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Paul Chelimo, the Olympic runner-up in Rio of the 5,000 meters can become the first athlete 'made in the USA' to win the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana.
Chelimo also has the challenge of beating the American record for 10K -27: 48 , the same as Toni Abadía's in Spain - shared by Bernard Lagat and Mark Nenow . If he arrives in good shape, in a season in which he has hardly run a cross after the outbreak of the pandemic, he should be in a position to do so.
Among his great rivals we can mention the Israeli of Ethiopian origin Maru Teferi , triple national record holder of his adopted country in the distances 10K, half marathon and marathon, and the Kenyan Daniel Simiu Ebenyo , athlete with little pedigree but who arrives endorsed by the 27 : 18 who signed at the 10K Invitational in Berlin at the end of September.
Burundian Thierry Ndikumwenayo , ninth in the Cross World Championship in 2019 and an old acquaintance of cross-country events in national territory, arrives with 28:18 as the best 10K mark and closes the list of candidates for victory, always with the permission of the great Spanish figures.
Much national brilliance
Speaking of Spaniards, the national media, as usual, will not miss the appointment. Kevin López, Jesús Gómez and Ignacio Fontes arrive endorsed by their great season in the 1,500 and promise to fight.
The Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana is also fertile ground for surprises. From León comes Jorge Blanco , who arrives at the classic on December 31 with a mark achieved in the 10K in Alcobendas, 27:51, second behind Fernando Carro in that race.
Among the specialists in obstacles, the triple champion of Spain of 3,000 meters, Sebas Martos, will seek to rediscover his best feelings after a fateful season in which he has not been at his best. In front of him, the Burgos Daniel Arce, current runner-up of
Among the specialists in obstacles, the triple champion of Spain of 3,000 meters, Sebas Martos, will seek to rediscover his best feelings after a fateful season in which he has not been at his best. In front of him, the Burgos Daniel Arce, current runner-up of
Among the specialists in obstacles, the triple champion of Spain of 3,000 meters, Sebas Martos , will seek to rediscover his best feelings after a fateful season in which he has not been at his best. In front of him, the Burgos Daniel Arce , current runner-up of the discipline in the Madrid nationals.
This dream cast is completed by Absessamad Oukhelfen , current champion of Spain of 5,000 meters in the open air; Jesús Ramos , ninth in the last Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana and with a mark of 27:56 in 10K en route; the two-time Spanish half-marathon champion Houssame Benabbou and the national 3,000-meter indoor champion, Mohamed Katir .
(12/30/2020) Views: 61 ⚡AMPEvery year on 31st December, since 1964, Madrid stages the most multitudinous athletics event in Spain.Sport and celebration come together in a 10-kilometre race in which fancy dress and artificial snow play a part. Keep an eye out for when registration opens because places run out fast! The event consists of two different competitions: a fun run (participants must be...
more...The 56th edition of the San Silvestre Vallecana will be held, as is tradition, on New Year’s Eve in Madrid, but this year there have been some significant changes to the World Athletics Gold Label road race.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers have been forced to design a new circuit and so the race won’t start alongside Real Madrid’s famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, nor will it finish in the stadium of another Spanish first division football club, Rayo Vallecano. Instead, competitors will have to cover four laps of a flat 2.5km circuit, meaning – unlike previous years when the race was held on a slightly downhill course – performances will be record-eligible.
The mass race, which often attracts about 40,000 runners, has been cancelled and only the elite contests will be held with separate starts for men and women.
The showdown between Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich in the women’s race promises to be one of the highlights of the evening.
Yehualaw is in the form of her life. After taking bronze at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020, the 21-year-old Ethiopian stormed to a 1:04:46 victory over the same distance in New Delhi in late November, beating Chepngetich in the process. Yehualaw now sits second on the world all-time list behind compatriot Ababel Yeshaneh, while Chepngetich, the world marathon champion, emerged from New Delhi with a lifetime best of 1:05:06.
Yehualaw’s fastest clocking in a standalone 10km race is 31:55, recorded more than a year ago at altitude in Addis Ababa. It’s worth noting, however, that she recorded 30:49 and 30:43 for the two 10km sections in New Delhi.
Chepngetich, meanwhile, has an official PB of 31:12 and she recorded 30:57 on Madrid’s downhill course last year. She, too, passed through the first 10km in New Delhi in 30:49.
Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw, a 32:55 performer over 10km, is expected to battle with top Spaniards Lucía Rodríguez and Irene Sánchez-Escribano in the hunt for a place on the podium.
The men’s race features Olympic 5000m silver medallist Paul Chelimo. Having finished fourth and second at the World Athletics Cross Country Permit meetings in Elgoibar and Seville respectively in January, the 30-year-old US distance runner will compete in Spain for the third time this year.
His most recent outing was a cross-country race in November in Terre Haute where he finished second. His last completed race before that was the 3000m at the US Indoor Championships, which he won. Chelimo’s main aim in Madrid will be to break the US 10km record of 27:48, co-held by Bernard Lagat and Mark Nenow. The continental record of 27:41, held by Mexico’s Arturo Barrios, could also be within his sights.
Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo appears to be the most in-form athlete heading into the race. The 25-year-old set a big 10km PB of 27:18 in Berlin in September to move to fourth on this season’s list.
Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo, who finished ninth at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus, is also one to watch. He has recently enjoyed a one-month training stint in Tenerife in the company of Italian 3000m and 5000m record-holder Yemaneberhan Crippa.
Many of the top Spaniards will be in Madrid, headed by Ouassim Oumaiz, Toni Abadía, Javier Guerra, Fernando Carro, Ayad Lamdassem and Yago Rojo. Oumaiz improved to 13:13.14 over 5000m this summer, Abadía holds the national 10km record at 27:48, Guerra is fresh from a 1:01:21 PB at the Valencia Half Marathon, European steeplechase silver medallist Carro clocked 27:46 last month at a downhill event in Alcobendas, 39-year-old Lamdassem is the newly-minted Spanish marathon record-holder with a 2:06:35 clocking in Valencia, and Rojo is a newcomer to the elite, having run under 2:10 on his marathon debut earlier this month.
