Running News Daily

World 3,000 meters steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech is the latest entrant in the Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on August 14

The world record holder over the distance, who has been training in Kericho, will compete in the 5,000m race which she will use to improve her endurance and speed.

The last race she participated in before sports activities were suspended owing to Covid-19 pandemic was the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Dusseldorf, Germany in February. She set a national indoor record after clocking 4 minutes 03.09 seconds in 1,500m.

The athlete told Nation Sport that she is looking forward to a good performance even though she has not trained as well as she had wanted to.

BROKE RECORD

Chepkoech has fond memories of Monaco because it is the venue where she broke the 3,000m steeplechase record two years ago after clocking  8:44.32.

"I'm delighted that I will be racing once again after a long break due to the virus which has disrupted the sporting world. I'm looking forward to running well since we are starting another season,” she said.

"I will be competing in the 5,000m race because I want to improve my speed and enhance endurance. Competition is changing and we need to change with the times,” she added.

Chepkoech said training has been good despite being alone because of the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health on social distancing to help prevent the spread of the virus.

"When you train as a group other athletes push you to a certain limits and that sharpens your skills. Training alone has been good but I can't say that I'm in perfect shape," she said.

TRAINED ALONE

The Monaco race will kick start a series of events across the world.

"The whole season went by without competition. Most athletes  stayed at home and trained alone while some  did farming. For  my part,  I have been helping my parents with picking tea on the farm and at the same time training to stay fit.  I'm happy we are now slowly going back to competitions,” she said.

Chepkoech will be joining other Kenyans who have been enlisted for the Monaco meet include 1,500m Olympic champion Faith Chepn’getich and Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion Conseslus  Kipruto.

Paul Chelimo says that he is willing to die in a race

United States Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Paul Chelimo was the guest on last week’s LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast and he had a lot of interesting things to say about his career, running fast, his goals, doping in Kenya, racism in America, his daughter, his rivalry with Lopez Lomong, and a lot more.

As a teenager in Kenya, Chelimo ran a tryout race in the hopes of earning a scholarship to come to the United States. Though Chelimo ran poorly, he still made it to the States, and the rest is history. He arrived at NAIA Shorter (Ga.) University with $450 to his name. He’d move on to UNC Greensboro and become a two-time NCAA runner-up, but then joined the Army thinking his running career may be over. Fortunately for Chelimo, he was accepted into the Army World Class Athlete Program and in 2016 he burst onto the professional scene in the biggest way possible, ending up with an Olympic silver in the 5,000m in Rio.

Chelimo revealed two factual things of note we had not heard before. First, he said his ultimate goal is to run the Los Angeles Olympic marathon in 2028.

And he revealed that he missed two out-of-competition drug tests when he was first put into the anti-doping pool after bursting onto the scene in 2016. He said he was unfamiliar with the whereabouts system and how it worked so he missed two tests. “Since then I was so strict, because I knew if I just missed the last one, the third one, it’s gonna be a huge mess,” he said, explaining that a lack of familiarity with the system may be why runners in Kenya are now getting whereabouts failures of their own.

More highlights from Chelimo’s comments below. You can click on the timestamps to listen to them.

[60:06] On what he thinks of Moh Ahmed running 12:47 for 5,000m and Lopez Lomong going sub-13:00 and whether that makes him scared or confident:

“I never get scared. As long as we start from the same starting line in a race, and we finish at the same finishing line in a race [it] really, really doesn’t scare me…

“Usually they say it’s the lion that is smart that strikes the meat. My goal is, it’s towards the Olympics…

“If you’re going to show up and run really fast, and try to frustrate me or frustrate anyone else, I really don’t care. I have a strong mind…. I know they can run fast now. They can pace me. I don’t have to pace them anymore… So it’s good. It’s good for the sport, actually.”

On whether his rivalry with Lomong is overstated:

[62:37] “You know, it gets to a point like when someone is becoming dominant. It’s time someone else tries to break that dominance and I see Lopez Lomong try[ing] break the dominance that I’ve had in the 5K and I like it. I like challenges and Lopez Lomong is very competitive. We’re going to show up and we’re going to race and whoever wins is a champion that day.”

Chelimo says his ultimate goal is running the Olympic marathon in LA 2028, so that makes it easy to avoid taking the shortcut of doping.

[63:41] “Eventually the big goal is to get to LA 2028 in the marathon, think about me being in the LA 2028 marathon. It’s gonna be big. So I just want to keep going and keep going to when I get there.  I just want to have a long career. That’s that’s what my big goal is and I just don’t want to be greedy and that’s why I don’t support the drug cheats because I know the more patient you are, the more you get. I know like if I cheat today, yeah, I’ll make a lot of money. But what happens if I get busted? I stay out of running for four years…. And it’s so easy in track and field to be so greedy. It’s so easy to be greedy, especially when people are smoking you in races. It’s so easy to be greedy and try take the shortcuts but let them… I’m happy with what the anti-doping [authorities] are doing and everything because people are getting busted. Which shows it’s working.”

On being willing to die in a race:

[89:19] “Really, it’s all about life. I just have to put food on my table. I just have to hustle hard and I just have to make a living. People hate, they don’t know what I’ve been through…  I ran a 5k on a dirt track in Kenya. I ran like eight laps. And I got kicked out of the track because I got lapped in a 5k, running barefoot. And I remember I ran a cross country race in Kenya. I was third to last. I was like, second or third to be last….So, coming from that, and now Nike [is] sponsoring me, I have the best shoes in the world and you want to put me in a race against someone who has had shoes the whole time? You’re gonna think that guy is gonna beat me? I mean I’m just gonna do my best, just to do all I can win the race because I know where I’ve come from…. And I really, really want it. So am I guy, I’m willing to die in a race. And trust me if I die in a race one day, that’s the best way I could die man. I could be happy because I know I was hustling and I know I was digging deep. So that’s pretty much it. That’s pretty much me.”

Boston Marathon charity runners were devastated by the cancellation of the iconic race due to the coronavirus pandemic

Boston Marathon charity runners say they deserve spot in future race after coronavirus cancellation.

Boston Marathon charity runners devastated by the cancellation of the iconic race due to the coronavirus pandemic say they are not getting a fair shake from race organizers, who will not give them a spot in a future race after raising upwards of $10,000 each this year.

Many charity runners are sounding the alarm after they’ve seen how other major marathons have handled these unprecedented circumstances — allowing 2020 fundraising efforts to carry over to future years.

“All charity runners are asking is to be treated fairly,” said Tony Clish, who started an online petition for existing fundraising to count for 2021. “I’ve raised $15,000, and I don’t have a place in a future Boston Marathon. That feels wrong.”

Clish — who lives 30 miles outside of London, England — in his petition notes how the New York City Marathon has allowed charity runners to have a three-year period to defer their bibs, and they’re not obligated to do further fundraising to secure their place.

“Boston runners feel exploited,” said Clish, 58, who has been raising money for the American Red Cross, one of 171 charities involved in the 2020 marathon fundraising programs.

The Boston Athletic Association said they offered all 31,500 people registered for the 2020 marathon the same opportunity to request a full refund of their entry fee. Some charity runners have been offered a spot in the 2021 marathon, but they have to fundraise again.

“With the 2021 Boston Marathon being just nine short months away, and with the unknown nature of the pandemic, no participants were offered deferments for a future year,” the association wrote in a statement.

Some charities are acknowledging the challenge presented to 2020 runners and offering them a chance to run in 2021 with a lower fundraising minimum.

“The B.A.A. provides each nonprofit with its invitational entries,” the association said. “Each organization then directly manages its own application process, athlete selection, and fundraising minimums, deadlines, and requirements.”

At the American Red Cross of Massachusetts, for example, runners are required to raise 50% of the 2020 fundraising minimum to participate in next year’s marathon.

“The American Red Cross of Massachusetts intends to honor our commitment to ensure every interested runner on the 2020 team has a path forward to participation on Team Red Cross in either the 2021 or a future Boston Marathon event,” Kelly Isenor of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts said in a statement.

But even raising an additional $5,000 to secure a bib for next year is simply not feasible, said Emerson College senior Maddie Lynch, 21, who has already raised $10,000 for the American Red Cross.

“Raising that money has been so rewarding,” she said. “I reached out to every person close to me, and tapped every resource, really scraping for every dollar. An extra $5,000 just wouldn’t be possible.”

Given the uncertainty over the next year and the field limitations, it would make more sense for 2020 charity runners to receive a bib that’s valid for the next five years, said Michelle Mirzoian, 40, who lives in Chicago.

“The B.A.A owes me a spot in that race,” said Mirzoian, who has raised money for 261 Fearless. “To just tell us to go raise it all again next year, during a recession and pandemic, is just heartless.”

Recovery is the key to performance for runners

Many new runners believe that the more they run, the fitter and faster they will get. While this is true to a certain degree, performance gains actually happen not during activity, but during recovery – those periods of downtime when muscles and tissues repair themselves from the microtears inflicted during a workout – which is why runners need to pay as much attention to recovery as they do to training. Making sure you’re adequately recovered between workouts is also a good way to avoid getting injured.

Michael Watts, Under Armour’s Director of Global Athlete Performance, says recovery is “arguably more important than the training.” He adds that “Recovery can help us maximize our adaptation, or it can help us get ready for another training session, or it can help us get ready for an event.” 

Watts says the most important aspect of recovery is planning for it. “I think most of us, when we start to think about training for a marathon or a half-marathon, we spend a lot of time on the training aspect: I’m going to run this pace and this many miles, I’m gonna do this on this day, and we forget to plan recovery.”

One easy way to train yourself to plan for recovery is, when designing or choosing a training plan, always include “easy” running days between hard workout days. For example, if you plan to do some combination of tempo runs, fartleks, track intervals and strength training once or twice a week, as well as your weekly long run, for best results schedule them at least a day or two apart, and either run easy on those days or take the day off. That way, after each hard or long session, you’ll be adequately recovered by the time the next one comes around.

Watts recommends having a recovery system that’s built into your training plan. “The tools, really, are the things that come and go, because technology changes and companies develop different tools,” says Watts. “We say, ‘Don’t chase the shiny objects, just make sure you have a bit of a system.’ For example, if you are going to do cold therapy, or contrast bathing, or infrared sauna, or whatever it might be, just know why you are doing that and how it fits into your system, rather than just doing it.” 

It’s also important to have practical, lightweight, packable alternatives when traveling – such as compression socks and a stick roller, when you would normally use compression boots and a bulkier foam roller if you were at home. 

Recovery starts with your cooldown

Getting into the habit of doing a proper cooldown after every workout is an excellent way to promote recovery. Always take several minutes to move around, jogging or walking, after your workout. Foam rolling and stretching (carefully, and avoiding any areas that may have been strained during your workout) can also be extremely useful, as are regular consultations with a physiotherapist and massage therapist. 

The importance of sleep

Watts says that sleep is the No.1 recovery modality in helping both body and mind recover from hard exertion. “The science and research are growing, and we are starting to really understand the importance of sleep, not only for our health, wellness and longevity but also for our performance,” says Watts. He adds that the research recommends eight to 10 hours of sleep per night for athletes, with 20 to 25 per cent of sleep time being REM (rapid eye movement) and 15 to 20 per cent being deep sleep.

Watts can’t emphasize enough how important sleep is for performance: “Sleep can help repair and regenerate both the body and the mind, so it’s an essential recovery tool for athletes,” he says, pointing out that sleep reduces inflammation, promotes the production of human growth hormone, regulates blood sugar levels and hormonal responses throughout the body and allows the brain and body to detoxify. He adds that it’s while we sleep that the adaptations we’ve been training actually occur in the body (not while we are working out), so your best performance as an athlete depends on planning for adequate sleep, creating an environment that’s conducive to getting enough sleep and cultivating habits that protect your sleep.

Canadian Lucia Stafford breaks U23 1,000m Canadian record

On Sunday evening, Lucia Stafford broke a nearly 40-year-old record, running a 2:38.70 1,000m at Birchmount Stadium to break Glenda Reiser’s record of 2:41.4 which she ran in August 1973. The run was planned as a record attempt, and since it was officially timed, is ratifiable as a Canadian record. She was paced by older sister Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who recently announced that she’s joining the Bowerman Track Club this fall. 

Stafford is coming off of a killer season, winning U Sports cross-country in 2019, running a strong indoor season in 2020 and now setting her third Canadian U23 record (she already owns the 1,000m and 1,500m indoors). Stafford’s 2019 and 2020 success is well deserved, as she struggled with Graves’ disease for a number of years leading up.

In 2018, the runner had a low-key season, and when she was racing, her performances weren’t as strong as in previous years. Some thought she was experiencing a plateau, not uncommon for someone who’s been so dominant for so long, but this wasn’t the case. In 2018, Stafford was undergoing treatment for an autoimmune disorder that causes an overactive thyroid. Since partially eradicating her thyroid gland, Stafford feels like herself again and is back running the way she wants to be. 

In a summer with very little on the calendar, scheduling time trials and record attempts is keeping runners motivated. Despite missing out on international competition, Stafford is among the many runners knocking out impressive times on their own. 

Others impressive results from the weekend:

Out west, the impressive middle distance results keep flowing in. This week, 2018 Canadian 800m champion Lindsey Butterworth ran a huge personal best in the 1,500m, running under 4:10 for the first time to finish in 4:07. In other west coast results, Natasha Wodak also had a great run to hit a personal best in the 3,000m in 9:00. Finally, John Gay broke four minutes in the mile for the first time, just sneaking under the wire to finish in 3:59. 

The Course for Olympic marathon at Tokyo 2020 is set to be measured

The course due to be used for the marathon discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is set to be officially measured later this year.

