Running News Daily

In 2020, Tommy Rivs stood at the edge of an unimaginable battle. The elite marathon runner, known for his grit, endurance, and passion for the sport, suddenly found himself fighting for something far greater than race results. Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer, Rivs was placed in a medically induced coma as doctors fought to save his life. The prognosis was uncertain, and for many, the thought of him ever running competitively again seemed impossible.

What followed was a journey defined by resilience, determination, and an unwavering refusal to surrender. The athlete who once measured success in miles and finish times now faced the challenge of relearning the simplest aspects of daily life. Recovery was slow, painful, and filled with obstacles, but Rivs approached it with the same relentless spirit that had carried him through countless races.

Nearly six years later, the story has taken a remarkable turn.

Today, Rivs is not only healthy enough to run—he is thriving. He has returned to the marathon scene, producing performances that few believed possible after the devastating toll cancer and prolonged hospitalization took on his body. Every race he completes serves as a powerful reminder that recovery is not always limited by expectations or statistics.

Beyond competition, Rivs has embraced a new role within the running community. He now leads guided runs through California's majestic redwood forests, inspiring runners of all abilities with his presence and perspective. His recent appearance at a Boston running event attracted enormous crowds, a reflection of the admiration and respect he has earned through his extraordinary journey.

What makes Rivs' comeback so compelling is that it transcends athletics. His story is not merely about marathon times, personal bests, or finish lines. It is about perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. It is about rebuilding a life when the future appears uncertain and refusing to let circumstances define what is possible.

The remarkable part is that the performances are beginning to match the inspiration. As Rivs continues to race, the impressive times he is producing are catching up to the legend of his recovery, proving that his return is more than symbolic—it is genuinely competitive.

For anyone searching for hope after hardship, Tommy Rivs offers a powerful example. His journey from a hospital bed and medically induced coma back to marathon starting lines stands as one of running's most inspiring modern stories. It is proof that even after life's darkest chapters, new beginnings can emerge—and sometimes they are more extraordinary than anyone could have imagined.

Steph Catudal felt her world unravel in 2020 when her husband, famed U.S. ultramarathoner Tommy Rivers Puzey (a.k.a. Tommy Rivs), was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer that put him into a medically induced coma for 84 days. The crisis forced Catudal, who was born and raised in Montreal, to face not only an uncertain future, but also pent-up anger and unprocessed grief from her own past.

The author explores the heights and depths of her years-long journey to self-acceptance in Everything All At Once , which comes out May 30. From the tragedy of losing her father to cancer to her supporting Puzey on his road to remission and his being declared free of the disease, the memoir shares lessons Catudal says required time and patience to fully grasp.

“I started writing this book about 10 years ago actually, long before Rivs was diagnosed with cancer. I wanted to tell the story of my adolescent grief of losing my father—it was a story that affected me so deeply and throughout my life,” says Catudal. “I wanted to connect to other people who similarly experienced grief. But it never felt finished. The book never felt done even though I had typed the last words, so I kind of left it on the back burner.”

“When Rivs got sick, I went through an entire self-transformation, and I realized part of the reason why my book didn’t feel finished was because my healing journey still wasn’t finished, and I hadn’t learned all the lessons that I needed to, that I ended up learning through Rivs’ illness. When he was sick, I wrote a lot and posted my writing on social media, and what I wrote resonated with a lot of people and it made me feel a lot less lonely during a lonely time–that human connection in a really isolated time in my life. So I think I wrote the book to further that connection, to broaden the network of those who have experienced grief, which everyone has experienced in life, no matter what the situation is.”

Catudal, who lives with Puzey and their three daughters, says that while writing the memoir was cathartic, she hopes the book can be an aid to others as they navigate their own unique challenges.

“Mostly I hope that it helps people learn self-acceptance,” she says. “It was a long road for me to accept myself. It’s important to accept all of who you are—the brokenness, the anger and also the gratitude and the joy—and just know that you’re OK wherever you’re at.”

“Another hope I have for what people take from this is that no matter what we’re going through, there is love all around. It’s woven into every human experience, and you just have to look to see it. Even if you feel like you’re in the depths of loneliness, there is always love there.”

She says sharing her story with readers has given her a new opportunity to practise acceptance.

“It’s both really exciting and, in a way, nerve-racking to put so much of your life, your feelings and your introspection into a book that people can take and they could either love it or they could hate it. I just have to be OK with letting it go out into the world.”

