s oldest ultramarathon deserved a special performance, and Sarah Biehl (first photo) more than delivered Saturday Nov 19 at the JFK 50 Mile.

Biehl, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, smashed the women’s race, running away with the victory in a course-record time of 6:05:42 while finishing 11th overall. The previous mark of 6:12:00 was set by ultrarunning legend Ellie Greenwood in 2012.

“Oh my gosh, she was a mile ahead of the record Ellie Greenwood set 10 years ago that nobody had come within five minutes of,” JFK 50 Mile director Mike Spinnler said. “You know, and I hate to do this, gender vs. gender, but it may be the greatest performance in JFK history. 

“Ellie Greenwood was the world champion, Ellie Greenwood won Comrades, Ellie Greenwood won Western States, and she beat Ellie Greenwood’s record by a mile. And we know how hard Ellie had to run that day to win because she was chased. It’s just remarkable and inspiring. She just missed the top 10 overall, and it was the best men’s field ever. Amazing.”

In his JFK debut, Garrett Corcoran, 26, of Salt Lake City, Utah, won the men’s title in 5:29:47 — the No. 5 performance in race history.

Overall, 966 runners reached the finish line within the 13-hour time limit.

For Biehl, this was her third straight JFK. She was the women’s runner-up last year in 6:22:03 after placing fifth in 2020 in 7:22:32 in her ultramarathon debut.

“At the end of the day, I wanted to win,” Biehl said. “Coming here last year and getting second, that was awesome. But after getting second, you have the goal of winning, so that was my main priority. But I also had the course record in mind, too, and the splits and where I needed to be.”

By the time she came off the rocky Appalachian Trail at 15.5 miles, her lead over second place was over 13 minutes. Over the next 26.3 miles on the C&O Canal towpath, the margin increased to more than 19 minutes, and she only continued to add to it over the final 8.4 miles of paved roads to Springfield Middle School.

“I’m ecstatic right now,” Biehl said. “I’m a little in shock, to be honest.”

Caitriona Jennings (third photo), 42, of Ireland, finished second in 6:28:53 — the JFK’s No. 8 all-time women’s performance and a masters (40-and-over) record.

Jennings competed in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and was fresh off two big-time ultramarathon efforts, placing first in the European 50K championships last month after taking third at the 100K World Championships in August.

She went into her JFK debut Saturday with the same goal as Biehl’s  — a course-record victory.

“I struggled from the start, pretty much. It just wasn’t my day,” Jennings said. “But fair play to Sarah, she had an absolute stormer. Wow, so impressive, amazing. 

“It’s a lovely course. I was hoping I’d enjoy it more,” she added. “For some reason, I just couldn’t settle. It was a harder race than I expected. I’ve had two tough races in the last (few months), but I’m not making excuses. I was beaten fair and square. Maybe I expected too much of myself today. But you win some, you lose some. That’s what sport is. It just makes the good days all the better.”

Shea Aquilano, 21, of Carmel, Ind., placed third in 6:40:40.

Sub-4:00 miler wins men’s title (second photo).

Corcoran, who used to live in Baltimore, retuned to his former home state with some flair — including running shorts with the Maryland flag design.

“Dude, I’m out here, I’ve got the shorts, I’ve got to rep, right?” he said. “I know where I’m at, and I know I’ll get a lot of love for this.”

Corcoran, who ran a 3:59 mile in college, showed that speed kills at any distance.

“It feels like another life when I ran sub-4:00. I was 19 years old,” he said. “It’s been a fun journey. When I graduated from college, I just about hung up the running shoes, and didn’t really know what I was going to do. 

“I moved to Baltimore for work, and kind of realized it was the best way to have a good social life, at least for me, so I joined a running club, the Falls Road Running Club, and I made a lot of good friends. And once the pandemic hit, all the races got canceled, and I started dragging a friend of mine in Baltimore on these really long runs. I had so much fun and really got into the ultra distance.

“The JFK was a good excuse to come back and see some friends.”

Corcoran took the lead on the towpath around Mile 31 and never relinquished it.

“There was an aid station at 30.5, and (Matthew Seidel), who ended up getting fourth, he was just ahead of me,” Corcoran said. “He turned around and saw me not far behind him and walked for a little bit and then started running with me. He was like, ‘Hey, let’s run together, man. Let’s work together.’ And then, like a quarter-mile later, I just kind of floated away from him. I was like, ‘I guess it’s me by myself now. Hope nobody catches me.’”

Makai Clemons, 26, of San Diego, closed hard to take second in 5:32:19, finishing less than 3 minutes behind Corcoran after trailing him by more than 9 minutes at the end of the towpath section at 41.8 miles.

“I’ve been watching his training on Strava, and he’s been throwing down some filthy workouts,” Corcoran said of Clemons. “I was telling him after the race that he was one of the guys that was on my radar.”

Preston Cates, 25, of Flagstaff, Ariz., placed third in 5:33.23. Overall, eight men finished under 6 hours, a JFK record.

“Back in my generation, we always wondered what would happen if a 28-minute 10,000-meter runner or a sub-4-minute miler started doing the trails,” said Spinnler, a two-time JFK champ who lowered the course record to 5:53:05 in 1982.

"And now they’re doing it. The prize money, the national teams, the international competitions, it’s all there — all the incentive that wasn’t there a generation ago is there. All of the sudden, the sub-4-minute milers are coming to the sport. We had two of them in the race today, and we also had two Olymians. It’s so exciting for the future of the sport.”

Canadian Reid Coolsaet, a two-time Olympic marathoner, ran near the front before dropping out on the towpath.

If you’ve run any races in Canada in the past 10 years, chances are you’ve had some help from Andre Okenge, though you might not realize it. Nineteen years ago, Okenge escaped the Rwandan genocide, found his way to Canada and has been employed Sportstats, the race-timing company, ever since. On Oct. 23, as reported by iRun, Okenge’s 19-year-old son, Stephane, was a passenger in a serious car accident in Nebraska, where he plays basketball, resulting in a spinal cord injury that has left him a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the shoulders down).

Stephane remains in intensive care at Bryan Medical Center West Campus in Lincoln, Neb., with severe damage not only to his spine but also to the surrounding tissues, including some of the muscles he uses to breathe. (He needed to be intubated following the accident.) 

The young basketball player was a freshman at York University in York, Neb., 60 km west of Lincoln. His passion for basketball began when he was a youngster living in Uganda; later he attended the Canada Topflight Academy (a basketball academy in Ottawa), and then played in the AAU in Oklahoma. He was recovering from a shoulder injury when the accident happened.

Stephane will spend time in a specialized spinal cord facility before being discharged to come home to Canada. Meanwhile, his medical bills are mounting, and his insurance is capped at $500,000. His relatives have started a GoFundMe page to help offset the costs associated with his care, and with the equipment he will need once he returns home to Canada.

Stephane’s father, Andre, is a much-valued member of the Sportstats team. “Andre Okenge has been part of the Sportstats team every single weekend for 19 years and he is loved by the entire Sportstats team,” Marc Roy and Isabelle Fradette of Sportstats are quoted as saying, “as well as the race organizers he has worked with over the years.” 