As part of preparations for the rescheduled Olympics, now due to take place from July 23 to August 8 2021, the marathon course in Sapporo is set to be officially measured and certified later in 2020, as reported by Japan Running News.

Organisers are planning to stage a test event on the course at some point in 2021, most likely between March and May.

"Whether it will be a half or full marathon is still a topic for discussion," said Tokyo 2020 chief executive Yoshiro Mori.

The course at Odori Park in Sapporo is set to stage the women's marathon on the penultimate day of the Games, Saturday August 7, with the event starting at 7am JST to avoid likely hot weather during the middle of the day.

The men's marathon takes place on the course the following day, Sunday August 8, again starting at 7am JST, with the victory ceremony for this discipline set to take place as part of the Closing Ceremony for the Games.

The Odori Park course will also be used on Thursday August 5 for the men's 20km race walk final starting at 4.30pm JST and on Friday August 6 for the men's 50km race walk final and women's 20km race walk final, starting at 5.30am JST and 4.30pm JST respectively.

The 2020 Long Beach Marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus concerns

The 36th annual Long Beach Marathon and all of its weekend activities have been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The race weekend was originally scheduled to take place Oct. 3-4 — along with the Aquarium of the Pacific 5K, Aquarium of the Pacific Kids Fun Run, 20M Bike Tour and the marathon and half-marathon highlighting the event, Oct. 4.

“Announcing yet another canceled event is not what we had in mind,” event manager Natalia Mendez said in a statement. “We monitored every step and kept faith, that with intense planning, enhanced safety protocols and alterations to the event we would be able to host the 36th running of the Long Beach Marathon. It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that our hand was forced, and we join the growing list of live events being devastated by the effects of this pandemic.”

The goal is for the event to return Oct. 10, 2021.

“We know many of you share our disappointment that the Long Beach Marathon cannot take place this year,” said Mendez. “It’s difficult but a necessary precaution that we support.”

Organizers said that all registered runners should look for an email regarding options and instructions.

One of the options is to participate in a virtual marathon. If you choose for the virtual option, runners must complete the 13.1 mile (half-marathon) or the 26.2 (marathon) and submit proof through the Virtual Run Submission Link before Oct. 4. The submission link will go live Sept. 28

“We hope you will join us virtually on race weekend so you can #RunLongBeach how you want, where you want, and when you want,” Mendez said.

Last year’s L.B. Marathon saw 15,000 runners from 44 different states and six countries compete. Nate Clayson won the last year’s men’s marathon (2:28.57) and Sergio Reyes (1:06.25) won the half-marathon.

Andrea Guerra (1:18.43) won the women’s half-marathon and Nina Zarina (2:45.09) was the marathon winner.

The marathon joins the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Long Beach Pride festival and parade, the Dark Harbor Halloween event and scores of conventions and other activities that have been canceled due to the pandemic in the city.

The 2020 Moscow Marathon set to be run as planned on September 20

Don’t miss the chance to take part in the largest running event in Russia. The Moscow Marathon offers a unique opportunity to run 42.2 km and 10 km through the very heart of city. Join us to run an incredible road race and discover breathtaking views of Moscow on the run.

September 20, 2020. The largest running event of Russia. 42.2 km and 10 km. Unique routes through the very heart of Moscow.

Run the Moscow Marathon to discover breathtaking views of Russia’s capital. You’ll see world-famous attractions on the course, including the Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow City, and four of the Seven Sisters skyscrapers.

Don’t miss the chance to take part in the largest running event in Russia on September 20.

Moscow Marathon is a member of The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and the qualifying race for the Abbott WMM Wanda Age Group World Championship 2020.

The Moscow Marathon route offers a spectacular tour of Russia’s capital, from the embankment of the Moskva River by Moscow City, to the Garden Ring, across Krymsky Bridge, along the Boulevard Ring and on Tverskaya Street, through Teatralny Passage and under the walls of the Kremlin before finally reaching the finish line at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex.

Over the course of the race, participants will be able to see more than 30 world-famous attractions, including the Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow City, and four of the Seven Sisters skyscrapers.

The Moscow Marathon is a member of The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS). Routes of 42.2km and 10km races are certified by AIMS. This year both distances of Moscow Marathon are measured by IAAF-AIMS Course Measurer Sergei Korneev (cat. B).

South African 400m world record holder and Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk tests positive for COVID-19

Wayde van Niekerk, the reigning Olympic, former world champion and world record holder in the 400m, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 28-year-old South African sprinter was intending to race both the 400m and 100m at a meet in Trieste, Italy today, but his positive test means he will not be allowed to compete.

Track fans outside South Africa have not had the pleasure of watching Van Niekerk race in the two years since his 2017 world championships victory, since he sustained a serious knee injury during a charity rugby match in November 2017. But he had indicated he was back to fitness and ready to compete before receiving the bad news this week. Van Niekerk was tested in Italy, where he has been in quarantine since arriving on July 19 after traveling via Amsterdam and Venice with a small group of athletes, according to a report on the Olympic Channel. 

The report quotes his manager, Peet van Zyl, as saying he is not ill and has not had a fever or any other symptoms. Van Zyl added that all of the athletes and coaches had been tested four times in the previous 14 days.

Before his season was put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, van Niekerk won three races in South Africa at two separate meets. He ran a 10.10-second 100m and 20.31 in the 200m on February 22, and a week later he won a 400m race, posting a 47.42. These times were all far off his PBs of 9.94 for the 100m, 19.84 in the 200m and 43.03 for the 400m, but they were his first competitive runs in two years.

Sub-43

In the 2016 Olympics in Rio, van Niekerk set the current 400m world record to win the gold medal. When racing resumes, he wants to be the first runner to dip below 43 seconds in the 400m.

“If I don’t go sub-43 that means I am not growing,” he said. “There’s no other goal than the sub-43 right now. That’s what I am working for and that’s where I want to be at.” Although he still isn’t at that level, his runs earlier this year gave him confidence that he can achieve this goal as he moves forward. 

British middle distance star Laura Muir is the latest confirmation for the LOTTO Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, set for Chorzow on September 6

French pole vault legend Renaud Lavillenie, British middle distance star Laura Muir and high jump sensation Yaroslava Mahuchikh are the latest confirmations for the LOTTO Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, set for Chorzow on September 6.

An exciting duel is expected in the men's pole vault, where Lavillenie will take on Polish star Piotr Lisek. The two have a long-standing rivalry, with Lavillenie leading 42-19 in head-to-head encounters. But the Pole turned the tables last year and will hope to continue the trend.

“Among the vaulters the atmosphere is great, we like to joke around, as well as support each other,” Lisek said. “But when it comes to competition, each of us focuses on the battle and on his own goals.”

Muir, the reigning European 1500m champion with a 3:55.22 lifetime best, will headline that event. She’ll face Polish star Sofia Ennaoui, who finished second to Muir over the distance at the most recent editions of the European indoor and outdoor championships. Ennaoui, known for her spectacular finishes, will be hoping to challenge the British star in front of a home audience.

Another reigning European champion, Elvira Herman from Belarus, will be in action in the 100m hurdles. This race will also feature a strong Polish challenger in the form of Karolina Koleczek, with a best of 12.75 from last year.

The women's high jump competition is also shaping up to be exciting, with three World Championships medalists in attendance. The world U20 record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine, still only 18, is the 2019 silver medalist with a best of 2.04m. Joining her in Chorzow will be her countrywoman Yuliya Levchenko, World Championships runner-up in 2017 and the Pole Kamila Licwinko, the bronze medalist that year. 

They'll join two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers, 2017 world javelin throw champion Johannes Vetter and reigning world discus throw champion Daniel Stahl, who have been previously announced.

Many of Poland's other top athletes will also be competing. Some of the confirmed stars include 1500m world medallist Marcin Lewandowski, shot putters Michal Haratyk and Konrad Bukowiecki, standout hammer throwers Pawel Fajdek and Wojciech Nowicki, European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and European indoor 60m champion Ewa Swoboda.

In accordance with current Polish sanitary laws and social distancing regulations, attendance in the Silesian Stadium will be limited to 50% of the stadium's capacity, which will allow 27,000 spectators to watch the meet live.

Competition updates

Here is a round-up of updates relating to international competitions, from cancellations to postponements and confirmations as of July 31.   Things are changing regularly and updates are made every day.  

Valencia Half Marathon 2020 - cancelled

The 2020 Medio Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP, scheduled for Sunday 25 October has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

In a statement, the organisers said: "SD Correcaminos (running club), the organiser of the Valencia Half-Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, after fully appraising the health situation and consulting all the authorities involved, hereby announces the cancellation of the 30th edition of the race. The results of the appraisal and consultation showed that it was impossible to go ahead with the race, which was scheduled for the 25th of October 2020."

Announcement (30 July)

Great Ethiopian Run (15 Nov 2020) - postponed

"The 20th edition of TOTAL Great Ethiopian Run International 10km was scheduled to be held on 15 November 2020. However, due to the current situation of Covid-19, we are forced to postpone the race. We will announce the new date on a later date. Please bear with us while we work through the details to deliver the 20th edition of our flagship race."

Announcement (27 July)

Nanjing Continental Tour Gold Meeting 2020 - cancelled

Following the decision taken by China's National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, organisers of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nanjing have announced that the competition will not go ahead this year.

Announcement (25 July)

Shanghai Diamond League (19 Sep 2020) - cancelled

Following the decision taken by the National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, we are sorry to announce that the 2020 Shanghai Diamond League will not go ahead as planned on 19th September. The meeting will return next year, taking its traditional place as one of the early-season events in the Diamond League calendar.

Announcement (24 July)

Müller Grand Prix, Gateshead (12 Sep 2020) - cancelled

The Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar. The Müller Grand Prix in Gateshead, UK, scheduled for 12 September to have been the fifth competitive meeting of the season, has been cancelled.

Announcement (23 July)

ISTAF (13 Sep 2020) - confirmed

“With 3500 spectators instead of 45,000, the ISTAF will certainly be different this time, but it may be a first small step back to normal," said meeting director Martin Seeber. "We want to set an example for sport and be a beacon for athletics."

Announcement (21 July)

Hamburg Marathon (13 Sep 2020) - cancelled

Major sporting events in Hamburg, which have been postponed until late summer and autumn 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has been raging since spring 2020, will no longer take place this year, but will be postponed until 2021.

Announcement (21 July)

Madrid Half Marathon (4 Oct 2020) - cancelled

"The organisation of the Movistar Madrid Half Marathon and the ProFuturo Race announce the cancellation of the 2020 edition, originally scheduled for 29 March and which, due to the coronavirus health emergency, was postponed to 4 October. The circumstances are still not ideal for the celebration of these two sporting events with a joint participation of close to 20,000 people, and the prospect for the coming months does not offer security guarantees for participants, spectators, volunteers and the organisation team either."

Announcement (21 July)

Rotterdam Marathon (24-25 Oct 2020) - postponed

"With pain in our hearts we have decided to reschedule the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The NN Marathon Rotterdam is now scheduled to take place on the 10th and 11th of April 2021. Every individual runner with a place in the 2020 edition will be able to use their place in the rescheduled event."

Announcement (20 July)

Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon (7 Feb 2021) - cancelled

"The 75th anniversary running of the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon scheduled for 7 February 2021 will not take place. After careful consideration we determined that, with no visible end to the coronavirus crisis in sight, for the health and safety of participants, volunteers, staff, medical and rescue personnel, fans along the course and everyone else involved with our event, our 75th running must be postponed for one year."

Announcement (20 July)

Meeting Liege (9 Sep 2020) - cancelled

"There will be no 19th edition of the Meeting International d'Athlétisme de la Province de Liège this year. The applicable corona measures meant it is not possible to organise the event properly later this summer. The 19th edition can take place in July 2021 and we are also looking forward to the 20th anniversary of this international event in 2022."

Announcement (16 July)

Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 - postponed

Senegal and the International Olympic Committee have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 to 2026. This postponement meets the requirement of responsibility and the concern for efficiency imposed by current circumstances.

Announcement (15 July)

Great Birmingham Run (11 Oct 2020) - cancelled

"There’s no option to stage the event as planned, or at a later date in the year."

Announcement (15 July)

Chicago Marathon (11 Oct 2020) - cancelled

Event organisers and the City of Chicago announced the decision to cancel the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and all race weekend activities in response to the ongoing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcement (13 July)

Toronto Marathon (18 Oct 2020) - cancelled

Working closely with the City of Toronto and Mayor John Tory, event organisers Canada Running Series have made the decision to cancel the event due to Covid-19 related health and safety concerns. "We are pleased to announce that we will be transitioning to a virtual event this year, to continue to offer the best possible running and fundraising goals in these challenging times."

Announcement (13 July)

Athens Authentic Marathon (8 Nov 2020) - confirmed

In accordance with the Protocol for Road Races approved by the Health Committee of the General Secretariat of Sports for Sports and the Ministry of Sports, SEGAS (Hellenic Athletics Federation) and its partners have taken up further actions and announce today that, given the current circumstances, the 2020 Athens Marathon will be staged as planned on 7-8 November 2020.

Announcement (13 July)

Seiko Golden Grand Prix Tokyo (23 Aug 2020) - postponed

Originally set to take place on 10 May, the Seiko Golden Grand Prix – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting – will now be held on Sunday 23 August. “Only domestic athletes will participate,” read a statement on the meeting’s website. “We are also considering allowing high school athletes to play a role. Details will be announced once they are confirmed.”

Announcement (13 July)

Paris Marathon (15 Nov 2020) - postponed

Having already been rescheduled from 5 April to 18 October, organisers of the Paris Marathon have pushed the date back to 15 November. "We will, of course, be monitoring the situation as it develops," they said, "and will be carefully respecting the directives of the health authorities and state services with whom we are cooperating closely."

