Running News Daily

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee has welcomed the UN General Assembly's decision to move the previously agreed Olympic truce to 2021

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said in a statement, "We welcome the United Nations General Assembly's approval of the change in the observation period of the Olympic truce to next summer."

"We continue to place hope in the power of sport to bring people around the world together and help achieve peace," the former Japanese Prime Minister said. "Inspired by the adoption of this updated resolution, we will make all the more effort to utilise the priceless opportunity presented by the Tokyo 2020 Games to help build a peaceful and better world through sports."

The Olympic truce dates back to the ancient Olympic Games around 2,800 years ago, when a truce was announced to ensure that athletes and spectators could travel safely to and from the Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) renewed this tradition in 1992 to protect the interests of athletes and sport, and resolve global conflicts.

The 2020 Olympic Games have been pushed back by one year to July 23 to August 8, 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Paralympic Games set to follow from August 24 to September 5.

IOC president Thomas Bach was also pleased with the shift, calling it "a strong sign of confidence that these Olympic Games will be the light at the end of the dark tunnel humankind is currently going through".

"We are very grateful to all governments for this expression of trust in the Olympic Games," Bach added.

Copenhagen Half marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus

With less than three months to go, organizers can confirm that it will not be possible for thousands of runners from more than 110 countries to gather in Copenhagen for the annual Copenhagen Half Marathon this September.

“Last year was an amazing year for everyone who took part in the race as an official, spectator or as a participant. We know this cancellation will disappoint many who looked forward to the event, but we don’t believe it will be possible or responsible to hold a race the size of Copenhagen Half Marathon in the heart of Copenhagen in 2020,” says Dorte Vibjerg, CEO of the organizing running Club Sparta.

The cancellation stands in sharp contrast to a record breaking event in 2019, which saw records in terms of elite athlete performance and participant numbers. Geoffrey Kamworor ran like the wind and smashed the world record, winning in 58 minutes and one second and the mass race attracted a sell-out field of 25,000 runners for the first time. Following on from these successes, the 2020 event was set to be even better.

Dorte Vibjerg added; “After last year with a world record in the streets of Copenhagen the Copenhagen Half Marathon really has earned the attention of the foreign runners and the international community. This year 42 percent of the registered runners are foreigners.

This means, they will need a clarification in relation to flight tickets and accommodation so we have decided to provide clarity now by cancelling the event. There is nothing more we want than to welcome all the runners and tourists to Copenhagen, but we have come to realize that it isn’t possible this year.”

All participants who were registered will be able to transfer their registration to next year’s race which will take place on September 19 2021, or get a full refund of the entry fee paid.

“We sincerely hope that our runners will want to support us once this is all over and return to run in Copenhagen next year, where we will once again host the Copenhagen Half Marathon. By transferring their entries to 2021; runners will be helping to protect the future of the event,” CEO Dorte Vibjerg concludes.

The 2020 Vermont City Marathon now postponed until may 30 2021 due to the pandemic

The Vermont City Marathon become the latest sporting event impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as its postponement was announced Monday.

The 32nd annual race, originally slated for October 25, will now take place on May 30, 2021.

“Despite our highest hopes, hard work and careful deliberation, the RunVermont team is disappointed to announce that we will be not be able to run the People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay on October 25, 2020,” an update on the RunVermont website read. “After consultations with state officials, it’s clear that a large public event with several thousand people will not be possible, even in late October.”

The Timberlane Dental Group Mini Marathon will occur on May 29, 2021.

RunVermont has amended their deferral policies, given the unprecedented situation. Interested parties can go to the RunVermont site for detailed deferral options.

Sprinter Bianca Williams accuses police of ‘racial profiling’ after stop and search in London

The GB international and her partner, fellow athlete Ricardo dos Santos, were stopped while in a car with their baby in London

British sprinter Bianca Williams says she has been left “incredibly hurt and shaken” following a stop and search in London on Saturday and has accused the Metropolitan Police of “racial profiling”.

The European and Commonwealth medallist and her partner, fellow athlete Ricardo dos Santos, were stopped while in a car with their baby in London and fear they were targeted because they are black and drive a Mercedes.

In a statement, Scotland Yard said officers had been patrolling the area “in response to an increase in violence involving weapons” and had witnessed “a vehicle with blacked out windows that was driving suspiciously, including driving on the wrong side of the road” and that “they indicated for it to stop but it failed to do so and made off at speed”.

The statement added: “Following a search of the vehicle, the man and the woman, nothing was found. No arrests were made and the occupants were allowed on their way.”

However, in an interview with The Times, Portuguese 400m record-holder Dos Santos said he felt it was initially unsafe to stop when officers waved him down, so he drove “for another 20 seconds” to safely park outside their home.

According to The Times, the road is a single car-width road “and the couple said that a written report given to them by police did not mention them driving on the wrong side”.

Williams told The Times: “It’s always the same thing with Ricardo. They think he’s driving a stolen vehicle, or he’s been smoking cannabis. It’s racial profiling. The way they spoke to Ricardo, like he was scum, dirt on their shoe, was shocking. It was awful to watch.”

Dos Santos said that he had been stopped by police as many as 15 times since they changed their car to a Mercedes in 2017.

The 1992 Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie had earlier published a video of part of the stop as well as a statement in which he accused the police of abusing their power and institutionalised racism.

First time of virtual Gold Coast Marathon, will give participants around the globe the opportunity to hit the pavement in their home towns

Ever wanted to run the Gold Coast Marathon but just didn’t have the time of the budget to get there?

Well, for the very first time a virtual Gold Coast Marathon and Southern Cross University 10km Run will give participants around the globe the opportunity to hit the pavement in their home towns.

While the 2020 event was originally scheduled for last weekend (4-5 July), COVID restrictions have led to an innovative new online format where runners can participate in the Marathon and 10km Run throughout the month of July using the official app ASICS Runkeeper.

Course Coordinator of Southern Cross University’s Bachelor of Exercise Science and Psychological Science, Dr Chris Stevens, said taking exercise online was an important way for athletes to stay connected.

Exercisers taking their training online.-‘The move reflects a trend for exercisers to take their training online to stay in regular contact and remain competitive with their training partners even while restrictions prevent group running and riding,’ he said.

Runners and cyclists training at home have been using software such as Zwift, which allows them to train and compete with others online. Not only can they exercise with their friends, users can even join and interact with professional athletes as they train. Tracking apps such as Strava uses GPS technology and can be shared with friends online. Strava also allows users to set their own courses and race against others exercising on the same course in their local community.

‘These technologies keep exercise social and fun, which is important for motivation in a time without group training sessions and events, and the closure of gyms and pools. We know that social support is very important to staying engaged with exercise long term,’ said Dr Stevens.

Got a question about running, how to stay motivated, what to eat to maximise performance or the right shoes to wear?Ask a Southern Cross University health and exercise expert.

Poor access to physical activity and mental health.- The United Nations recently released a statement describing how poor access to physical activity and exercise can have negative effects on mental health, which can magnify stress and anxiety that many will experience with isolation from normal social life.

Dr Stevens said it was important for exercise scientists and psychologists to work together to maximise the benefits for their clients, especially in the current climate.

‘This is why Southern Cross University will be offering a combined Bachelor degree in Exercise Science and Psychological Science at all three of our campuses at Gold Coast, Lismore and Coffs Harbour from 2021,’ he said.

Due to COVID disruptions Southern Cross University is also offering reduced-cost government-backed short courses for Australian citizens for Session 2 study beginning in July, including the Undergraduate Certificate in Sport and Exercise Science.

The 11 new undergraduate certificate and two new graduate certificate short courses are all 12-weeks long, made up of four units of full-time online study, and can be fully credited towards starting a degree.

The virtually 2020 Lewa Safari marathon powered by Huawei raises over $200,000 for wildlife conservation

The virtually Lewa Safari marathon powered by Chinese technology firm Huawei has raised over 20 million Kenyan shillings (about 200,000 U.S. dollars) for wildlife conservation. This year, Huawei has marked 12th anniversary on supporting the Lewa Marathon to boost the protection of iconic species at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy located in northern Kenya, executives said on Sunday.

Shen Lei, Huawei Key Accounts Director, said more than one decade of financial support towards the annual Lewa Marathon, has enhanced conservation of wildlife amid natural and human-induced threats.

“Over the years we have donated significant amounts of funding and in doing so we know that every shilling is making a difference inside and outside Lewa’s boundaries,” Shen said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The 2020 edition of Lewa Marathon was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic on June 27, registering about 1000 participants from 70 cities that were represented by 20 countries and regions.

“Both Lewa and Huawei continue to forge tirelessly ahead with enhancing conservation and telecommunication efforts respectively despite the pandemic so that Kenya can be prepared for tomorrow,” he added.

Mike Watson, chief executive officer of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, said since 2008, when Huawei Kenya first got involved they have been able to inject an additional 100 million Kenyan shilling into the 800 million Kenyan shilling marathon kitty. “What this has done has allowed us to invest heavily in more than 80 projects across Kenya.”

He said that investing in wildlife conservation will unleash multiple benefits including job creation. Huawei’s financial support to the annual marathon has transformed the conservation of iconic species and rural livelihoods.

The 2020 Paris Marathon delayed again, now will take place November 15

The Paris Marathon has been moved further back to November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced on Monday.

The race had originally been rescheduled for October 18 from its traditional April date due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Last month, marathons in New York and Berlin set for later in the year were scrapped, while the races in London and Chicago remain on course for October 4 and October 11.

Ethiopa’s Abrha Milaw won last year’s men’s edition in Paris while his compatriot Gelete Burka clinched the women’s title.

ALMOST READY TO WELCOME YOU BACK!

Track and Field fans in Eugene and around the world,

I write to you today during one of the most unprecedented times in our history. I have found myself in deep reflection on how we can come together as a nation to love and support each other. Through all of this unrest, we have hope in the future and the opportunities that will inevitably come.

I've been so impressed with our student-athletes and how they have responded to adversity over the last few months. From adjusting to a new virtual academic environment and social distancing to using their voices to speak out on social injustices, I have been very proud.

The past few months have been challenging to say the least, and our attention and thoughts have been pulled in so many directions lately, but I did want to provide a bit of an update on Hayward Field.

It is almost ready to welcome you back!

The flags of 156 nations found their place next to the stadium representing every country that had a senior-level athlete compete at Historic Hayward Field between 1921 and 2018. Also, responsibility for the stadium has been handed over from the construction team to the University of Oregon and the UO Track and Field team.

But before we can open the gates to you, we've got a couple of hurdles to clear.

First things first. Our athletes deserve to have their 'Christmas morning' moment before everyone else gets to see how magnificent their training areas and team facilities are. After all, the team has been without a home for two years, and at this point, a majority of the athletes have never experienced the Hayward Magic competing as a Duck. My staff and I are truly looking forward to the team opening this incredible gift when they arrive on campus in September.

As you've probably seen through social media, we've been able to reveal and share the public spaces inside the bowl of the stadium. Still, there are areas we want to reserve for our athletes when we finally get to welcome them back to Hayward Field.

Last week, we were able to have a special Hayward moment with Ashton and Brianne along with their son Ander and Ashton's mom, Roz. It was a chance to have a smaller group together and celebrate what they have meant to this program. We hope to create similar moments with other Oregon Track and Field icons.

We also eagerly await the time when Governor Brown and state health officials are able to relax restrictions on large gatherings, which are currently in place through September. If circumstances allow for opening the stadium to you in the fall, rest assured, we will do so but we have to make sure it is a safe and healthy experience for everyone.

In the meantime, there will still be lots of construction activity going on and the construction fencing will remain in place. Punch lists will be completed and equipment will be moved in.

I encourage you to follow our social media channels and regularly check in on the Hayward Field page on the University's website. We will do our best to keep you updated of any new developments over the course of the summer and, ultimately, our plans for welcoming you all to Hayward Field.

Thank you, Hayward faithful. Can't wait to see you!

Yes, It’s Okay to Take a Month Off from Running

If Des Linden can do it, so can you.

