Running News Daily

The North Pole Marathon has been cancelled

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related official information just issued by the Norwegian Government and Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority, the FWD North Pole Marathon is forced to defer the next race to 2021.

All participants have been notified. Although the logistics for the North Pole have been fully prepared, and an operational ice camp can be established on the Arctic Ocean, it is unfortunate that Svalbard - the departure point for North Pole expeditions - will effectively be shut down in April: North Pole events can only be scheduled for April due to parameters for safe ice conditions.

Instead, we will now have to look forward to welcoming runners to this special location, on the top of the world, next year. In the meantime, we wish that everybody can stay fit and healthy during this global pandemic.

(03/18/2020) Views: 1,472 ⚡AMP

The NYRR Millrose Games will always have its Irish air

Even if the list of competitors is not chock-a-block with Irish names there will always be an Irish air about the Millrose Games which are set for Saturday, February 9 at the Armory in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

For one thing the Meet Director this year, as he has been for a number of years now, is legendary Irish middle distance runner and Longford native, Ray Flynn.

“This is the 112th Millrose Games and the eighth Millrose meet at the Armory. It’s a big deal,” Flynn says.

A big deal indeed.

“And if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that the Armory is an incredible venue, especially for the kids,” Flynn said.

The New York Road Runners Millrose Games did indeed move, in 2012, from the much larger Madison Square Garden to the cozier confines of the uptown Armory.

The effect, however, was a positive in that the Armory is filled to the rafters with 5,000 cheering track and field fans. 400 extra seats have been squeezed in for Saturday’s meet.

One of those cheering will be, of course, Eamonn Coghlan, the “Chairman of the Boards.”

Coghlan and Flynn are but two Irish middle distance veterans who remind track fans of a golden era in Irish middle distance running, that being the 1980s.

Coghlan is the holder of seven Wanamaker Mile titles and holds, among many other titles and laurels, a World 5000 Meter championship gold medal.

Ray Flynn has 89 sub 4-minute miles under his belt and is both the Irish Mile Record holder (3:49.77) and Irish 1,500m Record holder (3:33.5). Both records were broken in the same race in 1982 in Oslo in the Bislett Games Dream Mile.

Flynn, was an All-American in track and field and cross country at East Tennessee State, where his team in 1975 captured the NCAA Track and Field Championship.

Now 62, Flynn currently works as an agent for track and field athletes and is based in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Millrose is unique in that Olympians, as well as other elite professional, college, high school and youth track and field competitors, line up for the various events.

This year, two lucky Sligo kids will get to rub shoulders with some of the best athletes in the world by racing in the “Fastest Kid on the Block” competition.

Alice Belo and Shane Haran will be representing their county and Ireland.

In Sligo, the Fastest Feet program is being used every year to introduce kids to sport, specifically athletics. The man backing the program is Galway’s Richard Donovan who is also behind the World Marathon Challenge, the North Pole Marathon, the Volcano Marathon and other epic global sporting events.

The Armory being indoors, Alice and Shane need not worry about a return of the Polar Vortex.

No fewer than 32 Olympians are included in this year’s Millrose roster. There are Irish names evident, but they belong to athletes from the U.S., Canada, Australia and indeed Antigua & Barbuda.

(02/08/2019) Views: 2,603 ⚡AMP

Richard Donovan is planning on finishing his 3,000 mile journey across America this weekend

Irish Ultra runner Richard Donovan is close to completing the equivalent of running nearly 130 marathons. The well-known record setter is currently undertaking the epic Trans North America Run, a 3,100 mile run across the US, travelling from San Francisco to New York, to raise funds for fellow runner Alvin Matthews, who became paralysed in 2014.

Alvin is a dam builder and suffered a 25ft fall in Lebanon last year. He had previously completed two races that Richard had organised, the Antarctic Ice Marathon and the North Pole Marathon, and was due to take part in the Volcano Marathon in South America when he had the accident. To help raise funds for Alvin, Richard began his adventure across the US on May 19th in San Francisco. 

Richard is no stranger to endurance running and currently holds the world record for completing seven different marathons on seven different continents in less than five days back in 2012. During his North American travels, Richard has managed to cover 50 miles in one day, all part of his training for a run he is set to undertake across Antarctica.

“I wanted to see and experience what I considered to be real America, with some of its epic scenery, and I wanted to do it in the heat of the summer. After the start at the Golden Gate Bridge I ran through the rolling hills of California, ‘wine country’, to Lake Tahoe,” he explains.