Announcement (6 July)

New dates set for World Athletics Series events postponed due to the global Covid-19 pandemic

The World Athletics Council has approved new dates for the World U20 Championships Nairobi 2020 and the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Minsk 2020.

The World U20 Championships will now be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 17 to 22 August, 2021, one week after the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Under the competition’s rules, athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 years on 31 December, 2021 will be eligible to compete.

The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships have been rescheduled for 23-24 April, 2022 in Minsk, Belarus.

The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 2022 have also had a small date change, moving back one week, from 20 March, 2022, to 27 March 2022.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: “The disruption caused by the global pandemic has made it more difficult to schedule international events over the next two years but we want to give as much certainty as we can to our athletes, Member Federations, host cities and partners. We have done our best to choose dates that we believe are achievable and offer the best chance for our athletes and event hosts to shine on the international stage.”

Bathurst World Cross Country organisers request alternative dates

World Athletics has also updated the Council on conversations with organisers of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 to explore alternative dates for the event.

This is due to ongoing travel and gathering restrictions resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic and the measures currently implemented within Australia to contain it. This includes the closure of Australia’s international borders.

The Board of the Local Organising Committee, World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021, the Athletics Australia board and the New South Wales Government have reinforced their strong desire to host this World Championship and have asked World Athletics to postpone the event to a future date to be determined.

World Athletics will work closely with all stakeholders in Australia to explore the feasibility of other dates. At this time the event remains in the calendar for 20 March 2021.

National championships windows, 2021-2024

In an effort to assist long-term planning for the athletes and Member Federations and in line with the Global Calendar Hierarchy, the Global Calendar Unit has agreed on the following national championships protected windows from 2021-2024.

2021

Protected national championships window 1 - 5-6 June

Protected national championships window 2 - 26-27 June

2022

Protected national championships window - 25-26 June

2023

Protected national championships window 1 - 8-9 July

Protected national championships window 2 - 29-30 July

2024

Protected national championships window 1 - 8-9 June

Protected national championships window 2 - 29-30 June

Long hours, short nights and ulcers: Portland Track defies the coronavirus to stage elite meets

If Portland Track’s Jeff Merrill feels a little ragged, well, no wonder.

The legwork it takes to stage elite track meets during the coronavirus pandemic would be a strain on anybody.

“It’s an around-the-clock type of thing,” Merrill says. “The days all kind of blur together.”

Portland Track has put on two popup meets, the Big Friendly 1 on July 3 at Portland’s Jesuit High School and the Big Friendly 2 (the Bigger Friendly) on July 17 at McKenzie Track, 40 miles outside of Eugene.

Big Friendly 3 is being planned for Friday at an undisclosed location somewhere in the Portland area. Organizers are staying mum about the location to discourage spectators and prevent potential spread of the virus.

The effort it’s taken to get to this point would exhaust a marathoner. Portland Track has consulted with Oregon’s three, Nike-sponsored elite distance groups — the Bowerman Track Club, Oregon Track Club Elite and coach Pete Julian’s unnamed group.

The Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League have advised. The office of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed off. So have Multnomah and Lane counties, and, presumably, the county in which the next one will take place if it’s not Multnomah. So has USA Track & Field.

Portland Track organizers have arranged with Providence-Oregon for participants to be tested twice in a 48-hour period shortly before race day. They have had to find available tracks suitable for Olympic-level athletes that meet USATF’s sanctioning criteria.

In the case of McKenzie Track, that meant building an inside rail the day before the meet, even while on the phone to Lane County Health and Human Services.

“We weren’t sure the meet was going to happen because a new mask order was going into effect and we wanted to find out for sure that we were OK to hold it,” Merrill says.

They were — once they had passed the hat to participants to pay for the rail. Portland Track is a shoestring operation with an all-volunteer board and next-to-no budget. Merrill, who is a Portland Track board member and works fulltime for Nike, hasn’t slept much this month.

None of this is easy. All of it is time consuming. Start with finding a track.

“It’s pretty hard,” says Portland Track president Michael Bergmann. “I’ve learned about all the tracks in the state, from Lane Community College, to George Fox, to Linfield, to Mt. Hood Community College. All of those guys have rails. But the schools are closed. The campuses are closed. Most of those places don’t want to take the risk of having any sort of event, which I totally understand and respect.”

McKenzie Community Track & Field didn’t have those concerns, which made the track available on July 17 — providing Portland Track brought the rail.

But that track’s tight turns make it less suitable for running fast and setting records, which is what athletes such as Donavan Brazier, Craig Engels, Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Raevyn Rogers and Shannon Rowbury of Team Julian, Nijel Amos and Chanelle Price of OTC Elite, and Josh Kerr of the Brooks Beasts want to do.

“A good call out is, when you’re looking at an aerial view on Google Maps, you want a track with a soccer field in the middle because those are wider,” Merrill says. “If they just have a football field in the middle, they’re a little narrow.”

The Thorns became involved because some players are fans of Tracklandia, a talk show Portland Track streams and Merrill co-hosts with two-time Olympian Andrew Wheating.

Thorns defender Emily Menges, who ran track at Georgetown, has been known to join the pre-pandemic post-show gatherings at an adjacent restaurant. When Merrill mentioned Portland Track was trying to set up a coronavirus testing protocol, Menges put the organizers in touch with the Thorns training staff. That led Portland Track to Providence for the testing.

“Their system is awesome,” Bergmann says.

On race day, Portland Track is serious about keeping out spectators and holding down the number of people around the track.

At McKenzie Track, “we had folks from their board at the front of the road access with a checklist,” Bergmann says. “Nobody got past who wasn’t on the list. When people come into the facility, we do a temperature check and give them a wristband to show they’ve been checked.”

Athletes are asked to wear masks when not competing. Portland Track board members do everything from labeling and handing out race bibs to counting laps to handling the public address announcing.

They had hoped to livestream the McKenzie meet, but rural Lane County couldn’t provide the necessary bandwidth. That shouldn’t be a problem Friday.

J.J. Vazquez, a Portland State professor who runs the production company Locomotion Pictures, is set to be in charge of streaming the action live on Portland Track’s free

There should be plenty to watch. Team Julian, OTC Elite, the Brooks Beasts of Seattle and Little Wing of Bend will compete. Seattle-based post-collegians mentored by University of Washington coaches Andy and Maurica Powell also figure to be there.

Bergmann has hinted there could be surprises — either entries or record attempts — but declines to be more specific.

The Bowerman Track Club has opted out, choosing instead to hold intrasquad time trials.

Bergmann says BTC coach Jerry Schumacher “knows what we’re doing. But they’ve been pretty successful doing it their way. He has his plan. I’m not going to beg him.”

The people at Portland Track have enough on their plate as it is. They aren’t getting rich.

On their own time, they are providing the region’s Olympic-level athletes a chance to do what they train to do.

“We’re having a blast,” Merrill says. “Although, I might have an ulcer.”

Benwood Fire Captain runs 8 miles geared up for a special cause

One fully-geared up firefighter is running 8 miles for a cause that could be life-changing to kids with cancer.

It would have been the 23rd annual Debbie Green Memorial 5k/Walk for Leukemia. But this year one man is running… all by himself.

Garson Taylor is the Captain of the Benwood Fire Department. He would have ran the 5k for the 6th time if it didn’t get canceled due to the epidemic.

The annual 5k then didn’t get to raise around $15,000 to $20,000 for kids with cancer like it usually does every year.

Still Taylor managed to raise $3,200 from his own run. He ran Saturday morning from the center of Benwood towards Marshall Street until he got to Moundsville… all for the kids.

“At first I just did it just to do it, and then I got to meet the families of these kids that are sick, and seeing their smiles. They don’t even know me. I don’t know them, so it’s a really great thing.”

The Debbie Green Memorial 5k/Walk for Leukemia started 23 years ago.

It all dates back to 1972… the year 6-year-old Debbie Green died from Leukemia. Over 40 kids with cancer have been helped since.

If you’d like to donate to the cause, you could stop by Happy Tails Pet Salon.

Taylor says he’s hoping to reach between $4,500 and 5,000 dollars for kids with cancer.

Boston bomber’s death sentence overturned

According to multiple reports, on Friday Justice O. Rogeriee Thompson of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston overturned the death sentence meted out to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the now-27-year-old who was convicted for his part in the 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon, which killed three people at the scene including eight-year-old Martin Richard, and injured hundreds of others. (Tsarnaev’s brother, Tamerlan, died in a shootout with police three days after the bombings, after killing MIT police officer Sean Collier.) Tsarnaev will face a new trial to determine what sentence he should receive.

The Globe and Mail reported today that Tsarnaev, who was 20 at the time of the bombings and whose trial concluded in 2015, is in prison in Florida, and quoted Thompson as saying, “Make no mistake: Dzhokhar will spend his remaining days locked up in prison, with the only matter remaining being whether he will die by execution.”

Some members of the public demonstrated against the death penalty outside the court on June 24, 2015, the day of Tsarnaev’s sentencing.

The report quotes Thompson saying the trial judge erred in accepting certain jury members’ claims that despite massive publicity surrounding the case, they could impartially assess the evidence presented. At the time, his lawyers argued the case should not have been heard in Boston.

The race was halted after the two bombs, contained in backpacks, detonated near the finish line on Boylston Street at 2:49 p.m. on April 15, 2013.

How to makes the weekly long run a key part of your training plan

When starting to train for a race of almost any distance beyond the sprints, the weekly long run is key to building endurance. The main principle is to add mileage gradually over time. In the case of the marathon, a four- to six-month build is recommended, and less for a half-marathon or 10K race. Most training plans are conveniently built on a weekly schedule, and your weekend long runs are interspersed with short, easy runs, once- or twice-weekly speedwork sessions and/or strength training and recovery time.

How to incorporate the long run into your weekly routine

The point of the weekly long run is to build your endurance. Starting with a modest goal, such as being able to run for at least an hour without stopping, those who are new to running should run at a pace that lets them carry on a conversation. “You want to be able to actually do the long run, to be able to start it and to finish it – to me that’s where the win is, regardless of your pace,” says Under Armour runner and YAMAJO Run Crew founder David Joseph, who is based in Montreal. Putting in those weekly long runs will give you the confidence to go the distance on race day.

For a first half-marathon, a good rule of thumb is that a runner should have some experience with the 10K before they begin training, and similarly, those tackling their first marathon should have raced a half-marathon first, according to Joseph.

Initially, you’ll be better off running without a watch and getting used to what an easy, conversational pace feels like. More experienced runners might prefer to train by distance rather than time, starting with a long run of 12K to 15K. Adding a kilometre each week, after training for a couple of months you’ll have your long runs up to or beyond 21K and be well on your way to a successful result in the half-marathon – assuming you’re also running shorter distances, and occasionally running fast, in between your weekly long runs.

Under Armour trainer and former Canadian national decathlon champion Rich Hesketh, who is based in Calgary, recommends that beginners build mileage slowly: “Keep your increases quite progressive in a linear fashion,” he says. “Don’t try and have big jumps or go too long at the same pace for more than a couple of weeks. As a principle of progressive loading, we could look at up to one to two kilometres per week for marathon training. And you’ll eventually get to the point where you’re doing your three- and four-hour long runs.”

Keep your long runs easy

It’s important to do the long run at an easy, comfortable, conversational pace in order to train your aerobic system and slow-twitch muscle fibres, which are what the body uses during all but the final sprint of the marathon. You can work on speed over short distances during your mid-week runs. On race day, the two elements of your training (endurance and speed) will come together, and if you’ve also dialled in your nutrition and recovery, you should be able to hold your goal pace and sprint across the finish line. The challenge is to trust that this process works!

Runners should be guided by the 80/20 rule: run 80 per cent of mileage at an easy pace and 20 per cent at a faster pace (steady state, tempo or race pace). Many runners think they will only get faster if they hammer every workout, but this is a very unwise approach that will likely lead to overtraining and injury. Hesketh explains, “People feel like they’re not working hard enough – they feel like they’ve got to go out and blast a hard run. And that’s not necessary – in fact, that steady, even pace, once you find your pace and your cadence for that, will go a long way in your ability to maintain and improve your running.”

Use a heart rate monitor

The best way to determine how fast to run your long runs is to calculate 220 minus your age, and keep your heart rate at or below 60 to 65 per cent of that. For best results, use a wrist-based or chest strap heart rate monitor. For example, a typical 30-year-old’s max heart rate would be around 190 beats per minute, so on long runs their heart rate should not exceed 123 beats per minute. You might feel like you could easily go faster, especially at the beginning of a long run, but you should resist the urge and save the speed for your short midweek runs. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2, Under Armour Edition offers accurate wrist-based heart rate monitoring to keep you honest! And in addition, Under Armour’s MapMyRun app offers heart rate analysis, whose detailed heart rate graphs help runners train at the right intensity.

Your total weekly mileage should increase by not more than 10 per cent per week. Let’s say, for example, that you’re running 6K to 8K four times a week, plus your 10K weekly long run (to start). That’s 34K to 42K total for that week. The following week, if you increase your long run to 13K while keeping your other runs at roughly the same length, you’re now running 37K to 45K per week – an increase of around eight per cent. Keep in mind that as you gain fitness and experience, you’ll want to make your mid-week runs a bit longer, as well. (There’s a certain amount of mental math necessary to make sure you’re increasing your mileage at an appropriate rate – not so slowly that you don’t reach your goal, but not so quickly that you end up overtrained, and possibly injured.) Always schedule at least one or two rest days or easy run days between the long run and your next speed workout.