Convincing us runners to take time off is always a struggle. But given the state of the world right now—non-stop stress and no races for the foreseeable future—you’d be forgiven for wanting to hang up your sneakers for a little while.

Even the elites are doing it. Last week, Des Linden—former Boston Marathon champion! Olympian!—posted on Twitter that she hadn’t run a step for a full month. When a well-intentioned commenter asked what she’d been doing in the meantime, she responded (with the typical Des wittiness): “Growing a sofa on my ass.”

Linden may have been nonchalant about her time off, but, for a lot of us, a month feels like a long time. What will happen to your Strava stats? How will this affect your training status on your smartwatch? Forget the metrics—will you even be able to run again after all that time off?

The short answer: Yes. But you will likely lose some fitness.

After just a few weeks of little to no exercise, your heart starts to show significant signs of detraining, according to a 2018 study on marathoners published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. And adults who took a month off after following a regular cardio routine for four straight months lost almost all their aerobic gains in that month, earlier research published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.

But a month isn’t that long and well-trained athletes like Des can bounce back fast. “If you take a month off, it will take you about a month to get back to where you were,” says Polly de Mille, R.N., certified strength and conditioning specialist and director of Tisch Sports Performance Center at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). Think about it this way: What’s two months when the rest of 2020’s race calendar is a big ol’ blank?

For most people, though, taking a month off running doesn’t mean melting into your couch. “Most of the research shows that three sessions a week at at least 70 percent of your VO2 max—whether that’s swimming or biking or an online class—is going to do a pretty good job of maintaining your aerobic conditioning,” says de Mille.

So if you’re tempted to take time off from running to give your body a break or restore your motivation mentally, you can easily maintain most of your fitness by doing some cross-training.

While aerobic fitness starts to decline in seven to 14 days, muscle loss typically starts to occur in as little as three days, says Krishna Curry, community and digital marketing director for Run Mercury and contributing coach at RUNGRL. “What’s important to consider is what your training looked like before you take a break,” she says. “If you’ve been training intensely over the past several weeks, you’ve put a lot into your tank so it’s not going to be as fast as a decline as somebody who wasn’t that consistent with their running or who was a lot weaker to start with. And you’re going to adapt a lot faster when you come back to training.”

That month off could actually be a good thing—especially right now. Remember, training is a stressor. Your body can only handle so much stress at once; if you’re already stressed about COVID-19, social isolation, and the reckoning of systemic racism, layering that stress with high-intensity training (i.e. running), can put you on a road to overtraining and burnout. “At this point, we’re not recovering the way we used to,” says de Mille. “There’s only so much we can take.” So if a break from running is what you need, that’s self-care.

Plus, a break is an opportunity to set new goals. When you’re following a training plan, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for things you know you should be doing. Forget about mileage, and use a break to develop other areas of strength that you normally don’t have as much time to focus on because you’re racking up double digit runs, says Curry. “You can build your strength, do core work, zero in on mobility—things that will make running easier when you do get back it,” she says. You may not be running, but you’re shoring up all the weak links. “Now’s the time to address any compensations or imbalances you’ve been coping with so you can rebuild yourself properly,” Curry adds.

When you are ready to get back to running, ease into it. “Don’t assume that it’s like tapering for a race and when you come back, you’re going to be even more fit,” says de Mille. You especially need to be respectful of the orthopedic stress of running. “There’s nothing quite like the impact that you experience when you’re running, so if your tendons and muscles haven’t experienced that sort of eccentric stress in a while, your cardiovascular system may be way ahead of your musculoskeletal system in terms of readiness to go long or work hard.”

Sure, you’ll probably be excited to get back to it. But don’t feel like you need to make up for lost time. “It’s really important that people map out their plan beforehand so they can stay consistent,” says Curry.

Look back at the weekly volume you were maintaining before your break and pick the bare minimum, healthy volume of running that you can maintain without inciting any injury, she says; then, she typically starts by adding one to two miles per week. As the volume increases relative to your starting point, those weekly increases get smaller. Just make sure to “lower your expectations for what you’re going to do when you go back,” says de Mille. “Be patient with yourself and listen to your body.”

And if that first post-break run doesn’t go as smoothly as you’d hoped, take comfort in the fact that even pros like Linden struggle, but it doesn’t get any worse than day two.

Regan Yee runs Olympic standard in 5,000m time trial

Regan Yee, 24, shattered her 5,000m personal best in a time trial on Saturday, running under the Olympic standard of 15:10 to finish in 15:08. The Vancouver native says she is really happy with her spring training block and even happier with Saturday’s run. Even though her time won’t count for qualification (the window doesn’t open until December 1, 2020) it’s a huge confidence boost. It wasn’t only Yee who ran well, her three teammates Sarah Inglis, Natasha Wodak and Natalia Hawthorn also had great runs, with Inglis and Hawthorn running huge personal bests as well.

Yee says the group ran a successful 3K time trail two weeks ago. “John Gay [2019 World Championships competitor] paced us. Both Sarah and I ran under nine minutes and it felt hard but manageable. After that, we knew we could run a good 5K.”

Yee says Saturday was perfectly paced and actually felt really smooth. While road runners can race in co-ed events and have their results count for qualification for any Canadian team, on the track, a co-ed race isn’t considered valid. Yee says having a male pacer is a luxury. “Caleb de Jong [their pacer] was great, and pacing was easy for him. It’s basically his tempo pace. He was really calm and encouraging, which rubbed off on me I think. There’s something nice about the person pacing you running at a comfortable clip. It makes the pace feel more comfortable for you as well.”

But Yee didn’t have just one pacer, she also had teammate Alicia Butterworth with her for 3K, Inglis next to her who finished in 15:15 and her coach Mark Bomba on a bicycle. “It was a super controlled environment. In that way, it felt way easier than a race. I put at lot of pressure on myself in a race setting, but there was way less stress on Saturday. I could just shut my mind off and run. We wanted to run 73-second laps, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Throughout July, Yee says she wants to run a little bit of everything. “I think we’ll do a 1,500m, a 2K steeplechase, maybe even throw an 800m in there for fun. I don’t really have a lot of speed in my legs right now, but I like to run an annual 800m. I don’t even know what my PB is, but hopefully I can run a 2:05. I haven’t run anything faster than 66 seconds in a 400m, but I think I can do it.” Yee will take August as a rest month before she gears up for her 2021 season and (hopefully) qualification for her first Olympic team.

Saturday’s Time Trial results

Regan Yee – 15:08, Sarah Inglis – 15:15, Natalia Hawthorn – 15:30, Natasha Wodak – 15:31

Ahmed, Quigley and others post PBs at Bowerman Track Club meet

The intra-squad meet saw huge personal bests from a number of athletes

Restrictions regarding social distancing and COVID-19 have been getting more relaxed in the U.S. lately, and that has allowed for clubs to hold in-person track meets and competitions. On Tuesday night, the Bowerman Track Club joined other high-profile and elite training groups which have held competitions in the past month, such as the Oregon and Atlanta track clubs, which held a dual meet a couple of weeks ago, and Team Boss in Colorado, which ran a record-breaking intra-squad mile event on June 27. The Bowerman event featured 1,500m and 5,000m races for both the men and women, and it saw some seriously fast times, with multiple athletes not just beating their PBs, but absolutely smashing them.

PBs for everyone

The women’s 5,000m saw seven athletes line up to race, and the top four walked away with new PBs. Elise Cranny won the race in 14:48.02, which was a more than 30-second improvement on her PB of 15:25.66. It was also good enough to make her the seventh-fastest American woman ever over 5,000m. Second place was Courtney Frerichs, who entered Tuesday night with an indoor PB of 15:02.91 but an outdoor best of 16:22.98 from 2013. She smashed both of those times, running 14:50.06, which catapults her to eighth on the all-time list of American women.

Colleen Quigley finished in third place, and although the 5,000m isn’t her specialty, she still dropped a blazing fast time of 15:10.42, which was 48 seconds faster than her previous best of 15:58.90. Finally, in fourth place was Gwen Jorgensen, who beat her outdoor PB with a time of 15:18.25 (although she has a faster indoor PB of 15:02.27).

On the men’s side, Sean McGorty won ahead of Grant Fisher, both of whom beat their 5,000m PBs with times of 13:11.22 and 13:11.68, respectively. McGorty’s previous best was 13:21.35 and Fisher’s was 13:29.03.

1,500m runs

The 1,500m events had fewer participants, but both races saw a PB each. The men’s run had a thrilling sprint finish between Josh Thompson, Lopez Lomong and Canadian Mohammed Ahmed. Thompson ran 3:39.652 to edge out Lomong, who ran 3:39.660, and Ahmed, who posted a PB of 3:39.84. The women’s race also saw a tight finish, with Shelby Houlihan eking out a win in 4:02.37 over Karissa Schweizer, who ran a four-second PB with a time of 4:02.81.

Official races may still be on hold, but the Bowerman athletes have sent a message to the rest of the track world, showing everyone that they’ll be fit, fast and ready to race whenever the season resumes.

More than half of Tokyo residents opposed to Olympics next year, survey finds

A new survey has found that more than half of Tokyo residents do not want the postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held next year.

Tokyo 2020 has been moved back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but doubts remain about the Games going ahead.

The survey, carried out over the phone by Kyodo News and the Tokyo MX television channel, was taken by 1,030 people.

It found that 51.7 per cent want the Games to be postponed again or cancelled, with 46.3 per cent wanting the re-arranged Tokyo 2020 to take place.

Out of those who are opposed to next year, 24 per cent said they would favour a second postponement.

This option has been repeatedly rejected by Tokyo 2020 and International Olympic Committee officials, however.

Complete cancellation was backed by 27.7 per cent.

Of those who want to see the Games go ahead next year, 31.1 per cent said they should take place in a reduced form.

This is the path being taken by organisers, with Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshirō Mutō speaking about "simplified Games" and announcing this month that 200 ideas on how to scale things back were being considered.

Holding a full-scale Olympics as planned was backed by 15.2 per cent.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are now scheduled for between July 23 and August 8 next year, with the Paralympics due to follow from August 24 to September 5.

Some believe that these dates will also not be feasible, however, if the coronavirus pandemic does not subside significantly around the world and a vaccine is not developed.

IOC President Thomas Bach is among those who have admitted the Games would be cancelled entirely if not possible in 2021, with a second postponement not being considered.

Tokyo 2020 Board member Haruyuki Takahashi has claimed, however, that another shift in dates should be considered.

The delay has created a huge logistical challenge for organisers, which Bach has described as a "huge jigsaw puzzle and every piece has to fit".

Another survey by Japanese broadcaster NHK revealed that two-thirds of corporate sponsors for Tokyo 2020 are unsure if they will extend their contracts past December, with 14 per cent saying it would depend on the asking price.

The re-arranged Games is a key topic amid campaigning for Tokyo's gubernatorial election on Sunday (July 5).

Incumbent governor Yuriko Koike looks likely to win a second term although one of her rival candidates, Tarō Yamamoto, has pledged to cancel Tokyo 2020 if elected.

There are fears of a second wave of coronavirus in the Japanese capital, with the city reporting more than 50 cases for the past four days.

This is the highest level since early May, when Japan was under a state of emergency.

USATF Considering Holding A Meet In Mid To Late September, But Undecided On Whether Or Not It Will Serve As The 2020 US Championships

The uncertainty surrounding professional sporting events in 2020 has left many elite athletes, coaches, athlete representatives, and fans asking if USATF will hold a national championship in 2020. Since April, an advisory group of select High Performance Committee members and National Office staff have been meeting regularly, discussing and developing contingency plans and potential options for safely hosting a national season ending event in 2020. Because the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is continually changing, it continues to challenge all professional sports in their ability to apply their contingency plans and for USATF to set an exact date and location for some form of a Championships event.

Also being discussed is whether it is best to offer a National Championships event in track & field, which the United States has done every year, without interruption for over 120 years, or offer a season ending US-only elite meet without the national championships designation. The changing nature of the COVID-19 in various locations have disparately affected athletes’ ability to train effectively, and a National Championships designation may cause some athletes to feel pressure to train when their current environment may add additional risk. This designation is being discussed and will be determined.