(12/30/2020) Views: 63 ⚡AMPEvery year on 31st December, since 1964, Madrid stages the most multitudinous athletics event in Spain.Sport and celebration come together in a 10-kilometre race in which fancy dress and artificial snow play a part. Keep an eye out for when registration opens because places run out fast! The event consists of two different competitions: a fun run (participants must be...
more...The iconic meet had been scheduled to take place on February 13.
The 2021 Millrose Games has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 114th edition of the iconic meeting, which was first held in 1908, had been scheduled to take place on Saturday February 13 at The Armory in New York City.
But the event will now return on February 12, 2022.
“The Armory Foundation has decided after extensive consultations with health experts that, due to rising cases nationally of Covid-19, it is advisable to cancel the 114th Millrose Games, previously scheduled for February 13, 2021 at The Armory in New York City,” reads a press release.
“First run in 1908, the Millrose Games has featured legends such as Paavo Nurmi, Eamonn Coghlan, Allyson Felix, Joetta Clark, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Bernard Lagat and many others. However, given the health situation in New York and across the country, the prudent thing to do is to abstain this coming year.”
Britain’s Chris O’Hare (pictured) is a Millrose Games regular, with the multiple European medallist having won the famous Wanamaker Mile in both 2018, when he became the first British man to win the prestigious indoor race since John Whetton in 1965, and in 2020.
Meet director Ray Flynn said: “Canceling the iconic Millrose Games was a very difficult decision, but with all the health concerns surrounding an event of this complexity, rather than risking the athletes, officials, meet personnel, media and others, we have decided to wait until February 12, 2022, for the next edition of the Millrose Games."
(12/24/2020) Views: 92 ⚡AMPThe NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...
more...When COVID-19 postponed or canceled all of the year’s major marathons in the U.S., two running industry insiders—Ben Rosario, the coach of NAZ Elite in Flagstaff, and Josh Cox, an agent to many marathoners, including several on the NAZ team—brainstormed a way for some of the country’s fastest athletes to race.
The result is The Marathon Project, an elite-only 26.2 that takes place at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 20, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler, Arizona.
The course is on a flat, two-mile stretch of road with roundabouts at each end. Runners go up one side of the road and back down the other for a 4.2-mile loop that they’ll do parts of six times. The course is built for fast times, not for variety.
The race will be broadcast live on USATF.tv, and a 90-minute replay of the race will be available on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday evening. The broadcast will include veteran commentator Paul Swangard as well as Des Linden and Bernard Lagat, two experienced marathoners who should bring some insightful analysis.
Who is racing?
The race brings together 53 men and 44 women, plus 14 male pacers. Several were top-10 finishers at the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, the last chance these runners had a chance to race a major marathon on U.S. soil.
The top women include Sara Hall, who finished second in 2:22:01 at the London Marathon in October, and Keira D’Amato, who recently set a women’s-only 10-mile American record.
Stephanie Bruce, Emma Bates, Kellyn Taylor, and Julia Kohnen (who were sixth, seventh, eighth, and 10th, respectively at the Trials) also figure to be in the mix.
On the men’s side, Americans Scott Fauble and 2016 Olympian Jared Ward are among the top contenders. Four top-10 finishers from the Trials—Marty Hehir (sixth), CJ Albertson (seventh), Colin Bennie (ninth), and Matt McDonald (10th)—will also line up.
The men’s race also brings several international entrants. Amanuel Mesel Tikue of Eritrea boasts a PR of 2:08:17, although it dates back to 2013. Jose Antonio Uribe Marino of Mexico hopes to hit the Olympic standard of 2:11:30 to qualify for the Games, and Cam Levins of Canada also is looking for a strong performance to put him on the Canadian Olympic team.
Will Sara Hall set the American record?
Hall, 37, has been on a tear lately. After dropping out of the Trials at mile 22, she redeemed herself with a PR in a solo half marathon in Oregon and that runner-up finish in London, which she earned by way of a furious finishing kick in the race’s final meters.
The American record for the marathon, Deena Kastor’s 2:19:36, has stood since 2006. Hall has asked for a pacer to take her through the halfway point in 69:40, faster than Kastor’s record.
But in a prerace press conference, Hall was reluctant to call it a record attempt. “I want to go into this race with the mindset of trying to run as fast as possible,” she said on the Zoom call. “I can be all or nothing, and I don’t want to be in a scenario where I’m running really well and if I’m just off the American record pace, it feels like I’m failing. I think that would still be a big success, a big PR. That’s my main focus, just running as fast as I can.”
Hall added that she has done a lot of training faster than record pace. “I think [the record is] definitely possible based on my training,” she said.
In addition to Hall’s requested pace for a 2:19:20 marathon, the women’s race will have three other pace groups: 2:23, 2:26, and 2:29:30, which is the Olympic qualifying standard. The men will have two pace groups: 2:09 and 2:11:30.
What’s in it for the runners?
Rosario announced a modest prize purse: $5,000 for each winner, $2,000 for second, and $1,000 for third.
Otherwise, athletes are racing for sponsor bonuses—shoe companies often pay their athletes extra money for breaking certain times, although the terms of these deals aren’t publicly known.
Then, of course, there’s the joy of racing, when events have been hard to come by for the past 10 months.
“Every opportunity we have to be on a starting line is a gift in 2020,” Bruce said.
What safety measures are in place?
The race is following safety guidelines set out by USA Track and Field, World Athletics, and the state of Arizona. Participants must take two COVID-19 tests, separated by 24 hours, within the seven days before the race—which, of course, must both be negative. Most participants are staying in a race hotel near the course, creating a bubble environment of sorts.
But runners are traveling from all over to get to the race. Hehir, who is finishing up his final year of medical school, is traveling to the race from Philadelphia, where he has spent the past two weeks working in an ICU filled with COVID-19 patients.
