Running News Daily

Athing Mu finally opens up on the pain of failing to make US team to Paris 2024 Olympics

Athing Mu reflected on her challenging season, marked by injuries and disappointment at the US Olympic trials, but remains hopeful, trusting in her faith for a major comeback.

Athing Mu has for the first time expressed her emotions after her unfortunate fall at the US Olympic trials earlier this season.

The former Olympic 800m champion got an injury earlier in the season and had to start her campaign at the US Olympic trials. She had been confirmed to open her season at the Prefontaine Classic but had to withdraw due to the injury.

Mu was off to a great start at the trials, finishing third in her heat before winning the semifinal. In the final, the unfortunate happened as she fell down and faded to a ninth-place finish. Athing Mu tried to bounce back at the Holloway Pro Classic but could only afford a fifth-place finish and ended her season there.

Speaking on the Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo show, Athing Mu pointed out that her season turned out awful and it was something she never expected. She was hopeful of defending her title but after the injury, reality started dawning on her that she might the Olympic Games.

However, she felt ready to get back to the track at the US Olympic trials and making it to the final was a confidence booster for her but things did not go as planned in the final.

“Olympic trials were a very tough time and I guess, just this whole in season part of the year has been really tough because a lot of things have happened, leading up and then post-Olympic trials. About six weeks before the Olympic trials, I tore my hamstring and that was the first thing we needed to heal from before going into the Olympic trials,” Athing Mu said.

“When that happened, I was still kind of hopeful about the Olympic trials but I didn’t know what was going to happen but the idea of going and winning was a little bit diminishing because I knew that healing a hamstring was a pretty tough injury to speed up.

“Making it to the Olympic trials was great and I gained a little bit of confidence throughout the rounds and then running the final, super unfortunate, I did not expect that to happen at all. I was absolutely distraught but finishing the race, I can’t really say,” she added.

After the Olympic trials, she dealt with a lot of emotions before finally getting back into training. After a few training sessions in Europe, she got another injury and could not continue with her season.

She revealed that having to end her season in such a way was devastating but she had to trust in her strong faith.

“I actually broke down a little bit and I didn’t know if I could do it and I decided to get myself together and just trust in what the LORD would do at the end of the season. when I went to train in Europe, I got another injury and knew this season was done,” she said.

Dina Asher-Smith sparks speculation over potential partnership with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith has got fans excited over a potential project in the works between her and Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce following her latest social media post.

British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith has got fans wondering if there could be a new project in the works between her and Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Asher-Smith, who is on holiday in Mexico, posted on her Instagram story saying she was waiting for Fraser Pryce and American hurdler Anna Cockrell to join her, leaving fans excited over a potential project involving the two.

Fraser-Pryce has been mum over her next career move since pulling out of her semi-final race at the Paris 2024 Olympics and recently split up with her coach Raynaldo Walcott.

With Asher-Smith, now based in the United States, having started working with coach Edrick “Flo” Floreal ahead of the Paris Olympics, fans are now speculating if the two sprinters could end up training together or if it was something not related to their careers.

Fraser-Pryce is looking to revive her career in 2025 after enduring tough moments in the last two years where injuries and poor form slowed her down.

The 37-year-old recovered from an injury to win bronze and the 2023 World Championships but any hopes of a major comeback in Paris went up in smoke when she withdrew from her 100m race at the Olympics for reasons she is yet to reveal.

She has, however, been in good spirits attending to her Pocket Rocket Foundation, and was recently pictured on holiday alongside her family as she plots her next step.

Asher-Smith, meanwhile, did not meet her desires since her move to the US as she exited the 100m at the semi-final before finishing fourth in 200m with her saving grace being the 4x100m relay silver with Great Britain.

Joe Klecker Plans His Half Marathon Debut

In a live recording of The CITIUS MAG Podcast in New York City, U.S. Olympian Joe Klecker confirmed that he is training for his half marathon debut in early 2025. He did not specify which race but signs point toward the Houston Half Marathon on Jan. 19th.

“We’re kind of on this journey to the marathon,” Klecker said on the Citizens Bank Stage at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon Expo. “The next logical step is a half marathon. That will be in the new year. We don’t know exactly where yet but we want to go attack a half marathon. That’s what all the training is focused on and that’s why it’s been so fun. Not that the training is easy but it’s the training that comes the most naturally to me.”

Klecker owns personal bests of 12:54.99 for 5000m and 27:07.57 for 10,000m. In his lone outdoor track race of 2024, he ran 27:09.29 at Sound Running’s The Ten in March and missed the Olympic qualifying standard of 27:00.00.

His training style and genes (his mother Janis competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the marathon and won two U.S. marathon national championships in her career; and his father Barney previously held the U.S. 50-mile ultramarathon record) have always linked Klecker to great marathoning potential. For this year’s TCS New York City Marathon, the New York Road Runners had Klecker riding in the men’s lead truck so he could get a front-row glimpse at the race and the course, if he chooses to make his debut there or race in the near future.

The Comeback From Injury

In late May, Klecker announced he would not be able to run at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June due to his recovery from a torn adductor earlier in the season, which ended his hopes of qualifying for a second U.S. Olympic team. He spent much of April cross training and running on the Boost microgravity treadmill at a lower percentage of his body weight.

“The process of coming back has been so smooth,” Klecker says. “A lot of that is just because it’s been all at the pace of my health. I haven’t been thinking like, ‘Oh I need to be at this level of fitness in two weeks to be on track for my goals.’ If my body is ready to go, we’re going to keep progressing. If it’s not ready to go, we’re going to pull back a little bit. That approach is what helped me get through this injury.”

One More Track Season

Klecker is not fully prepared to bid adieu to the track. He plans to chase the qualifying standard for the 10,000 meters and attempt to qualify for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. In 2022, after World Athletics announced Tokyo as the 2025 host city, he told coach Dathan Ritzenhein that he wanted the opportunity to race at Japan National Stadium with full crowds.

“I’m so happy with what I’ve done on the track that if I can make one more team, I’ll be so happy,” Klecker says. “Doing four more years of this training, I don’t know if I can stay healthy to be at the level I want to be. One more team on the track would just be like a dream.”

Klecker is also considering doubling up with global championships and could look to qualify for the 2025 World Road Running Championships, which will be held Sept. 26th to 28th in San Diego. To make the team, Klecker would have to race at the Atlanta Half Marathon on Sunday, March 2nd, which also serves as the U.S. Half Marathon Championships. The top three men and women will qualify for Worlds. One spot on Team USA will be offered via World Ranking.

Sound Running’s The Ten, one of the few fast opportunities to chase the 10,000m qualifying standard on the track, will be held on March 29th in San Juan Capistrano.

Thoughts on Ryan Hall’s American Record

The American record in the half marathon remains Ryan Hall’s 59:43 set in Houston on Jan. 14th, 2007. Two-time Olympic medalist Galen Rupp (59:47 at the 2018 Prague Half) and two-time U.S. Olympian Leonard Korir (59:52 at the 2017 New Dehli Half) are the only other Americans to break 60 minutes.

In the last three years, only Biya Simbassa (60:37 at the 2022 Valencia Half), Kirubel Erassa (60:44 at the 2022 Houston Half), Diego Estrada (60:49 at the 2024 Houston Half) and Conner Mantz (60:55 at the 2021 USATF Half Marathon Championships) have even dipped under 61 minutes.

On a global scale, Nineteen of the top 20 times half marathon performances in history have come since the pandemic. They have all been run by athletes from Kenyan, Uganda, and Ethiopia, who have gone to races in Valencia (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), or Copenhagen (Denmark), and the top Americans tend to pass on those races due to a lack of appearance fees or a stronger focus on domestic fall marathons.

Houston in January may be the fastest opportunity for a half marathon outside of the track season, which can run from March to September for 10,000m specialists.

“I think the record has stood for so long because it is such a fast record but we’re seeing these times drop like crazy,” Klecker says. “I think it’s a matter of time before it goes. Dathan (Ritzenhein) has run 60:00 so he has a pretty good barometer of what it takes to be in that fitness. Listening to him has been really good to let me know if that’s a realistic possibility and I think it is. That’s a goal of mine. I’m not there right now but I’m not racing a half marathon until the new year. I think we can get there to attempt it. A lot has to go right to get a record like that but just the idea of going for it is so motivating in training.”

His teammate, training partner, and Olympic marathon bronze medalist Hellen Obiri has full confidence in Klecker’s potential.

“He has been so amazing for training,” Obiri said in the days leading up to her runner-up finish at the New York City Marathon. “I think he can do the American record.”

Yemane Haileselassie And Fentaye Belayneh Win Chilly Boston Half-Marathon

Fentaye Belayneh of Ethiopia and Yemane Haileselassie of Eritrea won this morning’s 22nd Boston Half-Marathon on a sunny and near-freezing morning here.  Employing completely different tactics, Belayneh won in a pack-sprint to the finish in Franklin Park where the first three women finished in a span of just one second. Haileselassie won in a solo breakaway, dominating the final miles and winning by 15 seconds.  Both athletes won $12,000 in prize money.

The women’s race got out slowly, and the first mile was completed in just 5:41, a comfortable training pace for athletes at this level.  Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery was at the front.  She said that she felt good taking the lead and wanted to work on some of her racing skills.

“I felt good doing that,” Hauger-Thackery told Race Results Weekly.  “I was practicing not being set in a set pace.  I’ve got to practice surging… not be afraid to put in a five minute mile here and there.”

The first real move happened just before 5-K where Ethiopia’s Mestawut Fikir, who was fifth at this race last year, put in a surge.  The field responded immediately, and Kenyan’s Veronica Loleo and Daisy Jepkemei, and Ethiopians Melknat Wudu and Mebrat Gidey followed her single file.  They passed through 5-K in 17:17 and four miles in 21:45.  The downhill fourth mile was passed in a fast 5:05.

Fikir’s mini-surge only brought the lead pack down to 12.  Although the second, five-kilometer segment was faster (16:27) it wasn’t enough to dwindle the field further.  Fikir decided to go again just after the 10-K mark, and that move sent Hauger-Thackery and Australia’s Lauren Ryan several steps back.  Kenya’s Mercy Chelangat was also having trouble holding on.  Mile-8 went into the books at 5:10, and the serious racing had begun.

But after that, none of the women were keen to open up the race further, and the pace slowed enough that Chelangat managed to catch up.  Remarkably, eight women were still together as they ran back to Franklin Park for the finish.  Indeed, the race would not be decided until the final 200 meters when Belayneh, who had not led one step of the race, jumped the field and broke for the tape.  She was ready for that kind of move.

“I prepared very well and I knew Boston was a good course,” Belayneh said with the help of a translator.  “I prepared very well.”

Fikir and Senayet Getachew, another Ethiopian, were right on Belayneh’s heels as she bolted for the tape, but they just couldn’t catch their speedier rival.  She broke the tape, arms raised with a huge smile, in 1:10:26.  Fikir was given the same time, and Getachew was just one second back.  Loleo got fourth in 1:10:29, and Wudu was fifth in 1:10:30.  The first seven women finished in just a six-second span.

“At the end, I decided at the end,” Belayneh said when asked when she knew that the time was right for her final move.  “It was a rough race, but I knew I could hold on and push.  I had some little (energy) left over.  I used that.”

Farther behind, Chelangat finished eighth in 1:10:43 and Hauger-Thackery was ninth in 1:10:49.  The two women, both former NCAA stars who know each other from training in Flagstaff, embraced at the finish line.

“It was fun, it was good,” said Hauger-Thackery, who plans to run the California International Marathon in December with her husband, Nick.  She added: “This was a good race to go for it, get the blood flowing.”

Unlike Belayneh, Haileselassie did not want to wait for the final sprint.  In the ninth mile, he and Isaac Kipkemboi of Kenya and Haimro Alame of Israel pulled away from the field. Haileselassie was on the front, and kept pressing.

“Actually, when I lead in mile-nine I give them a little bit gap,” Haileselassie told Race Results Weekly.  “I looked over my back, I had little bit gap.  I know they can’t touch me.”

The Eritrean crossed to the finish line alone in 1:01:46.  Kipkemboi was a clear second in 1:02:01, but Alame faded in the final miles and only finished sixth in 1:02:12.  Taking the final podium position was Canadian miler Kieran Lumb, who was making his half-marathon debut.  Lumb, who made the Paris Olympic 1500m semi-finals, was timed in 1:02:03.  He was happy with his race, a good fitness test before the Canadian Cross Country Championships later this month, even if it hurt a little.

“It was hard,” said Lumb.  “Honestly, it was pretty hard early on.  I would say, like 20 minutes in, I didn’t feel amazing.  I did not sleep well last night, either.  I slept like four hours.”

Today’s event was the third and final race in the 2024 Boston Athletic Association’s Distance Medley which included the Boston 5-K on April 13 and the Boston 10-K on June 23.  About 6500 runners finished today’s race.

MARATHON GROUNDBREAKERS

Since Australia’s Derek Clayton ran history’s first sub—2:10 marathon in Fukuoka, Japan, on 3 December 1967, there have been a total of 4538 sub—2:10 marathons (as of 30 October 2024), 4537 by men, one by a woman.

As with any new ground-breaking performance, Ruth Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 in Chicago on 13 October has forced us to reassess all our past assumptions, or, like many, to doubt the validity of the performance itself. But no matter how we got here, to whatever you want to ascribe it, this is where we are now, 2:09:56 by a woman. 

In this new reality, until proven otherwise, Ruth Chepngetich is the new Paula Radcliffe, just as Paula was the new Grete Waitz, one ground-breaker to the next, 1978 to 2003 to 2024. 

There have been many talented women champions through the years besides those three, including all the pioneers who had to overcome centuries of gender bias that restricted women from even showing their stuff.

But in terms of pure ground-breaking, the 1978 New York City Marathon drew a bright line between what once was and what would be. 

On 22 October 1978, Norway’s track and cross-country star Grete Waitz participated in the marathon for the first time, almost on a whim, as the trip was more of a honeymoon for her and husband Jack after the long track season. 

The 2:32:30 world record Grete ran that day was totally unexpected by both the public and Grete herself. She wore bib #1173, wasn’t included on the list of elite women, and came with no specific marathon preparation (not a single run over 13 miles). In fact, she was so upset with husband, Jack, for suggesting she come run the marathon that she threw her shoes at him in the hotel room following her victory. 

Still, like almost all debuting marathoners, after a short period of recovery and reflection, Grete concluded she could probably improve next time.

Thus, in New York 1979, following a more careful preparation, Grete ripped nearly five full minutes off her 1978 mark to record history’s first sub—2:30 by a woman at 2:27:33. Her margin of victory over England’s Gillian Adams was 11 minutes (2:38:33). The combination of the mild-mannered former geography teacher from Oslo and the raucous New York City crowds proved transformative, elevating women’s running to heights previously unimagined.

Though Japan’s Naoko Takahashi broke the 2:20 barrier for women in Berlin 2001, after Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen (2:21:15, London ‘85), America’s Joan Benoit Samuelson (2:21:21, Chicago’85), and Kenyan Tegla Loroupe (2:20:43, Berlin ‘99) all challenged the barrier in the 1980s and ‘90s, it was England’s Paula Radcliffe who established new headlands in the marathon in London 2003 with her 2:15:25.  

Nearly two minutes faster than her own 2:17:18 record from Chicago the year before, her 2:15 arced away from Catherine Ndereba’s 2:18:47 from Chicago 2001, completed just one week after Takahashi’s first sub-2:20 in Berlin. 

The quality of Paula’s 2:15 can be seen in the 16 years and an entire shoe technology revolution that developed before Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei did Paula one better in Chicago 2019 at 2:14:04. That performance plowed new ground again. And now we have Ruth Chepngetich in Chicago 2024 with history’s first sub-2:10, just a year after Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa’s first sub—2:12 in Berlin `23 (2:11:53).

Twice before, Chepngetich had come to Chicago with world record intentions. In 2022, she won the race in 2:14:18, just 14 seconds off Kosgei’s record. In 2023 she finished second in 2:15:37. On both occasions she flew through halfway under 66 minutes, only to falter in the second half. Perhaps she was a close reader of Malcolm X. 

“There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.” – Malcolm x

In simple terms, making innovative strides in athletics requires time, experimentation, and reviewing, similar to how new scientific theories are examined before full acceptance. But women just haven’t been at the marathon game long enough to produce a large enough sample size to define their outer limits with any accuracy. They are barely two generations in since 1978. 

Men have been competing for a much longer time with a much larger sample size. 

Though Eliud Kipchoge surpassed the two-hour barrier in Vienna in 2019, that was accomplished as an exhibition, not a sanctioned race. In that sense, we are still awaiting the next barrier breaker on the men’s side in the Marathon. 

Looking back, England’s Jim Peters stands as the first modern barrier breaker with his 2:18:40 win at the 1953 Polytechnic Marathon between Windsor and Chiswick in West London, England, history’s first sub—2:20. 

Next was Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila, the legendary double Olympic victor in Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964. His 2:15:17 in Rome still stands as the barefoot marathon world record. 

Next came Australia’s Derek Clayton, the first man under both 2:10 and 2:09. His 2:08:34 from Antwerp 1969 lasted for 12 years, holding off challenges throughout the entire Running Boom era headed by Americans Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. 

Though never world record holders, the two Americans dominated the 1970s boom era, Shorter through the first half, Rodgers the second. 

The Eighties were the last decade of international marathon champions: American (Al Salazar, Greg Meyer); European (Steve Jones, Carlos Lopes); Japanese (Toshihiko Seko and the Soh brothers); and Australian (Rob de Castella). Kenya’s Joe Nzau won Chicago in 1983 in a thrilling duel with England’s Hugh Jones when Chi-town was still developing its reputation as a world class event. 

Ibrahim Hussein set new records in Honolulu and kick-started the Kenyan marathon revolution

The full East African deluge didn’t begin until 1987 and ‘88 when Kenya’s Ibrahim Hussein (already a two-time and soon to be three-time Honolulu Marathon champion) became Africa’s first New York City and Boston Marathon winner and Ethiopia’s Belayneh Dinsamo set the world record, 2:06:50, in Rotterdam 1988 that lasted over a decade. 

The list of marathon stars from other nations scaled back markedly in the 1990s. Mexico had its turn at the top via greats like Dionicio Cerón (1994-`96 London champion), and back-to-back New York Ciy winner German Silva (1994 & 1995). 

Moroccan-born American Khalid Khannouchi twice ran a world marathon record, first in Chicago 1999 (2:05:42), then three years later in London 2002 (2:05:38). And who could forget the personable Brazilian, Marílson Gomes dos Santos, who won New York City twice in 2006 & 2008, or Meb in NYC `09 and Boston 2014?? 

But the United Nations pickings get rather meager after that as East African athletes have had a stranglehold on the sport of marathoning, most dominatingly by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge. His run of sustained excellence over 42.2 kilometers was, and is, unprecedented in its longevity, including double gold in Rio 2016 and London 2020. And his last world record of 2:01:09 in Berlin 2022.

Sadly, the current record holder, Kelvin Kiptum, died in a car accident in February 2024 after establishing the 2:00:35 world record in Chicago 2023.

With the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon scheduled this weekend, we don’t expect to see any record performances. Yet, all the above is why we follow the game, isn’t it, to witness the arc of improvement over time, while hoping to discover a new name to remember? It’s as valid a focus as any other in this life. 

And despite its many flaws and corruptions, the sport of marathoning retains an innate dignity that many endeavors do not. People may have bruised, battered, and tarnished it in the name of glory and money. But it survives, nonetheless, as a simple reflection of the human drive to achieve more in the quest to discover our best. 

Doesn’t always turn out that way, but I don’t think we are done with it quite yet. Onward! 

50 Motivational Running Quotes About Racing

Find Inspiration from Running Icons and Legends

Even the most motivated among us occasionally has a challenging time wanting to lace up our shoes and hit the pavement running. Bookmark this page for the next time motivation is waning for you. Read on for inspirational race quotes to pump you up before your next run.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." —John Bingham, running speaker and writer

"Fear is gradually replaced by excitement and a simple desire to see what you can do on the day." —Lauren Fleshman, American distance runner

"It doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." —Fred Lebow, co-founder of the New York City Marathon

"When you put yourself on the line in a race and expose yourself to the unknown, you learn things about yourself that are very exciting." —Doris Brown Heritage, women's distance running pioneer

"Good health, peace of mind, being outdoors, camaraderie: those are all wonderful things that come to you when running. But for me, the real pull of running—the proverbial icing on the cake—has always been racing." —Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston Marathons

"Big occasions and races which have been eagerly anticipated almost to the point of dread, are where great deeds can be accomplished." —Jack Lovelock, environmentalist and futurist

"I also realize that winning doesn't always mean getting first place; it means getting the best out of yourself." —Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist

"Why race? The need to be tested, perhaps; the need to take risks; and the chance to be number one." —George Sheehan, running columnist and writer

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"Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine." —John Trautmann, Olympic runner

"I'm always nervous. If I wasn't nervous, it would be weird. I get the same feeling at all

"My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: 'Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you'll win.'" —Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold champion

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"I love controlling a race, chewing up an opponent. Let's get down and dirty. Let's fight it out. It's raw, animalistic, with no one to rely on but yourself. There's no better feeling than that." —Adam Goucher, U.S. Nationals 5K race champion

"I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it." —Steve Prefontaine, legendary American long-distance runner

"Let's just say it and be done with it. Racing hurts. But here's another truth: having put in the effort to prepare for a race and then not giving it your all hurts even more. The first kind of hurt goes away in hours or a day. The second kind of hurt can last a lifetime." —Larry Shapiro, author of Zen and the Art of Running

"Different people have different reasons for racing, but

"Running is in my blood—the adrenaline flows before the races, the love/hate of butterflies in your stomach." —Marcus O'Sullivan, Irish middle-distance runner

"It's just as important to remember that each footstrike carries you forward, not backward. And every time you put on your running shoes you are different in come way than you were the day before. This is all good news." —John Bingham, American marathon runner 

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." —PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

"You didn't beat me. You merely finished in front of me." —Hal Higdon, American writer and runner

"Fast running isn't forced. You have to relax and let the run come out of you." —Desiree Linden

"No marathon gets easier later. The halfway point only marks the end of the beginning." —Joe Henderson, famed running coach

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"No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life's most rewarding experiences." —George Sheehan

"If you feel bad at

"What distinguishes those of us at the starting line from those of us on the couch is that we learn through running to take what the days gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate." —John Bingham, running writer and speaker

"For me, races are the celebration of my training." —Dan Browne, National Champion 5K and 20K runner

"Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up." —Dean Karnazes, ultramarathon runner

"Every race is a question, and I never know until the last yards what the answer will be. That's the lure of racing." —Joe Henderson

"It's amazing how the same pace in practice can feel so much harder than on race day. Stay confident. Trust the process." —Sara Hall, American long-distance runner

"Winning has nothing to do with racing. Most days don't have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up." —Amby Burfoot, American marathon runner

"Your goal is simple: Finish. Experience your first race, don’t race it." —Bob Glover, author of The Runner's Handbook

"Don't dream of winning, train for it!" —Mo Farah, Olympic long

"Nothing, not even pain, lasts forever. If I can just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I will eventually get to the end." —Kim Cowart, runner and journalist

"The real purpose of running isn't to win a race. It's to test the limits of the human heart." —Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike

"Our running shoes have magic in them. The power to transform a bad day into a good day; frustration into speed; self-doubt into confidence; chocolate cake into muscle." —Mina Samuels, author of Run Like a Girl 

"There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner." —Dean Karnazes

"Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running." —Julie Isphording, American Olympic runner

Bernard Ngeno headlines strong men's field for Boston Half Marathon

Thousands of athletes, including top contenders like Bernard Ngeno and Melknat Wudu, will compete in the Boston Half Marathon on November 10, with elites aiming for records and personal bests.

Thousands of athletes will be looking to make an impression at the Boston Half Marathon on Sunday, November 10.

The men’s race boasts four men who have clocked personal bests under one hour. Headlining the field will be Bernard Ngeno who has a personal best time of 59:07 minutes. Isaac Kipkemboi (Kenya, 59:17), Bravin Kiptoo (Kenya, 59:37) and American Leonard Korir are also some of the headliners of the field.

Bernard Ngeno is fresh from racing at the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon where he finished 15th. He is one of the most decorated road runners and has won eight international half-marathons. On his part, Leonard Korir has represented Team USA at two Olympic Games, including at the Paris Olympic Games.

Others confirmed for the event include Ben Flanagan of Canada and Yemane Haileselassie from Eritrea and they are both familiar with the roads. Flanagan finished second at the 2023 Boston 5K while Haileselassie was third at last year’s Boston Half Marathon.

Others confirmed for the race include Sam Chelanga who was third at the 2012 Boston Half Marathon and seventh last year. Daniel Mesfun finished 15th at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.

The women’s race is headlined by Ethiopia’s Melknat Wudu who is fresh from winning the 10km title and she will be back to make her half marathon debut. Wudu ran 31:15 to win the race and is a two-time World Junior Championships silver medalist on the track.

She will be up against fellow Ethiopians including Mestawat Fikir and Bosena Mulatie, the duo who finished second and third at last month’s Berlin Marathon.

Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, Ethiopians Fentaye Belayneh and Mebrat Gidey, and Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery will also be in the race. Chelangat placed 12th at the 2024 Olympic 10,000m, while Belayneh was runner-up at the Boston Half Marathon in 2023 and she will be out to go one place better.

Gidey placed 10th at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships while Hauger-Thackery set a lifetime best 2:21:24 at the Berlin Marathon this year, finishing seventh.

“Nearly 9,000 athletes will take part in this year’s Boston Half, and at the front of the field will be fan favorites striving for event records and personal bests,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A.

“We’re eager to welcome competitors from more than 40 countries to the roads of Boston, ranging from the world’s best to those looking to complete their first half marathon.”

Should You Pick a Run Club to Make Friends or to Run Faster?

Looking to join your local group after run clubs went viral this year? Here's what to know for the best possible experience.

ALL BRENDAN WILSCH wanted was a slightly different running experience. The 23-year-old New Yorker has spent most of his running life hitting the pavement solo, depending on the activity as an outlet to relieve stress. After spending every outing on his own, he decided to branch out and find some company for a change to add some socialization to his workout.

That’s what led him to join the viral run group headed by Lunge, a fitness-focused dating app for which he’d seen promoted posts plastered all over social media. The group showcased hordes of people running the streets, then hitting bars en masse afterwards. To Wilsch, it seemed like a fun way to make friends. 

Except the focus on the activity at hand—running—was notably lacking. Wilsch arrived early to the group on a Wednesday evening in July. The group's organizers didn't lead a warmup, so he made time for one on his own. At about 6:50 p.m., the sizable crowd (Wilsch thought about 800 people were there, and an NBC New York broadcast report from July claimed over 1,000 people had RSVP’d to a similar event) was greeted by the run club leaders, Lunge app founder Steven Cole and group fitness instructor Rachel Lansing (Lunge Run Club organizers did not respond to requests for comment on this story). “They welcomed everybody to run club and thanked them for being there and making Lunge turn out to be something bigger than they ever expected,” Wilsch says. “Then they spoke about the app and said, ‘If you see somebody here, and you may not have the courage to go talk to them, download the app, and maybe you'll find them on there.'"

He found that most people in the crowd were outgoing and friendly, even if some seemed hesitant to jump right into mingling mode. After splitting the hundreds of people into a few

This is not how run clubs usually operate, whether they’re in NYC or elsewhere in the world. These groups have broken through run-centric subculture and entered the mainstream; Runner's World notes that Running in the USA lists 968 clubs across the country, and you can find stories about run clubs everywhere from Oakland to rural Australia. Yet it was Lunge that commanded TikTok and Instagram algorithms this summer, especially as young people yearned to meet new friends IRL amidst a “loneliness epidemic.”

There’s some logic to this for outsiders looking in; the groups consist of people sweating and getting their endorphins up doing a healthy activity together. Even better (and unlike group fitness classes at boutique studios or rec sports leagues), clubs are often free to attend or only cost a monthly fee once you become a consistent member training for a specific goal, so you don’t have to worry as much about draining your bank account while simultaneously making a few friends, leveling up your V02 max, and dropping your 5K time.

Not everyone was into this new trend, especially because of what it started to morph into. Apps and groups like Lunge pushed the idea of making

Run Club Best Practices

WHETHER A RUN club prioritizes relationship-building or PR-chasing, it'll almost always have a standard operating protocol that differs greatly from what Wilsch experienced at Lunge. There are rarely groups that large that traverse busy city streets, for one, and most will have more hands-on involvement and organization from leaders to maintain the dynamic beyond show up and jog. The run of show typically includes introductions to the coaches, pacers, and organizers and any need-to-know safety tips or other housekeeping info. Then comes an icebreaker, a warm-up, the run itself (or running workout), a cooldown, hydration, and goodbyes. In commuter cities, there’s also potentially a bag check.