With the strongest field in its history the GENERALI MUNICH MARATHON will take place on Sunday. The unofficial world junior record holder Tsegaye Mekonnen and fellow Ethiopian Mare Dibaba, who was the marathon World Champion in 2015, head the start lists. Their personal bests of 2:04:32 and 2:19:52 respectively make them the fastest runners ever entered in the traditional Bavarian race.

For the first time in over 20 years an international elite field was assembled for the 36th edition of the GENERALI MUNICH MARATHON. Organisers hope that both course records will fall on Sunday. 

A total of around 18,500 runners are expected total part. About 5,000 of them will run the classic distance which starts and finishes inside the Olympic Stadium. The GENERALI MUNICH MARATHON is an Elite Label Road Race of the international athletics federation, World Athletics. The race will start at 9.00 am on Sunday and a live stream is available at: www.generalimuenchenmarathon.de

50 years after winning the Olympia marathon gold medal in Munich Frank Shorter is back in the city as a guest of honor. “I am very happy to have the opportunity to be back in Munich - the city where I was born in 1947 and where I celebrated my biggest career win in 1972,“ said 74 year-old Frank Shorter.

“We are looking forward to the strongest elite line-up in our history. With the former World Champion Mare Dibaba and the runner who holds the unofficial world junior record, Tsegaye Mekonnen, we managed to get two big names to Munich for the return of the elite fields. Since weather predictions are favourable we hope that both course records will be broken on Sunday,“ said Race Director Gernot Weigl. 

Tsegaye Mekonnen caused a major upset when he took the Dubai Marathon in 2014 aged just 19 years old. His time of 2:04:32 still stands as the unofficial world junior record (World Athletics does not ratify junior records in the marathon). In 2017 Mekonnen also won the Hamburg Marathon. Now 27 years old the Ethiopian has not competed over the classic distance since 2018 and now intends to come back with a strong performance in Munich. “I had injury problems and then the pandemic played its part as well, so I did not run a marathon for three years. Now my training has gone well and I intend to run a 2:06 on Sunday,“ said Tsegaye Mekonnen.

Two other runners are on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:10 and below the 2:09:46 course record: Ethiopia’s  Mengistu Zelalem has a PB of 2:08:48 while Kenya’s Edwin Kimaiyo is in a similar range with 2:09:12. Current a half marathon split time of around 64:00 is targeted for the first group.

A big improvement of the course record seems possible for the women in Munich. Germany’s Susanne Hahn established the current mark of 2:32:11 ten years ago. Mara Dibaba heads the women’s field with a world-class personal best of 2:19:52. Besides the World Champion of 2015 and Olympic bronze medallist from 2016 there are two fellow-Ethiopians who have run under 2:25: Atsede Bayisa has a fine personal best of 2:22:03 and Aberu Zennebe has a PB of 2:24:30. “I have prepared for three months and my goal is to run a personal best“, said Aberu Zennebe. A winning time of sub 2:25might well be within reach on Sunday since it is planned that the first group reaches the half way mark in around 71:30. There are eight athletes on the start list who have run under 2:30. 

Elite runners with personal bests:

Men:

Tsegaye Mekonnen ETH 2:04:32Mengistu Zelalem ETH 2:08:48 Edwin Kimaiyo KEN 2:09:12 Meshack Koech KEN 2:10:17 Emmanuel Sikuku KEN 2:11:05 Ngonidzashe Ncube ZIM 2:11:46 Justus Kangogo KEN 2:13:34 Berhane Tesfay ERI 2:14:42 Vincent Kiprotich KEN Debüt Philimon Kipchumba KEN Debüt Rodgers Keror KEN Debüt Sebastian Hendel GER Debüt

Women:

Mare Dibaba ETH 2:19:52 Atsede Bayisa ETH 2:22:03 Aberu Zennebe ETH 2:24:30 Agnes Keino KEN 2:25:08 Viola Yator KEN 2:26:51 Mercy Kwambai KEN 2:27:32 Souad Kambouchia MAR 2:27:49 Helen Jepkurgat KEN 2:29:10 Caroline Nahimana BUR 2:30:09

Second photo:showing German debutant Sebastian Hendel with Tsegaye Mekonnen, Agnes Keino und Aberu Zennebe

 

We spoke with the director and the run coach on set to get the scoop on training.

There’s a moment in The Woman King (released today) that, no spoilers, is one of the best running scenes this film-lover and running enthusiast has ever seen on screen. It involves the titular character and protagonist, Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, dressed in the attire of the warrior army she leads. She sets off defiantly, on foot with machete in hand. As she takes her first few steps, bold and unwavering, we see not far behind her, the other Agojie women running in single file after her. It’s a rousing action that captures the heart and soul of the mighty Hollywood epic—and the running looks masterful. 

It’s thanks to director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s own love of and dedication to running that the scene works as well as it does. A former triple jumper at UCLA, Prince-Bythewood tells Runner’s World that it drives her nuts “when you watch an action film or sports film and the actors can’t run.”

Known for her character-driven films, from Love & Basketball to The Secret Life of Bees, the director flexed her action film muscle in The Woman King. Set in 1820s West Africa, it’s about the all-women military squad of the Kingdom of Dahomey, called the Agojie.

Bringing The Woman King to the big screen was a years-long Herculean feat in itself—with Davis, Prince-Bythewood and the producers having to navigate a host of behind-the-scenes challenges Black women face in the entertainment industry before they even started filming, from convincing executives to bankroll their movie to being allowed to do hair and make-up the way they wanted it. To handle the on-set demands of shooting in South Africa, Prince-Bythewood wanted to make sure her cast was prepared.

Why Prince-Bythewood Prepped the ‘The Woman King’ Cast for Running With the Help of a Coach

Along with months of grueling martial arts and weapons training plus weight lifting, Prince-Bythewood enlisted the help of running coach and former 400-meter champ Jerome Davis. “Jerome is an incredible coach,” she tells Runner’s World. “There’s a difference between just learning to run and learning to run well. Also, there’s a difference between sprinting and long-distance running. I needed everyone to look good doing both.”

Having worked with Jerome Davis before, on both The Old Guard, with Kiki Layne, and the TV series, Shots Fired, with Sanaa Lathan, Prince-Bythewood was confident Davis could work his magic on The Woman King. She gave him the direction to make the women look athletic and believable. 

“That was the key word, ‘athletic,’ especially in the heat of an action scene. I wanted it to feel second nature; these women grew up running. Running was an important part of their training, and I wanted the audience to feel the natural gait of these women,” says Prince-Bythewood.

Davis, who competed at the World U20 Championships and the World University Games in the late 90s, believes he’s always been a coach at heart. “I think it started in high school, I would always try and encourage my teammates, and it was kind of natural. I just always love to see people achieve and do their best,” he tells Runner’s World. Having been a coach for more than 20 years, these days he works a lot with elementary and high school runners.

