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More Than 100 Professional Athletes to Race Boston 5K

Fast fields featuring Olympians, Paralympians, rising stars, and recent B.A.A. event winners will take center stage at the Boston 5K presented by Point32Health and B.A.A. Invitational Mile on Saturday, April 13. The deepest professional field in race history will include more than 100 accomplished athletes from 19 nations, set to square off for prize money and awards in the open, wheelchair, and Para Athletics Divisions. 

“More than 40,000 athletes will take part in B.A.A. races across Boston Marathon weekend,” said Jack Fleming, President and Chief Executive Officer of the B.A.A. “Saturday’s Boston 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile fields feature some of the fastest American and international stars, many who are aiming to compete at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.”

A new champion will be crowned and the stage is set for another close race at the Boston 5K. Ben Flanagan (Canada), Edwin Kurgat (Kenya), and Alex Masai (Kenya) – all top-five finishers a year ago – will return. They were at the front of an exciting finish a year ago that saw the top 13 men come across the line within ten seconds of the winner.

Top Americans Cooper Teare, Zach Panning, and Drew Hunter look to be at the front of the field. Teare is the reigning U.S. club cross country national champion, while Panning led a majority of February’s USA Olympic Team Trials – Marathon and Hunter is a former national champion indoors at 2 miles. B.A.A. High Performance Team members Eric Hamer and Barry Keane will be racing their hometown event.

Also on the start line will be Ben Kigen, an Olympic steeplechase bronze medalist in 2021; Simon Koech, last year’s Diamond League winner in the steeplechase; and Merhawi Mebrahtu, the 5,000m World Junior Championships silver medalist. Ethiopians Getnet Wale and Addisu Yihune are the two fastest men in the field, having gone sub-13:00 on the track for 5,000 meters.

Leading the women’s field is USATF 5K National Champion and B.A.A. High Performance Team member Annie Rodenfels. Joining her are 2024 Team USA Olympic marathoner Dakotah Lindwurm, former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, perennial top-American Boston Marathoner Nell Rojas, as well as Team B.A.A. runners Abbey Wheeler, Bethany Hasz Jerde, and Megan Hasz Sailor.

Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile champion in 2023, and Mercy Chelangat, a former NCAA Cross Country and 10,000m winner, are both entered. Reigning B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Fotyen Tesfay of Ethiopia also comes back to Boston seeking another win.

In the wheelchair division, course record holder and six-time Boston Marathon champion Marcel Hug (Switzerland) will square off against Americans Daniel Romanchuk and Aaron Pike. Brazil’s Vanessa de Souza – the 2018 Boston 5K winner – is the women’s wheelchair division favorite. Perennial Para Athletics Division contenders El Amine Chentouf (T12, vision impairment), Brian Reynolds (T62, lower-limb impairment), and Marko Cheseto (T62, lower-limb impairment) will vie for prize money and podium placings. This will be the largest professional Para Athletics Division field in event history.

Nearly 10,000 participants will take part in the Boston 5K, serving as the first race of the 2024 B.A.A. Distance Medley series.

KRISSY GEAR LOOKS TO REPEAT IN B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE

Krissy Gear earned a hard-fought B.A.A. Invitational Mile win last year and now comes in with the target on her back as defending champion. Four of the top five finishers from 2024 return, including Susan Ejore (Kenya), Jazz Shukla (Canada) and Taryn Rawlings (USA). Micaela Degenero, the 2022 NCAA Indoor Mile champion, and 4:23.94 Helen Schlachtenhaufen are entered as well.

Massachusetts high school standout Ellie Shea will take on the professionals. The Belmont High School student-athlete finished 10th at last year’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile.

Massachusetts native and 3:52.94 miler Johnny Gregorek leads the men’s field of competitors. Melkeneh Azize of Ethiopia, the world junior champion at 3000m in 2022, and Harvard’s Vivien Henz, a national champion in Luxembourg, will each make their B.A.A. road racing debuts.

In addition to the professionals, student-athletes from each of the eight cities and towns that make up the Boston Marathon route will compete in a Scholastic Mile and Middle School 1K.

(03/20/2024) Views: 130 ⚡AMP
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B.A.A. 5K

B.A.A. 5K

The B.A.A. 5K began in 2009, and became an instant hit among runners from far and wide. Viewed by many as the “calm before the storm,” the Sunday of Marathon weekend traditionally was for shopping, loading up on carbohydrates at the pasta dinner, and most importantly- resting. But now, runners of shorter distances, and even a few marathoners looking for...

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The TEN Preview: Nico Young Debuts, Alicia Monson Chases AR, and Karissa Schweizer Returns

Saturday night’s races at The TEN in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., will play a significant role in determining who gets to represent the United States in the 10,000 meters at this summer’s Olympics in Paris. The 2024 Olympic auto standards are incredibly tough — only three Americans have ever run under the 27:00.00 men’s standard and only five Americans have hit the 30:40.00 women’s standard — and you can count the number of world-class track 10,000-meter races each year on one hand. That’s why Grant Fisher, Nico Young, Woody Kincaid, Joe Klecker, Abdihamid Nur, Alicia Monson, Karissa Schweizer, Emily Infeld, Weini Kelati, and many more will be heading to SoCal Saturday night.

Since its first edition in 2021, The TEN has become the place for Americans to run a fast 10,000. Fisher set the men’s American record here in 2022 while Monson set the women’s American record here in 2023 and will be looking to repeat the feat in 2024.

To watch the main events, you’ll have to stay up late — the top heat of the women’s 10,000 does not start until 11:58 p.m. ET with the men to follow at 12:35 a.m. ET. Before then, we’ll get appetizer with the men’s 1500 (10:05 p.m. ET), which features Olympic medalists Matthew Centrowitz and Evan Jager kicking off their 2024 seasons.

Matthew Centrowitz and Evan Jager have seen it all in running. They both graduated from high school in 2007 and made their first US teams as young guns — Jager as a 20-year-old in 2009, Centro at 21 in 2011. For much of the 2010s, they were among the very best in the world in their events, with Centro bringing home a gold medal from the 2016 Olympics and Jager a silver. Now Centro (34) and Jager (35) are the elder statesmen, trying to fend off a host of younger rivals and make one last Olympic team in Paris.

Both men will run their 2024 outdoor openers in the 1500 on Saturday (Centro did run a 3:59 indoor mile on January 27 while Jager ran the first 4k of a 5k in Boston on February 16 before dropping out). Which means it’s time for one of our favorite games: how fast (or slow) will Centro run?

Throughout his career, Centrowitz has established himself as one of America’s greatest ever milers by delivering when it counts. He made every US team from 2011 through 2021 and won three outdoor medals as well as the 2016 World Indoor title. Yet in the latter years of his career, Centro thrown out some stinkers to begin his seasons before working his way into shape. In 2021, he opened with a 3:40 1500 on March 6 followed by a 1:50 800 on April 10 but ended the year running a 3:49 mile and making the Olympic team. Last year, he went to Australia and ran 1:56 for 800 on February 11 and 4:06 for the mile on February 23 but was running 3:36 for 1500 by May and eventually made the US final (though he only finished 10th).

So if Centro runs poorly here, it’s not cause for total panic. Heck, the fact that both he and Jager — who missed most of the 2023 campaign with a foot injury — are healthy enough to be racing is a promising sign. But the American 1500 scene is also more competitive than when Centro last made a team in 2021. Tactically, there is no better US racer than Centro, but he’s up against a group of young studs that includes three medalists from this year’s World Indoors (Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker, Hobbs Kessler) and a trio of NCAA champions from the University of Washington (Luke Houser, Joe Waskom, Nathan Green). Nuguse is the oldest of that group at 24 — a full decade younger than Centro. Centrowitz is facing an uphill battle to make Olympic team #4 but if he can run 3:36 or 3:37 here and stay healthy for the next three months, he could still have a shot.

As far as the man most likely to win here, Sweden’s Samuel Pihlström ran 3:35 in February and just finished 8th at World Indoors.

Women’s 10,000 (11:58 p.m. ET): Alicia Monson tries to become the first US woman under 30:00 as Karissa Schweizer returns.

Unlike almost every other athlete in this meet, Alicia Monson already has the Olympic standard thanks to the 30:03 American record she ran here last year. So why is she back for another crack?

Monson laid it all out in an interview with LetsRun.com back in December:

Basically, it was just what can we do that would make me feel the most ready for the Olympics? And I feel like that’s running a sub-30:00 10k. I guess the plan would be to break the American record again, but really it’s how fast can I run to feel the most prepared? Because obviously I’m running against people who can run very fast and [I need to] be prepared to run at a pace that feels easy to them and then kick off of it.

Monson was still with the leaders at the bell at last year’s World Championships and her 5th-place finish was the best of her career in a global final. But she finished nearly four seconds out of the medals and the competition will be fierce in Paris. The last three global 10k champions — Sifan Hassan (29:06 pb), Letesenbet Gidey (29:01 pb), and Gudaf Tsegay (29:29 pb) — occupy three of the top four spots on the all-time 10,000m list. The slowest of them, Tsegay, still has a pb 34 seconds faster than Monson’s.

(03/15/2024) Views: 119 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault
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The Ten

The Ten

The world's fastest 10,000m races each year have taken place in a sleepy little coastal town in southern California. More national records were broken in 2022 than any other race on the planet as the best in the western hemisphere launched into rarified zones of time and space. The best return to San Juan Capistrano this year to cap off...

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I want a medal in Paris, warning shots fired at Sha'Carri Richardson ahead of Olympics

Another sprinter has expressed her desire to bag a medal in the 100m and 200m at the Olympic Games, firing warning shots at Sha'Carri Richardson and her track rivals.

Julien Alfred has joined the cable of female sprinters who also want a share of the Paris 2024 Olympic cake.

Alfred, a young athlete from St Lucia, wants to make a name for herself and she also wants the world to know that her nation can produce great sprinters.

The 22-year-old has expressed her desire to win a medal at the Olympic Games, something she believes would make a great difference in her career and life.

Speaking to World Athletics, Alfred said: “I don’t really pay attention to the media but I do have a lot of supporters back home who give messages to my family and they transfer to me. I definitely want a medal in Paris – a gold, silver or bronze in the 100m and 200m.”

The path to an achievement like that is, however, filled with hard work and tedious, painstaking repetition. In addition to her start, Alfred has been focusing on improving her strength and technique.

Last year, Alfred set collegiate records to win the NCAA indoor 60m title in 6.94 and the 200m in 22.01, both times putting her second on the world all-time lists.

With another dominant sprint double at the outdoor NCAA Championships last June, she won the 100m in 10.72 and 200m in 21.73, closing out a magnificent collegiate career, then signed a professional deal with Puma.

Her goal at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary was to win a medal, but she did not achieve her targets, finishing fifth in the 100m and fourth in the 200m.

She started training alongside Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith late last year and also admitted that it has been a great step for her. “It’s competitive, which makes it fun. Iron sharpens iron,” she said.

(03/12/2024) Views: 147 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula
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Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

For this historic event, the City of Light is thinking big! Visitors will be able to watch events at top sporting venues in Paris and the Paris region, as well as at emblematic monuments in the capital visited by several millions of tourists each year. The promise of exceptional moments to experience in an exceptional setting! A great way to...

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Former NCAA coach gets five years in prison for tricking athletes into sending nude photos

Steve Waithe, a former college track and field jumps coach with Northeastern University, Penn State University and the University of Tennessee, has been sentenced to five years in prison for setting up fake social media and emails in an attempt to trick his athletes into sending him nude photos of themselves.

The 31-year-old was sentenced Wednesday to five years behind bars, pleading guilty to 12 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and one count of computer fraud. He was also found guilty of cyberstalking one victim through text messages and Instagram, as well as by hacking into her Snapchat account.

Waithe reportedly asked for the phones of his female athletes so he could use them to film the women’s form in practice and at meets. According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts, Waithe was seen “scrolling through” athletes’ phones on multiple occasions.

Prosecutors said he also made the fake social media accounts using the names of two female personas “Katie Janovich” and “Kathryn Svoboda” to contact women, saying he had found compromising photos of them online. He would then offer to help the women get the photos removed, asking them to send additional nude or semi-nude photos that he could use for “reverse image searches.”

Prosecutors said Waithe “left behind a devastating path riddled literally with dozens of victims,” and called for him to be jailed for 84 months, including the 17 months he has already served since his arrest in 2021, along with 36 months of supervised release. They accused him of getting photos from more than 50 victims and trying to get them from another 72. According to The Boston Globe, a half-dozen of his victims spoke at the sentencing, some using their first names and many appearing close to tears.

Waithe was a former NCAA All-American triple-jumper at Penn State, where he went on to win several Big Ten conference titles and a silver medal at the 2014 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships (NACAC) in Kamloops, B.C.

After serving his sentence, Waithe will be banned from coaching at the collegiate level and will be listed on the banned coaches list by the U.S. Center for Safe Sport.

 

(03/07/2024) Views: 137 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson
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Meet the marathon guru behind three of North America's top runners

It’s been an exciting start to the year for Brigham Young University (BYU) cross-country and track head coach Ed Eyestone. In February, three athletes who once ran for Eyestone at BYU qualified for the Paris Olympics in the men’s marathon, including Canada’s Rory Linkletter, who hit the Olympic standard at last weekend’s Sevilla Marathon, running a two-minute-plus personal best of 2:08:01.

Eyestone, who coached Linkletter for five years at BYU before Linkletter turned pro (he is now coached by former U.S. marathoner Ryan Hall), knew he was ready for a breakout performance after watching Linkletter execute a top-20 finish in the marathon at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. “I was super excited for him, and told him he was next, after the U.S. marathon trials,” says Eyestone. “To see him execute on race day, and run a fast time, I was proud of him.”

“It turns out that the group of 10K runners we had in 2018 was special,” laughs Eyestone. Linkletter ran for BYU in Provo, Utah, from 2015 to 2019, and just happened to be a part of a special group of young runners who would turn out to be three of North America’s top marathoners. U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials champion Conner Mantz and second-place finisher Clayton Young also ran at BYU during this time; they helped lead the Cougars XC team to three top-three finishes and an NCAA championship title in 2019.

“Looking back on that 2018 team, we were second and now have three men who’ve run faster than 2:08:10… if only the NCAA’s was 26.2 miles,” Eyestone laughs.

“Every high school athlete we recruit has aspirations of running professionally or being an Olympian one day,” he says. “I know with Mantz, he was heavily recruited out of high school, and he wanted to go to a school that would one day prepare him for the marathon.”

Eyestone’s coaching philosophy for developing long-distance athletes is not rocket science. He believes in long-term progression, so his athletes aren’t maxing out in college, and are leaving the window open for higher mileage post-collegiately. “I’ll have my 5,000m and 10,000m guys run around 80 miles a week, with a long run of 90 minutes,” he says. Eyestone has continued to coach Mantz and Young at the professional level, and still swears by not having them do much over two-hour long runs. “We have a great program at BYU, and it’s not unusual for Mantz and Young to hop in and work out with the college kids.”

BYU is an altitude school, standing at 1,400 metres above sea level, and has a large recruiting pool and an extensive following, with its affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When Eyestone arrived as a coach at BYU in 2000, his goal was to build a culture to become a powerhouse program in the NCAA. “We wanted to recruit guys who wanted to challenge for an NCAA XC podium spot every year,” he says. “It all starts at the beginning of the year, with the team’s veterans setting the tone and getting younger athletes and recruits to buy in.”

Despite Linkletter choosing to part ways with Eyestone as his coach in 2019, the two remain close friends and share a level of respect for one another. “Rory is an incredible leader; he was our team captain,” says Eyestone. “He would always hold the team accountable for showing up on time and developing a healthy routine […] I remember he called it Ferrari fuel.”

Eyestone’s favourite thing about being a coach is being able to see the ripple effect of a good performance or win on an athlete’s family and personal life. “My son-in-law told me on Sunday after Rory’s race that four percent of the athletes in the men’s marathon in Paris will be former BYU runners,” Eyestone revealed. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

(02/24/2024) Views: 146 ⚡AMP
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A Riveting New Series Shows the Insane Workouts of Elite Runners—Completely Unfiltered

Every week, TRACK: All-Access reveals the raw training of star athletes like Conner Mantz, Clayton Young, and Elle St. Pierre.

“You just watched an attempted murder,” says Graham Blanks as he catches his breath on a pole vault mat at the Harvard University indoor track. 

His coach, Alex Gibby, prescribed Blanks a lengthy session. Three sets of 12 minutes at threshold pace (4:49 to 4:40 mile pace), followed by four fast 300-meter reps on the track. Blanks ripped the last interval in 41.9 seconds.

The 2023 NCAA Cross-Country champion—along with his teammate, Maia Ramsden—is the subject of an episode of the new running YouTube channel TRACK: All-Access.

The channel is the latest project from Gordon Mack, who spent the previous decade working at FloTrack and MileSplit, where he wrote articles, covered meets on-site, and co-hosted the FloTrack Podcast. Last year, after a career change, Mack got the idea of doing weekly workout videos. Now, he’s diving head-first into the venture, traveling across the country to create content with some of the biggest names in running.

Mack posted his first video—3-mile repeats with marathoners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young—to popular reception. Since then, he’s been releasing at least one episode every week and has featured the likes of Stanford University stand-out Nico Young, high school star JoJo Jourdon, and 1500-meter Olympian Elle St. Pierre.

So far, he says it’s been a success. 

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised and blessed and happy and thankful that people are responding positively,” Mack says. “When you start something, you have in your head the idealistic response, but you actually don’t know if it’s gonna happen until you put it out there. And fortunately, people seem to really like the content.”

Mack plans on releasing videos every Tuesday morning, but for the first few weeks, he’s uploading another video on Thursdays to give the channel some momentum. So far, TRACK: All-Access has over 7,000 subscribers, and the workout video with Nico Young has racked up more than 83,000 views.

While YouTube comments can quickly become crude, viewers seem to welcome Mack’s content. Sometimes they’ll offer feedback or encourage Mack to film episodes with specific teams. Some users have even joked that workout videos are prophetic.

“Babe wake up! All Access just posted another workout video ? ?” @sofodachimp2776

“Thank you for the back stage pass. I feel so honored to be part of this team.” @deviljames

“I’m starting to think track all access has the script” @orangepeanutyguy6569

The essence of the channel is in its name: access. Mack believes that track and field fans—himself included—crave more behind-the scenes content from athletes, outside of competition or media appearances. “We love watching them race, run records, and win championships,” he says. “But we also really love to see how they did it. And a lot of that is not really shown.”

After working in the running industry for over a decade, Mack has accumulated a rolodex of contacts with professional athletes and coaches. So far, the videos have focused on distance runners, but Mack plans on incorporating sprinters and field events into the mix as well. 

Along with access, Mack wants the videos to be in-depth. Instead of editing the raw footage down into highlights, he prefers to show every rep of a session— even the more monotonous parts—to paint a full picture of training. The relationships between the athletes and their coaches are just as important, too. “[I’m] trying to give the user a viewpoint as if they got to watch the practice in full time for that full hour-and-a-half session,” he says.

Mack is a one-man show so far. He films and edits the entirety of the videos, and he has to get creative sometimes to keep up with the runners. When he was initially filming Conner Mantz for a workout in Provo, Utah, Mack sped alongside him on a bike—until he got a flat tire. He came back two days later with a car.

Although TRACK: All Access is still in its infancy, this isn’t a part-time job for Mack—this is his life for the foreseeable future. He plans on supporting the channel with YouTube advertising revenue, as well as working with brands on potential sponsorships down the line. Consistency is a cornerstone of the channel, and Mack plans to keep his output high.

“At the end of the day, it’s a very simple concept,” he says. “It’s workout videos with the best elite athletes in the varying degrees of our sport and the varying disciplines of our sport. And, hopefully, if I put out good content, people will like it.”

TRACK: All-Access tentative schedule

February 15—Boston University men (Distance) 

February 20—Sophia Gorriaran (Harvard)

February 22—Northern Arizona University men (Distance) 

February 27—BYU men (Distance)

February 29—Northern Arizona University women (Distance) 

March 5—Kenzie Doyle (UMass Lowell)

March 7—Arizona State University men (Sprints) 

March 12—Courtney Wayment/Anna Camp Bennett (Taylor Made Elite)

 

(02/17/2024) Views: 151 ⚡AMP
by Runner’s World
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Former world record holder Henry Rono has passed away at the age of 72

Kenyan track legend Henry Rono, famed for setting four world records, has passed away at 72 in Nairobi, leaving a lasting legacy.

Kenya’s athletics fraternity is in a state of mourning following the death of track legend Henry Rono who passed away on Thursday morning in Nairobi.

Rono, who was 72 at the time of his death, had been admitted to Nairobi South Hospital for the past ten days. 

His illustrious career in the 70s and 80s saw him dominate the track, setting an astounding four world records within just 81 days.

"Athletics Kenya is saddened to announce and notify the public of the demise of former Athlete Mr. Henry Rono which occurred today at 10.30am,"  a statement from the organization read.

Rono's achievements on the track have cemented his legacy as one of the greatest runners of his time, particularly as the former record holder of the 3000 meters steeplechase, a record he held for over a decade. 

Rono also twice set the world record for the 5000 meters, first in 1978 and then again in 1981.

The athletics community, both in Kenya and globally, has been pouring in tributes for the late Rono.

"On behalf of Athletics Kenya Executive Committee and athletics fraternity, we wish to convey our sincere heartfelt condolence to his family, friends, and the entire athletics fraternity during this trying moment. May his soul rest in eternal peace," the statement added, reflecting the deep sense of loss felt across the athletics world.

Rono's journey in athletics was marked by remarkable achievements, including gold medals in the 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth and African Games in Edmonton and Algiers, respectively. 

His tenure at Washington State University was historic, as he became only the third person, after Gerry Lindgren and Steve Prefontaine, to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Cross Country Championship three times, in 1976, 1977, and 1979.

His winning time of 28:07 in 1976 still stands as the fastest 10,000m cross country mark in NCAA history.

Despite his global acclaim, Rono never competed at the Olympics, a consequence of Kenya's boycotts of the 1976 and 1980 Games.

By the time of the 1984 Olympics, Rono had retired from competition.

Born in Kiptaragon, Kabsabet in Nandi County, Rono returned to Kenya in 2019 after spending 33 years living in the USA.

(02/15/2024) Views: 174 ⚡AMP
by Festus Chuma
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World record holder Christian Coleman going for third victory at Millrose Games

World record holder Christian Coleman will be aiming for his third straight victory at the Millrose Games after bagging wins in 2022 and 2023.

World record-holder Christian Coleman will be seeking his third straight 60m victory at the Millrose Games, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Sunday, February 11.

Coleman will be opening his season at the event after a mixed 2023 season where he lost some races and emerged victorious in others.

He completed his season at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League final meeting where he stunned triple World Champion Noah Lyles.

At the Millrose Games, he will be up against Canada’s Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse, who has not run the 60m at Millrose since 2016.

Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, who set a PB of 6.45 in his first-ever indoor 60m race last weekend in Boston, should also prove to be a nightmare for the American.