“It’s just as scary as it’s hyped up to be,” Hehir said of Covid. “Yes, not everyone ends up in the ICU, but when you end up there, you are incredibly sick. It’s definitely a bleak place to be.”
He said he gave some “extra thought” into committing to the race, but he praised the precautions the race had put in place. “These opportunities are far and few between,” he said, “and as long as we feel like it’s being done in a safe way, a lot of us are going to jump on it.”
(12/17/2020) Views: 68 ⚡AMPArizona cross country has completed its staff for the 2020-21 season as the program will be led by the trio of Dave Murray, Bernard Lagat and Doug Keen.
Lagat, one of the most decorated distance runners of all time, has been a volunteer assistant coach at Arizona for 15 years. The 11-time All-American and two-time medalist at the Olympic Games is considered an American distance running legend as he has competed in five Olympic Games and qualified for the 2020 Olympics earlier this year.
"I am honored to join Fred Harvey and be a part of the Arizona cross country and track & field program," Lagat said. "Having been a volunteer assistant coach for the last 15 years, I have gotten to know many of the great student-athletes that continue to proudly represent the University of Arizona.
I look forward to passing on the knowledge and experiences that I have gained as a student-athlete and professional. It is a privilege for me to follow in coach Li's footsteps and lead the next generation of Wildcats to success on and off the track."
Lagat won a silver medal in the 1500m at the 2004 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 1500m at the 2000 Olympics while finishing in fourth in the 5K at the 2012 Olympics and fifth in the 5K at the 2016 Olympics. He has also won two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal at the World Championships.
Off the track, Lagat has served as a chair member of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and the United States Track & Field Advisory Boards.
"Coach Dave Murray will be a great mentor to not only the student-athletes, but the coaches as well," said director of track and field & cross country Fred Harvey. "His knowledge of Arizona Track & Field and Cross Country is priceless. Bernard Lagat is one of the world's all-time great distance runners and will bring a level of comfort and confidence to our student-athletes since he has been in the program for over 15 years and understands their training methodology. Doug Keen brings a level of excitement as well as an understanding of building cross country teams.
His ability to structure four Arizona High School State Cross Country Championship teams will be instrumental as we prepare for an upcoming spring cross country and track & field season."
(11/23/2020) Views: 102 ⚡AMPWorld bronze medallist Moh Ahmed and US champion Shelby Houlihan made significant improvements on the North American 5000m records at a low-key competition at Jesuit High School in Portland on Friday night (10).
Ahmed’s 12:47.20 took more than six seconds off Bernard Lagat’s continental record set back in 2011, while Houlihan’s 14:23.92 was a 10.53-second improvement on her own North American record from two years ago. Runner-up Karissa Schweizer also finished inside the previous continental record, clocking 14:26.34.
Organised by their training group, the Bowerman Track Club, the meet comprised just two 5000m races and the intention for both events was to provide the opportunity for fast times. Steeplechase specialist Colleen Quigley paced the early stages of the women’s race, taking the field through the first 1000m in 2:55.44.
Fellow steeplechaser Courtney Frerichs, the 2017 world silver medallist, took up the running just before 2000m, which was passed in 5:51. Three women – Quigley, Marielle Hall and Gwen Jorgensen – withdrew at the 3000m point. Elise Cranny briefly led at that point, clocking 8:47.88 for her 3000m split, and was just ahead of Houlihan, but Cranny and Frerichs eased off for the final stages of the race, leaving just Houlihan and Schweizer out in front.
Houlihan drifted to the front with three laps to go and gradually started to increase the pace for the final kilometre. Schweizer managed to stick with her training partner until the final lap, which Houlihan covered in 61.4 seconds, giving her a finishing time of 14:23.92. Schweizer was second in 14:26.34.
“I knew Karissa was going to try to come up on me and take the lead, but I decided I was not going to let that happen,” Houlihan told usatf.tv after the race. “I just kept trying to fight her off and tried to have a big kick on the last lap.
“Karissa was in the race in Heusden two years ago where I set the previous record,” added Houlihan. “It’s been really awesome to have her as a training partner and to see how far she has come. She was only three seconds behind me today and I know she’s going to get that 5000m record at some point.”
The men’s race played out in similar fashion, with half the field helping to set the pace for the first 3000m before leaving Ahmed and Lopez Lomong to battle it out for victory.
Ryan Hill (2:36.2) and Grant Fisher (5:12) were the respective leaders for the first and second kilometres as Ahmed and Lomong sat in the middle of the pack. Fisher reached 3000m in 7:46.10, closely followed by Evan Jager and Sean McGorty, but they soon stepped off the track and Ahmed took up the running with three laps to go.
Ahmed then started to wind up the pace and broke away from Lomong on the penultimate lap, which he covered in 59.5. He moved up another gear and ran the final 400m in 57.45 to cross the finish line in 12:47.20, smashing his own Canadian record and moving to 10th on the world all-time list. Lomong, who narrowly missed out on breaking the 13-minute barrier last year with 13:00.13, finished second in a lifetime best of 12:58.78.
“Once I saw the way Shelby and Karissa attacked the last 600m, I told myself that I just had to do the same kind of thing,” said Ahmed, whose previous best was 12:58.16. “With two laps to go, the clock said 10:49 and I just thought, ‘you can run two (minutes) flat (for the final 800m)’. With 200m to go, I just tried to blast it as hard as I could.
“I’m excited, it’s something I’ve been working really, really hard for. It’s been an extremely challenging year, but luckily we have a good group and it was great to deliver this.”
(07/11/2020) Views: 186 ⚡AMPGalen Rupp won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials for a second straight time, returning from a coaching change and major injury to repeat as champion. The trials were held Feb 29 in Atlanta Georgia.
Rupp, a two-time Olympic medalist, clocked an unofficial 2:09:20 to win by about 42 seconds and qualify for his fourth Olympics. He is joined on the Olympic team by second- and third-place finishers Jacob Riley and Abdi Abdirahman.