The key to a good running scene, Davis says, is that you want to get as close to what you would see in a race or a good high school meet. “You want the form to be great,” he says. Running on film is like any other skill an actor might have to pick up for a role. “It’s like being a musician or a barber, you think, ‘Oh, they just do it. They just show up and the work comes out beautifully and it’s just easy.’ But the reality is, it’s an art form to it.”

Getting actors to perform the art of running requires flexibility and patience, considering they’re obviously not professional runners. So Davis asked them for an hour a day, three to four days a week, “and I’ll make you look like you have run your whole life.” 

What Run Workouts Looked Like for the Cast of The Woman King

A large part of the hour-long run sessions, which took place over six weeks, focused on the warmup, which Davis sees as essential, both in achieving a solid foundation for good running form and preventing injuries that could impact the production schedule. In Davis’ workouts, that warmup would include drills. 

“I’m a very big believer in plyometric drills to be able to activate the muscles that you want to use, and not only activate the muscles you want to use, but help get you in the mind frame of good running technique,” Davis says. Working on a small track at Cold Canyon Park in Beverly Hills, the actors would start with A-skips and butt kicks, and he’d have them run backwards to activate the hamstrings. 

Because the actors would only have to run short distances for their scenes, he kept the track work short and honed in on repetition. “I would have them do build-ups of about 70 meters,” he says. “So every 10 meters they would get faster and faster and faster. And then they would walk back, and then they would get faster and faster and faster. I’m trying to get them at about 90% of their maximum speed.”

At the end of sessions, Davis had everyone do a two-lap cooldown, along with some stretching.

But Davis’ main focus during workouts: how the actors hit their stride, which he gave pointers on every chance he got. “I’m really focusing on their form; I’m looking at their arms, I’m looking at their hands, I’m looking at their facial expression,” he says. “There’s a cadence that comes with running and there’s also a controlled force. I want you to be fierce but I also want you to be relaxed.”

Davis also made sure the actors had a solid knee drive, activating the hip flexor, and pulling that knee up toward the chest—something he considers a telltale sign of whether someone is a runner if they can hit that point of the stride.

Another one of Davis’ mantras he’d impart to the actors? “Arms dictate your legs.” If you want to go faster, he’d tell them, you have to move your arms faster. “Your arms swing from your shoulder. There’s a ball inside of your shoulder for a reason. Your arms need to stay at 90 degrees so that you’re using the ball,” he says.

Davis worked closely with the women who make up the Agojie, including Adrienne Warren and Thuso Mbedu, who play the newest recruits to the army in The Woman King. Mbedu, a 31-year-old South African actress known for The Underground Railroad, has been vocal about her dislike of running on her social media. “Thuso hated running when we started,” says Prince-Bythewood. “I won’t say she loves it now, but she respects it.” 

Davis commends Mbedu for her commitment to the training. “She would get so nervous to come see me,” he says. “But her last couple of sessions, I was like, ‘Alright, you’re getting it, I can tell it’s all starting to click.’” 

While the Agojie women worked with Jerome Davis on their running, their general, Viola Davis worked with her long-time trainer Gabriela Mclain. At one stage, Davis was running a 6:23 mile on the treadmill, which Prince-Bythewood says made everyone feel proud: “That’s a full out [effort], and props to Viola for putting in the work.”

On set, Jerome Davis also chimed in with running tips for the actors, making them warmup for about 15 minutes ahead of filming run scenes. “You might be 19 years old or you might be 45 years old, but please, make sure you warm your body up. The directors, the associate producers, none of those people understand warming your body up. They just think you can go out there and just perform and run,” he says. “They’re just gonna say, ‘Action!’ That’s all they’re gonna say, and then you’re going to blast these reps of running, and next thing you know you come up with an injury and you’re out for weeks and weeks.” 

In addition to warming up, Davis promoted the importance of massages and hydration to the actors to keep them in shape for every high-energy scene. 

Overall, Prince-Bythewood was happy with the results. “People don’t pay enough attention to running when they’re doing action films, but for me, as a former track star, it’s all I pay attention to.” 

How Running Has Shaped Prince-Bythewood’s Life Off Screen

Growing up loving to race her sisters, running has been a constant in the director’s life, from playing soccer to basketball, and then cross-country and track at school. 

After college, as her film career took off, Prince-Bythewood’s running slowed down for a moment, but she got back into it after the birth of her sons and the C-sections she had. “It’s hard to come back from that: your mind tells you can do stuff and your body is not aiming and listening,” she says. “But it was through running that I was able to get those two in sync again.”

While making movies may keep her often too busy for the kind of runs she likes to take, Prince-Bythewood will always take any opportunity she has to bring it into her work—especially when presented with a scene like the one led by Viola Davis that has the potential to stay with audiences once the credits have rolled and the lights go up. 

“I remember reading that scene in the script and feeling lifted. It was one of those scenes where, as a director, you feel the importance of it because you’ve reacted to it as an audience first.” Hiring a running coach is testimony to the devotion Prince-Bythewood had in making that scene—and the film as a whole —work as powerfully as it does.

MORE FROM RUNNER'S WORLD ON APPLE NEWS

Memphis police released a statement via Twitter on Tuesday morning reporting that they had found the body of Eliza Fletcher, the 34-year-old woman who was abducted while running near the University of Memphis campus on Sept. 2. Her body was found in the rear of a vacant duplex apartment building 10 km from where she was abducted, but the cause and location of her death have not been determined.

According to a police affidavit, Fletcher went jogging at around 4 a.m. on Friday. At 7 a.m., when she had not returned home, her husband reported her missing. A male civilian walking by found her cellphone and a pair of Champion-brand sandals on the street in the area. He turned the items over to Fletcher’s family, who gave them to police.

Fletcher was seen last on local surveillance footage on Friday morning. Surveillance footage also showed a black GMC passing and then waiting for the victim to run by, according to the affidavit. A man exited the car and aggressively ran toward the victim, forcing her into the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The car then sat in a parking lot for around four minutes before driving away.

Cleotha Abston, a 38-year-old previously convicted kidnapper, who was released from prison in 2020 after serving 19 years, was arrested on Saturday and charged with aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, according to Memphis police.

The DNA found on the Champion sandals left at the crime scene was a match for Abston, and surveillance footage also showed him wearing the same sandals the day before the abduction.

After the body was identified as Fletcher’s, Abston was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping.

Fletcher was a mother of two and a preschool teacher in the Memphis area.

In March 2022, we came together to hold the first in-person Tokyo Marathon in two years, with the slogan "The Day We Unite." Now, runners, volunteers, spectators and supporters all have their eyes set on the event's next theme, "ONE STEP AHEAD."This design symbolizes how each and every person enthusiastically advances step by step, in their own unique way.

The Tokyo Marathon is also steadily moving forward to provide people with the joy of running and what lies beyond it. 

As they move forward, organizers of the Tokyo Marathon said today that the 2023 edition would be held Sunday, 5 March, at full capacity of 37,500 runners.  Here is the official information as posted on their website. 