Once runners hit the streets (and even in parks or on public tracks), they shouldn’t just go out in a huge group. There are cars, cyclists, and pedestrians who are on the roads too, and club members will inevitably wind up going at different paces. That’s why many run groups include two kinds of leaders guiding you through the run: pacers and sweepers. Pacers set the tone and time for the group or the smaller groups that break out according to their expected speed

Every run group, whether social-focused or PR-driven, should have structure and safety guidelines (like pacers and sweepers). But run group social dynamics exist on a much more vast spectrum. Some, like Brooklyn Track Club in NYC, are great for prepping runners for races. Others, like Martinus Evans' Slow AF Run Club, focus on inclusivity. Some even affiliate with major brands to allow members to test new gear. In any scenario, bonds are eventually formed by routine and the time spent sharing the experience. It’s a community, and the social dynamics of one persist. Some people like Amir Gamble, a 33-year-old in New York who has been running in the club scene since 2022, join multiple groups. He consistently attends two different runs depending on what he’s looking for—a few miles at a conversational pace to socialize, or focused training and track workouts. He says the groups he’s enjoyed most have established leadership and a welcoming environment, not necessarily the fastest people on the streets.

Gamble’s run sessions are much smaller than Lunge’s massive crowd of nearly 1,000 people. “That’s nearly as many as the race I just did!” he exclaimed, referring to this August’s Brooklyn Mile road race. No matter the organizers’ intentions, he worried about how anyone could safely run on busy city streets and sidewalks in such a large group.

Nearly as pertinent an issue, given Lunge’s stated mission to bring people together, is how hard it actually is to get to no anyone when a run includes hundreds of people. Many run groups count 25 runners max at a normal session, so the workout can start with everyone introducing themselves and participating in an icebreaker activity; it all takes about 15 minutes. When the group swells, that portion of the run requires more time, infringing on the run and your chances at knowing who you're keeping up with on the road. Expecting an immediate connection is like expecting that you’ll set a 10k record the first time you lace up your shoes. Friendships take work.

“Some people chat a little bit after but, usually within 10 or 15 minutes the group kind of dissipates,” Gamble says of his run groups’ social

There are some baseline expectations you should have if you attend a run club. Firstly, the group should center your safety and give you some info about what it takes to be a better runner, according to Zapotechne. “Are they providing electrolytes? Are they helping runners understand what to consider when running in the heat? Or, the safety and etiquette of running in the street in a large group? You run two across [on the street] versus 10,” she rattles off. Even groups without brand partnerships or financial resources should be providing basic running best practice information to their community.

You’ll also want to be mindful of leadership, since you’ll be trusting the coaches with your time and your safety. There are run clubs that are just small groups of friends getting together for a jog and social hour every week without a clear hierarchy—but once the group starts to include people who want to run at different speeds and tackle different goals, it becomes critical that someone takes charge and leads. Ideally, these people have extensive experience with run training and are also actively participating in the run community and culture of the area. Importantly, leaders should also make efforts to establish a safe and inclusive environment within their club. “I think a green flag when it comes to co-ed running groups is when you see both male and female leadership,” Zapotechne says.

Beyond road safety, and with the rise of run club culture via social media in particular, Zapotechne points out the importance of acknowledging boundaries among members. “I did a lot of workshops and training with my staff around what was appropriate and not appropriate, and we had to have (sometimes many) conversations around boundaries when it comes to interactions [with club attendees],” she notes. This includes more obvious things like physically touching, like hugging after runs or unsolicited help with stretching, and murkier territory like when it's inappropriate to send DMs and texts. You should know that if you join a run club and immediately start receiving unsolicited messages—especially from those in charge—something is off. “If you're in a leadership position, you don't slide in the DMs of people that are showing up to your group. That could be a pacer, crew runner, captain or coach. You're not there to date the people who come to your running group,” she says.

A good way to ID a run club that is more focused on sport and movement is to check out the way they communicate their training plans on social media. Do they use terminology like intervals, fartleks

Marathon great Kipchoge mentors refugee athletics team in Kapsabet

Renowned for his extraordinary athletics accomplishments and for being an inspiration, Kenya’s two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge dedicated his time on Sunday (13) to mentor World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team members in Kapsabet.

“I came here to tell you that being a refugee is not the end of life. In fact, it is the beginning of life, because as a refugee you have a lot of fruits hanging in this world,” said Kipchoge. “Do not treat yourself less because you are refugees, we are all equal as human beings, we are all athletes.”

The athletes sat with their pens and notebooks open, ready to jot down the nuggets of wisdom on the fundamentals of a successful life shared by the marathon great. They listened intently.

“The whole world has recognised you as a country, are you happy?” Kipchoge asked.

The athletes responded with a resounding ‘yes’ and clapped.

“Being recognised means you are the best,” he added. “Have faith in yourself, in your school and your coaches. Have respect.”

The seven student-athletes in attendance at the Eliud Kipchoge Sports Complex included Perina Nakang, Mfite-Umukiza Jules, Estherina Julius and Zinad Akulang, who are part of the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team, and Peter Lotino Akileo, Peter Lopeyok Michael and James Lokibich, who are athletes sponsored by the school. Coaches were also present.

They looked at Kipchoge with admiration; meeting him was a dream. They were surprised and inspired by the simplicity and humility of Kipchoge, who was accompanied by his fellow athlete Jonathan Korir.

“Finally, I have met him. He is somebody like me,” said Lopeyok Michael.

Jules added: “I didn't expect that he could talk like he did. I thought he was a different person, but I realised that Kipchoge is a very good person. He is a parent; he is very encouraging.”

It was a class, with Kipchoge writing out key points and explainers. The theme focused on empowering, inspiring and encouraging the athletes to take education and sports seriously.

The marathon legend emphasised self-discipline, making firm decisions and being consistent, as well as building confidence – all elements that provide a strong foundation in life. 

“For me, it is very important because when you have education and talent, you can be somebody,” explained Lopeyok Michael.

The day was not about how many Olympic medals or world records Kipchoge has achieved – in fact, those did not feature at all. Instead, Kipchoge was keen on changing the mindset of the athletes and shifting their perspective on life.

“In their faces I saw the future of the refugee team, I saw the future of their countries, I saw the future of sport” he said. “I am positive about the refugee team, they have a great future. In the whole world we have 206 countries participating in the Olympics, but we have plus one which is the Refugee Team, to make 207 countries – they have a big opportunity to grab.”

It was the reminder this team needed, having experienced extremely difficult and traumatic lives. But Kipchoge views their experience as the perfect springboard for mentorship.

“They are hard to mould and easy to mould at the same time,” he said. “Hard to mould because they have passed through hard life but all in all they are easy to mould because they understand tough life more than anybody else. So, you bring that tough life to education and sport here in Kenya, they are ready to move in.”

Posing questions to each athlete about their plans, Kipchoge discovered that they all harbour the ambition of becoming a legend, just like the man in front of them.

“To be like you, to succeed and help my family, respect others, to stay humble, respect my teammates, work on school assignments and work hard in athletics,” Julius answered.

“To focus on education, to love each other and share,” responded Lokibich.

The session was interactive and engaging. There were shared aspirations, along with moments of seriousness and laughter. 

“Do you want to be successful; own a car, a house, have money and a good life, or do you want to be a legend?” Kipchoge asked.

“Aim to become the legends of the refugees – being legendary is to make an impact on behalf of the refugees. It is a real success. But you have to study, train well and remain focused.

“Being successful does not happen in one night. Success takes time. If you love your life and sports, avoid drugs. True champions are winning by their own sweat, blood and hard work,” he added.

“The longer you are in sport, the more opportunities you secure. You must know what you want, and where you want to go in your education and athletics. You must fight for opportunities.”

The athletes were accompanied by their head coach Janeth Jepkosgei, the 2007 world 800m champion, and two other coaches.

“The mentorship session was important; these kids have been longing to meet Eliud,” said Jepkosgei. “The team will see their lives differently. They are motivated and encouraged and believe that education and athletics can change your life and community, and it's an inspiration for them.”

Giving a message to the coaches, Kipchoge said: “You have to develop cohesiveness; these athletes must be free to speak to you. You know how to mentor, nurture and make talent propel.”

Then it was time for the athletes and coaches to ask Kipchoge some questions.

“My dream to meet you has come true. You have told us to know ourselves and believe we can. In your career, have you ever hit a wall with no results, yet you trained well and wanted to give up?” Jules asked.

Kipchoge replied: “The moment you perform, you have gone through challenges people do not know. I have been through a lot, but I keep pushing. You have to experience pain and frustrations so that you know how to handle success when it lands on you.”

He was also asked: “How do you feel when lining up with other champions, like (Kenenisa) Bekele?”

“Treat yourself as the best one,” Kipchoge responded. “At the start, tell yourself you have trained better than everybody else and during exams tell yourself that you have studied more than everybody else. Compete with yourself.”

Kipchoge’s remarkable athletics career, which spans 22 years, is older than the refugee athletes he mentored, as they are aged between 17 and 21 years. By sharing his experience, Kipchoge reminded them that despite his athletics triumphs, he has navigated challenges and even inner turmoil.

“He has given me and the team a lot of advice, including that I have to respect myself, my coach, my teachers and my teammates. He has been through a lot of challenges in his career, but he did not give up. Even us, we have experienced a tough life, but we are holding on,” said Nakang, who competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Mentorship is something that Kipchoge takes seriously. In 2023, he became mentor to the U20 World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team. Through this role, Kipchoge inspires the upcoming generation.

“I treat the U20 athletes as the next generation,” he said. “I want to inspire them to run for the next 20-plus years because I want them to proceed beyond 2045, in the future promoting sport, competing for their countries, loving the sport, promoting education and bringing development and exposure to their countries.”

The 39-year-old, who holds five of the 11 fastest marathon times in history, has given a seal of approval to the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team programme, which has been running since 2016.

“It is a plus; a firm and positive decision by World Athletics,” he said. “Let this project continue, let it flow. These are the flowers of World Athletics, what they are injecting in the form of finance and infrastructure to refugee athletes, they have shown these are real flowers of what they have been doing.”

‘Back where I belong’ – Veteran Jamaican sprinter announces major comeback after recent struggles

The former world champion is raring to go again after enduring a lot of difficulties in recent years that have locked him out of major championships.

Former world champion Yohan Blake is promising a strong comeback after enduring a frustrating 2024 season.

Blake has not raced since July when he finished eighth at the London Diamond League, an outcome that saw him claim a lack of respect from Jamaicans.

That was after missing a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics when he could not go past the preliminary round of the 100m at the Jamaican trials and there has been uncertainty over his athletics future, especially after he opened a restaurant in Florida, early this month.

However, the 34-year-old seems not ready to hang his spikes just yet and remains determined to revive his career heading into the 2025 season.

“The journey continues. Focused, determined, and back where I belong. Stay tuned for what’s next. With God, all things are possible,” Blake posted on social media.

Blake, who has two Olympics silver medals in 100m and 200m and as many gold in 4x100m relay, has been struggling to get back to his former glories.

The sprinter was regarded as one of the big prospects when he burst onto the scene but after an early promise, his powers have been waning in recent years, casting doubts on whether he will return to winning ways.

His main task now is to be fit and qualify for next year’s World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

How to train for a marathon no matter how fit you are

If you’re planning a marathon, you’re on the road to becoming part of a select proportion of the global population – 0.01 per cent, to be exact. But that doesn’t mean running one is exclusive to the lycra-clad minority. With the right planning, training and dogged determination anyone can have a go. Here’s what you need to know if you’re gearing up to train for the race of your life.

Which marathon should I choose to run?

The London Marathon is special, with incredible atmospheric and historic appeal, but it’s notoriously tricky to get a place and is far from the only one to consider. All marathons are 26.2 miles, so if you’re a beginner, you might want to choose what seasoned runners call an “easy” marathon – one with a flat and paved course. While the Brighton Marathon is one of the most popular (and mostly flat) UK spring races, the Greater Manchester Marathon is known as the flattest and fastest UK option. The under-the-radar Abingdon Marathon is one of the oldest in the UK and also has a flat route – great for new runners and for those who are keen to beat their personal bests. 

Around Europe, try the Berlin and Frankfurt marathons in Germany, or the Amsterdam Marathon in the Netherlands. More recently, the Valencia and Seville marathons in Spain have grown in appeal. For a great beginner list, visit coopah.com. It’s worth doing your research to ensure it’s a route you’ll enjoy (atmospheric, well populated, flat, historic… whatever piques your interest), as this will pay dividends when things get tough. 

Training

How long does it take to train for a marathon? 

“You need 16-to-18 weeks of training,” says Richard Pickering, a UK Athletics qualified endurance coach. “And if you’re starting from nothing, I think you need closer to six months.” This may sound like a long time to dedicate to one event but a structured plan will help you develop the strength, endurance and aerobic capacity to run longer distances. Not to mention work wonders for your overall health.

“Anyone can run a marathon if they are willing to put in the hard work,’ says Cory Wharton-Malcolm, Apple Fitness+ Trainer and author of All You Need Is Rhythm & Grit . “As long as you give yourself enough time and enough grace, you can accomplish anything.’

Ready to get running? Read on.

Five steps to preparing for a marathon

1. Follow a training plan and increase mileage gradually

“Even if it’s a simple plan, and that plan is to run X times per week or run X miles per week, it’s beneficial to have something guiding you,’ says Wharton-Malcolm. ‘It’s happened to me, without that guidance, you may overtrain causing yourself an injury that could have been avoided. And if you’re injured, you’re far less likely to fall in love with running.”

For authoritative plans online, see marathon event websites (try the Adidas Manchester Marathon or the TCS London Marathon websites) or from a chosen charity such as the British Heart Foundation. Most will consist of the key training sessions: speed work (spurts of fast running with stationary or active rest periods), tempo runs (running at a sustained “comfortably uncomfortable” pace), and long-distance slogs. 

Most marathon plans will abide by the 10 per cent rule, in that they won’t increase the total run time or distance by more than 10 per cent each week – something that will reduce your risk of injury. 

2. Practise long runs slowly 

Long runs are your bread-and-butter sessions. They prepare your body to tolerate the distance by boosting endurance, and give you the strength to stay upright for hours. Intimidating as this sounds, the best pace for these runs is a joyously slow, conversational speed.

“People may think they need to do their marathon pace in long runs,” says Pickering, “but it’s good to run slowly because it educates the body to burn fat as fuel. This teaches it to use a bit of fat as well as glycogen when it goes faster on race day, and that extends your energy window so that you’re less likely to hit the ‘wall’.”

The caveat: running slowly means you’re going to be out for a while. With the average training plan peaking at 20 miles, you could be running for many hours. “When I did lots of long runs, I had a number of tools: listening to music, audio-guided runs, apps or audio books,” says Wharton-Malcom. “I used to run lots of routes, explore cities… You can also do long runs with friends or colleagues, or get a train somewhere and run back so it’s not the same boring route.” 

3. Do regular speed work 

Speed work may sound like the reserve of marathon aficionados, but it’s good for new long-distance runners too. “I think people misunderstand speed work,” says Wharton-Malcom. “The presumption is that the moment you add ‘speed’ to training, you have to run like Usain Bolt, but all ‘speed’ means is faster than the speed you’d normally be running. So if you go out for a 20-minute run, at the end of the first nine minutes, run a little faster for a minute, then at the end of the second nine minutes, run a little faster for a minute.” 

Small injections of pace are a great way for novices to reap the benefits. “The idea is to find the sweet spot between ‘Ah, I can only hold on to this for 10 seconds’ and ‘I can hold on to this for 30-to-60 seconds’,” he adds. 

Hill sprints are great for increasing speed. Try finding a loop with an incline that takes 30 seconds to ascend, then run it continuously for two to three lots of 10 minutes with a 90-second standing rest.

Interval work is also a speed-booster. Try three lots of three minutes at tempo pace with a 90-second standing rest. “The recovery [between intervals] is when you get your breath back and your body recirculates lactate [a by-product of intense exercise, which ultimately slows bodies down],” explains Pickering, “and this means you’re able to do more than you otherwise would.”

4. Run at marathon-pace sometimes 

Every now and then, throw in some running at your chosen race pace. “You need to get used to a bit of marathon pace,” says Pickering, “but I wouldn’t put it into your programme religiously.”

Some runners like to practise marathon pace in a “build-up” race, typically a half-marathon. “It can give people confidence,” says Pickering. “Your half-marathon should be six-to-seven weeks prior to the main event, and have a strategy to ensure you’re not racing it because you need to treat it as a training run.”

5. Schedule in rest and recovery 

Of course, no training plan is complete without some R&R. Rest days give your body a chance to adapt to the stresses you’ve put it through and can provide a mental break. “Active recovery” is a swanky term for taking lighter exercise such as an easy run, long walk, gentle swim, some yoga – crucial because you don’t want to do two hard sessions back-to-back. “A long run would count as a hard day, so if your long run is on Sunday, you could do an easy run such as 30-40 minutes at a conversational pace on a Monday, but don’t do anything fast until Tuesday,” says Pickering.

What about recovery tools? 

Foam rollers, massage guns, ice baths – the list is long. Pickering says to keep it simple: “I would encourage foam rolling [relieving muscle tension by rolling over a foam tube] or sports massage, and they’re kind of the same thing.” 

And Wharton-Malcom swears by the restorative power of a good rest: “From personal experience, sleep is our secret weapon and it’s so underrated. Getting your eight-hours-plus per night, taking power naps during the day… you can do so well with just sleeping a bit more.”

Race day

How to perform your best on race day – what to eat 

“The marathon is going to be relying on carbohydrate loading [such as spaghetti, mashed potato, rice pudding], which should take place one-to-three days before an event,” explains performance nutritionist Matt Lovell. Other choices might include: root vegetables (carrots, beetroot), breads or  low-fat yoghurts. 

“On the day, the main goal is to keep your blood glucose as stable as possible by filling up any liver glycogen.” Which means eating a breakfast rich in slow-release carbohydrates, such as porridge, then taking on board isotonic drinks, like Lucozade Sport or coconut water, and energy gels roughly every 30-45 minutes.

How to stay focused 

Even with the right fuel in your body, the going will get tough. But when you feel like you can’t do any more, there is surprisingly more in the tank than you realise.

“Sports scientists used to think we eat food, it turns into fuel within our body and, when we use it up, we stop and fall over with exhaustion,” says performance psychologist Dr Josephine Perry. “Then they did muscle biopsies to understand that, when we feel totally exhausted, we actually still have about 30 per cent energy left in the muscles.”

How do you tap into that magic 30 per cent? By staying motivated – and this ultimately comes down to finding a motivational mantra that reminds you of your goal and reason for running. 

“Motivational mantras are incredibly personal – you can’t steal somebody else’s because it sounds good; it has to talk to you,’ explains Dr Perry, author of The Ten Pillars of Success. “Adults will often have their children as part of their motivational mantra – they want to make them proud, to be a good role model. If you’re doing it for a charity, it might be that.” Write your motivational mantra on your energy gel, drinks bottle or hand. “It doesn’t just need to come from you,” adds Dr Perry. “I love getting athletes’ friends and family to write messages to stick on their nutrition, so every time they take a gel out of their pocket, they’ve got a message from someone who loves them.” Perry is supporting the Threshold Sports’ Ultra 50:50 campaign, encouraging female participation in endurance running events. 

Smile every mile, concludes Dr Perry: “Research shows that when you smile it reduces your perception of effort, so you’re basically tricking your brain into thinking that what you’re doing isn’t as difficult as it is.”

One thing is for sure, you’re going to be on a high for a while. “What happens for most people is they run the race and, for most of the race, they say ‘I’m never doing this again,’ says Wharton-Malcom. “Then the following morning, they think, ‘OK, what’s next?’” 

What clothes should you wear for a marathon? 

What you wear can also make a difference. Look for clothing made with moisture-wicking fabrics that will move sweat away from the skin, keeping you dry and comfortable. An anti-chafe stick such as Body Glide Anti-Chafe Balm is a worthy investment, or simply try some Vaseline, as it will stop any areas of the skin that might rub (under the arms, between the thighs) from getting irritated. Seamless running socks, like those from Smartwool, can also help to reduce rubbing and the risk of blisters. 

Post-race recovery

What to eat and drink

Before you revel in your achievement, eat and drink something. Lovell says recovery fuel is vital: “Getting carbohydrates back into the body after a marathon is crucial. It’s a forgiving time for having lots of calories from carbohydrates and proteins, maybe as a recovery shake or a light meal such as a banana and a protein yoghurt.” 

Have a drink of water with a hydration tablet or electrolyte powder to replenish fluid and electrolyte salts (magnesium, potassium, sodium) lost through sweat.

“You can have a glass of red later if you want, but your priority is to rehydrate with salts first, then focus on carbohydrate replenishment, then have some protein, and then other specialist items such as anti-inflammatories.” Choose anti-inflammatory compounds such as omega 3 and curcumin from turmeric, which you can get as a supplement, to help reduce excessive inflammation and allow for better muscle rebuilding. 

Tart cherry juice – rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and naturally occurring melatonin – could also be useful, with the latest research reporting that it can reduce muscle pain after a long-distance race and improve both sleep quantity and quality by five-to-six per cent. “And anything that improves blood flow such as beetroot juice, which is a good vasodilator, will help with endurance and recovery,” adds Lovell. Precision Hydration tablets are very good for heavy sweaters.

Any other other good products to help with recovery? 

The post-run recovery market is a saturated one, but there are a few products worth trying. Magnesium – from lotions and bath flakes to oil sprays drinks and supplements – relaxes muscles and can prevent muscle cramps, as well as aiding recovery-boosting sleep. 

Compression socks boost blood flow and therefore the removal of waste products from hardworking muscles, and have been shown to improve recovery when worn in the 48 hours after a marathon. Arnica has anti-inflammatory properties that can help speed up the healing process after a long run, and can be used as an arnica balm or soak. 

Amos Kipruto eyes comeback victory at Chicago Marathon after injury struggles

Amos Kipruto will be seeking a comeback victory at the 2024 Chicago Marathon honoring late friend Kelvin Kiptum after injury setbacks.

The 2022 London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto is gearing up for a return to the world stage at the 2024 Chicago Marathon aiming for a victory that could re-establish his position among the elite long-distance runners.

After a year hampered by injuries and personal struggles, the Kenyan athlete is determined to make a statement on the streets of Chicago this Sunday, October 13.

For Kipruto, this race is not just another competition—it marks the end of a long road to recovery.

The bronze medalist from the 2019 World Marathon Championships revealed that an injury in early 2024 kept him sidelined for much of the season, forcing him to withdraw from races, including the London Marathon, where he had hoped to defend his 2022 title.

"I was supposed to race in London [2024], but it was late. I tried to treat it, but I decided to be patient and focus on the treatment," Kipruto explained in an interview with Olympics.com.

"Now, I am focused on the next race. I am back and injury-free."

A testing year and the mental toll

Kipruto’s journey back to fitness has not been easy and the athlete candidly shared how his physical setbacks also affected him mentally.

“In 2020, I got a tendon tear injury and I went through some low moments,” he recalled.

“It was difficult. I felt like I had more to prove after winning in London, but the injuries and the uncertainty that followed were challenging.”

The challenges, however, were not something Kipruto faced alone. He credits his coach, Claudio Berardelli, and his management team for keeping his spirits high during the difficult times.

"My coach Claudio and the management supported me, and gave me hope that I will be back. They kept telling me to be patient and that my time would come again."

A special race with extra motivation

The Chicago Marathon is set to be Kipruto's first major marathon race since his 2023 Berlin Marathon disappointment, where he was unable to reclaim the form that had made him a champion in London.

However, Kipruto enters this race not just with a desire to win, but with added emotional motivation.

The Kenyan star will also be running in honor of the late Kelvin Kiptum, the 2023 London Marathon winner, who passed away unexpectedly after his victory.

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Kiptum’s death shook the running community, and Kipruto, a close friend and fellow Kenyan, wants to use the race as a tribute.

"This race is special for me," Kipruto said.

"I want to honor Kelvin’s memory with a strong performance. He was a friend and an inspiration to many."

Eyes on a personal best and redemption

While Kipruto has already secured his spot on Kenya’s 2024 Olympic team, this race will be critical in demonstrating that he is still a force to be reckoned with.

"My goal is to try to run a personal best,” he said.

“I want to show the world that I am still the kind of athlete who is capable of winning a major marathon.”

The Chicago Marathon will be Kipruto’s first competitive race on American soil, and he’s fully aware of the expectations.

"I have a big challenge and a big task ahead of me. I know I must work hard so that I can prove that I can still [win]," he said confidently.

After a quiet season filled with rehabilitation and only one documented 10km race in Gabon in June, Kipruto is ready to reclaim his place at the top.

As he lines up on Sunday, the world will be watching to see if the Kenyan star can cap off his season with the redemption he seeks.

"I'm going into the race fresh and focused.I know I’ve had setbacks, but now it's time to show the world I am back."

Ruth Chepngetich leads Chicago Marathon elite line-ups

The Kenyan will be targeting her third victory in Chicago whilst Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese leads the men’s field.

This weekend, all eyes will be on Chicago as the city hosts the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday (October 13), promising a thrilling showdown amongst top-tier athletes.

In the women’s competition, Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, a former Chicago Marathon winner in 2021 and 2022 and the fourth-fastest woman in marathon history, is set to return to the course, which winds through 29 neighborhoods.

The 30-year-old enters as the fastest woman in this year’s line-up after winning the title in 2022 by running her fastest time of 2:14:18. At the time, she was 14 seconds short of Brigid Kosgei’s world record of 2:14:04, before Tigist Assefa (2:11:53) and Sifan Hassan (2:13:44) went quicker in 2023.

The 2019 world champion secured a second-place finish in Chicago last year behind Sifan Hassan.

Yet, it will not be an easy run to victory for Chepngetich. Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede, fresh off her Tokyo Marathon win, arrives with the fastest marathon time of 2024, having ran 2:15:55 in Tokyo.

Kebede has had a stellar year, setting a record time of 64:37 at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon – the fastest-ever women’s half marathon time on US soil.

Chepngetich and Kebede will be joined by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, who has previously taken titles at the New York City Marathon in 2019 and London Marathon in 2021. Jepkosgei finished third this year in London where she clocked her personal best of 2:16:24.

American athletes Keira D’Amato (2:19:12) and Betsy Saina (2:19:17) join the list of athletes. D’Amato, a former American record holder in the marathon, is making a comeback as a competitor after working as a commentator. Meanwhile, Saina, who had to withdraw from the Chicago Marathon in 2019 due to illness, returns to make her mark.

The men’s race will also feature a highly competitive field with Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese leading the charge. Legese, who recorded an impressive 2:02:48 at the 2019 Berlin Marathon is the fastest on paper.

A two-time Tokyo marathon champion, this will be his second time tackling the Chicago course after finishing 10th in 2018 with a time of 2:08:41. Most recently, Legese took third place at the 2024 Rotterdam Marathon.

Legese will be up against strong competition, particularly from Kenya’s Amos Kipruto and Vincent Ngetich, who both hold personal bests of 2:03:13.

Kipruto, a bronze medallist at the World Championships in Doha 2019, claimed victory at the 2022 London Marathon. Ngetich won bronze in the Tokyo marathon earlier this year.

Ketema and Takele head entries for 50th Berlin Marathon

Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema and Tadese Takele start as the fastest in the fields and will be hoping to lead the way when they line up for the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (29).

Ketema, previously better known as an 800m and 1500m specialist, made her mark in the marathon in Dubai in January as she ran 2:16:07, a time that places her ninth on the women’s world marathon all-time list. She then ran 2:23:21 to place seventh in London in April and Berlin will be her first race since then.

“I have prepared for a personal best and plan to run the first half on Sunday in around 68 minutes,” she said. “I hope it won't be too cold because I prefer to run in slightly warmer weather.”

Ketema is one of three women with sub-2:20 PBs on the entry list, as her competition includes her compatriots Genzebe Dibaba and Yebrugal Melese, who have respective PBs of 2:18:05 and 2:19:36.

Dibaba ran that PB on her debut in Amsterdam in 2022 and she clocked 2:21:47 in Chicago a year later. “I saw Haile Gebrselassie run two world records in Berlin on TV and since then I've always wanted to run in Berlin,” she said. “Now the time has come. It would be a success for me if I ran a personal best.”

Another eight women on the entry list have dipped under 2:22 for the marathon in their careers so far, including Mestawot Fikir (2:20:45), Azmera Gebru (2:20:48), Sisay Gola (2:20:50), Fikrte Wereta (2:21:32) and Aberu Ayana (2:21:54), as well as Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda (2:20:52) and Ai Hosoda (2:21:42). 