Below is an overview of USATF’s current contingency plans for a 2020 US Open or national season ending event. First and foremost, in this planning is mitigating risk for athletes, coaches, officials, and staff who would travel to and participate in the season ending meet. Included is an initial milestone date for decisions on event viability and release of additional logistical details for planning purposes.

**NOTE: With the ever-changing nature of the pandemic, these contingency plans below will likely be altered. Even when the milestone date is reached and if the event is officially confirmed, a later decision to cancel the meet due to the COVID-19 situation is entirely possible. 

Kenyan Distance Runner Florence Jepkosgei Chepsoi Facing Criminal Charge After Allegedly Falsifying Medical Records

A Kenyan long-distance runner is facing a criminal charge, accused of presenting false documentation to the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

Florence Jepkosgei Chepsoi appeared in a court in Eldorat charged under Kenya's Anti-Doping Act on June 29, per an ADAK statement, and plead not guilty.

The case is due to be heard on August 13.

Chepsoi was charged with an anti-doping violation in 2017 after testing positive for banned steroid prednisolone at a race in China.

Appearing before a Sports Disputes Tribunal, Chepsoi presented documentation she claimed was from the Uasin Gishu District Hospital as part of her defence.

ADAK's Investigations and Intelligence Gathering Unit looked into the matter and determined, having consulted with the hospital, that the documents were forgeries and Chepsoi had never received treatment there.

Criminal charges therefore followed.

Chepsoi, 36, placed second at the Jakarta Marathon in 2019.

According to the World Athletics database, the Kenyan's personal best in the event is 2 hours 29min 25sec, recorded in 2011 in Italy.

Ethiopian long-distance runner Etaferahu Temesgen Wodaj was last month given a 12-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), majority of which stemmed from tampering with evidence.

Wodaj received a four-year suspension for failing a drugs test and an additional eight-year ban for presenting false medical documents and non-compliance.

Kenya is one of seven countries classed in Category A by the AIU in relation to their doping risk to the sport.

Category A nations are both successful at international level but present a "high absolute doping risk".

Fifty-five Kenyan athletes are currently serving suspensions, according to the AIU database.

2020 Ladakh Marathon cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic

Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, the world famous sporting event in India, the Ladakh  Marathon has been cancelled for this year. Ladakh Marathon Founder and Race Director Chewang Motup said that the 9th edition of the event scheduled for September 13, this year stands cancelled.

AIR correspondent reports, the 9th Edition of Ladakh Marathon  is  even  more  special  as it  had become  a  qualifying  event  of  Abbott  World  Marathon  Majors  Wanda  Age  Group from this year.

At  an  altitude  of  11000 ft  and  above, Ladakh  Marathon  has  emerged  as one  of  the  most  prestigious  high  altitude  races  on  the  Marathon  Calendar of the world. Mr Chewang Motup said, a great uncertainty prevailing in the region due to Covid-19 and border issues.

After the risk  assessment  exercise as  per  the  World  Health  Organization  (WHO)  guidelines  for  holding  events  involving mass  participation, the organizers took a collective  decision  to  cancel  the  four  races  of  the  Ladakh  Marathon. 

Mr Chewang Motup said, all  registrations  for  full Marathon,  Half  Marathon,  10  km  and  5  km in 9th edition have  been  automatically  transferred to  2021-2022.

However,  the  status  of  the  two  elite  races  that's  the  72  km  Khardungla Challenge  (17,618ft)  and  the  122  km  Silk  Route Ultra  are  under  review  with a restricted number  of  participation of 200. Mr Chewang Motup appealed all  the registered  runners  of these  two  races NOT to reserve  any flights till the final decision by July 30. 

Virtual registration for Boston Marathon begins July 7

Boston Marathon runners who lost out on the iconic run from Hopkinton to Boylston Street this year amid the coronavirus pandemic can register for the 26.2 mile virtual race starting on July 7, the Boston Athletic Association announced on Thursday.

The virtual race is open only to participants who were originally entered in the Boston Marathon scheduled for April 20. The April race date was postponed until September due to coronavirus concerns, and then officials later nixed the September date because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

“The world cannot come to Boston this year, so we will bring the Boston Marathon to the world through a virtual experience that captures the spirit, community, and celebration of the race,” Tom Grilk, CEO of the BAA, said in a statement. “The 124th Boston Marathon Virtual Experience will allow participants to be part of Boston Marathon history.”

Beginning at 10 a.m. on July 7, participants will be emailed a registration code. The cost to register for the virtual race will be $50.

All finishers of the virtual race will receive a post-race package containing their Boston Marathon official participant shirt, finisher’s medal, official 2020 Boston Marathon program, Sam Adams 124th Boston Marathon bottle opener and other items.

The first 15,000 registrants will receive a pre-race package with a 2020 Boston Marathon bib and other items.

To be considered a finisher of the virtual race, entrants must complete 26.2 miles in one continuous run on any day between Sept. 7 and 14, and submit proof of completion to the B.A.A.

Participants don’t have to complete the race in a certain amount of hours, but they’re required to complete the full marathon distance continuously on the same day.

Leading up to September’s race week, participants will receive more information on the virtual experience. Participant newsletters will provide information on training tips, summer running, hydration, and tips on creating a personal 26.2-mile course.

Olympics-Bound Marathoner Jake Riley Signs with On

Jake Riley, the surprise second-place finisher at the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials Men's Marathon last February, has signed a sponsorship agreement with On, the Swiss maker of running shoes and apparel. Riley, 32, was unsponsored at the Trials.

"We are thrilled to partner with Riley as he sets off to represent On and the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next year," said On co-founder and former world duathlon champion Olivier Bernhard through a media release. "Not only has he proven himself an outstanding athlete, he embodies the resilience and drive to succeed that powers performance running here at On."

Riley, who lives in Boulder, Colo., where he trains under coach Lee Troop and is also working towards a masters degree in biomechanical engineering at the University of Colorado, was a promising athlete after graduating from Stanford in 2012 and joining the Hansons-Brooks program in Michigan where he stayed through 2016. But an Achilles injury took him out of the sport for yearly three years until he mounted a comeback in the summer of 2019 which culminated in a 2:10:36 personal best at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last October.

"This was well beyond expectations," Riley told Race Results Weekly after his run in Chicago. He said that he "very seriously" thought about quitting the sport, but under coach Troop was optimistic about his future after "months of feeling like ten pounds of dirt in a five pound bag."

His run in Chicago elevated him to a possible Tokyo team-maker, but he still did not sign with a sponsor, waiting for the right opportunity. He feels that the wait was worth it.

"I'm so happy to be joining the On team," Riley said through a statement. "I'm excited to represent a company that's committed to running and runners, and I'm looking forward to finding out just how far we can go together."

Riley will wear his On kit and shoes for the first time in a competition tomorrow where he will face Olympic marathoner Jared Ward in a remote 5-K competition where Riley will run in Boulder and Ward in Provo, Utah. The race, called the Virtual 5-K Challenge presented by KT Tape, will be streamed live via Instagram on the @TeamBoulder account with commentary from Ed Eyestone (who coaches Ward) and Troop.

On is a fast-growing brand in the running space, according to an analysis by data company NPD Group published last September. Ten years after market launch, their products are available at over 6,000 retailers in 55 countries, the company said. A few months ago tennis legend Roger Federer joined the company as a "true partner," and is helping to oversee "product development, marketing, and fan experiences," the company said.

6 habits of highly effective runners

The six simple steps to consistent training

Everyone has a runner friend who never seems to get injured. In a sport where overuse injuries are rampant, how do people stay healthy and what are their secrets? It turns out, there aren’t any big secrets – in fact, it’s the most basic things that keep runners on the road and feeling good. Here’s a look at the six habits of the highly effective runner.

Hydrate properly

Dehydration is linked to everything from cramping to mid-run GI distress. Especially during the summer months, runners should be sipping (not guzzling) water through the day and monitoring the colour of their urine. Dehydration can easily derail a run, but thankfully, it’s also an easy fix.

Appreciate the rest day

Some runners take weekly rest days, some work on a 10-day cycle and others are spontaneous with their day off. Running is highly individual, so it’ll take some trial and error to find out what works for you.

If you’re new to the sport, taking multiple rest days a week is recommended. Slowly work your way up to running six days a week. But if you’re feeling a little run down and tired, no matter your experience level, take the day off. Your body and mind will thank you.

Listen to your body

Your body will let you know when it’s hurting. While there are some small aches and pains that can be run through, a nagging issue isn’t to be ignored. If something is bothering you two runs in a row, consider a couple of cross-training days and booking in to see an RMT, physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor.

Runners who stay injury-free for years on end know that when something flares up, a couple days off here and there is much better than two months on the sidelines.

Get the right shoes

Taking the time to buy the right shoes is extremely important. Especially if you’re new to the sport, getting a proper assessment is a great idea for your first pair. After that, keep track of how much mileage you’ve done in your shoes (you can use an app like Strava or just a good old-fashioned training log). Once you’ve hit over 400K, it’s time to start looking for a new pair.

Take naps

Napping is a luxury, especially for runners with children. However, if you can sneak in even a 20 minute snooze on a weekend, or sleep a little later in the morning, over time these few extra minutes of rest can play a big role in your recovery. A study out of The Institute for Scholastic Sport Science and Medicine found that in adolescent student-athletes (grade seven to 12), getting under eight hours of sleep led to a 70 per cent increase in the likelihood of injury.

Sleeping is kind of like natural doping for runners, so where possible, sneak in a few extra hours of rest. Canadian W50 marathon record holder Denise Robson thinks her big breakthrough was due to the amount of sleep she was able to get during her build. “I have three biological children and four foster children. Now that my foster children are gone, there are more hours in the day. I was able to come home after a Sunday long run, shower, eat and take a two- to three-hour nap. That made a huge difference in training.”

Keep it consistent

Improving at running (and staying injury free) is really a game of consistency. The more days (which can hopefully turn into months and years) of pain-free running you can string together, the better you will get. By paying attention to the little things listed above, you’re drastically increasing your likelihood of consistency.

Professional ultramarathoner Michael Wardian is running length of Delaware

With most major races wiped off the calendar, professional ultramarathon runner Michael Wardian was asked to run 96 miles — the length of Delaware — over the course of a month as part of a virtual charity event.

"I was like, 'It's 96 miles, I'll just do it in one day,'" Wardian said.

So around 1 p.m. on Thursday, Wardian started a run on Concord Pike at the Delaware and Pennsylvania border that will finish on Fenwick Island. He is being accompanied by Nick Cruz, a Milford resident, who after hearing about the attempt decided to try it himself.

The route they will take is roughly 130 miles, substantially longer than Delaware's end-to-end length of 96 miles. By zig-zagging through the state, Wardian and his crew lead Phil Hargis hope to avoid as many dangerous stretches of highway as possible.

From North Wilmington, they'll cross through the city to get on the Jack Markell trail, eventually passing through Delaware City before running a portion of the Mike Castle trail along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. From there, the planned route wraps around Middletown and cuts through the center of Dover before ending with a long stretch on Coastal Highway through the beach towns.

Wardian expects the run to take between 24 and 30 hours.

"I just think it's a cool route," Wardian said. "It's not as straight as you can go because I wanted to finish at the beach, because I just thought it would be cooler than finishing in like Selbyville."

In a typical year, Wardian travels from his Arlington, Virginia, home around the globe, competing for the shoe company Hoka One One in ultramarathons – races beyond 26.2 miles. By day, he is an international ship broker.

With his racing calendar clear because of the coronavirus, Wardian has turned his attention to virtual races and FKT attempts – fastest known times across certain routes.

In April, Wardian ran 262.5 miles over 2.5 days to win a virual event called the Quarantine Backyard Ultra. He's already competed about 30 times this year and has dozens of first place finishes and world records on his career resume.

It's unclear exactly what the standard is for the fastest time across Delaware. When Wardian posted about his Delaware run on Instagram, someone replied that a runner named Scott Newcomer ran the length of the state recently in 34 hours.