Shoes for the long run

For your long runs, you want a shoe with plenty of cushioning. The UA HOVR™ Infinite 2 is an excellent high-mileage shoe and perfect for the long run. The midsole is made with UA’s signature HOVR cushioning foam, and the shoe has the embedded chip in the heel to give you all your key running metrics via the UA MapMyRun™ app. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2, Under Armour Edition also comes pre-loaded with UA MapMyRun™, so you can also receive real-time audio cues on your form and cadence.

f you prefer a shoe that will work well for easy runs, speedwork and tempo runs as well as the long run, the most versatile choice would be the UA HOVR™ Sonic 3, which has all the lightweight cushioning and flexibility you need. It, too, comes with the built-in chip that connects to the UA MapMyRun™ app.

Qatar hoping to host 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Persian Gulf nation hosted the World Athletics Championships in 2019 and will hold the football World Cup finals in 2022

Qatar is keen on on hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The gas-rich Persian Gulf nation has expressed an interest in hosting the world's biggest sporting events in a letter to the International Olympic Committee.

Qatar is turning its focus to taking the Games to the Middle East for the first time as it prepares to host the region's first World Cup in 2022.

"Today's announcement marks the beginning of a meaningful dialogue with the IOC's Future Host Commission to explore our interest further and identify how the Olympic Games can support Qatar's long-term development goals," Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, president of the Qatar Olympic Committee, said in a statement.

"For many years, sport has been a major contributor to our nation's development. It is this proven track-record and wealth of experience, along with our desire to use sport to promote peace and cultural exchange, that will form the basis of our discussions with the commission."

An interest in bidding for the Olympics comes as Qatar continues to face corruption allegations over how it won the rights to host the World Cup in a Fifa vote in December 2010.

In April, American prosecutors revealed new details of alleged bribes paid to Fifa executive committee members to gain their votes.

An earlier Fifa investigation found some of Qatar's conduct "may not have met the standards" required by Fifa but concluded there was no "evidence of any improper activity by the bid team." Qatar has denied any wrongdoing.

Fifa had to move the World Cup from its usual June-July slot to November-December 2022 due to the desert country's fierce summer heat.

While the Summer Olympics is typically held in July and August, Qatar did stage the world track and field championships last year across September and October at an outdoor stadium using air conditioning.

The next Summer Olympics are the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021, followed by Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.

ASICS introduces new mask made for runners

The latest product from ASICS was designed with the COVID-19 pandemic in mind

This week ASICS announced that the company’s Institute of Sport Science (ISS) has developed a face mask with the performance, comfort and protection of runners in mind. The mask, called the ASICS Runners Face Cover, was designed after countries all around the world not only endorsed the wearing of masks, but enacted laws enforcing it. If you’re a runner who would feel more comfortable wearing a mask while out for your runs on the roads or trails around other people, the ASICS face cover could be a great option.

The face cover features air vents that offer unobstructed airflow while still managing to prevent the spread of droplets. Its adjustable cord helps accommodate all runners, and it locks in place to ensure that it fits snugly on anyone’s face. The face cover is designed with a washable, quick-dry fabric, and as a bonus, each mask is made from approximately 31 per cent recycled materials, so you’re helping the environment while also protecting people around you as you run.

In a statement from the company, Kenichi Harano, the executive officer and senior general manager at the ISS, said, “We know how important it is for runners to protect themselves and others when running, but also that many find face covers uncomfortable and restrictive. So, we created the ASICS Runners Face Cover, uniquely designed for runners with cutting-edge technology.” The company estimates that it will be available to order in Canada by mid- to late-September on the ASICS website for C$60.

The World Athletics Council has confirmed the competition format for a cross country event to be included in the Olympic Games

The event, which has been proposed for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, would be a mixed team relay for 15 countries.

Each team would be composed of two men and two women. Each member of the team would run two legs of the 2.5km course, alternating between male and female athletes as each athlete completes the 2.5km course and hands over to a teammate.

World Athletics will meet with the Paris 2024 organising committee in the near future to work out further details of the proposal.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said he was delighted at the prospect of cross country returning to the Olympic Games 100 years after it last appeared at the 1924 Paris Games.

“My love for athletics began with cross country,’’ he said.

“When I joined my first athletics club, Hallamshire Harriers, the club president was Joe Williams, who ran in the last Olympic cross country race in Paris in 1924. It would be hugely symbolic for this wonderful athletic discipline to return to the fold after a century, and for a new generation of runners to fall in love with the glorious challenge of running off-piste.”

The injured runner’s guide to training through a pandemic

How to cross-train with limited facility access

Injury is never fun, but it’s especially not fun when gyms are closed and local pools cut their lane swims off at 25 minutes in length. These COVID-19 safety measures have meant that injured runners are a little hard up for training facilities. Until they’re injured, runners certainly take for granted that their primary mode of exercise can be done anywhere. As a runner who found herself injured during a pandemic, I was thankful to already own a road bike, but I was also looking for other ways to workout. Because of my time cross-training, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks for staying fit when you can’t hit the road, track or trails.

Buy some workout bands

One of the most common causes of injury is inefficiencies which can be remedied through strength training. If you’re looking to make a more sustainable change, Max Paquette, a biomechanist, recommends strength training over gait retraining. “Strength training builds resilience, which makes your body better equipped to handle stress and in turn makes you less likely to injure the tissue. The idea that only changing gait would be more beneficial than strengthening tissue isn’t always accurate.”

If you aren’t comfortable going to the gym (as it turns out, lots of Canadians aren’t), purchasing resistance bands is one of the cheapest ways to incorporate some “weight” training into your routine. These resistance bands run from around $10 to $35 and can be purchased on Amazon or at your local running store, or if you’re looking to support an elite athlete, 2017 steeplechase world champion Emma Coburn sells them on her website.

Lake jogging is your friend

Pool running is difficult to do right now, as many public pools have opted out of opening lane swims due to social distancing regulations. If you happen to live in an area with a lake or river nearby, lake jogging is a great alternative.

A few notes on water running: it’s harder in a lake, due to the current. Also, runners are encouraged to purchase a flotation belt (which cost around $40 on Amazon) to improve form and work the muscles that they actually use when running. To make the time pass faster, throw some intervals into your water jog. A few sets of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off is hard work, and it gets you to 60 minutes of no-impact running in no time.

Cycling is also a great alternative

If you have access to a bike, take it for a spin. The bike is a great place to do interval workouts which mimic those you would do running. But it’s important to note that cycling can lead to very tight hips, so pay special attention to them when you’re rolling out and stretching after your workout.

Don’t forget to go on walks

If you’re able to walk without pain, getting out for a few kilometres is a great idea. This will help prepare your body for the load of running when it’s eventually able to handle it again.

Get treatment

Almost all practitioners are open again for in-person visits, including physiotherapists, chiropractors and massage therapists. If you’re comfortable, getting treatment is a great idea to expedite the healing process.

Focus on what you can control

To heal an injury quickly, runners should be doing their best to sleep a lot and eat well. This is easier said than done, but in most cases, focusing on the simple things can make a huge longterm difference.

Last year's Fukuoka International Marathon winner El Mahjoub Dazza of Morocco has been handed a four-year doping ban

2019 Fukuoka Int'l Marathon winner Dazza handed 4-year doping ban,  the Athletics Integrity Unit said Friday.

"The World Athletes Disciplinary Tribunal has banned long-distance runner El Mahjoub Dazza of Morocco for four years with effect from 10 January 2020 for an Athlete Biological Passport violation under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules," AIU said on its Twitter account.

The 29-year-old Dazza, who has been under provisional suspension since January for an "atypical passport result," will lose all results from May 4, 2019, to Jan. 10, 2020. The decision is subject to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Pending any appeals, it means he will lose his 2019 Prague Marathon and 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon titles, in the latter case elevating runner-up Taku Fujimoto to winner. Fujimoto failed to earn a place on the Olympic team through the December race.

The AIU is a watchdog founded by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2017 to combat doping in the sport of athletics.

Run with Rivs takes off in support of beloved runner Tommy Rivers Puzey

The outpouring of support from the Flagstaff running community for one of their own, Tommy Rivers Puzey, continues. 

For the community, which encompasses all levels of running from pro to fitness nuts in town, lifting up one of their own whom so often has helped others is a no-brainer.

"Rivers and his family are one of ours and this is a really hard time for them and a tough diagnosis what he is fighting," Mike Smith, Northern Arizona director for cross country and track and field, said over the phone Friday. "That's a fight that he's got to undertake, but we know in community we can let him and his family know there are lots of folks behind them.

"Sometimes it is the community lifting you up and other times you are called to do the lifting. Right now for the Flagstaff running community, it is time to lift. ... He's one of us and we got to take care of our people."

Smith and Run Flagstaff owner Vince Sherry organized Run with Rivs, a charity event to continue to raise funds for Rivers Puzey's cancer treatment and the medical costs.

Much like NAZ Elite head coach Ben Rosario, Sherry's impression of Rivers Puzey, address by many as Rivers, are nothing but positive. Sherry described the notable runner as someone who just went to everything he could and was quickly ingrained into the Flagstaff running community not long after he first moved to town.

Sherry said he never really had to ask Rivers where he would be, but chances are he would just be there.

Whether at a group run, a bagel run or when Rivers would run to and from Northern Arizona's campus for classes each day, it is usually hard to miss him.

"We were doing Wednesday group runs and the reason that everyone got to know him was because he showed up to absolutely everything," Sherry said. "We had Wednesday group runs and he would be at Wednesday group runs, and then on Thursday he would be at the bagel runs and he would do his own runs. You could look out the window and see the route he would do to get to NAU on the urban trail. ... We would see him with his backpack on and I would be at the counter at the shop and, 'Oh, there goes Tommy,' and then a few hours later, 'There he goes again.'"

NAZ Elite This Week: Tommy Rivers Puzey's ties run deep with squad, Kellyn Taylor

With the type of person Rivers is, it is easy for so many to step up to the plate and help him in his battle with pulmonary NK/T-Cell lymphoma. For Sherry it was an easy decision to make with Smith.

"In part in how it stemmed was that Tommy relates to people in a lot of ways; he's funny and he's got a way about him and is really kind and considerate," Sherry said. "He looks out for other people."

Participants can choose to run, ride, hike, paddle, or walk as many miles and as many times as they want between Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 9. Participants are then are asked to donate after signing up and can use the hashtags #RunWithRivs, #RideWithRivs #HikeWithRivs and #TriWithRivs to share their experience. They are also asked to mention @runwithrivs on any posts on social media.

Participants make their own challenge and share their journey. That's what Sherry and Smith wanted, people to have fun with it like Rivers would want.

Sherry said he and others involved with the event will share the photos, videos and other posts that participants share on social media onto the event's Instagram page. Sherry said he hopes the posts connect with Rivers and his family throughout Rivers' battle and his hopeful recovery.

Original Coubertin drawing of Olympic rings sells for €185,000 ($216,000US) at auction

An original drawing of the Olympic rings sketched by Baron Pierre de Coubertin sold for €185,000 (£169,000/$216,000) at an auction in Cannes today.

That was €85,000 (£77,000/$99,000) above the estimate experts predicted it would fetch.

The figure included the 27 per cent commission fee of €234,950 (£214,032/$275,479).

"The drawing was sold to a Brazilian collector," Alexander Debussy, associate director of Cannes Auction House, said. 

Last December, the manifesto drawn up by Coubertin which led to the revival of the Olympic Games sold for a record $8,806,500 (£6,764,543/€7,916,191) at an auction in New York City.

The founder of the modern Olympics created the five interlocking rings in 1913 in blue, yellow, black, green and red on a white field.

It is believed he intended the rings to represent the five continents of Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

He claimed the colours of the rings together with the white of the background included the colours composing every competing nation's flag at the time.

In a survey published earlier this year the Olympic rings were voted among the top 10 most recognisable logo or symbol of all-time. 

Coubertin introduced the rings in the August 1913 edition of Olympic Review.

His original drawing is in graphite and gouache on a 21x27.5 centimetre piece of white card, which he has autographed.

The new Olympic symbol and flag were officially approved at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Congress at the Sorbonne University on June 15 in 1914, held to mark the 20th anniversary of the decision to revive the Games and the formation of the Olympic Movement.

But the shadow of World War One hanging over the world meant the rings and flag did not appear at an Olympic Games until the Opening Ceremony of Antwerp in 1920. 

Cannes Auction House had put a reserve of €50,000 (£45,000/$57,000) on the item – which was from a private Swiss collection – but estimated bidding would reach between €80,000 (£73,000/$91,000) and €100,000 (£91,000/$114,000).

The 5,000-word handwritten manifesto sold in New York City was purchased by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, the President of the International Fencing Federation.

In February it was announced that he had donated the document to the Olympic Museum.

Russian athletics federation Could be expelled from membership of World Athletics

The council of World Athletics has announced that the Russian Federation (RusAF) will be expelled from membership of World Athletics if it does not make the outstanding payments of a USD 5 million (420m EUR) fine and pay USD 1.31 million (954,600 EUR) in costs before 15 August.

The Council followed the recommendations of the Taskforce, delivered by chairperson Rune Andersen in his report. Andersen expressed his disappointment that the Taskforce had seen “very little in terms of changing the culture of Russian athletics” in the past five years.

Russian Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin has sent a letter to World Athletics, which promises payment of the overdue amounts by 15 August, in the light of which the Taskforce’s recommendations were:

To recommend to Congress that it resolves to expel RusAf from membership of World Athletics, in accordance with Article 14.1 of the Constitution, on the basis that the matters that led Congress to suspend RusAF from membership pursuant to Article 13.7 have not been satisfactorily addressed.