Germany’s Melat Kejeta is also part of that group, having clocked 2:21:47 in Dubai in January. She placed sixth at the Tokyo Olympics but was unable to finish the Olympic marathon in Paris due to stomach problems. 

A total of 13 world records have so far been set in the Berlin Marathon, the most recent being the 2:11:53 by Tigist Assefa – a training partner of Ketema – in last year’s women’s race.

The men’s title on that occasion was won by Eliud Kipchoge, as he claimed a record fifth victory.

Kipchoge does not return this year but Takele does, following his third-place finish in last year’s race in a PB of 2:03:24. That was his most recent race due to injury, but he says he is now fit and ready to run. “I’ve trained very well,” he said, “and expect to run a strong race.”

Another four men to have dipped under 2:05 feature on the entry list, including Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut, who ran his PB of 2:04:34 when finishing second in Amsterdam last year, and Ethiopia’s Hailemaryam Kiros and Bazezew Asmare, who respectively clocked 2:04:41 in Paris in 2021 and 2:04:57 in Amsterdam in 2022.

Kenya’s former world half marathon record-holder Kibiwott Kandie races the marathon for the third time and will be looking to build on the PB of 2:04:48 he set in Valencia last year as he hunts for a first win over the distance.

They will be joined by athletes including Kenya’s Samwel Mailu, the world half marathon bronze medallist who set a course record of 2:05:08 to win the Vienna City Marathon last year and continues his comeback after injury, and Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha, who finished sixth at the World Championships last year and has a best of 2:05:29.

Elite fields

Women

Tigist Ketema (ETH) 2:16:07

Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 2:18:05

Yebrugal Melese (ETH) 2:19:36

Mestawot Fikir (ETH) 2:20:45

Azmera Gebru (ETH) 2:20:48

Sisay Gola (ETH) 2:20:50

Mizuki Matsuda (JPN) 2:20:52

Fikrte Wereta (ETH) 2:21:32

Ai Hosoda (JPN) 2:21:42

Melat Kejeta (GER) 2:21:47

Aberu Ayana (ETH) 2:21:54

Calli Hauger-Thackery (GBR) 2:22:17

Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:22:54

Lisa Weightman (AUS) 2:23:15

Betelihem Afenigus (ETH) 2:23:20

Veronica Maina (KEN) 2:24:46

Bosena Mulatie (ETH) 2:26:59

Alisa Vainio (FIN) 2:27:26

Sonia Samuels (GBR) 2:28:04

Nora Szabo (HUN) 2:28:25

Philippa Bowden (USA) 2:29:14

Pauline Esikon (KEN) debut

Men

Tadese Takele (ETH) 2:03:24

Cybrian Kotut (KEN) 2:04:34

Hailemaryam Kiros (ETH) 2:04:41

Kibiwott Kandie (KEN) 2:04:48

Bazezew Asmare (ETH) 2:04:57

Samwel Mailu (KEN) 2:05:08

Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) 2:05:29

Haymanot Alew (ETH) 2:05:30

Philimon Kipchumba (KEN) 2:05:35

Josphat Boit (KEN) 2:05:42 

Dejene Megersa (ETH) 2:05:42

Enock Onchari (KEN) 2:05:47 

Oqbe Ruesom (ERI) 2:05:51

Justus Kangogo (KEN) 2:05:57

Haimro Alame (ISR) 2:06:04

Ashenafi Moges (ETH) 2:06:12

Asbel Rutto (KEN) 2:07:04

Samuel Tsegay (SWE) 2:06:53

Yohei Ikeda (JPN) 2:06:53

Stephen Kiprop (KEN) 2:07:04

Hendrik Pfeiffer (GER) 2:07:14

Kento Kikutani (JPN) 2:07:26

Melaku Belachew (ETH) 2:07:28

Godadaw Belachew (ISR) 2:07:45Y

uhei Urano (JPN) 2:07:52

Guojian Dong (CHN) 2:08:12

Filimon Abraham (GER) 2:08:22

Haftom Welday (GER) 2:08:24

Sebastian Hendel (GER) 2:08:51

Olonbayar Jamsran (MGL) 2:08:58

Haftamu Gebresilase (ETH) debut

ETHIOPIAN MUKTAR EDRIS AND ASAYECH AYICHEW DEFEATS ALL FAVORITES AT THE NN DAM TOT DAMLOOP

With Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei at the starting line, a world-class athlete was present at today’s NN Dam tot Damloop. However, at the end of the 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam, a surprising winner stood on the podium.

Muktar Edris impressively outpaced all the major favorites. He won the 38th edition of the NN Dam tot Damloop in 44:51 minutes, the fastest time in the world this year. Asayech Ayichew also shocked the field with her victory. The 19-year-old athlete ran a smart race and finished as the first woman in 51:18 minutes.

The best Dutch performances came from Filmon Tesfu (47:48) and Maureen Koster (54:32).On this beautiful late summer day, the women started 6 minutes and 4 seconds ahead of the men. As is tradition, the women kicked off the race from the Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam and ran towards the finish in Zaandam.

In the IJtunnel, which was specially illuminated for the first time this year, the women’s group quickly split into two. Diana van Es and Maureen Koster briefly managed to keep up with the pace of the African runners but soon decided to run at their own rhythm.At that moment, the men’s race also started, and the chase began. Three-time World Champion and Olympic champion in the 10,000 meters, Joshua Cheptegei, set the pace alongside last year’s winner, Mathew Kimeli.

A leading group of nine runners formed, with Filmon Tesfu being the only Dutch runner among them. After just 4 kilometers, Muktar Edris made his move, disregarding the two favorites. He surged ahead at a blistering pace, opening up a significant gap. Cheptegei briefly closed in after 11 kilometers, momentarily bringing tension back into the race. However, Edris’ lead was too large to overcome.

At Dam Square, about 600 meters before the finish, Edris even had time to wave to the cheering crowd, which had gathered en masse for the race’s final stretch. After a final sprint, he finished with a time of 44:51. Although this was the fastest time of the season for this distance, Leonard Patrick Komon’s sharp course record from 2011 (44:27) remained unthreatened.

After the race, Edris thanked the spectators for their support: “After a long injury, this was my first race back. Thanks to all the encouragement, I was able to keep pushing throughout the race. The atmosphere was fantastic.” Cheptegei could not meet the high expectations today and had to settle for second place (45:18), while Kenyan Ismael Kiprono claimed third place (45:44).Filmon Tesfu impressed as the best Dutch runner with a time of 47:48 and was pleased with his seventh-place finish overall:

“I expected to perform at this level. For the first 3 kilometers, I kept up with the lead group, but then I switched to my own pace and managed to overtake more runners towards the finish. Being the top Dutch runner here is nice, but my main goal is the TCS Amsterdam Marathon next month, where I’ll be making my marathon debut.” Richard Douma finished as the second Dutchman (48:38), followed by Gianluca Assorgia in third (48:44).

The man-vs-woman competition remained close for a long time, but Edris eventually overtook Asayech Ayichew after 15 kilometers. By that point, Ayichew had already been running solo towards the finish, having smartly let the favorite, Gladys Chepkurui, lead for much of the race. Ayichew crossed the finish line shortly after Edris on Peperstraat with a time of 51:18.

Chepkurui followed closely behind (51:36), and third place went to Mebrat Gidey (52:17). The Dutch women's podium consisted of Maureen Koster (54:32), Jasmijn Lau (54:42), and Silke Jonkman (55:04).

New York Road Runners draws 20 Olympians to run in 5th Avenue Mile

The New York Road Runners New Balance 5th Avenue Mile is this Sunday, and it's sure to have plenty of Olympic spirit.

The nonprofit on Tuesday announced the event will draw 20 participants from the recent Summer Olympics in Paris.

Some of runners for the men's race include defending 5th Avenue Mile champion Josh Kerr, Robert Farken, Neil Gourley, Edwin Kurgat and Cathal Doyle.

On the women's side, U.S. Olympic medalist and world champion Emma Coburn will lead a field along with Marisa Howard, Emily Mackay, Whittni Morgan, Karissa Schweizer Courtney Wayment and several others.

"As I make my way back from injury, I can't think of a better event to make my comeback than returning to run the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile," Coburn said in a statement. "I've been training hard since my surgery, and lining up with this world-class group of athletes on this iconic course will feel so good."

The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile - the world's most iconic road mile race since 1981 - is one of 60 adult and youth races produced by NYRR.

The event will be televised live on WABC-TV from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and be available across the country on ESPN+.

Olympic Champion Cheptegei at the start of Dam tot Damloop

Strong field of participants at the 38th edition  of Dam tot Damloop.

Olympic Champion Joshua Cheptegei will be at the start of the Dam tot Damloop on Sunday 22 September. The champion in the 10,000 meters smashed the Olympic record in Paris this summer and has now been set by sports organization Le Champion for the Dam tot Damloop.Last year's Kenyan winner Mathew Kimeli, Muktar Edris (ETH) and Isaac Kipkemboi (KEN) are formidable opponents and make this year's field very strong.

In the women's race, the battle will be between Kenyan Cintia Chepngeno and Ethiopians Dibabe Beyene, Biri Abera and Mebrat Gidey.The 27-year-old Cheptegei has a well-stocked trophy cabinet and there is a good chance that many more titles will be added, as the Ugandan runner indicated earlier this year that he wants to shift his focus from the track to road races.

With both the current world record in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, he is also the absolute favorite for the 38th edition of the Dam tot Damloop. Cheptegei about his participation: 'This year was very successful for me with winning gold at the last Olympic Games. After spending some time with my family, I am happy to return to racing in the, for me, familiar streets of Amsterdam and Zaandam.

I have already run the Dam tot Damloop three times, the last time was in 2018 when I won. I'm going for the title again.'CompetitionIn 2018, he won the running event that starts in Amsterdam and finishes in Zaandam in 45.15 minutes. Competition will mainly come from Kenyan Kimeli, who made her debut last year and won in 45.20 minutes. Together with the Ethiopian former world record holder in the 5,000 meters Edris and the Kenyan Kipkemboi, the race will be hard.

In the women'srace, Chepngeno and Beyene will compete with Abera and Gidey. Chepngeno's fast legs are fine, the Kenyan recorded the 10 kilometers in Valencia in 30.08 minutes this year.

Dam tot DamloopThe 10 English Miles of the Dam tot Damloop is extremely popular this year.

Within a few weeks, the registration was completely sold out.

At the moment there are only starting tickets available for the Damloop by night, which will take place on Saturday evening 21 September. Registration is open until Monday 9 September. A total of 65,000 runners will be in action during the Dam tot Damloop.

Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje To Race 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Roza Dereje has raced just once in the last three years yet her commitment to the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a massive coup for this World Athletics Elite Label Race.

Twice she has dipped under the 2:20 barrier and can point to a personal best marathon time of 2:18:30 set when she won the 2019 Valencia Marathon.

Moreover, she represented Ethiopia in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon - held in Sapporo, Japan in 2021. Under hot humid conditions she narrowly missed the podium finishing 4th that day. Then there is her incredible record at World Marathon Majors: a second place finish at the 2018 Chicago Marathon (2:21:18) and, six months later, a third place in the 2019 London Marathon (2:20:51).

Her one outing was a credible 6th place finish at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Northern Ireland (August 25th, 2024) - a tuneup for her first visit to Canada.

Never before has the Toronto Waterfront Marathon enjoyed the addition of an athlete sporting such credentials.

There is a good explanation for her hiatus from the sport ever since those Tokyo Olympics. A little over a year ago she gave birth to her first child, a son named Yobsan.

“Life has changed a lot,” the 27 year old admits. “Being a mom is a great thing to be in this world and life is so good after it.”

Roza’s husband is Dereje Ali, a former world class marathon runner, who finished second in the 2011 Ottawa Marathon. The couple and their infant live in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa and have reversed traditional roles in their household. Indeed, Roza credits her husband’s sacrifice for her ability to compete at the highest level and to make her comeback at this year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

“He stopped running just to support me,” she explains. “We talked about it and he stopped to take care of the children and household and allow me the time to rest and recover in between training sessions and to prepare food etc. to help me to be a champion.”

Those training sessions involve meeting up with her elite training group under renowned coach Haji Adilo three times a week. She trains alone on other days. The meetups can be in a variety of different locations depending upon Haji’s objective for the session.

“Akaki, Sendafa, Entoto, they are great training places too,” Roza continues. “I drive with my husband Dereje to all of the sessions. We are very fortunate to have a good car and can travel freely to the sessions and not have to wait on public transportation.”

Normally, training sessions begin at sunrise before there is heavy traffic on the roads at these locations. During the rainy season (June to September) it is sometimes necessary to change locations since the majority of roads are unpaved and can become slippery underfoot.

Besides the sacrifices made by Dereje her greatest influence has been Haji her longtime coach whose career as a marathon runner was cut short due to health complications. He went into coaching with a personal best of 2:12:25 from 1999.

“Haji's great support has taken me this far, his hard work and commitment to the sport is what brings me to where I am now,” she declares. “I started my career with him and I am who I am today because of him and my other coaches in the team.”

Choosing Toronto for her come back made sense as many of Haji’s athletes have competed here.

"I used to watch other athletes running there (on YouTube livestream) so I am excited to come and run,” she adds. “Last year one of my training partners (Amid Fozya Jemal) was part of an exciting race right to the finish so I am hoping to come and make an exciting race too.”

The Toronto Waterfront course record of 2:22:16 was set in 2019 by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai. It’s a time that Roza had beaten four times prior to her Olympic marathon race in 2021. However, talk of record breaking in Toronto, at least this far out, is not discussed though she might be very capable of achieving this standard.

“Even though it is my first time to race since I gave birth, running is not new to me,” she declares. “So I am not nervous about it. I am preparing well for the race to make my come back fruitful.

“I am training well targeting this race and I have more time to prepare myself too.”

Asked for a specific goal her answer is concise: “Winning, with the will of God!”

Experts Say You Should Ditch the Watch at Least Twice a Week and Run Based on Feel—Here’s Why

It’s time to incorporate more effort-based training into your schedule.Running is both an art and a science in many ways, and sometimes, you choose whether you want to lean into the former or the latter. Such is the case when running by feel (art) or pace (science).

Running by feel is also known as effort-based training or going by your rate of perceived exertion (RPE). “We define perceived exertion as your own subjective intensity of effort, strain, discomfort, or fatigue that you experience during exercise,” says Luke Haile, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Your RPE is affected by numerous factors, from your emotional state to the weather to how well you slept the night before. “When you can understand it, it can really guide your training,” Haile says.

The easiest way to look at running by feel is on a scale of one to 10 (although some versions of RPE go up to 15 or 20), says Greg Laraia, a running coach at Motiv in New York City. One means you’re exercising with barely any effort at all while a 10 would be an all-out, can-barely-breathe effort. In practice, this looks like heading out to run at a six or seven for your easy runs (rather than at, say, 10-minute mile pace). 

If you know your body and your paces well, you can also run by feel sans RPE scale and just going off what an eight-minute mile ~feels~ like, for example. Experienced runners can get so good at knowing how a particular pace feels to them that they don’t even need the feedback from tech—they can simply decide that they want to run eight-minute miles and, more or less, nail it. 

But can ditching your watch and running by feel versus pace still get you to your goals? Read on to find out the pros and cons to both approaches, and how to know which is best for you. (Spoiler: Most likely, you’ll want to integrate a mix of both metrics!)

Pros of Running By Feel

“The real gift of running by feel is [that it’s] almost a mindfulness practice that, with training, allows you to feel how the body is in that moment and to take notice of how your feet feel, how your calves feel, down to your heart rate, breathing, noticing your sweating, and knowing what it feels like when you are at the right pace for a given goal,” says Haile.

The more in tune you get with your body and learn to listen to it, the more you learn when you have more to give to a run or when there’s something lurking under the surface, like an injury coming on, that isn’t allowing you to reach your full potential, Haile adds. 

Because of this, running by feel can help reduce your risk of injury or burnout, says Laraia. If you have a “bad” day but your training plan says you need to run at a higher heart rate zone or a particular pace, you might push yourself to hit that and overdo it. But if you’re running by feel, you keep your pace and heart rate in check (because it feels challenging enough). 

Cons of Running By Feel

For starters, running by feel may not be as accurate for novice runners: Haile and his team have conducted a number of experiments around RPE in both recreational and more experienced (not necessarily fast!) runners. 

“We’ll put somebody through a VO2 max test and see how hard they can actually go, then see how well they can reproduce intensities that are around that [same] anaerobic threshold because that’s really where race pace often lies,” says Haile. 

The verdict: The more experienced the runner, the better they tend to do at reproducing those same intensities. “To tell somebody that’s relatively inexperienced or beginner level to go out and sprint as hard as they can or run a 10 RPE, they might not run that hard,” says Laraia, because they don’t have context for what hard and really hard actually means. Four months later, it’s going to feel way different. (Still, he argues that this could be seen as a positive in some causes, because it shows there’s room for growth.)

Even for more experienced runners, though, accuracy varies. In one of Haile’s studies, published in the journal Perceptual Motor Skills, the 34 men involved in the research were less able to judge how hard they were actually working when running on a treadmill at relatively lower speeds and RPE, compared to working at a higher effort. Interestingly, “when intensity and RPE were higher, they had a finer perceptual acuity,” Haile says.

Another potential drawback is that it’s possible that running by feel can push runners too hard—or hold them back. “That’s where some of these other factors can come into play and cloud that mindful listening of the body,” says Haile. 

For example, maybe you’re exceeding your goal pace (or heart rate) because of some external motivational factors—like trying to run faster that your Strava friends—that are at play and this leads to overreaching. Or maybe there are emotional things going on that are causing you to feel things a little bit more physically when it’s not necessarily a physical issue. “We’ve all been in a place where emotionally it is draining and [that] doesn’t allow us to achieve what our body is actually capable of doing,” Haile says.

Finally, running by feel is more difficult to quantify. “There’s no measurable data,” Laraia says. “If you were to write down your RPE on paper, everyone’s looks the same because it’s based off the sensation that you’re feeling.”

Pros of Running by Pace

If you have a goal in mind, like a time goal for a race that’s attainable—and that’s a key word here—you want to take a more scientific approach, per Laraia. That could mean using your watch to nail a specific pace during each of your training runs. Doing so will enable you to hit the proper pace you need to achieve your race-day goal time. 

Practicing specific paces also allows you to test faster speeds and push your limits, which is important if your main goal is getting faster. If you’re running by feel all the time, it’s hard to see your progress in speed. 

As mentioned, running by pace may be the better bet for runners with less experience as it helps them to learn how it feels to stick to various paces, which they can then riff off of later in their training journey. To do that, you still want to tune into how you feel on the run, but you’re examining that based on the pace your running (rather than vice versa). Cons of Running by Pace

The main issue with this approach is that it doesn’t take into account all those aforementioned factors that can affect how you feel—physically and mentally—on a particular day. A 8:30-per-mile pace may feel easy on some days and really, really hard on others. 

“A lot of running, especially distance running, does come down to how you’re feeling mentally,” says Laraia, and he keeps this in mind when working with clients. “If they’re feeling great, by all means let’s go, but if they’re feeling shitty, I’m not going to force them to do a hard effort.” 

Again, pushing to hit a certain pace despite not feeling truly up for it can lead to injury and/or burnout. Take the long slow distance run for example: These efforts are meant to feel easy and should be done at a lower heart rate. If you’re trying to keep up with a specific pace, despite that pace actually feeling difficult, then you won’t gain the benefits of those long zone 2 efforts. 

Second, running by pace may drive runners to pursue unrealistic race goal times. With running by feel, you may realize that your original goal pace/finish time is too ambitious, and you can adjust accordingly. 

Pace vs Feel: How to Determine Which Metric Is Right for You

Everyone could probably benefit from running one or two runs per week by feel, based on all the above benefits! But just how much you lean into this artful approach depends on:

If you’re training for a race, whether it’s a 5K or a marathon, and have a particular time goal in mind, you’ll likely benefit from running most of your training runs by pace. And on race day, this becomes more important the longer the race is: “Sticking with pace early on especially is important when you don’t want to overdo it and then have nothing left or underdo it and then you have some left in the tank when the finish line’s already crossed,” Haile says. “Sometimes it seems that letting pace guide you early and then letting feel guide you later is something that works really well for runners.”

If you’re a new runner, it would be wise to opt for running by pace until you have enough runs under their belt to truly understand what various paces and efforts feel like. This is especially true if you eventually want to sign up for a race.

If you’re more experienced and/or aren’t training for a race (or don’t have a firm race-day goal), you may want to consider adding more runs by feel into your routine to benefit from the mindfulness aspect. 

Another option to add to the mix beyond running by pace versus feel would be to run based on your heart rate zones: Run your easy run at a low heart rate and your hard days in higher heart rate zones with your long runs in those middle ranges, Laraia explains. This somewhat straddles the line between running by pace and by feel as it’s more objective than the latter but more forgiving than the former. Tips for Running by Feel

Running by feel is a skill that you can improve. Haile suggests scheduling a couple of runs by feel per week, one easier and one harder, and during those sessions, pay extra attention to the different parts of your body and how you truly feel. You can’t know if a certain pace feels right, if you don’t really know what “right” is, after all. 

“When you’re really noticing it and feeling it (‘oh, that feels too fast’ or ‘this is too slow’) beyond whatever the [watch] is telling you, you can listen into your body and know that this is what is right [in this moment] given this heat or humidity or maybe this nice cool evening,” says Haile. 

Laraia also suggests taking some notes in a training journal after each run by feel. Consider how you felt at the start, middle, and end of the run and jot that down. You could then look at your watch data (even if you did not look during the run) to get a little more science- and data-driven and see where your heart rate was during each of those runs and cross-reference that with how you felt, per Laraia. Maybe mentally you felt great but your heart rate was a little elevated (for you). Having these little self check-ins is a good way to help make running by feel more accurate, Laraia explains.

“The biggest thing is just keeping in mind that it is just another tool in your toolbox versus an end-all be-all,” says Laraia. “It’s safe and it’s relatively reliable because it’s based on you, the person actually training or using it, which is great. The more time you practice and check in with yourself and either write it down or provide feedback to a coach, the better off you’ll be using it.”

Wanjiru and Takele return for 50th Berlin Marathon

Four women with sub-2:20 PBs and six men to have dipped under 2:05 feature on the entry lists for the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on September 29.

Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema and Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru top the women’s entry list with PBs that put them in the top 10 on the world marathon all-time list.

Ketema, who had been better known as an 800m and 1500m specialist, stormed into the marathon spotlight in Dubai in January as she ran 2:16:07, a time that makes her the ninth-fastest women’s marathon runner in history. She followed that with 2:23:21 for seventh place in London in April and Berlin will be her first race since then.

Just one place behind Ketema on the all-time list is Wanjiru, who clocked 2:16:14 to finish second in Tokyo in March. That followed her sixth place in the World Championships marathon in Budapest and victory in the Tokyo Marathon last year. Wanjiru also finished second in Berlin in 2022, running 2:18:00 on her debut.

Joining them on the start line are Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba and Yebrugal Melese, who have respective PBs of 2:18:05 and 2:19:36, plus their compatriots Mestawot Fikir (2:20:45), Azmera Gebru (2:20:48), Sisay Gola (2:20:50), Ababel Yeshaneh (2:20:51) and Fikrte Wereta (2:21:32), as well as Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda (2:20:52).

A total of 13 world records have so far been set in the Berlin Marathon, the most recent being the 2:11:53 by Tigist Assefa in last year’s women’s race.

The men’s title on that occasion was won by Eliud Kipchoge, as he claimed a record fifth victory.

This year, for the first time since 2014, the men’s race will not feature Kipchoge or Kenenisa Bekele – who between them have won the race seven times, with two of Kipchoge’s wins having been claimed in world records – but fast times will still be the target.

Among those who will be returning to Berlin are Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele and Ronald Korir of Kenya, who placed third and fourth last year in respective PBs of 2:03:24 and 2:04:22. 

Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut ran his PB of 2:04:34 when finishing second in Amsterdam last year and makes his Berlin Marathon debut, while Ethiopia’s Hailemaryam Kiros and Bazezew Asmare have also broken 2:05 in their careers so far, respectively running 2:04:41 in Paris in 2021 and 2:04:57 in Amsterdam in 2022.

Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie races the marathon for the third time. The former world half marathon record-holder, who clocked 57:32 for 13.1 miles in 2020, will be looking to build on the PB of 2:04:48 he set in Valencia last year.

Also seeking a spot on the podium will be Kenya’s Samwel Mailu, the world half marathon bronze medallist who set a course record of 2:05:08 to win the Vienna City Marathon last year and continues his comeback after injury.

‘I Can. I Will. I Must:’ Mantras and Affirmations That Propel Olympic Athletes to Victory

These motivating words from Olympians—and the stories behind them—can help you get through any tough run.

For all the drama it contained—including a fall by defending Olympic champion Athing Mu—the final of the women’s 800 meters at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials was over in less than 2 minutes.

But for Allie Wilson, time stood still. “Everything, any mantra I’ve ever talked about, was rapid-fire flying through my brain,” she told Runner’s World. “‘Try to get top three.’ ‘Pass one more person.’ ‘1 percent.’ I was so calm, cool, and collected, like I’ve never felt before.”

Buoyed by these confidence-boosting claims, Wilson placed second in a personal best 1:58.32 to earn a spot on Team USA.

She credits this flow state to her work with Bianca Martin, a mindset coach currently studying for her master’s degree in sport and performance psychology. Since meeting three years ago, the two have worked on many psychological aspects of performance. One of the most important, Wilson says, has been replacing negative thoughts with neutral or positive ones.

She’s far from the only track and field Olympian to use this approach to performance psychology. Many use spoken or written affirmations—statements that challenge negative thoughts and reinforce positive emotions—as well as mantras, a few words that might be repeated during a workout or race.

Here are the powerful phrases that got Wilson, 1500-meter champion Nikki Hiltz, and champion heptathlete Anna Hall to their first Olympics in Paris this summer. While mantras and affirmations tend to work best when they’re personal, you might find inspiration from their examples for your own big goals.

Looking for inspiration?

Swipe through the deck to find a mantra that resonates with you today!

Looking for inspiration?

Swipe through the deck to find a mantra that resonates with you today!

Allie Wilson’s Mantras“Just another race.”

Yes, the stakes at the Trials—and, before that, at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque in February—were higher than at most meets. But Wilson realized the more she kept her mindset and routine consistent, the better she performed.

“I’m running two laps around the track—that’s what I do every weekend,” says Wilson, a Nike athlete. “Why am I going to go berserk over it and start doing things all differently than I would, or freaking out? It’s the same thing at the end of the day; I’ve done it a million times.”

“I can win.”

In the days before the indoor championships, Wilson found herself nervously telling Martin she knew what was going to happen. Just like at every other major competition, she’d likely give it her all but come up just short. Martin stopped her and ordered her to say the opposite instead: “I can win.”

Wilson hesitated, but Martin insisted. “I would sit there and I wouldn’t speak for 10 seconds. And eventually, I would say it,” Wilson says.

Thanks to all that practice, it didn’t take nearly as long for the thought to surface during the race itself. “When it got really hard, all of a sudden, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I can win it,’” Wilson says—and she did, in 2:00.63.

“1 percent.”

With competition like Mu, who’s also the American record holder, in the race at the team trials, Wilson knew winning would take a fast time. And she wasn’t sure she could keep the pace—though her personal best was 1:58.09, in 2022, she’d only run one race faster than 2 minutes since that summer.

Martin had her calculate what time would result if she ran just 1 percent faster than her best time this season. Wilson figured out it was 1:59 with a few milliseconds. “That struck a chord with me. I was like, ‘Wow, 1 percent is so little, but it makes such a big difference,’” she says. After that, she told herself: “Even when you think you’re trying your hardest, try 1 percent harder.”

“Why not you?”

Thanks to all the work she’d done in the lead-up, Wilson says she had fewer negative thoughts during the Trials than she used to. But she still couldn’t help but express a few doubts. When she did, Martin reminded her that any three women in the final could go to the Olympics. “Why not you?” she asked Wilson.

“That was probably the one I was using on the starting line the most,” Wilson says. “I told myself, it could be any combination of three. I only have to beat six people and then I could be one of them.”

Allie Wilson’s Mantras

“Just another race.”

Yes, the stakes at the Trials—and, before that, at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque in February—were higher than at most meets. But Wilson realized the more she kept her mindset and routine consistent, the better she performed.

“I’m running two laps around the track—that’s what I do every weekend,” says Wilson, a Nike athlete. “Why am I going to go berserk over it and start doing things all differently than I would, or freaking out? It’s the same thing at the end of the day; I’ve done it a million times.”

“I can win.”