Fastestknowntime.com, which is the closest thing to an official record, doesn't yet list an end-to-end Delaware run.

Wardian is a frequent visitor to the Delaware beaches with his wife, Jennifer, and sons, Pierce and Grant, and expects to close on a property in Rehoboth Beach in August. He said the run will be a "very cool introduction" to the state.

"I really love the running community of Delaware too," Wardian said. "It's not often someone is like, 'Yeah, I'm willing to run 130 miles.'"

Running: ibuprofen use is common – but many athletes are unaware of the risks

Whether you’re an ultra-marathoner or have just started, injuries and muscle soreness from running are inevitable. But instead of taking a break, many runners reach for ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to get through injuries or pain. Not only can doing this make recovery more difficult, but frequent use of anti-inflammatories can be dangerous. Our recent research shows that NSAID use is widespread among amateur runners – but most are unaware of the potential risks.

While more casual programmes like Couch to 5K or Parkrun UK remain popular, endurance events like marathons and ultra-marathons have seen participation grow over the past 20 years. Amateur endurance athletes’ training routines can be rigorous, resulting in stresses and pains, so many use painkillers to keep training. Research shows significant use of NSAIDs among endurance runners, with one study finding that 46% of London Marathon runners planned to take an NSAID during the race.

Yet this is not without risk. Using NSAIDs is associated with known harms, including gastrointestinal ulcers, acute kidney injury and a risk of cardiovascular events, depending on how much of the drugs are taken and for how long. These negative consequences of NSAIDs are thought to be responsible for 30% of all adverse drug reaction admissions to hospital.

Under the extreme physiological strain of a long-distance endurance event, these risks may be increased and new ones may arise related to the physical stress. Reduced blood flow and motility in the gastrointestinal system make stomach problems common, even without NSAID use. Muscle damage from races can also increase protein in the blood, which can lead to acute kidney damage. This could be worsened by NSAID use.

Hyponatraemia, a potentially fatal reduction in sodium levels caused by water overload, is another problem in endurance athletes. Although fatalities are rare, asymptomatic hyponatraemia occurs in one in ten marathon runners and can also be heightened by NSAID use.

Running through pain

Though much is known about NSAID use by endurance runners, less is known about its use in recreational runners. We surveyed 806 participants in Parkrun UK – which represents a broad range of the running community – to find out about usage in a diverse group of runners. Nearly 90% of the runners surveyed used NSAIDs, usually in the form of over-the-counter ibuprofen. About one in eight runners had a pre-existing reason to avoid NSAIDs, such as asthma. A third of the runners ran at marathon length distances or higher.

Over half of runners took NSAIDs before a run or race. One in ten took them during a run, and two-thirds afterwards. The longer the run, the more likely they were to take NSAIDs before or during. Half-marathoners and marathoners used NSAIDs more commonly. But more concerning were the 33% of ultra-runners (compared to just 17.5% of marathon runners) who took NSAIDs during runs. This is because these races already put stress on the gastrointestinal and renal systems.

Low-mileage runners used ibuprofen to keep exercising with pre-existing pain, ongoing medical issues, or current injuries. However, longer distance runners were more interested in reducing inflammation, soreness, pain and for suspected performance improvements. All types of use should only be done when aware of the potential risk of frequent use.

A third of the runners in our study had experienced suspected side effects from NSAIDs, mainly heartburn and, in a few cases, gastrointestinal bleeding. Over 40% of runners were unaware of the cardiovascular, kidney or gastrointestinal side effects.

Nearly half of the runners used NSAIDs without advice from a healthcare professional. Almost all of those surveyed said they would read advice if provided to them. Even if this response was only the result of completing the survey, it’s clear there needs to be better information available about the risks of using NSAIDs, especially while running.

This lack of awareness combined with long-term use of NSAIDs (especially when taken every run) can potentially lead to health problems. For marathon and ultra-marathon runners, there are even greater specific risks. These long endurance events already put runners’ body under extreme stress, so long-term NSAID use increases risks of life-threatening hypononatraemia, gastrointestinal bleeding, and kidney failure.

Exercise caution

Like all drugs, NSAIDs have benefits and harms. However, given that studies show NSAIDs may be counterproductive to healing and training, their use should be carefully considered by amateur athletes. Someone who uses an occasional ibuprofen tablet before or after their weekly run is likely at lower risk. However, risk rises alongside longer and more frequent runs, especially if they’re only enabled by chronic NSAID use.

But using NSAIDs to run through injury and pain to achieve training targets is counterproductive to the long-term health benefits of running. High usage in a subset of endurance runners during demanding training, and while in sustained physiological stress during events, should definitely be avoided.

To change this culture, more messaging about NSAID safety and running are needed. However, the London Marathon now advises runners to avoid NSAIDs within 48 hours of the race because of the potential dangers. Their decision might also spur other organisations to follow suit.

Former marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang, has been banned for four years for whereabouts failures and tampering by providing false evidence and witness testimony.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said the Kenyan’s ban is effective from January 10 2020, the date when he was provisionally suspended.

Under anti-doping regulations, athletes have to inform testing authorities of their whereabouts for a one-hour window of every day and three failures — not being present at the said time — within 12 months leads to an automatic ban.

The AIU found that Kipsang had committed a total of four missed Tests and/or filing failures including a missed test on 27 April 2018, a filing failure related to the Athlete’s whereabouts information provided for 18 January 2019.

He also missed a test on 12 April 2019 followed another missed test a month later.

“However, by application of Article 10.7.4(a) of the 2019 IAAF Rules, the anti- doping rule violations committed by the Athlete shall be treated together as one single anti-doping rule violation and the sanction imposed shall be based on that which carries the more severe sanction,” the AIU said in a statement.

Natasha Wodak and Justin Kent win Canadian 10K virtual championships

Natasha Wodak proved that you can run a pretty killer solo effort on Wednesday when she earned her second-consecutive national 10K championship win, only 10 seconds behind her winning time from 2019. She finished her 10K run in 32:41 and took the top women’s spot by nearly a minute with Rachel Cliff finishing second in 33:35. 

The Canadian 10K Championships, which historically took place as part of Ottawa Race Weekend, were moved to a virtual event for 2020. Registered runners had a 12-hour window (from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time) on Wednesday to complete a 10K course of their choosing. Their route had to be an out and back. 

In the men’s race, Justin Kent came out on top with a 28:52, followed by Luc Bruchet who ran a 29:17 just days after a 10, 000m personal best on the track. Dylan Wykes, Elite Athlete Organizer for the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is really happy with how the virtual race went. 

“This year has been extraordinary in so many ways that we really wanted an opportunity to engage with Canadian elite runners and give them a chance to compete against one another in some way. Congratulations to all the runners who took part and we cannot wait to see them at the Start Line in Ottawa in 2021.”

If runners didn’t have a chance to run on Wednesday, no worries, there’s still plenty of time to participate in the The Beat the Champ race. This event will run through the month of July and invites runners to try to beat the national 10K champion at their own game.

This open competition asks runners to beat the 2020 winning times (28:52 and 32:41) by running 10 x 1K intervals, and combining individual segments to beat the winning 2020 10K result.

World Athletics is not happy with the Russian Athletics Federation

In a statement released on July 2, World Athletics confirmed that it had not received payments due from the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) on  July 1 nor, despite reminders and correspondence with the Federation, any information on when the monies may be paid.

As a result World Athletics will stand down both the Doping Review Board (DRB) and the Russian Taskforce until World Athletics’ Council has reviewed and discussed the situation at their meeting on JUly 29-30, as set out in the decision made by the Council on March 12.

Both the Russian Taskforce and the DRB have, in good faith, moved forward in a number of areas, said WA. The DRB has also opened up the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) process to facilitate the granting of ANA status for athletes returning to competition in preparation for the fine being paid by July 1. This will be put on hold until the Council meets at the end of July to ensure World Athletics is not incurring additional costs that may not be reimbursed.

World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe, said: “We are very disappointed by the lack of progress made by RusAF in terms of the requirements set in March. The serious allegations of breaching the anti-doping rules resulted in a new RusAF administration and we had assurances and hoped that change was on its way. However, the experience of the Russian Taskforce is that this has fallen well short of expectations. The terms of payment of the fine and costs were clear and unchallenged by RusAF at the time so this issue will now need to return to Council at the end of July, as we stated in March.”

The payments due from RusAF by July 1 are USD 5million (EUR 4.4m) (fine) and USD 1.31million (EUR 1.2m) (Reinstatement Conditions & Verification Criteria costs incurred from June 30 2019 to March 31 2020, including Legal & CAS Costs; Task Force Costs; Doping Review Board Costs, and Lysenko Investigation costs).

The 2020 Athens Marathon will be held as normal on November 8

The Greek Athletics Federation SEGAS announced on July 1 that, based on current data, “Athens Marathon. The Authentic” 2020 will be held as normal on November 7-8 2020 with its co-organisers the Attica Region, the Municipality of Athens, the Municipality of Marathon and the EOE and a major sponsor, OPAP SA.

Athens Marathon 2020 will include the following competitions:

Marathon: Participants in the Marathon will be divided into two different (A & B) races with 5000 participants each and an hour difference between their start times. The distribution of the runners in the two races and in the corresponding starting block will be decided by the Organising Committee. It is noted that the Marathon Road will be held on Sunday, November 8, while the exact start times will be announced in the near future.

10km road race: On Saturday November 7, 10km participants will also be divided into two different (A & B) races with 5000 participants each and an hour difference between their starts.

5km road race, ZERO WASTE FUTURE: The same logic applies as for the 5km on Sunday November 8: two 5km (A & B) Races with 5000 participants each and a difference of at least one hour between their starts.

Note that Athens 2020 Marathon will not include the Children’s races (neither on the route nor at the Panathinaiko Stadium) or the Special Olympics Hellas Race. This is for better implementation of the protocol.

Registration limits for all the races have been revised and because they are now split into two separate groups the official t-shirt of the race will be an integral part of the registration for each participant.

Registrations for the Athens 2020 Marathon will start on Friday, July 3, 2020 at 12.00, exclusively through the event website. SEGAS has drawn up a special Cancellation Policy for this year’s event which encourages runners to consult before proceeding with their registration.

President of SEGAS, Kostas Panagopoulos commented: “The successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, as a result of the timely adoption of correct measures and their consistent observance by the majority of Greeks, but also the approval by the State Health Protocol for Out-of-Stage Games of SEGAS, allows us to open registration for the Athens Marathon 2020.

“The Race will be very different this year since the observance of the Health Protocol, imposes fewer runners, more starts, distance keeping, meticulous protection measures in each process and for each step. The special planning of the Games has been completed and with the help of all – and especially the runners – the observance of the measures will ensure the desired result.

“In Greece, where it was born, the Marathon will be re-launched in 2020 after the pandemic.”

How to Balance Your Training Metrics With Your Mental State

In March, I ran my second fastest marathon. I had trained harder than I had ever trained before, but according to my Garmin Fenix 6x—which I was using for the first time during this training cycle—only one day of training in the two months leading up to the race was deemed “productive.” One. day.

My 22-mile run? The hill sprint repeats I did at altitude? The extra slow recovery runs? All “unproductive,” according to the training status that would flash across the screen on my wrist after nearly every workout.

That feedback only made me determined to run every run in my training program exactly as prescribed—not taking into account the fact that my body was still adjusting to altitude, that I was significantly increasing my weekly mileage, or that, you know, sometimes life happens and you might need to skip a run. I was so fixated on switching that status to productive, I stopped listening to my own body.

Despite the fact that I could tell I was getting faster in my speedwork and that I knew my stamina was increasing in my longer runs, I felt like I was failing at training every time I saw that “unproductive” status. I wasn’t seeing it as a statement on my training, I was letting it define how I viewed myself as a runner. By the time I crossed the finish line of that marathon, I knew it was time to figure out a healthier way to use my metrics for motivation while protecting my mental state.

What even is “Training Status”?