To recommend that a Special Congress meeting be convened as soon as possible to allow Congress to consider and vote on the proposal to expel RusAF. In the circumstances of the ongoing and worsening pandemic, that Special Congress meeting should if possible be held virtually, to avoid delay.

That pending Congress’s decision, the “Neutral Athlete” mechanism will not be made available to Russian athletes.

This decision is suspended, but will come into effect immediately and automatically if any of the following conditions are not met:

Payment in full of the two outstanding RusAF invoices to be received on or before close of business in Monaco on 15 August 2020.

The RusAF Reinstatement Commission to provide the draft plan referenced in the third paragraph of Council’s decision of 12 March 2020 – of suitable scope and depth, with an implementation plan and progress indicators – to the Taskforce on or before 31 August 2020.

Any changes required by the Taskforce to the draft plan to be incorporated to the Taskforce’s satisfaction on or before 30 September 2020.

The Plan to be brought into effect and satisfactory progress achieved against the plan (as determined by the Taskforce, based on the input of the international experts appointed by World Athletics), as reported by the Taskforce to Council at each of its subsequent meetings.

In relation to Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANAs):

Athletes may apply for ANA status for 2020 competitions in accordance with the process specified by the Doping Review Board.

No ANA status will be granted to any athlete for 2020 competitions unless and until conditions (1) to (3) above are met.

If conditions (1) to (3) are met, then in accordance with Council’s March decision, (1) no more than ten athletes (in total) will be granted ANA status for World Athletics Series events. (The ony such event scheduled for 2020 is the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia); (2) there is no cap on ANAs for other international competitions in 2020.

Council’s March 2020 decision to allow up to 10 Authorised Neutral Athletics for World Athletics Series events and the Tokyo Olympics will be reviewed no earlier than December 2020, based on an assessment of the progress made by RusAF against the reinstatement plan.

The Council decided in March to sanction RusAF’s admitted breaches of the Anti-Doping Rules during the Lysenko investigation with a USD 10 million fine (8.4m EUR), with USD 5 million to be paid by 1 July 2020 and the other USD 5 million suspended. The Council also required RusAF to pay related costs by 1 July 2020

Valencia Half Marathon cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation

The 2020 Medio Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP, scheduled for Sunday October 25 has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

The event was the final race in the inaugural year of the SuperHalfs series – all of which have now been cancelled and/or postponed into 2021.

All registered runners will receive instructions from the organising club SD Correcaminos on the options available regarding their 2020 race entries and how to proceed with their chosen option:

1. To swap the 2020 entry for a place in the 2021 edition (24 October 2021).

2. To request a full refund of the entry (with the exception of the voluntary charitable donation, which will be paid as planned to PayaSOSpital, this year’s charity).

3. To donate the entry fee as a token of your solidarity with the Race Organisation.

“Although all of our plans are delayed we keep our focus on working hard to set up an innovative running series that will bring together five of the world’s most beautiful half marathons with the aim of promoting running, environmental sustainability and tourism,” said a spokesperson.

With safety precautions, and new courses Heartland Marathon will go on as planned

Race organizers are assuring runners that the Heartland Marathon is taking place this year in person as planned.

The race, in its sixth year, is set for Sept. 27.

Organizers said they’re not considering a virtual event. They think they can host a safe event for runners and volunteers.

“We’re going to do our best to follow what other people have been doing so far and do everything we can to make this safe and comfortable for people,” said Tom Whitaker, president of the Omaha Running Club, the organization that hosts the Heartland Marathon.

Whitaker, who is the race director for the Heartland Marathon, said they have about 150 runners signed up for this year’s event. He said they’d be happy with a field of 350 to 400 runners.

Last year’s event, which also included a half marathon, 10K and marathon relay, drew about 700 participants.

This year’s race has no cap, but organizers will make an effort to keep runners socially distanced.

Start times will be staggered, Whitaker said, and they plan to have multiple starting chutes.

Organizers will consider whether to ask runners to sport masks at the start line, he said.

Courses will change from past years, Whitaker said. The plan is to keep the courses on trails and to avoid major streets. Course maps will be released at a later date.

Organizers have been in touch with officials at the Douglas County Health Department, Whitaker said. Pinning down exact plans may not happen until closer to race day as they continue to evaluate regulations and restrictions, he said.

“We’re in the business to support local runners,” Whitaker said. “Our goal is to do everything we can to help runners. We thought it was important to come up with a way to continue offering a quality event that would be valuable to runners.”

Registration for the race is open. Prices increase Sunday.

Registration fees won’t be refunded, Whitaker said, but there could be an option for runners to defer to the 2021 race.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games, could be featuring a mixed cross-country relay

Cross-country hasn't been included in the Olympics since the 1924 Games.

World Athletics has announced plans to include a cross-country mixed relay event in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Cross-country hasn’t been featured in the Olympics for almost a century, and it was last included in the 1924 Olympics, which were also in Paris.

If the Paris 2024 organizing committee and World Athletics can work out a plan for the mixed relay, cross-country will make its return to the Games 100 years since its last competition and in the same city.  

The event would feature 15 countries, and each team would be made up of four runners (two men and two women). The race would be 20K, and the teams would alternate between male and female runners, with each athlete covering two laps of a 2.5K course. 

The president of World Athletics Sebastian Coe has expressed his excitement for a potential Olympic cross-country event. “My love for athletics began with cross-country,’’ he said. “When I joined my first athletics club, Hallamshire Harriers, the club president was Joe Williams, who ran in the last Olympic cross-country race in Paris in 1924. It would be hugely symbolic for this wonderful athletic discipline to return to the fold after a century.” 

As of July 26, the Paris Games are just four years away, and an additional running event would be welcome news for Olympic hopefuls around the world. World Athletics officials and Paris 2024 organizers will reportedly meet soon to discuss more details for the prospective relay.

Brighton Marathon cancelled due to the coronavirus concerns

The Brighton Marathon is cancelled amid virus fears.

The race, which normally draws more than 17,000 runners, was due to go ahead on September 20.

But organisers said that despite efforts to find a suitable way forward, they have “sadly” made the decision to cancel.

A spokesman said: “Following the decision in March 2020 to postpone Brighton Marathon Weekend 2020, we have collaborated with major UK mass participation event organisers, our local authority, our safety advisers and our medical team to fully understand how our event could take place while meeting Covid-19 restrictions and the recently updated Government guidance for events.

“Despite our best efforts to find a viable way forwards, we have together concluded that sadly, it is not feasible to stage our event as we had hoped and planned.”

A place in the 2021 Brighton Marathon Weekend is guaranteed for all 2020 general entry and charity entry registrants.

If you secured your entry through a charity, you must contact your charity regarding your place.

The cancellation decision was made because organisers believe social distancing city-wide will be “extremely difficult to implement and manage” for such a large crowd. They also cite the effect the marathon’s runners and crowds could have on NHS services.

The organisers said they hoped some kind of event would take place in the autumn.

However, they have provided few details about it, which has led to some confusion online.

They said only that they hoped to stage part of the Brighton Marathon Weekend in a “unique and revised” format in the autumn.

The spokesman said: “While we are unable to shut down large parts of our city to make way for our usual 26.2-mile course under current guidelines, we are working towards creating a socially distanced, Covid-19 compliant event, which our 2020 participants will be invited to be part of.”

The event is Britain’s second biggest marathon.

In 2019, the Brighton Marathon Weekend returned to the city for its tenth consecutive year, bringing with it an estimated 17,500 runners and 150,000 spectators.

The event included three races across the weekend.

Black Lives Matter movement could be run as a marathon

I’ve been seeing this saying a lot throughout social media, about the Black Lives Matter movement — it’s not a sprint, but a marathon. As a runner, this saying struck a chord for me, and I wanted to break down what this idea means for the movement and how it relates to the practice of running.

I haven’t completed a marathon yet (a future goal), but I know it can take months to years of training to complete. At times during training, you may “hit the wall” or “burn out” from overworking yourself. Here is where you can grow in mental strength in your practice, and learn to overcome those hurdles. In the same way, we must remember to keep reminding and educating ourselves about racial equality, diversity, and inclusion — and do so even if we’re tired or others aren’t listening.

When you complete a marathon, you have accomplished a goal you never thought you could. However, as a runner, that isn’t your end goal. You do not stop running after you finish that marathon. You keep reaching to surpass your goals.

The Black Lives Matter movement can work in the same way — reach your goals internally and outwardly, and then keep reaching to surpass and break your own limits. Black Lives Matter should become an extension of yourself that you keep exercising, and continue to grow stronger with it.

The Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon, with the participation of 2,500 athletes, is set to be held on September 20.

2,500 athletes to run in Istanbul Half Marathon

Annual road running event has IAAF Gold Label status

The Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon, with the participation of 2,500 athletes, is set to be held on Sept. 20. 

It will take place at the historical peninsula in Istanbul with a limited number of athletes on a single track due to measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The athletes will run 21 km (13 miles) distance on the streets of the Turkish metropolitan.

The annual road running event has an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Label status. It was first organized in 1987.

St. Jude Memphis Marathon will go virtually due to the pandemic

St. Jude Children’s Hospital has made a big announcement concerning the upcoming marathon.

According to the news release, St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend will transition to a virtual experience. The marathon will take place over a four-month period, beginning in August, and end with a virtual race day on Saturday, December 5.

Participants will choose between three options for the virtual experience:

-Race Challenge: complete a 5K, 10K, half or marathon on race day;

-Race Challenge: complete two distances (5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon) in the months leading up to and on race day; or

-Race Challenge: complete every distance (5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon) in the months leading up to and on race day.

After registering, participants will get a commemorative race number, distance-specific finisher medal, premium long-sleeved tech shirt and access to a community of athletes with a shared love of St. Jude and running.

St. Jude said more than $90 million has been raised throughout the history of the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend.

Athletes find renewed motivation as Tokyo Olympic countdown hits one year to go

Today was originally set to be the eve of the athletics competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Now, of course, athletes have 12 more months to wait before track and field action gets underway in the Japanese capital exactly one year from today.  

For some, the extra year may feel like a lifetime of waiting. For others it can’t come around soon enough. And for a select few, it has given them something of a lifeline.

The likes of David Rudisha and Wayde van Niekerk were among the biggest stars of the last Olympic Games in Rio, winning the 800m and 400m respectively. But in recent years, most of their time has been spent away from the track and rehabbing their way back from injury.

“The year has really saved me,” said Rudisha, who was rounding into form at the start of the year but was then forced to undergo ankle surgery at the end of May. “It took a lot of time to get fit and it would have been difficult to qualify in June for the Olympics. The ankle fracture will now throw me back, but I hope that by September I will be able to start building up again. That would then give me a normal preparation period leading into an Olympic year.”

Van Niekerk is a bit further along in his comeback, having clocked 10.10 and 20.31 over 100m and 200m earlier this year. But the South African sprinter knows the extra year will be hugely beneficial as he aims to get back into the form that carried him to a world 400m record of 43.03 in Rio.

“There’s time to work on specific areas that need your attention,” he says. “You can find positives wherever you look for them, you just need to sit back and see where you need to work.”

Van Niekerk will still be in his twenties by the time the Tokyo Olympics take place in 2021, but for athletes the other side of 30 – or, in some cases, aged 40 and above – trying to stay in peak form could pose a challenge. It is one they’re willing to tackle, though.

“The age is here, but I’m optimistic now,” said javelin world record-holder and two-time Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova, who will turn 40 next June. “At first I was disappointed [about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics], but otherwise I told myself that I have a new coach now and it’s our first season together. Next season will be better.”

Spain’s Jesus Angel Garcia, meanwhile, celebrated his 50th birthday last October, just three weeks after finishing eighth in the 50km race walk at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. When the Tokyo Olympics takes place in 2021, he will be just a few months shy of his 52nd birthday. He’s determined to make it to his eighth Games – a record tally for athletics.

An extra year will also be beneficial to the up-and-coming generation. Athletes such as US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, Dutch 400m hurdler Femke Bol, French all-round talent Sasha Zhoya and pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis – all aged 20 or younger – have produced some stunning performances over the past year or two. With another year of training under their belt, they could be fitter, faster and stronger in 2021.

“Obviously I was very disappointed when the news came about the postponing of the Olympics,” said Bol, who recently clocked a Dutch 400m hurdles record of 53.79 in what’s just her second season in the event. “But I feel it gives me a chance to train harder, improve my technique and get more experienced in the 400m hurdles.”

“When Tokyo was originally set to take place in 2020, as I would have only just come out of the U18 category, I knew my chances of getting the qualifying time would be extremely low,” said the 18-year-old, who set a world U20 60m hurdles record of 7.34 during the indoor season. “But with the Games being pushed back, for me it means a whole year to be in elite competition and puts Tokyo 2021 on my radar a little more than before. My priority, though, for 2021 is still the World U20 Championships in Nairobi.”

The Olympic Games were firmly on Mondo Duplantis’s radar at the start of the year. The Swedish pole vaulter began 2020 in tremendous form, twice breaking the world record. Undefeated in all eight of his competitions so far this year, he would have headed to Tokyo as one of the biggest gold medal favourites. But even he is able to see the bigger picture.

"It's been an unexpected season in so many ways,” he said. “People have it so much worse than we do as athletes, so I'm not going to complain. Next year is going to be great and I don't see why I can't get into even better form next year.”

The Portland Marathon will not be held until next year 2021, due to the increase cases of coronavirus in Oregon

The Portland Marathon will not be held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on the Portland Marathon website, officials say the decision to cancel the race and related events was due to continued COVID-19 spikes and tightening restrictions.

The race was scheduled to take place on October 4.

All registered participants will receive an email about their options.

Officials say the Portland Marathon will happen next year on Sunday, October 3.