Cut-off Times & Start Times

Marathon: 7 hours (9:10 a.m. - 4:10 p.m.) *The time limit will be based on the starting gun of the first wave.

Wheelchair: 2 hours and 10 minutes (9:05 a.m)

Marathon start time: 9:10 a.m. (Wave Start) Runners who fail to pass through the checkpoint before the cut-off time will be removed from the race.　Furthermore, runners who lag excessively behind the cut-off time pace may be stopped to leave the course at anytime.

Eligibility

Those who fulfill the following conditions, and whose participation is approved by the organizer (including those who deferred their entry to the 2023 event):

1) Marathon: Must be at least 19 years of age on the race day.

1-1) General 

- Runners who are capable of completing the race within 6 hours and 30 minutes.

1-2) Semi-Elite Athletes

- Athletes who satisfy the requirements set forth by the "RUN as ONE - Tokyo Marathon 2023".

1-3) Elite Athletes 

- Athletes, registered with the JAAF in fiscal 2021 who satisfy the special requirements set forth by the JAAF.

- Invited Athletes: National and international runners nominated by the organizer and/or the JAAF.

Event Fee

1) Marathon: Japan residents - 23,300 JPY (from overseas - 25,300 JPY)

2) 10.7km Race: Japan residents - 12,400 JPY (from overseas - 13,500 JPY)

* Entry, Covid testing, event fee refund insurance, handling and tax included.

* As part of the COVID-19 countermeasures, pre-race testing is planned to be conducted. However, if the testing doesn't take place due to any changes in countermeasures planned in accordance with the laws on infectious diseases, the event fee will be partially refunded.

How to Enter: Register online

Entry Period: Registration will open on August 1, 2022 (Mon)

* The registration period may differ depending on the eligibility group. 

* Selection will be made by random drawing if the entry exceeds the field size.

* Donation and Charity Runner applications open from July 11 (Mon).

On Monday afternoon, long after Lawrence Chebet and Peres Jepchirchir stormed to victory through the streets of Boston, race director Dave McGillivray crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon for the 50th time.

McGillivray has been an avid runner for most of his life. He’s organized and completed multiple massive charity runs (including an 80-day, 3,452-mile run from Oregon to Massachusetts), competed in nine Ironman triathlons and ran, cycled and swam for a total of 1,522 miles through the six New England states.

The first time McGillivray ran the Boston Marathon was in 1973 when he was 19 years old. He ran it with all the other runners for the next 16 years (including in 1982, when he ran 3:14 while blindfolded and escorted by two guides to raise more than $10,000 for the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts).

In 1988, McGillivray became the technical director for the race, so he began to run the course after the race was finished. He continued doing this every year, even when he became the official race director in 2000.

“Hard to put into words, 50 years have gone by so fast,” McGillivray told CBS Boston at the finish line. “But I have been blessed with being able to do a lot of this for charity, give back to a lot of different causes, and that’s what I hope my legacy is someday. Being able to help those in need.”

Elisha Rotich´s time of 2:04:18 was enough to beat the Paris Marathon´s seven-year-old course record on his way to victory in the French capital. Rotich also claimed his personal best time in the race, beating his previous mark by exactly a minute. Tigist Memuye took the women´s event for the biggest win of her life.

Elisha Rotich has won the Paris Marathon in 2:04:18, breaking Kenenisa Bekele´s course record from 2014.

Kenyan Rotich produced his best ever performance for a personal best time in his 14th marathon, smashing his previous mark by exactly one. Bekele´s record had stood for 19 years in Paris.

31-year-old Rotich, who finished 10th in the Milan Marathon in May, launched an attack on the front five miles from the end.

Tigist Memuye claimed the biggest win of her career, winning the women´s marathon in 2:26:12.

She placed second in the Geneva marathon in May, running 2:24:23 in Switzerland. And despite running almost two minutes slower in Paris, she grabbed her first marathon win.

30,000 participated in the Paris Marathon, the first since 2019 after Covid-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

 

In one month from now, when the Olympic cauldron is lit in Tokyo’s National Stadium, the first Games to be held in the midst of a global pandemic will get under way.

But that won’t be the only reason why history will be made in the Japanese capital.

As is the case at every Olympics, dozens of nations will converge on the track, field and roads in a bid for glory, not only for themselves but also for the nations they represent.

Many events will naturally be dominated by the powerhouses within the sport, but there are several disciplines where medals could be won by athletes from nations that have not yet made much of an impact on the Olympic stage.

If, like many sports fans, you enjoy rooting for the underdog at major events, here are three athletes who could make history for their country when they compete in Tokyo next month.

1. Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, marathon - Israel

Lonah Chemtai Salpeter has in recent years progressed to become one of the best distance runners in the world.

In 2018 she won the European 10,000m title, then went on to set national records for the half marathon (1:06:09) and marathon (2:17:45).

She competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio but failed to finish the marathon. She then suffered a similar fate at the 2019 World Championships, having been in contention during the early stages.

But she will be buoyed by the fact that this year’s Olympics is being held in Japan, because last year she won the Tokyo Marathon in a Japanese all-comers’ record of 2:17:45.

Israel has never before won an Olympic medal in athletics. To date, their best result in an athletics discipline has been a fifth-place finish, achieved by triple jumper Hannah Knyazyeva-Minneko in 2016 and high jumper Konstantin Matusevich in 2000.

2. Joseph Fahnbulleh, 200m - Liberia

In the immediate aftermath of the recent NCAA Championships, videos of Joseph Fahnbulleh winning the men’s 200m went semi-viral as fans were stunned by the way he made up ground in the closing stages with his long and powerful stride.

What made his 19.91 victory all the more impressive is the fact he is still only 19 years of age.

Although he has been based in the US for most of his life, Fahnbulleh has Liberian citizenship and he recently announced he will represent them in Tokyo.

No athlete from Liberia has ever finished in the top eight in their event at the Olympics, let alone won a medal. The country’s best result to date was Jangy Addy’s 19th-place finish in the decathlon in 2008.

3. Amel Tuka, 800m - Bosnia & Herzegovina

It was something of a shock when Amel Tuka missed out on the Olympic final in 2016.

Just one year prior, the 800m runner from Bosnia and Herzegovina had clocked a world-leading 1:42.51 before going on to take bronze at the World Championships in Beijing. In 2016 he had hoped to become the first person from his country to win an Olympic medal, but it wasn’t to be.

He once again featured on the podium in 2019, taking silver at the World Championships in Doha. A strong tactician who knows how to produce his best when it matters, Tuka could well be in medal contention again in Tokyo later this year.

Runs 3:34.36 to Get Under Olympic Qualifying Standard

In one of the most incredible runs ever by an American high schooler, 18-year-old Hobbs Kessler ran a 3:34.36 1,500m at the Portland Track Festival tonight to obliterate the US high school record. The previous record, 3:38.26, was set by Alan Webb as a 1500 split en route to his legendary 3:53.43 high school mile record at the 2001 Prefontaine Classic.  