Rupp was the 2016 Olympic Marathon Bronze Medalist. The 33-year-old Galen is from Portland Oregon. At the 2012 Olympics Galen was the 10,000m Silver Medalist.
Today was a bit challening. The wind was very strong but the temp was perfect being 50 degrees at the start.
After 20 miles Galen was in total control. The big question of the day was who was going to place second and third. At 25 miles Abdirahman, Maiyo, Korir and Riley were within two seconds of each other with Jacob Riley leading them. 31-year-old Riley best time before today was 2:10:36.
Jacob Riley finished second clocking 2:10:02 a new personal best for him. Abdirahman, 43, will break Bernard Lagat‘s record as the oldest U.S. Olympic runner in history. He will become the second American runner to compete in five Olympics, joining Gail Devers, according to Olympic historian Bill Mallon.
Jared Ward, who was sixth in the Rio Olympic marathon, began fading from a chase pack soon after Rupp surged to the lead in the 16th mile.
Rupp finished a marathon for the first time since October 2018. In between, he underwent Achilles surgery and dropped out of the 2019 Chicago Marathon with a calf injury. He also lost career-long coach Alberto Salazar to a doping suspension last fall.
Rupp was not implicated by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and has a clean drug-testing record.
“I feel relief, almost, more than anything,” Rupp told Lewis Johnson on NBC. “It’s been a really long year and a half.”
(02/29/2020) Views: 416 ⚡AMPThe 2020 US Olympic Trials for both men and women took place in Atlanta, Ga on Sunday Feb 29. Runners had to qualify by running certain standards beforehand. The trials are hosted by the Atlanta Track club. The course runs through the heart of Atlanta and past monuments from the 1996 Olympic Games Most countries around the world use a...
more...The U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon are the second stop on the 2020 USATF Running Circuit. The top three finishers Saturday will represent the United States as the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Fans can tune-in for the live broadcast beginning at 12:00pm ET on NBC or NBC Sports Gold, with the men’s race beginning at 12:08pm ET and the women’s race starting at 12:20pm ET.
While Rupp had to drop out of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October, he still enters Saturday’s race as the prohibitive favorite. Rupp ran the top qualifying mark at the Prague Marathon in 2018, finishing in 2:06:07, while earning fifth at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon that fall in 2:06:21. In addition to earning bronze in the marathon at the Olympic Games in Rio, finishing second at the Boston Marathon in 2017 and winning in Chicago in 2017, Rupp has unmatched big-race experience against the field.
The Portland-based runner recently ran a tune-up half marathon in Arizona, finishing in 1:01:19, proving he’s in excellent shape. Not to be outdone, Ward also has some impressive finishes to his name after finishing third in Los Angeles four years ago.
The Utah-based standout placed sixth at the Olympic Games in Rio and has consistently shown his ability to finish well up the results at major events.
Ward ran to an eighth-place effort at the Boston Marathon last spring, finishing in 2:09:25, while earning top American status at the TCS New York City Marathon in November with a sixth-place effort. Recently running 1:01:36 at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon and finishing as the top American gives Ward plenty of momentum heading into Atlanta. On paper, Leonard Korir is the next top challenger.
While Korir has only run one marathon, it was a great performance. At the Amsterdam Marathon last fall, Korir ran the second fastest qualifying mark of Saturday’s field, placing 11th overall in 2:07:56, making him the top American performer over the distance in 2019. Along with his success on the USATF Running Circuit, as well as on the track, Korir certainly has the ability to push for the win. Next up is Scott Fauble.
The HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite star has proven himself time and time again the past two years, quickly rising the ranks of American marathoning. Fauble placed seventh at the TCS New York City Marathon in 2018, finishing only four seconds behind Ward, while placing as the top American at the Boston Marathon in 2019 in 2:09:08, while beating Ward.
The trio of Jacob Riley, Jerrell Mock and Parker Stinson are also prime to put themselves in contention over the final miles, pushing for a spot on the Olympic team. The trio finished ninth, tenth and eleventh at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Riley has the most experience of the group and his 2:10:53 effort in Chicago rank him as one of the top five fastest in the field Saturday.
Two other notable top contenders are Elkanah Kibet and Shadrack Biwott. Kibet has quietly become one of America’s best marathoners, having placed 11th at the Boston Marathon in 2019 and eighth at the 2018 Boston Marathon. Owning a personal best of 2:11:51, he ranks well in Saturday’s field.
The trio of Matt Llano, Andrew Bumbalough and Chris Derrick are also looking to make an Olympic-sized result Saturday. Bumbalough enters with a 2:10:56 best coming at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Another trio of incredibly experienced veterans are also entered and will be looking to make one more push for an Olympic berth. Bernard Lagat, Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein are all American distance running legends. Each has qualified for at least three Olympics and represented the United States extremely well on the world stage.
(02/26/2020) Views: 414 ⚡AMPThe 2020 US Olympic Trials for both men and women took place in Atlanta, Ga on Sunday Feb 29. Runners had to qualify by running certain standards beforehand. The trials are hosted by the Atlanta Track club. The course runs through the heart of Atlanta and past monuments from the 1996 Olympic Games Most countries around the world use a...
more...The U.S. Olympic Trials are less than three weeks away. The fields are finalized, the tapers are starting soon and runners and fans are anticipating one of the most exciting trials yet.
Here’s a look at which runners we think are most likely to place in the top three and be named to the U.S. Olympic squad after the February 29 race in Atlanta.
Women’s field.- The favorites to make this Olympic team are Sara Hall (Asics), Des Linden (Brooks), Molly Huddle (Saucony) and Emily Sisson (New Balance). Hall has been extremely consistent over the past year, running personal bests in both the marathon and the half (a 2:22:16 in Berlin and a 1:08 in Houston just a few weeks ago). Linden is a gamer and someone who shows up no matter the conditions. She’s also an Olympic marathon veteran.