Ethiopian Haile Gebresilassie Demands Justice for Destroyed Hotels

The damage from the latest violence in Oromia towns of Ethiopia included the burning of two hotels belonging to the renowned athlete and multiple world records holder Haile Gebreselassie.

“I don’t know the exact value of the vanished property but it is estimated to cost nearly 300 million Birr ($8.5 million US), said Haile to BBC Amharic service whose hotel and resort were attacked by the recent violence in Shashemene and Ziway towns.”

Haile Resort, a hotel chain that caters to western tourists and local clientele were some of the many structures that were burned to the ground in attacks from Oromo youth commonly known as Qeerroo.

“We need justice and security from the government. We need affirmation from the government that similar attacks will not occur, said Haile who demanded the government to bring the attackers before justice and hold them accountable.

Properties belonging to non-Oromo ethnic groups were attacked and businesses vandalized, burned, and looted by organized mobs in Shashemene, Arsi Negele, Robe, Adaba, Asasa, Ziway, and other towns of Oromia region.

According to a police report, more than 200 people were killed in the protracted attacks following the death of a popular Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa.

 “Our three-star hotel in Shashemene has been totally burned down. We had worked hard to get it finished,” he recalled.

“Our resort in Ziway is also badly damaged. Only the structure is left. Its windows are smashed. The resort’s spa, gym, store, laundry, and kitchen are entirely damaged," Haile continued.

Commercial buildings, residential houses, hotels, schools, groceries, and many others were burned or looted during the three-day violence early this month.

“I doubt prospective investors will spend their resources in Oromia towns any more. As a nation, we are lost  because factories, hotels, buildings, and businesses and flower farms were burned down.” Haile said

According to the renowned athlete, members of security forces in the town were reluctant to stop the attack until the national defense forces arrived.

Witnesses, on condition of anonymity, told ezega.com that businesses and properties owned by Guraghes and Amharas were targeted and burned and vandalized.

 “We have to rebuild the hotel in Shashemene and start from the basement if we want to return back to business. The resort in Ziway can be renovated to resume service in about a year,” Haile added.

According to Haile, 400 employees who were serving in his two hotels are now out of work. They also face difficulties hiring builders in the town as almost all hotels were burned down.

Commercial buildings located in the center of Shashemene city, including Tsegaye Building, Mara Building, Lucy Education Center, a private school that serves from kindergarten through high school, a number of accommodations, including Abay Hotel and Wehabe Hotel, Meridian Cafe and shopping centers, and many residential houses were heavily attacked.

“The attack came at a time of high unemployment rate in the country with many youth looking for jobs, he said.

The regional government is expected to lose millions of birr it is supposed to collect through taxes due to the damage of the hotels and business establishments.

Organizers of the Herculis meeting have confirmed the participation of four more global champions, Brazier, Chepkoech, Holloway and Thompson-Herah

Organizers of the Herculis meeting have confirmed the participation of four more global champions for the Wanda Diamond League fixture in Monaco on August 14.

World 800m champion and 2019 Diamond League winner Donavan Brazier will make his Herculis debut. The 23-year-old US middle-distance runner set a North American record of 1:42.34 to win the world title in Doha last year. His form this year is promising too, having clocked a North American indoor 800m record of 1:44.22 back in February and a 1500m PB of 3:35.85 in Portland earlier this month.

World steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech will return to the scene of her world record clocking of 8:44.32 from two years ago. The Kenyan’s last race was a victory at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Dusseldorf in February, where she clocked a Kenyan indoor 1500m record of 4:02.09.

Like Brazier, world 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway will be competing in Monaco for the first time. Following a string of record-breaking feats on the US collegiate scene, the 22-year-old turned professional last year and went on to win the world title in Doha.

Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has also been confirmed for Monaco. Having finished third over 100m in 2018 and second in the 200m last year, the Jamaican sprinter will move back down to the shorter distance and she’ll be keen to achieve her first victory at the Stade Louis II.

European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic of Poland is another addition to the Herculis line-up. Along with her four continental titles, the 27-year-old owns four global medals in the 4x400m.

The World athletics updates on new shoe rules

On Tuesday morning, World Athletics announced their amended shoe rules for the 2020-2021 competition season. The new rules were first announced in January when WA set boundaries on the two biggest issues in shoe technology: availability and shoe construction. The newest changes to the rules include a maximum height for spikes and the establishment of an ‘Athletic Shoe Availability Scheme’ for unsponsored elite athletes. The maximum stack height for road shoes of 40mm (which caused much controversy in January) remains the same. 

WA says in their release, “The purpose of these amendments is to maintain the current technology status quo until the Olympic Games in Tokyo across all events until a newly formed Working Group on Athletic Shoes, which includes representatives from shoe manufacturers and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), have had the opportunity to set the parameters for achieving the right balance between innovation, competitive advantage and universality and availability.”

Running contracts, especially for Canadians, are hard to come by. Beyond getting paid to run, one of the perks of being contracted by a running company is the ability to wear prototype shoes before they hit the market. The Athletic Shoe Availability Scheme is working to eliminate the technological disadvantage that unsponsored athletes face when they’re not able to access the same gear as those they’re competing against. This rule is in line with the clause that WA has always had regarding shoes, stating that they need to be, “reasonably available to all athletes.”

WA will work to ensure that all elite runners have access to the same gear. While this is great in principle, the organization is not clear on their criteria for “elite” or who exactly will have access to this prototype pool. 

Track spikes have a maximum height now, too

The second change is that track spikes now have a ceiling when it comes to stack height. Previously unregulated, spikes now have to fall under a certain height, depending on a runner’s event. For sprint events, including hurdles and relays, the height is 20mm. For the 800m and up, it’s 25mm (this includes cross-country). The average pair of distance spikes on the market currently sits around a 15 mm stack height, so companies have some room to grow. However, the Nike spikes that Gwen Jorgensen wore at the 2018 USATF championships, for example, will now be illegal. 

These rules are currently transitional and WA acknowledges that they have a long way to go. These temporary rules will be in place until after the 2021 Olympics when more permanent guidelines will be finalized. 

Fargo Marathon has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus

The optimism organizers of the Sanford Fargo Marathon had in June of rescheduling for the end of August came to another conclusion on Monday, July 27. The biggest participation event in the history of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo canceled the races slated for the week of Aug. 24-29.

That includes the marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay, 10K, 5K, Youth Run, Furgo Dog Run and Cyclothon. The recent surge of coronavirus cases around the country was cited as the main reason, said marathon executive director Mark Knutson.

“It’s getting pretty crazy as we all know,” he said. “Even locally and regionally the numbers are up in North Dakota and Minnesota.”

The 16th annual event will be rescheduled for next May 22. Rugged Races, which owns the marathon, is offering three refund options: defer to next year, full refund from this year or do the event virtually.

Moreover, for the virtual runners for the full and half marathons, Sanford Health will send a Fargo Marathon jacket to each participant in addition to the usual swag of items.

"We can only do the jacket for the full or half because the price point is so high," Knutson said. “Rugged Races has done a great job with the runners. The hardest thing with races around the country is so many do not offer refunds or deferrals.”

The original plan in June was to have the start and finish lines outside instead of inside the Fargodome like it’s been in recent years. Runners were going to begin in corrals of no more than 500 people.

Around 10,000 were registered for all events with a planned cap of 15,000 for the entire week. Most years attract around 20,000 entrants.

At the time of the rescheduling announcement in June, the state of North Dakota was at a green level of risk for the coronavirus, which is one below the optimal blue level. The state was still at a green level on Monday, but it appears to be trending the other way toward an orange level.

“We felt we had a good plan, I still feel we had a good plan,” Knutson said. “But we felt if even one person gets it because of the event, how can you put a price on that? The way things are going, we don’t need to be the ones to have something happen and people blaming the marathon.”

Natalia Hawthorn ran a 4:07 1,500m on Friday night breakingout her second PB this month

Natalia Hawthorn ran the best 1,500m of her life over on Friday night in Vancouver. She ran a 4:07.28 to PB by six seconds only four weeks after she ran a massive 33-second 5,000m personal best of 15:30. The Ontario native moved to Vancouver seven years ago to attend UBC after finishing her career as an OFSAA standout. She ran well throughout university but dealt with a long string of injuries that prevented her from achieving the success she was looking for. However, three years after she graduated, she’s healthy and running better than ever. 

Hawthorn says UBC was a great experience, but it took a while for the running to click. “I loved the team and the coaching, but I struggled with a series of bone-stress injuries. It was year after year of getting hurt. After I graduated I knew I wanted to continue running so I stayed in Vancouver and with my coach, CJ [Chris Johnson].”

Hawthorn says she ended last year healthier than ever, and it shows in her 2020 results. “After I graduated I went straight into a full-time job. I quickly saw that wasn’t working, so I become a Brooks Running tech representative, which allowed me to have a much more flexible schedule, but I still found myself being pulled in two different directions. Finally, I decided to work part-time to allow myself to focus more on running. I want to see how far I can go. I knew when I was working that I wasn’t getting the most out of myself.”

She says she started asking herself why she was running and who she was running for after university. “I realized how much running meant to me. I wanted to go all in. My coach’s philosophy is to not rush things, so we took everything slowly and didn’t push my mileage. There was no magic to getting healthy, it just took a lot of patience. The one thing I changed was my strength routine. Instead of working on big muscle groups, I’m working on small muscles to help my posture and form.” Hawthorn adds that having continuity in coaching has also been beneficial. “I’ve been with CJ since my third year, and that consistency has been super helpful.”

Next year is a big year for runners like Hawthorn, who is hoping to qualify for her first Olympics. She says she’s not sure if she’ll focus more on the 1,500m or 5,000m. “I’ll race both and see what I can do. I lean toward the 1,500m but I’m not ready to settle on one.”

Up next for her is an 800m on Monday, and she’s hoping to break her current PB of 2:07 (and we think, based on her latest results, that’ll be entirely possible). Then on Thursday she’ll run one more time trial, distance to be determined, and then take a much needed break before gearing up for the biggest season of her life. 

Olympic qualification for the marathon and road race walk events can begin in September

Olympic qualification for the marathon and road race walk events can re-start from Sept. 1, three months earlier than previously announced, the sport's governing body World Athletics ruled on Tuesday.

However, qualifying for all other track and field events at next year's Tokyo Games would remain suspended until Nov. 30 as originally planned, it said in a statement.

Qualification was put on hold in early April due to the novel coronavirus pandemic which has caused the Games to be postponed for one year until July/August next year.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the change was needed for road athletes due to a lack of qualifying opportunities.

"Most of the major marathons have already been cancelled or postponed for the remainder of this year and the evolution of the pandemic makes it difficult to predict if those scheduled for the first half of next year will be able to go ahead," Coe said.

"That situation, combined with the fact that endurance athletes in the marathon and race walks can only produce a very limited number of high-quality performances a year, would really narrow their qualifying window without this adjustment."

Organisers of the London Marathon, due to take place on Oct. 4, were prepared to help athletes from around the world travel to the event achieve an Olympic qualifying time, World Athletics said.

It was also working with organisers of the Abu Dhabi marathon, scheduled for Dec. 11, to see if they could offer similar opportunities, and hoped there would be at least two race-walking events between September and November.

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshirō Mori has said he dislikes the idea of the postponed Olympics taking place next year without spectators present

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Games were moved to 2021 due to the social and travel restrictions across the world which have affected sport and led to a suspension of play.

The initial date would have seen the Games start this Friday (July 24), but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made the decision to delay in March.

There are still doubts about next year's Games taking place, however, and if they are held it will certainly be in a scaled-back form.

Mori is a former Prime Minister of Japan and has said that if possible, the Games should look to avoid a reduction in fans after IOC President Thomas Bach suggested the idea last week.

Speaking to Kyodo News, Mori said: "We shouldn't make spectators go through hard times – sporting events are all about the whole country empathising."

He added that he believed Bach's comments were a "worst case scenario".

A number of scenarios are due to be explored by Tokyo 2020 organisers during meetings with the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in September.

In a recent survey, only one in four Japanese citizens said they were in favour of holding the Olympics next year, with many candidates recently running in the Tokyo gubernatorial election on the promise to cancel the Games.

The election returned Yuriko Koike for a second term.

To date, there have been more than 15.11 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in the deaths of at least 619,000 people.

Japan has also recently seen a spike in COVID-19 cases, with Tokyo hitting over 200 new cases daily for the majority of the past two weeks.

Runners face potential contract reductions for failing to race in 2020

A possible explanation for the slow times from world-class runners at Monday's High Performance Invitational

On Monday, a group of runners came together to run the AP Ranch High Performance Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas. This meet produced some extremely impressive results, including Michael Norman’s world-leading 100m time of 9.86. However, following Norman’s strong mark, he ran a series of very slow times in off-distances like the 250m, 60m and 150m. While many runners are taking this season to explore some new running distances, few are completing three or more in a day. Educated members of the running community speculated on Twitter that this unorthodox compilation of events and times is to fulfill athlete contracts, which can stipulate that runners must race in at least 10 World Athletics-sanctioned competitions during the contract year, or face pay reductions.

Norman’s impressive 100m mark garnered some serious attention (as everyone is a little racing-news starved). But once fans checked the meet results, they saw the odd combination of events that followed and the comparably slow finishing times associated with those off distances. For example, Norman’s 250m finishing time of 34.82 was basically a jog, and is slower than his 300m personal best (while running 50m shorter). Kori Carter, a sprinter and jumper, wore five different outfits that day, sharing a picture on Instagram captioned, “5 meets. 5 lerwks. 1 day.”

With most athletes competing in four to five indoor races a year (or fewer, considering that the indoor season was cut short due to COVID-19), 10 races is a very lofty goal for 2020.