In the days before the indoor championships, Wilson found herself nervously telling Martin she knew what was going to happen. Just like at every other major competition, she’d likely give it her all but come up just short. Martin stopped her and ordered her to say the opposite instead: “I can win.”

Wilson hesitated, but Martin insisted. “I would sit there and I wouldn’t speak for 10 seconds. And eventually, I would say it,” Wilson says.

Thanks to all that practice, it didn’t take nearly as long for the thought to surface during the race itself. “When it got really hard, all of a sudden, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I can win it,’” Wilson says—and she did, in 2:00.63.

“1 percent.”

With competition like Mu, who’s also the American record holder, in the race at the team trials, Wilson knew winning would take a fast time. And she wasn’t sure she could keep the pace—though her personal best was 1:58.09, in 2022, she’d only run one race faster than 2 minutes since that summer.

Martin had her calculate what time would result if she ran just 1 percent faster than her best time this season. Wilson figured out it was 1:59 with a few milliseconds. “That struck a chord with me. I was like, ‘Wow, 1 percent is so little, but it makes such a big difference,’” she says. After that, she told herself: “Even when you think you’re trying your hardest, try 1 percent harder.”

“Why not you?”

Thanks to all the work she’d done in the lead-up, Wilson says she had fewer negative thoughts during the Trials than she used to. But she still couldn’t help but express a few doubts. When she did, Martin reminded her that any three women in the final could go to the Olympics. “Why not you?” she asked Wilson.

“That was probably the one I was using on the starting line the most,” Wilson says. “I told myself, it could be any combination of three. I only have to beat six people and then I could be one of them.”

Anna Hall’s Mantras“You’re one of the best athletes in the world—act like it.”

Hall has a history of winning. She’s claimed two NCAA titles and two previous national championships in the heptathlon, which involves seven different running, throwing, and jumping events.

But she broke her foot during the 2021 Trials, taking her out of contention for the Tokyo Games. And then, just this past January, she had knee surgery. The tight timeline for her return made it challenging to stay confident, and the first few weeks she was back at practice post-surgery, she would feel frustrated and cry frequently.

One night, she went home and took a step back. She asked herself: “How would the person who is where I am in sport act throughout this injury? How would they show up every day motivated and ready to go?” Her coaches noticed her mindset was more positive and even her body language improved, says Hall.

“I can, I will, I must.”

Hall has kept a journal ever since 2022, when she was returning from her foot injury. She typically writes in it a few times a week. Sometimes, she jots down technical cues that help her remember how she wants to feel when she’s tossing a shot put (“slide, twist, lift, HIT”) or leaping over hurdles (“tall tight shoulders down”).

But she also includes affirmations like this one, taken from her jumps coach in Florida, Nic Peterson. Hall uses it during every meet to remind herself not only of her own determination, but also the team behind her. The day of her last event the Trials, the 800 meters, it’s written three times on the top of a page of her journal, followed by the statement: “Today I will become an Olympian.”

“Prove them wrong.”

For all her winning, Hall prefers an underdog mentality. “No matter how much I’m favored to win something, in my head, I’m like, ‘Somebody thinks I’m not supposed to win this,’” she says.

This time, she had a concrete example: Early in the season, as she was regaining her post-injury footing, a prominent track and field competition ranked Hall third in early predictions for the Trials. Hall understands why they’d do that, but she still used it as fuel to outperform their projections.

“We are so back.”

The day after the Trials, Hall immediately picked up her journal again to acknowledge all she’d accomplished. In addition to a gold medal and a trip to Paris, the victory had given her a powerful mindset shift.

No longer was she questioning whether she was ready to compete after surgery—she’d done so, successfully. She’ll keep that feeling and phrase in mind, and in her journal, at the Games, where she hopes to be in contention for the win.

Anna Hall’s Mantras

“You’re one of the best athletes in the world—act like it.”

Hall has a history of winning. She’s claimed two NCAA titles and two previous national championships in the heptathlon, which involves seven different running, throwing, and jumping events.

But she broke her foot during the 2021 Trials, taking her out of contention for the Tokyo Games. And then, just this past January, she had knee surgery. The tight timeline for her return made it challenging to stay confident, and the first few weeks she was back at practice post-surgery, she would feel frustrated and cry frequently.

One night, she went home and took a step back. She asked herself: “How would the person who is where I am in sport act throughout this injury? How would they show up every day motivated and ready to go?” Her coaches noticed her mindset was more positive and even her body language improved, says Hall.

“I can, I will, I must.”

Hall has kept a journal ever since 2022, when she was returning from her foot injury. She typically writes in it a few times a week. Sometimes, she jots down technical cues that help her remember how she wants to feel when she’s tossing a shot put (“slide, twist, lift, HIT”) or leaping over hurdles (“tall tight shoulders down”).

But she also includes affirmations like this one, taken from her jumps coach in Florida, Nic Peterson. Hall uses it during every meet to remind herself not only of her own determination, but also the team behind her. The day of her last event the Trials, the 800 meters, it’s written three times on the top of a page of her journal, followed by the statement: “Today I will become an Olympian.”

“Prove them wrong.”

For all her winning, Hall prefers an underdog mentality. “No matter how much I’m favored to win something, in my head, I’m like, ‘Somebody thinks I’m not supposed to win this,’” she says.

This time, she had a concrete example: Early in the season, as she was regaining her post-injury footing, a prominent track and field competition ranked Hall third in early predictions for the Trials. Hall understands why they’d do that, but she still used it as fuel to outperform their projections.

“We are so back.”

The day after the Trials, Hall immediately picked up her journal again to acknowledge all she’d accomplished. In addition to a gold medal and a trip to Paris, the victory had given her a powerful mindset shift.

No longer was she questioning whether she was ready to compete after surgery—she’d done so, successfully. She’ll keep that feeling and phrase in mind, and in her journal, at the Games, where she hopes to be in contention for the win.

Nikki Hiltz’s Mantras

“I am capable.”

Hiltz, the Lululemon-sponsored runner who won the women’s 1500 meters in a meet-record 3:55.33, began journaling in 2023 as part of a New Year’s resolution. One part of that has been writing down affirmations like this one, followed by specific workouts and races that offer data points to back them up.

For example, Hiltz won their semifinal with the fastest time of all the heats, 4:01.40. Although that was their personal best time less than a year ago, at the Trials, “it felt like 6/10,” they wrote—far from an all-out effort. And a month before, they ran 3:59 at the Prefontaine Classic, despite doing a hard double-threshold workout the same week.

“You’re going to perform how you practice.”

In addition to a written journal, Hiltz uses the Notes app to jot down motivating, calming, or confidence-boosting sentiments. Inspiration can come from anywhere—sometimes it’s a coach or sport psychologist, but in this case, it’s from Netflix’s docuseries America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

Hearing the coach say it to the cheerleaders before a performance—reminding them to “just go out there and do what you’ve already been doing”—caused Hiltz to think about how all their hard work in training would translate into success when it mattered.

“I have all the tools.”

Hiltz headed into the finals particularly confident of their ability not only to run fast, but to shift gears and kick hard. In their journal, they wrote that they thought they were now capable of accelerating off a 3:57 pace.

And that’s exactly what happened—after Elle St. Pierre led for the first three laps in 3:08.77, Hiltz swung wide and surged in the final 100 meters to take the win. “Every time I’ve written something like that in my journal, it kind of comes true,” Hiltz says. “That’s the power of putting it out to the world.”

“Respect everybody, fear nobody.”

Hiltz knew the field in the 1500 meters was deep, and that multiple athletes could run faster than 4 minutes. But they didn’t let that rattle them.

They’ll carry that approach over to the Games, too. Exactly a week after the Trials, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon broke her own world record in the event, running 3:49.04—and Australia’s Jess Hull stuck with her, finishing in a new national record of 3:50.83.

While it would be easy to find this intimidating—and in moments, Hiltz does—their mental work allows them to quickly see the flip side. “We’ve all beat Jess Hull at some point or another,” they say. “Jess doing that was badass and impressive, and she’s inspiring me to go out at a faster pace than I ever have before.”

That ability to reframe is exactly why Hiltz—along with Hall and Wilson—say they’ll keep using affirmations and mantras as they head into their big races in Paris.

“When you’re on the starting line of the Olympic final, no one’s doing anything more or less than anyone else. We all have incredible coaches, and we’ve done incredible training,” Hiltz says. “What’s going to separate us from each other is the belief and the mental stuff.”

Nikki Hiltz’s Mantras

“I am capable.”

Hiltz, the Lululemon-sponsored runner who won the women’s 1500 meters in a meet-record 3:55.33, began journaling in 2023 as part of a New Year’s resolution. One part of that has been writing down affirmations like this one, followed by specific workouts and races that offer data points to back them up.

For example, Hiltz won their semifinal with the fastest time of all the heats, 4:01.40. Although that was their personal best time less than a year ago, at the Trials, “it felt like 6/10,” they wrote—far from an all-out effort. And a month before, they ran 3:59 at the Prefontaine Classic, despite doing a hard double-threshold workout the same week.

“You’re going to perform how you practice.”

In addition to a written journal, Hiltz uses the Notes app to jot down motivating, calming, or confidence-boosting sentiments. Inspiration can come from anywhere—sometimes it’s a coach or sport psychologist, but in this case, it’s from Netflix’s docuseries America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

Hearing the coach say it to the cheerleaders before a performance—reminding them to “just go out there and do what you’ve already been doing”—caused Hiltz to think about how all their hard work in training would translate into success when it mattered.

“I have all the tools.”

Hiltz headed into the finals particularly confident of their ability not only to run fast, but to shift gears and kick hard. In their journal, they wrote that they thought they were now capable of accelerating off a 3:57 pace.

And that’s exactly what happened—after Elle St. Pierre led for the first three laps in 3:08.77, Hiltz swung wide and surged in the final 100 meters to take the win. “Every time I’ve written something like that in my journal, it kind of comes true,” Hiltz says. “That’s the power of putting it out to the world.”

“Respect everybody, fear nobody.”

Hiltz knew the field in the 1500 meters was deep, and that multiple athletes could run faster than 4 minutes. But they didn’t let that rattle them.

They’ll carry that approach over to the Games, too. Exactly a week after the Trials, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon broke her own world record in the event, running 3:49.04—and Australia’s Jess Hull stuck with her, finishing in a new national record of 3:50.83.

While it would be easy to find this intimidating—and in moments, Hiltz does—their mental work allows them to quickly see the flip side. “We’ve all beat Jess Hull at some point or another,” they say. “Jess doing that was badass and impressive, and she’s inspiring me to go out at a faster pace than I ever have before.”

That ability to reframe is exactly why Hiltz—along with Hall and Wilson—say they’ll keep using affirmations and mantras as they head into their big races in Paris.

“When you’re on the starting line of the Olympic final, no one’s doing anything more or less than anyone else. We all have incredible coaches, and we’ve done incredible training,” Hiltz says. “What’s going to separate us from each other is the belief and the mental stuff.”

50 laps and then a marathon: Sifan Hassan chases the ‘impossible’ dream at Paris Olympics

The Olympics is a time to marvel at the incredible but the sheer size of the opportunity should ensure an element of caution among athletes.

Not so for Sifan Hassan, the Dutch middle and long distance runner, after she announced her bid to pull off a historic treble at the Paris Olympics when she will compete in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon events.

The Olympic champion in Tokyo over 5,000m and 10,000m, Hassan had entered the 1,500m, too, before dropping that event on Wednesday.

Hassan provoked excitement in the sport three years ago when she attempted an exhausting Tokyo treble.

She would add bronze to her two golds in Tokyo when she rallied in the 1,500m heats after falling over, before settling for bronze in the final after a fierce battle with Faith Kipyegon and Laura Muir.

That bronze, while adding a dash of disappointment in the Tokyo rush for three golds, was a gift to the sport in hindsight. It delivered a shove, compelling Hassan to roll the dice and taste 26.2 miles on the roads.

The marathon and the roads bring acclaim and fortunes rarely afforded on the track and the hope was that Hassan, with her formidable track speed, would graduate in time. Yet her transition was seamless: She made her debut in London last year, pulling off one of the most staggering comebacks.

Hunched over and stationary in the middle of the race at 19km, Hassan desperately stretched to rid her aching body of lactic acid. Not only did it vanish, but she found a spring to outkick Alemu Megertu and win by a mere four seconds in two hours, 18 mins and 33secs.

More was to come, with victory and the second-fastest women's marathon of all time (2:13.44) in Chicago, before a respectable fourth in Tokyo this year. It begs the question as to why Hassan would risk scuppering hopes of marathon gold by subjecting her legs to 20km (the 5,000m has two rounds) on the track. Notably, the marathon course will present a number of hills, which could see each race unfold into a tactical affair with the opportunity for a sprint finish.

Even with 4mins 4.08secs in the 1,500m this year, Hassan would revel in the opportunity to test Ethiopian world record holder Tigst Assefa (2:11:53) and Kenyan trio Peres Jepchirchir, Helen Obiri and Sharon Lokedi over a late dash.

But the 31-year-old, whose face can be seen across many of the metro stations in Paris for an eye-catching Nike campaign, insists the attempt is nothing more than intrigue. And for that. she should be praised, in a sport where so many play it safe.

“I’m a very curious person,” she remarked. “Is life all about a gold medal? I'm very curious to do many events. I think it's impossible. So I want to see if it is, so I have to try. In Tokyo, it was successful after the three events. I discovered myself, also.

“Curiosity, when I try new things, is actually what keeps me going in my career. My journey is more important, the other things come after. I love the journey as much as the challenge.

“Did I balance speed on the track with enough endurance in the marathon? Let’s find out together. It’s not easy to face the unknown but my curiosity has driven all my training towards this goal. I will try my best to succeed.”

Hassan starts her campaign in Paris in the 5,000m opening round on Friday and will return on Monday for the final, should she qualify.

The 10,000m final is set for 9 August, meaning less than 48 hours of rest before lining up for the marathon.

“For anyone else this would be insane!” American track legend Michael Johnson wrote on social media. “I don't believe there's ever been an athlete who enjoys racing more than Sifan Hassan.”

And her attempt has left many of her fellow athletes in awe, with 1,500m world champion Josh Kerr impressed by her versatility.

“I don't think I could do that on the women’s side... to do a triple like that, the training is so gruelling for the marathon,” said Kerr. “She’s so well rounded that being able to have enough speed in the rank to do track races, it’s two rounds in the five, she’ll be out there having fun. Very impressive.”

“It's good sometimes when I'm nervous ... I do better,” Hassan laughed. Her rivals will hope she is not.

Bix 7 Notebook: Samuelson, Keflezighi collect more Bix hardware

The four legendary runners who appeared at various Quad-City Times Bix 7 events this week all made it through the grand 50th-anniversary race just fine.

In fact, two of them came away with awards.

Joan Samuelson, who has won four Bix 7 women’s championships and 15 masters titles, was the winner of the women’s 65-69 age group and she did it in record time — 50 minutes, 47 seconds. She now holds the women’s course record in four age groups — 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65-69.

Meanwhile, two-time Bix 7 champion Meb Keflezighi added the men’s 45-49 age group championship to his resume on Saturday.

Keflezighi said he wasn’t really sure he was going to push himself in the race, but with the crowd cheering and urging him on, he couldn’t help himself. He covered the course in 41:37.

At one point, Keflezighi encountered a man who told him he’d had dreams of running the race with him.

“Then he took off, but I caught up with him and said ‘Let’s make your dreams come true,’’’ Keflezighi said.

Bill Rodgers, who won the Bix in 1980 and 1981 and has run it every year since, finished Saturday's run in a time of 1:19:46.

Two-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter, who like Rodgers is 76, did the two-mile Quick Bix. But he said he still had a great time, marveling at how many times little kids breezed past him along the way.

At one point, a mother with a small daughter who Shorter estimated to be 5 or 6, came up alongside him. The mom told the girl to just go ahead and take off if she wanted. She’d see her at the finish line. The girl turned on the jets and took off.

“You could almost see the vapor trail,’’ Shorter joked.

Age-group records: Samuelson wasn’t the only person to set a course record for their age group.

It also was accomplished by Lucas Hollingshead of Elkhart, Ind., in the men’s 15-under division (37:41) and Richard Kutzner of Clear Lake, Iowa, in the men’s 80-84 (1:04:10).

And for the first time, the Bix 7 had 85-over divisions so the winners there obviously established records. The winners were Dave Zimmer of Long Grove, Iowa, and Norma Mullins of Moline.

Another Hird win: The first runner across the finish line in the Prairie Farms Quick Bix was a familiar face.

Zach Hird, a former Alleman High School runner who now lives in Naperville, Ill., won the Bix 7’s two-mile alternative in a time of 9 minutes, 48 seconds.

Hird won the Gregg Newell Trophy as the top local finisher in the seven-mile race in both 2018 and 2019.

The first female finisher in the Quick Bix on Saturday was Jennifer Douglass of Assumption, Ill.

Unbreakable Glass: Bryan Glass knows his Bix history well. Already a five-time master's champion, Glass put his name in the same breath as one of the Bix legends with a strong race Saturday.

At the age of 50, Glass finished the seven miles in 38 minutes, 21 seconds, becoming just the second runner 50 or older to run the race in under 40 minutes. The first? Bill Rodgers.

Glass was only 11 seconds off the 50+ record set by Rodgers — who ran 38:10 back in 1998.

"It was my goal for the last year, knowing that I could do it, I knew I could. Now, I ran faster than I ever thought I could do today, but I think it was just God giving me the ability to be prepared today, and I went for it."

Glass has a long history of running. He was a state champ at Geneseo and went to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He's also a member of the Springfield Road Runners Club Hall of Fame.

This is another accolade Glass has to be proud of.

"It's emotional because you work so hard for so many years," Glass said. "I never thought I'd get to the point where I'd have a chance to put my name up with Bill Rodgers. Now I know he's above anything I would ever beat, but to know that I'm in that same class in some sense in my home area, makes me so proud."

A rare Bix triple: Credit to recent Bettendorf High School graduate Maya Williams for giving it her all during the 50th QCT Bix 7 week. The standout sprinter pulled off a rare double on Thursday, running two races in the Brady Street Sprints — winning the open women's race and anchoring the Bulldogs' relay team to the high school girls' title.

Just for good measure, she figured she would jump into Saturday's 7-miler. Making that decision Friday evening didn't give her much recovery time. She posted a 1:18.21 clocking on Saturday.

RRCA honors: The Bix 7 served as the national championship race for the Road Runners Club of America on Saturday, which meant a little additional hardware for some runners.

In addition to men’s champion Wesley Kiptoo and women’s champion Raechel Chebet, Samuelson was honored as the women’s 60-over champion and Glass as the men’s 50-over champ.

Other honorees were Artur Mueller of Davenport, men 40-over; Jess Hruska of Dubuque, women 40-over; Kate Maurer of Urbandale, Iowa, women 50-over; and Rick Torres of Elizabethtown, Ky., men 60-64.

Weather vane: Saturday's weather for the race was nearly perfect. At race time, it was 68 degrees with a manageable 81% humidity. It was just the 18th time in 50 events that the race started with a temperature under 70 degrees.

Making her mark: Paityn Noe, last year’s Bix 7 high school girls’ top finisher, came back this year and had another solid race.

The University of Arkansas freshman from Huxley, Iowa (Ballard High School), was the seventh women’s finisher, clocking a time of 38 minutes, 34 seconds, just 2:13 behind winner Rachael Chebet.

In May, she finished second in the SEC Championships 10,000-meter run, clocking a 33:57.35. She also finished fifth last fall in the SEC cross country meet, running 19:43.7 for the 6,000-meter race.

Enjoy the day: Maggie Montoya, who was the third female overall finisher in Saturday’s Bix 7, enjoyed her first run through the streets of Davenport with 16,586 other people.

“When you’re surrounded by this mass of people, it brings you back to racing a marathon and being around people,” she said after finishing in 37:13. “It was nice to be back in that atmosphere.

“… There’s something about being surrounded by so many people that really adds to the event. It was fun being back out on the roads again.”

13-minute start: How long does it take for 16,587 to cross the starting line? The group of runners dressed as Elvis Presley, who almost always bring up the rear of the pack, finally got to the starting line when the race was 13 minutes old.

Harvey Lewis races Badwater 135 for the 13th time in a row

This year’s edition of Badwater 135, dubbed the “world’s toughest foot race,” kicked off on Monday, plunging runners into the brutal extremes of California’s Death Valley. This year’s race featured the return of fan favorites, including Backyard Ultra world champion Harvey Lewis, a two-time Badwater winner making his 13th consecutive appearance, and fellow American Pete Kostelnick, also a two-time champion, who made a remarkable comeback after a severe car accident in Leadville. American Shaun Burke claimed the overall victory amidst the scorching heat, while Norwegian Line Caliskaner triumphed in the women’s category, finishing an impressive second overall.

The 135-mile (217km) race kicks off at the Badwater Basin, which, at 85 metres below sea level, is the lowest point in North America. This year’s race saw temperatures hitting a scorching 51 degrees Celsius. Runners who finish under the 48-hour mark earn the prestigious Badwater 135 belt buckle.

In 2023, Viktoria Brown of Whitby, Ont., was the only Canadian in the field of 100 runners and finished in 30:11:52 securing fourth among the women and claiming 13th place overall. This year’s race saw two Canadians joining the ranks—Frances Picard of Quebec, and Hannah Perry from Canmore, Alta.

Men’s race

Last year’s men’s champion, Simen Holvik of Norway, led for much of the race—in 2023, Holvik was second to U.S. runner Ashley Paulson, who finished first overall and took two hours off her own women’s course record. Burke, who received a late invite to the event in June, steadily closed the gap, eventually overtaking him before the 108-mile timing point. Holvik did not finish the race, leaving Burke unchallenged for the remainder.

Burke completed Badwater for the first time in 2023, when he was sixth overall and fourth among the men. Spanish runner Iván Penalba Lopez claimed the second men’s spot (third overall) in 28:06:34 in his third finish of the race, and Michael Ohler of Germany completed the men’s podium and third man (fourth overall) in 28:24:25. Kostelnick succeeded in finishing his come-back race, crossing the line in 35:28:55; Lewis followed in 36:41:22.

Picard, who was tackling the race for the first time, was still on course at the time of publication.

Top men

Shaun Burke (U.S.) 23:29:00 Iván Penalba Lopez of Alfafar (Spain) 28:06:34 Michael Ohler (Germany) 28:24:25

Women’s race

Caliskaner became the first Norwegian woman to complete the event, finishing second overall. An accomplished ultrarunner, in 2023 52-year-old Calinskaner won both the Berlin Wall Race (100 miles), and the Thames Path 100-miler. She maintained a narrow lead over Micah Morgan of the U.S. early on and added to her lead as the race progressed. Caliskaner finished in 27:36:27, over two hours ahead of Morgan, who finished in 29:11:28, second among the women and fifth overall.

Josephine Weeden of the U.S. rounded out the women’s podium in 33:26:37. Absent from this year’s race was American Ashley Paulson, who won the women’s race for the past two years and took the overall title last year. Alberta’s Perry was still on course at the time of publication but had passed through the 108-mile aid station in 29 hours and 51 minutes.

Top women

Line Caliskaner (Norway) 27:36:27 Micah Morgan (U.S.) 29:11:28 Josephine Weeden (U.S.) 33:26:37

Defending champions return to Bix

Kellyn Taylor and Biya Simbassa each ran the Quad-City Times Bix 7 for the first time last year.

They clearly loved the course, the atmosphere and just about everything about the annual race through the streets of Davenport.

Both Taylor and Simbassa held off late challenges from other runners, both ran the sixth best Bix 7 times ever by a U.S. athlete of their gender and both plan to return to defend their championships when the race is held for the 50th time on July 27.

It marks the first time in 12 years that both the men’s and women’s champions are returning to defend their Bix titles.

Simbassa admitted he wasn’t really sure how he felt about the Bix 7 course last year when he first saw the endless array of ups and downs in the course. But after holding off Olympian Clayton Young to win, he liked it.

“I mean, now I do,’’ he said after his victory. “It’s a course that’s all about strength and I train for this."

Taylor went through a similar transformation.

“When I saw the course, I was like, ‘Oh, no. What did I get myself into?’ ” she said. “That’s a super substantial hill right at the beginning and then it rolls all the way through. It’s certainly not easy by any means. I think that works to my favor since I’m more of a strength runner.”

Taylor appreciated more than just the hills.

“The crowds were amazing,” she said. “It’s not what I expected at all — the streets were completely lined, and a race that isn’t a huge marathon, I don’t feel like you see that that often. The crowds were incredible.”

Taylor and Simbassa will be bidding to repeat as Bix 7 champions, something that has been done only seven times in the race’s history, four times by men, three times by women.

Both runners failed to land berths on the U.S. Olympic team, which would have precluded a return to Bix, but they’ve still used their 2023 victories as a springboard to additional success.

Taylor briefly led the New York City Marathon last November before placing eighth, making her the top American finisher in the race. It was the third time she has been in the top eight at New York.

The Wisconsin native, who will turn 38 a few days before the Bix 7, then focused her attention on making the U.S. Olympic team and made a respectable showing in the trials in the marathon, finishing 15th, and the 10,000 meters, placing sixth.

Simbassa, a 31-year-old native of Ethiopia who now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, attempted to earn an Olympic spot in the marathon but placed 11th in the trials.

However, he has followed that with an ambitious schedule on the U.S. road racing circuit, recording top-five finishes in the Bolder Boulder 10k (5th), Cherry Blossom 10-miler (5th), Gate River 15k (4th), Amway River Bank 25k (3rd) and Houston Half-marathon (4th).

Also included in the field are four former Olympians and nine other runners who have placed in the top 10 at the Bix 7 in the past. Elite athlete coordinator John Tope said even more top runners could be added between now and race day.

Among the top men’s entries are two former Iowa State University standouts.

Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya was the 2021 NCAA indoor 5,000-meter champion and a seven-time All-American for the Cyclones. He was seventh in the Bix 7 two years ago and won the Cherry Blossom 10-miler earlier this year.

Hillary Bor, a Kenya native who is now an American citizen, also attended Iowa State before representing the U.S. in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympics in both 2016 and 2021. He also is the U.S. record-holder in the 10-mile run.

Other former Olympians in the field are Morocco’s Mohamed El Aaraby and Americans Jake Riley and Shadrack Kipchirchir. Riley and Araby both competed in the marathon in Tokyo in 2021 and Kipchirchir ran the 10,000 meters in 2016.

Riley also is a Bix 7 veteran along with Kenya’s Reuben Mosip and Americans Frank Lara, Andrew Colley and Isai Rodriguez. Lara was second in the Bix 7 in 2021 and eighth a year ago.

Rounding out the men’s field are Raymond Magut of Kenya; Tsegay Tuemay and Tesfu Tewelde of Eritrea; and Americans Nathan Martin, Ryan Ford, JP Trojan, Merga Gemeda and Titus Winders.

The most recognizable name in the women’s field is 41-year-old Sara Hall, the wife of two-time Olympian, U.S. half-marathon record-holder and 2010 Bix champion Ryan Hall. Sara Hall was fifth in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials earlier this year and has two strong Bix 7 efforts on her resume, placing second in 2014 and third in 2017.

She and Taylor will be challenged by three up-and-coming runners from Kenya — Emmaculate Anyango Achol, Grace Loibach Nawowuna and Sarah Naibei. Achol has run the second fastest women’s 10k ever (28:57) and Naibei won the Lilac Bloomsday 12k in May.

Also in the field are Bix 7 veterans Kassie Parker, Jessa Hanson, Carrie Verdon and Tristin Van Ord along with Americans Annmarie Tuxbury and Stephanie Sherman, Ethiopia’s Mahlet Mulugeta and Kenya's Veronicah Wanjiru.

The elite field also includes four legendary runners who have helped build the Bix 7 into the international event that it is. Two-time champion Bill Rodgers, who has run the Bix 7 43 times, will be joined by four-time women’s champion and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Samuelson, two-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter and Meb Keflezighi, who has two Bix titles and an Olympic silver medal on his resume.

Gudaf Tsegay, Lamecha Girma head Ethiopia's 43-athlete squad to battle Kenya in Paris Olympics

In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Kenya bested Ethiopia as the top African nation, finishing 19th overall with 10 athletics medals.

World record-holders Gudaf Tsegay and Lamecha Girma are set to lead a formidable Ethiopian squad of 43 athletes at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

The robust team comprising top-tier talent across various track and field events promises to offer fierce competition to their long-time rivals Kenya in the race for Olympic medals.

Tsegay will be competing in the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters, and 1,500 meters events.

The 27-year-old athlete's standout performance at the Prefontaine Classic, where she shattered the world record in the 5,000 meters with an astounding time of 14:00.21, means she will be challenging rival Kenya's Faith Kipyegon who will chase two gold medals after winning the 1500m and 5000m.