Huddle and Sisson are training partners who have helped each other improve over the marathon distance. Huddle has been a staple on the American distance scene for years (she’s a multi-time American record holder) and Sisson is the rising star who has flourished alongside Huddle. The pair own 2:23:08 (Sisson) and 2:26:33 (Huddle) marathon personal bests and know how to show up on race day. But the knock on Sisson is that she’s only run one (albeit, fantastic) marathon, and inexperience could be her downfall.
Our best bet for the top three, in order, is: Hall, Huddle, Linden.
The dark horses.- Jordan Hasay (Nike) and Amy Cragg (Nike) are the dark horses. We just haven’t seen enough to know where these two runners are at. Hasay’s most recent result is a DNF from the Chicago Marathon. Admittedly, her training group had just folded and her former coach was charged with doping infractions, so her racing conditions weren’t ideal. But Hasay hasn’t even gotten on a start line since then.
As for Cragg, she’s the 2017 World Championship medallist and 2016 Olympian over the distance. Cragg’s results are few and far between over the past two years, but she put it all together at the Tokyo Marathon in 2018 to run a 2:21:42–one of the fastest American times in history. Both Hasay and Cragg boast the best personal bests of the bunch, but with no indication of fitness, it’s impossible to predict where they’ll end up in 20 days’ time.
Men’s field.- The favorites in the men’s race are Galen Rupp (Nike), Leonard Korir (Nike), Scott Fauble (Hoka) and Jared Ward (Saucony). Rupp was almost a dark horse, due to his poor resume from the past year, but on Saturday he clocked a 1:01:19 in a tune up half-marathon in Arizona. So he’s in good shape.
As for the other three, all hold personal bests from 2019 around the same time. Korir’s is 2:07:56 from Amsterdam and Fauble and Ward’s are both from Boston 2019 at 2:09:09 and 2:09:25. Among these three it’s really a toss-up, based on past performances, as to who makes the team.
Our best bet for the top three, in order, is: Rupp, Ward, Korir.
The dark horses.- The dark horses in this event are the masters men: Bernard Lagat (Nike) (45) and Abdi Abdirahman (Nike) (42). Like in women’s marathoning, the men are also proving that age is just a number on the race course. Lagat and Abdirahman have both recently clocked 2:11 and 2:12 marathons and are in the conversation for the team if they have a good day in Atlanta.
(02/11/2020) Views: 592 ⚡AMPThe 2020 US Olympic Trials for both men and women took place in Atlanta, Ga on Sunday Feb 29. Runners had to qualify by running certain standards beforehand. The trials are hosted by the Atlanta Track club. The course runs through the heart of Atlanta and past monuments from the 1996 Olympic Games Most countries around the world use a...
more...Not too long ago, professional athletes rarely produced world-class results after they passed their mid-thirties and ventured into their forties. Today, however, athletes like Roger Federer and Serena Williams (both 38 years old), Tom Brady (42) and Tiger Woods (43) are proving that age is just a number, each continuing to find success in their sports.
American Bernard Lagat and Chris Brown of the Bahamas are also looking to prove they’ve still got what it takes to compete with the world’s best, with both men recently announcing they will attempt to qualify for their sixth Olympic team each.
Chris Brown, a 400m runner, is 41 years old. He has competed at each Summer Games since Sydney in 2000, where he picked up a bronze medal in the 4 x 400m relay with the Bahamian team. The Athens Games were the only ones from which Brown has returned home without a medal. He and his teammates added three more in the 4 x 400m after Sydney, winning gold in London, silver in Beijing and another bronze in Rio.
He currently coaches the Clayton State University track team in Georgia. His bio on the Clayton State track page reads that he joined the team “following a tremendous international career,” but Brown announced that he isn’t quite finished on the world stage.
Brown told the Bahamian paper the Nassau Guardian that although he took a year off of competing since joining the Clayton State staff, he hasn’t stopped training.
“My body is still active and ready to compete at any minute now,” he said. “I just try and maintain and keep my body consistent with what it has been doing.”
From the 2008 to the 2016 Olympics, Lagat competed in the 5,000m. His focus is now on the marathon, a distance which he has only raced twice. His first shot at 42K was at the New York City Marathon in 2018, where he ran a 2:17:20. In July 2019, he travelled to Australia and set an American masters record of 2:12:10 at the Gold Coast Marathon.
Lagat will be at the US Olympic Trials in Atlanta on February 29 to book his ticket for the 2020 Olympic marathon. If he makes the team, he’ll be 45 years old at the start line in Sapporo.
Brown isn’t just looking for a fun, lighthearted Olympic finale–he wants to help the Bahamian team to continue their success in the 4 x 400m. If Brown makes the team, he could be running with Steven Gardiner, a fellow Bahamian who won the 400m world championship a month ago in Doha, who would be a huge addition to the already stellar cast of previous 400m runners from the Bahamas.
Bernard Lagat Like Brown, the 44-year-old Lagat has competed on the track of each Summer Olympics since 2000. Lagat won a medal in his first two Olympic appearances, taking a bronze in 2000 and silver in 2004, both in the 1,500m. At that time, he was competing for Kenya, where he was born and raised. In 2005, however, Lagat became an American citizen, and he has represented the U.S. ever since.
(11/13/2019) Views: 635 ⚡AMPFifty-six years after having organized the Olympic Games, the Japanese capital will be hosting a Summer edition for the second time, originally scheduled from July 24 to August 9, 2020, the games were postponed due to coronavirus outbreak, the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8 in 2021, according to the International Olympic Committee decision....
more...Abdi Abdirahman broke Bernard Lagat’s US masters marathon record, on Sunday, running 2:11:34 for ninth place in the TCS New York City Marathon. Lagat’s record of 2:12:10 was set only four months ago at the Gold Coast Marathon in July.
Abdirahman is a four-time Olympian who competed in the 10,000m and marathon. His time on Sunday was a heartbreaking four seconds away from Olympic standard.
Another notable American performance came from Jared Ward, who finished sixth in one of his fastest-ever marathons. Ward crossed the line in 2:10:45, making him the first American. He was followed closely by Abdirahman, and the third American spot went to 23-year-old Connor McMillan, who finished in tenth in 2:12:07 (just shy of the Olympic standard of 2:11:30.)