Meanwhile, Tia Jones turned heads in Boston last week when she sped to victory in the 60m hurdles, clocking 7.72 – just 0.04 shy of the world indoor record.

At the Millrose Games, Jones will take on the likes of two-time world champion Danielle Williams, two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali, defending Millrose champion Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas, and NCAA champion Ackera Nugent of Jamaica.

Sprint sensation Julien Alfred is opening her season after an incredible 2023 campaign. The Saint Lucian star, who was undefeated last year in the 60m and 100m until placing fifth in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest, will line up against Jamaicans Shashalee Forbes and Briana Williams and US contenders Tamara Clark and English Gardner.

In the men’s 60m hurdles, 2022 world silver medallist Trey Cunningham of the US, who is second on the world list, will take on a strong slate that includes 2023 world bronze medallist Daniel Roberts.

On her part, Alicia Monson broke the North American record in the 3000m last year at Millrose and is on a mission to win her third straight title on this track – with a record perhaps in a different event.

The two-mile distance is one more lap than 3000m and her ultimate goal is the continental record of 9:10.28. Monson will be in fast company with Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir of Great Britain, US mile record-holder Nikki Hiltz, and world U20 5000m champion Medina Eisa of Ethiopia.

World indoor silver medalist Elle St Pierre will vie for her third title in the women’s Wanamaker Mile with the race being a rematch between herself, and Jessica Hull of Australia, who won their showdown in the 3000m last week with an Oceanian indoor record.

Olympic 800m bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers, who contested the 400m last week in Boston, returns to her specialty at Millrose and will face Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin.

Noah Kibet and Bryce Hoppel, the world indoor silver and bronze medalists respectively, will clash in the men’s 800m.

(02/10/2024) Views: 182 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula
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NYRR Millrose Games

NYRR Millrose Games

The NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...

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Conner Mantz, Clayton Young Finish 1-2 At U.S. Olympic Trials Mens Marathon

Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, the two former BYU teammates and training partners, took the top two spots with Mantz winning in 2:09:05 and Young finishing in 2:09:06 at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando.

Leonard Korir finished third in 2:09:57.

As of right now, only the Mantz and Young have guaranteed their spots on the team. Mantz, who ran a 2:07:48 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, and Clayton Young, who tallied a time of 2:08:00 in Chicago, earned their qualifying times prior to the Trials.

Because Korir did not finish under the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:08:10, he can qualify achieving a high enough world ranking on the World Athletics list by May 5, or via that third spot becoming unlocked by a U.S. men's Top 5 finish in any of the remaining platinum-level marathons (Tokyo, Seoul, Boston) within the qualification window.

Zach Panning controlled the race from its early stages. The three-time NCAA Division 2 champion from Grand Valley State took a group of eight men through the half in 64:07. The pack remained tight through 17 miles when things started to string out. Defending champion Galen Rupp was among those who began falling back at this point as a five-second gap formed between the top five and sixth place.

Panning pushed the tempo a bit more at Mile 19 and with Mantz and Young in tow, the trio pulled away from the field and established themselves as the prime contenders for the team. The three ran together for the next three plus miles until Mantz and Young made their move to the front at the 23 mile mark and quickly opened a 20-meter gap on Panning that continued to swell. 

With a mile to go in the race, Panning faded badly. Now gapped by Mantz and Young by almost a minute, the chasers had a target to focus on again within striking distance of a shot at the Olympics. Elkanah Kibet and Korir were the first to pass Panning and dueled over the final mile for that third-place spot. With a half mile to go, Korir emerged as the stronger of the two and held position.

Kibet finished fourth in 2:10:02. CJ Albertson moved up in that final mile and finished fifth in 2:10:07 while Panning wound up sixth in 2:10:50.

Rupp, who was attempting to make a fifth Olympic team, placed 16th in 2:14:07.

Scott Fauble, the top American at the last two Boston Marathons, dropped from the lead pack in the eighth mile and pulled out before the half marathon mark.

Five-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman, 47, dropped out of the race around the same time. 

(02/04/2024) Views: 196 ⚡AMP
by Flo track by Joe Battaglia
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2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

Most countries around the world use a selection committee to choose their Olympic Team Members, but not the USA. Prior to 1968, a series of races were used to select the USA Olympic Marathon team, but beginning in 1968 the format was changed to a single race on a single day with the top three finishers selected to be part...

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Rhasidat Adeleke and Talitha Diggs head to Millrose Games

The past two women’s NCAA 400m champions, Rhasidat Adeleke and Talitha Diggs, will line up for a 300m clash at the Millrose Games in New York on February 11.

Racing them at this season’s penultimate World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting will be Jamaica’s Leah Anderson and Candice McLeod.

Adeleke has already made a strong start to 2024 as she ran 7.15 for 60m and 22.49 for 200m to improve her own Irish indoor records in Albuquerque on 20 January.

The 21-year-old, who finished fourth in the world 400m final last year in Budapest, has raced 300m once before, in 2022 when she ran a national record of 36.87.

In New York she’ll go up against the athlete who preceded her as NCAA 400m champion, Diggs.

USA’s Diggs is set to make her season debut at this weekend’s World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Boston, where she will also race the 300m.

New York offers a rematch as her PB of 36.37 was set when winning ahead of Adeleke in Clemson in 2022.

Anderson finished third in last year’s Millrose Games 300m in 36.68, while Olympic and world 4x400m medallist McLeod is set to race the distance for the first time.

Joining the already announced Alicia Monson in the two-mile race in New York will be North American mile record-holder Nikki Hiltz, who won the US 1500m title last year and started 2024 by running 2:34.09 for 1000m.

They will race against a field featuring USA’s Emily Infeld and Courtney Wayment, Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka, and Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa and Melknat Wudu.

In the high jump, the previously announced Yaroslava Mahuchikh will compete against 2016 world indoor champion Vashti Cunningham, NCAA champion Charity Griffith and Asian Games champion Safina Sadullayeva.

(02/03/2024) Views: 170 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics
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NYRR Millrose Games

NYRR Millrose Games

The NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...

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Conner Mantz And Clayton Young Lead Charge At U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

The months leading up to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials have been anxiety-inducing, but race day is nearly upon us.

From the intense back-and-forth exchanges between the Athlete Advisory Board and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, to the uncertainty on exactly how many American men will be toeing the line this summer in Paris, the build-up to the trials has been nothing short of newsworthy.

That being said, we are just a few days out of the Trials, and there are certainly a few storylines at play.

The Young Guns

Conner Mantz, 27, and Clayton Young, 30, will step to the line on Saturday as the two fastest men in the field during the qualifying window. Mantz, a two-time national champion while at Brigham Young University, finished sixth at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon back in October. He was the top American and crossed in 2:07:47, which is tied for fourth on the all-time U.S. list.

Young, an NCAA champion himself while also attending BYU, was just a few spots behind his former college teammate and training partner, finishing seventh in 2:08:00, which was good enough for a U.S. No. 7 standing all-time among American men. 

Both of Ed Eyestone's former studs left the 'Windy City' with lifetime bests, and most importantly, unlocked two American spots for Paris 2024.

Following superb performances in Chicago just months ago, the Provo-based training partners would love nothing more than to claim the spots they earned on Saturday and officially punch their ticket to the Olympics.

However, they are both well-aware that nothing is earned in the sport, especially when the marathon is the distance of choice. Both are looking more than prepared, just check out the workout video:

The Veterans

While some of the field is preparing for their first-ever U.S. Olympic Trials, there are more than a few experienced marathoners that have been here before and are accustomed to the pressure.

One of those men is none-other than Galen Rupp, the two-time Olympic medalist and current/former American record holder.

Rupp has run his fair share of marathons, with the 2024 Trials marking his 15th attempt on the brutal race. 

Not only is he a veteran at the distance, but he's also qualified for two Olympic marathons -- Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 -- and competed at the 2022 World Athletics Championship. 

After battling a nagging back injury, Rupp returned to the marathon in October, was one of four Americans under 2:09 and ran 2:08:48 in his return. 

Rupp will see some familiar faces in Orlando, as fellow marathon veterans Sam Chelanga, Scott Fauble and CJ Albertson are all jockeying for a spot as well. 

The 38-year-old Chelanga is coming off a 2:08:50 from the 2023 Chicago Marathon, which shaved over six minutes off of his previous best along the way. 

Fauble's most recent marathon unfortunately ended with a 'DNF', but a seventh-place finish at Boston last year paired with a 2:08:52 personal best from 2020 says he's in the mix as well. 

For Albertson, this will be his fourth marathon since April. After finishing 12th in Boston, he ran and won both the California International Marathon (CIM) and the Baja California California on back-to-back weekends in December, running 2:11:09 and 2:11:08, respectively. 

Any of these four men could see themselves in the final three come Saturday, but despite none of them having the Olympic Standard, they could still snag one of two guaranteed spots thanks to their sub-2:11:30 performances during the qualifying window. And a third auto-spot could get unlocked if an athlete runs 2:08.10 or faster on the day. 

A few of the many notable names to keep an eye out include Elkanah Kibet, Zach Panning, Leonard Korir, and Futsum Zienasellassie.

The gun goes off for the men at 10:10 a.m. EST on Saturday, with the women following close behind at 10:20 a.m. EST. 

You can tune in live on Peacock, with coverage starting at 10:00 a.m. EST, and NBC will begin broadcasting at noon.

(01/30/2024) Views: 175 ⚡AMP
by Maxx Bradley
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2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

Most countries around the world use a selection committee to choose their Olympic Team Members, but not the USA. Prior to 1968, a series of races were used to select the USA Olympic Marathon team, but beginning in 1968 the format was changed to a single race on a single day with the top three finishers selected to be part...

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For Betsy Saina, the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Presents a Chance to Represent Her Son

For much of last year, Betsy Saina had a plan. She would race the Chicago Marathon in October, eager to run alongside Emma Bates (who placed fifth at last year’s Boston Marathon in a new personal best of 2:22:10) in pursuit of breaking Emily Sisson’s American record of 2:18:29, set the previous year at that same race.

Saina, 35, a naturalized U.S. citizen who represented Kenya in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro—she placed fifth in the 10,000 meters 30:07.78—had reason to be confident. Last spring, she set a new personal best of 2:21:40 with her fifth-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon, which wound up being the fastest marathon by an American woman in 2023 and made her the eighth-fastest U.S. female marathoner of all-time, solidifying her position as a top U.S. Olympic marathon team contender.

The Chicago Marathon had assured Saina’s agent, Tom Broadbent, that she was in for the race. But when the elite field was announced in August, Saina learned she had not been accepted, which not only threw a wrench in her fall training plans, but made for a lot of stress as she was planning her U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials buildup.

“I was shocked and spent three days looking at myself and trying to find any mistakes I made to not make the field, especially after running 2:21 in Tokyo,” Saina says. “I had never been rejected from a race before, and never got a response or an explanation as to why I didn’t make it. Being denied to run in Chicago honestly was one of the most disappointing things I’ve experienced in my career.”

Saina looked into entering the Berlin Marathon the following month, but had no such luck getting in with it being so late in the game. She was ultimately accepted into the Sydney Marathon (which shares its sponsor, ASICS, with Saina) on September 16. Unlike Chicago—with its fast, flat course that ended up having ideal racing conditions with temperatures in the 40s—Sydney has a hilly course and race-day weather was on the hotter side, with a starting temperature of 68 degrees.

Despite the conditions, Saina proved herself once again, winning the race in 2:26:47. This sealed her confidence as she began to look ahead to the Olympic Trials in Orlando on February 3. If she’s one of the top three finishers in the women’s race in Florida, she’ll earn a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in the marathon at the Paris Olympics on August 11.

“Challenges make people strong, and running a good marathon on a harder course made me come back feeling motivated,” she says. “[Even though it wasn’t the faster time I originally wanted], it didn’t stop me from being a better version of myself.”

Transcendent Transplant

Despite her impressive performances in 2023, Saina has remained largely under the radar in terms of media coverage and fan predictions leading up to the Trials in Orlando, similarly to what fellow Kenyan-born marathoners Aliphine Tuliamuk and Sally Kipyego (both of whom made the last Olympic marathon team) experienced in 2020. The lack of attention relative to her competitors hasn’t fazed Saina, however.

“I know how to deal with pressure, having been in the sport since 2013, so as long as my training is going well, I don’t pay too much attention to what people say,” Saina says. “I’m just more excited to see many of the U.S. women [who are also] my friends, like Emily Sisson, Sara Hall, and Keira D’Amato, and to be racing so many amazing U.S. athletes for the first time.”

Saina’s result in Tokyo was only about a minute faster than her debut at the distance at the 2018 Paris Marathon, which she won in 2:22:56 (after dropping out of the 2017 Tokyo and New York City Marathons). It was also a confidence boost for Saina because it was also her first marathon since giving birth to her son, Kalya, now two, in December 2021, after previously running 2:22:43 and 2:31:51 at the 2019 Toronto Waterfront and Honolulu Marathons, respectively.

Saina—who originally came to the U.S. to attend Iowa State University where she trained alongside Tuliamuk and was a three-time individual NCAA champion and 11-time NCAA All-American—has remained in her hometown of Iten, Kenya, for the majority of the time since having her son, as her husband, Meshack Korir, is a doctor completing his postgraduate education there.

Although Saina became a U.S. citizen in late 2020 and has a home base in Colorado Springs, she made the decision to return to Kenya to have additional family support and childcare as she worked to come back from pregnancy and childbirth to prepare for the Olympic Trials, which she’ll return for just a few days before the race. Saina also keeps busy managing a couple of guesthouses, which she regularly rents out to visiting athletes and tourists. She also works with Cross World Africa, a nonprofit that sponsors underprivileged children in pursuing secondary and higher education.

“Before I came from Kenya, my family was struggling and we had to fundraise for my flight ticket to come to the U.S. Being here has changed my family in a different way—I have two sisters who are now nurses in the U.S., and my parents can now more easily fly to visit us, and while it is not where I began running, the U.S. where I began competing at such a high level,” she says. “My son also gives me so much motivation and is my inspiration. When I see him, I see beauty in myself and see myself getting better when I’m running. So I am excited both to compete and represent my son, and to hopefully wear the U.S. uniform because it has so much meaning for me.”

Back in Iten, Saina has been training in a group with personal pacemakers alongside 2019 New York City Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei, which she describes as game-changing for her progress in the marathon. Both Saina and Jepkosgei, who is also the former world-record holder in the half marathon and Saina’s best friend from high school, are coached by Jepkosgei’s husband, Nicholas Koech.

“Sometimes you will train with people who don’t want to help someone else get better, but [Jepkosgei], who has run 1:04 [in the half marathon] and 2:17 [in the marathon] is unique in that she has sacrificed a lot, which I don’t think a lot of women will ever do for each other, and I don’t think I would either,” Saina says. “But she has been pushing me a lot since the first day I joined her, and I think that’s the reason I came back and I’ve had better races. I have someone to chase and it’s like competition in training, but in a good way.”

American Original

Saina returned to the U.S. twice last year, to race the USATF 25K Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, (where she took the win in 1:24:32 for her first U.S. title, narrowly beating D’Amato) and to be inducted into Iowa State’s Athletics Hall of Fame in September. Saina had planned to do some shorter U.S. races, including the Bolder Boulder 10K in May and the NYRR Mini 10K in June, following her national championship title in the 25K. However, she ultimately decided she couldn’t bear to be away from her son any longer.

“As a mom, when you’re away, you are so worried because you’re like, ‘How is he doing right now? How can I handle the pressure, being away from him?’” Saina says. “This year, it’s really different for me because the only race I want to travel to without Kalya is the Olympic Trials. He is growing now and getting better, so I want to travel with him afterward to compete in the USATF circuit. That’s the biggest goal for 2024, to travel with my son.”

Later this year, Saina hopes to also run the April 7 Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in Washington, D.C., the Mini 10K on June 8 in New York City, and a fast spring half marathon to pursue the current American record (which was broken yet again by Weini Kelati on January 14 in Houston), before running another marathon in the fall. In the meantime, she noted that she is especially eager to compete in one of the deepest fields ever assembled for the Trials.

Although Bates withdrew from the Trials, Saina figures to be one of the favorites in Orlando along with Sisson, Hall, Tuliamuk, D’Amato, and Seidel. However, Lindsay Flanagan (ninth in last summer’s world championships), Sara Vaughn, Susanna Sullivan, Gabriella Rooker, Dakotah Lindwurm, and Nell Rojas are all sub-2:25 marathoners, and thus top contenders, too.

“The U.S. is no longer small and non-competitive. Look at Molly Seidel. She got bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and I remember when Amy [Cragg] was a bronze medalist at the 2017 World Championships. If you put that in perspective, it has changed even more right now compared to that time,” she says. “The competition [to make the U.S. team] is no longer as easy as the way some people [thought], and I’m super excited to be competing with a lot of solid women. There is no difference between the U.S. and other countries right now—it’s not just to go compete at the Olympics; they’re going to compete for the medals, just like other countries.”

(01/25/2024) Views: 200 ⚡AMP
by Emilia Benton
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2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

Most countries around the world use a selection committee to choose their Olympic Team Members, but not the USA. Prior to 1968, a series of races were used to select the USA Olympic Marathon team, but beginning in 1968 the format was changed to a single race on a single day with the top three finishers selected to be part...

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Stellar Field Assembled to Challenge Yared Nuguse in the NYRR Men's Wanamaker Mile

The 116th Millrose Games is now just 19 days away, as the eyes of the global athletics community will once again return to the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory. As always, the meet will conclude with the NYRR Men’s Wanamaker Mile, a legendary race with over a century of tradition.

The Millrose Games is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 11th.

Previously announced as the headliner for this race is defending champion Yared Nuguese, the American record holder in the mile indoors and outdoors. Nuguse has his eyes on the world record of 3:47.01, but he will have to contend with a number of the best athletes in the world if he is to win his second straight Wanamaker title, including two additional 1500m finalists from last summer’s World Championships.

“[The world record] feels like a goal that’s within my grasp of achieving.” said Nuguse. “Not only am I stronger and smarter than I was last year, but I feel like I will be able to attack this race with a lot more confidence to chase the world record. When I went to Millrose for the first time, I was just chasing the American record. So changing that mindset, just seeing how far I’ve come, it feels like a very real possibility at this point.”

The elite athletes lining up to challenge Nuguse are as follows:

-Mario Garcia Romo was last year’s runner-up, and he is the 2022 1500m champion for Spain and a two-time World Championship finalist.

-Neil Gourley is a three-time British 1500m champion, and he holds the European indoor mile record.

-George Mills placed third in the mile at the Diamond League final, moving up to third on the all-time British list, before also placing second at the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile.

-Hobbs Kessler is the reigning World Road Mile champion, and he also holds the national high school indoor mile record.

-Andrew Coscoran is an Olympian and the Irish record holder over 1500m.

-Adam Spencer of the University of Wisconsin and Australia holds the NCAA 1500m record.

-Sam Prakel is the US Road Mile champion, and he placed fourth nationally in the 1500m.

-Charles Philibert-Thiboutot is a Canadian Olympian and the 2023 NACAC 1500m champion.

The winner of the mile at the Dr. Sander Invitational this Saturday, January 27th will be added to the NYRR Wanamaker Mile field as well.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks before the 116th Millrose Games, as the world-class start lists are finalized. Top athletes already confirmed to compete include Laura Muir, Elle Purrier-St. Pierre, Dina Asher-Smith, Julien Alfred, Alicia Monson, Grant Fisher, Danielle Williams, Josh Kerr, Cooper Teare, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Christian Coleman, Andre De Grasse, Nia Ali, Chris Nilsen, and KC Lightfoot, with even more Olympians and World Championship medalists still to come.

As always, the Millrose Games will feature the absolute best athletes in the sport, including dozens of Olympians and world champions. The Millrose Games is a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet. With highest-level competition at the youth, high school, collegiate, club, and professional levels, there is truly something for everyone at the Millrose Games. 

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.millrosegames.org/ 

(01/24/2024) Views: 189 ⚡AMP
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NYRR Millrose Games

NYRR Millrose Games

The NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...

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Over a year after suffering season ending injury, Dina Asher-Smith makes a comeback into uncharted territory at Millrose Games

Every day, we are getting closer to one of the most anticipated events, The Millrose Games 2024. The track and field world is amped up to witness the thrilling performances of top-notch athletes in all the exciting events. Among this one athlete that has grabbed every track and field enthusiast’s attention is Dina Asher-Smith. This British Sprinter is ready to make a spectacular comeback in the 2024 iteration of the Millrose Games after facing trials and tribulations due to her hamstring injury. 

After sustaining an injury at the World Championships in Oregon, the athlete had to pull out from several events. However, after a year of grappling, Dina Asher-Smith has announced her participation in the Millrose Games 2024. Let’s have a panoramic view of the same. 

Dina Asher-Smith to participate in two events at the Millrose Games.

The British Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith faced a tough time after her hamstring Injury in 2022 as she had to pull out from the Commonwealth Games. She sustained this injury while performing at the 4x100m relay. However, more than a year after this incident, the Olympian has added her name to the Millrose Games giving a great start to her 2024 season. A US track and field Insider took to their X account to announce the same. 

The post carried, “Dina Asher-Smith will be running the 60m at the Millrose Games on February 11th!” Apart from this, the champion has added her name to the 4x400m as well. She is extremely excited to showcase her skills here at one of the most prestigious track and field competitions. 

She expressed, “The Millrose Games is one of the most prestigious and historic indoor competitions in the USA, and I am looking forward to racing there for the first time.” Dina Asher-Smith further added, “I am really enjoying my new training setup in Austin, and I’m looking forward to a big year in 2024”. This competition is going to be a great one as some of the most anticipated races will be held among the top-notch athletes. 

Athletes to compete with the British Olympian at the Millrose Games 2024 

The Millrose Games will be held on the February 11, 2024 at the Armory in NYC. The Armory this year will witness great races yet again with some of the notable athletes participating in the event. The 60m will be one of the anticipated races as along with Dina Asher-Smith, other renowned athletes will also be gracing the event. 

The first name on the list of the 60m event is the first woman in NCAA to break the seven-second barrier over the 60m, Julien Alfred. This Saint Lucian Sprinter is the Joint North American holder for the 60 meters. Then is the Olympian American athlete English Gardner. The Jamaican athlete Briana Williams will also be competing.

Other athletes like Shashalee Forbes, Tamari Davis, Marybeth Sant-Price, and Celera Barnes will be a part of the competition. The track and field enthusiasts cannot wait to witness which athlete will sprint towards victory and take the gold home. 

(01/23/2024) Views: 203 ⚡AMP
by Nancy Singh
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NYRR Millrose Games

NYRR Millrose Games

The NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...

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Cooper Teare And Weini Kelati Win 2024 USATF Cross Country Titles

Weini Kelati and Cooper Teare earned convincing victories at the 2024 USATF Cross Country Championships, held on Saturday at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va. Running just six days after setting an American record in the half marathon in Houston, Kelati took off just after 4k and destroyed the field, running 32:58.6 for the 10k course to win by 37.3 seconds — the largest margin of victory since Aliphine Tuliamuk‘s 48.2 in 2017.