The women's team also boasts an impressive lineup in the 800 meters, featuring Tsige Duguma, Habitam Alemu, and Werknesh Mesele, with Nigist Getachew as the reserve.

In the 1,500 meters, Tsegay will be joined by Birke Haylom and Diribe Wolteji, with Hirut Meshesha on standby. Medina Eisa and Ejgayehu Taye will support Tsegay in the 5,000 meters, with Freweyni Hailu as reserve, while Fotyen Tesfay, Tsigie Gebreselama, and Aynadis Mebratu will compete in the 10,000 meters.

The 3,000 meters steeplechase will see Sembo Almayew and Lomi Muleta in action, and the marathon team includes Tigst Assefa, Amane Beriso, and Megertu Alemu, with Gotytom Gebreslase as reserve.

On the men's side, the team is equally impressive as Abdisa Fayisa, Samuel Tefera, and Ermias Girma will compete in the 1,500 meters.

The 5,000 meters team includes Hagos Gebrhiwet, Yomif Kejelcha, and Addisu Yihune, with Selemon Barega as reserve.

Kejelcha will also contest the 10,000 meters alongside Berihu Aregawi and Biniam Mehari, with Barega again as a reserve.

Lamecha Girma, alongside Samuel Firewu and Getnet Wale, will vie for victory in the men's 3,000 meters steeplechase, with Abrham Sime as reserve.

Ethiopia team to Paris

Women

800 meters: Tsige Duguma, Habitam Alemu, Werknesh Mesele, Nigist Getachew (Reserve)

1500 meters: Gudaf Tsegay, Birke Haylom, Diribe Wolteji, Hirut Meshesha (Reserve)

5000 meters: Gudaf Tsegay, Medina Eisa, Ejgayehu Taye, Freweyni Hailu (Reserve)

10,000 meters: Gudaf Tsegay, Fotyen Tesfay, Tsigie Gebreselama, Aynadis Mebratu (Reserve)

3000 meters Steeplechase: Sembo Almayew, Lomi Muleta

Marathon:Tigst Assefa, Amane Beriso, Megertu Alemu, Gotytom Gebreslase (Reserve)

Men

1500 meters: Abdisa Fayisa, Samuel Tefera, Ermias Girma, Teddese Lemi (Reserve)

5000 meters: Hagos Gebrhiwet, Yomif Kejelcha, Addisu Yihune, Selemon Barega (Reserve)

10,000 meters: Yomif Kejelcha, Berihu Aregawi, Selemon Barega, Biniam Mehari (Reserve)

Men's 3000 meters steeplechase: Lamecha Girma, Samuel Firewu, Getnet Wale, Abrham Sime (Reserve)

Marathon: Sisay Lemma, Deresa Geleta, Kenenisa Bekele, Tamirat Tola (Reserve)

20 km Race walk: Misgana Wakuma

Simpson, Frisbie, Rodriguez, Estrada Commit to Run Crazy 8s 8K Hoping for USATF National Championshisp

With the announcement that the Ballad Health Niswonger Children’s Network Crazy 8s 8K Run will host both the USATF Men’s & Women’s 8K Road Championship Presented by Gatorade on July 20th, competition is heating up for both championships.

Olympic bronze medalist Jenny Simpson and Annie Frisbie will be two of the headliners in the women’s field with Isai Rodriguez and Diego Estrada the early favorites on the men’s side.“We’re off to a good start,” said co-director Hank Brown.

“We are receiving tremendous interest from some of the best runners from around the country. We’re expecting 40-50 elite runners in the USATF championship which will be very exciting.”

Simpson is arguably one of the more recognizable women’s middle/long distance runners in the United States. She won the bronze medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships, and followed with silver medals at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships Simpson is a former American record holder for the 3000 meter steeplechase and has represented the United States at three Olympics – 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio.

Frisbie is on a personal tear recently, running personal bests in 2024 for the 10K (31:49), 15K (49:28), 25K (1:22:37), and half marathon (1:07:34, 1st place). She is running her best and is in excellent shape.In 2023, the men’s race came down to a sprint finish in J. Fred Johnson Stadium with Clayton Young outlasting Andrew Colley and Isai Rodriguez. Young will be going to Paris to run the marathon and Colley is nursing a sore foot, so Rodriguez will be the top returning finisher (Colley is still tentative).

Rodriguez has a 10,000 meter personal-best under 28 minutes and was the Pan Am Games 10k champion in 2023.Estrada is a veteran runner making a successful comeback in 2024. He represented his native Mexico in the 10,000 meters in the 2012 London Olympics, but became a US citizen in 2014 at which time became eligible to represent the USA in international competition.

He has an impressive 10k time of 27:30 set in 2015, and 5K of 13:31 at the Carlsbad 5K in 2014. He is now 34 and quite possibly running his best times in 2024.

He placed fifth at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January, running a very fast 1:00:49, which is a personal best at that distance and tnen followed that a thrid-. place finish at the USATF 15K Championship in Jacksonville. In May he set an American best of 1:13:09 at the USATF 25K Championship, winning the Amway 25K River Run in Grand Rapids, MI.

“We are thrilled to have these guys and gals at Crazy 8s,” said Brown. “When we decided to host the USATF 8K Championship this is exactly the caliber of runners we were hoping to attract to Kingsport.”

The Regional Eye Center is offering a $10,008 American Record bonus for men who can break Alberto Salazar’s record of 22:04 (1981) or women who can break Deena Kastor’s record of 24:36 (2005).

In addition to the bonus, the race is offering prize money to the top 10 in the USATF Men’s and Women’s Championships.Sponsors are Ballad Health Niswonger Children’s Network, Gatorade, The Regional Eye Center, Eastman Credit Union, Kingsport Pediatric Dentistry, Food City, Martin Dentistry, Mycroft Signs, Culligan, Associated Orthopaedics of Kingsport, and JA Street.

'Doing it for my kids'- Kenya's new 800m star shares main motivation ahead of Olympics debut in Paris

Lilian Odira has opened up about the main motivation behind her pursuit for success in her debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

National 800m champion Lilian Odira has opened about her main source of motivation as she gears up for her maiden Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The Africa 800m silver medallist explained that her children mean the world to her and she cannot stand not being able to provide for them. Odira took a maternity break in 2020 and returned to competition in 2023 after having her two kids.

Speaking to Nation Sport, she noted that it was not an easy ordeal trying to make a comeback. The 25-year-old had added weight to 86kg and had to cut down to about 55kg, something that proved to be an uphill task.

However, she noted that two-time Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, having walked the same path, was very instrumental in ensuring she does what is necessary to regain her form.

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“I’m doing all these just for my kids. You can’t explain to them (her kids) that you don’t have so I just have to work hard because of them. In 2020, I took a maternity break and then when I came back, I don’t if it’s by good luck or bad luck, I also got another baby,” she said.

“Then in 2023, I came back and my goal was to shed my weight. It’s not an easy journey, I had 86kg coming back from maternity and I remember Hellen Obiri is the one who took me to jog and I felt like it was not necessary for me to pursue this career. Obiri kept on motivating me and encouraging me since she had also been there.”

She had to sacrifice a lot, explaining that she used to do long runs up to 30km. Odira also explained that self-belief is what helped her get back into shape.

Odira bounced back this season, winning the national championships and proceeding to the Africa Senior Athletics Championships where she won a silver medal behind Sarah Moraa.

She also punched her ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and it will be her first time on the global stage. This was after she won the national trials, clocking 1:59.27 to cross the finish line ahead of Mary Moraa and Sarah who clocked respective times of 1:59.35 and 1:59.39.

“In Paris, it’s going to be a surprise to many…the trials were a surprise to many. I see many people talking on social media saying that we can’t win a gold medal,” she said.

“I think there was this race that Moraa had with Keely Hodgkinson and she came first. After that, people started talking but I want them to understand that as an athlete, you don’t get to win every day. People forgot about the many things Moraa has done and focused on that loss only.”

How Many Carbs Are in Spring Energy, Really?

This fruit-based energy gel, once touted for its high-carb intake and low volume, contains about a third of calories than advertised, multiple independent nutritional analyses suggest

For the past 10 years, Spring Energy has provided endurance athletes with energy gels, and more recently drink mixes, made from “real” foods. Athletes looking for wholesome alternatives to more traditional sugar-based gels made in a lab have flocked to Spring’s smoothie-like gels made with fruit and basmati rice.

While Spring products are more expensive than many gels, many athletes have found the tradeoff for high-quality, real food fuel that goes down easily on the run to be worth it. Until now.

After skepticism about the actual contents of Spring’s gels began brewing late last year, it turned into a full-blown controversy this week.

In January 2021, Spring Energy released a game-changing gel, Awesome Sauce. In collaboration with coaches and runners Megan and David Roche (who taste-tested and named the flavor), the applesauce, basmati rice, and sweet potato-based gel was designed to provide endurance athletes with a whopping 180 calories per 54 gram packet.

This high-carb alternative became especially enticing when a study was published in April 2022 reporting that ultrarunners should consume 240 to 360 calories (60-90 grams of carbohydrates) per hour. It’s no surprise that Awesome Sauce (sold at $5 a gel), with its small but surprisingly mighty nutritional content, initially flew off the shelves. It seemed too good to be true.

After several third-party lab tests, that appears to be the case.

In late 2023, runners took to Reddit to discuss their doubts in Awesome Sauce’s nutritional facts, which were printed on the packaging and stated on Spring Energy’s website. Though it’s unclear who first performed a concrete test on the gel, two months ago, Liza Ershova, a Reddit user who uses the username “sriirachamayo”, posted in a thread called “False nutritional info on Spring Energy gels.” Ershova allegedly performed a test “in an environmental chemistry lab” and found that the dry weight of Awesome Sauce is 16g instead of the stated 45. She hypothesized that, “If all of those grams are carbs, that corresponds to about 60 calories, not 180.”

On May 17, German endurance sport speciality shop Sports Hunger released a video stating that they, too, had Awesome Sauce gels tested by a third party, and allegedly found that each packet contains 16g of carbs instead of the 45g that Spring Energy claimed.

“The maker of Spring Energy assures us that they will rework their manufacturing process to ensure that they will again reliably achieve their high numbers that they declare to have,” a Sports Hunger representative says in the video. “We hope that this is really going to happen because we believe that natural food for many of our customers is a great alternative to the regular gels.”

On May 28, ultrarunning coach Jason Koop, who coaches elite athletes sponsored by Spring Energy, posted an Instagram Reel saying that he’d paid for Spring Energy Awesome Sauce to be tested by a third party, RL Food Laboratory Testing in Ferndale, Washington. The results showed that the gels tested contained 76 calories and 18g of carbs. The lab results can be found on Koop’s website. Koop declined to be interviewed for this article.

Other runners have also come forward after attempting to replicate the gels with varying degrees of Awesome Sauce’s ingredients: organic basmati rice, organic apple sauce, apple juice, yams, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon—and could not achieve the gel’s original volume of 54g. Their experiments suggest that it’s impossible to fit all of those ingredients into the small Awesome Sauce package while achieving the stated nutritional content.

On May 22, the Ershova shared Spring Energy’s response to their experiment on Reddit: “Our analysis supports the accuracy of our product labeling. However, we will reevaluate to make sure our data is accurate. Although we hoped your experience with our products would have been wholly satisfactory, we recognize that individual needs can vary. Given the wide variety of options available across different brands, we are confident you will find the right product that suits your specific requirements.”

Four days later, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Spring Energy sent out an email to newsletter subscribers stating:

“In early May we submitted Awesome Sauce for third-party caloric and biomolecular analysis. Although the results indicated that on average our products deliver the designed nutrition value, we have recognized weaknesses in our processes and ingredients which can introduce unwanted variations in some batches.To mitigate those variations in our small batch production, we decided to modify some of the formulations, revise and innovate processes, and re-evaluate ingredient sources. These changes will bring higher quality and more consistency to our products. Enhancements of our products aimed to stabilize their nutrition values are on the horizon, and within the next few weeks, you’ll see the results of our efforts. A new and improved version of Awesome Sauce will soon be available.”

The internet outrage ballooned swiftly.

“‘On average’ – if someone has a beat on where I can grab packets of Awesome Sauce at 75g of carb per pack to allow for the average of their product to be 45g overall, hit my inbox,” @aidstationfireball posted on X. “Excited to taste the new, re-formulated, $7 gels they’ll replace these with.”

David and Megan Roche, the Boulder, Colorado-based running coach couple who collaborated with Spring Energy on Awesome Sauce, discussed the backlash on their podcast. They weren’t involved in the chemical composition and makeup of the gel, they claimed. Rather, they simply proposed the concept of a high-carb gel to their friend Rafal Nazarewicz, the founder and CEO of Spring Energy. They stated they understand the public’s outrage, and Megan added that they “didn’t really use it” during their runs because she didn’t feel that her body was responding to the energy it was supposed to provide.

In addition, the Roches stated on their podcast that they have quietly harbored concerns about Awesome Sauce for years, and while they did not explicitly tell their athletes not to use it, they made a point of promoting other gels instead. (The Roches currently have a financial partnership with The Feed, the online warehouse that sells a wide variety of sports fuel, including Spring Energy.)

David elaborated in a lengthy Instagram post on May 29: “It’s sad and infuriating that the nutrition was wrong, and we are thankful to the really smart people who figured it out on Reddit (including an athlete we coach who started the initial thread). When we described concerns to Spring, we were assured that the nutrition was correct and they followed all FDA regulations. We left the Spring sponsorship years ago, and we never received compensation for proposing the name/doing taste testing (outside of the $200 per month that we both received during the sponsorship). Since then, we have publicly directed athletes to other options for high-carb fueling, while hoping to be a source of love and support in the community. Our podcast covered our concerns as soon as the German lab testing indicated that we wouldn’t be risking making defamatory statements about a business without substantial evidence.”

While concerns around Awesome Sauce instigated this investigation, it’s not the only flavor under scrutiny. Koop sent additional Spring Energy gels, Canaberry (named after professional ultrarunner Sage Canaday) and Hill Aid, to the lab for testing. The results indicated that both of these flavors also contain fewer calories than stated on their nutrition labels.

The lab results showed that the batch of Canaberry that was tested contains 10g of carbs (versus the stated 17g), and the Hill Aid sample contains 10g of carbs (versus the stated 20g).

Koop also paid for Gu Chocolate Outrage to be tested. The results were consistent with the nutrition facts. All three of these reports can also be found on Koop’s website.

These vast discrepancies between Spring Energy’s reported nutrition facts and the lab results raise the question: which gels can be trusted?

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA), most running gels fall under the category of “dietary supplements”, which don’t have to be approved before being sold. However, the FDA requires that all dietary supplements have nutrition information clearly marked on a product’s packaging (including serving size, number of servings, and ingredients) and periodically inspects manufacturing facilities to confirm that products meet the labeling requirements. The FDA also reviews product labels for accuracy.

“Dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA, but much of our role begins after products enter the marketplace. In fact, in many cases, companies can produce and sell dietary supplements without even notifying the FDA,” the FDA states on their website.

The FDA allows nutrition labels to have an inaccuracy margin of up to 20 percent—for reference, based on multiple lab results, Awesome Sauce’s caloric content is about 57 percent less than what the label says.

Sports psychologist and ultrarunning coach Krista Austin works with some of the top endurance athletes in the world, and is best known for training Meb Keflezighi to  his 2009 New York City Marathon win. She recommends several products out on the market to her ultrarunner athletes, as well as suggestions that might work with a person’s individual plan. Typically, she suggests that athletes rotate gel flavors to avoid flavor fatigue, which can impact an athlete mentally and derail performance. So if a certain brand is proven to work well for an athlete, she says, use a variety of flavors.

“I usually use high molecular weight carbohydrates, but the thing is, they’re not as sweet as other sports nutrition products out there,” says Austin, who owns a consulting business providing sport performance services to Olympic and professional athletes as well as military and industry personnel. “So what we’ll do is we might throw in another gel like the Awesome Sauce to help give them that sweet component. It’s just in their arsenal.”

She says, in general, her athletes who have consumed Awesome Sauce have had positive experiences, but that because these gels were just one part of the fuel plan, that muddies the waters a bit. In addition, the potential lower calorie count of this gel may make it easier to digest. However, Austin recalls that one of her clients was taking in one Spring Energy gel (multiple flavors) every hour in her ultra, but found herself so hungry that she needed to eat a lot of the food provided at aid stations on the course, too.

“She was a smaller ultrarunner, and I thought it was interesting that she was taking in all these calories,” Austin says. “She was using Spring Energy gels, and I now I’m thinking, ‘Maybe this is why she needed all the additional food on the course, too, because she wasn’t getting what we thought she was.’”

Ultramarathon dietician Julie Shobe is surprised and disappointed in the news about Awesome Sauce. “My clients and myself bank on the efficiency of the gel being easy and light to carry,” she says. “Underfueling within a long run can create acute symptoms like low energy, nausea, or brain fog. Ultrarunners find themselves in dangerous situations on long runs and races, and are often in remote areas, so unintentionally underfueling could have negative consequences.”

Austin says runners can still rely on information they’re receiving about endurance fuel, but that it’s always possible there are, as Spring Energy suggests, bad batches. She’s leaning toward this being the reason for the nutritional inaccuracies (keeping an open mind that more information can come out) because she’s had experiences with bad batches of gels in the past, where the product tasted off and she brought it to the attention of the brand, who confirmed it was an error on their part.

By May 30, Spring Energy had removed Awesome Sauce from its website, although it can still be purchased in the All Inclusive and Vegan Spring sampler packs. There, Awesome Sauce is described as, “our best-seller, has been created for all carb lovers who want to fuel in a healthy way, with wholesome products free of added sugars!”

Nashville Running Company owner Lee Wilson has made the decision to take Awesome Sauce,  Canaberry, and Hill Aid off store shelves. “It came down to the integrity of it,” Wilson says. “After the other flavors came out with the test results, we decided we can’t sell it.”

Nashville Running Company crew member Eric May added that this whole ordeal is disappointing, especially because the gel was so popular in the community.

“We used to have people come in when we got shipments and walk out with boxes of them,” May says. “It’s a bummer.”

He adds that a few customers have remarked that they still really enjoy Awesome Sauce and will keep using it.

“How a company reacts to the issue tells you a lot about them, and the fact that they’ve taken down their product, it means they’re probably doing their homework to see what’s going on,” Austin says. “I would say, give them a chance to rectify the situation.”

Sabrina Stanley, a pro ultrarunner from Silverton, Colorado, has used Awesome Sauce frequently in the past, but says she stopped eating it when she felt she was taking in three times what she should be consuming to keep hunger at bay. She adds that though it’s a huge disappointment that athletes thought they were buying a gel under the impression it was a different product, the company is the only party at fault.

“Professional athletes aren’t responsible for making sure the nutrition label is correct,” Stanley says. “They are often sub-contracted to give opinions and help promote a product in hopes of making a few extra dollar to continue doing what they love. They aren’t in the lab developing the product and writing the nutrition label, like the consumers, they are trusting the hired them to do their due diligence.”

On May 29, Spring Energy released an official statement on its Instagram, with Nazarewicz saying they’ve identified weaknesses in the manufacturing process, and that only some batches were accidentally made with varying nutritional values. Nazarewicz apologized and stated Spring Energy is introducing changes to its process and hopes to continue its mission toward making real food performance products.

“Spring Energy has admitted to inconsistencies in their product and also said in a recent IG post this was not intentional or malicious,” Shobe says. “However, to be this far off from your stated nutrition label deserves some major inspection. The whole thing made me question not only the integrity of their products but the nutritional labels of other products. Why, as a dietician, didn’t I become more suspicious of Awesome Sauce in the first place?”

After Double Knee Surgery, This Runner is Poised to Make Team USA for the Paris Olympics

Val Constien has surmounted obstacles along every step of her career—including a devastating knee injury just 13 months ago. Now the 28-year-old is a favorite to make her second Olympic team in the 3,000-meter steeplechase heading into the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials.

Val Constien started 2023 in the best shape of her life. She had been an Olympian in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics. And yet, she had no professional sponsorships.

Constien, then 26, had spent the several years after graduating from the University of Colorado in 2019 continuing to train for the steeplechase under her college coaches while working a full-time job mostly because she loved it, and partly because she was betting on herself that she could continue to progress to a higher level.

While studying environmental engineering at CU, Constien twice earned All-American honors in the steeplechase and helped the Buffaloes win a NCAA Division I national championship in cross country.  She then finished 12th in the steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. And yet the Boulder, Colorado-based runner hadn’t been able to attract a sponsorship deal from a shoe and apparel brand. She squeezed her workouts in before work, paid for her travel to races, and remained determined and hopeful.

But then, after winning a U.S. indoor title in the flat 3,000 meters in early 2023, she caught the attention of Nike, which signed her to a deal that would lead into the 2024 Olympic year. Finally, it was the break she’d be hoping for.

However, less than three weeks after signing the contract, while running the steeplechase in a high-level Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, Constien landed awkwardly on her right leg early in the race and immediately knew something was wrong. She could be seen visibly mouthing “Oh no!” on the livestream, as she hobbled to the side of the track out of the race.

It was a worst case scenario: a torn ACL in her right knee. That meant surgery and a long road back to running fast again.

“That was awful,” said Kyle Lewis, her boyfriend who was watching the race online from Boulder. “The doctors over there initially told her they thought it was a sprain, but she came home and two days later she got an MRI and found out that it was a completely torn ACL, and she was obviously very upset. That was only a couple of weeks after she signed the Nike deal. But that’s just kind of been like with Val’s whole career. Nothing has ever come easy to that girl.”

How Constien, now 28, returned to top form a year later to become one of the top contenders to make Team USA in the steeplechase heading into the June 21-30 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon—her preliminary race on June 24 will be only 398 days after her knee was surgically repaired—is a testament to the grit and confidence Constien possesses.

“It’s all just an extension of how tough I am and how willing I am to make hard decisions, and how badly I want it,” Constien said. “I love running. If I didn’t love running this much, I would’ve quit a long time ago.”

Constien had surgery last May 2023 at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, not far from where she grew up. But that also presented a challenging twist.

One of the most popular types of ACL reconstructions for athletes is called a patella tendon graft, in which the doctor cuts off pieces of bone from the patient’s tibia and patella and several strands of the patella tendon and uses those materials to replace the ACL. Usually those grafts are harvested from the same injured leg, but doctors determined Constien’s right patella had a bone bruise on it and wasn’t healthy enough to use. So instead, they grafted the replacement materials from her left leg. That meant undergoing surgery on both legs, rendering her recovery even more difficult.

For the first two weeks after surgery, she couldn’t stand up or sit down on her own. She had trouble moving around and even had to sit down to take a shower. It took a full month until she started to get comfortable enough to go on short, easy walks and start to regain her mobility.

“The first month post-op was really devastating,” she said. “I was in a lot of pain, and it was hot and I was uncomfortable. I’m glad he did it the way he did it, but it was a really, really challenging recovery.”

All the while, though, Constien never stopped thinking about getting back to racing and the prospect of what 2024 might hold. That’s what helped her make a huge mental shift two weeks after the surgery and refocus all of her energy into returning to peak form and chasing another Olympic berth.

That was obviously easier said than done, but Constien has grown used to working hard and battling adversity. Her college career had been disrupted by injuries and slow progress. She was overlooked by brands when she got out of school in 2019 and again in 2021 after she slashed 7 seconds off her personal best time to finish third at the U.S. Olympic Trials and earn a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. And after she ran two strong races in Tokyo—the first international races of her career—to make it to the final and place 12th overall.

Even when she’s been overlooked or discounted, Constien has always believed in her potential. And that’s why, after a year of hyper-focused dedication, she’s on the brink of making it back onto Team USA to compete in this summer’s Paris Olympics.

“I’ve told her many times, no matter what happens after this point, what a comeback it’s already been,” Lewis said. “But what’s amazing about her is that, after that initial rough part, when she wasn’t able to walk, she just did an incredible job of compartmentalizing and being focused. I never saw her get sad or upset. She was always just super clinical about everything and really happy.  It’s been incredible to watch.”

All last summer and fall, she continued building strength and began rejuvenating her aerobic strength—running more miles, getting stronger and getting faster. And that was amid working full-time doing quality assurance work for Stryd, a Boulder-based company that makes a wearable device to monitor running power and gait metrics. Heather Burroughs and Mark Wetmore, who have coached Constien since 2014, knew she had made considerable progress. But it wasn’t until early February that they began to realize the magnitude of her comeback.

“There was a point this winter, when she wasn’t running races, yet but she had some workouts that impressed me,” Burroughs said. “I wasn’t really worried about her ability to get fit enough the last four months, but it was whether her knee could handle the steeple work, especially the water jump.”

They never discussed that—because there was no point—and Constien went boldly into the outdoor season with her goal of breaking the 9:41.00 Olympic Trials qualifying standard. She started training outdoors in March and started her season by running a strong 1500-meter race on April 12 near Los Angeles (she won her heat in 4:12.27). But it wasn’t until May 11—roughly a year after she blew out her knee in Doha—that she ran her first steeple race.

At the Sound Running Track Fest, she ran patiently (with a smile on her face most of the way) just off the lead for the seven-and-a-half-lap race. She then unleashed an explosive closing kick to outrun Kaylee Mitchell down the homestretch and win in 9:27.22—securing her place in the Olympic Trials. That got her an invitation to the Prefontaine Classic, an international Diamond League meet on May 25 in Eugene, where she ran the best race of her life and finished fifth—and first American—in a new personal best of 9:14.29.

That put Constien at No. 7 on the all-time U.S. list. But more importantly, Constien closed hard after Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai had split the field apart en route to a world-leading 8:55.09, the sixth-fastest time in history.

“I’m more impressed by her comeback than she is, and it’s because I think she expected it,” Burroughs said. “It’s not that I didn’t expect it, but it was still improbable. But even now that she’s come back, she’s not impressed with herself at all. After the Prefontaine meet, I texted her about the race, and I got a five-word response—‘Let’s get back to work’—just very businesslike. She’s just dialed in and, to me, that says, ‘My big goal is yet to come.’”

For the last decade-plus, Emma Coburn and Courtney Freirichs have dominated the U.S. women’s steeplechase. They both suffered season-ending injuries this spring (broken ankle and torn ACL, respectively). Their absence leaves the event wide open for the likes of Constein, who is ranked second, and Krissy Gear, who enters the meet at the top seed (9:12.81) and as the defending national champion. But rising stars Courtney Wayment (9:14.48), Olivia Markezich (9:17:36), Gabrielle Jennings (9:18:03), and Kaylee Mitchell (9:21.00) are among several fast, young runners eager to battle for a spot on the Olympic team.

Constien knows she has two just goals to execute: run smart and fast enough to qualify for the finals on June 27, and then do whatever it takes to finish among the top three in that race.

Burroughs believes she’s as fit and as strong as she’s ever been, much improved since 2022, when she finished a disappointing eighth at the U.S. championships (9:42.96) while recovering from Covid. In fact, she’s even much better than her breakout year in 2021.

Over the past several weeks in Boulder, Constien has sharpened her fitness, including a final tuneup on June 12: a robust tempo run on the track with two hurdles per lap, which was preceded and followed by several fast 200-meter repeats. She’s also sharpened her perspective.

“There were definitely some dark times where I doubted myself and I doubted the process,” Constien said. “But I kind of just had to lock those thoughts away and just try to focus on the positive. And it’s really paid off.

“I never gave up when I didn’t have a sponsor and had to figure it all out on my own,” she added. “So tearing my ACL, yeah, that really sucks. That was really, really hard. But a part of me was like, ‘I’ve already done the hardest thing ever’ just by staying in the sport on my own. I look at it like, ‘I am the toughest person out here regardless of that ACL.’”

Under Armour Diversity Series: Toronto’s Karla Del Grande

For multiple world record holder Karla Del Grande, age is just a state of mind.

Under Armour has teamed up with Canadian Running to produce the Under Armour Diversity Series—an exclusive feature content series designed to highlight and promote individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a commitment to grow the sport of running, support those who are underrepresented and help others. The series features stories and podcasts highlighting these extraordinary Canadians who are making a difference in their communities and on the national running scene.

Karla Del Grande has a few big goals: First, she wants to set another world record, and take home another medal at World Masters Athletics Championships this year. She wants to support her track team at Variety Village in Toronto. And she really, really wants masters athletes to know that the track is open to everyone.

After all, she didn’t find her way there until she was nearly 50 years old. Now, at 71, she’s become a poster-woman of the sport in Canada, thanks to her indomitable record-setting, her sheer dedication to the sport and her love of bringing new people in.

We met up on a snowy day in March at Variety Village, where she trains and runs with the Variety Village Athletics Club. I arrived late, just in time to catch the last 15 minutes of her workout class. Rather than let me stand on the sidelines, she jogged over, grabbed me by the hand, and pulled me into the group class, where athletes of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities started doing rubber band work with a partner. 