The American marathon trials are only three months away, and the race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive trials in history. After the so-called American men’s marathon drought of 2018, 2019 has shown that the US men are back and ready for a strong Olympic year. In 2019 alone, nine men have run under Olympic standard, a vast improvement upon 2018, when Galen Rupp was the only runner who cleared 2:11:30.
(11/06/2019) Views: 589 ⚡AMPThe first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...
more...I have known Eliud since we were young. Our homes were just a few kilometres apart and Eliud’s mum was my grade one teacher. Eliud’s older twin sisters were in my grade one class and I later recall Eliud’s mum taking a young Eliud to school in his khaki coloured trousers and green sweater!
It is a little hard to comprehend the journey Eliud has taken, from that little boy to marathon superstar. I’m very proud of him.
He later developed into a world-class runner and we became good friends on the athletics circuit. We would regularly chat in Nandi and talk about life growing up in our home villages.
Knowing Eliud for as long as I have, and to be approached by Nike to help out with the INEOS 1:59 challenge is a huge honour.
I was also fortunate to be a pacemaker for Breaking2 in Monza in 2017.
Breaking2 was a huge event and I completed two 3km stints of pacemaking. To witness what Eliud achieved that day by running 2:00:25 was unbelievable. To have contributed in some small way to him achieving that was very special.
It was amazing to be a part of an event of that magnitude and to be involved in something similar with the INEOS 1:59 Challenge is very cool. To help Eliud achieve his dreams, a guy who had never really changed that much over the years, is a real privilege.
I’m now aged 44, not the youngest, and many of the pacemakers are capable of running much faster than me. I see my role as similar to Monza where I can communicate my thoughts and ideas to the rest of the pacemakers. I helped put the guys at ease with simple, clear, precise instructions, which the guys were able to understand and grasp.
The INEOS 1:59 Challenge has a different feel to it compared to Breaking2. I think this is because prior to Breaking2, Eliud had never previously been tested to that degree before. However, I know he would have learned so much from running 2:00:25.
Also since Breaking2 he has been able to run a world marathon record of 2:01:39. That performance in Berlin was something quite special. He didn’t just break the record by a few seconds but a huge margin. The way he came back to run that course record in London and the second fastest official marathon time in his career also shows how strong he is.
I am confident that on the day he can break two hours. Of course, many factors have to go his way. The weather conditions need to be ideal in Vienna and has to hope his body does not have an off day and that it responds positively.
Yet if anyone can do it, Eliud can. Mentally he is such a tough athlete and I look forward to playing my small part in helping my fellow Nandi and near neighbour create history.
(08/27/2019) Views: 1,453 ⚡AMPThis would be an amazing feat even through it won’t count as a world record. Back to back sub one hour half marathons. Glad they are only going to attempt it if the weather is perfect. As runners we all know some days we are just on and other days we are not. If Eluid does not feel it, they should wait until he does. Let’s do this! 8/27 7:50 am |
Mankind have constantly sought to reach new frontiers and to achieve the impossible. From Edmund Hillary reaching the summit of Mount Everest to Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile to Felix Baumgartner jumping from space we have frequently redefined the limits of human achievement and broken new barriers previously seen as simply impossible. After the four-minute mile and the ten second 100m...
more...Three seasoned road runners, Augustine Choge, Victor Chumo from Kenya and double world champion Bernard Lagat of the United States have been selected to pace for Eliud Kipchoge in his mission to run the marathon in less than two hours in Vienna in October.
Choge and Chumo are part of the team training with Kipchoge in Kenya for the race, which is set for October 12-20 window in Vienna, Austria. A specific date will be made known days to the race after the accurate weather forecast has been confirmed.
Kipchoge says to break the two-hour mark in marathon is about setting history and challenging his body to the limit.
"It's like stepping on the moon, going up the tallest mountain and even going to the middle of the ocean," Kipchoge said on Saturday.
Whereas the focus will be on the Olympic and London Marathon champion to improve on his last mark of two hours and 25 seconds, the three pace setters will carry the burden to lead the Berlin champion through his steps and see to it that he delivers the results for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
In Monza, Italy in 2017, Lagat was one of the pace setters together with Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa and Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese, both of whom fell by the wayside, leaving the Olympic champion to run over half of the race alone.
But now the organizers have announced the trio together with Norway's Henrik, Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen plus Australian pair Jack Rayner and Brett Robinson.
Further pacemakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
(08/17/2019) Views: 902 ⚡AMPMankind have constantly sought to reach new frontiers and to achieve the impossible. From Edmund Hillary reaching the summit of Mount Everest to Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile to Felix Baumgartner jumping from space we have frequently redefined the limits of human achievement and broken new barriers previously seen as simply impossible. After the four-minute mile and the ten second 100m...
more...Ingebrigtsen brothers confirmed as INEOS 1:59 Challenge pacemakers.
Famous running brothers Jakob, Filip and Henrik Ingebrigtsen have been confirmed as part of the pacemaking team for Eliud Kipchoge’s INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna this October.
In a recent interview, world marathon record-holder Kipchoge described breaking the two-hour barrier for the 26.2-mile event as “like the first man to go to the moon” and so far eight athletes have been announced as being part of the ‘pacemaking family’ which will hope to help the Kenyan to achieve it.
Last year, aged just 17, Jakob won both 1500m and 5000m titles at the European Championships and this autumn the Norwegian – who will then be 19 – will be the youngest of Kipchoge’s pacemakers, 25 years younger than USA’s Bernard Lagat who at 44 years old will be the oldest.
“To be a teenager and to be part of this project is really amazing,” said Jakob. “As a family we are used to running together and to be able to run together, alongside other great athletes to help Eliud Kipchoge try to break two hours will be something very special.”
Filip added: “Kipchoge was so close last time he tried at Breaking2 and he has improved since then.
“If he is in the sort of form he was in when he broke the world record in Berlin last year – and with three hares flying in from Norway to help – I expect there to be a record.”