Webb’s 3:53.43 has gone unchallenged for two decades, but according to World Athletics’ scoring tables, Kessler’s 1500 tonight was the superior performance; converting to 3:51.34 for the mile (Webb’s 3:53.43 mile converts to 3:36.30 for 1500). Kessler’s time is also faster than Jim Ryun‘s US U20 1,500 record of 3:36.1 which had stood since 1966.

Kessler, who was last in the lead pack of ten with 200m to go, moved up well the final 100 meters, and threw up his hands just before the finish line as he saw the clock and finished 5th in a race won by reigning US champ Craig Engels in a personal best of 3:33.64. Engels, the 2019 US indoor/outdoor champion and a World Championship finalist, entered tonight with a pb of 3:34.04 — barely faster than what Kessler ran.

Kessler, a senior at Community High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., was already a high school record holder after running 3:57.66 in February to take down the indoor mile record. Now he is, quite simply, one of the best milers in the United States, regardless of age. His time was the third-best by an American in 2021 — only the winner Engels and fourth-placer Henry Wynne (3:34.08) have run faster this year.

How incredible was Kessler’s run? He didn’t just break the US high school record by almost four seconds; he also ran faster than the collegiate record of 3:34.68 set by Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse two weeks ago. He also hit the Olympic standard of 3:35.00 — one of just seven Americans to have done so during the qualification period.

Kessler’s run was so much faster than any other high schooler has run for 1500 that it is hard to even make comparisons. Webb’s 3:53.43 at Prefontaine, which celebrated its 20th anniversary on Thursday, is the obvious one. Just like Webb, Kessler finished 5th in a field of pros, and just like Webb, Kessler was mowing them down over the final 100 meters.

As impressive as Kessler’s run was tonight, it was not the greatest ever performance by an American U20 athlete. That remains Jim Ryun’s 3:51.3 mile in July 1966 — a world record at the time that would stand for eight years. Ryun was just 19 years old at the time of that race, which came after his freshman year of college.

Kessler is a high school senior. His sometimes training partner, Nick Willis, an Olympic 1500m silver and bronze medallist, was in this race and tried to put it in perspective on the broadcast afterwards, “I became a spectator to the greatest performance ever by a high school miler,” said Willis, noting he himself went out at the pace prescribed for the rabbits for 800, yet was in last place. “It’s like Jim Ryun reincarnated again…He’s such a rookie in terms of running…. He’s so raw.”

Bernard Lagat had been called a lot of different things: Olympian. All-American. World champion. At Washington State, his alma mater, he is simply “Lagat,” which translates to legend in any language.

A few weeks ago, Lagat was called something totally unfamiliar: Coach.

“I feel like I’m still an athlete, so when someone would say ‘Hey, Coach,’ I sometimes wouldn’t respond,” Lagat says with a laugh. “But then it was, ‘Oh, wait, that’s me.’”

Lots of prominent Tucson athletes have become coaches: Terry Francona, Adia Barnes, Steve Kerr, Stacey Iveson. But few broke into the coaching business like Lagat, the 46-year-old five-time Olympian who moved to Tucson 19 years ago and soon won the 1,500-meters silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Lagat was named the interim cross country coach at Arizona, replacing his coach of 25 years, James Li, who chose to retire; Li recently moved to Shanghai, where he now coaches elite distance runners.

Until that day, Lagat’s only coaching was that of his son, Miika, a freshman at Rincon/University High School, and a few of Miika’s friends interested in running. But Miika has since become an emerging tennis prospect and Lagat’s coaching days appeared to be over.

The timing couldn’t have been better. For the first time since his Olympic debut in 2000, Lagat is not absorbed by trying to qualify for the Summer Games. He doesn’t view his quick introduction to coaching as anything related to his title of interim coach.

Asked if he would like to be hired as Arizona’s full-time cross country coach, Lagat didn’t hesitate.

“I would, I’d like this to be long term,” he says. “Funny, if you had told me about this even a year ago — if you asked if I could see myself coaching — I’d be like, ‘Ah, no.’ But that has changed 100%. I would love to continue. The job grows on you. I want to see my relationships with the athletes grow.”

The Xiamen Marathon has been rated as a 2021 World Athletics Elite Platinum Label race, according to World Athletics' website.

The Xiamen Marathon gained the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label alongside the six world marathon majors (Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, New York Marathon, and Tokyo Marathon), becoming the second race to win this label in China after the Shanghai Marathon.

The "World Athletics Elite Platinum Label", the highest level of the current 3-level race rating system, signifies the world's top race certification label.

The Xiamen Marathon has run successfully for 18 years since its inception in 2003. The result of 2:06:19 made by Kenyan Moses Mosop at the 2015 Xiamen Marathon stands not only as the race record for the Xiamen Marathon, but also as the best result for men in marathons in China to date.

"Xiamen Marathon has contributed significantly to the development of marathons in China over the past 19 years," said Ruan Dunliang, director of Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Sports.

"The 'Elite Platinum Standard' represents a high degree of recognition and also a new mission for Xiamen Marathon, symbolizing a new era for Xiamen Marathon.

"Future efforts will keep focusing on improving the professionalism and internationalization of Xiamen Marathon to bring a higher-quality race to marathon enthusiasts worldwide." 

Nick Willis Sets World Record by Breaking 4:00 in the Mile for 19th Straight Year.

Willis, 37, ran 3:58.63 to finish second behind Mason Ferlic (3:58.05) at the Orange Winter Classic #1 meet in Clermont, Fla., breaking a tie with fellow New Zealand legend John Walker, who broke 4:00 for 18 years in a row from 1973-90.

Willis broke 4:00 for the first time on February 8, 2003, at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind., when he was 19 years old, and has broken 4:00 every year since, with a personal best of 3:49.83 at age 31 in 2014. He has also earned two Olympic 1500m medals during that span — a silver in 2008 in Beijing, and a bronze in 2016 in Rio.

It’s also worth noting that Willis came close to starting his streak two years earlier, as he ran 4:01.32 as a 17-year-old in 2001 and 4:02.46 in 2002.

IOC President Thomas Bach this week will join a number of Japanese government and city officials, local organizers and other top International Olympic Committee leaders in repeating a message they’ve failed to convey forcefully enough to local sponsors

TOKYO -- The only thing more difficult than staging next year's Tokyo Olympics in a pandemic might be convincing sponsors to keep their billions of dollars on board in the midst of economic turbulence and skepticism.

To make the point this week, IOC President Thomas Bach will join a number of Japanese government and city officials, local organizers and other top International Olympic Committee leaders in repeating a message they've failed to convey forcefully enough to deep-pocketed sponsors: Trust us, the Tokyo Olympics will open on July 23, 2021.

Bach and IOC vice president John Coates — who oversees Tokyo preparations — are expected to speak remotely to Japanese officials as they meet on Thursday and Friday. The agenda includes plotting countermeasures against COVID-19: quarantines, rules for athletes entering the country, testing, vaccines and the presence or absence of fans.