(“Everybody has the right to be part of a gym and have that social connection, no matter who you are, whether you’re a wheelchair user, or you have a mobility issue or anything else,” says Jill Ross Moreash, the class instructor, a former teacher and one of the fittest women I’ve ever seen, told me after class.)

Del Grande handed me a band after I shucked my winter coat and shoes. “You can be my partner,” she said. The workout was not easy.

This isn’t the first time Del Grande has helped bring someone into one of the workout classes. She recalls another snowy day, when she was heading into Variety Village for track practice, and she noticed an older woman standing next to her car, looking bereft. Del Grande started up a conversation, quickly learning the woman had recently been widowed and was hoping to find some conversation and community, but was overwhelmed about going into the gym. Del Grande shepherded her in, gave her a tour, helped her get signed up and brought her to class. She’s so well known as a woman who brings people into the community that she’s honoured on the wall at Variety Village.

That’s how she is on the track, as well: open and generous with her time (while still training to set world records, of course).

As a young girl, Del Grande was sporty, but she and her gym bestie (a race walker named Nicky Slovitt) both recall how, in gym class when they were in school, girls weren’t encouraged to run. That whole bit about our ovaries falling out if we sprinted or high jumped? Not a joke, if you were a gym teacher in the 60s, apparently. They believed it.

The track club at Variety Village isn’t just masters athletes; head coach Jamal Miller has created a vast community of runners ranging from pre-teens to the 70+ age group, with elite runners training alongside new track athletes. “We’re the best kept secret in Scarborough,” says assistant coach Katie Watkins. “We’re in a little bubble of what the world should be. Our track club is quite a diverse team. We cater to people of all abilities, from those living with disabilities to grassroots runners, starting off at age four, all the way up to world champions. The unique part about Jamal and how he trains is that if you’re interested, and you want to try it, he wants to work with you.”

Del Grande is at Variety Village early most days of the week. On Monday, she swims or aqua-jogs, then does weights. (“It’s a longevity thing,” she says. “You need to have balance between focusing on performance but also thinking toward longevity.”) Tuesday, she trains on the indoor track that runs around Variety VIllage’s main gym space. Wednesday is another weight session, this time in a class, and she runs again Thursday. Friday through Sunday depend on what her competition schedule looks like–when we met up on Wednesday, she was racing on Sunday, so the rest of the week was relatively easy, to prepare for that.

Del Grande found the track by accident–a work friend introduced her to running workouts on the track, and it grew from there. At the time, she did casual 5K and 10K runs and races, but she wouldn’t call herself a runner. Her friend brought her along to a track workout held by a local shop. “I really liked the short stuff,” she recalls. “We’d be doing track workouts and everybody else would be complaining that you had to go fast, and going around the track over and over was boring. But I loved it. And  finally somebody said, ‘Well, why aren’t you racing it?'”

It was a lightbulb moment. “I thought adults just did road races,” she says. “It’s very hard to get out the information about the sprinting. But it exists–and there are adults doing high jump and shot put and all the other track and field sports, as well.”

She signed up, one thing led to another, and now, she’s one of the fastest female masters athletes in Canada.

“We always say that you’re never too old, you’re only too young to join Canadian Masters Athletics,” she laughs.

Youngster Simon Koech is plotting an Olympic debut

Steeplechaser Simon Koech is plotting an Olympic debut as he fights for a slot at the upcoming national trials.

African Games bronze medallist Simon Koech will be looking to bounce back as he eyes the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Koech’s main focus will be to qualify for the event at the Olympic trials coming up this weekend at the Nyayo National Stadium. The 21-year-old has been in fair shape this season, and he has hopes to rewrite history in the city of love.

The former world under-20 bronze medallist is aware of the tough opposition awaiting him in the trials and he is ready to striker.

“For now, the most important thing for me is to work extra hard and get into the Kenyan team,” Koech said following his second-place finish at the National Championships that were held at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.

The event was also used as trials for the Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, and Koech intends to also improve on his bronze medal from the African Games.

He opened his season with a second-place finish at the African Games trials before finishing third at the African Games. He also competed in the 5000m, where he finished eighth.

“Whenever I step foot on the track, I usually start planning on the best way to execute a race. It depends on the pace and hoe each lap is going. I expect to do much better with the help of God,” he added.

Meanwhile, Koech made an impact last season, with a qualification to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary but did not live up to the billing, fading to finish seventh.

However, he bounced back at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League Meeting final in Eugene, Oregon, where he claimed his first trophy. Koech clocked a stunning 8:06.26 to win the race, sending warning shots to Ethiopians and Moroccans this Olympic season.

The youngster launched his career in 2021, where he made his first national team, competing at the World Under-20 Championships. In 2022, Koech did not compete in any race and he made a comeback in 2023.

TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO, HE WAS INCARCERATED FOR LIFE. LAST YEAR, HE RAN THE NYC MARATHON A RADICALLY CHANGED MAN.

RAHSAAN ROUNDED THOMAS A CORNER. Gravel underfoot gave way to pavement, then dirt. Another left turn, and then another. In the distance, beyond the 30-foot wall and barbed wire separating him from the world outside, he could see the 2,500-foot peak of Mount Tamalpais. He completed the 400-meter loop another 11 times for an easy three miles.

Rahsaan wasn’t the only runner circling the Yard that evening in the fall of 2017. Some 30 people had joined San Quentin State Prison’s 1,000 Mile Club by the time Rahsaan arrived at the prison four years prior, and the group had only grown since. Starting in January each year, the club held weekly workouts and monthly races in the Yard, culminating with the San Quentin Marathon—105 laps—in November. The 2017 running would be Rahsaan’s first go at the 26.2 distance. 

For Rahsaan and the other San Quentin runners, Mount Tam, as it’s known, had become a beacon of hope. It’s the site of the legendary Dipsea, a 7.4-mile technical trail from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach. After the 1,000 Mile Club was founded in 2005, it became tradition for club members who got released to run that trail; their stories soon became lore among the runners still inside. “I’ve been hearing about the Dipsea for the longest,” Rahsaan says. 

Given his sentence, he never expected to run it. Rahsaan was serving 55 years to life for second-degree murder. Life outside, let alone running over Mount Tam all the way to the Pacific, felt like a million miles away. But Rahsaan loved to run—it gave him a sense of freedom within the prison walls, and more than that, it connected him to the community of the 1,000 Mile Club. So if the volunteer coaches and other runners wanted to talk about the Dipsea, he was happy to listen. 

We’ll get to the details of Rahsaan’s crime later, but it’s useful to lead with some enduring truths: People can grow in even the harshest environments, and running, whether around a lake or a prison yard, has the power to change lives. In fact, Rahsaan made a lot of changes after he went to prison: He became a mentor to at-risk youth, began facing the reality of his violence, and discovered the power of education and his own pen. Along the way, Rahsaan also prayed for clemency. The odds were never in his favor. 

To be clear, this is not a story about a wrongful conviction. Rahsaan took the life of another human being, and he’s spent more than two decades reckoning with that fact. He doesn’t expect forgiveness. Rather, it’s a story about a man who you could argue was set up to fail, and for more than 30 years that’s exactly what he did. But it’s also a story of navigating the delta between memory and fact and finding peace in the idea that sometimes the most formative things in our lives may not be exactly as they seem. And mostly, it’s a story of transformation—of learning to do good in a world that too often encourages the opposite. 

RAHSAAN “NEW YORK” THOMAS GREW UP IN BROWNSVILLE, A ONE-SQUARE-MILE SECTION OF EASTERN Brooklyn wedged between Crown Heights and East New York. As a kid he’d spend hours on his Commodore 64 computer trying to code his own games. He loved riding his skateboard down the slope of his building’s courtyard. On weekends, he and his friends liked to play roller hockey there, using tree branches for sticks and a crushed soda can for a puck.

Once a working-class Jewish enclave, Brownsville started to change in the 1960s, when many white families relocated to the suburbs, Black families moved in, and city agencies began denying residents basic services like trash pickup and streetlight repairs. John Lindsay, New York’s mayor at the time, once referred to the area as “Bombsville” on account of all the burned-out buildings and rubble-filled empty lots. By 1971, the year after Rahsaan was born, four out of five families in Brownsville were on government assistance. More than 50 years later, Brownsville still has a poverty rate close to 30 percent. The neighborhood’s credo, “Never ran, never will,” is typically interpreted as a vow of resilience in the face of adversity. For some, like Rahsaan, it has always meant something else: Don’t back down. 

The first time Rahsaan didn’t run, he was 5 or 6 years old. He had just moved into Atlantic Towers, a pair of 24-story buildings beset with rotting walls and exposed sewer pipes that housed more than 700 families. Three older kids welcomed him with their fists. Even if Rahsaan had tried to run, he wouldn’t have gotten far. At that age, Rahsaan was skinny, slow, and uncoordinated. He got picked on a lot. Worse, he was light-skinned and frequently taunted as “white boy.” The insult didn’t even make sense to Rahsaan, whose mother is Black and whose father was Puerto Rican. “I feel Black,” he says. “I don’t feel [like] anything else. I feel like myself.” 

Rahsaan hated being called white. It was the mid-1970s; Roots had just aired on ABC, and Rahsaan associated being white with putting people in chains. Five-Percent Nation, a Black nationalist movement founded in Harlem, had risen to prominence and ascribed godlike status to Black men. Plus, all the best athletes were Black: Muhammad Ali. Reggie Jackson. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In Rahsaan’s world, somebody white was considered physically inferior. 

Raised by his mother, Jacqueline, Rahsaan never really knew his father, Carlos, who spent much of Rahsaan’s childhood in prison. In 1974, Jacqueline had another son, Aikeem, with a different man, and raised her two boys as a single mom. Carlos also had another son, Carl, whom Rahsaan met only once, when Carl was a baby. Still, Rahsaan believed “the myth,” as he puts it now, that one day Carlos would return and relieve him, his mom, and Aikeem of the life they were living. Jacqueline had a bachelor’s degree in sociology and worked three jobs to keep her sons clothed and fed. She nurtured Rahsaan’s interest in computers and sent him to a parochial school that had a gifted program. Rahsaan describes his family as “upper-class poor.” They had more than a lot of families, but never enough to get out of Brownsville, away from the drugs and the violence.

Some traumas are small but are compounded by frequency and volume; others are isolated occurrences but so significant that they define a person for a lifetime. Rahsaan remembers his grandmother telling him that his father had been found dead in an alley, throat slashed, wallet missing. Rahsaan was 12 at the time, and he understood it to mean his father had been murdered for whatever cash he had on him—maybe $200, not even. Now he would never come home. 

Rahsaan felt like something he didn’t even have had been taken from him. “It just made me different, like, angry,” he says. By the time he got to high school, Rahsaan resolved to never let anyone take anything from him or his family again. “I started feeling like, next time somebody tryin’ to rob me, I’m gonna stab him,” he says. He started carrying a knife, a razor, rug cutters—“all kinds of sharp stuff.” Rahsaan never instigated a fight, but he refused to back down when threatened or attacked. It was a matter of survival.

The first time Rahsaan picked up a gun, it was to avenge his brother. Aikeem, who was 14 at the time, had been shot in the leg by a guy in the neighborhood who was trying to rob him and Rahsaan. A few months later, Rahsaan saw the shooter on the street, ran to the apartment of a drug dealer he knew, and demanded a gun. Rahsaan, then 18, went back outside and fired three shots at the guy. Rahsaan was arrested and sent to Rikers Island, then released after three days: The guy he’d shot was wanted for several crimes and refused to testify against Rahsaan. 

By day, Rahsaan tried to lead a straight life. He graduated from high school in 1988 and got a job taking reservations for Pan Am Airways. He lost the job after Flight 103 exploded in a terrorist bombing over Scotland that December, and the company downsized. Rahsaan got a new job in the mailroom at Debevoise & Plimpton, a white-shoe law firm in midtown Manhattan. He could type 70 words a minute and hoped to become a paralegal one day. 

Rahsaan carried a gun to work because he’d been conditioned to expect the worst when he returned to Brownsville at night. “If you constantly being traumatized, you constantly feeling unsafe, it’s really hard to be in a good mind space and be a good person,” he says. “I mean, you have to be extraordinary.”

After high school, some of Rahsaan’s friends went to Old Westbury, a state university on Long Island with a rolling green campus. He would sometimes visit them, and at a Halloween party one night, he got into a scrape with some other guys and fired his gun. Rahsaan spent the next year awaiting trial in county jail, the following year at Cayuga State Prison in upstate New York, and another 22 months after that on work release, living in a halfway house in Queens. He got a job working the merch table for the Blue Man Group at Astor Place Theater, but the pay wasn’t enough to support the two kids he’d had not long after getting out of Cayuga.

He started selling a little crack around 1994, when he was 24. By 27 he was dealing full-time. He didn’t want to be a drug dealer, though. “I just felt desperate,” he says. Rahsaan had learned to cut hair in Cayuga, and he hoped to save enough money to open a barbershop. 

He never got that opportunity. By the summer of 1999, things in New York had gotten too hot for Rahsaan and he fled to California. For the first time in his 28 years, Rahsaan Thomas was on the run. 

EVERY RUNNER HAS AN ORIGIN STORY. SOME START IN SCHOOL, OTHERS TAKE UP RUNNING TO IMPROVE their health or beat addiction. Many stories share common themes, if not exact details. And some, like Rahsaan’s, are absolutely singular. 

Rahsaan drove west with ambitions to break into the music business. He wanted to be a manager, maybe start his own label. His new girlfriend would join him a week later in La Jolla, where they’d found an apartment, so Rahsaan went first to Big Bear, a small town deep in the San Bernardino Mountains 100 miles east of Los Angeles. It’s where Ryan Hall grew up, and where he discovered running at age 13 by circling Big Bear Lake—15 miles—one afternoon on a whim. Hall has recounted that story so many times that it’s likely even better known than the American records he would go on to set in the half and full marathons. 

Rahsaan didn’t know anything about Ryan Hall, who at the time was just about to start his junior year at Big Bear High School and begin a two-year reign as the California state cross-country champion. He didn’t even know there was a lake in Big Bear. Rahsaan went to Big Bear to box with a friend, Shannon Briggs, a two-time World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion. 

Briggs and Rahsaan had grown up together in Atlantic Towers. As kids they liked to ride bikes in the courtyard, and later they went to the same high school in Fort Greene. But Briggs’s mom had become addicted to drugs by his sophomore year, and they were evicted from the Towers. Briggs and Rahsaan lost touch. Briggs began spending time at a boxing gym in East New York; often he’d sleep there. He had talent in the ring. People thought he might even be the next Mike Tyson, another native of Brownsville who was himself a world heavyweight champ from 1986 to 1989. 

Briggs went pro in 1991, and by the end of that decade he was earning seven figures fighting guys like George Foreman and Lennox Lewis. Rahsaan was at those fights. The two had reconnected in 1996, when Rahsaan was trying to rebuild his life after prison and Briggs’s boxing career was on the rise. In August 1999, Briggs was gearing up to fight Francois Botha, a South African known as the White Buffalo, and had decamped to Big Bear to train. “He was like, ‘Yo, come live with me, bro,’” Rahsaan recalls.

Briggs was running three miles a day to increase his stamina. His route was a simple out-and-back on a wooded trail, and on one of Rahsaan’s first days there, he decided to join him. Rahsaan hadn’t done so much as a push-up since getting out of prison, but he wanted to hang with his friend. Briggs and his training partners set off at their usual clip; within a few minutes they’d disappeared from Rahsaan’s view. By the time they were doubling back, he’d barely made it a half mile. 

Rahsaan never liked feeling physically inferior. So back in La Jolla, he started running a few times a week, going to the gym, whatever it took. Before long he was up to five miles. And the next time he ran with Briggs, he could keep up. After that, he says, “Running just became my thing.” 

FOR YEARS, RAHSAAN HAD BUCKED AT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY for the murder that sent him to prison. The other guys had guns, too, he insisted. If he hadn’t shot them, they’d have shot him. It was self-defense. 

In the moment, he had no reason to think otherwise. It was April 2000. A friend had arranged to sell $50,000 worth of weed, and Rahsaan went along to help. They met in the parking lot of a strip mall in L.A., broad daylight. The buyers brought guns instead of cash, things went sideways, and, in a flash of adrenaline, Rahsaan used the 9mm he’d packed for protection, killing one man and putting the other in critical condition. He was 29 and had been in California eight months. 

After awaiting trial for three years in the L.A. County jails, Rahsaan was sentenced to 55 years to life. But for the crushing finality of it, the grim interminability, the prospect of never seeing the outside world again, he was on familiar ground. Even Brownsville had been a kind of prison—one defined, as Rahsaan puts it now, by division and neglect, a world unto itself that societal forces made nearly impossible to escape. He was used to life inside. 

Rahsaan spent the next 10 years shuttling between maximum security facilities, the bulk of those years at Calipatria State Prison, 30 miles from the Mexican border. By the time he got to San Quentin, he was 42. 

As part of the prison’s restorative justice program, Rahsaan met a mother of two young men who’d been shot, one killed and the other critically injured. Her pain, her dignity, her ability to forgive her sons’ shooters prompted Rahsann to reflect on his own crime. “It made me feel like, damn, I did this to his mother,” he says. “I did this to my mother. You don’t do that to Black mothers. They go through so much.” 

ABOUT 2 MILLION PEOPLE ARE INCARCERATED IN THE UNITED States today, roughly eight times as many as in the early 1970s. Nearly half of them are Black, despite Black Americans representing only 13 percent of the U.S. population.

This disparity reflects what the legal scholar and author Michelle Alexander calls “the new Jim Crow,” an invisible system of oppression that has impeded Black men in particular since the days of slavery. In her book of the same title, Alexander unpacks 400 years of policies and social attitudes that have created a society in which one in three Black males will be incarcerated at some point in their lives, and where even those who have been paroled often face a lifetime of discrimination and disenfranchisement, like losing the right to vote. If you hit a wall every time you try to do something, are you really free? More than half of the people released from U.S. jails and prisons return within three years. 

After Rahsaan got out of Cayuga back in 1992, with a felony on his permanent record, he’d had trouble doing just about anything legit: renting an apartment, finding a decent job, securing a loan. Though he’d paid for the Mercedes SUV he drove to California, the lease was in his girlfriend’s name. Selling crack had provided financial solvency, and his success in New York made him feel invincible. One weed deal in California seemed easy enough. But he wasn’t naive. Rahsaan packed a gun, and if he felt he had to use it, he would. 

Today Rahsaan feels deep remorse for what transpired from there. But back then he saw no other way. “When we have a grievance, we hold court in the street,” he says of growing up in the Brownsville projects. “There’s no court of law, there’s no lawsuits.” Even while incarcerated, Rahsaan continued to meet threats with violence. But he also found that in prison, as in Brownsville, respect was temporary. “If you stab somebody, people leave you alone,” he says. “But you gotta keep doing it.” 

Not long after Rahsaan got to Calipatria, around 2003 or 2004, an older man named Samir pulled him aside. “Youngster, there’s nobody that you can beat up that’s gonna get you out of prison,” Rahsaan remembers Samir saying. “In fact, that’s gonna make it worse.” Rahsaan thought about Muhammad Ali, how he would get his opponents angry on purpose so they’d swing until they wore themselves out. He realized that when you’re angry, you’re not thinking clearly or moving effectively. You’re not responding; you’re reacting.

The next time Rahsaan saw Samir was in the yard at Calipatria. They were both doing laps, and the two men started to run together. Rahsaan told Samir about the impact his words had on him, how they helped him see he’d always let “somebody else’s hangup become my hangup, somebody else’s trauma become my trauma.” Each time that happened, he realized, he slid backward. 

Rahsaan began exploring various religions. He liked how the men in the Muslim prayer group at Calipatria encouraged him to think about his past, and the way they talked about God’s plan. He thought back to that day in April 2000 and came to believe that God would have gotten him out of that situation without a gun. “If I was meant to die, I was meant to die,” he says. “If I’m not, I’m not.” He started to see confrontations as tests. “I stopped feeding into the negativity and started passing the test, and I’ve been passing it consistently since,” he says. 

CLAIRE GELBART PLACED HER BELONGINGS IN A PLASTIC TRAY AND WALKED THROUGH THE METAL detectors at the visitors’ entrance at San Quentin. She crossed the Yard to the prison’s newsroom. It was late fall of 2017, and Gelbart had started volunteering with the San Quentin Journalism Guild, an initiative to teach incarcerated people the fundamentals of newswriting and interviewing techniques.

Historically infamous for housing people like Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of killing Robert Kennedy, and for having the only death row for men in California, San Quentin has in recent years instituted reforms. By the time Rahsaan arrived, the facility was offering dozens of programs, had an onsite college, and granted some of the individuals housed there considerable freedom of movement. Hundreds of volunteers pass through its gates every year.

Rahsaan was in the newsroom working on a story for the San Quentin News, where he was a staff writer. Gelbart and Rahsaan started to chat, and within minutes they were bonding over running. They talked about the San Quentin Marathon—in which Rahsaan was proud to have placed 13th out of 13 finishers in 6 hours, 12 minutes, and 23 seconds—and Gelbart’s plans to run her first half marathon that spring. “It was like I lost all sense of place and time,” Gelbart says, “like I could have been in a coffee shop in San Francisco talking to someone.” 

In weekly visits over the next year, Gelbart and Rahsaan talked about their families, their hopes for the future. Gelbart had just graduated from Tufts University with dreams of being a writer. Rahsaan was working toward a college degree, writing for numerous outlets like the Marshall Project and Vice, and learning about podcasting and documentary filmmaking. In 2019, when Gelbart was offered a job in New York, she told Rahsaan she felt torn about leaving—they’d become close friends. They made a pact that if Rahsaan ever got out of prison, they would run the New York City Marathon together. “We couldn’t think of a better thing to celebrate him coming home,” Gelbart says.

When Rahsaan was sentenced, he still had hope for a successful appeal. But when his appeal was denied in 2011, he realized he was never going home. His parole date was set for 2085. 

At the time, though, the political appetite for mass incarceration was starting to shift. Gray Davis, who was governor of California from 1999 to 2003, had never granted a single pardon; and his successor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, granted only 15. Then, between 2011 and 2019, Governor Jerry Brown pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,300 people. Studies show that the recidivism rate among those who had been serving life sentences is less than 5 percent in a number of states, including California. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice, 98 percent of people convicted of homicide who are released from prison do not commit another murder. 

In the fall of 2018, Governor Brown approved Rahsaan for commutation, but it was now up to his successor, Gavin Newsom, to follow through. And until a release date was set, there were no guarantees. 

Back at San Quentin, Rahsaan was busier than ever. He was working on his fourth film, Friendly Signs, a documentary funded by the Marshall Project and the Sundance Institute; it was about fellow 1,000 Mile Club member Tommy Lee Wickerd’s efforts to start an ASL program to aid a group of deaf and hard-of-hearing newcomers to the prison. He had recently been named chair of the San Quentin satellite chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and became a cohost and coproducer of Ear Hustle, a popular podcast about life in San Quentin that in 2020 was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. He was also sketching out plans for a nonprofit, Empowerment Ave, to build connections to the outside world for other incarcerated writers and artists and to advocate for fair compensation. And after five years, he was just one history class away from getting his associate’s degree from Mount Tamalpais College.

In January 2020, Rahsaan began his final semester, eager to don his cap and gown that June. MTC always organized a festive graduation ceremony in the prison’s visiting room, inviting families, friends, students, and staff. Then COVID-19 hit. Lockdown. All classes canceled until further notice. The 1,000 Mile Club suspended workouts and races as well, its 70-plus members scattering throughout the prison, not sure when or if they’d ever get together again. Covid would officially kill 28 people at San Quentin and make many more very ill. College graduation, let alone races in the Yard and parole hearings, would have to wait.

For the first time since arriving at San Quentin, Rahsaan felt claustrophobic in his 4-by-10-foot cell. He couldn’t work on his films or go to the newsroom. All he could do was read and write, alone. After George Floyd was murdered that May, Rahsaan fell into a depression. He remembered something Chadwick Boseman had said in a 2018 commencement speech at Howard University: “Remember, the struggles along the way shape you for your purpose.”

Rahsaan decided his purpose was to write. Outside journalists couldn’t enter the prison during the pandemic, but their publications were thirsty for prison Covid stories. Rahsaan saw an opportunity. Between June 2020 and February 2023, he published 42 articles, and thanks to Empowerment Ave, he knew what those articles were worth. As a writer for the San Quentin News, Rahsaan earned $36 a month; those 42 articles for external publications netted him $30,000.

DOZENS OF PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE SAN QUENTIN’S GATES. IT WAS A FRIGID MORNING IN EARLY February 2023; the sun hadn’t yet risen. Among those assembled were two cofounders of Ear Hustle, Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor, along with executive producer Bruce Wallace, recording equipment in hand. A procession of white vans, each carrying one or two men, arrived one by one. After three or four hours, the air had warmed to a balmy 60 degrees. Another van pulled up, Rahsaan got out, and the crowd erupted. Nearly 23 years after he’d been sentenced to 55 years to life, Rahsaan Thomas had been released. 

Rahsaan got into a Hyundai sedan and was soon headed away from San Quentin. Wallace sat in the back, recording Rahsaan seeing water, mountains, and a highway from the front seat of a car for the first time in decades. “I feel like I’m escaping,” he joked. “Is anybody chasing us? This is amazing. This is crazy.” 

Rahsaan called his mom, who wasn’t able to make it to California for his release.

“Hey, Ma, it’s really real,” he said, breathless with joy. “I’m free. No more handcuffs.”

Jacqueline’s exuberance can be heard in her laughter, her curiosity about what his first meal would be (steak and French toast), and her motherly rebuke of his plan to buy a Tesla.

“You ain’t been drivin’ in a while and I know you ain’t the best driver in the world,” she teased. 

Rahsaan moved into a transitional house in Oakland and wasted no time adjusting to life in the 21st century. He got an iPhone, and a friend gave him a crash course in protecting himself from cyberattacks. He’s almost fallen for a few. “There’s some rough hoods on the internet,” he jokes. Earlonne Woods, who was paroled in 2018, and others taught Rahsaan how to use social media. He opened Instagram and Facebook accounts and worked on his own website, rahsaannewyorkthomas.com, which a friend had built for him while he was in San Quentin to promote his creative projects, Empowerment Ave, and even a line of merch. 

Despite all the excitement and chaos, Rahsaan never forgot about the pact he’d made with Claire Gelbart. He found her on Facebook and sent a simple, two-line message: “Start training. We have a marathon to run.” 

IN LATE MARCH, SIX WEEKS AFTER HIS RELEASE, RAHSAAN FLEW TO NEW YORK CITY. IT WAS THE FIRST time he’d been home in nearly a quarter century, and he hadn’t flown since before 9/11. The security protocols at SFO reminded him more of prison than of the last time he’d been in an airport. Actually, “it was worse than prison,” he jokes. They confiscated his jar of honey.

The changes to his home borough were no less surprising. He’d come to New York to take work meetings, see family, and catch a Nets game at Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. Rahsaan barely recognized Barclays; it had been a U-Haul lot the last time he was there, and skyscrapers now towered over Fulton Mall, where he used to buy Starter jackets at Dr. Jay’s and Big Daddy Kane tapes at the Wiz. 

He met up with Gelbart on Flatbush Avenue, where come November they’d be just hitting mile 8 of the New York City Marathon. They hadn’t been allowed to touch at San Quentin and weren’t sure how to greet each other on the outside. “It was weird at first, because I was like, do we hug?” Gelbart recalls. But the awkwardness faded fast, and as they walked, Gelbart saw a different side of Rahsaan. “He seemed so much more relaxed,” she says. “Much happier, much lighter.” 

Back in 1985, just a few blocks from where Rahsaan and Gelbart walked now, Rahsaan, his brother Aikeem, and his friend Troy had been on their way home from the Fulton Mall when out of nowhere, about a dozen guys rolled up on them. They started beating on Troy and, for a minute, left Rahsaan and Aikeem alone. Images of his father, throat slashed, flashed through Rahsaan’s mind. He pulled a rug cutter out of his pocket, ran to the smallest guy in the group, and jabbed it into the back of his head. “They looked at me like they were gonna kill me,” Rahsaan says. He threw the blade to the ground, slid his hand inside his coat, and held it there. “Y’all wanna play? We gonna play,” he said. The bluff worked; the guys ran. It was the first time Rahsaan had ever stabbed someone. 

Change sometimes occurs gradually, and then all at once. That was a different Brooklyn, a different Rahsaan. He began to confront his own violence when he had met Samir some 20 years before, and continued to do so through his studies, his faith, his work in restorative justice, and his own writing. But the origin of his tendency toward violence, the death of his father, remained firmly rooted in his psyche. Then, in 2017, Rahsaan spoke for the first time with his estranged half-brother, Carl. 