Joining the ‘three hares’ will be Lagat, Kenyans Augustine Choge and Victor Chumo and Australians Jack Rayner and Brett Robinson.
Further pacemakers are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
(08/16/2019) Views: 853 ⚡AMPMankind have constantly sought to reach new frontiers and to achieve the impossible. From Edmund Hillary reaching the summit of Mount Everest to Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile to Felix Baumgartner jumping from space we have frequently redefined the limits of human achievement and broken new barriers previously seen as simply impossible. After the four-minute mile and the ten second 100m...
more...44-year-old Bernard Lagat ran 2:12:10 in the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia, which averages out to 5:02.5 per mile for 26.2 miles on Sunday. The result placed him 7th overall and more importantly broke Meb Keflezighi‘s US masters record (40+) of 2:12:20 in the men’s marathon. 2:12:10 represented a massive personal best of more than 5 minutes for Lagat as the two-time Olympic medalist in the 1,500 ran 2:17:20 in his only other marathon last November in New York.
He was happy to share this moment with his son (first photo). He wrote that he was pleased to be able to finish strong.
The only negative about the race was Lagat came up 40 seconds short of the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:11:30 for the men’s marathon (if he’d placed the top 5, he also would have been credited with the standard but 5th was 2:10:29).
He has been training in Colorado (photo).
(07/06/2019) Views: 570 ⚡AMPWhat an amazing runner. He holds all US master records from the 1500m to the marathon now! I think he can even run a faster marathon! He now has experience. 7/10 10:03 pm |
The second fastest Japanese marathon runner in history became the fastest runner in Gold Coast Marathon history when Yuta Shitara won the IAAF Gold Label race in 2:07:50 this morning.
The 27-year-old had an exciting duel with placegetters Barnabus Kiptum of Kenya and Zane Robertson of New Zealand over the final 12km before making his move with 2km remaining.
It was the eighth win by Japanese men in the 41-year history of the event and bettered the race record and Australian all comers record previously held by Kenyan Kenneth Mungara (2:08:42).
Shitara takes home $20,000 in victory prize money and an additional $10,000 time bonus for his record-breaking effort today.
Kiptum, the winner of the Hong Kong Marathon in February, finished second in a personal best 2:08:02, while marathon debutant Robertson placed third in 2:08:19.
It was an extra special result for Robertson as his time was a New Zealand record, bettering the previous mark of his brother Jake (2:08:26, Lake Biwa, 2018), and he was crowned the IAAF Oceania Area Marathon Champion for 2019.
The first Australian across the line was Victorian Liam Adams in sixth place clocking a pb 2:11:36 – a bittersweet result for the 32-year-old as it was an agonising six seconds outside the 2020 Olympic qualification standard.
Dual world champion over 1500m and 5000m on the track Bernard Lagat (USA) improved his marathon pr to 2:12:10 for seventh place, while 2013 race winner Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) placed 13th in 2:15:32.
"It's definitely a confidence builder, and I have had a lot of things to make me confident, but this is a big one heading into the Japanese Olympic trials," said Shitara.
Shitara, who stayed with the lead group of four throughout the race, said although he was not aiming for a particular time or result, the win showed his training had paid off.
“We did a lot of training, and I think that helped," he said in a post-race interview.
Weather conditions on the Gold Coast were less than ideal, with athletes in both the full- and half-marathons battling headwinds and heavy rain.
"Honestly, I'd like to be able to run together with Yuta but I'm still not good enough," Kimura said.
Kenyan Rodah Jepkorir (KEN) held off a strong finishing burst from Tasmanian Milly Clark (AUS/TAS) to take the women’s Gold Coast Marathon.
The 27-year-old broke away from the 30km mark and then lasted to break the tape in 2:27:56, with Clark second (2:28:08) and Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu (ERI) third in 2:28:57.
This year’s eight Gold Coast Marathon races attracted a total of 26,287 entries, including 3,678 overseas competitors, as the event continues to achieve a long-term upward trend.
(07/06/2019) Views: 1,037 ⚡AMP2020 In considering the uncertainty of our ability to deliver an event in July, the Board of Events Management Queensland yesterday decided to suspend planning and entry registrations for the 2020 Village Roadshow Theme Parks Gold Coast Marathon, effective immediately. This suspension will be reviewed no later than 19 May 2020, or when a revised public health order provides us...
more...Can the man dubbed ‘King Kenneth’ by race organizers, Kenya’s Kenneth Mungara, continue to hold back the years to achieve a fourth victory on the Gold Coast? Has Bernard ‘Kip’ Lagat learned enough from a humbling marathon debut in New York last year to mount a credible challenge? Can New Zealand’s Zane Robertson, who missed last year’s Commonwealth Games marathon on the Gold Coast through injury, atone with a victory this time and perhaps take the family record off twin brother Jake into the bargain?
First, let’s take Mungara, as befits an athlete who is the defending champion and holds the race and Australian all-comers’ records with his 2:08:42 in 2015. Sunday will be precisely two months before his 46th birthday, but he shows no signs of slowing down. Should he win again, Mungara will join Pat Carroll, who himself has the credentials to be considered king of the Gold Coast, and Margaret Reddan as four-time winners of the event.
He may not even be first in category. Bernard Lagat turns 45 in December. By any measure, Lagat is the best all-round distance runner to compete in the Gold Coast race. A silver and bronze Olympic medallist at 1500m and second-fastest ever at the event, world over 1500m and 5000m in Osaka in 2007 – he sits comfortably in any conversation of track distances up to, and including, the 10,000m. The marathon is another matter. His debut of 2:17:20 in New York last year was a harsh learning experience and left him with something to prove.
“One of the most important things I learned from running the New York Marathon,” Lagat said when his Gold Coast commitment was announced, “was the experience of ‘hitting the wall’. A lot of people warned me about it and told me to watch for it, but nothing quite teaches you like living through that experience… I panicked a bit, questioned myself if I could finish.”
If Lagat has conquered those doubts, he could be a big factor on the Gold Coast.