All of the athletes who raced in the Fort Worth invitational are either unattached, Nike or Jordan Brand (a Nike affiliate) runners. While we can’t be certain that this was the motive for their strange mix of events and yo-yoing results, it seems likely that these runners are making an effort to fulfill obligations to their employer.

n a contract obtained by Canadian Running through a former Nike athlete who signed in 2018 (who requested anonymity), there is a section for reductions based on number of performances alone. It reads, “If ATHLETE does not, for any reason, compete in at least ten (10) IAAF-sanctioned competitions [now WA] during a Contract Year, NIKE may, in its sole discretion, reduce Base Compensation as follows:

Number of IAAF competitions that ATHLETE competed in and the reduction:

Less than 6 50%

6 or 7 35%

8 or 9 25%”

Like any other job, failure to perform results in penalties. Running is no different. However, the circumstances that runners (like everyone else) have faced in 2020 are extraordinary. While those getting paid to train and compete should make every effort to continue doing so, racing is a fickle business these days. For example, Quebec is the only Canadian province where sanctioned track events are taking place, and they’re not able to offer events over 400m until August 1.

The 35th edition of the Swissalpine finds success with new safety concept

The 35th edition of the traditional Swissalpine running spectacle was the acid test for larger running events since the coronavirus struck.

The relief was clear to see for Andrea Tuffli, the Founder and President of Swissalpine. “The concept, which we had completely redeveloped within two months and coordinated with the cantonal administration and the municipality of Davos, has proven itself.

The start and finish area is the most important sector; here we were able to sign the maximum number clearly with block starts of 300 runners and a minimum of helpers from the organization,” said the 78-year-old, pioneer of the Swiss mountain running and trail scene.

“The block start system with a responsible protection concept worked well, not least because of the discipline of the participants. I can imagine using this system next year, hopefully without masks.”

Swiss Athletics President Christoph Seiler came to get an idea of ​​a major event in which almost 2000 runners competed over the two days of the event. “Davos sets an important example in the running calendar, which has been severely affected by the corona pandemic. It is impressive what Andrea Tuffli and his team have accomplished in a short time.”

First american trio Cory McGee, Dani Jones and Emma Coburn, to run sub 4:24 in the same race at Indiana Mile

Cory McGee, Dani Jones and Emma Coburn took advantage of racing at sea level for the first time outdoors this year and achieved history by becoming the first American trio to all run under 4 minutes, 24 seconds in the same race Saturday at the Team Boss Indiana Mile at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.

McGee, a New Balance professional, surged with 250 meters remaining and never relinquished control, clocking a lifetime-best 4:21.81 to elevate to the No. 8 all-time American outdoor performer.

Jones (4:23.33), a first-year professional, and Coburn (4:23.65), also a New Balance athlete, achieved significant personal bests to ascend to the Nos. 10 and 11 outdoor performers in U.S. history.

Tripp Hurt won the men’s mile in a world-leading 3:56.18, just off his 3:56.02 lifetime best, with Nick Harris running a personal-best 3:57.11 and Mason Ferlic achieving a sub-4 clocking for the first time in his career to place third in 3:58.87.

McGee also achieved a 1,500-meter personal best en route of 4:03.82 to run the fastest female mile time ever on Indiana soil. Jones also ran 4:05 to lower her 1,500 personal best as well.

Canadian talent Nicole Sifuentes clocked 4:30.50 in the mile on the oversized indoor track at Notre Dame in 2016, to move just ahead of Suzy Favor Hamilton’s 4:30.64 on a standard 200-meter indoor banked track from 1989 in Indianapolis.

But thanks to the aggressive pacing of South African Dom Scott Efurd, an adidas professional who brought the group through 440 yards at 1:03.2 and the midway point in 2:10.08, all of her teammates benefited to post the top three outdoor marks in the world this year.

Coburn, who ran 4:32.72 at 4,583 feet elevation June 27 to win the Team Boss Colorado Mile at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, held the advantage with one lap remaining Saturday at 3:16.30, followed closely by McGee (3:16.56) and Jones (3:16.85).

On four previous occasions, a pair of Americans had both run under 4:24 in the same mile race, but never a trio of athletes. The most recent occurrence came at the 2018 Muller Anniversary Games, the annual London Diamond League Meeting, with Jenny Simpson placing fourth in 4:17.30 and Kate Grace taking eighth in 4:20.70 behind winner and Dutch star Sifan Hassan in 4:14.71.

Grace and Shannon Rowbury were the only tandem to achieve the feat indoors at the 2017 Wanamaker Mile at the NYRR Millrose Games, finishing second and third behind World 1,500-meter gold medalist Hassan.

The other two races where two Americans have run under 4:24 outdoors occurred at the 2015 Diamond League final in Belgium – with Rowbury and Simpson taking third and fourth behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Hassan – along with the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, where Regina Jacobs and Favor Hamilton took second and third behind Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan.

The last country to achieve the feat of three athletes running sub-4:24 in the same mile race was Ethiopia, which had Gudaf Tsegay (4:18.31), Axumawit Embaye (4:18.58) and Alemaz Samuel (4:23.35) at last year’s Diamond League Meeting in Monaco.

Russia at the 1993 Golden Gala in Rome and Great Britain at the 2017 Muller Anniversary Games in London are the only other countries to accomplish the sub-4:24 trifecta in the same race.

Australian talent Morgan McDonald paced the men’s race through 440 yards in 58.9 and the midway point in 1:58.87. He brought his teammates through 1,000 meters at 2:28, before moving out wide to give way to Hurt just before the bell lap at 2:57.25.

Harris surged with 300 meters remaining to take a brief lead, but Hurt responded to regain the advantage with 200 left, as the athletes achieved the top two outdoor times in the world this year, with Ferlic elevating to the No. 4 global performer.

The fastest men’s mile time on Indiana soil remains a 3:54.48 from Irish star Marcus O’Sullivan in Indianapolis in 1993.

Orthodox Jewish runner ‘Beatie’ Deutsch will miss Games unless marathon race is moved from Shabbat, a day of rest for Jewish people

“When I set myself the goal of representing Israel in the Olympics, the marathon was on a Sunday,” she explains. “They then moved all the outdoor distance events to Sapporo and condensed them into four days. The women’s marathon is on Shabbat.”

Shabbat, from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, is a day of rest for Jewish people. For Deutsch this means no technology, no distractions and absolutely no running. “There’s no exceptions and I’m 100 per cent committed to it. It’s amazing, we totally disconnect for family time – super powerful, restorative, recharging.”

So far, Deutsch’s attempts to overturn the International Olympic Association’s decision have fallen flat, despite hoping there might be room for negotiation now the Games have been postponed until 2021.

“I wrote to them to see if there was a possibility of switching the marathon with the race walk [on Friday]. So far, they’ve not been very receptive.”

What surprised her was the apparent lack of consideration. “I don’t think the world needs to bend over backwards for me because I have my religious values, but the Olympics is meant to be a unifying event for people from all types of backgrounds – it’s about diversity. In a time when everyone is trying to be more accepting and accommodating of gender, race – everything – I feel like they should be more tolerant.”

Deutsch is not the first of her faith to encounter these hurdles. Estee Ackerman missed the 2016 US Olympic team table tennis trials for the same reason, whilst Tamir Goodman – once dubbed the “Jewish Jordan” by Sports Illustrated magazine – declined a basketball scholarship to top-ranked University of Maryland and subsequently missed winning the NCAA title, to attend somewhere that would accommodate his religious practice.

Deutsch was born in New Jersey to “very encouraging and open-minded” ultra-Orthodox parents, and recalls being active as a child. “I loved exercise and moving my body but the community I grew up in, there weren’t team sports for girls – the opportunities didn’t exist. I did gymnastics but stopped when I was 12 as there was no modest option to continue. That was a normal thing.”

Deutsch has long conformed to her faith’s strict standards of modesty; substantial body coverage and nothing skin-tight. With few sport alternatives available, structured exercise was put on the back burner.

Emigrating to Israel aged 19, she met and married her husband. But it was both a will to regain a level of fitness and a family tragedy that prompted her to start running. In 2017, her husband’s cousin, 14-year-old Daniella Pardes, took her own life after struggling with anorexia. Determined to help others from suffering, Deutsch began using running to raise funds for a project in her name: Beit Daniella, is now a rehabilitation facility for adolescents with eating disorders and other psychiatric illnesses. “Every race I run, I have Beit Daniella on my shirt,” she says.

From the off, Deutsch showed natural ability at the distance. From running 3 hr 27 min at her very first attempt in Tel Aviv, to completing a marathon the following year despite being seven months pregnant with her fifth child. Her breakthrough on the international scene came in January this year, winning the Tiberias Marathon in 2 hr 32 min 25 sec – 10 minutes faster than her previous best and ranking her 76th globally. In February she won the Miami Half Marathon, her first victory in the US. Her achievements quickly caught the attention of Jewish media around the world.

“Being a professional athlete is just not something our people do,” she laughs. “We’re only just realising how beneficial exercise can be – we’re 10 years behind.

Not all of her community are supportive of her endeavours, but she is reluctant to dwell on the barriers.

Unless, the IOC change their stance, Deutsch will not be able to compete next summer. An IOC spokesperson said: “While we put athlete considerations first in all decisions, particularly health and welfare, we are unfortunately not able to adjust the schedule to the particular situation of each individual athlete.”

Olympics aside, Deutsch’s story is already taking the running world by storm – shattering stereotypes and breaking new ground for women.

A decision on whether this year's London Marathon can be held has been delayed until next month

Decision on staging London Marathon 2020 has been pushed back until August 7, the organizers said on Monday.

The event, originally scheduled for April 26, was postponed to Oct. 4 after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the international sporting calendar in March.

In an open letter to all participants on Monday, event director Hugh Brasher said the delay was due to a need for further consultation with local NHS Trusts, the emergency services and local authorities.

"We know how important the Virgin Money London Marathon is to you, to charities and in showing the world the wonderful spirit of London, of Great Britain and of our running community," he said.

"So please bear with us while we finish the extensive work we have been doing to try to enable us to run together, safely.

"I will be in contact with our final decision and the options available to you no later than Friday, Aug. 7."

The cancellation of September's Great North Run raised concerns about the London Marathon going ahead due to the challenges faced by organizers in implementing social distancing protocols.

The London Marathon routinely attracts close to 40,000 participants and this year's race was set to pit the world's fastest runners Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele against one another.

The event is last of the World Marathon Majors still hoping to be held this year after Boston, Berlin, New York and Chicago shelved plans for their 2020 races. 

John Kelly smashes 31-year-old Pennine Way FKT

Kelly set a new best mark on the legendary Pennine Way FKT by 40 minutes

American ultrarunner and 2017 Barkley Marathons finisher John Kelly ran the FKT on the U.K.’s legendary Pennine Way early Thursday morning. The Pennie Way FKT was held for 31 years by Mike Hartley, a storied British ultrarunner, until today. Kelly surpassed Hartley’s time by 40 minutes to finish in two days, 16 hours and 40 minutes (the previous record stood at two days, 17 hours and 20 minutes).

The Pennine Way, which is travelled during the Spine Race (which Kelly won earlier this year, before the pandemic), is a 268 mile (431k) trail up the middle of England from Edale to Kirk Yetholm. Over the course of that 431K, the path gains just shy of 12,000m of elevation on extremely rough terrain. For a little context, the elevation is nearly twice the height of Mount Everest and the distance is like running from Toronto to Sudbury. It’s a lot of running and climbing.

This FKT attempt wasn’t Kelly’s first time traversing this course. He has run it over the course of the Spine Race, but this week’s effort was different. He was assisted and running through the summer (as opposed to January, when the Spine Race takes place) and working with nearly 20 hours of daylight as opposed to the eight he would’ve seen last time. On top of the daylight, this was a supported effort, so he didn’t need to carry any extra supplies.

Kelly was supported primarily by his partner Nicki Lygo who documented most of the effort on Twitter. Kelly dealt with some poor weather and significant stomach issues, but he still managed to pull it off. Initially, he was flying through aid stations in under 60 seconds, but slowed to 30 to 40 minutes toward the end when he would sleep for a bit and try to soothe his stomach.

While Kelly’s effort on Pennine Way is astonishing, he’s not done yet. He took on what he’s calling the Hartley Slam. Pennine Way was Part One and the Grand Round is Part Two. The Grand Round route involves nearly 300K of running, thousands of feet of elevation gain and over 600K of biking between its sections. Kelly attempted the Grand Round in 2019, but was unable to complete it, so he’s heading back for a second try two weeks after today’s finish.

Kelly is doing this challenge for two reasons: to have something to do since his 2020 race calendar was cleared and to raise money for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, a U.K. charity that helps disadvantaged youth. If fans are looking to donate, they can do so here. Tune back in two weeks time to follow Kelly on his journey to conquer the Grand Round.

Tick Check: A Guide for Running in Tick Country

Growing up, my dad wouldn’t let us bring our shoes inside during the spring and summer. It wasn’t because of how terrible they smelled, but rather because they had hitchhikers lurking! I grew up in Northern Wisconsin, as the daughter of two physicians, and in a hot bed for a variety of ticks. Along with shoes that never came in the house, “tick checks” were not just lyrics in a country song, they were a real thing.

For much of my life, ticks have been a problem in certain areas of North America, Europe, and Asia. Because of their regional geographic limitations, ticks were a vector for diseases that many did not have to worry about. However, as the climate warms, not only does tick population control in their traditional regions become increasingly difficult but they are also finding new habitats to thrive in.

What do we know about these creepy crawlies, what should we be on the lookout for, and what should you do for your own health and safety when running in tick country?