Teare took a different approach, staying patient as former University of Colorado runner turned Olympic triathlete Morgan Pearson pushed the pace during the second half of the race. Teare was the only one to go with Pearson’s move at 8k and made a strong move of his own at 9k that allowed him to cruise to victory in 29:06.5. 2020 champion Anthony Rotich of the US Army was 2nd in 29:11.6 as Pearson hung on for 4th. Teare’s training partner Cole Hocker was 12th in 29:52.3.

The top six finishers in each raced earned the right to represent Team USA at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 30. Kelati’s coach/agent Stephen Haas told LetsRun last week that Kelati plans to run there while Teare’s agent Isaya Okwiya said Teare’s plans are still TBD.

High school junior Zariel Macchia of Shirley, N.Y., won the women’s U20 race in 20:31.0 for the 6k course; Macchia previously won the title as a freshman in 2022. Notre Dame freshman Kevin Sanchez won the men’s U20 title in 24:07.1 for the 8k course.

Cooper Teare shows his range with impressive victory

Teare was the 2021 NCAA 5,000m champion at the University of Oregon and has shown that his range extends both up and down the distance spectrum. Teare is the NCAA mile record holder at 3:50.39 and was the 2022 US champion at 1500 and now he is the US cross country champion. That sort of range has become increasingly common on the international level but in the US, it’s rare for a 1500 guy to run USA XC, let alone win it. Teare is the first man to win US titles at both 1500 meters and cross country since John Mason in 1968, and even that comes with a caveat as the US championships were separate from the Olympic Trials back then. Before Mason, the last guy to win both was Abel Kiviat (cross country in 1913, US mile title in 1914). You all remember him.

On the women’s side, Shelby Houlihan, since banned for a doping violation, won USA XC and the US 1500 title back in 2019.

Teare’s coach Ben Thomas told Carrie Tollefson, who was calling the race for USATF.TV, that the aim of this race was just to see where his fitness was at against a top field. Clearly, it’s very good. In his first race since leaving the Bowerman Track Club after the 2023 season, Teare, wearing a bright pink undershirt beneath his Nike singlet, ran with the lead pack until Morgan Pearson began to string things out just before entering the final 2k loop. As opposed to Pearson, who was giving it all he could to drop the field, Teare looked relaxed and in control, and at 9k he eased past Pearson into the lead before dropping the hammer to win comfortably. It was a smart run and an impressive display of fitness.

Teare may also have slayed some demons from his last cross country race in 2021, when he crawled across the finish line in the final meters. Now he’s gone from 247th at NCAA XC to a national champion.

Teare’s plans for the rest of the winter are up in the air. He will run in a stacked 2-mile at Millrose on February 11 against the likes of Grant Fisher and Josh Kerr before competing at USA Indoors a week later. World Indoors could be an option if he makes the team — as could World XC, if he wants it. No matter what he chooses, Saturday’s run was a great way for Teare to kick off the Olympic year.

Weini Kelati demolishes the competition

On paper, Kelati, who runs for Under Armour’s Dark Sky Distance team in Flagstaff, was the class of this field. The only question was whether she would be recovered from racing hard at last weekend’s Houston Half Marathon, where she set the American record of 66:25. The answer was a definitive “yes” as Kelati, after running with the leaders for the first 4k, dropped a 3:05 5th kilometer to break open the field. From there, her lead would only grow to the finish line as she won by a massive 37.3 seconds over runner-up Emma Hurley.

Kelati was not at her best heading into last year’s World XC in Australia as she had missed some time in the buildup due to injury. She still managed to finish a respectable 21st overall. Her aims will be much higher for this year’s edition in Belgrade.

Kelati also made some history with her win today. She’s the first woman to win Foot Locker, NCAA, and USA cross country titles.

(01/22/2024) Views: 266 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault
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USATF Cross Country Championships

USATF Cross Country Championships

About USATF Based in Indianapolis, USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the number one high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners...

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Eugene Will Host 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials, Again

The next US Olympic Track and Field Trials will be held in ….. Eugene, yet again.

Yes that’s right. Hayward Field will host the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field from June 21-30, 2024, USATF announced in a statement on Thursday. The Olympic track & field program will begin four weeks later, on August 1 in Paris.

2024 will be the fifth straight Olympic Trials hosted by Eugene (2008, 2012, 2016, 2021, 2024) and Eugene’s fourth straight USATF Outdoor Championship. Since the new Hayward Field opened in 2020, no other stadium has hosted the US championships.

That means that in 2024 — just as in 2015, 2016, 2021, and 2022 — the three biggest meets in American track & field will be held at Hayward Field: the Prefontaine Classic, the NCAA championships, and the USATF championships/Olympic Trials. Here is what the schedule will look like for 2024:

May 25: Prefontaine ClassicJune 5-8: NCAA championshipsJune 21-30: US Olympic Trials

Quick Take: Eugene does a fantastic job hosting big meets, but it’s time to give someone else a chance to host the Olympic Trials

Let’s make a few things clear. The new Hayward Field is the best track & field stadium in the country, and Eugene has a terrific local organizing committee in TrackTown USA that knows how to stage big meets. The 2024 Olympic Trials are going to be terrific — they always are.

When you’ve got a beautiful new stadium like Hayward Field, you don’t want it to go to waste. But from 2021-2024, almost every major track meet in the US will have been staged at Hayward Field. The three most important track meets in the US are the Prefontaine Classic (the US’s only Diamond League), the NCAA championships, and the USATF championships/Olympic Trials. During a four-year period, 11 of those 12 meets will have been hosted in Eugene. And that does not even include the biggest meet Eugene has ever hosted — the 2022 World Championships.

That’s a recipe for major Eugene fatigue.

The Prefontaine Classic obviously isn’t moving out of Eugene, and the NCAAs are locked into Eugene through 2027. But it’s a missed opportunity to hold USAs in Eugene every single year, particularly the Olympic Trials. There are a limited number of diehard track fans in the US, and any diehard who has wanted to visit the new Hayward Field has probably done it at this point. If a husband and wife are huge track fans and they already figured out a way to take their kids to Eugene for Worlds, are they really going to want to go back again to the same location for the Trials?

The Olympic Trials should be in Eugene at most once every eight years. The last two normal* Trials drew more than 20,000 fans per day (21,644 in 2012; 22,1222 in 2016) but it’s foolish to suggest that the Trials can only do those sort of numbers in Eugene.

*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was ticketing uncertainty about the 2021 Trials until the very last minute, which meant attendance numbers were a fraction of previous years

In the United States, when you throw the word Olympic in front of anything, people go crazy. And the last few US championships has shown that the built-in track fanbase in Eugene — the diehards who will go to every meet — has dwindled significantly.

We’re confident that if you staged the Olympic Trials in Austin, Des Moines, Omaha, Sacramento, or Mt. SAC, you’d draw big crowds. The Olympic Trials will do well anywhere they are held.

The question then, is why isn’t this happening?

“We all know that getting [to Eugene], it’s trying,” said Will Leer, chair of the USATF Athlete Advisory Committee, when LetsRun asked him about this at USAs in July. “Small airport, it’s expensive, hotels are minimal. But the process by which championships are awarded is through a bid. That much is well-known throughout all of USATF. And time and time again, TrackTown comes to the table with the best bid.”

Eugene certainly has a lot to offer, but we also don’t how much competition there is to host these events. It’s not as simple as USATF just awarding the Trials to a different city. A potential Trials host needs a world-class track facility and a local organizing committee interested in bidding for the Trials, which requires dollars.

Sarah Lorge Butler reports that Eugene paid at least $3 million to host the 2020 Trials, writing, “TrackTown paid a nonrefundable rights fee of $500,000 and the total prize purse of $1.4 million. They also had obligations to provide $1.1 million for athlete support during the meet, to be used at USATF’s sole discre

It’s an expensive undertaking for any local organizing committee. We know Eugene has the dollars. It’s unclear whether anyone else does (If you know of any other city that bid for the Trials, please email us at letsrun@letsrun.com)

If it’s simply a matter of USATF needing to find $3 million to put on the Trials, we know where they could find it. USATF head Max Siegel was paid a ridiculous $3.8 million in compensation in 2021; reduce that to a more reasonable $800k and you could hold the Trials wherever you wanted without any financial impact on USATF.

(01/21/2024) Views: 181 ⚡AMP
by Let’s Run
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Four Olympic Medalists Set to Toe the Line in the Women's 60m at the 116th Millrose Games

With just over three weeks to go until the running of the 116th Millrose Games, the excitement for this spectacular event has never been greater. One of the deepest races of the afternoon will be the Women’s 60 Meter Dash, which features no fewer than four Olympic medalists, in addition to an NCAA champion, last year’s runner-up, and more.

The 116th Millrose Games will take place at the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory on Sunday, February 11th. 

The stellar field is as follows: 

-Dina Asher-Smith is the 2019 World Champion in the 200m. She is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, and her 2019 gold is one of five World Championship medals that she owns. Asher-Smith holds the British records in the 60m, 100m, and 200m. 

“The Millrose Games is one of the most prestigious and historic indoor competitions in the USA, and I am looking forward to racing there for the first time,” said Asher-Smith. “I am really enjoying my new training set up in Austin, and I’m looking forward to a big year in 2024.” 

-Julien Alfred was a seven-time NCAA champion at the University of Texas. Her 60m best is not only the NCAA record, it also equals the North American record. In her first season as a professional, Alfred finished fifth in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships, representing St. Lucia. 

-English Gardner is an Olympic gold medalist on the 4x100m relay in 2016. A local favorite from New Jersey, she is the tenth-fastest woman in history in the 100m, and she won this race at the Millrose Games in 2019. 

-Briana Williams won Olympic gold on the 4x100m relay for Jamaica in 2021, and she is a two-time World Junior Champion. 

-Shashalee Forbes is an Olympic silver medalist on the 4x100m relay, and she won the 200m Jamaican championship in 2017. 

-Tamari Davis placed second in this race at last year’s Millrose Games, before winning a gold medal on the 4x100m relay at the World Championships. 

-Marybeth Sant-Price is the 60m bronze medalist at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. 

-Celera Barnes is an NACAC champion on the 4x100m relay. 

Stay tuned over the coming weeks before the 116th Millrose Games, as the world-class start lists are finalized. Top athletes already confirmed to compete include Laura Muir, Elle Purrier-St. Pierre, Yared Nuguse, Alicia Monson, Grant Fisher, Danielle Williams, Josh Kerr, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Christian Coleman, Keni Harrison, Andre De Grasse, Nia Ali, Chris Nilsen, and KC Lightfoot, with even more Olympians and World Championship medalists still to come. 

As always, the Millrose Games will feature the absolute best athletes in the sport, including dozens of Olympians and world champions. The Millrose Games is a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet. With highest-level competition at the youth, high school, collegiate, club, and professional levels, there is truly something for everyone at the Millrose Games. 

(01/19/2024) Views: 183 ⚡AMP
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NYRR Millrose Games

NYRR Millrose Games

The NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...

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Chebet, Lemma and Geay to clash at Boston Marathon

Evans Chebet and Gabriel Geay, the top two finishers at last year’s BAA Boston Marathon, will return to the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on April 15, to take on recent Valencia Marathon winner Sisay Lemma.

Chebet successfully defended his Boston title last year in 2:05:54. In fact, the Kenyan has won six of his past seven marathons.

Lemma won in Valencia last month in 2:01:48, making him the fourth-fastest man in history. The Ethiopian, who also won the 2021 London Marathon, is the fastest man in this year’s Boston Marathon field, which features 20 men with sub-2:10 PBs.

Tanzania’s Geay, runner-up in Boston last year, has an identical PB to Chebet – 2:03:00 – and, like Chebet, it was also set in Valencia.

Other men in the field with sub-2:05 PBs are Kenya’s Joshua Belet (2:04:18), Ronald Korir (2:04:22), and Cyprian Kotut (2:04:34), as well as Ethiopians Haftu Teklu (2:04:43) and London and New York City runner-up Shura Kitata (2:04:49).

New York Marathon champion Albert Korir, former Japanese record-holder Suguru Osako, and Norwegian record-holder Sondre Moen are also in the field, as are Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi, winner of last week’s Houston Marathon in a course record 2:06:39, and multiple NCAA champion Edward Cheserek.

Elite field

Sisay Lemma (ETH) 2:01:48

Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:03:00

Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:03:00

Joshua Belet (KEN) 2:04:18

Ronald Korir (KEN) 2:04:22

Cyprian Kotut (KEN) 2:04:34

Haftu Teklu (ETH) 2:04:43

Shura Kitata (ETH) 2:04:49

John Korir (KEN) 2:05:01

Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:05:05

Suguru Osako (JPN) 2:05:29

Sondre Moen (NOR) 2:05:48

Filmon Ande (ERI) 2:06:38

Zouhair Talbi (MAR) 2:06:39

Isaac Mpofu (ZIM) 2:06:48

Albert Korir (KEN) 2:06:57

Kento Otsu (JPN) 2:08:15

Ryoma Takeuchi (JPN) 2:08:40

Segundo Jami (ECU) 2:09:05

Tsegay Tuemay (ERI) 2:09:07

Matt McDonald (USA) 2:09:49

David Nilsson (SWE) 2:10:09

Tristan Woodfine (CAN) 2:10:39

CJ Albertson (USA) 2:10:52

Chris Thompson (GBR) 2:10:52

Edward Cheserek (KEN) 2:11:07

Yemane Haileselassie (ERI) debut

(01/17/2024) Views: 208 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics
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Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon

Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern games was composed of B.A.A. club members. The Olympic Games provided the inspiration for the first Boston Marathon, which culminated the B.A.A. Games on April 19, 1897. John J. McDermott emerged from a...

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Elle St Pierre will toe the line again at the Millrose Games

World indoor silver medalist Elle St Pierre set a meeting and North American record of 4:16.85 to win the Wanamaker Mile in 2020. The 2024 indoor season marks St Pierre’s return to the track following the birth of her first child.

Two-time world indoor silver medalist Axumawit Embaye is also in the line-up, alongside 2022 US 1500m champion Sinclaire Johnson, British 1500m champion Katie Snowden, 2023 Wanamaker Mile runner-up Josette Andrews, Australian record-holder Jessica Hull, Olympic finalist Marta Perez, and two-time NCAA champion Sage Hurta-Klecker.

Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir made her Wanamaker Mile debut last year, winning in 4:20.15. The 2022 world bronze medalist holds the British record for the distance outdoors with the 4:15.24 she clocked last year.

Other top athletes already confirmed to compete include Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Danielle Williams, Nia Ali, Andre De Grasse, Josh Kerr, Keni Harrison, Chris Nilsen, KC Lightfoot, Yared Nuguse, Alicia Monson, Grant Fisher and Christian Coleman.

(01/17/2024) Views: 202 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics
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NYRR Millrose Games

NYRR Millrose Games

The NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...

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Ethiopians Jemal Yimer (60:42) and Sutume Kebede (64:37) won the overall titles in Houston Half

In what is becoming an annual tradition, Weini Kelati ran 66:25 on Sunday to break the American record at the 2024 Aramco Houston Half Marathon. It was the third straight year the record was broken in Houston as the 27-year-old Kelati, making her half marathon debut, followed in the footsteps of Sara Hall (67:15 in 2022) and Emily Sisson (66:52 in 2023) to become a record-breaker in Houston. Sunday marked the third time the record had been broken in the past year as Keira D’Amatolowered Sisson’s record to 66:39 at the Asics Half Marathon in Australia in July.

Kelati finished 4th overall as Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede, a late addition to the women’s field, upset Hellen Obiri to win in 64:37, a US all-comers record that moves her into a tie for 9th on the all-time list. The time was a pb of more than three minutes for Kebede, who was previously best known for finishing 3rd at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon and running 2:18:12 at the 2022 Seoul Marathon. Obiri, who was with Kebede through 10k (30:28) faded over the second half and wound up a distant 2nd in 66:07.

The men’s race came down to a five-man sprint finish with Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer, who won in Houston in 2020 and was 4th at the World Half Marathon Championships in October, prevailing in 60:42. Wesley Kiptoo of NAZ Elite and Kenya was 2nd for the second straight year in 60:43 with 2022 champ Milkesa Mengeshaof Ethiopia 3rd in 60:45.

Biya Simbassa was the top American man in 60:45 in 4th, just ahead of a resurgent Diego Estrada, who led for the first 20 minutes and finished 5th in a pb of 60:49. Galen Rupp, tuning up for the Olympic Marathon Trials three weeks from now, hung back from the leaders and finished 14th in 62:37.

In the Chevron Houston Marathon, contested simultaneously, former NAIA star Zouhair Talbi of Morocco won the men’s race in 2:06:39 to boost his chances of Olympic selection. 2016 NCAA XC champion Patrick Tiernan, now training as part of Alistair and Amy Cragg’s Puma Elite Running team in North Carolina, was 4th in 2:07:45, hitting the Olympic standard and moving to #2 on the all-time Australian marathon list.

Ethiopia’s Rahma Tusa, the runner-up behind American Betsy Saina in September’s Sydney Marathon, won the women’s marathon in Houston in 2:19:33.

The races featured temperatures in the low 40s with 10 mph winds and gusts up to 17 mph, which made for a challenging end to the half marathon as miles 9, 10, and 11 were run directly into the teeth of the wind.

Below, six takeaways from the day’s racing in Houston.

2024 Houston Half Marathon men’s top 51. 60:42 Jemal Yimer, Ethiopia2. 60:43 Wesley Kiptoo, Kenya3. 60:45 Milkesa Mengesha, Ethiopia4. 60:45 Biya Simbassa, USA5. 60:49 Diego Estrada, USA14. 62:37 Galen Rupp, USA

2024 Houston Half Marathon women’s top 51. 64:37 Sutume Kebede, Ethiopia2. 66:07 Hellen Obiri, Kenya3. 66:24 Buze Diriba, Ethiopia4. 66:25 AR Weini Kelati, USA5. 67:36 Mestawut Fikir, Ethiopia

(01/14/2024) Views: 188 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault (Let’s Run)
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Aramco Houston Half Marathon

Aramco Houston Half Marathon

The Chevron Houston Marathon offers participants a unique running experience in America's fourth largest city. The fast, flat, scenic single-loop course has been ranked as the "fastest winter marathon" and "second fastest marathon overall" by Ultimate Guide To Marathons. After 30 years of marathon-only competition, Houston added the half-marathon in 2002, with El Paso Energy as the sponsor. Today the...

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Emma Bates Withdraws from Olympic Marathon Trials 2024

Emma Bates was widely considered a top contender to make the U.S. Olympic team in the marathon this year. But over the weekend, she announced she won’t be lining up at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, on February 3.

Bates, 31, tore her plantar fascia during October’s Chicago Marathon. On December 12, she posted that she had been healing well and was back to running on the ground for an hour at a time when she developed another injury, posterior tibial tendonitis.

And in a tearful Instagram video posted Saturday night, Bates said that while she had returned to workouts with her Boulder-based training group, Team Boss, “we just know that there’s not enough time to be where I need to be.”

Bates’ personal best of 2:22:10 at the 2023 Boston Marathon, where she placed fifth, was the third-fastest time by an American last year.

She headed into Chicago in the fall with high hopes—saying she was in shape to run 2:18 to 2:19 pace—but stepped in a pothole around mile 14. She finished 13th in 2:25:04 and left the finish line in a wheelchair. A week after the race, an MRI revealed a torn plantar fascia.

She put on a boot and began cross-training on the bike, knowing the buildup to the Trials wouldn’t be easy. With the new setback last month, she and coach Joe Bosshard decided it simply wouldn’t be possible.

Bates, a 2014 NCAA champion in the 10,000 meters at Boise State University, won her marathon debut and the USATF Marathon Championships with a 2:28:18 at the 2018 California International Marathon and has steadily improved since. In her second marathon, the 2019 Chicago Marathon, she finished fourth in 2:25:27.

Those performances made her a contender for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, where she ran 2:29:35 to place seventh. But her next big breakthrough was around the corner. On a hot, humid day at the 2021 Chicago Marathon, she ran a personal-best 2:24:20 to place second.

And in 2022, she was part of a trio of Americans who produced top-10 finishes at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon—she was seventh in 2:23:18, between Sara Hall (fifth in 2:22:10) and Keira D’Amato (eighth in 2:23:34).

Bates was clearly disappointed not to line up with the likes of Hall and D’Amato again in Orlando; “this one hurts a lot,” she wrote.

“It’s another four years to wait for another Olympic team,” she said in the accompanying video. “I’ll be OK. I’ll be OK.”

(01/11/2024) Views: 199 ⚡AMP
by Cindy Kuzma
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2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

Most countries around the world use a selection committee to choose their Olympic Team Members, but not the USA. Prior to 1968, a series of races were used to select the USA Olympic Marathon team, but beginning in 1968 the format was changed to a single race on a single day with the top three finishers selected to be part...

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Starting pistol under the gun at U.S. high school track program

A high school in Seattle, Wash., is aiming to lead a movement in track and field by advocating for the elimination of starting pistols from high school and university-level track meets.In November 2022, a shooting inside the hallways of Ingraham High School resulted in the tragic death of a 17-year-old and left teachers and students traumatized. Now, the school’s track coach and athletic director, Mike Wentzel, is looking to make a change. 

According to Seattle’s NBC K5 News, Wentzel recognized that the starter pistol used for track and field meets, which fires high-calibre blanks, could potentially be traumatizing for the young athletes. “The idea that we would fire off a gun over and over during the track meet, which can be heard throughout the entire campus and neighbourhood, to me is just unacceptable,” said Wentzel.Wentzel and Ingraham High School are urging every high school in their district and state to adopt an electronic starting system that triggers a tone and flashes lights instead of firing pistol blanks. The cost for one system per school is estimated to be around USD $7,000.“The electronic starting systems are such that at the time you push the button that triggers the tone, it also starts the timing system, so the timing would be precise,” Wenzel explained to NBC K5 News.

The electronic system plays a simulated gunshot sound broadcasted through speakers. While World Athletics and the Olympics have been using electronic systems since 2012, most U.S. high school and NCAA collegiate meets still use starting pistols. The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) and B.C. School Sports transitioned to electronic starting systems nearly five years ago. Wentzel, along with Ingraham High School students, are actively raising funds to have the new system in place across the district by spring. They have currently raised $7,000 of their $27,000 goal.

(12/16/2023) Views: 193 ⚡AMP
by Running Magazine
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Katelyn Tuohy turns pro, signing with Adidas

Four-time NCAA champion Katelyn Tuohy will forego her final year of track and field at North Carolina State University in the NCAA and turn pro with Adidas.

On Wednesday, the 21-year-old announced her decision on her Instagram page: “I am super excited to announce that I will be running professionally for Adidas!” wrote Tuohy. “I am looking forward to this next chapter and the opportunities that lie ahead!! Thank you, for adding me to the three-stripe family ///.”