I realized, after several months of letting this metric dictate my feelings toward running, that I didn’t even fully understand what it tracked or what it meant. So I talked to Joe Heikes, the lead product manager for Garmin’s fitness watches. He explained that on Garmin watches, the Training Status feature pulls information from your VO2 max estimations and your training load data to provide feedback on the effectiveness of your training.

Your VO2max—or the maximum rate at which you can deliver oxygen to your exercising muscles—is a measure of aerobic fitness. “The VO2max calculation looks at the relationship between your heart rate and pace to determine whether you’re getting fitter or not,” explains Heikes. This feature also accounts for variables such as altitude and heat, which could affect your heart rate but not your actual fitness level. On a very surface level, if that number’s trending up, you’re getting more fit; if it’s going down, you may be losing fitness.

Training load, on the other hand, is based on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (a.k.a EPOC or the “afterburn effect”), or your increased rate of oxygen intake following activity. The more intense your run, the higher your EPOC will be. “Basically, the watch scores every run that you do, based on your heart rate data, to determine how big of an exercise ‘dose’ that was,” says Heikes.

Looking at a seven-day window, the watch can determine whether you’re getting more or less fit as your training load increases or decreases. If your fitness appears to be getting better at the same time your training load is increasing, we would call that productive,” he says. “If your training load is increasing but your fitness is going down, then that's an unproductive state.” And there it is.

Why do “negative” stats bum us out so much?

Running is a very predictable sport. You put one foot in front of the other, then repeat— sometimes for hours. “There aren’t a lot of variables in it, so it’s easy to get all these measurements and feel like there’s a ‘formula’ for success,” says Nicole Detling, Ph.D., a sports psychologist and author of Don't Leave Your Mind Behind: The Mental Side of Performance. “But you can get addicted to those stats really easily, and that addiction can cause a lot of anxiety because you’re focusing more on what you aren’t doing than on what you are doing.”

Fitness watches are great motivators when you want to plan specific workouts, run within a specific heart rate zone, track pacing improvements, or tally up miles. “But there’s so much these devices can’t quantify,” says Detling. Your body is your biggest variable—a watch can’t tell if you ate something bad for lunch or you just broke up with your partner. You have to take those things into account when assessing your performance. That’s why the best coaching plans are designed with flexibility in mind, so they can be adjusted depending on your circumstances.

As for the gut punch of the word “unproductive,” Detling says, “We get emotionally attached to the connotation of certain words.” No matter what your physiological data says, “the reality is, you still expended and exerted a certain level of effort that you want to feel acknowledgement for,” she explains. That doesn’t mean you necessarily need praise, “but you want to feel good that you did something—especially if it freaking hurt, right?”

The problem with that, though, is that you’re focusing on the outcome of a run, not the run itself. “A lot of the time, we focus our thoughts and feelings on getting a certain time, covering a certain distance,” says Detling. “But, if at the beginning of the run, we’re only thinking about the end, we’re probably not going to get there very well.” Insert one of the many platitudes that emphasizes: It’s about the journey, not the destination.

In fact, all that internal pressure to perform for a certain outcome actually wastes precious mental energy you could be putting toward a more efficient performance, says Detling. And dwelling on the outcome of a run that didn’t meet your expectations wastes the mental and emotional energy you could put toward being more productive in your next run.

So how can you balance the metrics and your mental state?

When Lindsey Clayton, a certified run coach and trainer at Barry’s Bootcamp in New York City, was training for the 2018 New York City marathon, she became such a prisoner to her data that it would ruin her run, she says. “And then I wouldn’t stop thinking about the bad run, and it would ruin my whole day.”

She eventually decided to ditch her watch entirely for her mid-week 6-mile runs and use a landmark as her turnaround point. “The whole reason I run is to feel free—to just be in my body and be in the moment,” says Clayton. Now, she runs watchless once or twice a week based on how she feels. “If I think that seeing I’m running slower than yesterday is going to mess with me mentally, then I know I shouldn’t wear a watch,” she says. “On those days, I’m committing to being in the moment.”

Finding, or remembering, your why can help balance the data and your perspective. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a goal, like running a marathon. But “set your goal and forget it and focus on the process,” says Detling. “If your ‘why’ is to run a marathon, that’s not going to get you through the difficulties that you’re going to experience along the way. Your why has to be strong enough to get you out to do what you’re supposed to be doing on the days when you don’t feel like it.”

You also need to give yourself a little grace. “Runners are very type A, but that has to come with some flexibility,” says Detling. If you didn’t hit your paces, or you cut your run short early, or your watch tells you that your run was unproductive, find something productive about it: Did it increase your mental toughness? Did you get outside when the alternative was sitting on the couch? Did you learn something new about your body?

No matter how advanced tracking technology gets, it should never outweigh listening to your body. “I think that you can hold those two sets of facts in a healthy tension,” says Heikes. “I’ve been running for a long time, and I feel like I know my body pretty darn well. But there have been times when I’ve ignored the watch because I didn’t want to hear the truth it was telling me, and that didn’t work out for me. You have to almost blur your eyeballs and look for the long-term trend versus getting caught up in the minutiae.”

Members of the 2020 Boston Marathon Official Charity Program will be invited to return as official charity program members next year

Boston Marathon Official Charity Program members will continue to maintain their own application and athlete selection process, including agreements between the charity organization and athletes, which has been program policy since its inception, according to Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) on Wednesday, July 1.

The race was originally scheduled for Patriots Day, April 20, and was rescheduled for Sept. 14, but was then canceled on May 28. The athletic association announced at that time that the 124th Boston Marathon will be held as a virtual event.

While the application process for 2021 is now closed, non-profit organizations that meet the association’s program criteria submit a Letter of Inquiry to the B.A.A. before formally applying.

Each charitable organization manages their own athlete selection process. The entire 2021 Official Charity Program list has not been released.

All participants who were originally registered for the April 20, 2020, event have been offered a full refund of their entry fee associated with the race and will have the opportunity to participate in the 124th Boston Marathon Virtual Experience. Participants will have the chance to participate in the virtual 2020 Boston Marathon. Runners will be required to complete the 26.2 mile distance within a 6-hour time period and provide proof of timing to the B.A.A.

All athletes who complete the virtual race will receive an official Boston Marathon program, participant t-shirt, medal, and runner’s bib.

Registration for the 124th Boston Marathon Virtual Experience will open in early July and details will be released soon, according to the association.

Boston Marathon Official Charity Program organizations may select runners at their discretion to join their teams, including those runners entered for the 2020 race.

The entire 2021 Official Charity Program will be announced in the future, according to the announcement. The field size for the 2021 Boston Marathon has not yet been established and may have to be limited to comply with the guidelines and regulations for large scale events in the Spring 2021, according to the B.A.A.

2020 Hamburg Marathon suspends registrations

New registrations for the Hamburg Marathon (GER) have been suspended in ongoing uncertainty over legal liabilities around the event.

At a state press conference on 30 June the City of Hamburg made no binding statements or regulations regarding the approval or prohibition of major sporting events.

“With regard to how the flow of spectators in public spaces can be controlled or limited in order to ensure that social distancing and hygiene guidelines are observed along the route, it remains unclear whether and to what extent we as organisers become responsible for this,” said the race organisation.

“As long as there is no clarity on this question we have suspended registration for the Haspa Marathon Hamburg and the Haspa Half Marathon Hamburg on 13 September 2020 until further notice. We will keep you updated and expressly thank you for refraining from making enquiries or speculations, and for your patience.”

Despite triple hurdles, Michael Kibet still has eye on the big prize

They say when it rains, it pours.

Late compliance with anti-doping protocols ahead of last year’s World Athletics Championships in Doha meant that some already-qualified Kenyan athletes missed out on the action in the Qatari capital as they hadn’t gone through the required pre-championship rituals.

Not a fault of their own, but certainly a deflating situation for them, having trained for probably the biggest break of their careers.

Among them was Michael Kibet, whose career plans were dealt another major blow by the cancellation of the most of this year’s season due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the Tokyo Olympic Games which were pushed to next year from their initial date this month.

Kibet then shifted his focus to the Diamond League whose events resume next month with the Monaco leg scheduled for August 14, followed by Stockholm (August 23), Lausanne (September 2) and Brussels (September 4).

But he’s again hoping for the best after the European Union on Tuesday named the countries whose nationals will be allowed into their territory from Wednesday when the borders opened, with Rwanda, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria the only African nations offered the clearance.

Kenya has been blacklisted.

Kibet, who trains in Kericho County and specializes in the 5,000 meters, will keep one eye on the global developments and another on his training regime, waiting for competition, and normalcy, to resume.

He badly wants to succeed where no Kenyan has succeeded since John Ngugi won the Olympic Gold at the 1988 Seoul Games.

“The virus has disrupted my plans after I was dropped last year from Team Kenya to the World Championships.

“I was waiting to showcase my talent at the Olympic Games but everything has stopped, and I just have to wait for things to normalize,” Kibet told Nation Sport in Kericho.

With all athletics camps still camps closed, Kibet decided to shift his training to Kericho where he loves the altitude that averages 2,180 meters above sea level, slightly lower than the 2,400 meters in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

Sebastian Coe pays tribute at Hansen's funeral

Speaking at the funeral of Svein Arne Hansen, who died on 20 June, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe described the European Athletics President as “a unique spirit, a steadfast friend and a man with an unflinching and instinctive belief in right and wrong”.

Hansen, who was hospitalized after suffering a stroke in March, was a hugely popular figure within the athletics world. A former meeting director of the Bislett Games, he presided over the Norwegian Athletics Federation from 2003 to 2015 and then became President of European Athletics in 2015.

Coe, speaking at the funeral in Oslo on Wednesday (1), recalled his first encounter with Hansen, at the 1979 Bislett Games where Coe went on to set the first world record of his career.

“We’re all coming to terms with a world without Svein Arne,” said Coe. “And while most of us are left mourning the loss of a wonderful friend and a unique spirit, the Hansen family are sharing the pain and navigating the loss of a husband, a proud father and a doting grandfather. For many of us, we also feel that we have lost an adored extended member of our own family.

“Svein Arne had given me the platform 41 years ago to forge an athletics career that afforded me the chance to shape my life around the wonderful sport of athletics and well beyond the field of play.

“I arrived in Oslo in 1979 a penniless student, a freshly minted graduate and a relative unknown in international athletics. And yet, he greeted me as though I were an Olympian and the star of his meet. When I checked in at the Summer Panorama, effectively a student hostel, he sat me down and explained how pleased he was that I’d accepted the invitation to compete at Bislett.

“I left the stadium with my first world record, an umbilical attachment to this great city, and a friendship that I will cherish forever. And a friendship that will warm well beyond his physical presence.

“Svein Arne was a man that was principled. A man with an unflinching and instinctive belief in right and wrong. A steadfast friend through thick and thin who was also capable of mountainous private acts of kindness. A man of iron will but of supple intellect and emotional intelligence. A man with the vision to change the face of athletics and to do so in the face of an ingrained establishment. And a man that was brave in his championing of not always the easy cause. And a dogged defender of the underdog.

“I’m honored to be here today to speak these words on behalf of World Athletics. I’m honored to have shared a friendship with Svein. I’m honored to have shared so much in our sport with him, from the track to the council chamber. And thankful that it was for so many years.

“Svein, I will miss you very much.”

Hansen’s son Philip and daughter Thine also gave a eulogy. “Like an artist must perform his chosen art form,” said Philip, “my Dad was driven, oddly enough, by his passion for stamps and athletics.”

Hansen’s funeral was followed by a memorial at Bislett Stadium, which was shown on the Norwegian Athletics Federation's Facebook page.

People within the athletics community are also invited to share their memories of Hansen and messages of condolence on the Svein Arne Hansen tribute website.

Organizers of the Herculis EBS Meeting have confirmed the first major stars set to compete at the Wanda Diamond League fixture in Monaco on August 14

World champions Yulimar Rojas and Sifan Hassan, world record holder Joshua Cheptegei and European 110m hurdles champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will all be on the slate when the series, disrupted this season by the global coronavirus pandemic, resumes at the Principality's Louis II Stadium.