Tiny Vector, Big Problem

What’s a vector? A vector is an organism that can transmit a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another. Along with ticks, other biting insects such as mosquitoes are excellent vectors. Not all ticks are actively carrying infectious pathogens that they can pass onto you, but when they are, they are capable of causing a wide range of viral and bacterial diseases.

Most ticks belong to one of two families, Ixodidae the hard ticks or Argasidae the soft ticks. Of the 950-plus species of ticks found throughout the world, only about 60 species are known to bite and transmit diseases to humans (1).

That brings up an interesting point. If only 60 species are disease-spreading vectors in humans, then what else do they do and are they good for something? They seem to have two important roles for the ecosystem more broadly. First, they are an important food source for reptiles, amphibians, and bird. And second, through being a disease vector in animals like deer, rabbits, and mice, they help control wildlife populations (9). Ticks can also be used as an ecosystem indicator, meaning that researchers monitor tick populations and their predators to get a sense of the general health and wellbeing of the ecosystem from a diversity perspective.

For the purpose of this article–and knowing that that this shouldn’t take more than one cup of coffee to read–let’s focus on the few most common types of ticks and the specific diseases they carry. In North American those are the blacklegged tick (also known as the deer tick), the lone star tick, and the American dog tick (also known as a wood tick) (3). Ticks are not a uniquely North American problem. The European relative to the blacklegged tick is the castor bean tick (sometimes called the sheep tick). Similar to the blacklegged tick, the castor bean tick is the leading cause of Lyme disease in Europe. In Asia, the longhorned tick is known to carry similar strains of bacteria found in blacklegged and lone star ticks (4). Ah, creepy crawlies!

Where Do These Critters Live?

I grew up in one of the hot beds for ticks in the Upper Midwest of the U.S., but over the past 30 years the real estate for ticks has grown exponentially. A warming climate has made winter survival and migratory animal hosts more plentiful, allowing ticks to travel into previously tick-void regions, and we as humans overlap more and more in the spaces (natural grass and woodlands) where those animals and their hitchhikers reside (5).

What that means is that tick populations are now fairly widespread, particularly over the U.S.’s Northeast, Midwest, South, and throughout the Rocky Mountains. There is a growing tick population (of western blacklegged ticks) in the Pacific Northwest. Curiously enough, one of their main and preferred hosts, is the western fence lizard which carries a specific protein in their blood that neutralizes the bacteria that is responsible for Lyme disease. Essentially, after feeding on this lizard, the tick becomes “cured” of its Lyme disease and so cannot spread it when it meets its next host. So cool!

How Do Ticks Spread Disease?

Most species of ticks live on a two to three-year life cycle that passes through four distinct life stages: egg, larva, nymph–baby ticks, how cute!–and adult. Even at the larva stage, ticks must have a blood meal in order to survive. Although ticks cannot fly or jump, they can detect a potential host by smell, body heat, moisture, vibrations, and even shadows (3). Once on a host, ticks transmit pathogens–generally bacteria–through the process of feeding. Depending on the tick, feeding can last as little as 10 minutes and as much as two hours, after this blood meal–maybe the creepiest thing I have ever typed–the tick will drop off the host to prepare for its next life stage where it will then transmit any acquired disease to its new host. When a tick bites you, it may secrete saliva that has an anesthetic property, numbing you to its presence. Unfortunately that saliva may also contain any pathogen the tick is infected with that it then transmits to you.

The most common tick-borne diseases in the U.S. are Lyme disease, ehrilichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, and babesiosis. In Europe, the castor bean tick is responsible for two tick-borne diseases, Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) (7). TBE is a viral infection that affects the central nervous system, encephalitis means inflammation of the brain, and can be fatal if left untreated. In Asia (and Russia), the taiga tick is known to be a vector for TBE. Finally, the most common tick-borne diseases in Asia (carried by the longhorned tick) include Lyme disease, TBE, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and a disease known as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (8).

If left untreated, Lyme disease seems to include a long list of varying secondary symptoms and conditions such as cardiac problems (Lyme carditis), arthritis, severe joint swelling, and facial paralysis or weakness on one side of face. Interestingly, and not a common trait among tick bites, is that some people bitten by the lone star tick will develop an allergy to red meat called Alpha-gal syndrome (6). Most of these tick-borne diseases (aside from babesiosis which is a parasitic infection and requires treatment with antiparasitic drugs and TBE which is a viral infection and has no effective treatment but does have a vaccine in countries where it is endemic) can be treated with a course of antibiotics. Several different antibiotics are effective but deciding the right antibiotic for you (that takes into account your age, gender, other medical conditions, allergies, sun exposure, and more) is an important decision for your physician and care team.

How to Protect Yourself From Hitchhiking Ticks

So, should you never leave your house again? That’s definitely not my suggestion, but there are some things you can do to limit your risk of being bitten by one of these little guys and what to do in case it does happen.

Know Before You Go. Find out what kind of ticks are prevalent in the area in which you will be running. Know that they love tall grass, bushes, and overhanging foliage as a way to meet their new host, so use care to avoid these areas when possible.

Cover Up. Although not always easy when running, consider clothing garments that make identifying ticks easier and that serve as a protective barrier from your skin. This includes tall socks, long sleeves, and light-colored gear.

Add Repellent. If you are running or racing in a high-tick environment, use a tick repellent on your skin and clothing (containing about 20% DEET). Consider pre-treating your clothes with the repellent permethrin for an extended backpacking or camping trip in tick country.

Do a Tick Check. Once inside after your run, examine your gear, pets (ticks love dogs!), and clothing for any hitchhikers. Leave your shoes outside and tumble dry your clothes in the dryer on high for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that have made the journey onto them. Shower as soon as you can to help remove unattached ticks. Finally, perform a standard tick check in high-risk areas such as under the arms, in and around the ears, on the backs of the knees, throughout your scalp and hairline, between your legs, and around your waist.

But What If It’s Attached? If you find a tick that has managed to burrow, you want to remove it, in its entirety, as soon as possible. Using fine-tipped tweezers, pinch the tick as closely to your skin as you can and pull upward with steady pressure. Next, clean the bite area with soap and water. Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet, or you can put it in a jar of rubbing alcohol (my dad’s favorite method). Watch for symptoms of tick-borne disease for the next 30 days, and contact your primary-care provider if you experience a rash, fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, or joint pain and swelling.

Guide dogs helping blind runners stay fit despite pandemic

Social distancing rules can make exercising a challenge for a blind runner who needs a volunteer tethered as a guide. But Thomas Panek has no problem because his running guide, Blaze, is a Labrador retriever.

"I'm doing all the things a person would normally do, except I'm doing it with the help of a best friend who happens to be 77 pounds of love wrapped in soft yellow fur," Panek said.

Panek, a blind runner with a wall full of ribbons from marathons he ran with a human guide, developed a canine running guide training program five years ago after he became president and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind in suburban New York. Last year, he became the first blind finisher of the New York City Half Marathon to be guided entirely by dogs.

Now, he said his dog Blaze plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle amid gym shutdowns and other pandemic restrictions.

"The running guide program is incredibly important right now not only for physical health but emotional well being," Panek said in a recent Zoom interview. "For people who ran in the past and had to stop running because of the pandemic, this enables them to continue to exercise."

Panek has always been a runner and continued to compete in road races after he lost his sight to a genetic condition in his early 20s. Like other blind runners, he relied on volunteers holding a short tether to lead the way.

"I've had several guide dogs and I've always wanted to run with them, but I followed the rules," Panek said. Conventional wisdom said dogs would be unable to navigate safely while running, and that their health might suffer. "No guide dog program in the world would allow you to run with your guide dog," he said.

He set out to change that when he took the helm at Guiding Eyes and visually impaired runners asked him to consider a running guide dog program.

"I talked to my trainers and most of them said it's not possible, but I said let's try it and see what happens," Panek said.

The first step was redesigning the dog's harness.

"The traditional guiding harness is leather and metal, more like a saddle from horse and buggy days," Panek said. "You hold on and get pulled along. It's not ideal for really moving. And it restricts the dog's shoulders."

Trainers worked with the canine equipment maker Ruff Wear to develop a lightweight padded nylon vest that allows the dog a full range of motion. A modified Nordic ski binding on the vest connects an adjustable aluminum pole with an ergonomic hand grip. The setup is comfortable for the dog, allows the runner's arms to swing naturally and provides better feedback than the traditional harness, Panek said.

After injuries and quarantine, Argentina’s Belén Casetta once again inspired to push for Olympic qualification

Successful and versatile throughout her youth, Argentina’s Belén Casetta pushed her own limits and found extraordinary inspiration at the 2017 World Championships.

Then, in the heats of the 3000m steeplechase at London’s Olympic Stadium, the Mar del Plata-born Casetta improved her personal best to 9:35.78 and became the second Argentine athlete – and first woman from the country – to reach a World Championships final. Argentina’s only other World Championships finalist was Antonio Silio, who finished eighth in the men’s 10,000m in Stuttgart in 1993.

In the final in London, Casetta was even more inspired. After cutting her personal best by seven seconds to reach it, she improved further, to 9:25.99, to finish 11th.

After that decisive moment, all kinds of obstacles seem to be at her path. But her no-quitting attitude has always prevailed, even during these challenging times when the Covid-19 pandemic has put her up to an even bigger test.

“I started 2018 very well, but after that I had an awful series of injuries (fibula, femur, two problems at the L2 vertebrae, stress fracture at the second metatarsal, tear of the femoral biceps),” explains Casetta from her training base in Tafí del Valle in the province of Tucumán. “I was able to return to form late in 2018.”

In 2019, after her latest injury, Casetta started the year quietly, with a silver medal at the South American Championships (10:04.54). Later she was second at the World University Games in Napoli and third at the Pan-American Games. Her season ended with a best performance of 9:40.05 (at Naimette-Xhovémont) and a ninth-place finish in the heats of the World Championships in Doha, this time unable to advance to the final.

After what she had been through in 2018, though, Casetta was happy to complete a full season and to be operating near her best as she started to turn her attention towards the Olympic year in a bid to qualify for her second Games.

Unforgettable trip to Kenya

As part of her preparations for 2020, Casetta and her coach, Leonard Malgor, headed to Iten in Kenya in February this year for a training stint. They planned on staying there until the end of March before returning to Argentina to take part in the South American Grand Prix.

Lockdown in Argentina was very strict, which made life difficult for Casetta, who, naturally as a world-class athlete, is a very active person.

“I was getting really desperate because as the days were passing, I felt I was losing all form I had gained while in Kenya,” she says. “Then, once I started to train, adapting to the circumstances of the small apartment, I started to lose motivation too, because I was getting bored of doing the same routines. I was finally able to run at home once a gym lent me a treadmill, but the machine broke down after two weeks.

“Once I couldn’t run anymore, I had to go back to jumping the rope and doing circuit training, which is far from ideal for me,” she adds. “I was almost going crazy.”

But Casetta has managed to find some positives in these difficult circumstances.

“Thankfully my family has always been by my side to support me,” she says. “The positive side of all this is that I have been able to share most of my time with them. As I am always away, training or competing, this confinement gave me the opportunity to spend more moments with my loved ones.

“Initially I saw the postponement of the Olympic Games as something positive, since I was recovering from an injury and trying to find my best shape. But as the days went by and I saw that my fellow competitors were training and I wasn’t, I started to get desperate again. Now that I have started to run, I see that I don’t have that much time to waste; I have to qualify and get ready for Tokyo.”

1972 Olympic silver medalist Ben Jipcho, a pioneering Kenyan middle distance runner, died on Friday

World Athletics is deeply saddened by the news that Ben Jipcho, a pioneering Kenyan middle distance runner, died on Friday (24). Jipcho, the 1972 Olympic silver medallist in the 3000m steeplechase and former world record holder in the event, was 77.

Jipcho died of multiple organ failur at the Fountain Hospital in Eldoret where he had been hospitalised since Wednesday (23).

"We are saddened by the loss of Jipcho, a pioneer of athletics in Kenya. My heartfelt condolences to his family and Kenyans at large," said Paul Tergat, President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya.

Jipcho, who began his running career in the mid 1960s, rose to prominence in the 1968 Olympic 1500m final in Mexico City where he sacrificed his own ambitions to figure in the medal battle by acting as a pacesetter for Kipchoge Keino, who went on to win the title over Jim Ryun. Jipcho set out on a world record pace, covering the first lap in 56 seconds and bringing Keino through 800m in 1:55.3. Keino won in 3:34.91, an astounding performance given Mexico City's high altitude, an Olympic record that stood for 16 years while Jipcho eventually crossed the line tenth.

He returned to the Olympic stage four years later, and again in the same race with Keino, this time the 3000m steeplechase. Keino won again in Olympic record time by Jipcho caught Finn Tapio Kantanen at the line to take silver by a scant 0.02 in 8:24.62.

His finest championship performances came at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he raced race to victory in the 5000m and 3000m steeplechase and taking bronze in the 1500m.

He also won the 5000m title at the 1973 All-Arica Games and silver in the steeplechase at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

Jipcho broke the world record in the 3000m steeplechase twice over the course of eight days in 1973, first clocking 8:19.8 on 19 June then smashing that performance with an 8:14.0 run on 27 June, both times in Helsinki.

Jipcho was later among the key stars of the International Track Association (ITA), a short-lived professional tour in the United States in the early 1970s.

In a post on the government's Facebook page, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta eulogised Kipcho "as a pioneer athlete who helped cement Kenya's profile on the international stage as a top athletics nation".

Wesley Korir, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion and a former Kenyan MP, told The Standard, "Jipcho gave us a foundation which we used to build our running career. We have lost a pillar that will be hard to replace."