During her three and a half years at NC State, Tuohy was an 11-time All-American and set NCAA records in the indoor mile and 3,000m.

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the support, guidance, and encouragement I’ve received,” wrote Tuohy on Instagram. “I owe a big thank you to the university, the coaching staff, the support staff, my teammates, and all of those who have been a part of my time here at NC State. Thank you for making my dreams come true.”

Tuohy was previously on a name, image, and likeness (NIL) sponsorship deal with Adidas while she competed in the NCAA. A NIL deal does not have the same monetary value as a pro deal, but it allows an athlete to continue competing at the collegiate level while earning money from their image. However, under an NIL deal, athletes are unable to win prize money at races or events.

The 21-year-old from New York is one of the best up-and-coming U.S. distance runners. She began to make headlines as a high school athlete in 2018 when she set a U.S. high school 5K record of 16:06.87. Tuohy also won the Gatorade Athlete of the Year for cross-country, given to the top U.S. high school athlete. She won this award in all four years, becoming the only athlete in any sport to accomplish this.

The young star will likely have her eyes on competing for Team USA at the World Indoor Championships in March in the 3,000m and qualifying for the Olympics in the 5,000m at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials next June.

(12/07/2023) Views: 277 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson
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Who Is Courtney Dauwalter’s New Ultramarathon Partner? It’s Her Mom.

Here‘s how the Dauwalter duo completed a dream of crossing a finish line together

The last loop was quiet beneath the full moon. Their shuffling feet on the packed, pebble-tossed singletrack punctuated the sleeping Sonoran Desert as the duo moved through shadows of saguaro cactus and prickly pear. Millions of white pinpoints began to appear in the dark sky.

That’s when 66-year-old Tracy Dauwalter, mother of ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter—who was coming off of historic back-to-back-to-back 100-mile wins of the 2023 Western States 100, Hardrock 100, and UTMB, including two course records—started resharing doubts with her daughter, who kindly reminded Tracy many times throughout the last 13 hours, “that’s not useful thinking, so let’s not think it.”

Occasionally, Courtney would redirect their attention, pointing out this unique section of the course that they’d been past twice before. This time, she built a 60-second container to stuff all those fears inside.

“Tell me all of your doubts and frustrations. You have one minute,” Courtney told her mom. “Once you finish, you can’t complain out loud anymore. It’s not serving us to get to this finish line.”

Tracy spewed all of her negative thoughts, from her rolling stomach to her aching muscles, which was an important reset to get out of the whirlpool of heavy thoughts. I signed up for this, Tracy humbly reminded herself. Nobody’s making me do this.

A dedicated team, the pair was running three loops side-by-side in matching long running shorts, white baggy tees, Salomon hydration vests, and cactus-themed socks, at the Halloween-themed Javelina Jundred 100K race. The ultrarunning event is held the closing weekend of October in the McDowell Mountain Regional Park, an hour northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Temperatures can climb into the 90s by mid-morning and dip into the low 50s once daylight disappears behind the McDowell Mountain Range.

Now 38 years old and living in Leadville, Colorado, Courtney had participated in the event once before, in 2016, when she was the race’s outright winner. She set the then-course record for the 100K, one of several performances that drew national attention to her astonishing endurance and athleticism.

Tracy, who’d just recently started trail running, had covered ultra-distances at 12- and 24-hour events across flat gravel, but had never before run this far on a trail. They selected Javelina’s rolling 100K with 3,924 feet of vertical gain. The majority of the climbing is packed into the gradual ascent from the Javelina “Jeadquarters” aid station, which serves as the start and finish of the race and basecamp, to the far side of the loop, Jackass Junction.

It was exactly here, at this midway point, after slogging up the final climb over rolling hardened granite and sandy washes, where Tracy had a sticking point. Fortunately, Courtney was there to fill up her water bottles and point out all the tasty options when they reached the runner’s buffet.

“Please keep eating,” she said, as the electronic dance music bumped. A few hours earlier, they enjoyed a surprise pick-me-up of McDonald’s cheeseburgers, delivered by crew masters Dick Dauwalter, Courtney’s dad, and Kevin Schmidt, her husband. But one of the biggest highlights during the race for Tracy was watching Courtney interact and commune with so many people in the trail running community.

“Courtney does this amazing sport, but even more, I adore the person she is. It’s one of my favorite things to watch the love that’s out there for Courtney, and the way she responds. To be in that world with her was really special,” Tracy said. “She was also really kind to me, even when I was frumping and I’d fall down, she’d help pick me up.” Courtney let out a laugh.

“Mom, you only fell one time!” said Courtney, laughing.

“I know, but it was embarrassing,” Tracy said.

While Javelina was the mother-daughter’s debut trail ultra finish, side-by-side, the experience wasn’t their first race together. When Courtney was in high school, the duo finished a rollerblade marathon together in St. Paul. (Rollerblading is a major pastime in Minnesota, where Tracy grew up and still lives today.) Here, she met Dick and raised Courtney, a middle-child to two brothers.

While growing up, Tracy played softball and badminton. In college, she ran cross-country and track. “I’ve always been interested in sports and done them at a level that I could make the team. I was never a star. Being on a team is social and taxes your body while working up a sweat,” she said.

When the kids were interested in soccer, she and Dick organized an adult co-ed squad. Now, she jogs, plays volleyball, and golfs. She and Dick enjoy motorcycle tours, too, like venturing through the Elk Mountains in Colorado. “I’m not great at anything, but I can hold my own, and it’s super fun—I’m willing to do any sport,” she said. The motto was much the same for the kids.

"I thought that it would be so cool to share this sport that I love so much with this person I love so much. I knew she could do it.”

“They could try any activity. But once they committed, they had to see that season through—whether they enjoyed it or not, we were committed. We didn’t miss practices or games. We made sure those were a high priority for them and us. That drove our lives for many years with lots of fun times, but boy, that schedule was crazy—we’d slam-dunk dinner at 4 P.M. so that everybody could get to practice,” Tracy said.

An accountability mindset is one that leads to showing up in other areas of life from work to class to chores, following through on responsibilities and gritting out less desirable tasks. “When things get hard, like college classes, your option is not to quit,” Tracy said. “You dig in a little deeper, get help, and get it done, which is the same with any sport.”

But perhaps their most special ingredient is that the Dauwalters know how to have fun. “Having fun while doing those things is just as important,” Courtney said. “Our family always worked hard, but we play hard, too. All of that combined is what makes life special. Having that be deeply ingrained in who I am helps me in everyday life, but also, for sure, in ultrarunning.”

While watching Courtney grow up, Tracy noticed her daughter had a deep motivation as a person and athlete. One of her earliest memories was two-year-old Courtney, who could barely walk, repeatedly riding a Big Wheel tricycle downhill with a group of kids and insisting she’d wrestle the bike up the hill by herself. As a kid, Courtney and her siblings played soccer, often on the same teams. Later, they ran high school cross-country and track. To fill the winter months, she tried basketball, but she had a propensity to quickly foul out, taking the bench for the remainder of the game.

One day, she came home with a bright idea to Nordic ski instead, which was foreign for a family full of downhillers. They picked up the equipment, Courtney joined a competitive team, and she practiced in nearby school fields. “All she did was wipe out. All the time. Dick and I are thinking, ‘I wonder what this is going to look like?’” said Tracy.

During those foundational years, Courtney would rush home after a Nordic race to report the number of crashes she’d had. “In a 5K, I would be psyched if I only crashed nine times—tripping, planting my poles, tumbling the entire time. I was so bad,” she said.

But Tracy bought a beat-up pair of cross-country skis and started to practice alongside Courtney. “We learned together,” Tracy said. “It was more fun to crash with somebody than to crash by yourself.”

By the time Courtney graduated, she was an all-state runner and had earned All-American honors as a Nordic skier three times. She was a four-time state champion, and her team acquired two national championships. In 2003, Courtney moved west to Colorado, where she raced collegiately on the Nordic ski team at the University of Denver. Three years in, her DU team won 11 meets and the 2005 NCAA Championship.

“Courtney was really good at everything she did, and it wasn’t because she was a natural,” Tracy said. “Anytime she tried a sport, she didn’t have an immediate knack for it, but she hung in there to develop it. She was a hard worker and determined.”

Years later, in 2015, any remaining questions of physical stamina were laid aside—for both Tracy and Courtney, who proved to have a serious knack for endurance. Courtney broke the ribbon at her inaugural ultra race, the 2011 Prickly Pear 50K in San Antonio, Texas, and her curiosity about wanting to run longer continued to grow. The following year, she dropped out of the Colorado’s Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile race at mile 60 with throbbing legs, questioning her ability to cover that much ground in a single push.

Frustrated by not meeting her goal, Courtney registered for her first 24-hour race, the 2013 FANS Ultra Races, a more manageable format than an ultra on singletrack. Her family joined to crew and run laps, providing entertainment and support, including Tracy. They didn’t have much of a background in ultras and were green to any strategy.

Regardless, Courtney wrapped a total of 105 miles on that two-mile gravel loop around Lake Normandale Park in Bloomington, Minnesota, completing her first non-trail century-distance, and gaining confidence. Two months later, she crossed the finish line of the Superior Fall Trail Race 100 Miler in Lutsen, Minnesota, her first 100-mile distance on trail, and stood on the podium for second place.

Moving forward, the FANS Ultra Races became a family tradition. Courtney returned to the 2014 event, besting her first summer with 123.6 miles. Tracy decided, if she was going to crew and run laps with Courtney, she might as well sign up herself.

“She was like, ‘Heck, I’m going to spend the whole day out there anyways. Why not put some time on my feet?’” Courtney recalled.

In 2015, she tallied 109.2 miles while her mom, then 57 years old, covered 66.8 miles. Their annual pilgrimage continued in the 24- or 12-hour format, over the next several summers, coinciding with Courtney’s ultrarunning career picking up steam. She won the 2016 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile with a 75-minute lead, and along with the title, the world’s largest ultra purse: $12,000.

By the summer of 2017, she retired from her position at the Girls Athletic Leadership School in Denver where she taught science and coached cross-country. “In an interview a few years ago,” Courtney said. “I was asked if I could run an ultramarathon with anyone in the world, who would it be? ‘My mom,’ I said. I thought that it would be so cool to share this sport that I love so much with this person I love so much. I knew she could do it.”

In an interview a few years ago, she was asked, if she could run an ultramarathon with anyone in the world, who would it be? “My mom,” she said. “I thought that it would be so cool to share this sport that I love so much with this person I love so much. I knew she could do it.”

Tracy heard the recording and, despite having never run on trails, she immediately called her daughter. “Let’s do it. I heard you want to run an ultra, so let’s sign up for something,” she said to Courtney. “If someone puts a challenge in front of me, it can even be pretty insane, and I’m a sucker for trying to rise to that challenge.” In addition to the competitive spark, the invitation felt sentimental.

Committed to doing an ultra together, they accepted that it might be a winding road to get there. The two picked the 2022 50-mile Superior Fall Trail Race in Lutsen. Mid-route, they missed the cut-off. Tracy shrugged and shook her head recounting the unfinished event. Courtney refused to let the DNF be a negative thing. “You learned so much in that first summer, mom,” she told her. “Dialing in all of those pieces helped immensely this year. And we decided, we’re not done. We still need a finish line together.”

As soon as registration opened in January, the duo signed up for the 2023 Javelina Jundred 100K. “I was nervous coming into this race because I was bouncing off of that epic fail of the first 50-miler we tried, which was a wake-up call. You have to prepare yourself,” said Tracy.

“It was not an epic fail,” Courtney countered.

That winter, Tracy clocked workouts on a treadmill. From April onward, she ran outside four or five days a week for 10 to 20 miles. Courtney researched singletrack trails around Lone Lake, which her mom became excited to explore. One of the biggest challenges of learning to run on trails is her tendency to shuffle and trip, Tracy confessed. Building confidence, she finished the Willow 20 Miler in May and Afton Trail Run 50K in July. Like her daughter, Tracy didn’t keep a close log of her mileage, and her training was not systematic.

Courtney’s advice, true and simple, rang in her mind: Spend time on your feet.

“People asked me if I coached her. Absolutely not,” Courtney said. “I did try to be helpful—harping on testing nutrition, wearing a pack so that her body gets used to one, and hiking uphills—so her race day could be much better. She was the one putting in the work and figuring out routes where she could do laps or get on hills. I admired from afar.”

“It helped that Courtney kept reminding me, ‘This was our run together, our race, and it could look however we could make it.’ If I crawled, that wouldn’t be disgusting. It got ugly, then it got not ugly,” Tracy added.

Staying lighthearted, Courtney countered, “It never got ugly. There was never a doubt that we would make it to the finish.”

Fortunately, the elation did come around. Next to her daughter, Tracy crossed the finish line of Javelina Jundred 100K in 17 hours and 38 minutes with a smile in the glowing lights, after staying up into the night running, eating, and sharing pain—but mostly, laughing—with her daughter. They’d gone full circle together, both on the circuit they’d traveled in the desert as well as in life.

“I think you beat me by, like, a half-second, mom,” Courtney said.

“I know,” Tracy bantered back. “I think I was really needing to be done, so I rushed with a half-second sprint.”

(12/03/2023) Views: 205 ⚡AMP
by Outside Online
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6 Nutrition Podcasts to Help Fuel Your Next Run or Race

Nutrition can be the toughest part of training for many runners. These podcasts offer advice you can listen to on the run. 

If you’re the type who likes to listen to podcasts on your runs (or while working or performing everyday tasks), you’ve probably turned to a running podcast or two. These days, you can find podcasts that cover the sport from a range of views, including interviews with pro athletes, everyday runners, or experts dishing out advice, making it hard to narrow down your selection.

Health and wellness, specifically nutrition is no exception, as virtually every running podcast out there will touch on it in some form or another. Nutrition advice can be key to training, though, as it’s often an overlooked aspect that can help you get to the start and finish line of a race with energy.

Here, we’ve rounded up six nutrition podcasts that not only offer fueling advice for runners, but provide the info in an entertaining and easy-to-understand format. 

1. If you’re looking for specific, expert-backed fueling advice...

Eat for Endurance

The Eat for Endurance podcast is not only hosted by a board-certified sports dietitian, but registered dietitians also make up the majority of the show’s guest list. Host Claire Shorenstein covers how athletes can fuel themselves for longevity in their chosen sport both by interviewing fellow experts, profiling high-performing athletes, and imparting relevant advice in solo episodes. 

The show covers everything from fueling for road races, triathlons, and ultra distances to navigating peri- and post-menopause.

2. If you’re looking for nutrition advice geared toward women...

Female Athlete Nutrition

Hosted by sports dietitian Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes, whose clients include NCAA, professional, and recreational athletes, Female Athlete Nutrition caters to the needs of female athletes, as the name of the show implies. 

Because nutrition needs for male and female athletes can vary drastically, especially if a female athlete has dealt with issues like low iron or an eating disorder, it can often be a game-changer for female runners to turn to an expert who is well-versed in those needs. The podcast covers all aspects of fueling for performance, as well as how things like body image and mindset can come into play.

3. If you want more entertainment with your nutrition tips...

The Run Eat Sleep Show

It’s safe to say content creator and influencer Tommie Runz has his nutrition down pat, having brought his marathon PR down to 2:46 at this year’s Boston Marathon from his first marathon, which he clocked in 3:13:30 in 2019 and after only starting to run in 2018, a year after getting sober. 

As the name of his podcast implies, eating habits are a core aspect of any runner’s progress. In addition to being very open about his vegan lifestyle, he frequently interviews experts like registered dietitians in addition to professional athletes about their fueling.

4. If you want solid nutrition advice, as well as other topics...

The Running Explained Podcast

The Running Explained Podcast, hosted by RRCA Level 1-, UESCA-, and USATF Level 1-certified coach Elisabeth Scott, covers a wide variety of info about a healthy running lifestyle for athletes of all abilities and training levels. This includes nutrition—from how to fuel your overall training to preventing bone injuries—with advice coming straight from experts like registered dietitians and physical therapists.

5. If you want to focus on injury prevention...

The Injured Athletes Club

The “injured athletes club” is a club no runner wants to be a part of, but one nearly every runner can relate to at some point in their journey. This show, hosted by health and fitness journalist (and Runner’s World contributor) Cindy Kuzma and mental performance consultant Carrie Jackson, covers resources and personal stories from athletes on how to physically and mentally navigate and overcome injuries. But they also answer athlete questions and interview relevant experts to cover related topics, including how one’s nutrition can play into their injury prevention.

6. If you want a longer wellness deep dive...

The Rich Roll Podcast

With most episodes lasting around two hours long, it’s safe to say Rich Roll’s show dives deep into the wellness topic at hand, which frequently includes nutrition. 

Roll, a vegan ultra-endurance athlete in his own right, knows a thing or two about sports nutrition himself, but his show serves as an extended opportunity for experts and fellow athletes alike to educate and inspire listeners through their perspectives on health and wellness topics, including nutrition.

(11/18/2023) Views: 194 ⚡AMP
by Runner’s World
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Edward Cheserek sheds light on why he made a switch to the full marathon

US-based Kenyan runner Edward Cheserek has explained why he made the switch to the full marathon after years of dominating the track.

Cheserek, a multiple NCAA champion, revealed that he had been running on the track for a long time and he was losing his speed.

He further noted that he made a switch to the roads and started with the shorter races but then eventually decided to make his debut. He debuted at the New York City Marathon where he finished eighth after clocking 2:11:07.

“I’ve been running on the track for a long time and I felt like I was losing my speed. I decided that it was the best option to slowly move back and switch to the roads," he explained.

"I started with the 5km and 10km and I noticed that I was running a bit slower…it wasn’t like back in the day when I used to run in the 800m and 5000m,” 

Cheserek added that he noticed the change back in 2019 and after the Covid-19 pandemic, he decided to try out road running. However, he explained that it was something normal and did not freak him out.

Meanwhile, Cheserek also made a revelation that his father was the one who convinced him to try out running. Before then, he was a football player.

“Back in the day, my father encouraged me to switch from football to running. However, I hated running but I decided to just give it a try,” he said.

(11/14/2023) Views: 326 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula
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TCS  New York City Marathon

TCS New York City Marathon

The first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...

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Men's Record-Holder To Defend Title At Manchester Road Race

Defending Manchester Road Race men's division champion and course record-holding Conner Mantz will return for the 2023 race. 

Mantz, who won two NCAA Division 1 cross country titles when he ran for Brigham Young University, rocketed around the 4.748-mile course in 2022 with the time of 21:04.  He knocked 12 seconds off the prior mark of 21:16 that Edward Cheserek set in 2018.

Also expected to be at the starting line will be last year’s runner-up, Morgan Beadlescomb.

Beadlescomb, a former Michigan State All-American, shadowed Mantz across the finish stripe last November with a time of 21:05.

Beadlescomb’s time is the second fastest-ever run on the Manchester course. Last year’s elite field was so strong that the first five runners to finish all eclipsed Cheserek’s former record, according to race officials.

“We are extremely pleased that last year’s top two finishers, Conner Mantz and Morgan Beadlescomb, are returning this year,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “It is going to be another very exciting race."

Mantz placed sixth last month at the Chicago Marathon with the personal record and Olympic standard qualifying time of 2:07:47. Beadlescomb, 25, ran a personal best time of 13:08.82 for 5000 meters at a meet in Los Angeles in May and won the USATF national 5-K championship at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K in 13:44 on Nov. 4th.

 The 87th Manchester Road Race, which was recognized as a 2023 World Athletics Label Event, will be held on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, at 10 a.m. It starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church. The road race is organized by 500 volunteers from the Manchester Road Race Committee, with support from the Town of Manchester. 

 

(11/08/2023) Views: 290 ⚡AMP
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Manchester Road Race

Manchester Road Race

The Manchester Road race is one of New England’s oldest and most popular road races. The 86th Manchester Road Race will be held on Thanksgiving Day. It starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. The Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance recently honored the Manchester Road Race. The CSWA, which is comprised of sports journalists and broadcasters...

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Isai Rodriguez, Sam Chelanga capture gold and silver for U.S. in men´s 10,000 meters at Pan American Games

Isai Rodriguez and Sam Chelanga made history Friday at the Pan American Games, becoming the first American teammates to take the top two spots in the men’s 10,000-meter final at Julio Martinez Pradanos National Stadium in Santiago, Chile.

Rodriguez, an All-American at Oklahoma State, and Chelanga – the collegiate 10,000 record holder from 2010 at Liberty – became the first pair of teammates from any country since 1979 and only the third tandem in meet history to secure gold and silver in the event.

Rodriguez prevailed in 28 minutes, 17.84 seconds, the fastest Pan Am Games winning performance since 2007, and Chelanga clocked 29:01.21, with Guatemala’s Alberto Gonzalez earning bronze in 29:12.24.

Rodriguez and Chelanga joined Mexico’s Rodolfo Gomez and Enrique Aquino in 1979, along with Luis Hernandez and Gomez in 1975 as the only teammates to sweep the top two spots in the men’s 10,000.

Rodriguez secured the first 10,000 gold for the U.S. since Bruce Bickford triumphed in 1987 in Indiana.

It marked the second straight Pan Am Games that the Americans had two athletes on the 10,000 podium, with Reid Buchanan and Lawi Lalang achieving silver and bronze in 2019 in Peru. The U.S. also had a pair of 10,000 medalists in 1967 in Winnipeg.

The Americans added bronze medals in the women’s 1,500-meter final and javelin throw competition, in addition to the men’s shot put, taking the lead with 19 overall medals entering the last day of the track and field schedule.

Brazil leads with seven gold medals and is second behind the Americans with 18 overall medals.

Darlan Romani triumphed for Brazil in the men’s shot put with a fifth-round effort of 70-1 (21.36m).

Mexico’s Uziel Aaron Munoz secured silver at 69-4.75 (21.15m), with former Arizona standout and NCAA Division 1 champion Jordan Geist edging fellow American athlete Roger Steen for bronze by a 67-4.25 (20.53m) to 67-3.50 (20.51m) margin.

Colombia’s Flor Denis Ruiz won the women’s javelin gold medal with a throw of 207 feet (63.10m) on her opening attempt.

Nebraska teammates Rhema Otabor, representing the Bahamas, and American competitor Maddie Harris captured silver and bronze, respectively. Otabor had a mark of 198-7 (60.54m) and Harris produced a throw of 197 feet (60.06m).

Venezuela’s Joselyn Brea completed a sweep of the women’s 1,500 and 5,000 titles, clocking 4:11.80 to edge Cuba’s Daily Cooper (4:11.86) and American athlete Emily Mackay (4:12.02).

Gianna Woodruff believed she had become the first female athlete from Panama to capture a Pan Am Games gold medal in any event, clocking 56.44 in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.

But Woodruff was later disqualified as a result of Rule 22.6.2, which states that an athlete is penalized after “knocking down or displacing any hurdle by hand, body or the upper side of the lead leg.”

Brazil’s Marlene Santos, who ran 57.18, was elevated to the event winner, with Daniela Rojas from Costa Rica earning silver in 57.41 and Montverde Academy of Florida senior Michelle Smith, representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, taking bronze in 57.53.

Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde emerged victorious in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 49.19.

Brazil’s Matheus Lima earned silver in 49.69 and Cuba’s Yoao Illas was the bronze medalist in 49.74.

Cuba’s Luis Enrique Zayas cleared 7-5.25 (2.27m) on his third attempt to prevail in the men’s high jump final.

Puerto Rico’s Luis Joel Castro achieved a 7-4.25 (2.24m) clearance on his first opportunity to capture silver, with Donald Thomas of the Bahamas grabbing bronze after achieving the height on his third try.

Cuba added two more medals in the men’s triple jump final, with Lazaro Martinez winning on his first attempt with a 56-4.75 (17.19m) performance.

Brazil’s Almir Dos Santos secured silver at 55-6.25 (16.92m) and Cuba’s Cristian Napoles took the bronze medal at 54-8 (16.66m), holding off American athlete Chris Benard and his fourth-place mark of 54-1 (16.48m).

(11/07/2023) Views: 260 ⚡AMP
by Erik Boal
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Pan American Games

Pan American Games

The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. It is the second...

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Morgan Beadlescomb, Annie Rodenfels win Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5k

Two runners won big at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K on Saturday in Central Park.

Morgan Beadlescomb, 2023 B.A.A. 5K champion, and three-time NCAA Division III champion Annie Rodenfels both captured the 2023 USA Track & Field (USTAF) 5K Championships.

Beadlescomb, 25, finished in 13:44, marking his debut in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.

Rodenfels, 27, captured the women's title in 15:22, after finishing fourth in the 2022 edition of the event.

Over 10,000 runners from across the country participated in the event Saturday morning, including top local athletes and many runners who are also running Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon.

The Abbott Dash served as a great warmup ahead of Sunday's marathon.

Runners started the race at the United Nations and then made their way across Midtown before ending at the marathon finish line in Central Park.

Eyewitness News sports reporter Sam Ryan spoke to Chris Miller of Abbott, who shared his excitement for Saturday's race.

"For 10,000 runners to take on these iconic streets of New York, as Abbott being a company about celebrating health and technology company, it is great to see," said Miller.

(11/05/2023) Views: 281 ⚡AMP
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Dash to the Finish Line

Dash to the Finish Line

Be a part of the world-famous TCS New York City Marathon excitement, run through the streets of Manhattan, and finish at the famed Marathon finish line in Central Park—without running 26.2 miles! On TCS New York City Marathon Saturday, our NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K (3.1 miles) will take place for all runners who want to join in...

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Lokedi keen to defend New York title as she faces off with Jepchichir, Obiri

Lokedi keen to defend New York title as she faces off with Jepchichir, Obiri.

The 2022 New York City Marathon winner Sharon Lokedi will be seeking to defend her title against a formidable women's field during the 52nd edition of the marathon slated for Sunday.

Lokedi won the race in what was her marathon debut last year, pulling away in the final two miles to finish the race in 2:23:23.

She became the eighth athlete to win the race on debut. She has, however, been dealing with an injury for the better part of the year, which forced her to withdraw from the Boston Marathon in April.

Lokedi will be up against the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir who will be eyeing the top prize. The 30-year-old is the only athlete to win the Olympics, the New York City Marathon and Boston Marathon.

The two-time World Half Marathon gold medalist had been unbeaten since winning Boston last year until Dutch runner Sifan Hassan defeated her in London last April.

Joining the duo will be two-time Olympic silver medalist Hellen Obiri who is fresh from a triumphant display in the Boston Marathon.

Also in the fold will be the former world record holder Brigid Kosgei and veteran Edna Kiplagat who is a two-time world champion, Boston, London, and New York City winner.

The Kenyan squad will face stiff competition from Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey who is a 10,000m and half-marathon world record holder.

She will be making her New York City Marathon debut after her 2022 victory in Valencia in 2:16:49, which is the fastest women’s marathon debut in history.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw from Ethiopia and USA’s double Olympian Molly Huddle will also be in contention for the title.

Leading the men’s elite race will be 2021 winner Albert Korir who will be seeking to duplicate his heroics during the 2021 edition.

He will be joined by Edwin Cheserek who is a 17-time NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) cross country champion.

2023 World Athletics Championship silver medalist Maru Teferi of Israel will be seeking to upset the Kenyan contingent as well as Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew.

Netherlands’s Olympic silver winner Abdi Nageeye and 2021 New York Marathon champion and Morocco's Zouahir Talbi will also be eyeing the top spot.

Three elite athletes have, however,  pulled out of the race including the defending champion Evans Chebet, his Kenyan compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor and Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase.

(11/02/2023) Views: 306 ⚡AMP
by Teddy Mulei
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TCS  New York City Marathon

TCS New York City Marathon

The first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...

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2023 NYC Marathon Men’s Preview

This year’s TCS New York City Marathon fields are very different. The women’s race is absolutely stacked — the best in race history and one of the greatest assembled in the history of the sport. If you haven’t read our women’s preview yet, go ahead and do it right now. The men’s race is more of a typical NYC field — a large diversity of nationalities with some premium East African talent at the top.

Initially, the headline showdown on the men’s side was going to be the battle betweeen 2022 champ Evans Chebet and 2017/2019 champ Geoffrey Kamworor, but both withdrew last month. Instead, the field is led by Ethiopians Tamirat Tola (the 2022 world champ) and Shura Kitata, who has twice finished as runner-up in NYC but never won. Throw in a rising Cam Levins and the debut of Edward Cheserek, and there will still be some intrigue on the men’s side, but this is without a doubt the shallowest men’s major of 2023. Here are the men to watch in Sunday’s field.

The Three Guys Who Have Won Majors Before

Tamirat Tola, Ethiopia, 2:03:39 pb (2021 Amsterdam), 32 years oldSignficant wins: 2017 Dubai, 2021 Amsterdam, 2022 Worlds

Shura Kitata, Ethiopia, 2:04:49 pb (2018 London), 27 years oldSignificant wins: 2017 Frankfurt, 2020 London

Albert Korir, Kenya, 2:08:03 pb (2019 Ottawa), 29 years oldSignificant wins: 2019 Houston, 2021 New York

When looking for a winner, the first place to start is the runners who have won a major before. Seven of the last 10 NYC men’s winners had already won a major when they won New York. Tola, Kitata, and Korir all fit that criteria, with Tola and Kitata particularly worth of note (though Korir is the only one of the trio to have won NYC before).

The world champion last year, Tola ran 2:03:40 in Valencia in December, then finished 3rd in London in April. He did drop out of his most recent marathon at Worlds in August, but it’s worth noting he was in 3rd at 37k and dropped out in the final 5k once he was no longer in medal position. He quickly rebounded to win the Great North Run on September 10 by more than a minute in 59:58. Tola has some experience in NYC, but has had the least success of the trio in New York — Tolas was 4th in his two previous appearances in 2018 and 2019.  Tola has won 3 of his career 16 marathons.

Kitata was second in NYC a year ago and was also second in 2018, when he ran 2:06:01 — the third-fastest time ever in NYC. When he’s on his game, he’s one of the best in the world — he broke Eliud Kipchoge‘s long win streak by winning the 2020 London Marathon. But Kitata is coming off one of the worst marathons of his career as he was only 14th in Boston in April. Kitata has won 3 of his 18 career marathons.

Korir won NYC in 2021 — granted, against a very watered-down field that included just one man with a pb under 2:07– and was 2nd in 2019, beating both Tola and Kitata in the process. A grinder, he most recently finished a solid 4th in Boston in 2:08:01 and will be a contender again on Sunday. Korir has won 5 of his career 15 marathons.

In my mind, there’s a roughly a 65% chance one of these guys is your winner on Sunday, with the remaining 35% split between a few slightly longer shots. Let’s get to them.

The Global Medalists

Abdi Nageeye, Netherlands, 2:04:56 pb (2022 Rotterdam), 34 years old

Maru Teferi, Israel, 2:06:43 pb (2022 Fukuoka), 31 years old 

Nageeye and Teferi have a lot in common. Both moved from East Africa to Europe as children (Nageeye from Somalia to the Netherlands when he was 6, Teferi from Ethiopia to Israel when he was 14). Both have earned global medals (2021 Olympic silver for Nageeye, 2023 World silver for Teferi). Both won a famous marathon in 2022 (Rotterdam for Nageeye, Fukuoka for Teferi). One more similarity: neither has won a World Marathon Major.

But if you’ve medalled at the Olympics/Worlds and won Rotterdam/Fukuoka, you’re pretty damn close to winning a major. Both are coming off the World Championship marathon in August, where Teferi took silver and Nageeye dropped out after 25k.

It would be a pretty cool story if either man won as it took both of them a while to reach their current level: Nageeye did not break 2:10 until his sixth marathon; Teferi did not do it until marathon #10! New York will be career marathon #20 for Nageeye (and he’s only won 1 of them) and #19 for Teferi (and he’s only won 2 of them), and runners almost never win their first major that deep into their careers. But Nageeye and Teferi have also continued to improve throughout their careers. They have a shot.

The Former NCAA Stars

Cam Levins, Canada, 2:05:36 pb (2023 Tokyo)

Edward Cheserek, Kenya, debut.

Though Levins was an NCAA champion on the track at Southern Utah — he actually beat out future Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo to win the 5,000 in 2012 — his triple sessions and mega-miles (170+ per week) suggested his body was built to withstand the pounding of the marathon. It took a few years, but Levins is now world-class, running a 2+ minute pb of 2:07:09 to finish 4th at Worlds last year, and following that up with another huge pb, 2:05:36 in Tokyo in March. He’s run faster than any North American athlete in history.

No Canadian has ever won New York, and Levins will need an off day or two by the big guns if he is to break that drought. But Levins was only 14 seconds off the win in Tokyo in March, and he may not be done improving. Of the three men seeded above him in NYC, two are coming off DNFs (Tola and Nageeye) and the other is coming off a poor showing in Boston (Kitata). If Sharon Lokedi can win NY, why can’t Levins?

Speaking of Loked, her partner Edward Cheserek is making his marathon debut on Sunday — something that is suddenly much more exciting after Cheserek took down 2:04 marathoner Bernard Koech to win the Copenhagen Half on September 17 in 59:11. While Cheserek has had a few standout performances since graduating from the University of Oregon since 2017 (3:49 mile, 27:23 10k), his professional career has largely been one of frustration following 17 NCAA titles in Eugene. In six pro seasons, Cheserek has competed in just two Diamond Leagues (finishing 15th and 7th) and never run at a global championship.

Throughout that time, Cheserek’s desire had been to stay on the track, which was one of the reasons he split with coach Stephen Haas to reunite with his college coach Andy Powell. Based on what he had seen in training, Haas believed Cheserek was better suited for the marathon and told him as much. Now, after spending time training in Kenya — 2022 NYC champ Evans Chebet is a friend and occasional training partner — Cheserek has decided to make the leap.

“A lot of people have probably got in his ear and said, look you can be really good at this if you commited to it and trained for it,” said Haas, who remains Cheserek’s agent. “…He’s going really, really well. I was super impressed with him when I was over in Kenya, his long runs, his ability to up his volume…I really think this is where he’s gonna find himself as a pro runner and I think he’s got a lot of years, a lot of races to come as a marathoner.”

What is he capable of his first time out? New York is a tough course on which to debut, but Cheserek is an intriguing wild card. In the last two years, we’ve seen unheralded former NCAA stars hang around far longer than anyone expected on the women’s side, with Viola Cheptoo almost stealing the race in 2021 and Lokedi winning it last year. The men’s races have played out somewhat differently, but if this race goes slower and Cheserek is able to weather with the surges of the lead pack, he could be dangerous over the final miles.

Promising Talents that Would Need a Breakthrough to Win

Zouhair Talbi, Morocco, 2:08:35 pb (2023 Boston), 28 years old

Jemal Yimer, Ethiopia, 2:08:58 pb (2022 Boston), 27 years old

Based on what they’ve done in the marathon so far, both of these guys need to step up a level to actually win a major. But both have intriguing potential with Yimer being the much more likely winner.

Yimer formerly held the Ethiopian half marathon record at 58:33 and just finished 4th at the World Half. He’s only finished 2 of his 4 career marathons, however. But he’s in good form. Earlier in the year, he racked up good showings on the US road scene – winning Bloomsday in May,  finishing 4th at Peachtree and winning the Utica Boilermaker in July before running 58:38 in the half in August. Most recently he was fourth  (59:22) at the World half a month ago.

Talbi, the former NAIA star for Oklahoma City who has run 13:18 and 27:20 on the track, was 5th in his debut in Boston in April, running 2:08:35 in against a strong field.

The Americans

Elkanah Kibet, USA, 2:09:07 pb (2022 Boston), 40 years old

Futsum Zienasellassie, USA, 2:09:40 pb (2023 Rotterdam), 30 years old.

There are a few other US men in New York, including 2:10 guys Nathan Martin and Reed Fischer, but Kibet and Zienasellassie are the most intriguing. Kibet is 40 years old but has churned out a number of solid results recently — 4th at ’21 NYC, 2:09:07 pb at ’22 Boston, 2:10:43 at ’23 Prague. Zienasellassie, meanwhile, has run two strong races to open his marathon career: 2:11:01 to win 2022 CIM, then 2:09:40 in April to finish 11th in Rotterdam.

Ben Rosario, executive director of Zienasellassie’s NAZ Elite team, told LetsRun Zienasellassie is running New York in part because his idol, fellow Eritrean-American Meb Keflezighi, has a deep connection to the race, winning it in 2009. The other reason? To challenge himself in terms of his in-race decision making and get some reps in an unpaced race before the Olympic Trials.

(11/02/2023) Views: 319 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault
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TCS  New York City Marathon

TCS New York City Marathon

The first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...

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Record-Holder Weini Kelati looking for 3-peat at Manchester Road Race

Manchester Road Race women's course record-holder Weini Kelati has committed to defend her back-to-back titles this Thanksgiving.

The Manchester Road Race Committee announced today that Kelati's manager recently confirmed that the 26-year-old will be at the starting line when the 87th Manchester Road Race takes place on Thanksgiving Day.

Kelati in 2021 won the women's championship in 22:55 while shredding more than a minute off the prior mark of 23:57 held by Buze Diriba. She ran with the men's leader pack for much of that race and finished in 18th place overall.

An 11-time All-American runner when she competed for the University of New Mexico, Kelati also won the MRR last year. Her time of 23:39 at the 2022 MRR rates as the second-fastest time run by a woman on the 4.748-mile Manchester course.

"Weini is an amazing athlete with exceptional grit, speed and endurance who has had two incredible performances at our road race," said Dr. Tris Carta, the president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. "We are very excited that she is coming back to Manchester for the third straight year."

Kelati was born in Eritrea and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. She now calls Flagstaff, Arizona, home. She was the NCAA Division I champion in cross country and the 10,000 meters while in college. Kelati won the 2023 USATF 10K women’s championship in September with a time of 31:57, and earlier this year she ran a personal best time of 31:04 for the 10,000 meters.

The 87th Manchester Road Race, which will take place at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23), has been named a 2023 World Athletic Label Event by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of track and field. It is one of only 238 races in the world, and 15 in the United States, to receive that designation, which recognizes an event’s commitment to anti-doping and clean sport.

The road race is run on a loop course through Manchester's central streets and starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.

(11/01/2023) Views: 275 ⚡AMP
by Chris Dehnel
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Manchester Road Race

Manchester Road Race

The Manchester Road race is one of New England’s oldest and most popular road races. The 86th Manchester Road Race will be held on Thanksgiving Day. It starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. The Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance recently honored the Manchester Road Race. The CSWA, which is comprised of sports journalists and broadcasters...

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Olympians and national champions to headline stacked professional athlete field at 2023 USATF 5K Championships

Weini Kelati, Courtney Frerichs, Keira D’Amato, Woody Kincaid, and Zach Panning to race for world’s largest 5K prize purse; Nearly 10,000 runners to follow in footsteps of pros by racing Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.

Five Olympians, one Paralympian, and four athletes who competed at this year’s World Athletics Championships will race in the 2023 USA Track & Field (USATF) 5K Championships at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K on Saturday, November 4. The event will take place in Midtown Manhattan the day prior to the TCS New York City Marathon and will be broadcast live on USATF.TV. Abbott will return as the title partner of the event which features a $79,500 prize purse – the largest of any 5K race in the world.

In the women’s race, two-time NCAA champion Weini Kelati will return in search of her third consecutive title in the event. Each of the last two years she has smashed the event record, taking the tape in 15:18 in 2021 and 15:15 in 2022. She will be challenged for the top spot on the podium this year by three-time national champion Keira D’Amato, 2023 U.S. cross-country champion Ednah Kurgat, and U.S. Olympians Abbey Cooper, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley, and Rachel Smith.

“Doing the Abbott Dash 5K is becoming a little bit of a early season tradition for me,” Kelati said. “Although my fall season looked a little bit different this year because of the opportunity I had to represent Team USA at the World Road Running Championships in Latvia, I’m really happy I get to come back to New York to try for my third straight 5K national title.”

Woody Kincaid, the U.S. 10,000-meter champion and American record-holder in the indoor 5,000 meters, will lead the men’s field. Lining up against him will be Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, the top American finisher at the World Athletics Championships marathon this year Zach Panning, 2023 B.A.A. 5K champion Morgan Beadlescomb, and last year’s fourth through sixth-place finishers in New York, Ahmed Muhumed, Alec Basten, and Brian Barraza.

“I still see my career being mostly on the track for the next few years, but I like the idea of throwing in some more road races when it makes sense,” Kincaid said. “As I look towards the Paris Games, the Abbott Dash will be a nice jump-start to my 2024 training, and it will be cool to be in the middle of the big city marathon hoopla without having to go the full 26.2.”

Following in the footsteps of the professional athletes, nearly 10,000 runners will participate in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, including top local athletes and many runners in the marathon on November 5.

Abbott, the title sponsor of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, is the sponsor of the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K for the seventh time. Abbott, a global healthcare leader, helps people live more fully with life-changing technology and celebrate what’s possible with good health.

The Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K annually provides TCS New York City Marathon supporters, friends, and families the opportunity to join in on the thrill of marathon race week. The course begins on Manhattan’s east side by the United Nations, then takes runners along 42nd Street past historic Grand Central Terminal and up the world-famous Avenue of the Americas past Radio City Music Hall. It then passes through the rolling hills of Central Park before finishing at the iconic TCS New York City Marathon finish line.

The Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K and USATF 5K Championships will be broadcast live via USATF.TV. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 8:20 a.m. ET with the first race starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.

About New York Road Runners (NYRR)

NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, virtual races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features a wide population of runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.

 

(10/27/2023) Views: 314 ⚡AMP
by Running USA
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Dash to the Finish Line

Dash to the Finish Line

Be a part of the world-famous TCS New York City Marathon excitement, run through the streets of Manhattan, and finish at the famed Marathon finish line in Central Park—without running 26.2 miles! On TCS New York City Marathon Saturday, our NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K (3.1 miles) will take place for all runners who want to join in...

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Molly Seidel Stunned the World (and Herself) with Olympic Bronze in Tokyo. Then Life Went Sideways.

She stunned the world (and herself) with Olympic bronze in Tokyo. Then life went sideways. How America’s unexpected marathon phenom is getting her body—and brain—back on track. 

On a clear December night in 2019, Molly Seidel was at a rooftop holiday party in Boston, wearing a black velvet dress, doing what a lot of 25-year-olds do: passing a joint between friends, wondering what she was doing with her life.

“You should run the Olympic Trials,” her sister, Izzy, said, as smoke swirled in the chilly air atop The Trackhouse, a retail shop and community hub on Newbury Street operated by the running brand Tracksmith. “That would be hilarious if you did that as your first marathon.” 

Molly, an elite 10K racer who’d spent much of 2019 injured, looked out at the city lights, and laughed. Why the hell not? She’d just qualified for the trials, winning the San Antonio Half with a time of 1:10:27. (“The shock of the century,” as she’d put it.) True, 13.1 miles wasn’t 26.2—but running a marathon was something to do. If only because she never had before. 

A four-time NCAA track and cross-country champion at The University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Molly had moved to Boston in 2017, where she’d worked three jobs to supplement her fourth: running for Saucony’s Freedom Track Club. The $34,000 a year that Saucony paid her (pre-tax, sans medical) didn’t go far in one of America’s most expensive cities. Chasing kids around as a babysitter, driving around as an Instacart shopper, and standing around eight hours a day as a barista—when you’re running 20 miles a day—wasn’t ideal. But whatever, she had compression socks. And she was downing free coffee and paying rent, flying to Flagstaff, Arizona, every so often for altitude camps, and having a good time. Doing what she loved. The only thing she’s ever wanted to do since she was a freckly fifth-grader in small-town Wisconsin clocking a six-minute mile in gym class. 

“I was hustling, and I loved it. It was such a fun, cool time of my life,” she says, summarizing her 20s. Staring into Molly’s steely brown eyes, listening to her speak with such clarity and conviction about her struggles since, it’s easy to forget: She is still only 29. 

After Molly had hip surgery on her birthday in July 2018, her doctors gave her a 50/50 chance of running professionally again. By summer 2019, she’d parted ways with FTC, which left her sobbing on the banks of the Charles River, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and uncertainty. Her biggest achievement lately had been being named #2 Top Instacart Shopper (in Flagstaff; Boston was big-time).

The day after that rooftop party, Molly asked her friend and former FTC teammate Jon Green, who she’d newly anointed as her coach: “Think I should run the marathon trials?” Sure, he shrugged. Nothing to lose. Maybe it’d help her train for the 10K, her best shot—they both thought—at making a U.S. Olympic team. 

“I’m going to get my ass kicked six ways to Sunday!” she told the host of the podcast Running On Om six weeks before the trials in Atlanta.

Instead, on February 29, 2020, she kicked some herself. Pushing past 448 of the fastest, most-experienced women marathoners in the country, coming in second with a 2:27:31, earning more in prize money ($60,000) than she had in two years of racing—and a spot on the U.S. trio for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, along with Kenyan-born superstars Aliphine Tuliamuk and Sally Kipyego. “I don’t know what’s happening right now!” Molly kept saying into TV cameras, wrapped in an American flag, as stunned as a lottery winner. 

Saucony who? Puma came calling. Along with something Molly hadn’t anticipated: the spotlight. An onslaught of social media followers. And two weeks later, a global pandemic and lockdown—and all the anxiety and isolation that came with it. She was drowning, and she hadn’t even landed in Tokyo yet.

The 2020 Olympics, as we all know, were postponed to 2021. An emotional burden but a physical boon for Molly, in that it allowed her to get in a second marathon. In London, she finished two minutes faster than her debut. When the Olympics finally rolled around, she was ready. 

Before the race, Molly says, “I was thinking: ‘Once I cross the starting line, I get to call myself an Olympian and that’s a win for the day.’” 

But then she crossed the finish line—with a finger-kiss to the sky and a guttural Yesss!—in third place with a 2:27:46, just 26 seconds behind first (Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir). And realized: She gets to call herself an Olympic medalist forever. Only the third American woman to ever earn one in the marathon.