Hassan broke the world record in the mile at this meeting last year, a pre-cursor to her historic 1500m/10,000m double victory at the World Championships. It wasn't announced which distance Hassan would run. The women's programme includes both 1000m and 5000m races.

The 27-year-old Dutchwoman hasn't yet competed in 2020, but Rojas and Cheptegei have, both displaying world record form.

Rojas, the two-time world indoor and outdoor champion in the triple jump, sailed to a world indoor record of 15.43m at the World Athletics Indoor Meeting in Madrid on 21 February. Five days earlier, Uganda's Cheptegei, 23, blasted through the streets of Monaco en route to a 12:51 world record at the Monaco Run 5km. He will contest the 5000m.

Martinot-Lagarde of France, a long-time favourite in Monaco, broke the French national record at this meeting with 12.95 in 2014. The 28-year-old raced to bronze at the World Championships last year.

One evening after Henrik Ingebrigtsen coasted to a world leading 5000m time, Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen set 800m PBs in Oslo

One evening after Henrik Ingebrigtsen coasted to a world leading 5000m time of 13:19.65, Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen both came away with 800m lifetime bests at the Boysen Memorial in Oslo, a European Athletics Area Permit Meeting, on Tuesday (30).

Paced by Andreas Roth through 400m in 52.5, Jakob reached the line first in 1:46.44 ahead of Filip in 1:46.74. The 19-year-old improved his three-year-old lifetime best by nearly three seconds and also returned home with the Ingebrigtsen family record at the distance.

“It's fun. I have neither 1500m, mile nor 3000m records, but now I have 5000m, 2000m and 800m. I would say it's a nice range to have family records in,” Jakob told NRK after the race.

Filip had to relinquish his family record in the 800m although his time of 1:46.74 also represented a significant lifetime best. His previous mark stood at 1:47.79.

“I considered for a long time whether I should start or not. It's been up and down after the Impossible Games and I've felt pretty rotten. I really only loosened up a couple of days ago,” commented Filip.

There were also good performances in the throwing events at the Bislett Stadium. Marcus Thomsen threw 20.66m in the shot put and Eivind Henriksen won the hammer with a best mark of 74.31m.

Now based in Norway where she is coached by the great Andreas Thorkildsen, reigning Olympic champion Sara Kolak from Croatia opened her season with three throws over the 60 meter-line including a best throw of 62.42m.

2020 Postponed Prague Marathon Now Cancelled

The 2020 Volkswagen Prague Marathon, which had been postponed from May 3, to October 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been cancelled. In addition two other important road races in Prague which are also organized by the Czech Republic's most important race organizer RunCzech, the Sportisimo Prague International Half-Marathon and Birell Grand Prix, have also been cancelled. All three events had received World Athletics Gold Label status.

"We were ready with our races," wrote RunCzech president Carlo Capalbo in an open letter to the runners and other stakeholders involved in his organization's events. "Everyone was in place. Our team. Our volunteers. Our partners and suppliers. Everything was ordered and most of it in our warehouse. And then? COVID."

Capalbo continued: "We hoped against hope that autumn would be better. But it was not to be."

Large sporting events will not be permitted in the center of Prague, Capalbo explained, forcing the cancellations. He said that all registered runners will have the option to transfer their entries to the 2021 or 2022 editions of these events for no additional cost.

"The decision taken is extremely difficult for us," Capalbo added. "But we take comfort knowing that Czech government officials had the foresight and the wisdom to take action designed to keep us safe. We take comfort knowing that our health care professionals were tireless and brilliant in helping to treat the virus. We take comfort knowing that when it hurts this bad we must be doing something good. And we take comfort knowing that we will run again."

The Sportisimo Prague International Half-Marathon, part of the international SuperHalfs race series, was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 28, but was then postponed until Sunday, September 6. The Birell Grand Prix, a 10-K with a women's 5-K, was always scheduled for Saturday, September 5. Collectively, these events had 26,192 finishers in 2019, according to the Race Results Weekly Athletes Performance Database. The half-marathon was the largest event with 10,517 finishers.

Capalbo emphasized that RunCzech's other races outside of Prague were still scheduled to happen on the revised schedule his organization issued earlier this year: the Mattoni Olomouc Half-Marathon (August 30), Mattoni Ústí Half-Marathon (September 19), Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half-Marathon (October 24), and Mattoni Ceské Budejovice Half-Marathon (October 31).

These cancellations in Prague follow closely the cancellations of three of the running industry's most important events: the Boston Marathon (postponed from April 20, to September 14, before being cancelled), the BMW Berlin Marathon (September 27) and the TCS New York City Marathon (November 1). Dozens of other fall road races have also been cancelled across the Americas, Europe and Japan including large and important events like the Great North Run Half-Marathon in England, Buenos Aires Marathon in Argentina, the Dam tot Damloop 10 Mile in the Netherlands, the Paris-Versailles 16-K in France, and the Osaka Marathon in Japan.

Capalbo, an Italian who has lived in the Czech Republic for decades, remains optimistic. "Very often, over the course of our 27-year history, when we've faced adversity, we've looked for inspiration from our guiding spirit, Emil Zatopek," Capalbo wrote. "A man who famously said that when you feel like you can't go on, 'go faster.'"

Hamburg Marathon, Which Still Hasn’t Canceled, Announces a Strict Hygiene Policy

In the same week the Berlin Marathon and New York City Marathon were canceled, Hamburg Marathon race organizers announced they are moving forward with plans to host 26.2 in Germany amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On June 23, race organizers shared an extensive hygiene policy, which was proposed to the city of Hamburg in hopes that the marathon will happen on September 13.

Hamburg Marathon race organizers do not have the city’s approval to gather the 14,000 runners anticipated for the event, but they are hoping to receive permission by the beginning of August, communications director Reinald Achilles confirmed in an email to Runner’s World.

The Hamburg marathon and half marathon were planned for April 19 but had to be rescheduled when the German government implemented a nationwide shut down in mid-March. While the number of new infections has stabilized at a lower level, as reported by Reuters on June 17, the country’s ban on large events was extended to October 24. But exceptions are being made for events where contract tracing and hygiene regulations are possible. 

If the event continues, the Hamburg Marathon will likely be the first large-scale international marathon to be hosted since the start of the pandemic. 

“We are optimistic that the Haspa Marathon Hamburg will be started on September 13,” race director Frank Thaleiser said in a statement. “We have the plans and the infrastructure required. We will now make detailed plans together with the city to realize the race.”

The hygiene policy, outlined by race officials last Tuesday, was developed by experts at Manchester Metropolitan University in England, which offers a masters degree in crowd safety and risk analysis. 

To prepare for the 10,000 marathon participants and 4,000 half marathon runners expected to compete, race organizers are planning to include social distancing and increased hygiene measures prior to and during the event. 

The half marathon and the marathon will have different start and finish areas, and the runners will begin each race in staggered groups of 1,000 about 10 minutes apart over the course of two hours. Before the event, runners will be assigned in predetermined groups and corralled in different halls of the expo building prior to the start. Disinfection stations will be available throughout the event area and along the course. 

Each participant will be given a scarf with a breathing filter to be worn over the nose and mouth in the event areas. And unlike previous races, open food and drink will not be available in the finish area. Instead, race organizers will be offering a refueling package to the participants. 

The elite field will be a smaller group of 30 athletes who will be required to complete COVID-19 testing prior to the competition. Runners in the elite and the mass field will not be allowed to participate if they are traveling from countries where the virus poses a higher risk. 

“The organizational and hygiene policy should demonstrate that a running event with up to 14,000 participants within a city environment can be carried out responsibly while respecting the restrictions on contact and current hygiene guidelines since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Thaleiser said in a statement. 

On June 24, the Berlin Marathon, which hosted 62,444 participants in 2019, was officially canceled. The news followed earlier reports in April in which race organizers announced the World Marathon Major would not go on as planned because of the ordinance set in place by the German government prohibiting all events with more than 5,000 people until October 24. The race looked into different options for holding the event but ultimately determined it wasn’t possible to continue on September 26-27. 

The New York City Marathon was also canceled last Wednesday in a joint decision made by the New York Road Runners and the New York City Mayor’s Office. The marathon was supposed to take place in November, and it would have been the 50th running of the event. 

New York and Berlin are the latest World Marathon Majors to be canceled or postponed in 2020. The Boston Marathon was initially postponed from April to September before being canceled in May. The London Marathon was rescheduled for October 4, and the Chicago Marathon remains on the calendar for October 11.

Baxters Loch Ness Marathon cancelled due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic

Organizers of the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running have today announced the cancellation of the 2020 event due to the challenges posed by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

Established in 2002, the event attracted a record 9,500 participants in 2019 with 60% of marathon runners coming from outside Scotland and 17% from overseas. The cancellation is the first in the event’s 18-year history. The event raised over GBP 1m (EUR 1.1m) for charity in 2019.

Following consultation with partner agencies, sponsors and stakeholders over the past few months during lockdown, the difficult decision was made based on the safety and welfare of all those involved in the event. The uncertainty over travel restrictions for the large number of participants who travel to Inverness and the Highlands from around the UK and abroad was also taken into account.

All those with a place in the 2020 Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running will automatically be transferred to the 2021 event, scheduled to take place on 3rd October. All participants have been contacted by email today with further information.

Commenting on the decision, Malcolm Sutherland, Event & Race Director of Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running, said: “I would like to extend my thanks to all those signed up for the 2020 event for their patience and support during this uncertain and very challenging time. “It has been a difficult decision and not one we have taken lightly however the health, safety and welfare of our participants, volunteers, staff, charities and stakeholders is at the heart of everything we do and will always remain our priority. We feel it is our responsibility to protect everyone involved including our emergency services and local community which has always been so supportive.

“The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon is a highlight of the UK running calendar with one of the most spectacular marathon routes in the world and has also gained a reputation as one of the most memorable.

We pride ourselves on offering a very special Highland experience and we are concerned this would be lost were we to stage the event with all the necessary physical distancing measures and other restrictions in place. Instead, we will put our efforts into ensuring the 2021 Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running is an outstanding experience for everyone.

“We also understand the many weeks of training required to prepare for this event, that many of you will be starting your 12-week training programme and many are fundraising for charity. We will therefore be working with our partner charities – Macmillan Cancer Support, Alzheimer Scotland, Cancer Research UK and the Highland Hospice and a host of other charities – to maximize fundraising in 2021.

“We really hope those due to take part this year will join us in 2021 – we can’t wait to see you then.”

European 5000m silver medalist Henrik Ingebrigtsen clocks world leading 13:19.65 5000m in Oslo

European 5000m silver medalist Henrik Ingebrigtsen from Norway glided to a world leading 5000m time of 13:19.65 at the Boysen Memorial in Oslo, a European Athletics Area Permit Meeting, on Monday.

Paced by Sindre Buraas in the early stages, Ingebrigtsen cut loose from a leading pack which also included Sondre Nordstad Moen after the pacemaker dropped out and picked up the pace significantly over the closing laps.

Running the last 800 meters inside two minutes, Ingebrigtsen was rewarded with a finishing time inside 13:20 and a time which was only four seconds slower than his lifetime best of 13:15.38. The eldest of the Ingebrigtsen brothers also believes he had more in the legs too.

“It was really a good race. It suited me well today, I got a moderate opening and got to drive towards the end. The body responded quite well, I know the body has more inside, but I am happy that I got this out on a Monday at Bislett. It was one of my best races,” Ingebrigtsen told NRK after the race.

Ingebrigtsen also said the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo could play to his advantage and believes he could even quite possibly challenge for a medal in the 5000m next summer.

“I might be a little more optimistic. If I can get consistency in the training work I do at home, then I have a hundred percent belief that I should have the level to fight for a medal - I have that belief,” he said.

In a good quality race, the top four runners all broke the 13:40-barrier with Ingebrigtsen followed home by Narve Nordas (13:33.39) and Zerei Kibrom Mezngi (13:37.59). Moen finished fifth in 13:42.96.

Henrik’s brothers Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be in action this evening in the 800m.