Few firm details are expected until late in the year or early in 2021, which accounts for the uncertainty.

The subtext is assuring sponsors that the Olympics will happen. Tokyo organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto has acknowledged the word's not getting out.

“The fact the Olympics are going to take place — the fact itself — is not fully distributed to the public," Muto, speaking in Japanese, said last week. "People need to be more convinced that, yes, the Olympics will be taking place for sure.”

A former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, Muto has been vague about how many domestic sponsors are renewing their contracts. He says of the 68 sponsors: "They are all positive.”

”We're still in the middle of negotiations. We're not in the phase of speaking about any concrete results," he said.

Surveys have shown a majority of Japanese companies and the pubic don't think the Olympics will happen next year — or should happen. A poll published in June by Japanese broadcaster NHK said two-thirds of sponsors were undecided about extending for another year.

Keeping domestic sponsors on board is financially critical. Recruited by the giant Japanese advertising agency Dentsu Inc., domestic sponsors have paid a record $3.3 billion — at least twice any previous Olympics — to the local organizing committee. This is over and above a dozen permanent Olympic sponsors who have signed long-term with the IOC. Some also have individual contracts with Tokyo organizers.

John Grady, who teaches sports law at the University of South Carolina, said the postponement has “created countless problems and ripple effects."

“With the uncertainty of the Tokyo Games occurring with few or limited fans, local sponsors would be right to be cautious in investing more sponsorship dollars if they cannot reach fans on site,” Grady wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “The lack of a wider international fan base that is typical at an Olympics would shrink the global audience who has access to seeing local sponsors’ activation efforts around Olympic venues in the host city.”

Despite the uncertainty, it will be difficult for sponsors to step away in a country where conformity and teamwork are valued and national loyalty could be called into question.

Japan also has a long history of supporting the Olympics, and many in decision-making roles recall fondly the positive impact of the 1964 Tokyo Games, which showed the country's rebirth just 19 years after defeat in World War II.

“There's a strong underlying narrative that this event is really good for the country,” Robin Kietlinski, who teaches and researches Japanese sports and history at LaGuardia Community College in New York, said in an interview with the AP.

“I think there is almost historic pressure to have it go smoothly and to benefit Japan in some way," she added. “Whether that's financially, or whether that is getting their companies seen. There is something, too, about the rising China and — especially compared to 1964 — how Japan is somewhat in the shadow of this huge economy next door.”

Japanese organizers are saying little about how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, staff and officials will be safe in Tokyo.

“The environment, when it comes to Tokyo, will be different than from the environment today," Bach said this month. “We only do not know which way.”

Bach has said that even if rapid tests and a vaccine were available, they will not be the “silver bullet."

A study last week from the University of Oxford showed Tokyo to be the most expensive Summer Olympics dating from 1960. And the meter is still running.

The Kyodo news agency also reported again this week on more details about the bribery scandal that seemed to have helped Tokyo land the Olympics.

David Leheny, who teach politics as Japan's Waseda Univeristy, suggested “hard-fought” talks are taking place with sponsors.

“My guess is that there will be a round of negotiation for lighter sponsorship contracts, with the firms holding most of the cards on the terms if they remain cohesive,” Leheny said in an email.

“The organizers don’t want to give up on any sponsors but also don’t want to look like extortionate bullies in the midst of a pandemic/recession ... none wants to be the first to be seen as abandoning them."

 

Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K  will go virtual this year. That is the decision of the organisers, the Jamdammers Running Club of Kingston, supported by their partners and stakeholders. 

“COVID-19 has altered the ‘runscape’ worldwide, and Jamaica is no exception.  With the rise in positive cases locally and globally, we took the decision to cancel the physical participation this year, in the interest of the international and local participants, with the objective of staying safe.  However, we look forward to returning to the normal participation in 2021,” said Alfred Francis, race director.

Francis further added that “this is the first time in its 19 years of running that Reggae Marathon is being cancelled. 

"We had put many plans in place to celebrate the 20th staging, but we have had to rethink them in light of the negative impact of the pandemic.  We will have additional information on our website for persons who have already registered and are looking at the various options offered in light of the cancellation.“

Since its inception in 2001, Reggae Marathon has seen 24,890 participants, of which 13,169 or 53 per cent were visitors from more than 40 countries worldwide.

Thank you for your interest in the 20th Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon – the Run to Remember! Our special thanks for hanging in there and being patient with us as we have worked through the unprecedented times of COVID-19 as we made our decision.

We are announcing that we are transitioning from a traditional Marathon weekend as we have done the past 19 years to a Virtual OKC Memorial Marathon. We have studied every way to have the race and every reason we shouldn’t and the facts are clear.

We are very disappointed, but with the rising numbers of COVID cases, it simply makes it impossible and would be irresponsible for us to bring 25,000+ runners together on the streets of Oklahoma City. There is no way to execute a traditional Marathon in 2020.

We pledge to you to make the Memorial Marathon one of the most amazing virtual runs you have ever experienced! But for the health of our community, we must run virtually! We will work with the best platforms to make it a 20th year to remember.

For instance, you will still experience the 168 seconds of silence as we all pause to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. The reason you run this race will still be made available to you via technology and our media partners.

What this means for you the runner–

All runners currently registered for the 2020 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon will be automatically transferred to the Virtual OKC Memorial Marathon and can run the race any time between October 4-18, 2020.

Anyone not currently signed up for one of the five races can still do so at okcMarathon.com, there will be no more price increases and registration will close on Thursday, October 1st.

If you are already registered and choose not to run virtually, you may–

Donate your registration to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, a private 501(c) 3 and the sole beneficiary of the Memorial Marathon proceeds.

Defer to the 2021 OKC Memorial Marathon

Defer to the 2022 OKC Memorial Marathon

You will need to make your decision on this by next Wednesday, August 12th and you will be responsible for going to okcMarathon.com to make that change.

If you choose to run the Virtual OKC Memorial Marathon, you will receive your event shirt, medal and other swag (depending on your race) ahead of October 4th

You will also receive a coupon code for a 20% discount to the 2021 race after your time has been posted as our way of saying thank you for Running to Remember in this special anniversary year.

If you are running the Kids Memorial Marathon, our team will work with you and your team to make sure it is a Run to Remember and provide the educational material for you to use at home or at school.

We will still honor the Changing the Course of OKC Challenge and you will receive that commemorative coin if you ran the Marathon or Half Marathon in 2019 and virtually in 2020. You have been monumental in our race and we are grateful.

The Oklahoma Standard Challenge is still on if you virtually run the 2020 Marathon or Half Marathon in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa’s Route 66 Marathon in November. You will receive that commemorative medal in your Route 66 race packet.

If you are running the Memorial Marathon Relay, the Governor’s Challenge is still in place. Governor Stitt and his team will be running and your goal is to beat his team’s time to get a special commemorative t-shirt that says “I beat the Governor!”