Carl had read Rahsaan’s work, and asked why he always said their father had been murdered.

“That’s what grandma told me,” Rahsaan said. 

“But he wasn’t murdered,” Carl told him. “He killed himself.” 

And it wasn’t in 1982, as Rahsaan remembered, but in 1985—the same year Rahsaan started carrying blades. 

Rahsaan didn’t believe it until Carl sent him a copy of the suicide note. Even then he remained in shock. “To think I justified violence, treating robbery like a life-or-death situation, over a lie,” he says. Jacqueline was as surprised as Rahsaan to learn the truth of Carlos’s death. He never seemed troubled or depressed to her when they were together, but, “You can’t really read people,” she says. “You don’t know.” 

Rahsaan still can’t account for why his grandmother told him what she did, nor for the discrepancy between his memory and the facts. Regardless, after more than 30 years, Rahsaan was finally able to let go of the one trauma that had calcified into an instinct to kill or be killed. And he has no intention of dredging it back up. 

THE FASTEST RUNNER IN THE 1,000 MILE CLUB’S HISTORY IS MARKELLE “THE GAZELLE” TAYLOR, WHO was paroled in 2019 and went on to run 2:52 in the 2022 Boston Marathon. Rahsaan is the slowest. At San Quentin, he was often the last one to finish a race, but that wasn’t the point—he liked being out in the Yard with the guys. It gave him a sense of belonging, and not just to the 1,000 Mile Club, but to the running community beyond.   

Like every other 1,000 Miler who gets released from San Quentin, Rahsaan had a rite of passage to conquer. On Sunday morning, May 7, 2023, he met a handful of other runners from the club and a few volunteer coaches in Mill Valley. After a decade of gazing up at Mount Tam from the Yard as he completed one 400-meter loop after another, Rahsaan was finally about to run over the mountain all the way to the Pacific. 

The runners did a few final stretches, wished one another luck, and started to run. Almost immediately they had to climb some 700 stairs, many made of stone, and the course only got more treacherous from there. Uneven footing, singletrack paths, and 2,000-plus feet of elevation all conspire to make the Dipsea notoriously difficult. The giant redwoods and Douglas firs along the course were lost on Rahsaan; he never took his eyes off the ground. 

One of the coaches, Jim Maloney, stayed with Rahsaan as his guide, and to help him if he slipped or fell. Markelle Taylor came too, but said he’d meet them in Stinson Beach. He knew how dangerous the trail was, Rahsaan says, and had vowed to never run it again. After his own initiation, Rahsaan decided that he, too, would never do it again. “I’ve been shot at,” he says. “I’ve been in physical danger. I don’t want to revisit danger.”

Rahsaan now logs most of his miles on a treadmill because of knee issues, but on occasion he ventures out to do the 3.4-mile loop around Lake Merritt, a lagoon in the heart of Oakland. He decided to use the New York City Marathon to raise money for Empowerment Ave, and to accept donations until he crossed the finish line in Central Park. Gelbart wrote a training plan for him and got him a new pair of shoes. In prison, Rahsaan had run in the same pair of Adidas for three years, and he was excited to learn about the maximalist shoe movement. Gelbart tried to interest him in Hokas, but Rahsaan thought they were ugly. He wanted Nikes. 

In June, Gelbart went to the Bay Area to visit family and met Rahsaan for a six-mile run around Lake Merritt. As they looped the lake at a conversational 11:30 pace, they talked about work, relationships, and, of course, the New York City Marathon. Rahsaan was disappointed to learn that he would probably not be the last person to finish. (He still holds the record for the slowest San Quentin Marathon in its 15-year history, and he hopes no one ever beats it.) Besides, the more time he spent on the course in New York, he figured, the longer people would have to donate to Empowerment Ave.

On Sunday, November 5, Gelbart and Rahsaan made their way to Staten Island. Waiting at the base of the Verrazzano Bridge, Gelbart recorded Rahsaan singing along to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” for Instagram, and captioned the video “back where he belongs.” They documented much of their race as they floated through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx: greeting friends along the course, enjoying a lollipop on the Queensboro Bridge, beaming even as their pace slowed from 11:45 per mile for the first 5K to 16:30 for the last. Rahsaan finished in six hours, 26 minutes, and 21 seconds, placing 48,221 out of 51,290 runners. The next day, he sent me a text: “The marathon was pure love.” What’s more, he received more than $15,000 in donations for Empowerment Ave, enough to start a writing program at a women’s prison in Texas. 

Every runner has an origin story. Every runner finds a reason to keep going. At Calipatria, Rahsaan liked to joke that he ran because if an earthquake ever came along and brought down the prison’s walls, he needed to be in shape so he could escape and run to Mexico. In San Quentin, he ran for the community. Today he has a new reason. “I heard that running extends your life by 10 years,” he says, “and I gave away 22.” Now that he’s out, his motivation has never been higher. He has so much to do. 

Six-Time Cancer Survivor Runs a Marathon on Every Continent

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you’re capable of. That’s for you to determine.”

For the last mile of the Antarctica Marathon, Jonathan Acott played one song on repeat. Trudging through snow and icy winds on the edge of the world, the runner from Surrey, United Kingdom, listened to Tim McGraw’s hit, “Live Like You Were Dying.” It was a fitting anthem for the six-time cancer survivor in his pursuit to run a marathon on all seven continents. 

With 500 yards remaining in the race, Acott took his headphones out. He wanted to be fully present for the homestretch of the seventh marathon. Running downhill toward a small tent with a timer next to the Russian research station, the 48-year-old made his way to the finish line area, where a group of volunteers and fellow competitors cheered him on. 

His legs sore from the descent, Acott took a moment to compose himself before stepping across the finish line, completing a challenge that seemed unimaginable five years ago. “The photographers are there and they say, ‘Put your arms up!’ But I don’t want to put my arms up. That’s not how I want to celebrate,” Acott said. “I needed to stop at that moment. There’ll be other mountains, but right now I just want to stop.”

Amid the devastation caused by multiple cancers and the arduous healing process that followed, Acott transformed his life, becoming a motivational speaker, coach, and avid runner intent on chasing epic goals. For Acott, becoming a member of the Seven Continents Club—645 men and 358 women who have completed 26.2 on all seven continents—is the latest example of the runner choosing to embrace every moment.

‘If I’m moving, I’m not dead.’ 

Acott’s cancer journey began 20 years ago. In 2004, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer at 29 years old. His first relapse occurred in 2007 when doctors discovered a tumor in his chest. He relapsed again in 2013 and 2016 and underwent back-to-back retroperitoneal lymph node dissections, a surgery to remove the lymph nodes in the back of the abdomen. In 2017, he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The following year, doctors discovered he relapsed again. His final surgery in 2018 involved removing his kidney and spleen. The spleen ruptured during the procedure, which required an emergency blood transfusion on top of chemotherapy post-operation. 

In a span of 14 years, Acott underwent numerous rounds of chemotherapy (he estimates about seven months total) and six surgeries that left his body riddled with lifelong side effects, including permanent nerve damage and hearing loss. The experience also took a heavy toll on his mental health. At his lowest, Acott suffered from suicidal ideation. Working with a psychiatrist helped him cope and reframe his perspective. 

“Life is unfair to everybody. This just happens to be it,” Acott said. “And I can do two things. I can sit there and wallow about how miserable life is, or I can accept that life is difficult and hard and challenging, and you can make the most of it.”

Since 2018, Acott has been cancer free. After the last bout of the disease, his doctors encouraged him to start walking in the recovery process. He also lost his job after being unable to work during treatment. Walking not only gave him time to process his emotions, it also gave him something to work towards. In a few months, Acott was walking up to three hours at a time. 

After spending months building up to long distances, Acott decided he wanted to be more efficient by running. “I push because if I’m moving, I’m not dead,” Acott said. “If I’m moving further each day, I am getting healthier.”

Because Acott is immunocompromised and his body takes longer to heal now, he trains every other day. He’s also battling pain most of the time from scars and neuropathy in his feet, among other ailments, and needs to run a conservative pace most of the time. “My body has been through a lot, but it’s still capable of doing so much," he said. 

Choosing to live in optimism

In the fall of 2019—15 months after his last surgery—Acott raced the Berlin Marathon as a way to celebrate his comeback. He finished his first 26.2 in 4:58:38. Shortly after, he set out to complete the seven continents challenge. 

“I chose to apply myself to making the most of my time because I don’t know how much time I have,” Acott said. “It’s a choice about how you live. You can live in fear, and I am always scared, or I can live in optimism that I’m going to have the best life I possibly can.”

The following year, he ran the Africa leg at the 2020 Marrakech Marathon in 4:45:48. In 2020, he also took up motivational speaking on top of his full-time job as the head of guest experience at a business complex. 

After COVID restrictions were lifted, he finished the 2022 Austin Marathon in 5:15:28. The same year, he completed the South America portion by finishing the Curaçao Marathon in 5:09:16, trudging through flood waters on the course. 

He ran the Asia leg with a 5:15:33 at the 2023 Dubai Marathon along a desert roadway. Last fall, he covered Australia at the 2023 Perth Marathon with a finishing time of 5:01:40. On March 21, he completed the Antarctica Marathon in 5:38:16. 

Looking back on the experience, Acott remembered his surgeon’s warning after the last procedure. The doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to complete the same physical feats he used to do before cancer. Less than two months after completing the global marathon challenge, he’s already training for his next goal—breaking four hours in the marathon. 

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you’re capable of,” Acott said. “That’s for you to determine. Find what the best version of you looks like, and make it happen.”

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Timothy Cheruiyot reveals struggles with injuries and overcoming challenges as he chases Olympic glory

Former world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot has opened up on his struggles with injuries and his comeback plan to the top of the men's 1500m.

Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot has opened up about his injury bout that saw him struggle to produce great results since the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Cheruiyot, a former world champion, explained that he had been through a tough time with his injury and explained that he had a torn knee which cost him a lot in terms of training and performing well.

He was a favourite at the 2022 World Championships but failed to live up to the billing, finishing sixth in the final of the 1500m before proceeding to a second-place finish at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Last season, Cheruiyot had a bitter exit from the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where he was eliminated in the semifinal of the race. He explained that the injury has been a nightmare to him but appreciated his management and coach Bernard Ouma for walking with him during the difficult period.

“It was a bit hard because sometimes when an athlete has an injury, it’s a bit of a problem but for me, I thank my management and my coach for coming together and finding a good physiotherapist and a great rehab.

“At the moment I’m very happy to be back…it was hard because I had a torn knee and I’m happy to have come back and I’m training well now,” Cheruiyot said.

This season, the 28-year-old has been in great shape, and has competed in Diamond League Meetings and local races as he eyes the Olympic trials.

He was in action at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, finishing second behind Brian Komen before almost upsetting Jakob Ingebrigtsen on home soil, at the Diamond League Meeting in Oslo.

Cheruiyot was also in action at the trials for the Africa Senior Athletics Championships, where he doubled in the 800m and 1500m and finished third and fifth respectively.

He has assured his fans of being fully back and will be keen to go back and take his rightful position as one of the greatest 1500m runners the world has ever known.

An amazing fast 5k in Oslo

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia ran the second-fastest 5,000 meters of all time in winning at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo on Thursday.

Gebrhiwet ran a final lap of 54.99 to finish in 12 minutes, 36.73 seconds — 1.37 seconds off the world record set by Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei.

 Gebrhiwet's time is not only the second fastest time ever it was also a new national record for Ethiopia. New personal bests for the top eight finishers and new National records for Guatemala, Switzerland, Sweden, France and South Africa!

Also at the Bislett Games, home favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen dived for the line to win the men's 1,500 just ahead of Timothy Cheruiyot in a world-leading 3 minutes, 29.74 seconds.

More details: Hagos Gebrhiwet produced the standout performance of the Bislett Games – and one of the biggest surprises of the year so far – when winning the men’s 5000m in 12:36.73 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo on Thursday (30).

It was one of three meeting records and five world leads set on an enthralling night of athletics action in the Norwegian capital, just two months away from the Paris Olympic Games.

Going into the men’s 5000m, many eyes were on world record-holder and Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei, two-time world cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo and last year’s Bislett Games winner Yomif Kejelcha. But Gebrhiwet – who produced the first sub-13-minute run of his career on this track as a teenager back in 2012 – ensured his name won’t be forgotten in the lead-up to the Olympics.

The early pace was strong but not spectacular as the field was paced through the first 1000m in 2:33.13 and 2000m in 5:07.05. Addisu Yihune maintained that tempo through 3000m, reached in 7:41.05, with all the big contenders still in contention.

Kejelcha took control soon after and started to wind up the pace. Gebrhiwet stayed close to his fellow Ethiopian with Ugandan duo Kiplimo and Cheptegei close behind as 4000m was reached in 10:11.86, the previous kilometre being covered in 2:30.

Cheptegei was unable to hold on for much longer and started to drift back. Kejelcha continued to drive the pace but the challenge from Gebrhiwet and Kiplimo wasn’t fading, despite the increase in pace. Gebrhiwet struck as the bell sounded and moved into the lead, kicking past his compatriot and pulling away with each stride.

With a final lap of 54.99, Gebrhiwet charged through the line in 12:36.73 to win by more than two seconds from Kejelcha (12.38.95) – the first time in history that two men have broken 12:40 in the same race.

Gebrhiwet’s winning time is just 1.37 seconds shy of the world record Cheptegei set in 2020 and moves him to second on the world all-time list, one place ahead of Kenenisa Bekele, whose Ethiopian record Gebrhiwet broke.

Kiplimo held on for third, setting a PB of 12:40.96, while Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo (12:48.10) and Yihune (12:49.65) also finished inside 12:50.

It was just the second time in history that 13 men have broken 13 minutes. Along with Gebrhiwet, there were national records for Guatemala’s Luis Grijalva (12:50.58), Switzerland’s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu (12:50.90), Sweden’s Andreas Almgren (12:50.94), France’s Jimmy Gressier (12:54.97) and South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt (12:56.67).

“I’m really happy with my time,” said Gebrhiwet, the world road 5km champion. “I set a PB when I first ran in Oslo, and now it’s even better. The conditions and the crowd were great. It was a very fast race and it wasn’t easy for me, but it went very well. I’ll now try to qualify for the Olympics in the 10,000m too.”

There were notable performances in two other endurance events in Oslo.

Australia’s Georgia Griffith continued her breakthrough to win the 3000m in an Oceanian record of 8:24.20. The field had been paced through 1000m in 2:50.34, then that pace was maintained through 2000m in 5:40.73.

The field became more strung out over the final kilometre as the pace increased. Griffith made a break in the closing stages and Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw tried to come back, but her challenge was in vain as the Australian won in a meeting record of 8:24.20, 0.09 ahead of Amebaw in a race where the top six women finished inside 8:30.

In the closing event of the night, Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen was made to dive for the line to ensure a home victory for the Norwegian fans.

He controlled the pace in the second half, but still had 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot for company on the final lap. The Kenyan challenged the Norwegian down the home straight and appeared to have timed his kick to perfection, but Ingebrigtsen collapsed over the line to get the verdict in a world-leading 3:29.74, 0.03 ahead of Cheruiyot. The first 11 finishers all set either season’s or personal bests.

Timothy Cheruiyot outlines comeback strategy with main focus on Paris 2024 Olympics

Former world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot has opened up on his comeback strategy after injuries almost threatened to end his career.

Olympic 1500m silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot is slowly gaining his confidence as he outlines his comeback plan to where he feels he rightfully belongs, the top.

Cheruiyot suffered an injury bout that cost him since 2022 where he failed to defend his world title at the Oregon World Championships and also faltered at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The former world champion is now plotting a great comeback and he has already started competing after his exit from the World Championships in Budapest.

He opened his season with a second-place finish at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha before doubling in the 1500m and 800m at the National Championships.

He now heads to the Diamond League Meeting in Oslo, where he will be up against a strong field, but he can’t be downplayed since he is also an able athlete.

Cheruiyot also disclosed that his main focus is on the Olympic trials where he intends to shine and go to Paris to improve his silver medal from the delayed 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

“I feel good…the races were good and I was well prepared. I decided to do two races, the 800m and 1500m, and it was really good because we are focusing ahead,” he said.

“I feel so great because last year I was having an injury but now I’m getting better. For now, I’m focusing on the Diamond League races and then the trials,” he said.

The Olympic silver medalist also noted that at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, his body was about 85 per cent and fired warning shots at his opponents.

“At the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, my body was about 85 per cent because that was my first race after nine months, since Budapest. So, it was about gaining confidence and now, I’m ready to go. The confidence is coming back,” he added.

Cheating or an Honest Mistake: Should Marathoners Be DQ’d For Receiving Extra Bottles?

Race organizers say it’s to keep ensure fairness—some runners think a disqualification is taking it too far.

Esteban Prado trained for the Orange County Marathon for months. He told NBC that he was running 100-mile weeks over a 3-4 month period. On race day, he broke the tape, crossing the finish line in 2:24:54. But within an hour of his would-be victory, the 24-year-old runner received a phone call from race director Gary Kutscher. 

Kutscher asked him to confirm or deny the news he’d received that Prado had been receiving fluids and nutrition from someone on a bicycle, which is against USA Track and Field rules number 144 and 241—only “authorized persons” at official stations along the course can provide liquids. And the fact that Prado received the liquids from someone on a bike was a further violation.

“No official shall under any circumstances move beside an athlete while he is taking refreshment or water,” the rules say. Also: “A competitor who collects refreshment from a place other than a refreshment station is liable to disqualification by the referee.”

He was disqualified, and the runner-up, Jason Yang, who finished 17 seconds behind Prado, was named the official winner of the 2024 OC Marathon. 

The situation riled people up. Some said that what Prado did was cheating, while others felt that it was an honest mistake and that he shouldn’t be punished for it. However, while taking water from someone during a race may seem pretty harmless, as Kutscher pointed out in a phone call with Runner’s World, “The rules are there for a reason. We have to ensure fairness to all the people who are competing for those top spots. And I think we made the right decision.”

Complicating matters, several participants took to social media to express their disappointment with how the race was organized this year. Runners like Brandon, a man from Irvine in his mid-30s, who said the water stations along the course were not prepared. 

“The aid station situation was okay in the first half,” he told Runner’s World. “Sometimes there weren’t enough volunteers handing out water, which was probably terrible for elite runners where every second counts.” 

Brandon said he doesn’t recall seeing any official aid stations past mile 20, but after mile 23, “there were plenty of spectators handing out water.” However, while “this is okay for somebody just trying to make it through the race,” he added, “I don't understand how elites were supposed to adhere to the rules in this situation unless they got lucky and brought their own water.”

Ann, another participant in her 30s, says she only saw one water station that didn’t have water available. But, “It seemed like they weren’t pouring cups out fast enough to replace the ones grabbed by runners,” she told Runner’s World.

Participant claims notwithstanding, it’s hard to ignore the video footage that shows Prado running right past an aid station. It was also later confirmed that not only did his dad offer him water, but he rode alongside him on a bicycle for the majority of the race, pacing him and giving him coaching advice. It was an unfair advantage. 

Kutscher said he doesn’t think Prado was intentionally breaking the rules—“I don’t think that was his intention at all,” he said. “I don’t think he understood the rule. And I would have preferred that he just said that he didn’t understand the rules, and ‘I’m going to be a better runner as a result,’ but he mentioned that aid stations weren’t prepared and he’s even made some statements against Jason, our first place winner, now, that I think are unfortunate.” 

Whomever you believe in either situation, there’s no arguing that a DQ is an unfortunate thing. But the rules exist for a good reason, to keep the playing field fair and to give every athlete an equal opportunity to win. 

Ann, one of the OC Marathon mass field participants, said she’s glad when officials take the rules seriously. “As an amateur, I know they’re in place for my health and safety on course,” she says. “For the elites, I’m sure it’s also confidence in a fair race.” 

Daniel Simiu secures US visa to join dense 10,000m field at Prefontaine Classic

Daniel Simiu has finally secured his US visa and will be out to challenge his compatriots in the men's 10,000m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

The world number one, Daniel Simiu has finally secured his US visa and he will be out to battle for an Olympic slot at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League Meeting in Eugene, Oregon.

Athletics Kenya announced that they will select the 10,000m team at the event and it will be very important for athletes seeking to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Simiu, the world 10,000m silver medallist had issues securing his visa but it was secured and he travelled just in time ahead of Saturday’s event. The world half marathon silver medallist will go up against a formidable field, with the athletes fighting to make it to the top two.

He has since been unbeaten so far, winning the Sirikwa Classic Cross country and proceeding to take the crown at the 67° Campaccio-International Cross Country. He then won the Berlin Half Marathon last month.

Former world half marathon record holder Kibiwott Kandie will also be in the mix, after having a great start to his season when he won the eDreams Half Marathon Barcelona by Brooks.

He had quite a mixed season last year, where he was forced to pull out of the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary due to an injury setback. However, this season, he plans to bounce back and take all the glory on the track and roads.

Nicholas Kimeli will also be a top contender as he hopes to make a bounce back from last year’s dismal performance at the Hungarian capital.

Former world 10,000m silver medallist Stanley Waithaka also intends to make a statement on the track he won Kenya a silver medal in 2022. Waithaka has also suffered injury setbacks and he will be hoping to make a comeback this season.

Waithaka has already opened his season, finishing second at the 8th NITTAIDAI Challenge Games where he clocked an impressive 27:21.03 to cross the finish line. Weldon Langat and Daniel Mateiko have also been confirmed for the event.

Controversy Arises Over Boston’s Moving 6-Hour Results Cutoff

For back of the packer, heartbreak is learning their finishes are not official, even though they have times.

Laura Caster wants to be clear: She knew what the Boston Marathon rule was about official finishers. 

She was aware she had 6 hours from the time the last finisher crossed the starting line to finish the race in order to be considered official. 

Her problem? She didn’t know what time the last finisher crossed the starting line. 

Caster, 52, from Idlewild, California, was in corral 7 of Boston’s final wave, wave 4. And she crossed the starting line at 11:25 a.m. So for how many more minutes were runners crossing the starting line behind her? “Are they a minute behind me? Five minutes?” she wondered. 

Every minute would count for her. 

As it turned out, the final starter crossed the line at 11:28 a.m., so Caster needed to finish by 5:28 p.m. to be considered official.

Caster typically runs about 5:40 for a marathon. She finished Tokyo on March 3 in 5:41:50. Tokyo was her fifth of the World Marathon Majors six-star challenge. Boston was to be her sixth. 

To gain entry to Boston, she had run for a charity, Team for Kids. She raised more than $5,000—part of the more than $40 million Boston Marathon organizers say the race raises through charity runners every year. And she treated Tokyo as a long run for Boston. 

But the weather was warm on Marathon Monday, April 15. The slower runners start later in the day. And from early on, Caster knew she was in trouble. Her stomach was upset. She couldn’t take in all the fluids she needed. She was grabbing ice every time a spectator offered it. 

Still, she plugged along, hitting every timing mat—even though the mats are rolled up along the course on pace with the 6-hour finish time. She passed halfway in 2:58:40.

At numerous points, Caster became aware of a vehicle trailing runners like her, who were going at about 6-hour pace. And she asked a volunteer at one timing mat, “How do I know if I’m going to be official?” Caster said he pointed at the car and told her she needed to finish in front of it. 

“I was like, okay. That’s a definite answer,” she said. “I’m not going to look at my watch. I’m going to focus on not throwing up and being in front of that car.” 

Caster was well ahead of the car on Commonwealth Avenue when she turned right onto Hereford Street. Just to be safe, as she approached the finish line on Boylston, Caster took a final look behind her. No sign of the official car. She crossed at 5:31 p.m., in 6:05:59. Volunteers put her in a wheelchair and sent her to the medical tent. From there, she was transported to a hospital with low blood potassium levels. She was released later that evening. 

At the hospital, she looked at the results and realized she was not official. She had a gun time and a net time, but no place. 

Caster was devastated. All the training, all the time and expense of pursuing the six stars, and she wasn’t really done. “I’ve worked for years, was so excited to have gotten to this point,” she said of her progress. “I was just leveled.” 

Caster’s coach is Meb Keflezighi, an Olympic silver medalist and the 2014 Boston Marathon champion. On the phone with him, she broke down. 

He told her, “I couldn’t be prouder of you. You missed it. We both know that you completed all six. You’re not official. But you showed grit, you showed determination.” 

Allowing roads to reopen

Caster was not alone. Chris Lotsbom, a BAA spokesman, wrote in an email to Runner’s World that 497 people appeared to have crossed the Boston finish line this year after it officially closed. Volunteers staffed the area and handed out medals for approximately 4 hours, or until 9:45 p.m., longer than the race has ever continued to note times before. 

Of those 497, many were within a few minutes or seconds of 5:28 p.m. 

Cortney Blackburn, also in pursuit of her sixth star at Boston, missed by 37 seconds. 

In an email exchange after the race with BAA officials, she asked how she was to know what the cutoff time was after she had started running. She, too, was told about the car, with flashing lights on the top, going at 6-hour pace and alerting runners if they were falling behind. Blackburn never saw the car—she finished well ahead of it—and she, too, recorded a split at every finish line mat along the way. 

Lotsbom confirmed the car was there—a “road reopening vehicle”—he called it, meant to inform runners that roads were reopening and aid stations were shutting down. 

“Without knowing specifics, I can’t comment on the individual instances referenced,” he wrote. “I can say that we are reviewing our processes and procedures in regards to final finishers for future Boston Marathons.”

Blackburn crossed the finish line and picked up two medals: the Boston Marathon medal and the World Marathon Majors six-star medal. Only later did she realize she wasn’t official in Boston’s results and therefore isn’t official in the WMM results, either. She has the medals, but no online record of her achievement.

But if the finish line remains open, and the timing continues, why not allow runners to be official? Or at least communicate a time—for example, 5:30 p.m.—that is consistent from year to year? Why use a moving target? 

Boston’s strict cutoff is part of the agreement the race has with the cities and towns along the route. The 6-hour time limit is in place “to support the communities throughout which the race runs, to allow their road reopening program to commence as planned,” Lotsbom wrote. 

“We understand we could do even more in communicating the closing time on race day and we are looking to enhance that messaging to all runners for next year to ensure everyone is clear [on] the time limit and time that the finish line will officially close on race day,” Lotsbom wrote. 

A grace period

A few runners who are much slower than 6 hours get to start in earlier waves, which gives them more time to finish. For some runners close to the 5:28 p.m. cutoff, starting in an earlier corral of wave 4 would have meant the difference between an official and unofficial finish. 

In 2015, some members of Boston’s Quarter Century Club, people with 25 or more consecutive Boston finishes, were concerned about the 6-hour limit, which was imposed for the 2016 race. So race officials moved them to Wave 2. Problem solved. 

For others, the problem remains. And the moving cutoff appears to affect more women than men, older runners more than younger ones, and many runners of color.

Hector Espinal, like Blackburn, only discovered well after the race that he wasn’t official. He wrote on Instagram on April 18, “Despite crossing the finish line, finishing the race and receiving my medals, this morning I was informed that I did not complete the Boston Marathon in the time allotted to be considered an official finisher and @wmmajors 6 Star Marathoner.” 

The post has more than 10,000 likes, and 1,000 comments, the majority of them supportive. Elite runner Mary Ngugi of Kenya, who was sixth in 2:24:24, wrote, “No no, you are a 6 time world major marathoner and a hero.”

Boston is a race that has at times struggled with its image, which critics call elitist. Spectators last year accused the race of over-policing enthusiastic fans, most of whom were people of color, at a mile 21 cheer zone, which prompted a lawsuit. Runner’s World reported in 2022 about the B.A.A.’s obscure, largely white, invitation-only membership group, which is involved with governance of the organization. 

To many observers in the running community, setting a fixed finish time would be an easy way to help the race’s image as concerned about runners of varying abilities, not just the front of the pack.

Other races in the World Marathon Majors are much more lax about their finishing times, with the exception of Tokyo, which has nine cutoff points along the route, and runners are stopped if they lag behind. There are no questions, however, about where they stand. 

But finishers of London, New York, and Chicago appear in results with times hours slower than the races’ published cutoff times. Berlin, which has a posted cutoff time of 6:15, stays open for an extra 15 to 20 minutes before the Brandenburg Gate closes, according to previous finishers. 

Blackburn won’t be back to Boston anytime soon. “I don’t know honestly if I would do it again without major changes to actually be inclusive of non-qualifying athletes,” she wrote in a message to Runner’s World. “I think [B.A.A. officials] are putting out ‘we are trying’ vibes without actually trying.”