The 2020 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon has been cancelled due to the pandemic

The 2020 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon has been canceled.

The event, previously slated for October, joins several other races and festivals in the Columbus area that have been shelved, rescheduled or replanned to take place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“No one at the finish line last October could have anticipated that we would cancel the event for this year, but it is absolutely the correct thing to do,” Board Chairman Dan Leite said in a news release. “The safety of our athletes, volunteers, first responders, team and the entire community is the top priority for our event. “

The event has raised $10 million for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the marathon’s benefiting charity, since 2012. 

“It pains us to not be able to bring our race forward in 2020, but these are no ordinary times,” Race Director Darris Blackford said in the release. “Everyone has faced changes to our ‘normal’ ways of life. When you think about the best health and safety practices needed to help slow the spread of the virus, holding a major running footrace isn’t the responsible thing to do right now.”

Race participants will have their fees refunded. However, would-be participants will still have a chance to fundraise for Children’s Hospital’s patients and families. There will be a forthcoming announcement on fundraising activities.

"This is the right decision and whole this news might disappoint in the short term, our 128-year-old mission is not taking a break,” Steve Testa, president of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation, said in the release.

“Kids still get cancer, babies are still born prematurely,” Testa said. “We look forward to working with everyone to help children.”

New York marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei dreams to rule the roost in marathon despite cancellations

 New York marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei had not planned to venture into the ultimate distance late in 2019.

For her, the graduation from road races to the marathon was penciled for 2018 after meticulous planning.

However, illness, poor form and injury delayed her promotion to the new challenge until late in 2019.

Jepkosgei had plans to answer her critics by running at the Honolulu marathon and later in the London marathon in 2018 but failed to get the chance due to injury and sickness.

However in 2019, after a lot of self-evaluation, she took a leap of faith and ventured into the marathon and was handsomely rewarded with a win in New York on first asking, powering to cut the tape in 2:22:38, which was seven seconds off the course record of Margaret Okayo (2:22:31) set in 2003.

"I was not expecting to win in New York, based on the high profile athletes that I was running against, especially my village mate Mary Keitany," Jepkosgei told Xinhua on Monday from Iten, her training base.

However, the 26-year-old never anticipated her development in the marathon would be stalled by COVID-19. She had planned to compete at the Africa Cross Country Championships in Lome, Togo in March as part of her preparations for the London marathon in April. But the event was postponed to 2021.

Earlier Jepkosgei had let the chance to compete at the World Half Marathon in Gdynia, Poland slip past her to focus on running in London.

However, the sports calendar was wrecked by the global pandemic and all the three events were either postponed or canceled.

"At first, I thought it was going to be a short time and we would return to action by June. Then we saw governments closing down, movement within and outside the country was restricted and all hope was dashed and we had to isolate even in training at home. Our training camps were shut down and we had to retreat back to our homes to avoid catching the COVID-19 pandemic," said Jepkosgei.

While all this was happening, Jepkosgei, who is also the world marathon record holder (64:51) hinged her hopes on defending her title in New York in November.

However, even that has been taken away from her, throwing the season into uncertainty.

That cancellation of the 2020 New York City marathon was no surprise to Jepkosgei.

"I was preparing for another good run to defend my title in New York. I had turned down my chance to compete at the World Half Marathon so as to focus on London and New York marathons, but both will not be held as planned in 2020," Jepkosgei added.

She, however, has not given up on her hope and dreams to lead Kenya to one day win the Olympic gold in the 2024 Paris Games.

"For me, I take the cancellations of marathon races positively knowing that there will always be another chance to excel, to showcase my talent and to work on my career performances. A chance will always come when we will return to competition post-COVID-19 and that is why I keep on training. To be ready when called upon to compete again," she said.

Jepkosgei, however, believes though 2019 was her best season, so far, better performances are in cue for her starting in 2021.

"Past records are just that, they lay in the past. I look forward to the future and want to do well," she said.

Indeed last year, Jepkosgei excelled better than predicted. For an athlete who held world records in the half marathon and road 10K, the year saw her clinch the New York City Half Marathon in March and go on to overcome her fears and compete in her first full marathon.

In addition, Jepkosgei is the youngest women's marathon champion in New York since 2001. She is the first woman to win in her debut since Tegla Loroupe of Kenya in 1994 and posted the fastest debut finish by a woman in New York City Marathon history.

"I have scaled down my training because I love running. I always want to be in my best shape. For now, there is no inspiration to train hard for a competition venture, but for the love of sport, I have to continue doing what I love, running," Jepkosgei added.

For now, she is at peace with organizers' projection to host the next New York City Marathon in 2021 with a set date being Nov. 7.

Hopefully, for Jepkosgei, she prays to remain injury-free and fit to defend her title. Time will tell.

World Athletics and parkrun to announce a new partnership

World Athletics and parkrun Global Limited are delighted to announce a new partnership by which they will combine their resources to grow the sport of athletics and deliver good health and fitness outcomes for communities around the world.

Parkrun’s simple concept of offering an opportunity for anyone to participate in a free, weekly, organised 5km or 2km run at a local park has captured the imagination of communities around the world over the past 16 years.

From its roots at Bushy Park, Teddington in the United Kingdom in 2004, parkrun has expanded to 20 countries in the past 10 years, and now has more than three million participants globally.

World Athletics, which has 214 Member Federations, and parkrun will work together to encourage people around the world to get moving and keep moving by joining a local parkrun.

Parkrun will assist World Athletics to leave community health legacies in the host countries of World Athletics Series events by creating a series of permanent parkruns in the host cities and countries of world championship events, including the World Championships Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023. To that end, World Athletics will facilitate government/city support for these events.

World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon said parkrun’s purpose aligned perfectly with the sport’s global ambitions for the next four years.

“We have just approved a strategic plan that has the main objective of using the power and accessibility of athletics and our athletes to create a healthier and fitter world,” Ridgeon said.

“One of the ways we are doing this is by developing strong new partnerships where our common cause is to get the world moving. We know that many more people have taken up running during the lockdowns around the world, which makes sense because our sport is the most universal and accessible of all sports, and we want to encourage those people to keep up their new fitness routines as life returns to a more normal footing after the pandemic. Doing a weekly parkrun is an excellent way to stay motivated and find a local running community once mass events are possible again.

“We’re also determined to leave tangible community legacies in all of our future host cities and countries, and there is no better way to do that than by helping to improve the health of their citizens.”

Parkrun CEO Nick Pearson said both organisations were determined to get more people running for their health, fitness and enjoyment.

“This partnership offers parkrun a fantastic platform to demonstrate the role, relevance and value of community health and wellbeing initiatives and to highlight that sport and physical activity is accessible to all,” Pearson said. “It is exciting to see this approach embraced by World Athletics, and we look forward to working with stakeholders in the host countries of World Athletics Series events to support and develop a network of parkrun events.

“We believe that finding positive ways to connect grass roots and community activity with elite sport has multiple benefits and builds stronger sporting foundations and broader engagement. Exercise and physical activity is more accessible and sustainable where sports organisations collaborate and work towards mutual goals. Encouraging the social and community participants to engage with and experience a more competitive sporting environment will help to build a stronger sport and expose pathways to more sporting opportunities.”

Parkrun New Zealand has announced last week that it will be able to resume on July 4, with measures in place to allow contact tracing of participants.

Olympic 20km race walk champion Liu Hong eager to get back racing

Olympic 20km race walk champion Liu Hong told World Athletics she is eager to return to competition after the COVID-19 pandemic brought global sport to a halt.

"I'm really looking forward to racing, and I feel even more appreciative now of the things I have been used to. I miss the feeling of competing with other race walkers all over the world," she said.

Liu Hong should currently be busy preparing to defend her title at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but the tournament's postponement until 2021 has forced her to adjust her plans. However, the three-time world champion sees it as a chance to refine her training.

"Usually, June is the time when training is the most difficult and stressful, and it is the key preparation stage for major competitions in August and September," said the 33-year-old.

"But all the training this year has returned to basic practise, leaving my body in good shape. I've also had more time to try things in training that may make me perform better in future."

The postponement also disrupted Liu's plan for her family. Originally planning to buy a house in Shenzhen, she instead relocated to Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province earlier this year, in order to take advantage of the city's 2,000m altitude and pleasant climate while in lockdown.

"Moving with my family to Kunming has been the biggest change for me so far this year," she noted. "The weather here is perfect for training, and we are changing our previous views on altitude training."

"Life doesn't always go smoothly, but we should face it with positivity every day," Liu added.

Geoffrey Kamworor discharged, to recuperate at home

Three-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor was discharged Saturday from the St Lukes Hospital in Eldoret after being treated following an accident on Thursday.

Kamworor, who was hit by a speeding motorcycle during his morning run just after 6am on Thursday, sustained injuries on his head and ankle in the accident on the Kaptagat-Eldoret road.

The injury could take some time to heal and the champion will almost certainly not be able to defend his World Half Marathon Championships title in Gydnia, Poland, on October 17.

Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei Saturday described Kamworor as among Kenya’s top talents and regretted the fact that the athlete will be sidelined for a while.

“As a federation we want to wish Kamworor quick recovery. He missed the first season due to the coronavirus and the next season has also been affected by the injury,” Tuwei said.

Nike reports unexpected loss as sales tumble 38%, shares fall

Nike reported an unexpected quarterly net loss and a sales decline of 38% year-over-year. 

Digital sales soared 75%, representing about 30% of total revenue, as shoppers flocked to Nike’s website for sneakers and workout gear. 

But expenses for shipping and returns also put more pressure on the company’s profits. Nike’s margins during its fiscal fourth quarter shrank to 37.3% from 45.5% a year ago. 

Even Nike, often lauded as one of the strongest global brands in the retail industry, is taking a hit from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Portland, Oregon-based sneaker maker on Thursday reported an unexpected quarterly net loss and a sales decline of 38% year-over-year, as its business was hurt from its stores being shut temporarily, and online revenue was not enough to make up for that. 

Its inventories also piled up, weighing on profits, as its wholesale partners such as department stores also had their shops shut and took in fewer orders for shoes and clothes. 

Nike shares were recently down around 4% in after-hours trading. 

Here’s how Nike did during its fiscal fourth quarter: 

Loss per share: 51 cents 

Revenue: $6.31 billion 

Nike reported a loss of $790 million, or 51 cents per share, during the period ended May 31, compared with net income of $989 million, or earnings of 62 cents a share, a year ago. 

Total revenue was down 38% to $6.31 billion from $10.18 billion a year ago. Sales in North America were down 46%, while sales in China were down just 3%, with many of Nike’s stores in that region reopening sooner during the pandemic than in the U.S. 

Sales at the Converse brand dropped 38%. For the Nike brand, footwear sales fell 35%, apparel was down 42% and equipment revenue tumbled 53%, as sports and many recreational activities have largely been put on hold due to the Covid-19 crisis. 

Digital sales soared 75%, representing about 30% of total revenue, as shoppers flocked to Nike’s website for sneakers and workout gear. The company had previously set a goal to reach 30% digital penetration by 2023. But that timeline was accelerated rapidly because of the pandemic. Now, the company said it is targeting its e-commerce sales accounting for 50% of overall sales “in the foreseeable future.” 

But expenses for shipping and returns also put more pressure on the company’s profits. Nike’s margins during its fiscal fourth quarter shrank to 37.3% from 45.5% a year ago. 

Analysts were calling for the company to report earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $7.32 billion, according to Refinitiv data. However, impact from the coronavirus pandemic makes it difficult to compare the company’s results to analysts’ estimates. 

“We are continuing to invest in our biggest opportunities, including a more connected digital marketplace,” Chief Executive John Donahoe said in a statement. 

During a call with analysts, he went on to explain that Nike will make its online business more “central” to everything the company does, and that Nike will invest in opening additional smaller-format stores that are meant for customers to do things such as pick up their online orders. It said it will open about 150 such locations globally. 

“Consumers want modern, seamless experiences, online-to-offline, so we’re accelerating our approach,” Donahoe said on the call. 