The publication of Catudal’s memoir also comes with the satisfaction of seeing a long, gruelling challenge to the very end—a feeling her ultrarunning husband knows very well.

“Rivs tells me that this is my own ultramarathon—the daily deposits of writing a page if I could, whenever I had the time,” says Catudal.

“I did it through newborn babies and grad school and sleepless nights, so there’s definitely a sense of pride and accomplishment.”

Look for our review of Everything All At Once in the July/August 2023 issue of Canadian Running.

The running shoe hype train was high in New York City with a few fast yet-to-be-released shoes in the men’s and women’s elite fields.

For a few miles early in the New York City Marathon, Desi Linden surged into the lead of the women’s elite field. The two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion didn’t think she’d run away and win the race that way, but she was just trying to keep the pace honest.

However, hiding in plain sight on her feet as she was off the front of the pack was a yet-to-be-released pair of orange, white and black Brooks prototype racing shoes. A day later, no one is willing to give up any details of the shoe, except that, like all of the other top-tier racing shoes in both the men’s and women’s elite fields, it features a carbon plate embedded in a hyper-responsive foam midsole. And although it’s all in accordance with World Athletics regulations, it won’t be released in Spring 2024 … so we’ll all have to wait a bit to see what that shoe is all about.

Linden’s shoes weren’t the only speedy outliers among the top 25 men’s and women’s finishers. While Nike, Adidas and ASICS shoes were the most prevalent brands among elite runners, there were several shoes that aren’t yet available to the public.

For example, the first runner to cross the finish line of this year’s New York City Marathon, women’s winner Sharon Lokedi, was wearing a pair of Under Armour Velociti Elite shoes. That’s notable for several reasons—because it was Lokedi’s first marathon, because the shoe won’t become available until early 2023 and because it’s the first podium finish at a major international marathon for a runner wearing Under Armour shoes.

There were also three pairs of yet-to-be-released Hoka Rocket X 2 shoes on the feet of three Hoka NAZ Elite runners — two of whom set new personal best times, Aliphine Tuliamuk (7th, 2:26:18) Matthew Baxter (12th, 2:17:15). Those fluorescent yellow shoes with orange, white and blue accents and blue laces were on the feet of Hoka pros at the Boston Marathon in April and Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October, but they won’t be released to the public until late February or early March.

Meanwhile, the winner of the men’s race, Evans Chebet, was wearing a pair of Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3, a shoe worn by four other runners in the top 25 of the men’s race and six among the women’s top 25, making it the second most prevalent model among the elites. Oddly, that was the same shoe worn by Brazil’s Daniel do Nascimento, who went out at record-setting sub-2:03 pace on his own, only to crumple to the ground at mile 21 after succumbing to fatigue and cramping.

The most common shoe among the top finishers was the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2, which was on the feet of 11 of the 50 runners among the women’s and men’s top 25 finishers. There were eight runners wearing either the first or second version of the ASICS MetaSpeed Sky.

Six runners wore Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit shoes, three wore Nike Air Zoom Alphalfy NEXT% 2. There were two pairs of On Cloudboom Echo 3 in the field, including those worn by Hellen Obiri who finished sixth while running a 2:25:49 in her marathon debut, while three runners wore Puma Fast R Nitro Elite.

And what about actor Ashton Kutcher? He wore a pair of purple Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% Flyknit shoes and finished in a very respectable 3:54:01.

Matt James, the former lead of the Bachelor, finished in 3:46:45 with Shalane Flanagan as his guide wearing a pair of New Balance FuelCell Comp Trainer shoes. Flanagan wore Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% Flyknit shoes, as did Meghan Duggan, an Olympic gold medalist hockey player who ran a solid 3:52:03. Lauren Ridloff, actress from “The Walking Dead,” ran in a pair of Brooks Glycerin 20 and finished in 4:05:48, while Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton finished in 4:20:34 wearing a pair of Brooks Ghost 14 and Tommy Rivers Puzey (aka “Tommy Rivs,” a former elite runner who survived a deadly bout of cancer in 2020, wore a pair of Craft CTM Ultra Carbon Race Rebel and finished in 6:13:54.

Here’s a rundown of what was on the feet of the top 25 women’s and men’s finishers in the Big Apple.

