Running News Daily

Belay Tilahun of Ethiopia and Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya won their New York City racing debuts in the open division

Tilahun, a 24-year-old member of West Side Runners, recorded his surprise victory in a time of 1:02:10 with an exciting kick through the final two miles. 

“I was feeling quite cold at the beginning, but as I was warming up, I began to feel better. After about 15 kilometers, I was confident that I could win. So I used the finishing kick that I had to win,” Tilahun said. 

Eritrea’s Daniel Mesfun finished second in 1:02:16 after leading for the majority of the race, while U.S. Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo took third in 1:02:19 in his half-marathon debut. 

A record eight American men finished in the top 10 in the open division, as Chelimo was followed by Jared Ward, Noah Droddy, Brogan Austin, Tim Ritchie, John Raneri, Parker Stinson, and Ben True, respectively.

 In the women’s open division, Jepkosgei, the half marathon world record-holder, won her first-ever race in the United States on a solo run to the finish in a time of 1:10:07. The world championship silver medalist in the distance became the sixth woman from Kenya to win the event, and the first to do so since 2014. “This season I am preparing to debut in the marathon, and this was a great half marathon to see how my body feels,” Jepkosgei said.

Fellow Kenyan Mary Ngugi came through the finish line one minute later in 1:11:07 to take second place, 15-hundredths of a second ahead of last year’s champion, Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba.

Emma Bates, the 2018 USATF Marathon champion, was the top American in the women’s open division, taking fourth place in 1:11:13. She was followed by 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden in fifth place in 1:11:22.

(03/19/2019) Views: 2,325 ⚡AMP

Timothy Ritchie will run the Boston Marathon for the second time and hopes to finish strong this year

Tim Ritchie pulled out a baseball analogy when describing his success in past marathons. "I'm 2-3," Ritchie said on Friday. "I've had two good ones and three bad ones. I'd like to even the score and bat .500 Monday."

Ritchie, 30, of New Haven will run the Boston Marathon for the second time. His last time in Boston was one of the bad ones — it was his first marathon, he went out too hard and struggled in the last 10K.

But his last marathon was one of the good ones — in fact, it was the best. Ritchie won the U.S. 2017 national championship at the California International Marathon Dec. 3 in Sacramento in 2:11:56, a personal best by close to three minutes. Only Olympian Galen Rupp, who won the Chicago Marathon in 2:09, ran a faster time by an American in 2017.

Ritchie, who grew up in Worcester, went to Boston College, where he starred on the track and cross country teams. He was an assistant at BC for the track and cross country teams until the fall of 2016, when he left the job and moved to New Haven with his fiancee and started to concentrate on his running.

In Boston in 2013, he finished in 2:21. At the Olympic Trials in 2016, he finished in 2:22 and ran a similar time at New York City later that year.

"I would be good for 20 miles then collapse over the last 10K," he said. "You've got to learn from your mistakes — or even if there weren't mistakes, you always have to try to improve, in the training and the fueling.

"For CIM, the training was really consistent. Higher volume workouts were the key. We didn't really have these major long runs but we had a lot of kind of long runs at a good pace. Like 16-18 miles, maybe twice a week."

(12/20/2018) Views: 1,221 ⚡AMP

America’s Tim Ritchie is hoping to run well in the New York City Marathon on Sunday

Tim Ritchie signed with Saucony and started his professional career on the track before moving into road racing in 2014. Ritchie raced 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons. “That was my inroads into being a professional runner,” Ritchie said. “I didn’t quite have the credentials when I graduated to sign a contract or be competing in the elite field in New York. I had to earn my way in.” Ritchie spent a year as a volunteer assistant with the Yale cross country team, while working with McKirdy Trained coaching services. He won the USATF Marathon National Championship last December at the California International Marathon in Sacramento. Ritchie moved up from 18th at the halfway mark with a blistering finish to claim the title in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 56 seconds. “There’s much more of a need for patience and self control in the early miles. I try to break the race up into stages, and keep reminding myself that I have what it takes.” Tim was hired to be the head track coach at UMass which started in June. “It’s a new life and a new adjustment, trying to find that balance,” Ritchie said. “It takes some discipline, time management, patience both on my part and my athletes have been truly patient and supportive of me, as well.” UMass finished sixth in the men’s race at last weekend’s Atlantic 10 Championships and 13th in the women’s team competition. “I’ve found it impressive how quickly he was able to gain the trust of the team,” UMass senior Michael Famiglietti said. “He’s still an athlete himself out there competing.”  Ritchie’s buildup for the New York Marathon has not been perfect. He’s had to adjust his schedule to full-time coaching and contend with injuries and illness, too. “I’m in a good rhythm now. From a running standpoint, being out in western Mass has been awesome for me,” Ritchie said. “This training environment is phenomenal when it comes to trails, dirt roads, hills’ it’s a beautiful place to go for a run every day.” The men’s New York elite field is stacked with nine Olympians and three major marathon champions from 2017. Ritchie doesn’t harbor hopes of winning. He understands the landscape of elite distance running right now and is focused on his own best race. “I want to get the most I can out of myself and run with pride,” Tim said.   (11/02/2018) Views: 1,499 ⚡AMP

Strong filed at Labor Day Road Race with notable athletes competing like Sara Hall and Leonard Korir

The 2018 Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, host of the USATF 20K National Championship, boasts a number of the country’s top runners. The event takes place on Labor Day, Sept. 3, on the New Haven Green.

Some of America’s top distance runners will compete for a prize purse of over $40,000. New Haven has hosted the USATF 20K National Championship since 1992. Past Faxon Law New Haven 20K champions Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, Meghan Peyton and Aliphine Tuliamuk head the women’s race field.

Georgia’s Cherobon-Bawcom won the 2011 race and finished 12th in the 10,000 meters at the 2012 Olympics. New Mexico’s Tuliamuk, the 2016 20K champion, will also be competing for the top spot. She now holds nine national road race titles. Peyton (Tualatin, OR.) was the 20K winner in 2013.

She has competed at the 2012 and 2016 USA Olympic Team trials and has been a member of four USA National Teams. Another notable athlete competing on Labor Day is California’s Sara Hall. Hall is a 2017 USATF Marathon champ and placed third at last year’s New Haven 20K.

New York’s Allie Kieffer is also expected to finish near the top. She was sixth in last year’s Faxon Law New Haven 20K and was fifth in last year’s New York City Marathon.

Currently, Colorado’s Leonard Korir is the men’s favorite. He won the 2016 race and lost in a lean to Galen Rupp in last year’s race. Korir competed in Rio Olympics in the 10,000. Korir will be challenged by Colorado’s Sammy Kosgei, Connecticut’s Donn Cabral, North Carolina’s Christo Landry and Massachusett’s Tim Ritchie.

(08/25/2018) Views: 2,395 ⚡AMP