Caster, on the other hand, plans to try again. The uncertainty while she was on the course—and the wrong information she was given about the official vehicle—were what upset her. She doesn’t know if it would have made a difference for her had she been aware of the time she had to beat. 

“But I would have liked to the opportunity to have tried,” she said. “That’s the part that I’m sore about.” 

Salzburg prepares for duel between Murithi and Herzog

The Salzburg Marathon is ready for its 21st edition on Sunday, May 12th. A new starting area, the historic flair of the “Mozart City”, the participation of the Austrian national record holder and a truly international field with runners of 85 nationalities provide all the ingredients for an unforgettable event.

Austrian national record holder Peter Herzog and Kenyan Peter Wahome Murithi are the headliners in the marathon race. An exciting duel is on the cards. Herzog has a personal best of 2:10:06 from London 2020 and made a return to good shape this spring after a year and a half full of injuries. Murithi even ran 2:09:40 in Graz 2023, a time that has to remain unofficial, as this event was not registered in the World Athletics Global Calendar.

Both athletes are coming to Salzburg bringing their personal running experience from the recent Vienna City Marathon three weeks ago. Herzog made a fine comeback in 2:15:29 in Vienna, while Wahome was on course for a sub-2:10 time, but dropped out after 30 km due to health problems. He is now hoping to make the most of his second chance to achieve a good result in this spring marathon.

Local hero Peter Herzog explains: “It was a decision of desire, not necessarily one of logic. I have rediscovered my marathon euphoria and am delighted that I will be able to enjoy this special marathon feeling a second time.”

The marathon field will be sent off at a new start area on the “Staatsbrücke“ bridge with a great view on the historic city center and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Salzburg. “Over the past two decades, we have gradually put Salzburg on the international map of running and anchored it there. Today, we are an international event that attracts participants of 85 different nationalities from all over the world. Our aim is to ensure that they arrive in Salzburg with anticipation and a good feeling and return home with outstanding personal experiences“, say the race organizers.

Compared to previous years, the start has been brought forward by half an hour. This will give amateur runners in the marathon in particular the opportunity to run in the cooler morning hours for 30 minutes longer and 30 minutes less in the time when the highest temperatures of the day are expected.

Public transport to and from the race is available free of charge for all participants within the region of Salzburg on the day of their race. Salzburg Marathon is certified as an ecologically sustainable event by Austrian control authorities. Runners enjoy high quality organic food made from local products at the marathon village. The use of renewable materials and an integrated programme for the reduction of transports and natural resources is in place.

Usain Bolt eyes a comeback

The greatest sprinter of all time is set to make a brief return, after Paris Saint Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe accepted the challenge of facing the eight-time Olympic champion in a 100m race.

Usain Bolt might well lace up his spikes again, writes Vlad Andrejevic. Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time, is set to make a brief comeback, after Paris Saint Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe accepted the challenge of facing eight-time Olympic champion Bolt in a 100m race, though he does not fancy his chances against the Jamaican icon.

Bolt, who is an avid football fan and participates in numerous charity football events, recently spoke about his admiration of the 25-year-old forward, admitting he was “inspired” by the French international and suggested that Mbappe should face him in a charity race.

The World Cup winner responded warmly to Bolt’s comments at a recent promotional event organized by sponsors Nike and his ‘Inspired by KM’ foundation, offering fans the prospect of a tantalizing crossover event.

“It would be fun, why not one day if we both have the time? I don’t expect much from the result,” said Mbappe when asked about the potential matchup. “He inspired everyone, and I think everyone has woken up late in the night to watch one of Bolt’s races. I can say that it’s reciprocal and that I started to admire him first.”

Despite retiring in 2017, Bolt remains the world record holder of the 100m, clocking a remarkable 9.58s in Berlin in 2009. He has since moved on from professional athletics and taken up a multitude of roles throughout sport, most recently becoming T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador, however he would be willing to return to the track for this event.

His opponent, who is 12 years his junior, could prove to be a formidable opponent as he is widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the game. The World Cup winner, who is set to leave Paris this summer after 7 years at the club, has shown his devastating pace and ability at the highest level since he burst onto the scene in 2016, making him the most valuable player in world football.

With Olympic fever starting to pick up as the event this summer draws nearer, and with Mbappe possibly representing his country at the games, a charity race between the two sporting greats would garner a huge crowd.

Emma Coburn to miss Olympics with broken ankle

American steeplechase star Emma Coburn shared on Instagram that her “dream of Paris” is over after she broke her ankle at the Shanghai Diamond League last month.

The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 world champion landed heavily during a jump in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the event in China, forcing her out of the race, and was diagnosed with a fracture in her right ankle.

Coburn had been gearing up for the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., next month and was a favorite to make her fourth American Olympic team in Paris this summer.

“I don’t know what to say,” she wrote in her post, which shows her fall at the Shanghai race, initially believing the damage was just a sprain. “When I got home, images showed torn ligaments, damaged cartilage, and a fracture in my medial malleolus.”

The 33-year-old shared that she had surgery on Wednesday and hopes to return to “jogging” some time in the next six weeks.

Coburn’s post shares videos of her in a cast, beginning her rehab with strength exercises and riding the stationary bike. A well-loved figure on the U.S. track and field scene, her post garnered supportive messages from several fellow running stars, such as marathoner Kara Goucher and decorated track star Allyson Felix, who wished her well in her recovery and expressed support for her comeback.

“I love this sport and nothing heals a broken heart like working hard and getting back,” she says in her post. “See ya out there later this year.”

Coburn placed 14th in the steeplechase at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics before learning her result was disqualified when she stepped off the track after a last-lap stumble over the barrier. 

Jennifer Bigham to Headline Women’s Field at 2024 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon

Pittsburgher Jennifer Bigham will headline the women’s field at the 2024 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday, May 5. Bigham, a formidable force in the local running community, has an impressive record that includes victories at the USA Masters Half Marathon Championships and the USA Masters One Mile Championships in 2022. With five wins at the City of Pittsburgh Great Race, she already has cemented her status as a local legend but is now ready to tackle 26.2 miles for the first time in PIttsburgh.

“I’ve been looking forward to running the Pittsburgh Marathon for many years, and my time has finally come,” Bigham said. “I’ve been a part of many events on marathon weekend, from the toddler trot and kids marathon, to the 5K, and half-marathon. Lining up to experience the full 26.2 in my city that I love will be very special. I know the cheers from my community on race day will power me through the tough moments. This finish line will be a special one for me!”

After taking an eight-year hiatus from competitive running post-college, she returned to the sport following the birth of her first child. Now a mother of four, Bigham’s comeback story is an inspiration to athletes and parents alike. Her remarkable comeback was highlighted by qualifying for and competing in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials.

This year she will face tough competition from Jane Bareikis, who set a marathon personal best of 2:29:00 at the Berlin Marathon last fall, and local runner Laura Harnish, who also ran in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials and holds a marathon personal best of 2:42:09.

The 2024 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon will offer a prize purse of $32,000 with a $7,000 top prize. For more information about the 2024 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, visit thePittsburghMarathon.com.

About the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend of EventsThe Pittsburgh Marathon was held annually from 1985-2003. After a five-year hiatus, the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon was relaunched in 2009 and debuted with a sold-out field of 10,000 participants. It has grown each year since, evolving from a single race day into a weekend of events for the whole family that annually attracts nearly 40,000 runners. Read more at: ThePittsburghMarathon.com

About P3RP3R is the region’s go-to premier sporting event and experience expert. While best known for the annual DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, P3R organizes up to 20 major events every year. With a rich history of working with top-tier clients such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Senior Games, and more, P3R brings operational excellence to every aspect of event planning and execution. As part of P3R’s non-profit mission to inspire any and all to MOVE with us, we provide premium event experiences and robust programming – including the Run for a Reason Charity Program, award-winning Kids of STEEL program, Pittsburgh Corporate Challenge, RUN Varsity, and more – that engage everyone in the Western Pennsylvania community and beyond.

Berihu, Ayele and Zeray ready for fast racing in Istanbul on Sunday April 28

Solomon Berihu of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Gladys Chepkurui head a very strong field of elite runners at the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday. They feature personal bests of 59:17 and 65:46 respectively. The men’s field is really impressive since eight runners have already broken the one hour mark and another nine feature personal bests of sub 61:00.

There are seven women with sub 68:00 PBs and an additional three have run under 70:00. A couple of European runners will try to achieve the qualifying times for the European Championships in Rome in June. Among them are Turkey’s record holder Ali Kaya, who will start a comeback, and Sweden’s debutant Meraf Bahta. The required times stand at 61:40 and 70:30 for men and women respectively.

Organisers of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon, which is a Gold Label Road Race of World Athletics, have registered a record number of 14,200 runners. This includes a 10k race staged parallel on Sunday. Turkey’s number one road race is one of the world’s major half marathons and has a world record course. Three years ago Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich broke the global mark in Istanbul with 64:02. While the world record has been improved since the course record still stands and will likely remain in place on Sunday. 

However there could still be another very fast time from the women’s winner on Sunday. With a personal best of 66:04 Ftaw Zeray is the second fastest on the start list behind Gladys Chepkurui. It was three weeks ago when the 26 year-old ran her first race of the year and finished runner-up in the Berlin Half Marathon. In very difficult conditions with temperatures well over 20 Celsius she still ran 67:22. “I have well recovered from the race in Berlin. I feel I can run a personal best on Sunday,“ said Ftaw Zeray, who was sixth in the World Half Marathon Championships last year. 

With regard to the weather forecast high temperatures will not be a problem for Ftaw Zeray on Sunday in Istanbul. But with six other women who have already run sub 68:00 the challenge is likely to be tougher than in the German capital. While Gladys Chepkurui missed her flight to Istanbul and will now arrive half a day later, she will hardly be delayed when it comes to racing fast. The Kenyan clocked her 65:46 PB in Barcelona a year ago and has run sub 70:00 eleven times.

Ethiopians Betelihem Afenigus and Aberash Shilima are the next fastest on the entry list with PBs of 66:46 and 67:26 respectively. However a debutant could also be in the mix for a place on the podium: Just 21 years old Miriam Chebet showed great form and consistency this year with three sub 31:00 times at 10k. When she won the race in Ibiza, Spain, in January she clocked a fine PB of 30:40.

Another promising debutant is Sweden’s Meraf Bahta. The European 5,000 m champion from 2014 is a late entry to the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon. The 34 year-old is the Swedish 10k record holder with a 31:22 PB from 2022. The former Eritrean could qualify for the European Championships if she runs 70:30 or faster in her debut. Due to an injury Italy’s Giovanna Epis had to withdraw from the race in Istanbul.

Solomon Berihu is the fastest runner on the start list with his PB of 59:17. He ran this time back in 2019 in New Delhi and has not raced for almost a year. “I had an injury that kept me away from training. Now, I am feeling better and I am back in shape,“ explained the 24 year-old Ethiopian, who hopes to come back with a bang on Sunday. “My first goal is to win the race, but I am also hoping to run 59:30 or even faster.“ The Istanbul course record stands at 59:15.

Another Ethiopian is among the hot favourites: Dinkalem Ayele has shown great form this year when he improved to 59:30 in Barcelona and then won the Lisbon Half Marathon in very warm conditions with 60:36. “I am in good form and confident that I can go close to 59 minutes if weather conditions are suitable,“ said 23 year-old Dinkalem Ayele.

Solomon Kipchoge will probably be among the athletes who will challenge the two Ethiopians. The Kenyan, who improved his half marathon PB by almost two and a half minutes last year when he ran 59:37 in Lille, chose to come to Istanbul because of the fast course. “I will not start the race with a certain time or placing in mind. It depends on how my body will feel during the race. But I will try to improve my PB,“ said Solomon Kipchoge, who has the same surname as the double Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge. “I have no connection to Eliud, I am often asked about this outside Kenya. I am happy to be asked, because Eliud is a legend.“

Having not race since 2020 Ali Kaya surprised the organisers when he asked them to include him on the start list for a comeback race. The 30 year-old former Kenyan, who competed for Turkey since 2013, is a former winner of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon. When he took the race in 2016 he established a national record of 60:16 that still stands today. The 61:40 qualifying time for the European Championships could be a goal for Ali Kaya. Spaniard Juan Antonio Perez, who has a PB of 60:58, will probably also target this time.

Elite runners and personal bests

MEN

Solomon Berihu ETH 59:17

Edmond Kipngetich KEN 59:25

Dinkalem Ayele ETH 59:30

Solomon Kipchoge KEN 59:37

Benard Biwott KEN 59:44

Antony Kimtai KEN 59:45

Tadesse Abraham SUI 59:53

Hicham Amghar MAR 59:53

Hillary Kipchumba KEN 60:01

Abraham Kipyatich KEN 60:03

Gemechu Bute ETH 60:12

Ali Kaya TUR 60:16

Cameron Levins CAN 60:18

Vincent Mutai KEN 60:20

Edward Pingua KEN 60:44

Benard Sang KEN 60:57

Juan Antonio Perez ESP 60:58

Albert Rop BRN 61:05

Mathew Samperu KEN 61:06

Tegegn Tamerat ETH 61:15

Ashenafi Moges ETH 61:22

WOMEN

Gladys Chepkurui KEN 65:46

Ftaw Zeray ETH 66:04

Betelihem Afenigus ETH 66:46

Aberash Shilima ETH 67:26

Anchinalu Dessie ETH 67:30

Zewditu Aderaw ETH 67:44

Betty Kibet KEN 67:44

Ruth Jebet BRN 68:22

Zinashwork Yenew ETH 69:16

Sheila Chelangat KEN 69:38

Meseret Dinke ETH 70:39

Amina Bettiche ALG 71:38

Miriam Chebet KEN Debut

Meraf Bahta SWE Debut

Defending champions return to defend Belfast Marathon crowns

A RECORD 5,500 runners are expected to take to the streets of Belfast on Sunday, May 5 for the sold-out Moy Park Belfast City Marathon, making it the biggest to date.

The 2023 winners, Morocco’s Mohamed Oumaarir and Kenyan Shewaye Wolde Woldemeskel, will be there to defend their respective male and female titles.

Oumaarir, who ran a time of 2:22:54 for the overall victory 12 months ago, will lead a strong contingent of international and local athletes. These include former Great Britain and Wales steeplechase representative Adam Bowden, who finished runner-up in last year’s event.

There are three interesting entries of east African origin. Former Ethiopian and now Bahrain national Aweke Ayalew finished 11th in the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships, recording a world-class time of 61 minutes and 19 seconds. More lately he clocked 2:07:12 in the 2019 Frankfurt Marathon, making him the fastest man in the field.

The Kenyan duo of Mathew Kemboi and Moses Kilmulwo also boast impressive credentials. Kemboi finished fourth in last November’s Istanbul Marathon in a time of 2:13:48, while Tuyange was 15th at the Barcelona Marathon last month in a time of 2:12:43.

Also taking to the field, will be GB’s Michael Young, who recently ran a time of 2:24:33 in December at the Valencia Marathon; William Strangeway, who finished third in the Murcia Costa Calida Marathon last year, recording a time of 2:20:32; and Welshman, Dan Nash, who won the Great Welsh Marathon on St Patrick’s Day in a time of 2:27.19.

Favorite for the first local prize is Annadale Strider Eskander Turki, who won the 2023 Moy Park Belfast City Half Marathon in a time of 1:09:10.

Dark horse here is the comeback kid Ed McGinley, who returned to the sport after an absence of nine years to win the Larne 10 Miles just over a week ago.

Conor Gallagher of St Malachy’s should not be ignored either given he was runner-up in the 2022 Belfast Marathon.

Turning to the women’s race, it will be Woldemeskel’s third time competing in Belfast, while Morocco’s Hanane Qallouj is no stranger to the Emerald Isle either, finishing sixth at the Dublin Marathon last October in a time of 2:37:20.

Others to watch out for are Qallouj’s compatriot Laila Aziza Selsouli, who finished eighth in the Marrakesh Half Marathon, and Kenya’s Beatrice Jepkemei, who recently ran 2:30:41 in the Linz Marathon.

North Belfast Harrier Gladys Ganiel heads the home challenge.

This year’s Moy Park Belfast City Marathon runners will be joined by 12,500 relay runners and another 1,200 participants in the 8-Mile Walk, all adding up to making it the biggest mass sport participation event in the north.

Moroccan winners at Enschede Marathon Taoufik Allam was victorious in the men's race and Oumaima Saoud won in the women's race

 With a record number of participants and several great winners, the Enschede Marathon was a great success on Sunday, April 21. “We have implemented various changes in recent years,” says Sandra Melief, director of Enschede Marathon. “And that is now paying off. What a great day it was last Sunday! We only saw excited and happy faces.”

Full and half marathon winnersThe participants of the Demcon Marathon and Mazars Half Marathon started at 10 a.m. under almost ideal conditions, although the wind seemed slightly stronger than expected. The men turned it into a real, but tactical, race in the 2nd part of the Demcon Whole Marathon . It was the Moroccan Taoufik Allam who, like a predator, eliminated his opponents one by one and took the win in 2:08:58. Kenyan Noah Kipkemboi finished 2nd at 8 seconds .

Among the women, Oumaima Saoud recorded the fastest time with 2:27:16.

The fastest Dutchman in the marathon was Gert-Jan Wassink in 2:23:33. Among the women, Elizeba Cherono Franken was the fastest, running 2:32:07 in her comeback marathon.

Enschede's Martijn Oonk was the big winner at the Mazars Half Marathon. He ran the 21.1 kilometers in a time of 1:08:28. The fastest woman over this distance was the German Joleen Gedwart in 1:14:28.

International appearance Just like last year, the start and finish of all distances took place on the Boulevard, with Van Heekplein set up as a pleasant meeting place for participants, supporters and visitors.

The total number of participants at the Demcon Marathon showed that the entire marathon remains popular in Enschede, says Melief. “This year there were almost 2,000 participants at the start of the longest distance. That is more than ever.” The participants no longer come exclusively from the region, she continues. “We see that Enschede Marathon now has an international appeal, which applies to all distances. No fewer than 35 different nationalities were present this year. It was striking that among the 15,000 participants, 1,470 participants came from Germany.”

Twee van EnschedeA special mention deserves the 'exercise event' the Twee van Enschede, which was organized the day before, on Saturday evening. Because although the Enschede Marathon is a top event in terms of sport, the organization also believes it is important to involve people who are at a distance from exercise. “That is why we organized the Twee van Enschede for the second time together with SPortal and the Municipality of Enschede. This is a cheerful and casual exercise event where fun is central. There is no timekeeping: everyone could participate at his or her own pace.” The route of two English Miles (3.2 km) led straight through the city center of Enschede with start and finish on the Oude Markt. “It was a cheerful party with only happy and enthusiastic participants. We are also proud of that, because that is also the Enschede Marathon!”

Here Are the Celebrities Running the 2024 Boston Marathon

Zdeno Chara and Meb are a few of the big names toeing the line in Hopkinton this year.Every year, the Boston Marathon attracts celebrities from various fields, from athletes to actors, and this year is no different. Last year, former Boston Red Sox players Brock Holt and Ryan Dempster took to the streets alongside legendary quarterback Doug Flutie, who won the Heisman while at Boston College.

This year, things kick off with former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski serving as grandmaster for the race. Gronkowski will also receive the Patriots' Award from the Boston Athletic Association, which honors a “patriotic, philanthropic, and inspirational” individual who “fosters goodwill and sportsmanship.”

This year, spectators will see not only a few returning faces in the streets but also a few first-timers. So, what notable names can we expect to see lining up in Hopkinton this year for the Boston Marathon? 1

Meb KeflezighiMeb Keflezighi, now with New Balance, announced his return to the race earlier this year. In 2014, Keflezighi became the first American to win the men’s race since 1983.

Keflezighi, 48, will run the race to support his MEB Foundation, which supports “health, education, and fitness worldwide.”

“I will be returning to the streets of Boston, taking on the prestigious race and celebrating my victory from 2014,” Keflezighi said on Instagram. “Together, we can light the path for those in need and show the world the power of compassion and community. Let’s run with purpose and inspire others to join us in spreading kindness and hope.”2

Zdeno CharaChara, the legendary Bruins hockey player who stands a mighty six feet, nine inches and helped bring the Stanley Cup to Boston in 2011, is again running in support of the Thomas E. Smith Foundation and the Hoyt Foundation.

“I’m excited to be running the 2024 Boston Marathon to raise money and awareness for @thomasesmithfoundation & @teamhoytofficial!,” Chara said on Instagram. “These two amazing foundations impact the lives of those living with disabilities through financial and emotional support.”3

Nicolas KieferKiefer’s Boston Marathon run will see the former tennis pro complete the last of the big six, having previously run Berlin, Chicago, London, New York, and Tokyo.

Kiefer, who won silver in the 2004 Olympics, wrote on Instagram that he felt “extremely good” during his final training run before the marathon.4

Chris NikicAt 22, Chris Nikic completed his first Boston Marathon in 2021. He is the first person with Down Syndrome to finish the Hawaii Ironman and all Big Six marathons. Nikic aims to improve his Boston time to 5:35 in 2024, his third time running the race.

“Last long run (20 miles) before @bostonmarathon next weekend and @londonmarathon in 2 weeks,” Nikic said on Instagram on Sunday. “Looking to see if I can do better each marathon.”5

Daniel HummDaniel Humm, the chef behind NYC’s three-Michelin star restaurant Eleven Madison Park, hoped to run the New York Marathon but had to drop out due to an Achilles injury. Instead, he will be running in Boston, hoping to beat his time in the same race last year when he ran a 2:58:53.6

Matt WilpersFamed Peloton instructor Matt Wilpers will be running the marathon as a long-time personal goal and as a way to inspire others as he does during his popular workouts.

“My success is when my athletes are successful, so if I can push them to be stronger, better versions of themselves by going out and leading by example, like, I love this stuff,” Wilpers told Boston.com. “I’ll have fun racing a marathon, I’ll have fun racing a 5K. Whatever it is, this is what I do for fun. And so if this is going to get people excited, let’s go do it.”

Kenyan Titus Kimutai Kipkosgei won the 2024 Wizz Air Milano Marathon

The Kenyan - with his new personal best - won the finish line in Piazza del Duomo. In the women's race, Ethiopian Tigist Memuye Gebeyahu won.

Kenyan  Titus Kimutai Kipkosgei  won the 2024 Wizz Air Milano Marathon . With a time of 2h07'12" he crossed the finish line in Piazza del Duomo first. It is also his new personal best (the previous one was 2h07'46").  

Raymond Kipchumba Choge and defending champion Andrew Rotich Kwemoi complete the podium. In the women's race , Ethiopian Tigist Memuye Gebeyahu won in 2h26'32". Second was Jepchirchir in 2h27'13". Third was Fantu Gelasa with a time of 02h30'52".

In the men's race, the pace is fast from the start with a passage of 29:56 at 10km for a group of a dozen athletes, then 1h03:43 at half. Shortly after the 30th km (1h30:51) further selection with a quartet on the run: Kwemoi, Kipkosgei, Choge and Isaac Kipkemboi Too (then seventh in 2h11:16). The challenge for the victory lights up at the 34th km with the explosive action of Kwemoi but shortly before the 38th km he is caught by Kipkosgei who takes the reins of the race and takes off. Towards the last kilometre, the Ugandan pays for the attack and is also overtaken by Choge. At the foot of the podium were the Ethiopians Gerba Dibaba (2h08:25) and Barecha Tolosa Geleto (2h08:27). “I am very happy with my test - comments Kipkosgei - and with having obtained the staff in such a beautiful city. I preferred to run at my own pace, I was very careful to manage my strength. When I reached the lead of the race I charged up and found the energy for the final sprint.

Thanks Milan also for all the support along the way." More than 6900 reached the finish line, supported by 15 "cheering points", three of which were animated by Milanese clubs present and noisy with many young athletes ( Atletica Meneghina , Milano Atletica and Aspes ).

The initial protagonist of the women's race is the Ethiopian Gelasa who passes the half way mark in 1h10:34 and the 30th km in 1h40:59, however the pace turns out to be too fast with the decisive comeback of Memuye, leader of the race, and also of Jepchirchir who takes second place. Fourth was the Australian Sarah Klein (2h32:55), fifth the Ethiopian Tigist Bikila (2h32:59). “I no longer expected to be able to regain my head - the words of the winner Memuye - but I believed in it until the end. For me it is a great satisfaction, because Milan marks my return to racing after a long injury. In Ethiopia I train with the world record holder Tigist Assefa and the world champion Amane Beriso, both of whom encouraged me before leaving for Italy". First of the Italians was Giovanni Vanini (Cardarchitettura), fifteenth in 2h25:08, and in the women's category Nadine De La Cruz Aguirre (Gs Il Fiorino, 2h52:08) placed eighth : in a Lombard key the top is the double 15th place with Vanini and Chiara Milanesi (Runners Bergamo), 2h58:44 among women. Among the many people who experienced a Sunday dedicated to solidarity connected to the Boris Becker relay for Fondazione Laureus Italia, Silvia Salis and Paolo Kessisoglu: Federica Curiazzi, Beatrice Foresti, Giuseppe Dino and Daniele Breda), Elisa Di Francisca for WeWorld, Massimo Ambrosini, Rachele Sangiuliano and DJ Ringo for Fondazione Italiana Diabete, Pietro Arese and Andrea Lalli for Fiamme Gialle, Juliana Moreira for Magical Cleme. A Sunday also animated by the Levissima Family Run, with over 8 thousand runners including children and adults of all ages, and preceded by the Milano Running Festival presented by Sky, 40 thousand attendees from Thursday to Saturday.

Edwin Kurgat, Laura Galvan defend Carlsbad 5000 championships on race’s new course

Reigning champions Edwin Kurgat of Kenya and Laura Galvan of Mexico successfully defended their titles in the Men’s Elite and Women’s Elite races to cap Sunday’s Carlsbad 5000.

The annual road race in Carlsbad Village, with events throughout the day for runners of different ages and skill levels, featured an updated course that benefited from the picturesque weather.

Under blue skies with only wispy clouds, competitors ran parallel to the coastline on Carlsbad Boulevard. They were cheered on both by spectators there to take in the “World’s Fastest 5K” and the beachgoers who became impromptu fans.“The new course is way fun,” said Kurgat. “You don’t have to think about much, so I like it better than last (year’s) course.”

Kurgat’s appreciation for the course manifested in a final time of 13:46.11. His 4:26 pace edged him ahead of New Zealand’s Matt Baxter, who finished second at 13:47.74.

“I felt surprisingly good throughout the entire race,” said Baxter, who ran a 4:27 pace. “I just couldn’t quite hold onto Edwin as we came up that last hill … When I saw him in sights coming through his home stretch, I was giving it everything, because I knew if I was even close to Edwin, it was going to be a day I could be happy with.”

With a mile remaining and the runners coming up the slope, the 2019 NCAA cross-country champion from Iowa State Kurgat gained separation.

Kurgat and Baxter pulled away from American Ben Veatch — who, at Indiana University set the USATF American Junior indoor 5K record with a since-broken 13:57.27. Veatch finished third on Sunday with a time of 14:09.39.

His repeat first-place performance at the Carlsbad 5000 continued an impressive 2024 for Kurgat, who in January ran a 12:57.52 in the indoor 5,000 meters at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.

An Olympic-qualifying time to his credit, Kurgat’s attention for 2024 turns to Paris and the Oymmpics. 

“It’s a big year, Olympic year. I wanted to come here, have some fun, take a quick break and I wanted to use (Carlsbad) as part of my training,” Kurgat said.Likewise, fellow repeat Carlsbad 5000 champion Galvan ran an Olympic-qualifying time during the World Championships last August in Budapest, Hungary.

A native of La Sauceda, Guanajuato, Galvan will represent Mexico in Paris for the 5,000 meters. She has designs on qualifying for the 10,000, as well.

Ahead of competing for the nation this summer, onlookers at the Carlsbad 5000 waved Mexican flags for Galvan on Sunday.

“I really like the atmosphere,” she said. “It was crazier than last year because last year, we had many turns (on the course) ... The crowd was really, really amazing.”An enthusiastic crowd made for a welcoming environment to Galvan amid the intensity of Olympic preparations.

“Stress builds up. Coming here to a race like this makes it fun,” Galvan said. “I said, ‘If I win, great. If I don’t, it’s fine.’ Because what I wanted to do as much as winning was having a good race.”Galvan accomplished her goal of running a strong race, and winning again came with that.

She finished with a time of 15:19, 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Marissa Howard. Carrie Verdon came in third at 15:49.

Each champion’s successful defense ahead of their respective pursuits of Olympic success provided fitting punctuation to an all-around idyllic spring North County day.

San Diego running legend Meb Keflezighi, a part-owner of the race, summed it up this way: 

“Great turnout from the crowd, great turnout from the participants and perfect weather.”