Zane Roberston believes he could have won the Commonwealth Games race. A half-marathon PB of 59:47 suggest that is more than just idle talk. He was happy to talk up his chances pre-race.
“First and foremost, I always target the win,’ Robertson said. “I want to run as fast as the pacemakers allow and once they step off the road anything can be possible. Perhaps a new Oceania record?”
Robert de Castella holds the Oceania record at 2:07:51, his winning time the first year the Boston marathon went open in 1986. Of equal note, Zane’s twin brother Jake holds the New Zealand, and family, record at 2:08:26.
The Gold Coast race also serves as the Oceania championships, so the Oceania champion will accrue valuable rankings points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Kenyan pair Ezekiel Chebii and Philip Sanga Kimutai both boast personal bests of 2:06:07, the former from 2016 in Amsterdam, the latter from 2011 in Frankfurt. But the man with the most recent 2:06-clocking is Japan’s Yuta Shitara who ran a national record 2:06:11 in Tokyo last year, a mark subsequently bettered by Suguru Osako’s 2:05:50 in Chicago. Along with the indefatigable Yuki Kawauchi, he gives Japan a strong hand in what has been traditionally a strong race for them.
(07/05/2019) Views: 1,026 ⚡AMP2020 In considering the uncertainty of our ability to deliver an event in July, the Board of Events Management Queensland yesterday decided to suspend planning and entry registrations for the 2020 Village Roadshow Theme Parks Gold Coast Marathon, effective immediately. This suspension will be reviewed no later than 19 May 2020, or when a revised public health order provides us...
more...Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia broke the world indoor mile record when he clocked three minutes 47.01 seconds during an invitational meet in Boston on Sunday.
The 21-year-old smashed the 22-year-old record of 3:48.45 set by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.
Kejelcha had come within one hundredth of a second of the record when he clocked 3:48.46 at the Millrose Games in New York last month.
The twice world indoor 3,000 meters champion was also targeting the indoor 1,500m record but narrowly missed it with a 3:31.25.
This makes Kejelcha, who is coached by Alberto Salazar, the third-fastest in the 1500m behind compatriot Samuel Tefera's February world record of 3:31.04 and El Guerrouj's 3:31.18
Eariler in the week Oregon live reported, “As promised, Nike Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar has declared the NOP’s Yomif Kejelcha will be running for a world indoor record in the 1,500 meters -- and, possibly, the mile -- in the Bruce Lehane Invitational Mile Sunday at Boston University.
Salazar said making a world-record assault public puts pressure on the runner making the attempt, but also causes the runner to focus. And, he thinks, world-record attempts create the kind of publicity and attention the sport needs.
"If we’re going for a record in Boston, people are going to know," Salazar said then. “If we say we’re going for it, we’ll go for it.”
He told DyeStat’s Doug Binder on Wednesday that Kejeclha is fit and ready.
“He likes the 1,500 (meters), but I think the mile is more prestigious,” Salazar told Binder. “He’s going for the 1,500 record, and afterwards just hopes to maintain so he can get the mile as well.”
This is how the race in Boston unfolded as described by the IAAF.
Kejelcha followed three different pacemakers for the opening laps and passed through 809m in 1:52. Worried the pace wasn't quick enough, he moved past the final pacemaker about two minutes into the race and was then out in front alone.
He was inside 2:51 with two laps remaining and kept up his swift pace for the last 400 metres. The clock had already ticked over to 3:31 by the time he passed the 1500m checkpoint, but he – and the eager fans – would have to wait until after the race to find out his official split. His immediate concern was reaching the finish line of the mile.
Kejelcha dug in deep and crossed the line in 3:47.01, taking 1.44 seconds off the previous world indoor record set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997. Moments later, his 1500m split was confirmed at 3:31.25, making him the third-fastest indoor performer in history behind Tefera and El Guerrouj.
Kejelcha's mile time is also an outright Ethiopian record, bettering the outdoor mark of 3:48.60 set by Aman Wote.
America's Johnny Gregorek (second photo) finished second in 3:49.98, moving to sixth on the world indoor all-time list, just 0.09 shy of Bernard Lagat's North American indoor record. This is the seventh best time by an American Indoor or outdoors according to LetsRun.
(03/03/2019) Views: 1,211 ⚡AMPDewi Griffiths will line up in the half marathon hoping to lay down a marker before making a return to marathon racing later this year.
The Welshman, who ran a fantastic 2:09:49 marathon debut in 2017, had his 2018 season scuppered for the most part due to injury.
Griffiths made a steady return to action in the latter part of the year, building up to a 1:02:55 performance at the Cardiff hosted Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in October, before ending on a high with a 28:49 10k at the Corrida de Houilles in France.
Among those Griffiths will face are five sub 60 minute athletes, including Kenyan trio Bedan Karoki Muchiri, Bernard Ngeno and Geoffrey Koech, while USA’s Shadrack Biwott and Bernard Lagat are also in the field.
(01/08/2019) Views: 830 ⚡AMPEvery sport has examples of athletes who seem infuriatingly immune to senescence, 43-year-old Bernard Lagat is in another league entirely.
Lagat has competed in five Olympics, a distinction that puts him in very select company among track and field athletes. The fact is all the more impressive when you take into account that his first games didn’t happen until 2000, when he was 25...
In the men’s 5,000 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 41-year-old Lagat was in sixth place going into the last lap of the race. He proceeded to unleash a 52.82-second final 400 meters to win the most competitive 5K ever held at a U.S. Trials. Lagat had the decency to retire from track racing at the end of the 2016 season, he is once again redefining what should be feasible, only this time on the roads.
In January, he ran the Houston Half Marathon in 62 minutes flat, breaking Meb Keflezighi’s U.S. masters record for the distance by over a minute. In March of this year Lagat was the second American finisher at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
For someone who holds the third-fastest 1,500-meter time ever, Lagat seems to be having way too much fun competing in the half marathon. Full story at Outside Online
(04/04/2018) Views: 1,719 ⚡AMP