Nike said its inventories as of May 31 amounted to $7.4 billion, up 31% from a year ago. The company said the increase was due, in part, to it shipping less merchandise to its wholesale partners because of the pandemic. 

Nike said product shipments to wholesale customers were down nearly 50% during the quarter. 

As of Thursday, Nike said roughly 90% of its owned stores are back open globally. In China, almost all of its owned stores are reopened. About 85% are open again in North America. 

According to CEO Donahoe, Nike’s digital business is up triple digits, so far, in June. Bricks-and-mortar retail traffic remains below prior-year levels, he said. 

Nike is not offering a complete fiscal 2021 outlook at this time. But Donahoe said revenue should be flat-to-up compared with the prior year. 

As of Thursday’s market close, Nike shares are down less than 1% this year. The stock is up about 22% from a year ago. Nike is valued at $157.7 billion. 

The 2020 Badwater 135 will not be held due to the pandemic

"The World’s Toughest Foot Race has been cancelled for 2020.  This was going to be the first race featured by My Best Runs to happen since the LA Marathon, held March 8, but Badwater 135 organizers just could not get things worked out," says MBR Director Bob Anderson.  

Covering 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA, the Badwater® 135 is the most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet. The start line is at Badwater Basin, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280’ (85m) below sea level.

The race finishes at Whitney Portal at 8,300’ (2530m), which is the trailhead to the Mt. Whitney summit, the highest point in the contiguous United States. The Badwater 135 course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 14,600’ (4450m) of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100’ (1859m) of cumulative descent.

Competitors travel through places or landmarks with names like Mushroom Rock, Furnace Creek, Salt Creek, Devil’s Cornfield, Devil’s Golf Course, Stovepipe Wells, Panamint Springs, Darwin, Keeler, Lone Pine, Alabama Hills, and the Sierra Nevada.

The 43rd edition will NOT take place Monday-Wednesday, July 6-8, 2020.

Emma Coburn breaks Colorado Mile record

The former CU Buff clocked a 4:32 mile at Colorado Mesa University on Saturday night in Grand Junction Colorado.  

Professional runner and former CU Buff Emma Coburn broke the Colorado Mile record by clocking a 4:32 mile at Colorado Mesa University. The previous record was held by fellow CU Buff Dani Jones (4:36).

The 2020 Team Boss Colorado Mile was held as a fundraiser for the Sachs Foundation, a Colorado-based non-profit that supports Black students looking to attend college.

Team Boss was aiming to raise $20,000 through the event, but had more than $30,000 pledged by the end of the event on Saturday night.

Following the women's race, no male runner was able to break the 4:01 men's Colorado Mile record, narrowly missing the mark by just over one second.

There will be no rescheduled event to replace the cancelled BMW Berlin-Marathon in 2020

Events with 5,000 participants or more are prohibited by the responsible authorities in Germany until October 24, 2020. Hopes were raised earlier this week that a replacement race after that date might be possible, if satisfactory hygiene measures could be put in place, but the race’s organisers today drew a line under these considerations.

SCC Events, the race organisers, said in a statement: “We worked hard on the development of a hygiene concept and held countless discussions with our experts, the responsible authorities and service providers, among others. A comprehensive feasibility analysis showed that an event such as the BMW Berlin-Marathon could not be held under the current specifications – also not after October 24, 2020, especially not with the high expectations we all have for this event. Naturally, we support the containment measures, as the health of everyone is of utmost importance to us.

“The BMW Berlin-Marathon will therefore not take place on September 26-27, 2020 due to force majeure, and it is also not possible to hold the event at a later date this year.”

Jürgen Lock, Managing Director of SCC Events, added: “Due to the weather conditions alone and the ever shorter days, it would be very difficult to hold the BMW Berlin-Marathon with its various competitions and event formats this year.

Then there is the uncertainty about which regulations will apply at a later date. The question of whether athletes will be able to travel internationally again by then can also not yet be answered.”

Registered participants will be contacted this week and offered the opportunity of a full refund or a transfer to next year’s event on September 25–26 2021.

Adidas releases adizero adios Pro, Complete with five carbon-infused rods and LightstrikePRO midsole, this shoe doesn't actually have a carbon plate per se

Adidas announced this week that its fastest marathoning shoe yet will drop on June 30. The adizero adios Pro is the company’s newest carbon-plated shoe – with a twist.

Complete with five carbon-infused rods and LightstrikePRO midsole, this shoe doesn’t actually have a carbon plate per se.

This evolution of the adios Pro got started over a decade ago when Haile Gebrselassie shattered his own marathon world record in Berlin, running his personal best of 2:03:59, in the first version of the shoe. The protoype of this new iteration of the adios Pro made its racing debut at the 2020 Houston Half-Marathon, where the shoe was on the feet of Philemon Kiplimo and Abel Kipchumba, both Adidas athletes who finished in 59:28 and 59:35 respectively, for fourth and fifth place.

Twelve years later, the adios Pro is highly evolved and ready to take on the roads. 

Like other companies, Adidas received lots of feedback from its professional runners, who include half-marathon world record-holder Joyciline Jepkosgei and 10K world record-holder Rhonex Kipruto. Their collaboration with Adidas is how the energy rods were born.

Instead of the traditional full-slab carbon plate, energy rods are finger-like carbon sticks that move like the metatarsals in the foot. The rods are supposed to allow runners to maintain their speed for longer, optimize running economy and create less impact on the body. After all, marathoning is all about efficiency. 

The LightstrikePRO midsole is the company’s lightest and most-responsive material yet. Coupled with a carbon fibre heel plate for ankle stabilization, this shoe has some extremely innovative features that runners will be super excited to check out. At only 220 grams, this shoe will certainly be on the feet of many marathoners this fall. The adizero adios Pro becomes available in limited release on Tuesday, June 30. 

Mo Farah: Briton returns to track to take on hour record

Briton Mo Farah will return to the track for the first time since 2017 in a bid to break the men's one-hour world record at the meeting in Brussels on 4 September.

The 37-year-old, winner of multiple world and Olympic titles, will aim to better Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie's 13-year-old record of 21.285km.

European 10,000m silver medallist Bashir Abdi will line up against Farah.

Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh and Birhane Dibaba will go for the women's record.

That mark of 18.517km was recorded by their compatriot Dire Tune in 2008.

The one-hour run is where athletes try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Britain's world heptathlon champion, will look to finish higher than Olympic champion Nafi Thiam once again when they compete in a 'triathlon' contest featuring 100m hurdles, shot put and high jump.

Wanda Diamond League announces updates to 2020 calendar

The Wanda Diamond League today announced further alterations to its provisional 2020 calendar, with the cancellation of two meetings and a further event pushed back until September.

The Meeting de Paris, provisionally scheduled for 6 September, will not take place this season. Following the latest government announcements on the organisation of major events in France, meeting organisers concluded that there is not enough time to organise a world-class international event in the French capital this year.

Paris’s well-loved Wanda Diamond League meeting will return in August 2021, at a time when it is able once again to mobilise volunteers and welcome international stars.

In Eugene, the 2020 Prefontaine Classic has also been cancelled. The state of Oregon currently has a ban on large gatherings - including sporting events - and that restriction will be in place until at least the end of September. The ban, combined with the expected long term restrictions on international travel, make it impossible to host a world class track & field meet in front of the Hayward Field faithful on 4 October.

The Prefontaine Classic is to return in 2021 and provide the opportunity for the University of Oregon to properly introduce the new Hayward Field to track & field fans around the world.

Discussions are still ongoing in relation to the Muller Grand Prix Gateshead which is no longer scheduled for 16 August. 12 September has been identified as a possible alternative date, however final confirmation cannot be given at this time due to UK Government guidelines and restrictions.

Due to the ongoing global health situation and ever-changing regulations, the 2020 Wanda Diamond League calendar remains provisional and subject to further changes.

The meeting organisers, the Wanda Diamond League and World Athletics remain committed to staging competitions athletes can compete in and fans can enjoy as far as the global pandemic allows.

The 2020 Wanda Diamond League will not be a structured series of events leading to a final as is usually the case. Athletes will therefore not earn Diamond League points this season, and there will not be a single, 24-discipline final in Zurich as originally planned.

Click here for the latest version of the 2020 calendar.

With NYC Marathon canceled, runners look to virtual races for motivation

Nearly 54,000 people finished last year's TCS New York City Marathon. This year, the race would've commemorated its 50th anniversary but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Running coach John Honerkamp, the founder of Run Kamp, said many runners will miss the ritual of the marathon this year. John would've run his 10th consecutive New York City Marathon, which always takes place on the first Sunday in November.

But just because the marathon was canceled doesn't mean your training has to go to waste, he said. Using technology to keep you motivated is important. And virtual racing, although not new, Honerkamp said, is a way to stay in touch with other runners and hold each other accountable. All you need for a virtual race is an app like Strava.

"A lot of the times it's just the honor system or you go out with your GPS and run a 5K or marathon or a mile," he said. "There's lots of challenges, whether it's actual race organizations putting on things or just running clubs putting on things to be creative and keep motivation high."

Marathon runner Amrita Ramamurthy was supposed to run her fifth New York City Marathon. The news about the canceled race is tough because a fall without a race is atypical for a lot of marathoners, she said.

Amrita has found it difficult to motivate herself during this pandemic, But she recently signed up and ran her first virtual marathon—the virtual Boston Marathon. She said doing it on her own was really tough on her physically.

"There's no med stations, there's no water, you're completely responsible for yourself," Amrita said.

For Amrita, running a marathon has been about the race-day atmosphere. However, virtual racing has allowed her to focus on herself.

"It's less about the experience and more about my personal dedication to my goals and the times that I can run," she said.

Will any of the six World Marathons Majors be held this year other than the elite field in Tokyo?

The Berlin Marathon, one of the world’s six elite long-distance races, has been cancelled this year as organisers conceded the event cannot be held under German Covid-19 containment regulations.

The decision yesterday (Wednesday) came as the 2020 New York City Marathon, originally scheduled for November 1 and another member of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) group, was also cancelled due to Covid-19.

The Berlin Marathon was scheduled for September 26-27, but organisers had already announced in April that this year’s race would not go ahead as scheduled after the German government extended its ban on large-scale gatherings of more than 5,000 people until October 24.

SCC Events has now said that after “extensive examination and various discussions” it would not be possible to hold the event at a later date this year. It added: “Over the past weeks, we have put a lot of commitment and effort into examining all options for holding the BMW Berlin-Marathon 2020 under the given conditions.

“We worked hard on the development of a hygiene concept and held countless discussions with our experts, the responsible authorities and service providers, among others.”

The media and sponsorship rights to the Berlin Marathon are sold by the Infront agency, which is also responsible for the broadcast production. Of the six World Marathon Majors, only Tokyo has taken place so far this year on March 1, with a reduced field consisting only of elite runners, without the mass participation element.

The Berlin and New York decisions came weeks after the Boston Marathon was cancelled for the first time in its 124-year history. The London Marathon has been postponed until October 4, while the Chicago Marathon remains scheduled for October 11.

Diamond League events in Paris and Eugene Oregon, cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic

The Paris meeting had originally been pushed back from June until September 6 but was ultimately called off by organisers due to doubts over global travel and a lack of time to prepare a "world-class international event".

The Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, scheduled for October 4, was also axed from the programme, with restrictions still in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in the west coast state.

"The state of Oregon currently has a ban on large gatherings -- including sporting events -- and that restriction will be in place until at least the end of September," Diamond League organisers said in a statement.

"The ban, combined with the expected long term restrictions on international travel, make it impossible to host a world class track and field meet... on October 4th."

Eugene will host the world athletics championships in 2022. The competition was moved back a year to accommodate the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

Four of the 15 Diamond League meetings have been cancelled, with Rabat and London also binned.

The circuit is due to start August 14 in Monaco followed by the Stockholm meeting nine days later.

The Gateshead event in northeast England could now be held September 12 but is still to be confirmed, organisers said.

"Final confirmation cannot be given at this time due to UK Government guidelines and restrictions," the statement said.