Of course, this is not how we had envisioned our 20th Memorial Marathon. As you know, it takes committed sponsors, thousands of volunteers to work the course and water stops. The tireless help from the cities of Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills and the Village that host our course and law enforcement, paramedics, fire fighters and medical personnel to staff 16 medical stations along the course provide amazing support. All of these people are already working extra hours to keep our communities safe.

We CAN still run the Memorial Marathon in October 2020 and make it very special. We will just be running together for the same cause by running separately and working to prevent the spread while furthering our mission by Looking Back and Running Forward.

We look forward to running this journey with you and to seeing your face at the start line on April 25, 2021. In the meantime, I hope you will run virtually with us and enjoy the technology and media that will be made available to make this an experience you will always remember.

The World Athletics Council has approved new dates for the World U20 Championships Nairobi 2020 and the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Minsk 2020.

The World U20 Championships will now be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 17 to 22 August, 2021, one week after the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Under the competition’s rules, athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 years on 31 December, 2021 will be eligible to compete.

The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships have been rescheduled for 23-24 April, 2022 in Minsk, Belarus.

The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 2022 have also had a small date change, moving back one week, from 20 March, 2022, to 27 March 2022.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: “The disruption caused by the global pandemic has made it more difficult to schedule international events over the next two years but we want to give as much certainty as we can to our athletes, Member Federations, host cities and partners. We have done our best to choose dates that we believe are achievable and offer the best chance for our athletes and event hosts to shine on the international stage.”

Bathurst World Cross Country organisers request alternative dates

World Athletics has also updated the Council on conversations with organisers of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 to explore alternative dates for the event.

This is due to ongoing travel and gathering restrictions resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic and the measures currently implemented within Australia to contain it. This includes the closure of Australia’s international borders.

The Board of the Local Organising Committee, World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021, the Athletics Australia board and the New South Wales Government have reinforced their strong desire to host this World Championship and have asked World Athletics to postpone the event to a future date to be determined.

World Athletics will work closely with all stakeholders in Australia to explore the feasibility of other dates. At this time the event remains in the calendar for 20 March 2021.

National championships windows, 2021-2024

In an effort to assist long-term planning for the athletes and Member Federations and in line with the Global Calendar Hierarchy, the Global Calendar Unit has agreed on the following national championships protected windows from 2021-2024.

2021

Protected national championships window 1 - 5-6 June

Protected national championships window 2 - 26-27 June

2022

Protected national championships window - 25-26 June

2023

Protected national championships window 1 - 8-9 July

Protected national championships window 2 - 29-30 July

2024

Protected national championships window 1 - 8-9 June

Protected national championships window 2 - 29-30 June

Cathy Noel said her children asked if they are finally getting turkey dinner for Thanksgiving this year. They will be.

Noel is the general manager and race director of the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon, which announced Wednesday that the 41st running scheduled for Oct. 11 has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event has been a Thanksgiving long-weekend tradition in the city for four decades. An economic impact study last year by Destination Greater Victoria estimated the race accounts for $12 million of economic activity in the region annually. More than $2 million has been raised over the past 16 years by the marathon’s charity component.

More than 8,000 participants took part in the 40th anniversary race last year. About 1,100 people had registered so far this year. They can transfer their registration fee to the 2021 or 2022 races or have the option of a refund with the donation of part of their refund to one of the marathon’s charities.

“We were building off the success of the 40th anniversary race and were well ahead of pace in February to exceed last year’s registrations before talk of the pandemic became a factor,” said Noel.

Several name marathons scheduled for earlier in the year, including Boston and London, have postponed to fall dates. The Chicago Marathon, held on the same day in October each year as the Victoria race, and New York City Marathon scheduled for Nov. 1 have not yet cancelled or postponed. But last week’s B.C. government announcement that the ban on gatherings of more than 50 people would not be lifted until a vaccine is developed or herd immunity attained sealed the fate of Victoria’s marathon.

“Every city, province or country is in a bubble of its own with different regulations. We have to follow our provincial regulations,” said Noel, who has managed the Victoria marathon for 19 years.

Jonathan Foweraker, president of the Victoria Marathon Society, concurred.

“We are deeply disappointed to have to cancel the event, especially after a very successful 40th race last year, but we need to respect the order from the provincial health officer,” he said.

“We are sensitive to the impact this will have on our valued sponsors, community partners, vendors and volunteers as well as our incredible participants, who had the 2020 event as their race goal. This will also have an unprecedented impact on our charitable partners, who crossed the $2 million threshold last year.”

Noel said that cancelling five months out allowed the Victoria marathon event to make some key savings.

“We were able to defer our shirt order to next year. That made the decision easier,” she said.

Noel touched on the democratic nature of road races and said the cancellation stings as much on a human as business level.

With a reputation for thriving on hard work and regularly logging more than 200km a week in training, Dita also excelled in cold, wet and windy conditions.

So when she awoke on the morning of the 2005 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Edmonton, Canada, to light rain and chilly temperatures, the US-based distance runner was unperturbed about what she faced.

“The rain worked in my favor, I always run well in the rain,” explains Dita, who for the past 19 years has been based in Boulder, Colorado.

“Often in Boulder we have cold weather and strong winds and sometimes I’d run 30km in a strong wind. But I never gave up. I never train inside at the gym.”

First of eight world half appearances in 1998, Few athletes embraced the World Half Marathon Championships more than the Romanian who made the first of her eight appearances at the event in 1998. 

That was in Uster, Switzerland, where she placed 29th and secured team silver for Romania. At the 1999 edition in Palermo she placed 13th before finishing 32nd in Bristol 2001 and 22nd the following year in Brussels.

New Delhi bronze and Chicago Marathon win on back-to-back weekends, Besides placing a disappointing 20th when struggling in the intense heat at the Athens Olympic Games her 2004 season was also a success. She claimed a podium spot for third in that April’s London Marathon and bounced back from her Olympic pain to win a bronze medal at the World Half Marathon Championships in New Delhi.

“In New Delhi the temperature was nowhere near as hot as it had been in Athens,” she recalls. “It was a very flat course and I just kept patient in the race. It was nice to finally win an individual medal (at the World Half Marathon Championships).”

World marathon bronze and half marathon gold in 2005, “It was such a happy feeling to win my first gold medal at a major championship,” she explains. “For me, it was amazing and it was close (in terms of achievement) to what it would have been winning a gold medal at the track and field World Championships.”

Dita also enjoyed the additional bonus of helping inspire her country to team gold – which she describes as an “amazing” feeling.

She is also still running and last year she completed the Berlin (3:07) and New York City (3:30) marathons. This year she hopes to continue with her quest to complete the full set of six Marathon Majors by running the Boston Marathon. She was planning to contest Tokyo, but the mass race was canceled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in Japan.

Yet despite her considerable marathon accomplishments, the 49-year-old former Olympic champion still holds the World Half Marathon Championships with great affection.

“To win my gold medal was a great achievement and it gave me much encouragement to run better in other races,” she explains.

Below is a statement provided by Rupp’s agent Ricky Simms to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on behalf of Galen Rupp.