1. Sharon Lokedi (Kenya) 2:23:23 — Under Armour Velociti Elite

2. Lonah Salpeter (Israel) 2:23:30 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

3. Gotytom Gebreslase (Ethiopia) 2:23:39 – Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

4. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) 2:24:16 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

5. Viola Cheptoo (Kenya) 2:25:34 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

6. Hellen Obiri (Kenya) 2:25:49 — On Cloudboom Echo 3

7. Aliphine Tuliamuk (USA) 2:26:18 — Hoka Rocket X 2

8. Emma Bates (USA) 2:26:53 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

9. Jessica Stenson (Australia) 2:27:27 – ASICS MetaSpeed Sky

10. Nell Rojas (USA) 2:28:32 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

11. Lindsay Flanagan (USA) 2:29:28 – ASICS MetaSpeed Sky

12. Gerda Steyn (South Africa) 2:30:22 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

13. Stephanie Bruce (USA) 2:30:34 — Hoka Rocket X 2

14. Caroline Rotich (Kenya) 2:30:59  — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

15. Keira D’Amato (USA) 2:31:31 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

16. Des Linden (USA) 2:32:37 — Brooks Prototype

17. Mao Uesugi (Japan) 2:32:56 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

18. Eloise Wellings (Australia) 2:34:50 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

19. Sarah Pagano (USA) 2:35:03 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

20. Grace Kahura (Kenya) 2:35:32 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

21. Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:35:35 — Puma Fast R Nitro Elite

22. Molly Grabill (USA) 2:39:45 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% Flyknit

23. Kayla Lampe (USA) 2:40:42 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

24. Maegan Krifchin (USA) 2:40:52 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

25. Roberta Groner (USA) 2:43:06 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2

1. Evans Chebet (Kenya) 2:08:41 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

2. Shura Kitata (Ethiopia) 2:08:54 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

3. Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands) 2:10:31 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

4. Mohamed El Aaraby (Morocco) 2:11:00 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

5. Suguru Osako (Japan) 2:11:31 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

6. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Japan) 2:12:12  — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

7. Albert Korir (Kenya) 2:13:27 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

8. Daniele Meucci (Italy) 2:13:29 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

9. Scott Fauble (USA) 2:13:35 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2

10. Reed Fischer (USA) 2:15:23 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

11. Jared Ward (USA) 2:17:09 — Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

12. Matthew Baxter (New Zealand) 2:17:15 — Hoka Rocket X 2

13. Leonard Korir (USA) 2:17:29 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

14. Matthew Llano (USA) 2:20:04 — Under Armour Velociti Elite

15. Olivier Irabaruta (Burundi)  2:20:14 — On Cloudboom Echo 3

16. Hendrik Pfeiffer (Germany) 2:22:31 — Puma Fast R Nitro Elite

17. Jonas Hampton (USA) 2:22:58 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

18. Alberto Mena (USA) 2:23:10 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

19. Jacob Shiohira (USA) 2:23:33 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

20. Edward Mulder (USA) 2:23:42 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

21. Jordan Daniel (USA) 2:24:27 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

22. Nathan Martin (USA) 2:25:27 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

23. Jeff Thies (USA) 2:25:45 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2

24. Shadrack Kipchirchir (USA) 2:28:15 — Puma Fast R Nitro Elite

25. Abi Joseph (USA) 2:29:16 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

Alternating bouts of running and walking, Thomas Puzey-widely known as "Tommy Rivs" or simply "Rivs"-made his way along Boylston Street toward the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 18. Flashing a wide smile and waving to the crowd, the Arizona-based runner celebrated his return to the site of his fastest marathon.

Five years ago, Puzey ran the race of his life here, averaging 5:17 per mile as he covered the hilly course in 2:18:20 to place 16th overall. This year, he utilized a run-walk method throughout and averaged just under 15 minutes per mile, reaching the finish line in 6:31:54. Officially, he was 24,799th out of 24,918 finishers.

Few, however, covered the course with as much joy and gratitude or received so much support and goodwill. The 37-year-old is a far different runner now than he was in 2017, after a near-death battle with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma.

"I know I am one of the lucky ones, to still be alive," he says.

This time around, Puzey's 26.2-mile journey was a celebratory benchmark of progress on his new athletic quest, where the primary goal is to be fit enough to battle cancer if-or, more likely, when-it returns. His blood and chest scans have been cancer-free for the past 15 months-after he completed six rounds of chemotherapy-but doctors have told him the rare form of cancer still has a high probability of relapsing.

"You hope that never happens, but I'm still in the bunker." he says. "It's not over for me yet. I'll always be looking over my shoulder. It's all hovering just out of sight or circling above me."