Lots of kids have fleeting hopes of making it to the Olympics. I remember thinking I could be Mary Lou Retton. Maybe FloJo, with shorter fingernails. Then I decided I’d rather be Madonna or president of the United States and promptly forgot about it. But Molly held tight to her Olympic aspirations. She still has a poster she made in 2004, with stickers and a snapshot of her smiley 10-year-old self, to prove it. “I wish I will make it into the Olympics and win a gold medal,” she wrote, and signed it: Molly Seidel, the “y” looping back to underline her name. In case there was any doubt as to who, specifically, would be winning the medal.

Molly grew up in Nashotah, Wisconsin, and is the eldest of three. Her sister and brother, younger by not quite two years, are twins. Izzy is a running influencer and corporate content creator for companies like Peloton; and Fritz favors Formula 1 racing and weightlifting and works for the family’s leather-tanning business. The family was active, sporty. Dad, Fritz Sr., was a ski racer in college; Mom, Anne, a cheerleader. You can tell. Watching clips of Molly’s mom and dad watching the Olympic race from their backyard patio, jumping up and down, tears streaming, is the kind of life-affirming moment you wish you could bottle. “I’m in shock. I’m in disbelief,” Molly says into the mic, beaming. “I just wanted to come out today and I don’t know…stick my nose where it didn’t belong and see what I could come away with. And I guess that’s a medal.” When the interviewer holds up her family on FaceTime, Molly breaks down. “We did it,” she says into the screen between sobs and smiles. “Please drink a beer for me.

Molly hasn’t always been unabashedly herself, even when everyone thought she was. A compartmentalizer to the core, she spent most of her life hiding a huge part of it: anorexia, bulimia, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, debilitating depression. 

It started around age 11, when she learned to disguise OCD tendencies, like compulsively knocking on wood, silently reciting prayers “to avoid God getting mad at me,” she says. “It was a whole thing.” She says her parents were aware of the behaviors, but saw them more as odd little habits. “They had no reason to suspect anything. I was very high-functioning,” she says. “They didn’t realize that it was literally taking over my life.” 

She wasn’t officially diagnosed with OCD until her freshman year of college, when she saw a therapist for the first time. At Notre Dame, disordered eating took hold, quietly yet visibly, as it does for up to 62 percent of female college athletes, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. As recently as the Tokyo Olympics, she was making herself throw up in the airport bathroom, mere days before taking the podium. Molly hesitates to share that detail; she fears a girl might read this and interpret it as behavior to model. “Having been in that place as a younger athlete, I know I would have,” she says. But she also understands: Most people just don’t get how unrelenting eating disorders can be. 

In February 2022, she finally received a diagnosis of the root cause for all of it: ADHD. About being diagnosed, she says, “It made me feel really good, like [I don’t have] a million different disorders. I have a disorder that manifests itself in a lot of different symptoms.”

She waited to try Adderall until after the Boston Marathon in April, only to drop out at mile 16 due to a hip impingement. Initially, the meds made her feel fantastic. Focused. Free. Until she realized Adderall hurt more than it helped. She couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, lost too much weight. Within weeks, she devolved. “The eating disorder came roaring back,” she says, referring to it, as she often does, as its own entity, something that exists outside of herself. That ruthlessly takes control over her very need for control. “I almost think of it as an alter ego,” she explains. “Adderall was just bubblegum in the dam,” as she puts it. She ditched the drug, and her life—professionally, physically—unraveled.

In July 2022, heading into the World Championships, she bombed the mental health screening, answering the questions with brutal honesty. She’d been texting Keira D’Amato weeks prior. “Yo girl, things are pretty bad right now. Get ready…” Sobbing on the sidewalk in Eugene, Oregon, she texted D’Amato again. And the USATF made it official: D’Amato would take her spot on the team. Then Molly did what she’d been “putting off and putting off”— checked herself into eating disorder treatment for the second time since 2016, an outpatient program in Salt Lake City, where her new boyfriend was living at the time. 

Somehow (see: expert compartmentalizer) mid-meltdown, in February 2022, she had met an amateur ultrarunner named Matt, on Hinge. A quiet, lanky photographer, he didn’t totally get what she did. “I didn’t understand the gravity of it,” he tells me. “I was like, Oh she’s a pro runner, that’s cool. I didn’t realize she was, like, the pro runner!” 

Going back to treatment “was pretty terrible,” she says. At least she could stay with Matt. Hardly a honeymoon phase, but the new relationship held promise. “I laid it all out there,” says Molly. “And he was still here for it, for all the messiness. It was really meaningful.” And a mental shift. “He doesn’t see me as just Molly the Runner.”

Almost a year later, on a freezing April evening in Flagstaff, Molly is racing around Whole Foods, palming a head of cabbage, grabbing a thing of hummus, hunting for deals even though she doesn’t need to anymore. 

“It’s all about speed, efficiency, and quality,” she says, explaining the secret to her earlier Instacart success. She checks the expiration date on a container of goat cheese and beelines for the butcher counter, scans it faster than an Epson DS3000, though not without calculation, and requests two tomato-and-mozzarella-stuffed chicken breasts. Then she darts over to the beverage aisle in her marshmallow-y Puma slip-ons that Matt custom-painted with orange poppies. She grabs a case of La Croix (tangerine), then zips to the checkout. We’re in and out in under 15 minutes and 50 bucks, nothing bruised or broken.

Other than her body. Let’s just say: If Molly were an avocado or a carton of eggs, she probably wouldn’t pass her own sniff test. The week we meet, she is just coming off a month of no running. Not a single mile. She’s used to running twice a day, 130 miles a week. No wonder she’s spraying her kitchen counter with Mrs. Meyer’s and scrubbing the stovetop within minutes of welcoming me into her new home. 

The place, which she shares with Matt and his Australian border collie, Rye, has a post-college flophouse feel: a deep L-shaped couch draped in Pendleton blankets, a bar cluttered with bottles of discount wine, a floor lamp leaning like the Tower of Pisa next to a chew toy in the shape of a ranch dressing bottle. Scattered about, though, are reminders that an elite runner sleeps here. Or at least tries to. (“Pro runner by day, mild insomniac by night” reads the bio on her rarely used account on what used to be Twitter.) There’s a stick of Chafe Safe on the coffee table. Shalane Flanagan’s cookbooks on the counter. And framed in glass, propped on the office floor: Molly’s Olympic kit—blue racing briefs with the Nike Swoosh, a USA singlet, her once-sweat-drenched American flag, folded in a triangle. “I’m not sure where to hang it,” she says. “It seems a little ostentatious to have it in the living room.” 

With long brown curls and a round, freckly face, Molly has an aw-shucks look so innocent that it’s hard, at first, to perceive her struggles. Flat-out ask her, though—How are you even functioning?—and she’ll tell you: “I’m an absolute wreck. There’s no worse feeling than being a pro runner who can’t run. You just feel fucking useless.” Tidying a stack of newspapers, she adds, “Don’t worry, I’ve had therapy today.” 

She’s watched every show. (Save Ted Lasso, “too sickly sweet.”) Listened to every podcast. (Armchair Expert is a favorite.) She’s got nothing else to do but PT and go easy on the ElliptiGo in the garage, onto which she’s rigged a wooden bookstand, currently clipped with A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. “I don’t read running books,” she says. “I need something different.”

Like most runners—even the most amateur among us—running, moving, is what keeps her sane. “What about swimming? Can you at least swim?” I ask, projecting my own desperation if I were in her size 8.5 shoes. “I fucking hate swimming,” says Molly. Walking? “Oh, yeah, I can go on walks. Another. Long. Walk.”

The only thing she has on her schedule this week is pumping up a local middle school track team before their big meet. The invitation boosted her spirits. “Should I just memorize Miracle on Ice?” she says, laughing. “No, I know, I’ll do Independence Day.”

Injuries are nothing new for Molly. Par for the course for any professional athlete. But especially for women, like her, who lack bone density—and have since high school, when, according to a study in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine, nearly half of female runners experience period loss. Osteoporosis and its precursor, osteopenia, are rampant in female runners, leading to ongoing issues that threaten not just their college and professional running careers, but their lives.

Still, Molly admits, laughing: She’s especially accident-prone. I ask her to list every scratch she’s ever had, which takes her 10 minutes, and goes all the way back to babyhood, when she banged her head against the bathtub spout. There was a cracked spine from a sledding incident in 8th grade, a broken collarbone from a ski race in high school, shredded knee cartilage in college when a driver hit her while she was riding a bike. “Ribs are constantly breaking,” she says. In 2021, two snapped, and refused to heal in time for the New York City Marathon. No biggie. She ran through the pain with a 2:24:42, besting Deena Kastor’s 2008 time by more than a minute and setting the American course record.

Molly’s latest injury? Glute tear. “Literally a gigantic pain in the ass,” she posted on Instagram in March. Inside, Molly was devastated. Pulling out of the Nagoya Marathon—the night before her 6:45 a.m. flight to Japan, no less—was not in the plan. The plan, according to Coach Green, had been simple. It always is. If the two of them even have one. “Just to have fun and be consistent.” And get a marathon or two in before the Olympic Trials in February 2024. 

She’d been finally—finally—fit on all fronts; ready to race, ready to return. She needed Nagoya. And then, nothing. “It feels like I’m back at the bottom of the well,” says Molly, driving home from Whole Foods in her Toyota 4Runner. “This last year-and-a-half has been so difficult. It’s just been a lot of doubt. How do I approach this, as someone who has now won a medal? Like, man, am I even relevant in this sport anymore?” She pops a piece of gum in her mouth. I wait for her to offer me some, because that’s what you do with gum, but she doesn’t. She’s so in her head. “It’s hard when you’re in the thick of it, you know, to figure out: Why the fuck do I keep doing this? When it just breaks my heart over and over and over again?” 

We pull into her driveway. “I was prepared for the low period after Tokyo,” she says. “But this has been much longer and lower than I expected.” 

The curse of making it to the Olympics, let alone coming back with a medal: expectations. Molly’s own were high. “I think I thought, after the Olympics, if I win a medal, then I will be fixed, it will fix everything.” Instead, in a way, it made everything worse. 

That’s the problem that has plagued Molly for most of her running career: Her triumphs and troubles intermingle, like thunder and lightning. Which, by the way, she has been struck by. (A minor backyard-grill, summer-thunderstorm incident. She was fine.)

The next morning in Flagstaff, Molly’s feeling like she can run a mile, maybe two. It’s snowing, though, and she doesn’t want to risk the slippery track, so we meet at Campbell Mesa Trails. She loops a band around the back of her truck to stretch and sends me off into the trees to run alone while she does a couple of laps on the street.

Molly leaves for an acupuncture appointment, and we reunite later at Single Speed Coffee (“the best coffee in Flagstaff,” promises the ex-barista who drinks up to three cups a day). We curl up on a couch like it’s her living room, and she talks as freely—and as loudly—as if it was. Does she realize everyone can hear her? She doesn’t care. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve grown so comfortable sharing—in therapy, on podcasts, in a three-part video series on ADHD for WebMD—you just…share. Loud and proud. 

Mental illness is so insidious, says Molly. “It’s not always this Sylvia Plath stick-my-head-in-a-fucking-oven thing, where you’re sad all the time,” she says. “High-functioning depressed people live normal successful lives. I can be having the happiest moment, and three days later I’m in a total downward spiral.” It’s something you never recover from, she says, but you learn to manage. 

“I’m this incredibly flawed person who struggles so much. I think: How could I have won this thing when I’m so flawed? I look at all the people around me, all these accomplished people who have their shit together, and I’m like, ‘one of these things is not like the other,’” she says, taking a sip of her flat white. “I was literally in the Olympic Village thinking: Everybody is probably looking at me wondering: Why the hell is she here?” 

They weren’t. They don’t. She knows that. 

And yet her mind races as fast as she does. It takes up So. Much. Space. When she’s running, though, the noise disappears. She’s not Olympic Molly or Eating Disorder Molly, she’s not even, really, Runner Molly. “When I’m running,” she says, “I’m the most authentic version of myself.” 

Talking helps, too. Molly first shared her mental health history a few years ago, “before she was famous,” as she puts it. After the Olympics, though, she kept talking and hasn’t stopped. The Tokyo Games were a turning point, she says. Suddenly the most revered athletes in the world were opening up about their mental health. Molly credits Simone Biles’s bravery for her own. If Biles, and Michael Phelps and Naomi Osaka, could come clean... then maybe a nerdy, niche-y, unlikely medaling marathoner could, too.

“Those guys got a lot more shit for it than I did,” says Molly. “I got off easy. I’m not a household name,” she laughs. She knows she can be candid and off the cuff—and chat freely in a not-empty café—in a way Biles never could. “I’m a nobody!” she laughs.

Still, a nobody with 232,000 Instagram followers whom she has touched in very IRL ways—becoming an unintentional poster woman for normalizing mental health challenges among athletes. “You are such an incredible inspiration,” @1percentpeterson posts, one comment of a zillion similar. “It’s ok to not be ok!” says another. Along with all the online love is, of course, online hate. Molly rattles off a few lowlights: “She’s an attention-seeking whore,” “Her bones are so brittle she’ll never race again,” “She’s running so badly and posting a lot she should really focus on her running more.” Molly finds it curious. “I’m like, ‘If you hate me, you don’t need to follow me, sir.’” 

It’s Molly’s nobody-ness—what Outside writer Martin Fritz Huber called her “runner-next-door” persona, and I’ll just call “genuine personality”—that has made her somebody in running’s otherwise reserved circles. 

Somebody who (gasp!) high-fives her sister in the middle of a major race, as she did at mile 18 of the 2021 New York City Marathon. “They shat on me in the broadcast for it,” she says. “They were like, ‘She’s not taking this seriously.’” (Except, uh, then she set the American course record, so…) 

Somebody who, obviously, swears like a sailor and dances awkwardly on Instagram, who dresses up like a turkey, and viral-tweets about getting mansplained on an airplane. (“He starts telling me how I need to train high mileage & pulls up an analysis he’d made of a pro runner’s training on his phone. The pro runner was me. It was my training. Didn’t have the heart to tell him.”)

Somebody who makes every middle-aged mom-runner I know swoon like a Swiftie and say: “OMG! YOU HUNG OUT WITH MOLLY SEIDEL!!?” Middle-aged dad-runners, too. “I saw her once in Golden Gate Park!” my friend Dan fanboyed when he heard. “I waved!” Did she wave back? “She smiled,” he says, “while casually laying down 5:25s.”

And somebody who was as outraged as I was that I bought a $16 tube of French toothpaste from my hip Flagstaff motel. (It was 10 p.m.! It was all they had!) “For that price it better contain top-shelf cocaine,” she texted. Lest LetsRun commenters take that tidbit out of context: It’s a joke. It’s, in part, what makes Molly America’s most relatable pro runner: She’s not afraid to make jokes. (While we’re at it… Don’t knock her for smoking a little legal weed, either. That’s so 2009. Per the World Anti-Doping Agency: Cannabis is prohibited during competition, not at a Christmas party two months before it. Per Molly: “People would be shocked to know how many pro runners smoke weed.”)

I can’t believe I never asked to see it. Molly’s medal. A real, live Olympic medal. Maybe because it was tucked into a credenza along with Matt’s menorah and her maneki-neko cat figurines from Japan. But I think it was because hanging out with Molly felt so…normal, I almost forgot she’d won one. 

People think elite distance runners have to be one-dimensional, she says. That they have to be sculpted, single-minded, running-only robots. “Because that’s what the sport has been,” she says. 

Molly falls for it, too, she says. She scrolls the feeds, sees her fellow pros living seemingly perfect lives. She wants everyone to know: She’s not. So much so that she requested we not print the photos originally commissioned for this story, which were taken when she was at the lowest of lows. (“It’s been...refreshing...to be pretty open and real with Rachel [about] the challenges of the last year,” she wrote in an email to Runner’s World editors. “But the photos [were taken at] a time when I was really struggling and actively trying to hide how bad my eating disorder had become.”)

Molly finds the NYC Marathon high-five thing comical but indicative of a more serious issue in elite running: It takes itself too seriously. It’s too…elitist. Too stilted. “Running a marathon is a pretty freaking cool experience!” If you’re not having fun, she asks rhetorically, what’s the point? Still, she admits, she isn’t always having fun. Though you wouldn’t know it from her Instagram. “Oh, I’m very good at making it seem like I am,” she says.

She used to enjoy social media when it was just her friends. Before she gained 50,000 followers in a single day after the trials, and some 70,000 on Strava. Before the pandemic, before the Olympics. Keeping up with content became a toxic chore. “You feel like you’re just feeding this beast and it’s never going to stop,” she says. She’s taken to deleting the app off her phone, reloading it only to fulfill contractual agreements and post for her sponsors, then deleting it again. 

As much as she hates having to post, she enjoys plugging products the only way that feels natural: through parody. As does Izzy, her influencer sister, who, like Molly, prefers to skewer rather than shill (à la their idea behind their joint Insta account: @sadgirltrackclub). “The classic influencer tropes make me want to throw up,” she says (perverse pun as a recovering bulimic not intended). “New Gear Drop!’ or ‘This is my Outfit of the Day!’ Cringe. “Hot Girl Instagram is not how I identify,” she says. 

Nor is TikTok. “Sponsors tell me all the time: You should TikTok! I’m like, ‘I am not doing TikTok.’ I know how my brain works. They’ll say, ‘We’ll pay you less if you don’t’—and I’m, like, I don’t care.”

And to those sponsors who ghosted her after she returned to eating disorder treatment, good riddance. “Michelob dropped me like a bad habit,” she says. “Whatever. You have watery-ass beer anyway.”

To those who have stood by her, though, she’s utterly devoted. Pissed she couldn’t wear the Puma panther head to toe in Tokyo, Molly took off her Puma Deviate Elites and tied them over her shoulder, obscuring the Nike logo on her Olympic singlet for all the world to see. Or not see. “Nike isn’t paying my fucking bills.”

The love is mutual, says Erin Longin, a general manager at Puma. After decades backing legends like Usain Bolt, Puma was relaunching road running and wanted Molly as their guinea pig. “She’s a serious athlete and competitor, but she also has fun with it,” says Longin. “Running should be fun. Molly embodies that.” At their first meeting, in January 2020, Molly made them laugh and nerded out over their new shoes. “We all left there, fingers crossed she’d sign with us,” says Longin.

Come February, they all flipped out. Longin was watching the trials, not expecting much. And then: “We were all messaging, “OMG!!” Then Molly killed in London. Medaled in Tokyo. “What she did for us in that first year…” says Longin. “We couldn’t have planned it!” 

Then came the second year, and the third, and throughout it all—injuries, eating disorder treatment, missed races, missed opportunities—Puma hasn’t flinched. “It’s easy for a company to do the right thing when everything is going great,” Molly posted in April, heartbroken from her couch instead of Heartbreak Hill. “But it’s when the sh*t hits the fan and they’re still right there with you….” She received 35,000 hearts—and a call from Longin: “You make me feel so proud.” 

Does it matter to Puma if Molly never places—never races—again? “Nope,” Longin says. 

My last afternoon in Flagstaff, it’s cloudy skies, still freezing. I find Molly on the high school track wearing neoprene gloves, black puffy coat, another pair of Pumas. Her breath is white, her cheeks red. Her legs churning in even, elegant strides. Upright, alone, at peace, backed by snow-dusted peaks. Running itself is what matters, not racing, she tells me. “I honestly don’t give a shit about winning,” she says. All she wants—really wants, she says—is to be healthy enough to run until she’s old and gray.

Molly’s favorite runner is one who didn’t get to grow old. Who made his mark decades before she was born: Steve Prefontaine. “Pre raced in such a genuine way. He made people feel something,” she says. “The sports performances you truly remember,” she adds, “are the ones where you see the struggle, the work, the realness.” 

Sounds familiar. “I hate conversations like, ‘Who’s the GOAT?’” Molly continues. “Who fucking cares? Who’s got the story that’s going to get people excited? That’s going to make some kid want to go out and do it?” 

I know one of those kids: My best friend’s daughter, Quinn, a rising track phenom in Oregon, who has dealt with anxiety and OCD tendencies. She has a picture of Molly Seidel, and her times, taped to her bedroom wall. This past May, Quinn joined Nike’s Bowerman Club. She was named Oregon Female Athlete of the Year Under 12 by USATF. She wants to run for Notre Dame. 

“Quinn loves running more than anything,” her mom tells me, texting photos of her elated 11-year-old atop the podium. “But I don’t know…” She’s unsure about setting her daughter on this path. How could she not, though? It’s all Quinn wants to do. Maybe what Quinn, too, feels born to do. 

It’ll be okay, I tell her, I hope. Quinn has something Molly never had: She has a Molly. 

Molly and I catch up via phone in June. A team of doctors in Germany has overhauled her biomechanics. She’s been running 110 miles a week, feeling healthy, hopeful. Happy. A month later, severe anemia (and accompanying iron infusions) interrupts her summer racing schedule. She cancels the couple of 10Ks she had planned and entertains herself by popping into the UTMB Speedgoat Mountain Race: a 28K trail run through Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon—coming in second with a 3:49:58. Molly’s focus is on the Chicago Marathon, October 8th; her first major race in almost two years. 

Does it matter how she does? Does it matter if she slays the Olympic Trials in February? If she makes it to Paris 2024? If she fulfills her childhood dream and brings home gold? 

Nah. Not if—like Matt, like Puma, like, finally, even Molly herself—you see Molly the Runner for who she really is: Molly the Mere Mortal. She’s the imperfect one who puts it perfectly: What matters isn’t her time or place, how she performs on the pavement. Or social media posts. What matters—as a professional athlete, as a person—is how she makes people feel: human. 

 

She’d been finally—finally—fit on all fronts; ready to race, ready to return. She needed Nagoya. And then, nothing. “It feels like I’m back at the bottom of the well,” says Molly, driving home from Whole Foods in her Toyota 4Runner. “This last year-and-a-half has been so difficult. It’s just been a lot of doubt. How do I approach this, as someone who has now won a medal? Like, man, am I even relevant in this sport anymore?” She pops a piece of gum in her mouth. I wait for her to offer me some, because that’s what you do with gum, but she doesn’t. She’s so in her head. “It’s hard when you’re in the thick of it, you know, to figure out: Why the fuck do I keep doing this? When it just breaks my heart over and over and over again?” 

(10/08/2023) Views: 483 ⚡AMP
by Runner’s World
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Edward Cheserek, Irine Cheptai set PBs 2023 Copenhagen Half Marathon

Edward Cheserek and Irine Cheptai set personal bests on their way to leading the men and women 2023 Copenhagen Half Marathon results on Sunday. The Top 25 results below shows Edward Cheserek running 59:11 and Irine Cheptai clocking 1:05:53

The 2023 Copenhagen Half Marathon results and report on Sunday, 17 September, as Kenyan runners Edward Cheserek and Irine Cheptai won the men’s and women’s respective titles with a pair of quality runs to set personal bests in the Elite races.