“First, as I’ve stated before, I am dedicated to clean sport and am completely against doping,” said Rupp.  “I have trained for over a decade to get where I am today and have worked extremely hard for every accomplishment in my running career.

“The panels’ decisions made it clear that neither I nor any Oregon Project athlete ever received any banned substance or were involved in any anti-doping rule violation.

“Since I first met and began working with Alberto 19 years ago, he has always put my health and well being first and has done the same for his other athletes.  I have personally seen him take great care to comply with the WADA Code and prevent any violations of any anti-doping rules.

“I understand he is appealing the decision and wish him success.  From my experience, he has always done his best for his athletes and the sport.

“Now, I am focused on the Chicago Marathon where I will be competing for the first time without my coach and friend.

“I will not comment further on this matter at this time.“

On July 4, Kipruto will be chasing an even-larger bonus at the AJC Peachtree Road Race —$50,000 in honor of its 50th Running - for breaking the event record of 27:04."I wouldn't put it past him," said Sam Grotewold, director of professional athletes at New York Road Runners, which puts on the Central Park race. 

"You could tell (in New York) that you were watching something special even from the first mile or two." And that New York race wouldn't even be Kipruto's fastest 10K of 2018: In September, he won the Birell Grand Prix Prague 10K in 26:46, just two seconds off Komon's world record.

Set by Joseph Kimani in 1996, the Peachtree event record of 27:04 still stands as the fastest 10K ever run in the U.S. and is tied for ninth-fastest in the world. (The net downhill elevation of the Peachtree course means that times here are not eligible for official U.S. or world records.)  

Kipruto said recently that his training is going well, declaring: "I am ready to tackle the race."Coached by the famed Brother Colm O'Connell, an Irish missionary at St. Patrick's school in Iten, Kenya, Kipruto finished sixth in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships earlier this year and is coming off a victory at the Stockholm Diamond League meet on May 30 in 26:50.16. 

That's not only the fastest 10,000 meters on the track since the 2017 World Championships, but one of the fastest in almost eight years.  And he's only 19 years old.  "Distance runners run better as they get into their late 20s," said Jeff Galloway, winner of the inaugural Peachtree in 1970.

Kenya's 19-year-old Stephen Kiprop won the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) half marathon on Friday in a course record-equalling 58 minutes and 42 seconds, the fastest time ever recorded by a teenager.

Ethiopians Abadi Hadis and Fikadu Haftu completed the podium and Switzerland's Julien Wanders was fourth in a time of 59:13, a Swiss national record.  This also beats Mo Farah’s European record of 59:32. 

Hadis led Kiprop until the final 50 meters of the race before the young Kenyan powered past him to finish two seconds ahead.  

The race lived up to its billing of being the world's fastest half marathon as 11 men finished inside an hour, the first time it has happened in half-marathon history.  Five women finished under 1:06:30 which makes RAK the fastest women’s race ever too.

Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop continued where he left off last year by winning the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on Friday Feb 8 in an equal course record of 58:42, moving to joint sixth on the world all-time list. In a close women’s race, Senbere Teferi won in 1:05:45, the fastest debut half marathon time in history, with just one second separating the top three finishers.

The men’s field got off to a steady start with a large lead group passing through five kilometres in 14:13 and 10 kilometres in 28:10. 15 men were still in the front pack at that stage, all operating well within the required schedule for a sub-60-minute finish.

The pace continued to increase, though, and by 15 kilometres – reached in 41:48 – Kiprop and Ethiopia’s Abadi Hadis had broken away from the rest of the pack. Ethiopia’s Fikadu Haftu, Switzerland’s Julien Wanders and Kenya’s Morris Gachanga formed a chase trio about eight seconds adrift of the leaders.

Hadis and Kiprop gradually increased their lead in the closing stages. After passing 20 kilometres in 55:46, it became clear they could challenge Bedan Karoki’s course record of 58:42 set last year. Haftu and Wanders, meanwhile, had dropped Gachanga by this point and were 17 seconds behind the lead duo with a larger chasing pack not too far behind.

Kiprop, still just 19 years of age, proved to have the stronger finish and outkicked Hadis to win in 58:42, the fastest time in history by a teenager. It was another big step forward for Kiprop, who first broke through last year when winning the Venloop Half Marathon in 59:44 on his debut at the distance. He went on to win the Usti Nad Labem Half Marathon in 59:41 and reduced his PB to 59:21 when finishing fifth in Valencia.

In the women's race, Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi won in 1:05:45, ahead of compatriots Netsanet Gudeta and Zeineba Yimer, with only one second separating all three runners.

Teferi also set a record for the fastest debut time in a half marathon.

There were 2423 men finishers and 755 women.  

The month of February is noted for hearts and flowers and candy, and in San Miguel, for Hornets.  The 19th annual Buzz Marathon will be held this year on February 16 on the beautiful course running through Camp Roberts.  Due to some construction the course has been redesigned. With help from Paul DiMatteo it has been recalibrated and recertified by USA Track and Field to maintain entrants’ eligibility for other races like the Boston Marathon.  

The Buzz Marathon began in 2000 as a way to raise funds for sports programs at Lillian Larsen School in San Miguel, California.  Eighth grade teacher and Athletic Director Eileen Rogers had personally funded an athletics program for some fifteen years.  In brainstorming ways to find an independent way to help the program become self-sustaining, the marathon seemed ideal. It started slowly but with much encouragement it grew. 

Since the Lillian Larsen Mascot is a Hornet, it was named the ‘Buzz Marathon’ and Eileen was dubbed the ‘Hornet Queen’, an appellation of which she is justly proud.  Year by year it became better and better until achieving its present status.

Although retired from teaching at San Miguel, Eileen keeps very busy, still greatly involved with sports. She firmly believes in exercising both mind and body.   

The course runs through San Miguel from the school to the Mission and back.  This success story certainly shows how one person with a good idea, determination and contagious enthusiasm can make a big difference!   

A new study comes to the somewhat counterintuitive conclusion that marathon runners have less arthritis than non-runners. Most people would assume serious runners face a high risk for arthritis of the hip and knees. Yet prior research has generally failed to uncover such a connection. The most recent study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, actually found that veteran American marathoners had only half as much arthritis as non-runners. According to alarming new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arthritis now represents a $300 billion annual burden. Researchers from the orthopedic department at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University compared arthritis rates between 430 U.S. marathoners and a matched sample of non-runners in the National Center for Health Statistics database. The marathoners (average age 46, and 51 percent women) had been running for an average of 19 years, logging 35 miles a week, and finishing 48 marathons. Despite this, they had an arthritis prevalence of 8.8 percent vs. 17.9 percent for non-runners. Aging past 65 did increase the marathoners' arthritis rate - to 24.5 percent. But this was still roughly half the 49.6 percent of non-runners older than 65. "Running is not harmful to healthy hips and knees,"  "In fact, it promotes joint and general health." Those runners who do develop arthritis often get it after earlier injury or surgery, or from family genetics. orthopedist Danielle Ponzio says.