In June 2020, Puzey returned home to Flagstaff from a routine training run in the Grand Canyon feeling exceptionally fatigued and disoriented. He initially assumed he was suffering from heat stroke or severe dehydration; later, he thought it might be COVID-19. But when he ultimately checked himself into a hospital two weeks later, doctors diagnosed him with a rare form of cancer and discovered his lungs had been almost completely overtaken by invasive nodules. Suddenly fighting for his life, he was airlifted to the Scottsdale hospital in late July and was eventually sedated into a medically induced coma

Five months and multiple surgeries and treatments later, Puzey was released from the hospital, weighing in at a gaunt 95 pounds and unable to cross a room without the aid of a walker. But he was alive.

Thousands of followers, who had come to know Puzey as much for his soulful posts and coaching wisdom as for his athletic achievements, poured out support as he candidly shared his experiences and emotions on social media during the long, slow recovery process.

Today, Puzey has regained much of the muscular physique that made him stand out in a field of lanky elite runners as much as his bushy reddish-brown beard and array of tattoos. But it's always been his relentless determination that has defined him as an athlete and helped him earn podium finishes in ultramarathon trail races, triathlons, and marathons.

That determination has been evident as he's slowly rebuilt his health. Last November, Puzey had just enough physical and aerobic strength to walk the New York City Marathon in about nine hours. Since then, he's been able to start a running routine again. These days, he says, he runs at a 10-to-12-minute per mile pace for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of easy walking. He had been doing a routine of running 60 seconds, then walking 60 seconds, but that proved too ambitious, leaving him excessively fatigued.

On most days, Puzey, who continues to be sponsored as an elite athlete by Craft Sportswear, says he is out the door by 5 A.M. for four to five miles alternating running and walking. He bikes to school with his three daughters before continuing solo for a two-to-four-hour ride, keeping the pace "slow and methodical." Later in the day, usually after a nap, he'll try to get in another hour-long run-walk session before getting back on his bike to pick up the girls at school. Throughout the day, he'll do dozens of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and planks to build general strength. Occasionally he'll get in a swim.

"He's still pushing his body more than most people do," says his wife, Steph Catudal. "That's the only way he knows how to exist, just forward movement, being outside and being on his feet."

Still, Puzey's adaptability impresses Catudal. "It's just so beautiful to see him embrace that and not be frustrated and not be angry and bitter that he's not where he was a couple of years ago," she says. "It's so inspiring for me to see that he is happy where he is right now and coming to terms with it all, and that he's accepting that 30 seconds at a time is what it is, and that's OK."

The hardest adjustment, Puzey says, is how long it now takes to build fitness. "The process is exactly the same now-stress, rest, and replenish-it's just a lot more gradual trajectory, and progress comes much more slowly."

No matter how hard he works, Puzey's oxygen capacity will likely never be remotely close to what it was two years ago. His pulmonary and critical care specialist Dr. Seth Assar says his lungs are like Swiss cheese, replete with holes and scar tissue from where the cancerous nodules had been.

His passion for endurance sports, however, had never been about race results but about the pursuit of excellence within the bounds of his potential. That passion holds true now. "Satisfaction and happiness in life don't come from sitting around and doing nothing," he says. "It comes from working really, really hard at something and actually accomplishing it from time to time. That is where happiness is found, in that struggle."

And Puzey recognizes the opportunity he's been given and the responsibility that comes with it. "This has been really rough, but it could have been much worse and much different," he says. "I'm one of the lucky ones, with the gift of having another chance, and because of that, I feel morally obligated that there is a responsibility to test the limits of this new potential. I owe that to my family. I owe that to myself. I owe that to my physicians and my nurses. And I also owe that to the tens of thousands of people who have supported me and my family. If I don't seek out that potential, then it's a mockery to the people that supported me, and it's also a mockery to the people who don't have this opportunity."

While his rare type of leukemia/lymphoma has a very high recurrence rate, Assar says Puzey has exceeded expectations every month since his release from the hospital, and that gives hope for sustained remission. In the event that it does come back, Puzey's renewed strength and fitness will be an asset.

"I don't see Tommy as living with a dark cloud over his head," Assar says. "He's gone on with his normal life. He's pushing himself every day. He's not living under the fear and the burden that this disease is just going to go ahead and sweep him up one day. Tommy is living."

What better way to affirm that you're still living than running Boston? "Running a marathon is a time stamp in which we're able to declare 'I am here.'" Puzey says. "So, I am here. This is where I am right now. It's not where I want to be, it's not where I want to be forever, but it is where I am right now."