Although an experienced ultrarunner, Richard has faced considerable hardship during his trans-America run. Blisters were the biggest issue in the first few weeks. I was in a bad situation, getting up daily with a lot of pain. My skin had split in places and I had what I can only describe as very bad open wounds to a couple of toes,” he said.  Injuries were not the only peril that Richard faces, with Mother Nature proving a formidable foe.

“I could hear the howls of coyotes around me during the evening,” he recalls. There were also shadows that appeared to be racing nearby, but I could never see an animal. It was only when I decided to look up that I noticed it was buzzards circling overhead. Of course I encountered many snakes along the route, and had a close encounter with one in particular.”

Richard has been averaging 35 miles per running day. The total distance of the run is 3,200 miles. It’s the equivalent of the flight distance across the Atlantic from New York to Dublin. Richard intends to finish the run this Saturday in Battery Park, New York.

(12/12/2018) Views: 1,678 ⚡AMP

Former Army Major has been running extreme marathons to battle depression and post-traumatic stress disorder

Former Army Major Rob Shenton has been coping with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Having served in the military for more than 21 years, he was medically discharged in 2016 - but running has always been one of his coping strategies.  He completed the North Pole marathon in April.  The ultra marathon runner has just taken on the 'Race to the King', 53 miles of the South Downs Way that's just the latest on this ex-military man's growing list of epic marathons.  He's battled with depression for more than 18 years and admits it has hampered his life but running continues to help.  He says, "You end up with coping strategies... It's just a matter of realizing what your triggers are and being able to recognize them and being able to cope. "I enjoy running quite a lot... I run every single day. Even if it's half a mile, I'll put my shorts on and my running shoes and go for a jog because I find it lifts my spirits." Through his running, Rob has raised thousands of pounds for the military charity Help for Heroes, which he says continues to support him.  (07/06/2018) Views: 1,926 ⚡AMP

18-year-old Chinese girl was the youngest to finish the North Pole Marathon

Xing Jiawen spent 11 hours and 55 minutes running the World's coolest Marathon in the North Pole with a temperature of minus 35 degrees centigrade (-31F).  According to the marathon's website, competitors are required to run ten laps of a specially created track, on top of a huge piece of floating ice with a thickness of 1.8 to 3.6 meters. “Although it sounds hard, I believe that I can make it,” Xing said before the race. She added that the only way she could fail was if she got injured during the race; otherwise, she would make every effort to complete it. Although Xing and her father had prepared themselves for the race, the harsh conditions of the North Pole were beyond their expectations. Shortly after the race began, Xing's whole foot got lodged in an ice cave. She was terrified, but quickly managed to move forward. Xing can now see how the North Pole Marathon has changed her, and understands what her teacher once said, “As for exploring new things, there may not be a correct answer even if you work hard enough, and sometimes, we do it not even for one.” (05/30/2018) Views: 1,871 ⚡AMP

He trained in an industrial freezer with a temperature of -30 degrees For North Pole Marathon

After months of rigorous training, Filipino triathlete and cancer survivor Luisito "Louie" Sangalang II said he is now ready to place the country's flag at the North Pole as he joins the FWD North Pole Marathon this April. During the send-off party for Sangalang last Thursday, March 22, in Taguig, he shared his experiences during his training with triathlon coach Ani De Leon-Brown and mountaineer Romy Garduce. The Filipino flag-bearer said he ran various local marathons to keep his body in shape. To prepare for the cold weather in the Arctic region, he trained inside an industrial freezer with a temperature of negative 30 degrees Centigrade, mimicking the temperature at the North Pole. (03/26/2018) Views: 2,245 ⚡AMP

After Running a Marathon on Seven Continents...they still had one more to do

With seven marathons on seven continents in seven years already behind them, Stephen and Eleanor Pienaar are ready to become the first South Africans to compete in the North Pole Marathon. They started training for the Marathon which takes place on moving sea ice and considered one of the toughest marathons in the world, in September last year. “We will be running on sea ice, which will be more extreme than the Antarctic Ice Marathon,” says Eleanor. “Russian soldiers will parachute out of a plane and secure the perimeter to make sure no polar bears wander onto the course. We will be running a four-kilometre lap 10 times. We have to be in a contained area because of the polar bears and the sea ice, that can crack underfoot. It will be completely different to the Antarctic Ice Marathon. We will be running in temperatures of minus 40 to 30 degrees.” The North Pole Marathon will be run on April 9 this year, they will be starting their trek to the North Pole on April 1. (02/13/2018) Views: 2,051 ⚡AMP
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