On the men’s side, the top six finishers went faster than 60 minutes today, led by Cheserek, who crossed the finishing line at a new personal best time of 59:11. This was the first time Cheserek was breaking 60 minutes for the half marathon with his previous PB of 1:00:13 set in 2022 in Valencia.

Following the former Oregon Duck and NCAA standout home on Sunday was his countryman Bernard Koech, who clocked 59:13 in second place. Ethiopia’s Gemechu Dida ran 59:31 for third place and completed the podium.

The women’s 2023 Copenhagen Half Marathon results and report was led by three-time world champion Irine Cheptai from Kenya, who set a new personal best today, stopping the clock at 1:05:53.

Kenyan runners swept the podium in the women’s race with Winfridah Moseti finishing in second place with 1:06:40, followed by countryman Jesca Chelangat, who ran 1:07:03 for third.

Meanwhile, Jacob Sommer Simonsen was top Denmark finisher today, clocking in at 1:03:40 to take the national title and finishing 25th overall.

On the women’s side, the national winner was Carolien Millenaar, who ran 1:14:50 for first-place among the Denmark runners and

(09/17/2023) Views: 510 ⚡AMP
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Copenhagen Half Marathon

Copenhagen Half Marathon

The Copenhagen Half Marathon was the first road race in Scandinavia and is one of the fastest half marathons in the world. The Copenhagen Half Marathon has been awarded with the International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) most distinguished recognition - the IAAF Road Race Gold Label. Copenhagen Half Marathon was awarded the IAAF Road Race Bronze Label in January...

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Best Streaming Services for Sports 2023

Streaming services now provide the sports content we crave. We have narrowed down the top services that offer the best channel and league selections for sports enthusiasts. Numerous services exist, each presenting a distinct lineup of channels and league coverage. Continue reading to assess and compare each one, ultimately making an informed choice based on your preferences.

#1 ESPN Plus

ESPN's dedicated streaming service with a variety of sports content, including NHL, NBA, etc. The service offers access to non-market NHL games, LaLiga Bundesliga matches for $10 per month or $100 per year. An ESPN Plus subscription will include prestigious tennis events like Wimbledon and the US Open, select out-of-market MLB games, and NCAA football and basketball matchups. Don't miss the opportunity to watch rising talents in the Little League World Series and catch thrilling UFC matches included in the subscription. Please note that live NBA basketball and NFL football games are not available, and pay-per-view UFC events require an additional fee.

#2 Hulu Plus Live TV

Hulu Plus Live TV provides a unique option for sports enthusiasts. While it may lack certain league-owned channels, it comes bundled with an ESPN Plus subscription. The cost is $70 per month, and the service includes major networks, ESPN, TBS, TNT, FS1, FS2, and four RSNs. However, it does not offer MLB, NHL, NBA, or Tennis channels, except for the NFL network. 

If you choose sports subscription services, then you have a Smart TV. Did you know that you don't need to have a Smart TV to watch sports streaming? To get online sports access, you just need to buy and unlock Fire Stick's, as well as connect it correctly. By "unblock" we mean to open all available 2023 sports content. To do this, you need to know how to use a VPN on Amazon Fire Stick. Once you figure it out, you can watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other services without regional restrictions.

#3 YouTube TV

YouTube TV is priced at $65 per month, but presently, you can get it at $10 off for the first three months. It provides four RSNs, FS1, FS2, ESPN, TBS, TNT, and all major national networks. The standard package includes almost all league channels, except the NHL Network. You can also opt for an extra Sports Plus package, although it doesn't provide much, except BeIn and NFL Red Zone. To find out which local networks and RSNs are available in your area, enter your ZIP code on YouTube TV's welcome page.

#4 Peacock Premium

NBC's Peacock offers not only on-demand entertainment but also live sports. Subscribing to the $5-a-month Premium tier grants users access to a range of thrilling events, including English Premier League soccer, the Olympics, select WWE matches, Indy Car races, and certain PGA golf tournaments. The platform also broadcasts less mainstream sports like rugby, figure skating, cycling, and track and field. True, to see everything that is available on the service, you will need a VPN extension Chrome for a PC or a VPN for a router. Although Sunday Night Football is a standout attraction during the season, Peacock shines brightest for avid soccer and wrestling enthusiasts.

#5 Sling TV

Sling TV packages cater more to casual fans rather than offering an extensive range of options. Notably, Sling Blue lacks a single RSN for local broadcasts, but you can still access some national broadcasts. The Orange plan includes ESPN, while the Blue plan offers FS1 and the NFL network. However, neither plan grants access to ABC, which may be inconvenient for many fans. For an additional cost of $11 a month with either the Blue or Orange plan or $15 for the combined Orange and Blue plan, you can opt for the Sports Extra add-on. This add-on includes the NBA, NHL, and MLB channels, along with PAC 12, BeIn, Tennis channel, and more. The individual plans are priced at $40 a month each, while the combined Orange and Blue plan costs $55 a month. Currently, you can enjoy your first month at a 50% discount. You can check which local channels are available in your area here.

#6 FuboTV

FuboTV is currently priced at $75 per month and provides access to 35 RSNs. It features ESPN but lacks TBS and TNT, which might pose an issue for certain sports enthusiasts. Additionally, it offers local networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, along with FS1, FS2, BeIn Sports, the Big 10, and the Golf channel.

If you wish to enjoy additional content, you can opt for the Fubo Extra Package, available for an extra $8 per month. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the $85-a-month Elite streaming tier, which includes Fubo Extra and provides access to NHL, NBA, MLB, SEC, PAC 12, and Tennis channels. To view the complete list of local networks and RSNs available on FuboTV, click here. Feel free to read our detailed FuboTV review for more information.

Conclusion

While this roundup primarily focuses on sports content, these services operate within a broader context. The costs of monthly subscriptions can quickly accumulate, and not everyone in your household may share the same interest in sports. Depending on the package you choose, these options can cost upwards of $60 per month, and add-ons can further increase the monthly price.

It's worth considering whether these services offer value for other members of your household. The best sports streaming services often provide impressive lineups of news and entertainment programming, making them suitable for general audiences as well.

(09/15/2023) Views: 1,855 ⚡AMP
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Molly Bookmyer who overcame cancer now challenges TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Marathoners endure much suffering in order to excel in their sport but few have struggled with brain cancer.

American Molly Bookmyer underwent two surgeries eight years ago following a diagnosis of a brain tumor while finishing up her degree at Ohio State University.

With that awful period behind her now, as an elite marathoner, her path has led her to the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon where she, and a growing number of American elites, will attempt to qualify for the 2024 US Olympic Trials, to be run in Orlando, Florida on February 3. 

Her current best is 2:31:39 and she sees Toronto Waterfront – her first international race – as an opportunity to knock off a significant chunk of time.

“I want to run 2:27,” she reveals. “I feel I haven’t had a breakthrough in my marathon I have had some good races at shorter distances. I ran a 1:10:51 half marathon last fall. So I have had some success at the shorter distances and I haven’t quite figured out the full marathon distance yet.

“My first goal is to get the world championship standard and the second goal is to get the Olympic standard.”

Bookmyer graduated from Ohio State in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Management and Operations. While she was a member of the Buckeyes’ cross-country and track teams she was not a scholarship athlete. Now she has a better understanding as to why she was limited.

“I was a walk-on at OSU. I got better but I wasn’t a star in college,“ she explains. “When I look back at it, it was probably because I was sick at the time. I didn’t know I had a brain tumor. I competed on the team but my times weren’t spectacular. I lettered in cross country and track but I wasn’t All American and I didn’t make it to the NCAA’s.”

A series of stress fractures also held her back and it was by a stroke of luck that the tumor was discovered.

“In different blood tests to try to find why I got stress fractures they found one of my hormones prolactin was high,” Bookmyer says.  “This (hormone) is associated with tumors near your pituitary gland. They did a scan and they found the tumor in my ventricle. It was kind of luck. I probably had symptoms but thought it was normal.”

Following the diagnosis she underwent a spinal tap to determine if the cancer cells were in her spinal column. Fortunately, it came back negative. But the surgery to remove the growing tumor was vital.

Originally from Cleveland, she moved to Columbus to study at OSU and remained there ever since. That’s also where she met her husband, Eric. 

Immediately after graduation she worked for the Abercrombie & Fitch company. Then, having dealt with her own serious illness, Eric was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Running was helpful in both relieving the stress of being a full-time caregiver to him as well as helping in her own recovery.

“I am healthy now,” she says through a smile. “I get a brain scan every year. It used to be every six months. After the first surgery I had complications from the surgery. The tumor has not come back.

“Eric just had his 5-year checkup, He had a couple of surgeries and ‘chemo’ so now he is healthy as well, I guess we are lucky we went through a lot and came out the other side healthy.”

Two years ago she was recruited by one of her former contacts at Abercrombie & Fitch to work for Hawthorne Gardening Company which is involved in the hydroponics industry selling lights, pots, containers, benches and other gardening equipment in both the cannabis and general botany industry.  Most importantly, the job allows her to work remotely, something that helps while training full time.

Down time is limited but she says she enjoys spending time with Eric and her dog Cooper. Listening to music is another relaxing pastime with Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty remaining a favorite. With the Toronto Waterfront Marathon rapidly approaching she is confident she will perform at her best on the big occasion.

“Training is going really well,” Bookmyer declares. “I had a little setback in the spring. I tore my plantar fascistic but that’s fully healed. My mileage has gone to 115 to 120 miles (185km – 193km) a week which is higher than I have been before; paces are good, I am feeling strong. I am excited for what that means.”

(09/08/2023) Views: 333 ⚡AMP
by Paul Gains
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TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k Run / Walk is organized by Canada Running Series Inc., organizers of the Canada Running Series, "A selection of Canada's best runs!" Canada Running Series annually organizes eight events in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver that vary in distance from the 5k to the marathon. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half-Marathon are...

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Josh Kerr, Elle St. Pierre, and Nikki Hiltz to Headline Professional Athlete Field at New Balance 5th Avenue Mile

World champion Josh Kerr, U.S. Olympian Elle St. Pierre, and American mile record-holder Nikki Hiltz will headline a world-class professional athlete field that spans 14 different countries at the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile on Sunday, September 10. The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile – the world’s most iconic road mile race since 1981 – stretches 20 blocks down Manhattan’s most famous thoroughfare.

Great Britain’s Kerr will arrive in New York fresh off winning a world title in the 1,500 meters in Budapest; he is in search of his first victory on 5th Avenue in his second appearance in the event. Kerr also owns an Olympic bronze medal in the 1,500 meters from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“Winning the World Championships was the culmination of every step of running I’ve ever taken,” Kerr said. “Now, my confidence is higher than it’s ever been, and I have some unfinished business to take care of on 5th Avenue.”

Lining up against Kerr will be New Zealand’s 5,000-meter record-holder George Beamish, and an American contingent led by 2023 Falmouth Mile champion Johnny Gregorek, last year’s 1,500-meter national champion Cooper Teare, two-time 5th Avenue Mile podium finisher Sam Prakel, and U.S. Olympian Woody Kincaid.

In the women’s race, U.S. Olympian St. Pierre will make her return to New York for the first time since finishing as runner-up at the event in 2019. It will also be her first race back since giving birth in March.

“My preparation for the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile this time has been different, as I fit training around feedings, nap time, and playing with Ivan,” St. Pierre said. “But my body feels good, and the workouts have been solid. I’m excited to be back on 5th Avenue this weekend.”

She will be joined at the start line by Hiltz, Great Britain’s 2021 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile champion Jemma Reekie, Great Britain’s reigning 1,500-meter champion Katie Snowden, Mexican record-holder Laura Galvan, Australian record-holder Jessica Hull, Japanese record-holder Nozomi Tanaka, and Jamaican record-holder Adelle Tracey. Olympian Courtney Frerichs and four-time NCAA champion Dani Jones will also toe the line for the U.S.

In addition to professional athlete and age-group heats, this year’s New Balance 5th Avenue Mile will feature Back to School Mile heats for youth, a New Balance Run Your Way Mile for first-time marathoners using NYRR Coaching Lab, a George Sheehan Memorial Mile for seniors, an NYPD and FDNY heat for service members, and NYRR Road Mile Championship races.

In partnership with NYRR and USA Track & Field, NBC will broadcast the event nationally from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast will feature live coverage of the professional athlete races as well as a recap of the day’s earlier heats. Live coverage of the event will be available internationally on USATF.TV.

(09/05/2023) Views: 521 ⚡AMP
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New Balance 5th Avenue Mile

New Balance 5th Avenue Mile

The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile opens a beautiful 20-block stretch of 5th Avenue to runners of all ages and abilities who want to run their best mile in New York City. Special races include a youth mile, the George Sheehan Memorial Mile for runners age 60 and over, the NYRR Road Mile Championships, and Olympic-caliber professional men's and women's...

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Loaded men's field for 2023 New York City Marathon announced

The field has six past event champions, including Chebet, two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor, and World Championships medalist Maru Teferi.

Reigning New York City Marathon champion Evans Chebet will return to the streets of New York to defend his title on Sunday, November 5.

Chebet, a two-time Boston Marathon champion, has had one of the greatest seasons so far, starting by defeating world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge in the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

The Boston Marathon win is enough motivation for him to make history one more time when he competes against a loaded field in the former capital of the USA.

The field has six past event champions, including Chebet, two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor, and World Championships medalist Maru Teferi.

Challenging Chebet will be Kamworor, an Olympian and three-time half marathon world champion who is looking to become only the third athlete to win three TCS New York City Marathon men’s open division titles. He won in both 2019 and 2017 and has made the podium in all four of his appearances.

The newly crowned World marathon silver medallist Teferi, two-time World silver medallist Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia, Olympic silver medalist Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, and the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon champion Albert Korir of Kenya will also be in the mix to stop Chebet from winning back-to-back titles.

Two-time TCS New York City Marathon runner-up Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, North America’s marathon record-holder Cam Levins of Canada, and 2023 United Airlines NYC Half podium finisher Zouahir Talbi of Morocco will also toe the line.

Edward Cheserek, the most decorated athlete in NCAA history, will make his 26.2-mile debut, while the American contingent will be led by 2022 USATF Marathon champion Futsum Zienasellaissie and 2021 TCS New York City Marathon fourth-place finisher Elkanah Kibet.

Meanwhile, along with the previously announced TCS New York City women’s field, last year’s runner-up and two-time Olympian Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel and Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia will be back. 

Kenyans Edna Kiplagat and Olympian Viola Cheptoo will also return. Letesenbet Gidey and Yalemzerf Yehualaw will also line up for the first time.

(08/30/2023) Views: 418 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wafula
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TCS  New York City Marathon

TCS New York City Marathon

The first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...

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Cam Levins to take on TCS New York City Marathon

Canadian marathon record holder Cam Levins will be tackling the TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 5, when the 34-year-old will go toe to toe against an extraordinarily deep field that includes defending champion Evans Chebet of Kenya.

This will be the first time Levins, who ran 2:05:36 at the Tokyo Marathon in March to break both the national and North American marathon records, takes on the 42.2-km distance in New York. The Black Creek, B.C., runner, who also holds the Canadan half-marathon record (60:18), ran the 2019 New York Half Marathon in 65:10 to place 18th.

Levins has broken the Canadian marathon record three times: first in 2018, then at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., and again in Tokyo this year. Earlier this year he hinted he would plan on a hilly fall marathon as preparation for his overarching goal: the Paris Olympics.

This time he’ll be facing Kenya’s Chebet, who won the TCS New York City Marathon last year in 2:08:41, seven months after winning the Boston Marathon. He became the eighth man in history to win both races in the same year, and the first since 2011. Chebet already defended his Boston title earlier this year and has finished first or second in 13 marathons.

“I feel very confident as I begin my preparations to defend my TCS New York City Marathon title,” Chebet said. “I understand that nobody has won Boston and New York in back-to-back years since Bill Rodgers in the 1970’s, so making history will be my aim.”

Also challenging Levins will be Geoffrey Kamworor, a Kenyan Olympian and three-time half marathon world champion who is looking to become only the third athlete to win three TCS New York City Marathon men’s open division titles. He won in both 2019 and 2017, and has made the podium in all four of his appearances.

Others toeing the line will also include the 2023 World Athletics Championships marathon silver medallist Maru Teferi, two-time World Championships silver medallist Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia, Olympic silver medallist Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands (who finished third in New York last year), 2021 TCS New York City Marathon champion Albert Korir of Kenya, two-time TCS New York City Marathon runner-up Shura Kitata of Ethiopia and 2023 United Airlines NYC Half podium finisher Zouhair Talbi of Morocco.

Kenya’s Edward Cheserek–a former New Jersey high school phenom and the most decorated athlete in NCAA history–will make his 42.2-km debut, while the American contingent will be led by 2022 USATF marathon champion Futsum Zienasellaissie and 2021 TCS New York City Marathon fourth-place finisher Elkanah Kibet.

(08/29/2023) Views: 415 ⚡AMP
by Paul Baswick
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TCS  New York City Marathon

TCS New York City Marathon

The first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...

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100m world junior record holder suspended for doping

Suriname’s Issam Asinga, who only two weeks ago stunned the athletics world by shattering the U20 100m world record at the South American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for the alleged use or presence of a prohibited substance . The suspension, which went into effect Wednesday and was announced by the AIU on Friday, is for the presence of GW1516, a substance that modifies how the body metabolizes fat, and which can boost endurance.

Provisional suspensions are issued before a hearing to determine whether the charges warrant any official punishment.

Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who won silver in the 800m at the 2012 Olympics in London, received a provisional suspension last year for the presence of the same metabolite ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore. He ended up receiving a three-year ban.

GW1516 was originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes, but is not approved for human use, since it was discovered to be carcinogenic. It is banned in and out of competition, and not eligible for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). A USADA bulletin from 2019 says GW1516 is also sometimes known as cardarine or endurobol and has been found in some supplements, even though it is illegal. In 2017, there were 31 sanctions worldwide related to its use.

The 18-year-old Asinga clocked an impressive 9.89 seconds with a tailwind of (-0.8m/s) on July 28 to become the first South American sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m. His blazing run surpassed the previous record of 9.91 seconds set by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo at last year’s World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, and also broke the South American area record, bettering the 10.00 mark set by Brazil’s Robson da Silva in 1988.

In addition to claiming a world record in Brazil, Asinga’ also picked up a free PlayStation 5 with his performance. A tweet posted last week shows retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin handing Asinga the video game console with the caption “The special moment when Justin Gatlin promised Issam Asinga a PS5 if he ran a legal 9.8 and he delivered!”

Asinga has made headlines in the 2023 season, running for Montverde Academy near Orlando, Fla. Earlier this year, he beat world champion Noah Lyles in a 100m race to break the U.S. high school record, and a week later, broke Lyles’s 200m high school record in 19.97 seconds.

The provisional suspension appears to have dashed Asinga’s dreams for gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this month, where he was set to run the double. The sprinter has plans to head to Texas A&M University in the NCAA on a full track and field scholarship this fall.

(08/12/2023) Views: 481 ⚡AMP
by Running Magazine
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Obiri, Sisson to Face Off in ASICS Falmouth Road Race

Two high-profile and highly-competitive women in distance running will headline the international elite field at next week’s ASICS Falmouth Road Race. Hellen Obiri and Emily Sisson, both making their Falmouth debut, will face off on the roads for the third time this year when they line up for the seven-mile race on Sunday, Aug. 20.

This year, Obiri has won half marathons in the United Arab Emirates and New York City before winning the Boston Marathon in April. Since her Boston victory, Obiri has also won the B.A.A 10K and was runner-up in the Mastercard New York Mini 10K. Last weekend, she won the Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine.

“The roads and the people of Massachusetts have been good to me so far this year,” said Obiri, a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist for Kenya. “I know it will not be easy, but I hope I can keep my record going. It will be nice to test myself before I get back into my preparations for an autumn marathon.”

For Sisson, Falmouth is part of the build up to this fall’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon where she will attempt to lower her own American record of 2:18:29 in the event. This past January, she also set the American record in the half-marathon (since broken by Kiera D’Amato) and won the USATF 15km title for the third consecutive year.

“I have not had the chance to race Falmouth before, but I have wanted to ever since I started spending summers in New England,” said Sisson, a graduate of Providence College. “I’m excited for my first Falmouth Road Race to be in the build up to Chicago. I cannot wait to line up in a few weeks time!”

Other top contenders include 2021 Falmouth champion and last year’s runner-up Edna Kiplagat, U.S. 5K Champion Weini Kelati and reigning U.S. 10 Mile champion Fiona O’Keeffe.

Fresh off a victory at last week’s Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine, Addisu Yihune will attempt back-to-back New England wins. The 20-year-old Ethiopian leads the men’s field.

Last year’s third place finisher, David Bett is returning in 2023. Other contenders include 2022 Los Angeles Marathon champion John Korir, two-time Pittsburgh Half Marathon winner Wesley Kiptoo and 2019 NCAA Cross Country Champion Edwin Kurgat.

In the Wheelchair Division, sponsored by Spaulding Rehabilitation, Daniel Romachuk, who set the course record in 2019, will chase his fifth Falmouth win. He championed last year’s race by three and a half minutes over Hermin Garic, the 2021 Falmouth winner who is also returning this year.

In the women’s race, 2022 champion and course record holder Susannah Scaroni will defend her title. Scaroni has dominated the road circuit in 2023 winning the Boston Marathon, New York Mini 10K and AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. Scaroni will face 2021 women’s champion Emelia Perry and 2022 third place finisher Yen Hoang who won the B.A.A. 10K earlier this year.

The 51st running of the ASICS Falmouth Road Race is the culmination of an entire weekend of running that kicks off with the Falmouth Elite Mile, held this year on Friday evening for the first time. The women’s field is led by former Oregon standout Susan Ejore of Kenya and three-time NCAA Champion Dani Jones. It also includes Belmont, Massachusetts high school phenom Ellie Shea.

The men’s race will welcome the deepest men’s field in its history. Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz will make his first trip to Falmouth to toe the start line with some of the nation’s top middle-distance runners. Past winner Craig Engels also returns this year as does Seekonk, MA native Johnny Gregorek, a World Championship qualifier who won the Guardian Mile in Cleveland last month and Vince Ciattei who won last weekend’s Beale Street Mile in Memphis.

In the Wheelchair division, both Romanchuk and Garic will also compete as will Scaroni, Perry and Hoang in the women’s race.

“From the track to the roads, there is going to be exciting racing to witness all weekend in Falmouth,” said Jennifer Edwards, Executive Director of Falmouth Road Race, Inc. “It’s an honor to welcome so many legends and future legends of the sport who will lead our field of 10,000 to the finish line.”

The Falmouth Track Festival which includes the Falmouth Elite Mile will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18 at Falmouth High School. The ASICS Falmouth Road Race gets underway at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20 with athletes running the traditional course starting in Woods Hole and ending at Falmouth Heights Beach.

(08/11/2023) Views: 458 ⚡AMP
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Falmouth Road Race

Falmouth Road Race

The Falmouth Road Race was established in 1973 and has become one of the premier running events of the summer season. Each year the race draws an international field of Olympians, elite runners and recreational runners out to enjoy the scenic 7-mile seaside course. The non-profit Falmouth Road Race organization is dedicated to promoting health and fitness for all in...

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Kenya’s Hellen Obiri highlights field for Beach to Beacon 10K

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri highlights field for Beach to Beacon 10K on Saturday

Obiri, the 2023 Boston Marathon winner and the only woman to win world championships outdoors, indoors and in cross country, will compete at Beach to Beacon for the first time.

Hellen Obiri of Kenya won the women’s division of the Boston Marathon in April. On Saturday, she’ll compete for the first time in the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, the 2023 Boston Marathon champion, highlights a group of elite runners who will compete Saturday in the TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth, race officials announced Monday.

Obiri – a two-time Olympic silver medalist and the only woman to win world championships outdoors, indoors and in cross country – will compete at Beach to Beacon for the first time. She’ll be joined by fellow Kenyan and two-time Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat.

The women’s division also will feature Keira D’Amato of Virginia, who set an American marathon record (2 hours, 19 minutes and 12 seconds) last year, and Sanford native Rachel Schneider Smith, who competed for the United States in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and placed fifth at last year’s Beach to Beacon.

A trio of Ethiopians – Addisu Yihune, Amedework Walelegn and Muktar Edris, a two-time world champion – are expected to contend for the men’s title. Top Americans in the field include Utah’s Conner Mantz, a two-time NCAA cross country champion, and Biya Simbassa, who placed third at the 2022 Beach to Beacon.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Beach to Beacon, founded by Cape Elizabeth native and 1984 Olympic women’s marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson.

(08/01/2023) Views: 521 ⚡AMP
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TD Beach to Beacon 10K

TD Beach to Beacon 10K

Joan Benoit Samuelson, a native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, won the first-ever women's Marathon at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and is founder and chair of the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K. "A long time dream of mine has been realized" says Samuelson. "I've always wanted to create a race that brings runners to some of my most...

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18-year-old sprinter Issam Asinga breaks world junior 100m record

In a remarkable debut on the international stage, 18-year-old Issam Asinga of Suriname stunned the athletics world on Friday, shattering the U20 100m world record at the South American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Asinga clocked an impressive 9.89 seconds with a tailwind of (-0.8m/s) to become the first South American sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m.

Asinga’s blazing run surpassed the previous record of 9.91 seconds set by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo at last year’s World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, and also broke the South American area record, bettering the 10.00 mark set by Brazil’s Robson da Silva in 1988.

To make his record more impressive, his time was run at altitude, as Sao Paulo sits nearly 800m above sea level. Asinga’s new record also sparred other fast times in the field, with Brazil’s Erik Cardoso breaking the Brazilian national record for silver in 9.97. 

The 18-year-old sprint phenom has made headlines in the 2023 season, running for Montverde Academy near Orlando, Fla. Earlier this year, he beat world champion Noah Lyles in a 100m race to break the U.S. high school record, and a week later, broke Lyles’s 200m high school record in 19.97 seconds. 

Asinga’s sights are now on the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest this August, where he will run the sprint double. After worlds, Asinga will head to Texas A&M University in the NCAA on a full track and field scholarship. His exceptional talent runs in the family. His father, Tommy Asinga, holds multiple national records for Suriname and represented the country at three Olympic Games (1988, 1992 and 1996).

(07/31/2023) Views: 480 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson
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Pro-runner Allie Ostrander’s Five tips for avoiding injuries

Former American steeplechaser turned trail-elite Allie Ostrander shared her tips for runners to avoid injuries on social media recently, telling fans to consider it her “formal petition against running-related injuries.”

Ostrander announced her shift from track to trail in Feb. 2023 (along with her partnership with ultrarunning GOAT Kilian Jornet‘s brand NNormal) and is also a mental health and eating disorder awareness advocate.

Originally from Kenai, Alaska, Ostrander had a very successful NCAA career with Boise State University in Idaho, winning three straight NCAA titles in the 3,000m steeplechase. Her tips on avoiding injuries are excellent ones for all runners, whether they run on track, trail or roads.

Here are Ostrander’s suggestions, along with some ideas to get you started.

Run more uphill miles

“Uphill running is lower impact and higher output, so you work harder,” shared Ostrander, “but it puts less stress on your bones.” She suggests running on the treadmill at a 3–5 percent grade, running up a long hill and getting a ride down, or doing hill repeats and walking downhill between reps.

Replace easy miles with cross training

“You don’t have to replace every easy run with a bike sesh because, let’s be honest, running is way more fun, but cross-training can be a great tool to get in some aerobic training without the impact,” Ostrander says. She suggests replacing 1–2 runs a week with a cross-training session and explains that she uses the formula of 10min of XT=1 mile running.

Try: a standing bike workout.

Don’t be afraid to strength train, lift heavy, and build muscle

Building muscle will make you a stronger runner, and you’ll be better equipped to power through hard training. “It can also correct imbalances and improve running economy,” says Ostrander.

Try: these at-home strength workouts with Canadian ultrarunner Jazmine Lowther.

Fuel

“Being in an energy deficit increases injury risk and decreases adaptation to training,” explains Ostrander. She recommends focusing on consistently giving your body the energy it needs.

Rest days are important

“Rest allows your body to absorb all the training,” Ostrander says. “Don’t wait until you feel overly tired or have some sort of pain to give yourself a day off.” It can be challenging to really allow ourselves to take the time off we need, and Ostrander suggests scheduling rest days into your training plan to keep it as much a priority as hard training.

Try: recovery day yoga to relax and unwind.

(07/31/2023) Views: 460 ⚡AMP
by Keeley Milne
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The women elite talent will be the strongest in the event’s history, at the 51st Wharf to Wharf race Sunday morning

The lineup of elite talent will be deep and the storylines numerous when runners of all ages and skill levels line up for the start of the 51st Wharf to Wharf race Sunday morning.

The excitement and anticipation will be palpable. For some, the goal is to complete the annual six-mile race to Capitola. Others will be costumed, poised to update their social media apps with colorful photos, full of smiling faces.

There will also be a more competitive bunch of runners who look to reach the Capitola Wharf in personal-record time, or post a top-100 finish in their gender division to claim elite Wharf to Wharf apparel.

And there will be a select few looking to take first, well ahead of the sea of runners, which has been capped at 15,000.

Among them is defending women’s champion Ednah Kurgat of Colorado Springs, who looks to again secure the Mayor’s Cup and $4,000 prize awarded to the winners.

Repeating as champ won’t be easy. “The women’s field is arguably the strongest in the event’s history,” said Dane Gradone, the event’s elite athlete coordinator. “It’s completely (awesome).”

Kurgat’s solid ’23 season includes a win at the USATF Cross Country Championships in January and a sixth-place finish in the 10,000-meter race at the USATF Outdoor Championships earlier this month.

Everlyn Kemboi, the ’23 NCAA champion in the 10,000 and runner-up in the 5,000, should contend for supremacy. Also entered are Kenyan Mary Munanu, last year’s Wharf to Wharf runner-up, Ethiopian Werkuha Getachew, the runner-up at last year’s World Championships in the steeplechase, and fellow Ethiopians Tigist Ketema and Weynshet Ansa, both multiple-time national champions. Kenyan Sarah Naibei is a world-class runner on the roads, and a 52-minute 10 miler. Annamaria Kostarellis is a freshly minted NCAA All-American.

The local contingent is equally impressive. It includes former Santa Cruz High and Oregon State University standout Mari Friedman, the top female local finisher in ’22.

“I’m super excited,” Friedman said. “It’s one of my favorite races. It’s a holiday for me.”

Friedman’s goal? “To race happy and have fun,” she said, noting her best results come when she follows that plan.

Back in the field for the first time since 2014 is Nike runner Vanessa Fraser, a Scotts Valley High and Stanford University alumna. She’s coming off a 12th place finish in the 10,000 at the USATF Outdoor Championships.

Fraser, who lives in San Francisco, is in the process of transitioning to more road races. She returns to the one that got it all started for her.

“I’m excited to mix it up and see how I can finish and be competitive,” said Fraser, who has qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Feb. 3. “Top 10, that’s a good goal. Anything higher would be great.”

Ashlyn Boothby, an incoming senior who has broken most of Fraser’s records at Scotts Valley, will compete in the race for the first time. She’ has been at camp with the Falcons in Truckee, doing altitude training and bonding with teammates.

“This is super special to be in the same race as Vanessa Fraser,” Boothby said. “She’s my idol. I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up with her.”

The men’s field is primed to produce another exhilarating finish.

Salinas’ Diego Estrada, an Alisal High alum and former Olympian in the 10,000, finished second in the ’22 Wharf to Wharf and expects himself to be in title contention again after upping his training. He finished in 27 minutes, 18 seconds last year, two seconds behind champion Emmanuel Bor.

“I’d like to break 27 (minutes),” said Estrada, who is running 90 miles a week. “If I lose and break 27, I’ll be really happy. And if I win and don’t break 27, I’ll be really happy. But there’s so much talent in our area, I don’t know what will happed til we get to the downhill.”

Estrada will be tracked closely by a fair share of challengers and hardened road running veterans.

Fellow Olympian Ben Blankenship, who currently lives and trains in Eugene, Oregon, is also in the field. So is established marathoner Colin Bennie of San Francisco, the top American at the Boston Marathon in 2021. He finished ninth in Capitola last year.

This year’s International contenders include a trio of experienced Kenyans, James Ngandu, Josphat Kipchirchir, and Shadrack Keter, who have all run nearly an hour in the half marathon and racked up numerous racing honors.

Aptos’ Jack Rose is back after finishing as the top local male finisher in ’22, but a handful of young collegians will be gunning to unseat him. Among them are former Scotts Valley star Jeremy Kain, who runs for Duke University; Julian Vargas, a St. Francis alum who runs for Xavier University; Aptos talent Trent Nosky, a recruited walk-on for Colorado State University’s cross country and track programs; and Patrick Goodrich, a former Scotts Valley standout who competes for Cal Poly-SLO’s club team.

Rose, winner of the Ventura Marathon in February in a PR time of 2:21:39, said the quality of his workouts have improved since he finished as top local last year. He excited to hear the bands stationed along the route and hear spectators shout support as he passes them.

Kain is hoping to unseat Rose as top local. He’s increased his miles from 40 a week to 65-70. “I do think I’m in pretty good shape right now,” he said.

Experience is key, and Kain is competing in the race for the first time. “I’m kinda ashamed of myself that it’s my first year,” he said. “It never worked in my training block, but, this year, getting out there and giving it my all is going to be exciting.”

(07/22/2023) Views: 663 ⚡AMP
by Jim Seimas
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Wharf to Wharf

Wharf to Wharf

Each year, on the fourth Sunday in July, thousands of runners from across America and around the globe return to Santa Cruz, California for the annual six-mile race to Capitola-by-the-Sea. First run in 1973 by a handful of locals, the Wharf to Wharf Race today enjoys a gourmet reputation in running circles worldwide. Its scenic, seaside setting, perfect weather, and...

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Utah’s Clayton Young won the Crazy 8s 8K title on Saturday night

Utah’s Clayton Young bided his time until the last moment and made a strong move to win Saturday’s 33rd Ballad Health and Niswonger Children’s Hospital Crazy 8s 8-kilometer run on the candle-lit streets of the Model City.

With 200 meters to go, Young — the 2019 NCAA 10,000-meter champion from BYU — broke away from a group of six runners as he made his way into J. Fred Johnson Stadium to claim his second USATF title in 22:46 and the $5,000 that went along with the win.

There were nearly 3,200 finishers in Saturday’s races, including the Almost Crazy 3K, which was up almost 300 from last year.

“I was talking with my teammate Conner Mantz, who was runner-up last year and he said when he made his move, he felt like it wasn’t strong enough,” Young said. “He told me that I should be making that move before I turn up the hill. When I made my move, I was thinking about him and how he coached me through those final stages.”

Alberto Salazar’s American record of 22:04 lived another day. The start of the race was delayed by 45 minutes because of a strong thunderstorm that swept through the area.

“I had a lot of confidence going into this race,” Young said. “I’ve trained with Conner a lot and he’s had a great season, so that was a pretty good indicator. I just rode his coattails and went out there to see what I could do today.”

ZAP Endurance runner Andrew Colley was runner-up, finishing in 22:48. Oklahoma State graduate Isai Rodriguez took out the pace early and finished third in 22:49.

Young — who won the 2021 USATF 15K title in Jacksonville, Florida — trains with Mantz and now he’s got one up on his former BYU teammate.

“It’s finally nice to win another U.S. championship,” Young said. “You’ve got to celebrate all the victories, no matter how big or small they are. They keep you going and keep you motivated.

“To feel that strength over the last 800 meters was really validating and hopefully it’ll propel me through these next couple of races and into a fall marathon.”

Kingsport native Emma Russum — a member of Dobyns-Bennett’s 2019 state cross country state title team who now runs for Chattanooga — won the women’s division in 31:02.

It’s a dream come true of sorts for Russum, who’s regularly run the race since she was 6 years old.

“It feels really good to win and it’s even better because I got second last year,” Russum said. “I ran 20 seconds slower than last year, but it was super fun and I definitely was trying to keep a more relaxed effort at the beginning.

“People were yelling at me in the last bit that a girl was coming, so I had to kick it in. I love this race and I’ve been running it since I was big enough to run in (Little 8s).”

Russum made a little bit of area history as well, becoming the third local female runner to win the Crazy 8s title. She joined Johnson City’s Jenna Hutchins and Bristol, Virginia’s Stephanie Place.

“It’s really cool to be a part of such a short history of local winners,” Russum said.

(07/17/2023) Views: 606 ⚡AMP
by Tanner Cook
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Crazy 8s 8k Run

Crazy 8s 8k Run

Run the World’s Fastest 8K on the world famous figure-8 course on beautiful candle-lit streets with a rousing finish inside J. Fred Johnson Stadium. Crazy 8s is home to womens’ 8-kilometer world record (Asmae Leghzaoui, 24:27.8, 2002), and held the men’s world record (Peter Githuka, 22:02.2, 1996), until it was broken in 2014. Crazy 8s wants that mens’ record back. ...

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U.S. sprinting phenom Britton Wilson turns pro with Adidas

One of the top rising stars in the NCAA has turned pro and signed a professional contract with Adidas. On Monday, the record-breaking 400m sprinter Britton Wilson announced her decision to turn pro on Instagram after her second-place finish to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2023 USATF Track and Field Championships, earning a qualification spot for the 2023 World Athletics Championships next month.

“Turning pro has been one of my lifelong dreams,” Wilson wrote on Instagram. “Through all of the hard work and sacrifice, I truly manifested this surreal and special moment every day on the track, in the weight room, and while training. Here I am, beginning my professional track and field career with Team Adidas.”

Wilson’s clocked an impressive time of 49.79 seconds at USATF Track and Field Championships, marking the seventh time she’s gone under the 50-second mark this season. She is the second American this year, only behind McLaughlin-Levrone’s 48.74 world lead from USA’s.

Like McLaughlin-Levrone, Wilson is a versatile athlete who can excel at both the 400m and 400m hurdles. She has achieved personal bests of 49.13 seconds in the 400m and 53.08 seconds in the 400m hurdles. In May, Wilson surprised track and field fans when she pulled off an NCAA record-setting double at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Wilson’s success story extends over the past 18 months, during which she achieved remarkable milestones. In 2022, she played a pivotal role in securing the NCAA 4x400m indoor title alongside her Arkansas teammates. Subsequently, she clinched an individual victory in the 400m hurdles at the NCAA outdoor championships. Her exceptional performances led her to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where she contributed to the American team’s gold medal triumph in the 4x400m relay event.

As Wilson sets her sights on the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest, she will further strengthen the already challenging competition in the 400m and 400m hurdles events at the global level.

(07/11/2023) Views: 571 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson
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2023 US Outdoor Track and Field Championships preview from Chris Chavez

Last night was the deadline for athletes to declare their event for the 2023 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will take place in Eugene from July 6-9. At USAs, athletes are allowed to enter multiple events and then make a decision about which event(s) they wish to contest once entries are in, which allows those who’ve achieved multiple qualifiers to be strategic about where they want to concentrate their efforts. The top three in each event who meet the qualifying standards for the World Athletics Championships will go on to represent the United States in Budapest in August.

Reigning World champions have a “bye” to the next year’s Worlds, which means the country they represent gets to send four athletes, not three. Similarly, reigning Diamond League and World Athletics Continental Tour champs earn a bye, but if there is both a World and other champion in the same event, their country still only gets to send one extra athlete.

These complex rules lead many American World champions to make interesting choices about what events they wish to contest at USAs and how hard they want to push while still in the middle of the championship season.

MEN’S SPRINTS

– 100m world champion Fred Kerley has the bye to the world championships and will only run the 200m. Last year, he qualified for the World Championships in the 200m with a third place finish behind Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton. He injured his quad in the semifinal of the 200m and was unable to run the 4x100m relay for Team USA. Kerley has a season’s best of 19.92 from his win at the Doha Diamond League.

– 200m world champion Noah Lyles has the bye to the world championships and will only run the 100m. He ran a season's best of 9.95 in his outdoor opener in April. The last time he ran the 100m at a U.S. Championship, he finished seventh at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials final.

– 400m world champion Michael Norman is declared for the 100m and 200m at the U.S. Championships. He ran a wind-aided 10.02 (+3.0m/s wind) at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. He has not raced since a last place finish in the 200m at the Doha Diamond League in 20.65 on May 5.

WOMEN’S SPRINTS

– Sha’Carri Richardson is running the 100m and 200m. She is looking to qualify for her first World championship team. Her season’s best of 10.76 from her victory at the Doha Diamond League is the second-fastest performance in the world this year. Her season’s best of 22.07 from the Kip Keino Classic at altitude in Nairobi is No. 4 on the world list.

Only Gabby Thomas’ 22.05 from the Paris Diamond League is faster this year by an American woman. Richardson, the 2019 NCAA champion, attempted the double at USAs in both 2019 and 2022, where her highest finish was 8th in the 100m in 2019. She has yet to make a U.S. final in the 200m.

– Reigning U.S. champion Abby Steiner is only running the 200m despite qualifying in both the 100m and the 400m as well. She just ran her season’s best of 22.19 to win the NYC Grand Prix.

– As previously announced, 400m hurdles Olympic champion, World champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is running the flat 400m. She plans to make a decision after the U.S. Championships whether she will run the flat 400m (if she qualifies) or defend her 400m hurdles title in Budapest.

– NCAA record holder Britton Wilson, who ran 49.14 to become No. 4 on the U.S. all-time list, will only run the 400m and not the 400m hurdles. She hurdled at last year’s World championships and participated in the 4x400m relay.

MEN’S DISTANCE

– This year’s men’s steeplechase team should have a new look. 2016 Olympic silver medalist Evan Jager is not entered in the steeplechase. He has raced just once this outdoor season. Hillary Bor, the reigning U.S. champion who also owns the fastest steeplechase time by an American this year in 8:11.28, broke his foot earlier this spring and will miss the U.S. Championships. This is the first U.S. team he has missed since 2015. The top returner is Benard Keter, who made the Olympic team in 2021 and the World team in 2022, but he is only the fifth-fastest entrant by seed time.

– For the first time, 2021 U.S. 5000m champPaul Chelimo is entered in both the 5000m and the 10,000m. Chelimo, the 3x global medalist at 5000m, has typically only focused on the shorter event, but after his 27:12.73 performance at the Night of the 10,000m PBs in the U.K. earlier this season, he has decided to contest both events. He’s seeded No. 4 by qualifying time in both events behind Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid, and Joe Klecker (all also double-entered).

WOMEN’S DISTANCE

– 800m Olympic and world champion Athing Mu entered the 1500m, as previously announced with coach Bobby Kersee. She has the bye to the world championships in the 800m. Her personal best of 4:16.06 is well outside the automatic standard of 4:05.00 and was achieved outside the qualifying window for the championships, but USATF rules allow for significant discretion in accepting entries from the Sports Committee chair.

– Josette Norris and On Athletics Club coach Dathan Ritzenhein have decided to focus solely on the 5000m. Norris ran 14:43.36 at Sound Running’s Track Fest in early May. That’s the second-fastest time by an American woman on the year behind her teammate and training partner Alicia Monson’s 14:34.88 at the Paris Diamond League. Monson is entered in both the 5000m and 10,000m after choosing to only contest the 10,000m last year.

– NC State’s NCAA record holder Katelyn Tuohy will only run the 5000m. Tuohy qualified for NCAAs in both the 1500m and the 5000m but ended up only running the 1500m after an uncharacteristically disappointing performance in the final.

– The Bowerman Track Club’s Elise Cranny has declared for the 1500m, 5000m and the 10,000m. The first round of the women’s 1500m is 19 minutes before the final of the 10,000m on Day 1 of the competition, so Cranny will likely scratch one or more events at a later point.

 

(06/30/2023) Views: 649 ⚡AMP
by Chris Chavez (Citius magazine)
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USATF Outdoor Championships

USATF Outdoor Championships

With an eye toward continuing the historic athletic success of 2022, USATF is pleased to announce competitive opportunities for its athletes to secure qualifying marks and prize money, including a new Grand Prix series, as they prepare for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.As announced a few months ago, the 2023 Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China have been...

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Former University of Oregon runner wins World Series of Poker event

Former University of Oregon track and field runner Chris Brewer has hit the jackpot, winning over $5 million and a prestigious golden bracelet at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP). From the track to the poker table, Brewer won a high-roller No-Limit Hold’em event with a substantial $250,000 buy-in, with some luck on the river (final card).

Brewer had his back against the wall when his opponent, Russia’s Artur Martirosyan, raised him with ace-king. Brewer re-raised, pushing his chips all-in, which set up a bad beat for the ages that worked out in Brewer’s favour, netting $5.2 million for the win. Watch below.

Brewer, 30, ran for the University of Oregon Ducks cross-country and track and field program for five years and was a teammate to renowned athletes like Australian Olympian Jessica Hull, 17-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek and American 25 km record holder Parker Stinson. During his collegiate career, Brewer held bests of 3:43.97 over 1,500m and 4:06 for the mile. When he graduated from Oregon with a degree in mathematics in 2016, he took a break from running and found success playing online poker.

In a 2021 interview with Pokernews, Brewer was asked if he credits his card-playing success to his running background, resulting in an all-time quote:

“Running is much harder than poker. You have to put in way more effort. Anything I’ve accomplished in poker is easy compared to waking up in the morning and running 15 miles,” replied Brewer. “When you’re a runner, you have to be mindful of your diet and sleep. Poker is a different ballgame—I sacrificed many years to pursue running. So if I have to fold a hand, it’s no big deal. I never felt anxious playing poker. Running races, on the other hand, gave me plenty of anxiety.”

Although Brewer may not see many similarities between the two, it is evident that the discipline and dedication he acquired from running have translated into his poker success.

(06/24/2023) Views: 333 ⚡AMP
by Running Magazine
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